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(IsraelNN.com) Archaeologists have discovered what they say is the oldest Hebrew text ever found, at a site they believe was King David's front line fortress in the war against the people of Pleshet, also known as the Philistines. The site overlooks the Elah Valley, where the young David slew Goliath, the Philistine giant, with a well-aimed shot from a sling. The text is written in ink on a pottery shard. It is made up of five lines of text in Proto-Canaanite characters separated by lines. The discovery, by archaeologists Prof. Yossi Garfinkel and Sa'ar Ganor of Hebrew University, is being...

...The five lines of faded characters written 3,000 years ago, and the ruins of the fortified settlement where they were found, are indications that a powerful Israelite kingdom existed at the time of the Old Testament's King David, says Yossi Garfinkel, the Hebrew University archaeologist in charge of the new dig at Hirbet Qeiyafa...

An Israeli archaeologist has discovered what he says is the earliest-known Hebrew text, found on a shard of pottery that dates to the time of King David from the Old Testament, about 3,000 years ago. Professor Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem says the inscribed pottery shard -- known as an ostracon -- was found during excavations of a fortress from the 10th century BC. Carbon dating of the ostracon, along with pottery analysis, dates the inscription to time of King David, about a millennium earlier than the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, the university said. The shard contains...

I didn't see a live thread up yet for the Wednesday House hearings, so here it is.

It's a shame Sen. Carl Levin failed to take the time to call public attention to Gen. David Petraeus' "Anaconda Strategy" chart. Petraeus briefly referred to the chart during his initial testimony this week before Levin's Senate Armed Services Committee. The Anaconda Chart is a complex graphic that depicts an intricate, multi-dimensional war. It's tough to describe even with a copy in front of you. However, the strategic concept behind Petraeus' chart (titled "Anaconda Strategy versus al-Qaida in Iraq") is dirt simple: Squeeze and keep squeezing. A commercial artist would certainly describe the chart as "too busy," but war isn't...

January 19, 2008 Everyone looks for Solomon, but we need David By Tom Panion In this election year, people are swayed by emotion. They know what they want. They will tell anyone willing to listen what they want. But what do we need? I'm like everyone else. I want things and I want situations to be such that I can have them. And I mean everything that I want. Not just material things, though we all want those too. World peace, prosperity and an era of good feeling... Who wouldn't take those? I want people to like our country and...

The Jerusalem-based Institute for Contemporary Affairs recently released a report authored by Lt. Col. Jonathan Dahoah-Halevi that concludes, to nobody's particular surprise, that the Gaza Strip has become a haven for al-Qaida terrorists. Gaza, part of the biblical "land of the Philistines" was the place where Samson toppled the Temple of Dagon on his enemies, giving his life in the process. Gaza was first conquered for Israel by King David and subsequently fell to the Assyrians, the Egyptians, the Babylonians, Persians and Greeks. But in the days of King David, it was part of Israel. In Jesus' day, it was...

Gen. Petraeus' report to Congress

[Qx note: color, bold emphases are added as usual, by Quix. Black emphases are in the original. Quite a number of black bolds in the original were left out to save time.] IS JESUS THE MESSIAH? A Rich Host of Clues From The Codes Could Bible codes possibly add anything definitive to the two-millennia-long controversy over Christian claims that Jesus of Nazareth was/is the Messiah of the Jews? As noted in the Closeness Comparisons Part 2 article in this Digest, Closeness Comparisons link: http://www.biblecodedigest.com/page.php/511 we checked out two sets of ELSs for their closeness to literal mentions of David in...

Feb. 7, 2007 23:28 | Updated Feb. 7, 2007 23:45 Archeologist: Ancient cistern proves location of Second Temple By ETGAR LEFKOVITS An Israeli archeologist said Wednesday that he has pinpointed the exact location of the Second Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount. The site identified by Hebrew University archeologist Prof. Joseph Patrich, based on the study of a large underground cistern on the Temple Mount and passages from the Mishna, places the Temple and its corresponding courtyards, chambers and gates in a more southeasterly and diagonal frame of reference compared to previous studies. Patrich based his research, which is about...

Fancy Temple Era Street Found in Jerusalem 22:53 Jan 24, '07 / 5 Shevat 5767 Archaeological excavations being carried out in Ir David, near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, have uncovered what is said to be one of the most impressive finds in the site: a magnificent terraced street from the Herodian era, which served pilgrims and extended 600 meters from the Shiloah (Siloam) Pool to the Temple. The store fronts and the splendid appearance of the remains have led researchers to conclude it was Jeruslem's main street in the Second Temple era. Drainage canals were exposed under the street....

First Temple wall found in City of David A wall from the First Temple was recently uncovered in Jerusalem's City of David, strengthening the claim that it is the site of the palace of King David. The new find, made by Dr. Eilat Mazar, a senior fellow at the Shalem Center's Institute for the Archeology of the Jewish People, comes less than two years after she said she had discovered the palace's location at the site just outside the walls of the Old City. The monumental 10th century BCE building found by Mazar in 2005 following a six month dig...

Israeli government authorities are building a ramp to allow non-Muslims to reach the enormous platform atop the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The old access ramp was condemned as unsafe and torn down several years ago. The interim ramp that replaced it was designed for short-term service only. (Muslims control the Temple Mount and therefore have their own private access routes.) The new ramp is controversial. Some ramp must be built or non-Muslims will have no way to reach the Mount; but leading Israeli archaeologists say that the ramp under construction is badly placed and ought to be someplace else. This...

For several years I have watched the revival of antisemitism with growing dismay. Then along comes Steve Erlanger’s article in the New York Times, regarded by itself and many of its readers—especially Jewish ones—as the world’s greatest newspaper. He writes about an Israeli archaeologist who has uncovered the ruins of an important two-thousand-year-old building which, she asserts, was part of King David’s palace. Maybe she is right; maybe not. Archaeologists are not certain; more evidence and study is no doubt necessary. That is how science works. We are then informed, accurately, that archaeologists are debating whether David’s kingdom was a...

Q&A on the Temple Mount with Dr. Eilat MazarDr. Eilat MazarPhoto: Dr. Eilat Mazar ExpeditionExcavations on the Mughrabi ramp near the Temple Mount, Jerusalem Old City, Sunday.Photo: Ariel JerozolimskiRenowned archeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar of the Hebrew University and the Shalem Center answers readers' questions about the Mughrabi Gate dispute and the status of the Temple Mount in recent years. Of the hundreds of questions received, here are 20 which encompass the major issues at hand.John, Hong Kong: The Muslims claim the Mughrabi dig is within their holy site. Israel says it's nowhere near. Is it at all possible to answer...

The present-day Sanhedrin Court decided Tuesday to purchase a herd of sheep for ritual sacrifice at the site of the Temple on the eve of Passover, conditions on the Temple Mount permitting. The modern Sanhedrin was established several years ago and is headed by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. It claims to be renewing the ancient Jewish high court, which existed until roughly 1600 years ago, and meets once a week. Professor Hillel Weiss, a member of the Sanhedrin, told Haaretz on Tuesday that the action, even if merely symbolic, is designed to demonstrate in a way that is obvious to all...

Group raises charges that religious Jewish groups are making moves to construct Third Temple. Israel Antiquities Authority: There were no excavations, there are none, and none are planned Roee Nahmias Published: 01.22.07, 07:44 Israel has been digging underneath the al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, with the aim of constructing the Third Temple, the chairman of the Islamic Movement in Israel charged. “This digging is a very dangerous phase in the mosque’s history,” Sheikh Raed Salah said in a statement. The Islamic Movement in Israel considers itself responsible for “safeguarding the Temple Mount mosques,” and organizes transports to Friday prayers...

Rules of engagement (ROE), highly criticized as being too restrictive and sometimes endangering our troops, have been "clarified." "There were unintended consequences with ROE for too long," Petraeus acknowledged. Because of what junior leaders perceived as too harsh punishment meted out to troops acting in the heat of battle, the ROE issued from the top commanders were second-guessed and made more restrictive by some on the ground. The end result was unnecessary - even harmful - restrictions placed on the troops in contact with the enemy. "I've made two things clear," Petraeus emphasized: "My ROE may not be modified with...

There's a buzz of excitement among archeologists. In recent days, archeological digs in Jerusalem revealed a tunnel that, according to a number of estimates, leads to a pool used by King David. The digs, which have been underway for years, are located in David's City, west of the Wailing Wall. A year ago, archeologists discovered a pool from the days of the Second Temple that had been used by pilgrims to Jerusalem, to refresh them after their long journey. Recently, the edge of a tunnel was discovered in the digs. Archeologists posit that it leads to a pool, originally located...

Old Testament dispute continuesWas King David Judaism's King Arthur? By Richard N. Ostling AP Religion WriterAP Photo/Biblical Archaeology Review by Thomas E. Levy American archaeologist/educator Nelson Glueck's suggestions that a gate lay buried at the entrance to the Iron Age fortress of Khirbat en-Nahas were recently realized when archaeologists discovered a four-chamber gate (only two have been excavated). Radiocarbon dating fixed the date of its construction to the 10th century. Some scholars are busily debunking the Bible's account of the great King David, asking: Was he really all that great? Was he largely legendary, Judaism's version of Britain's legendary King...