Is there a David?

(January 18)

David's existence was said to be controversial in the last blog because there were no other texts about him besides what is said in the Bible. However, this was true until the Tel Dan inscription. This inscription says something about the "House of David." This shows that there were people that referred to themselves as the house of David, but it does not prove that David actually existed.
In addition, we learned more about the Gihon Spring. This is the only spring located in Jerusalem. Gihon means "gushing" and it produces about 317 gallons of water per day which was a fair amount for the size of the city. This spring was also the place for the anointing of the King of Israel.
When Jesus traveled to Jerusalem, he made an explicit claim. He went through the Kidron Valley and through the Gihon Spring as well. This shows that Jesus was making his claim and setting himself up to be the King of Israel. Him traveling through the spring expresses the anointing of Jesus.
This lecture also talks about the Ark of the Covenant. This is a portable shrine, however, the people of God were not supposed to worship any other idol yet they worshiped this. In addition, once the temple in Jerusalem was built, the Ark of the Covenant was placed inside.