A House Divided: Davies and Maeir on the Tel Dan Stela

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In 993, the famous BYTDWD (Beyt David; House of David) inscription was discovered at Tel Dan in an excavation led by Israeli archaeologist Avraham Biran. This was the first time the name David had been found in the archaeological record. Accordingly, a powerful argument of the so-called Biblical minimalists, who doubted the very existence of David, was blown to smithereeens. For a long time the minimalists argued that BYTDWD did not mean House of David but could be a place name or be translated house of “uncle,” “beloved” or “kettle”—and even that it might be a forgery. These arguments […]

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Endnotes

Philip R. Davies, “The Beginnings of the Kingdom of Judah,” in Lester L. Grabbe, ed., Israel in Transition (New York: T & T Clark, 2010).

Aren Maeir, review of Lester L. Grabbe, ed., Israel in Transition 2: From Late Bronze II to Iron IIA (c. 1250–850 BCE): The Texts, Review of Biblical Literature [http://www.bookreviews.org] (2012).