Khirbet Qeiyafa identified with Biblical Sha’arayim

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced this week that archeologists working at the Khirbet Qeiyafa dig in the Elah Valley, where David fought Goliath as recorded in the Book of I Samuel, have uncovered a ceramic jar with an inscription including the name “Eshba’al Ben Shaul” in ancient Canaanite script. The 3,000 year old jar was broken into several shards when it was discovered in 2012 by a team led by Prof. Yosef Garfinkel of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University and Saar Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority. After intensive work to restore the artifact, including gluing together hundreds of small shards, the inscription became apparent. Professors Garfinkel and Ganor explained that “Eshba’al was murdered by assassins and decapitated and his head was brought to David in Hebron (II Samuel, Chaps. 3-4).”

“It is interesting to note that the name Eshba’al appears in the Bible, and now also in the archaeological record, only during the reign of King David, in the first half of the tenth century BCE,” he continued. “This name was not used later in the First Temple period. The correlation between the biblical tradition and the archaeological finds indicates this was a common name only during that period. The name Beda’ is unique and does not occur in ancient inscriptions or in the biblical tradition…In II Samuel there was apparently reluctance to use the name Eshba’al, which was reminiscent of the Canaanite storm god Ba’al, and the original name was therefore changed to Ish-Bashat, but the original name of Eshba’al was preserved in the Book of Chronicles. Thus, for example, the name of the warlord Gideon Ben Joash was also changed from Jerrubaal to Jerubesheth.”

The archeologists further postulated that the jar discovered with this name was used to transport agricultural products such as olive oil, and the name’s being stamped on such a container suggests that he was a wealthy merchant with many such containers needing to be kept track of.

Khirbet Qeiyafa is identified with the biblical city Sha’arayim. The site has been extensively excavated over several digging seasons, uncovering evidence of settlement from at least the time of King David. In 2008, the world’s earliest Hebrew inscription was uncovered there.