Are their non-biblical records that King David existed?

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Qeiyafa_western_gate1
Qeiyafa_western_gate1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Prior to the mid-1990s recovery of an Aramaic inscription at Tel Dan, no extrabiblical sources supported the existence of David. Fragments discovered near Israel’s northern border show that an Aramean king (ninth-eighth centuries BC) erected a monument boasting about his victory over the kings of Israel and “the house of David” (Ahituv, Echoes, 466–73). This may demonstrate that David lived and founded a dynasty which was referred to by one foreign king more than a century after David’s reign. However, Lemche challenges the reconstruction and authenticity of the inscription (Lemche, Israelites in History and Tradition, 39–43). He suggests that since “House of David” (Bēt Davîd) has no word dividers, it is better understood as a place name like Bethlehem or Beth-shean.

The discovery at Tel Dan led to the reexamination of other inscriptions with possible references to David. By restoring a missing letter in the Mesha Inscription (ninth century BC), it also includes “house of [D]avid” (Ahituv, Echoes, 389–418). Kitchen notes that an Egyptian list of places conquered in 926/925 BC includes “The heights of Dwt,” perhaps another reference to David (substituting “t” for “d” as was sometimes done) less than 50 years after David’s lifetime (Kitchen, Reliability, 93).

Mazar notes that some destructions levels at sites like Megiddo, Tel Qasile, and Rehov may reflect some of David’s conquests (Mazar, Archaeology, 371–75, 389–96). The substantial remains at Bethsaida, the capital of the lesser neighboring kingdom of Geshur, suggests a more substantial Israel (2 Sam 3:3). Recent excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa (possibly Shaaraim—1 Sam 17:52) may portray a substantial Israelite settlement from the time of David along the Philistine border. Barkay notes how Israelite culture transitioned during the monarchy to an urban culture with a capital city and royal cities (Barkay, “The Iron Age II—III,” 304).

The scarcity of remains from Israel’s capital during its supposed time of glory under David and Solomon argues against the biblical accounts. However, Jerusalem has been destroyed and rebuilt many times, and continuing habitation up to the present would naturally reduce the chances of finding remains from 3,000 years ago (Provan, Long, and Longman, Biblical History, 228–32). Mazar’s recent finds in the City of David, including a possible palace from the time of David, have renewed the debate (“King David’s Palace”).

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