1/18/11 Lecture

Today we continued one of the major speculations discussed in the previous lecture regarding the Tel Dan Inscription. The Tel Dan Inscription is famous because it discussed the House of David. The existence of David, his reign, personality, morals, and life are very ambiguous and somewhat controversial. Professor Cargill was quick to note that this mention does not necessarily mean that he existed but that somebody was referred to as being in the House of David. There are also scholars who doubt that the Tel Dan Inscription is legitimate and some think it is fake. We also began to speculate over whether or not Warren's Shaft was engineered or whether it occurs naturally.

Next, we discussed the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant was considered a shrine to God and  was rumored to possess the Ten Commandments and plans for the temple to be built that was supposed to be built for the Ark. In addition, possession of the Ark was rumored to win battles, possess the presence of God and act as a portable "Axis Mundi." According to the Bible, God requested that David build a temple for the Ark and instead built himself a palace. The subsequent temple was then founded during the reign of Solomon, son of David. This officially brought the Ark to Jerusalem.