20. Despite serving as one of the key protagonists of the Old Testament, the historical existence of King David long remained in doubt
Although appearing as one of the more prominent figures of the Old Testament, famed for slaying Goliath, becoming ruler of the Kingdom of Israel, and fathering Soloman, the historicity of King David remained a matter of dispute for centuries. Lacking any direct evidence of his existence, outside of the Bible itself, historical opinion coalesced around the ancient monarch as an apocryphal figure. That is until, as recently as 1993, the Tel Dan Stele – a broken stone slab bearing an inscription – was discovered by archaeologists in northern Israel carrying the earliest known reference to the Judaic monarch.
Dating to the late-9th or early-8th centuries BCE, the inscribed stone monument commemorates the victory of a king of Damascus over two rival enemies. Contained within the celebratory praise, archaeologists identified the phrase, once translated: “House of David”. Whilst some scholars have challenged the resultant interpretation, most historians have accepted this inscription as proof that a royal house bearing the biblical character’s name did indeed exist in the Ancient Near East. However, it should be noted that historians continue to dispute the existence of a united monarchy of the Kingdom of Israel under King David as depicted in the bible.