The confusion comes from an enigmatic verse from Samuel 2. “The site has classical features, such as Greek columns that have nothing to do with Absalom, who lived about a thousand years earlier.”

Jerusalem is crisscrossed with dozens of Jewish and Christian sites that have nothing to do with their names. For example, the red haired King David did not build the Tower of David, Hezekiah never bathed in Hezekiah’s pool, and the wise king’s horses were not kept in Solomon’s stables on the Temple Mount.

So whose fault is this historical confusion? “This comes from a strong desire of people in later times to see the places mentioned in the Bible,” explains Professor Barkay from Bar Ilan University. “We are talking about folk traditions that are not related to scientific research. These things are self-evident, and also happened among Christians who relied on traditions that have nothing to do with historical or archaeological reality.”

Historical confusion from the book of Samuel – Professor Barkay will reveal the full study tomorrow (Thursday), as part of the 14th Conference of City of David Studies in Jerusalem. Barkay, one of the most experienced archaeologists in Israel, has been involved in the field for more than 40 years, and among other things, he uncovered the silver Priestly Blessing scrolls in the Ketef Hinnom excavation.

  • Yad Absalom (Photo: Kobi Harathi)