Ok, right off the bat, we know this. I Sam. 8:5 tells us that kingship came to Israel because the people wanted it. We also know that with king comes higher taxes, a draft, military appropriations of private property, working for the government without pay, etc. Saul was the first king of Israel and built a fortress at Gibeah. This site has been excavated and one of the most noteworthy finds was that of slingshots. Judges 20:16 says that there were 700 expert slingers in Israel who "could sling a stone at a hair and not miss." This also coincides with David killing Goliath with a slingshot.
At Saul's death, Samuel tells us that his armor was put in the temple of Ashtaroth ( a Canaanite fertility goddess) at Bethshan. Chronicles says that his head was put in the temple of Dagon, the Philistine corn god. This was once thought to be an error because it seemed unlikely that enemy peoples would have temples in the same place at the same time. Excavations, however, have shown there to be two temples at this site. They are separated by a hallway; one for Dagon, and the other for Ashtaroth.
ONe of the key accomplishments of David's reign was the capture of Jerusalem. The Scriptures say that the Israelites entered the city by way of a tunnel that led to the Pool of Siloam. This was a problem because for a long time it was thought that the pool was outside the city walls at that time. In the 1960's, however, excavations determined that the walls did indeed extend beyond the pool.
We have some evidence of Solomon's Temple. It is a small ornament, a pomegranate, that sat on the end of a rod and bears the inscription "Belonging to the Temple of Yahweh." It was first seen in a shop in Jerusalem in 1979. It was verified in 1984. It has resided in the Israel Museum since 1988.
I Kings 9:16 tells us "For Pharoah king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer, and burned it with fire, and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife." Why is this significant? Because in 1969 during an excavation of Gezer there was found a massive layer of ash that covered most of the mound. While sifting through the ash, Hevrew, Egyptian and Philistine artifacts were found, indicating that all three cultures had been there at the same time. This puzzled researchers, but the Bible tells us it was so.
The Bible tells us that the Assyrian Empire conquerd the Northern Kingdom (Israel)of Israel. We know a lot about the Assyrians because of 26000 tablets found in the palace of Ashurbanipal, the son of Esarhaddon who had taken Israel in 722 B.C. Every reference to an Assyrian king in the Old Testament had proven correct. One of the most interesting finds is Sennacherib's record of the siege of Jerusalem. Isaiah foretold that he would be unable to take Jerusalem. However, Sennacherib found a way to make himself look good even in defeat:
quote:
As to Hezekia, the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke, I laid siege to 46 of his strong cities, walled forts, and to the countless small villages in their vicinity...I drove out of them 200,150 people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, big and small cattle beyond counting and considered (them) booty. Himself, I made a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage.
2 Kings 25:27-30 tells us that Jehoiachin who was taken captive to Babylon was treated well in captivity. Records found in Babylon's famous Hanging Gardens show that Jehoiachin and his five sons were being given a monthly ration and place to live and were treated well. The name Belshazzar had once caused problems because there was not only no mention of him, but there was no room for him in the list of Babylonian kings. However, Nabodonius left a record that he appointed his son, Belshazzar, to reign a few years in his absence. This explains why Belshazzar could only make Daniel third highest ruler in the land.
There is much more, but this will do for now.
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