{"id":56293,"date":"2025-11-23T07:00:25","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T12:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biblicalarchaeology.org\/?p=236"},"modified":"2025-11-23T11:38:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T16:38:56","slug":"the-tel-dan-inscription-the-first-historical-evidence-of-the-king-david-bible-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-artifacts\/the-tel-dan-inscription-the-first-historical-evidence-of-the-king-david-bible-story\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tel Dan Inscription: The First Historical Evidence of King David from the Bible"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_35785\" style=\"width: 270px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/tel-dan-stele.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-35785\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-35785 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/tel-dan-stele-260x228.jpg\" alt=\"tel-dan-stele\" width=\"260\" height=\"228\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 260px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 260\/228;\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-35785\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The fragmentary Tel Dan stela, containing the Tel Dan inscription (or &#8220;House of David&#8221; inscription) provided the first historical evidence of King David from the Bible. The Aramean king who erected the stela in the mid-eighth century B.C. claims to have defeated the \u201cking of Israel\u201d and the \u201cking of the House of David.\u201d <em>Photo: The Israel Museum, Jerusalem\/Israel Antiquities Authority (photograph by Meidad Suchowolski).<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p>Few modern Biblical archaeology discoveries have caused as much excitement as the Tel Dan inscription\u2014writing on a ninth-century B.C. stone slab (or stela) that furnished the first historical evidence of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-sites-places\/jerusalem\/did-i-find-king-davids-palace\/\">King David from the Bible<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Tel Dan inscription, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-artifacts\/inscriptions\/biblical-king-balak-mesha-stele\/\">\u201cHouse of David\u201d<\/a> inscription, was discovered in 1993 at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/dig\/tel-dan\/\">the site of Tel Dan<\/a> in northern Israel in an excavation directed by Israeli archaeologist Avraham Biran.<\/p>\n<p>The broken and fragmentary inscription commemorates the victory of an Aramean king over his two southern neighbors: the \u201cking of Israel\u201d and the \u201cking of the House of David.\u201d In the carefully incised text written in neat <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-artifacts\/dead-sea-scrolls\/aramaic-dead-sea-scrolls\/\">Aramaic<\/a> characters, the Aramean king boasts that he, under the divine guidance of the god Hadad, vanquished several thousand Israelite and Judahite horsemen and charioteers before personally dispatching both of his royal opponents. Unfortunately, the recovered fragments of the \u201cHouse of David\u201d inscription do not preserve the names of the specific kings involved in this brutal encounter, but most scholars believe the stela recounts a campaign of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/people-cultures-in-the-bible\/people-in-the-bible\/50-people-in-the-bible-confirmed-archaeologically\/\">Hazael of Damascus<\/a> in which he defeated both Jehoram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n\n\t\t<div id=\"mailing_list_ebook_page\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class='gravity_form_mailing_list'>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"downloadFormSec esolshortwrap\">\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-3 col-sm-3 mb-4 mb-md-0\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img data-src='https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/ten_top_discoveries_ebook.png' class='esolsetnewimg smush-dimensions lazyload' width='200' style='--smush-image-width: 200px; --smush-image-aspect-ratio: 200\/259;' src='data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg=='>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-9 col-sm-9\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-sm-12\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>FREE ebook: <strong>Ten Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries<\/strong>. Finds like the Pool of Siloam in Israel, where the Gospel of John says Jesus miraculously restored sight to a blind man.\r\n<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\nvar gform;gform||(document.addEventListener(\"gform_main_scripts_loaded\",function(){gform.scriptsLoaded=!0}),document.addEventListener(\"gform\/theme\/scripts_loaded\",function(){gform.themeScriptsLoaded=!0}),window.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){gform.domLoaded=!0}),gform={domLoaded:!1,scriptsLoaded:!1,themeScriptsLoaded:!1,isFormEditor:()=>\"function\"==typeof InitializeEditor,callIfLoaded:function(o){return!(!gform.domLoaded||!gform.scriptsLoaded||!gform.themeScriptsLoaded&&!gform.isFormEditor()||(gform.isFormEditor()&&console.warn(\"The use of gform.initializeOnLoaded() is deprecated in the form editor context and will be removed in Gravity Forms 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\"gform_visibility_test_3\" );        let postRenderFired = false;        function triggerPostRender() {            if ( postRenderFired ) {                return;            }            postRenderFired = true;            gform.core.triggerPostRenderEvents( 3, current_page );            if ( visibilityTestDiv ) {                visibilityTestDiv.parentNode.removeChild( visibilityTestDiv );            }        }        function debounce( func, wait, immediate ) {            var timeout;            return function() {                var context = this, args = arguments;                var later = function() {                    timeout = null;                    if ( !immediate ) func.apply( context, args );                };                var callNow = immediate && !timeout;                clearTimeout( timeout );                timeout = setTimeout( later, wait );                if ( callNow ) func.apply( context, args );            };        }        const debouncedTriggerPostRender = debounce( function() {            triggerPostRender();        }, 200 );        if ( visibilityTestDiv && visibilityTestDiv.offsetParent === null ) {            const observer = new MutationObserver( ( mutations ) => {                mutations.forEach( ( mutation ) => {                    if ( mutation.type === 'attributes' && visibilityTestDiv.offsetParent !== null ) {                        debouncedTriggerPostRender();                        observer.disconnect();                    }                });            });            observer.observe( document.body, {                attributes: true,                childList: false,                subtree: true,                attributeFilter: [ 'style', 'class' ],            });        } else {            triggerPostRender();        }    } );} ); \n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\t\t<!-- download link -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div id=\"eBook_download_link\" name=\"eBook_download_link\">\n\n\t\t\t<button onclick=\"location.href='https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/ten_top_biblical_archaeology_discoveries.pdf'\">DOWNLOAD EBOOK<\/button>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<hr \/>\n<p>What made the Tel Dan inscription one of the most exciting Biblical archaeology discoveries for scholars and the broader public was its unprecedented reference to the \u201cHouse of David.\u201d The stela\u2019s fragmented inscription, first read and translated by the renowned epigrapher Joseph Naveh, proved that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-sites-places\/biblical-archaeology-sites\/george-washington-and-king-david\/\">King David<\/a> from the Bible was a genuine historical figure and not simply the fantastic literary creation of later Biblical writers and editors. Perhaps more important, the stela, set up by one of ancient Israel\u2019s fiercest enemies more than a century after David\u2019s death, still recognized David as the founder of the kingdom of Judah.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cHouse of David\u201d inscription had its skeptics, however, especially the so-called Biblical minimalists, who attempted to dismiss the \u201cHouse of David\u201d reading as implausible and even sensationalistic. In a <a href=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/article\/house-of-david-built-on-sand-the-sins-of-the-biblical-maximizers\/\">famous <strong>BAR<\/strong> article<\/a>, Philip Davies argued that the Hebrew term <em>bytdwd<\/em> referred to a specific place (akin to <em>bytlhm<\/em> for Bethlehem) rather than the ancestral dynasty of David. Such skepticism aside, however, most Biblical scholars and archaeologists readily accepted that the Tel Dan stela had supplied the first concrete proof of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-sites-places\/jerusalem\/king-davids-palace-and-the-millo\/\">a historical King David<\/a> from the Bible, making it one of the top Biblical archaeology discoveries reported in <strong>BAR<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Even though the \u201cHouse of David\u201d inscription has confirmed the essential historicity of King David from the Bible, scholars have reached little consensus about the nature and extent of his rule. Was David the great king of Biblical lore who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-sites-places\/jerusalem\/the-interrupted-search-for-king-davids-palace\/\">founded his royal capital at Jerusalem<\/a> and established an Israelite kingdom? Or was David a ruler of only a tribal chiefdom, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/reviews\/divided-kingdom-united-critics\/\">as Israel Finkelstein of Tel Aviv University contends<\/a>? Questions like these often arise from Biblical archaeology discoveries and lie at the heart of the complex relationships among archaeology, history and the Bible.<\/p>\n<hr style=\"width: 33%;\" \/>\n<p><small>Based on \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/article\/ten-top-discoveries\/\">Issue 200: Ten Top Discoveries<\/a>,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/issue\/july-august-september-october-2009\/\"><em>Biblical Archaeology Review<\/em>, July\/August September\/October 2009<\/a>. This Bible History Daily feature was originally published in 2011.<\/small><\/p>\n<hr \/><h3 style=\"color: red; margin: 0px 0px 0px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-align: center; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 0px;\">Become a BAS All-Access Member\u00a0Now!<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"line-height: 22px; font-size: 14px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0 0 5px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 10px\">Read <i>Biblical Archaeology Review<\/i> online, explore 50 years of <b>BAR<\/b>, watch videos, attend talks, and more<\/p>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/subscribe-new?utm_term=W26009B0\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-53973 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/57;border: none;\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/button-all-access-pass.jpg\" alt=\"access\" width=\"300\" height=\"57\" border=\"0\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/button-all-access-pass.jpg 376w, https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/wp-content\/smush-avif\/2019\/04\/button-all-access-pass-300x57.jpg.avif 300w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-original-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-smush-avif-fallback=\"{&quot;data-srcset&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/button-all-access-pass.jpg 376w, https:\\\/\\\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/button-all-access-pass-300x57.jpg 300w&quot;}\" \/><\/a><hr \/>\n<h4 style=\"margin-bottom:1em;\">Related reading in <em>Bible History Daily<\/em><\/h4>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"8RE2lmTDVp\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/archaeology-today\/the-renewed-excavations-at-tel-dan\/\">The Renewed Excavations at Tel Dan<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;The Renewed Excavations at Tel Dan&#8221; &#8212; Biblical Archaeology Society\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/archaeology-today\/the-renewed-excavations-at-tel-dan\/embed\/#?secret=nrKzBZu3LW#?secret=8RE2lmTDVp\" data-secret=\"8RE2lmTDVp\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"TVKnVuGFOp\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/hebrew-bible\/did-i-find-king-davids-palace\/\">Did I Find King David&#8217;s Palace?<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Did I Find King David&#8217;s Palace?&#8221; &#8212; Biblical Archaeology Society\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/hebrew-bible\/did-i-find-king-davids-palace\/embed\/#?secret=Xz0kq9J7sQ#?secret=TVKnVuGFOp\" data-secret=\"TVKnVuGFOp\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"G3nFID6sXX\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/news\/biblical-king-balak-mesha-stele\/\">Scholars Identify Biblical King Balak on the Mesha Stele<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Scholars Identify Biblical King Balak on the Mesha Stele&#8221; &#8212; Biblical Archaeology Society\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/news\/biblical-king-balak-mesha-stele\/embed\/#?secret=FpGu3lioWq#?secret=G3nFID6sXX\" data-secret=\"G3nFID6sXX\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"AZp20yUp2f\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-artifacts\/dead-sea-scrolls\/aramaic-dead-sea-scrolls\/\">The Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;The Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls&#8221; &#8212; Biblical Archaeology Society\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-artifacts\/dead-sea-scrolls\/aramaic-dead-sea-scrolls\/embed\/#?secret=D4RBSjTTDP#?secret=AZp20yUp2f\" data-secret=\"AZp20yUp2f\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Qz8DTVxiqr\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/people-cultures-in-the-bible\/people-in-the-bible\/50-people-in-the-bible-confirmed-archaeologically\/\">53 People in the Bible Confirmed Archaeologically<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;53 People in the Bible Confirmed Archaeologically&#8221; &#8212; Biblical Archaeology Society\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/people-cultures-in-the-bible\/people-in-the-bible\/50-people-in-the-bible-confirmed-archaeologically\/embed\/#?secret=MRiYJJEp34#?secret=Qz8DTVxiqr\" data-secret=\"Qz8DTVxiqr\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"aj5GLx6yIU\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-sites-places\/biblical-archaeology-sites\/george-washington-and-king-david\/\">George Washington and King David<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;George Washington and King David&#8221; &#8212; Biblical Archaeology Society\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-sites-places\/biblical-archaeology-sites\/george-washington-and-king-david\/embed\/#?secret=2EHdQ4MrEB#?secret=aj5GLx6yIU\" data-secret=\"aj5GLx6yIU\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"706JkCJP70\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-sites-places\/jerusalem\/king-davids-palace-and-the-millo\/\">King David\u2019s Palace and the Millo<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;King David\u2019s Palace and the Millo&#8221; &#8212; Biblical Archaeology Society\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-sites-places\/jerusalem\/king-davids-palace-and-the-millo\/embed\/#?secret=YfEOBP04ep#?secret=706JkCJP70\" data-secret=\"706JkCJP70\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"margin: 2em 0;\">All-Access members, read more in the <em>BAS Library<\/em><\/h4>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"s2jCKr0mYE\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/article\/david-found-at-dan\/\">\u201cDavid\u201d Found at Dan<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;\u201cDavid\u201d Found at Dan&#8221; &#8212; The BAS Library\" src=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/article\/david-found-at-dan\/embed\/#?secret=HplrUmFEjD#?secret=s2jCKr0mYE\" data-secret=\"s2jCKr0mYE\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"RHN9psp1P7\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/article\/house-of-david-built-on-sand-the-sins-of-the-biblical-maximizers\/\">\u201cHouse of David\u201d Built on Sand: The Sins of the Biblical Maximizers<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;\u201cHouse of David\u201d Built on Sand: The Sins of the Biblical Maximizers&#8221; &#8212; The BAS Library\" src=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/article\/house-of-david-built-on-sand-the-sins-of-the-biblical-maximizers\/embed\/#?secret=HaWFwicRUT#?secret=RHN9psp1P7\" data-secret=\"RHN9psp1P7\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Antk4xqN7Q\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/article\/house-of-david-is-there\/\">\u201cHouse of David\u201d Is There!<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;\u201cHouse of David\u201d Is There!&#8221; &#8212; The BAS Library\" src=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/article\/house-of-david-is-there\/embed\/#?secret=ufAuNuccVp#?secret=Antk4xqN7Q\" data-secret=\"Antk4xqN7Q\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"2xdgPRf8L6\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/department\/archaeological-views-letting-david-go\/\">Archaeological Views: Letting David Go<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Archaeological Views: Letting David Go&#8221; &#8212; The BAS Library\" src=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/department\/archaeological-views-letting-david-go\/embed\/#?secret=MCqjA7bQAW#?secret=2xdgPRf8L6\" data-secret=\"2xdgPRf8L6\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"v2Fv6OQXn4\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/department\/a-house-divided-davies-and-maeir-on-the-tel-dan-stela\/\">A House Divided: Davies and Maeir on the Tel Dan Stela<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;A House Divided: Davies and Maeir on the Tel Dan Stela&#8221; &#8212; The BAS Library\" src=\"https:\/\/library.biblicalarchaeology.org\/department\/a-house-divided-davies-and-maeir-on-the-tel-dan-stela\/embed\/#?secret=Fo61jDoS0p#?secret=v2Fv6OQXn4\" data-secret=\"v2Fv6OQXn4\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin:2em 0;\">\n<p><strong>Not a <em>BAS<\/em> Library or All-Access Member yet? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/subscribe-new\/?utm_term=W26009B0\">Join today.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Few modern Biblical archaeology discoveries have attracted as much attention as the Tel Dan inscription\u2014writing on a ninth-century B.C. stone slab (or stela) that furnished the first historical evidence of King David from the Bible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":35785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[378,368,391,371,395],"tags":[31,32,33,34,315,36,118,38,40,1351,1356,1480,1572,229,1653,1654,42,43,197,45,47,12,2338,131,2482,111,301,251,171,3609,3620,4403,4462,4463,175,60,177,5906,5940,5949,143,6230,65,6876,6894,73,123,182,8085,8099,9026,346,86,189,12146,190,12147,160,12780,96,12905,12932,13186,13516],"class_list":["post-56293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artifacts-and-the-bible","category-biblical-artifacts","category-inscriptions","category-people-cultures-in-the-bible","category-people-in-the-bible","tag-ancient-israel","tag-antiquities","tag-antiquities-authority","tag-aramaic","tag-archaeological-excavation","tag-archaeologist","tag-archaeologists","tag-archaeology-discoveries","tag-archaeology-review","tag-archaeology-sites","tag-archaeology-today-2","tag-avraham-biran","tag-bas-library","tag-bethlehem","tag-bib-arch","tag-bib-arch-org","tag-bible-history","tag-bible-history-daily","tag-bible-scholars","tag-biblical-arch","tag-biblical-archaeology-discoveries","tag-biblical-archaeology-review","tag-biblical-archaeology-sites","tag-biblical-archaeology-society","tag-biblical-lore","tag-biblical-scholar","tag-biblical-scholars","tag-biblical-sites","tag-city-of-david","tag-david-from-the-bible","tag-david-noel-freedman","tag-eilat-mazar","tag-ephraim","tag-ephraim-stern","tag-evidence-of-king-david","tag-hebrew","tag-historical-evidence-of-king-david","tag-historical-king-david","tag-historicity-of-king-david","tag-history-and-the-bible","tag-holy-land","tag-house-of-david-inscription","tag-israel-antiquities-authority","tag-israel-finkelstein","tag-israel-museum-jerusalem-israel","tag-jerusalem-2","tag-judah","tag-king-david","tag-king-david-from-the-bible","tag-king-davids-palace","tag-millo","tag-philip","tag-tel-aviv","tag-tel-dan","tag-tel-dan-inscription","tag-tel-dan-stela","tag-tel-dan-stele","tag-the-holy-land","tag-the-house-of-david-inscription","tag-the-israel-museum","tag-the-millo","tag-the-new-encyclopedia-of-archaeological-excavations-in-the-holy-land","tag-the-tel-dan-inscription","tag-top-biblical-archaeology-discoveries"],"acf":[],"nelio_content":{"autoShareEndMode":"never","automationSources":{"useCustomSentences":false,"customSentences":[]},"efiAlt":"","efiUrl":"","followers":[50],"highlights":[],"isAutoShareEnabled":true,"networkImageIds":[],"permalinkQueryArgs":[],"series":[],"suggestedReferences":[]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.0 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Tel Dan Inscription: The First Historical Evidence of King David from the Bible - Biblical Archaeology Society<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why is the Tel Dan Inscription regarded as the first historical evidence for King David? Learn how this discovery, referencing the \u201cHouse of David,\u201d reshaped debates about David\u2019s historicity and the early kingdom of Judah.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-artifacts\/the-tel-dan-inscription-the-first-historical-evidence-of-the-king-david-bible-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Tel Dan Inscription: The First Historical Evidence of King David from the Bible\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Few modern Biblical archaeology discoveries have attracted as much attention as the Tel Dan inscription\u2014writing on a ninth-century B.C. stone slab (or stela) that furnished the first historical evidence of King David from the Bible.\" \/>\n<meta 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