{"id":66469,"date":"2021-08-12T23:30:51","date_gmt":"2021-08-13T03:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/?p=66469"},"modified":"2025-11-03T02:14:42","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T07:14:42","slug":"the-destruction-of-philistine-gath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/the-destruction-of-philistine-gath\/","title":{"rendered":"The Destruction of Philistine Gath"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Aren<\/a>

Archaeologist Aren Maeir excavating ceramics destroyed around 830 B.C.E. during the Aramean siege of Philistine Gath. Photo courtesy of Aren Maier.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Recent excavations by Bar-Ilan University, led by Dr. Aren Maeir<\/a>, have shed new light on the destruction of biblical Gath, the Philistine city famously home to Goliath. The team, which has been digging at Gath<\/a> (modern Tell es-Safi) for 25 seasons, has repeatedly uncovered evidence of large-scale destruction across the entire tell. This destruction is firmly connected to the ninth-century B.C.E. campaign of Hazael, king of Aram Damascus, as mentioned in 2 Kings 12:17.<\/p>\n\n\t\t

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

FREE ebook: The Holy Bible: A Buyer's Guide<\/strong> 42 different Bible versions, addressing content, text, style and religious orientation.\r\n<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t