Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH):

What Lies Hidden in the Tomb of David?

by David Sielaff

Josephus mentions silver, other money or valuables, gilded furniture, and “precious goods” (Antiquities 16:181) in the sepulcher of David, along with the bodies. There is good reason to believe there might be other valuable items inside as well. Let us examine these and other possibilities of what might be in the Tombs. The possibilities are fascinating but keep in mind that they are speculative.

Gold and Silver?

The raw materials that David gathered as King of Israel and Judah for the Temple are discussed in 1 Chronicles 29:2. David contributed a substantial quantity of his own personal wealth to the project (verses 29:3–5). He then challenged the leaders of Israel to contribute materials for the Temple, and they responded generously (verses 29:5–8). Finally the people gave an unspecified amount (verse 29:9). According to the Jewish historian Josephus, King David collected for God’s Temple as much as 10,000 talents of gold and 100,000 talents of silver (Antiquities of the Jews 7.340), and that is at a conservative understanding of 48 pounds per talent. Solomon did not use all that gold and silver. A great deal of it was buried with David, as Josephus relates:

“He [David] also left behind him greater wealth than any other king, either of the Hebrews or of other nations, ever did....moreover he [David] had great and immense wealth buried with him, the vastness of which may be easily conjectured at by what I shall now say; for a 1,300 years afterward, Hyrcanus the High Priest, when he was besieged by Antiochus,...opened one room of David’s sepulcher, and took out 3,000 talents, and gave part of that sum to Antiochus” (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 7:391–392).

David was buried with more wealth than any other king in history, up to that time. Hyrcanus took out 3,000 talents of silver (again, at 48 pounds per talent). Herod the Great also took “treasure” from the Tomb of David, although he did not reach the chamber with the bodies (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 7:394). There was much more still in the Tomb. Analysis done by Gary Arvidson shows there should be a considerable amount of gold and silver remaining in the Tomb of David, perhaps billions of dollars worth. Everyone should understand, however, that the gold and silver is YHVH’s, given through David, and it would be the property of the government of Israel. However, there would be no possibility or concern about the tomb being raided by poachers. Hyrcanus and Herod both failed to reach the bodies, and they had the resources of their empires at their disposal.

Physical “Throne of David”?

David’s son Solomon sat on the throne of David: “Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly” (1 Kings 2:12). There is no doubt he did this literally (1 Kings 2:19). Solomon performed this act to show his physical occupation of the chair, the throne, but also to show that Solomon ruled in place of David. Later Solomon had his own physical throne constructed. He used it instead of David’s throne. The throne is described in detail:

“Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold. The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays. And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom” (1 Kings 10:18–20).

Solomon put his throne in his palace and built a raised porch to put the throne upon (1 Kings 7:1–7). The question must be asked: if Solomon had a new physical throne built for himself, with great glory and splendor, what then was done with David’s physical throne? Would it have been destroyed? Would it have been thrown in the trash? Would it have been used like any other chair? No. David’s physical throne likely would have been put in David’s “house,” his Tomb. A psalm of David included into the Book of Psalms by Hezekiah, Psalm 122, specifically states that there are multiple “thrones” of the house of David.

“I was glad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’…For there are set thrones [plural] of judgment, the thrones [plural] of the house of David” (Psalm 122:1, 5).

That throne is in the House of David. It is within the sepulcher of David.

Writings?

The discovery of written documents, whether on tablets or more perishable material, is the greatest aspiration of every archaeologist. Any find of written documents from the time of King David contained within the Tombs would be a discovery of the highest order. Very few written documents of any size from ancient Palestine exist anywhere, outside of those preserved in the Holy Scriptures. A major find of documents would increase considerably our vocabulary of ancient Hebrew.

There are a surprising number of Hebrew words in Scripture that occur only once. When that is the case, translators of the Old Testament simply have insufficient context to determine the true meaning of those once-used words. This is because the meaning of a word is determined by the words around it. The more words occur, the more context there is to determine the precise meaning of a word.

Those translations of once-used words are speculative at best, and may be completely wrong, even when hints and suggestions that can be gleaned from later Jewish writings and the Greek Old Testament (the LXX). These hints were themselves written sometimes a thousand years after the original was written. Job and the Song of Songs have the largest number of words used only once in Scripture. This means that portions of the texts of those books may be misinterpreted.

Writings found within the Tomb of David would increase and perhaps multiply our understanding of ancient Hebrew, and ultimately the meaning of important Scriptures, particularly prophetic Scriptures. God communicates to His people through His word and it is important -- especially in the decades before Christ returns -- that we understand His words and His message. Let us inquire about the possible writings that may be in the Tombs of King David.

Psalms of David?

The Psalms of David were important to the life of Israel and to the Temple. David himself composed much of the prose of the Psalms. Many of the Psalms were set to music that he may have written, and he established the procedures for the music for the Temple rituals, particularly for the feast days when Israel would gather. These were followed by Solomon.

Would the original compositions of those Psalms and procedures be discarded? Perhaps they were kept in the Temple, but just maybe they were buried with the composer and writer. We know that music was very important to David. There may be instruments and documents that give clues to help us understand the music of the ancient Israelite kingdom, information that could be useful in the Temple to be constructed after Christ’s return.

Songs of Solomon?

If Solomon is buried with David as Josephus indicates, and if there are written documents in with the Tombs of David, then there likely will be writings of Solomon also.

“And he spoke three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springs out of the wall: he spoke also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes” (1 Kings 4:32–33).

Of Solomon’s 3,000 proverbs, not all are contained in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Of the 1,005 songs he is reported to have written, we have only one (Song of Songs 1:1). Solomon’s proverbs, songs, and writings of natural observation, that today we call science, might also be in the Tombs with Solomon.

The “Pattern” of the Temple?

David was given a pattern of the Temple by God Himself. That pattern was given in writing. Again, refer to my article “The Pattern of the Temple” at http://www.askelm.com/temple/t031102.htm.

“‘All this,’ said David, ‘the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern’” (1 Chronicles 28:19).

That writing was the pattern of the Temple as described in 1 Chronicles 28:11–19. What happened to that pattern after the Temple was constructed by Solomon? What would you do with an object given to Israel by God Himself, in His own handwriting?

Such a document is similar in importance to the tables of stone given to Moses. They also were written by the hand of God (Exodus 24:12, 31:18, 32:15–16; Deuteronomy 5:22; Hebrews 8:5), and placed within the Ark of the Covenant. Is it reasonable to think that the “pattern” of the Temple would have been buried with the man who received it, after its usefulness was done?

The impact of this discovery of the pattern of the Temple (whatever that “pattern” might be), would be incredible, even for those who would not believe it was written by God Himself. It would give to scholars and all believers in God important details -- in writing -- about the Temple and the Israelite kingdom.

Court Histories and Records?

In King David’s court detailed records were kept by officials of David’s kingdom (Solomon’s also). The existence of those detailed records is recorded for us in Scripture. The books are named with titles and the subjects within them are indicated. I have set out the verse in an outline manner for clarity:

“Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book [history] of Samuel the seer, and in the book [history] of Nathan the prophet, and in the book [history] of Gad the seer, With all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries” (1 Chronicles 29:29–30).

The Hebrew term dabar in Hebrew means “word,” but it also can mean “book” and even “history,” and it is translated that way in many versions. Certainly a compiled set of records could be called by either of the latter terms. The books by the three authors contain information about David’s acts during his 40 years reign as king. They also tell about the great deeds, (“his might”) that he did whether personally or as the leader of Israel and Judah, probably during his entire life. For example, the song about Saul and David may be contained in those writings (1 Samuel 18:6–7).

The books also relate about what happened when (“the time that went”) in history. This likely means that the accounts in the books give the events in sequence and how those events relate to other kingdoms, nations, and peoples. This means that chronologies of ancient history up to the death of King David could be understood with precision. This is important because little is known outside of Scripture about the world outside Israel and Judah during this period of the United Kingdom. This has implications for the kingdoms of Hatti (the Hittites), Assyria, and even Babylon which were not yet powerful.

Egyptian history could be coordinated with the Bible. That is not the case at present. As Dr. Martin wrote in his 1981 article “The Importance of Egyptian History”:

“The way to come to a proper knowledge of the history of Egypt, in my view, is to first of all to be certain that we understand what was happening in Palestine, in the land of Canaan from the time of the flood of Noah right on through until historical times come along which we can be pretty well assured of. If you can understand the history of central Palestine, and Isaiah said Israel is placed in the middle of everything, then we should be able to understand what is happening on the flanks of Israel.”

The mention in such documents of the Hebrew name of just one pharaoh (and there should be several mentioned) that could be identified from the Egyptian dynastic lists would revolutionize Egyptian and all of ancient history. At present there is a 400 to 600 year mismatch between biblical history and Egyptian history that has evaded any attempts to reconcile the two, according to accepted traditional scholarship. It is my belief that “suddenly” the misunderstood Egyptian chronology and history would coordinate positively to the biblical record. Ancient history would suddenly “make sense” to scholars around the world. Events in one kingdom could be understood as having an impact upon another kingdom. A drought in one place would have an impact upon another place.

Finding these books within the Tomb of David would be a major breakthrough in understanding what the events in Palestine at that period of history. Even more important, as we approach the end times, it is vital that we have an accurate grasp of ancient history, to better understand the prophecies in the Bible in the time of David. Such knowledge would be informative for the great and sweeping prophecies that come after David. Such a discovery would show that the Bible is the basis for history of the ancient world, and that it is the standard to which all historical writings of the ancient world must compare. The Bible is accurate.

David’s Book of the Law?

Finally, we come to the most amazing possible discovery of all. A passage in Deuteronomy chapter 17 talks about the Torah being copied (written down) by each new king:

“When he [a new king] sits upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law [torah] in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:…to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel” (Deuteronomy 17:18–20).

This means the first five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. It is conjecture whether this unbelievably valuable writing is even in the Tomb of David, but there is reason for the speculation: If each new king was instructed to write out a copy of the law, can we expect that such a command would be followed by the righteous kings of Judah? Yes. Would David have followed this command of Deuteronomy? Again the answer is yes. David took the Law of the LORD very seriously:

“Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law does he meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:1–2).

“The law [torah] of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes” (Psalm 19:7–8).

I ask the question: If David did copy the Law given to him by “the priests, the Levites” (cf. Deuteronomy 31:9, 25–26), what happened to that copy after David died? Would it have been thrown in the trash? Or, just maybe, would that copy of the Law that David loved, written by David himself, be placed with his body in the “house” made by God -- waiting -- within the Tomb of David to be discovered?

The Mishnah (the book of Jewish oral tradition and ritual, written down post-70 C.E.) states that no Scriptures can be thrown away or burned, they must be stored or hidden (Mishnah Shabbath 9.6, 16.1). Does this tradition date far back to David’s time, or did it even originate with David? We cannot know. However, burial of the king’s personal copy of the Law would be an excellent solution.

If David’s personal copy of the Law would be in the Tomb of David, it would be the single most remarkable historical event this side of the resurrection and ascension of Christ. Can you imagine the impact on the world? The discovery of a genuine copy of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy all written in the old Hebrew text. And the words would be written in King David’s own hand.

Many would consider the amazing discovery of the Tombs of David as a miraculous act of God, and they would be correct! Many would feel that God was sending them a message to change their lives, that He will soon be active in the world, and that God is revealing His Word to them after 3,000 years, starting with the Law of Moses.

The contents of the House of David might contain such wondrous things (primarily writings confirming Scripture) that the world would suddenly seek God and a no-nonsense, truthful Gospel preached about Him. No one would doubt the authenticity of artifacts within the Tomb. Those most in awe would be the archaeologists, scientists, and scholars themselves! An original copy of the Law of Moses buried for 3,000 years waiting to be discovered intact with David’s body, which would be preserved but with corruption (Acts 13:36).

The Gospel at the Time of the End

Often the small things are misplaced. It is interesting that one small fact has been forgotten by most students of prophecy. The preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God in the period before Christ’s Second Coming shall follow the same process as it did in the 1st century C.E. The final and future preaching of the Gospel will not begin in America, or England, or continental Europe. It will not begin from the evangelical churches of those nations or churches from East Asia or Africa. The final preaching of the Gospel at the end of the age shall begin where it began in the time of the apostles -- from Jerusalem!

It makes sense, of course, because Jerusalem is where the preaching should begin. That is where the apostles were located. They were instructed to remain in Jerusalem to receive the holy spirit (Luke 24:49–53; Acts 1:4–5), and they did so. The preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God began from Jerusalem after the grace of God’s holy spirit fell upon the apostles and many, many of the people.

The final preaching of repentance and remission of sins shall also begin from Jerusalem. Remember that the law shall proceed from Jerusalem: “…for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Micah 4:2), and “for out of [from] Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3), exactly from where the apostles began their ministry after that most important Pentecost of 31 C.E.

From the Editor:

(After the Messiah's future appearance the Tomb of David will be located and all the above-mentioned items retrieved. The great wealth in gold and silver that remains in the Tomb will be used in the construction of the new Temple and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. I believe that this Temple will far surpass those of Solomon and Herod in beauty and magnificence -- a residence fit for two Kings, YEHOVAH God and His Messiah! In Haggai 2:9 we read: "The glory of this latter house [Temple] shall be greater than of the former says the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, says the LORD of hosts." Comments Gary Arvidson, "Could it be that part of the original wealth David received was stored in such a way that it could be used for a latter Temple? This is the Temple that has not yet been built" (In Search of: King David's Lost Tomb & Treasure, p. 127. )