The City of David & the Kidron Valley

If you have even a fleeting interest in the biblical history of Jerusalem, the City of David is a logical place to begin, since this is where the city did. The quest for the origins of biblical Jerusalem has been going on since 1850 and only recently have the pieces of the puzzle begun to fit together. Archeologists confirm that the ridge of Ophel-south of the Temple Mount and outside the city walls-is the site of the Canaanite city captured by King David.

Excavations of the earliest Canaanite walls indicate that the Jebusites were confined to an area of about eight acres. The size and location of the city above the Kidron Valley were precisely chosen so that the inhabitants would have access to the nearby water source (the Gihon Spring) and at the same time remain high enough on the Ophel’s ridge to ensure adequate defense. In times of peace, townspeople passed through a “water gate” to bring water into the city. To allow for continued supply during a siege, the Jebusites dug a shaft from which they could draw water without leaving the walls. David succeeded in capturing the city only after his soldier, Joab, corked the shaft one night. In 1867, Warren confirmed this biblical account when he discovered the long, sleek shaft that now bears his name. In the 1960s, Kathleen Kenyon located the Jebusite city walls dating from 1800 BC which lie just above the Gihon Spring.