A letter written in ancient Hebrew and dating to around 1000 BC was discovered at the site of Khirbet Qeiyafa, known as the Elah Fortress. Archaeologists discovered that this fortress, which overlooks the Elah Valley (where David defeated Goliath), had two gates, leading them to believe that they had unearthed the town of Sha’arayim (meaning “two gates”). This town appears in the Old Testament books of Joshua, Samuel, and Chronicles.
The letter was written using black carbon ink on a square sherd of pottery (an ostracon). By the way, “sherd” is not a typo; it is the technical term for a broken piece of pottery found at an archaeological site. This ostracon is read left to right, and uses Proto-Canaanite letters similar to those found on the Izbet Sartah Ostracon.
Both the letters themselves and the direction of the text differ from the standard Hebrew alphabet that was used at a later time in Israel and Judah during the period of the Divided Kingdom.
The significance of this letter from the time of King David is fourfold. First, it demonstrates that many members of the Israelite population were literate at that point in history. Second, it highlights the early usage of written Hebrew. Third, the content of the letter confirms an historical context that matches descriptions of the time Joshua, Samuel, and Chronicles in the Bible. Finally, although the ink is faded and certain letters are difficult to read, the five lines of text mention serving God and the king.
Summary
Because the fortress was Israelite and the language of the letter was Hebrew, this letter demonstrates that there was a king in Israel at that time, and that the kingdom was not merely a city-state located in Jerusalem, but extended far beyond there, including to the border with the Philistines at the Elah Valley. All of these match the accounts recorded in the books of Samuel and Chronicles.
