>> today on christian world news, how archeology is confirming the stories of the bible. we take you to the valley of illa, where king david slew goliath, and reveal the recent discoveries that back up the story. >> wendy: plus a walk through the site where david built his massive palace near jerusalem. these ancient artifacts offer proof about the life of the great king and his son, solomon. >> george: and geography of the lord's prayer. we explore the sites where jesus taught his disciples how to pray. modern day archeology offers compelling evidence about the characters and the events in the holy bible. hello, everyone, i'm george

thomas. >> wendy: and i'm wendy griffith. thanks for being with us. do characters like david and solomon really exist? many historians today are divided over those questions. today we'll meet two archeologists who are digging up parts of david's life. >> george: and what they have found supports the biblical accounts, down to the smallest details. gordon robertson takes us to the site of one of david's greatest victories, the valley of el a. ela. >> gordon: here in jerusalem, his name is everywhere. david is the most famous king in israel's history. but some say he wasn't the great rural described in the bible. one israeli archeologist said that david and solomon did not rule over a big

territory. he was a small chiefton, very poor. >> this is a great chief, if you want to call king david a chief or king solomon a chief. this is a great chief and this is a huge tribe. >> gordon: others say he never existed at all. even a professor of biblical studies, who insisted, i am not the only scholar who suspects that the figure of king david is about as historical as king arthur. >> these guys said they didn't have any historical memories, so they're secrets. >> gordon: one by one, those archeological memories are being uncovered, and all over israel excavators are confirming the biblical story of israel's greatest king. the bible records david's story in great detail. from his days as a shepherd

boy to his death in the royal palace of jerusalem. today you can walk in the same places where david walked, and they still have the same names as they did 3,000 years ago. there is bethlehem, the place where he was born, and where he was anointed the king of israel at just 15 years old. this is engetty, the desert oasis where david hid from king saul, and caves like this one. and hebron, where he spent seven years as the king of judah. for centuries the bible was the only written evidence that king david ever existed. there was no archeological record of his reign until about 150 years ago. in 1868, a stone tablet was discovered in jordan.

it was written by a mo moabite king named mesha. the stone dates to about 840 b.c., less than 200 years after king david. it contains the first known reference to the house of david outside the bible. >> the house of david or the dynasty of david. we know there was a guy called david who created a dynasty. this is clear that david is not a mythological figure. >> gordon: the same phrase, "house of david" turned up on another stone 100 years later. this time in northern israel. it was written about 200 years after david's rule, again by one of israel's enemas. hata el, the king of dam ma damascus. >> he said, i killed 70 king's. i killed a king from israel and one from the house of david. >> gordon: one of king david's greatest victories

came here, in the valley of allah, where the shepherd boy killed the giant. this is one of the few places you can catch the king that david knew. the remains of the brook where david found the stone that killed him. high above the valley is a fortress that is thousands of years old. to the local vetalane, this place is still known as david's ruin. it is the only iron-age city in israel that is perfectly preserved, and almost frozen in time. >> this is one of the richest sites in israel. this is a like a biblical pompei. >> gordon: the hebrew name iis kirbet kiafa.

and he recovered some burnt olive piece from the site. and he sent them to the lab. >> it is all of the signs that are from about 1020 to 980 b.c. this is exactly the time of king david. >> gordon: in david's day, the valley of allah served as a neutral zone, between the israelites and the philistines. in kijafa, scra excavators discovered a large cache of weapons. >> it is in the same location at the same time, and the city is heavily fortified. we are telling you this was, indeed, an area of conflict between two political units. >> gordon: in the bible, this fortress is mentioned

with a different name, sha orion. it is the place where the philistines fled after david killed goliath. >> it means two gates. and there we have two gates. so if you take the biblical location, the bible name, it fits perfectly. >> gordon: just 10 days after kijafa was discovered, critics argued it was not a jewish city. >> i think that the city is based in je judea. >> gordon: his first argument is the city's design. >> we have houses backing the city. this is known as four other sites. and we have five sites. all of these five cities are in judah. so this is typical judean

areas. >> gordon: the second argument is the animal bones found in the city. all of them strictly kosher. >> we pigs sheep and goats, but no pigs. after that, there are pigs, but here, nothing. >> gordon: point three, this pottery chard, it is the earliest example of hebrew writing ever unearthed. on it are written commandments to worship the lord and to help widows, orphans, and slaves. >> it started with the words "don't do." to do is only in hebrew. >> gordon: the absence of vitals points to a jewish city. >> to go to the caves, you will find human and animal figures, but not in kijaf

kijafa. >> gordon: there were no idols, but there were religious shrines. these models pre-date solomon's temple by about 40 years, and yet they match the bible's description of the temple, down to the triple-framed doors. they're the first physical evidence of jewish worship in the time of king david. >> it was not my mission to come here to prove the historical biblical tradition. when i came here, i had no idea. but these are the inscriptions, and the fortification, and then you have the biblical description. and they happen to fit nicely to each other. >> gordon: about 25 miles east of the e lan valley, another archeologist was paying close attention to the finds in kijafa. she spent years unearthing

another part of david's life, his r palace in jerusalem. >> wendy: coming up, we'll take you through the ruins of king david's palace, and take a visit to a >> george: well, in 2005, an israeli archeologist unveiled she had uncovered the remains of king david's palace in jerusalem. >> wendy: since then, she has excavated various sites in jerusalem, and as gordon robertson tells us, she has relied on the bible to unveil those discoveries. >> gordon: 3,000 years ago, the entire city of jerusalem fit on this 12-acre hill. here you can see part of the wall rebuilt by nehemiah.

the water tunnel dug by king hezekiah, and the pool of salom, where jesus healed the blind man. this is the city of david. >> welcome to the city of david. good morning. my name is mariam. >> gordon: today it is one of jerusalem's top tourist sites, with close to half a million visitors every year. >> it is one of the most exciting places on earth. people from all over the world come to this place and for the first time understand what they're reading in the text matches the archeology in the ground. >> gordon: the city of david is more than just a tourist attraction. it is also a live archeological dig. the bible says this is where king david built his palace, and one archeologist says she has found it. for alot mazar, digging is a family affair.

in 1948 her grandfather, benjamin mazar, was the first archeologist to get a digging permit in the new state of israel. and when the israelis recaptured jerusalem in 1967, he started excavating the area around the temple mount. his granddaughter, alot, was working by his side when she was just 11 years old. >> what i've learned from him, the major thing, is that the bible is part of our historical sources to be used and restudied and re-examined again and again. it doesn't object in any way to our scientific, archeological capability of defusing the best methods for excavation. it goes side by side and it fits beautifully, and it should. >> gordon: like her grandfather, mazar is uncovering the jerusalem of the bible, layer by layer. in 2005 she started digging in the city of david with one goal in mind --

>> king david's palace. well, i had my assumptions, based on the evidence of that time. and then when i started excavation, it was, of course, an open question. >> gordon: it wasn't long before she found what she was looking for. >> we saw the large wall of some structures. but they were so large that i said, well, okay, forget about king david's palace. we're talking about a fortress here. we realized that this structure, as monumental and impressive as it is, it is the first structure ever buildebuilt on that spot. so the question is: who built this structure and what was this structure built for? >> gordon: mazar soon got her answer. >> we have got a marvelous book called the bible. the core of the historical events surely are there.

>> george: and they are. up next, we continue our walk through the city of david with the woman who is digging up the king's palace, and learn how she is finding more evidence that supports the holy scriptures.

>> wendy: when alot maz sa mazar discovered she found an ancient structure, she turned to the bible to learn what she found. >> george: and she learned that this structure confirmed the biblical accounts of king david. >> gordon: 2 samuel 5: 11 said the king sent messages to david and seed de cedar trees and carpenters and they built david a house. >> it is a fortress, well-built, for good reasons. this is most properly the palace that the king built for king david. we know its date, around

1,000, which is the time of king david. the style of construction is quite emphasized. the fanitians are great builders. >> gordon: inside, the team found more evidence of royalty, from ancient seals used by court officials, to a variety of carved ivory utensils. too expensive for a regular home, but good for a palace. >> the major part of the structure here needs to are excavated. we have less than a quarter. >> gordon: across the street from the city of david, mazar is directing another dig as well. just outside the temple mount, she found more royal ruins. this time from david's son solomon. in 2010 scaif 2010 excavators revealed a giant

wall more than 220 feet long, and almost 20 feet high. mazar says this is the city wall described in 1 kings 3, which says that solomon buildebuilt the wall all around jerusalem. it connected david's old city with solomon's new temple. >> we could really say that the biblical description of king solomon building the wall of jerusalem around fits so well with what we see. this is the only place where a fortification line is needed. it is surrounding that area. it connects to the temple mound. it is everything that fits the biblical story. >> gordon: critics were quick to dispute mazar's conclusion, but she had carbon dating on her sides. they found that the ground floor dated to the 10th century b.c., when solomon was king. >> sometime in the late 10th

century, early 9th century, the king of jerusalem built a highly skilled fortification, which indicated it was a strong regime. but then we have this biblical story that tells about king solomon doing the same thing. so he did, and then, like, 50 years later some other king did the same thing. i think you can draw up all of this fighting against the bible. the reality was it is a sophisticated fortification that was built by king solomon. and this is only part of it. >> gordon: inside the wall were more clues pointing to king solomon. 1 kings 7 said he had 12 governors who provided food for the king and his household. and inside the gate, mazar's team found evidence of their work. jar handles with seals en scribed "to the king." and large, clay jars for storing grain. mazar believes they came from the royal bakery.

>> on one of the vessels there is an inscription in ancient hebrew, meaning to the minister that is in charge of this, which means bakery. >> gordon: mazar's hunt for the house of david isn't over yet. next on her agenda is the palace of king solomon, which she believes is just north of this wall. >> whatever i will be able to contribute to the research in jerusalem, this is my huge privilege. there is only one jerusalem in the world, but it is not like a start or an end of anything. we are only at the beginning of this. and it is going to be generations to come. >> george: generations to come. talk about a nation that is just a treasure trove of archeological discover. >> wendy: and the archeologists go to the bible to find out what their discovery is. love it. if you want to read more about these discoveries, you

can like our history and archeology page on facebook. and we'll be right back.

>> george: when the disciples asked jesus how to pray, he taught them what is known as "the lord's prayer." versions of it are found in two of the gospels. >> wendy: some historians say jesus probably taught that prayer many times and in many places. historian steven fon tells us more. >> the lord's prayer was probably given many times by jesus. the church in jerusalem is a place that commemorates the lord's prayer. it starts off with the name, in fact, "our father." why is it here in jerusalem? the crusaders built the church on top of the bisintin church that was

built in the fourth century. it is called the assenon church. and there was a grotto, that had to do with jesus' teaching, going back to the fourth century. so the idea he might be teaching on "our father" here made it convenient for the crusaders, and they called it the "our father church." the lord's prayer is found in two places. the favorite one is the one in matthew because it is longer. it seems to be more complete. that is said to be on top of the mountain, in the galilee, so jerusalem is not the galilee. up in the galilee, you have a beautiful site on the northwest shore, and this little valley overlooks the sea of galilee. when there is not any other

distractions or noise around, everyone in that whole valley can actually hear somebody speaking. so from that standpoint, it is a favorite today. to say that jesus went up to a mountain -- this is a kind of a hill, but it is hardly a mountain that he went up to, if he was really giving the sermon on the mount. this is, i would say, a romantic picture. it is still a beautiful picture, and not a totally unlikely model, but a model nonetheless. what we should focus on instead is the fact that jesus didn't teach on this prayer in just one place. he must have taught on it in a number of places. whether it is there or in the northern galilee, the western galilee, judea, somaria, he would have said something very close to that same prayer. jesus was telling his

disciples the matthew's gospel. this is the check list the things you want to have in your prayers: you need to recognize god as father. that's primary. even over here, jesus was in the garden of gues guessemea, and he said abbah, our father. >> george: folks, that was our special edition of christian world news. >> wendy: from all of us

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