The Excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath and their Implications for the Understanding of the Early Judahite Kingdom

The ongoing excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath have revealed ample evidence regarding the character of the the Philistine city of Gath during the Iron Age I and II, from the early appearance of the Philistine culture in the early Iron Age, until its demise due to the conquest and destruction of the city by Hazael (ca. 830 BCE). The overall archaeological picture that has emerged not only enables a robust understanding of the cultural history of the city during this time frame, but has direct reflections on the understanding of the development of the early Judahite polity that was situated no too far to its east. In this lecture, I will present an assessment of how the various evidence from the site, spanning the Iron I through Iron IIA, can shed light on the size, stregnth, influence and external relations of the Judahite Kingdom in its initial stages.