[Calgaryborn]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

Which bible, out of the effing hundreds that have been writen, would be the one that is the word of god?

I only ask so I know which one to reference when making important moral decisions like whether I should keep a slave or stone my ex wife to death.

If you are talking english translation I would suggest the King James version.

Here is a little non-biblical evidence for the historical King David:

Jerusalem appears in several ancient documents, apart from the Bible. The earliest known reference dates to 1900 bce in the so-called "Execration Texts." The names of the enemies of the Egyptian ruler were inscribed on pottery, which was then smashed in the hope of bringing destruction upon them. Jerusalem at that time was apparently an enemy of Egypt, as indicated by letters written on clay tablets found in the ruins of Amarna, the palace of the reforming Pharaoh Akhnetan. In one of them, dating to the 14th century bce, Abdu-Heba, the king of Jerusalem, writes pledging his loyalty to the Egyptian ruler.

Until very recently, there was no evidence outside the Bible for the existence of King David. There are no references to him in Egyptian, Syrian or Assyrian documents of the time, and the many archaeological digs in the City of David failed to turn up so much as a mention of his name. Then, on July 21, 1993, a team of archaeologists led by Prof. Avraham Biran, excavating Tel Dan in the northern Galilee, found a triangular piece of basalt rock, measuring 23 x 36 cm. inscribed in Aramaic. It was subsequently identified as part of a victory pillar erected by the king of Syria and later smashed by an Israelite ruler. The inscription, which dates to the ninth century bce, that is to say, about a century after David was thought to have ruled Israel, includes the words Beit David ("House" or "Dynasty" of David"). It is the first near-contemporaneous reference to David ever found. It is not conclusive; but it does strongly indicate that a king called David established a dynasty in Israel during the relevant period. Another piece of significant evidence comes from Dr. Avi Ofer's archaeological survey conducted in the hills of Judea during the last decade, which shows that in the 11th-10th centuries bce, the population of Judah almost doubled compared to the preceding period. The so-called Rank Size Index (RSI), a method of analyzing the size and positioning of settlements to evaluate to what extent they were a self-contained group, indicates that during this period - David's supposed period - a strong centre of population existed at the edge of the region. Jerusalem is the most likely candidate for this centre.

It should also be said that David is mentioned in several books in the Old Testament. Early in his grandsons reign the kingdom divided in two with a northern and southern kingdom. The southern kingdom followed the house of David. Up to and including Jesus' time the kings of Israel could trace their lineage back to David. Much the same as American kids learn the names of all the Presidents in order.

Many Kings of Israel are mentioned outside of the Bible. Naturally the further you go back the less evidence there is.