Josephus
Flavius, Antiquities of the Jews - Book VII
CONTAINING
THE INTERVAL OF FORTY YEARS.
FROM
THE DEATH OF SAUL TO THE DEATH OF DAVID.
CHAPTER
3.
HOW
DAVID LAID SIEGE TO JERUSALEM; AND WHEN HE HAD TAKEN THE CITY, HE CAST THE
CANAANITES OUT OF IT, AND BROUGHT IN THE JEWS TO INHABIT THEREIN.
1.
NOW the Jebusites, who were the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and were by
extraction Canaanites, shut their gates, and placed the blind, and the lame,
and all their maimed persons, upon the wall, in way of derision of the king,
and said that the very lame themselves would hinder his entrance into it. This
they did out of contempt of his power, and as depending on the strength of
their walls. David was hereby enraged, and began the siege of Jerusalem, and
employed his utmost diligence and alacrity therein, as intending by the taking
of this place to demonstrate his power, and to intimidate all others that might
be of the like [evil] disposition towards him. So he took the lower city by
force, but the citadel held out still; (4) whence it was that the king, knowing that the proposal of dignities
and rewards would encourage the soldiers to greater actions, promised that he
who should first go over the ditches that were beneath the citadel, and should
ascend to the citadel itself and take it, should have the command of the entire
people conferred upon him. So they all were ambitious to ascend, and thought no
pains too great in order to ascend thither, out of their desire of the chief
command. However, Joab, the son of Zeruiah, prevented the rest; and as soon as
he was got up to the citadel, cried out to the king, and claimed the chief
command.
2.
When David had cast the Jebusites out of the citadel, he also rebuilt
Jerusalem, and named it The City of David, and abode there all the time
of his reign; but for the time that he reigned over the tribe of Judah only in
Hebron, it was seven years and six months. Now when he had chosen Jerusalem to
be his royal city, his affairs did more and more prosper, by the providence of
God, who took care that they should improve and be augmented. Hiram also, the king
of the Tyrians, sent ambassadors to him, and made a league of mutual friendship
and assistance with him. He also sent him presents, cedar-trees, and mechanics,
and men skillful in building and architecture, that they might build him a
royal palace at Jerusalem. Now David made buildings round about the lower city:
he also joined the citadel to it, and made it one body; and when he had
encompassed all with walls, he appointed Joab to take care of them. It was
David, therefore, who first cast the Jebusites out of Jerusalem, and called it
by his own name, The City of David: for under our forefather Abraham it was called
(Salem, or) Solyma; (5) but after that time, some say that Homer mentions it by that name
of Solyma, [for he named the temple Solyma, according to the Hebrew language,
which denotes security.] Now the whole time from the warfare under Joshua our general
against the Canaanites, and from that war in which he overcame them, and
distributed the land among the Hebrews, (nor could the Israelites ever cast the
Canaanites out of Jerusalem until this time, when David took it by siege,) this
whole time was five hundred and fifteen years.