David Lays Siege To Yerusalem
David's plan was a bold one, the more so because, in fact, both politically and militarily, he could not afford a defeat. To associate the Hebrews as a whole in his victory David took care to besiege Yerusalem 'with all Yisrael', that is, with the warriors of all the tribes. Thus, at a later period 'all Yisrael' could boast of having taken part in the conquest of the capital.
And so the Hebrew army settled down around the stronghold to begin the siege. In accordance with ancient custom the Jebusites on top of the ramparts shouted all sorts of insults at their presumptuous opponents. 'You shall not enter here' (1 Divre Hayamim 1:5), they cried from the towers when they perceived David. And to emphasize the impregnable nature of the natural and artificial defenses of the place they added: 'The blind and the lame will hold you off (2 Schmuel 5:6). They could hardly have shown themselves more confident.
The second Book of Schmuel (5:6-8) and the first Book of Divre Hayamim (1:4-7) unfortunately give only a short summary of operations whose details it would have been interesting to know. We are merely told that the siege threatened to be very long because any frontal attack would have proved very costly. On the other hand the Jebusites, who were well supplied with food and had plenty of water from the spring, could laugh at David's plans. And after all, even though he was thoroughly at home with all the tricks of an armed raid he was an absolute novice in everything to do with the operations of a siege. According to the account in the Bible it appears that the siege dragged on. David endeavored to put new spirit into his men; he had it proclaimed throughout the camp that the first to strike down a Jebusite should become a leader and commander. Although in this chapter the text is very corrupt, this must be the moment when the initiative was seized by Joab (David's nephew and general; we have already encountered him here as the murderer of Abner). By means of a trick, with a handful of men, he contrived to seize the city.
Joab's Exploit
There were only two ways of capturing the citadel: surprise or treachery. We shall see how David used the first method, and possibly the second as well.Over-confident in the inaccessibility of the underground tunnel leading to the spring, the Jebusites took little care over their defenses on this side; watch over the tunnel by soldiers had been given up. Joab turned to good account this failure in military precautions.
Diagram Showing Arrangement Of The Zinnor Of Yerusalem
A Tunnel giving access to vaulted chamber (this way down has not yet been discovered).
B Vaulted chamber at a depth of about 30 feet below the level of the Ophel. The vaulting is of a late period.
C Steps cut in the rock, rather steep (30°).
D Drop of about 8 feet, for which a ladder was probably used.
E Slightly sloping gallery (7°).
F Chamber with well into which water-drawers let down their water skins by ropes.
G Vertical chimney, height 40 feet through which water was drawn up.
H Cave used as a tank.
I Channel taking the water from j to h.
K The spring of Gihon.
L Low wall, forming a dyke intended to direct water towards H through L instead of letting it flow direct into the Kidron.
It may be wondered how the place where the spring gushed forth (hidden by masonry) could have been known by the Hebrews. It is possible that before the siege a study of the terrain had been carried out by Yisraelite spies. It is also possible that the assailants' attention was drawn to the spring by the sound of voices or by the noise of the water itself echoing the underground galleries. Or the plan of the Zinnor may have been provided by a Jebusite traitor.
Joab, as we know, was a tough soldier, always ready for a daring exploit. Once the entry to the tunnel had been discovered, Joab and a handful of men secretly crept into the long horizontal gallery (marked (I) on the plan) where the besieged garrison had negligently omitted to post a sentry. Thus the raiders were able to advance along the gallery quite freely. In order to dig out the canal the builder had been obliged to make a big enough space for a human body to pass. So far then no difficulty was encountered. But the raiders now came to the foot (H) of the vertical drop (just over forty feet) which was very narrow. It was by this conduit that the Jebusites, using a rope, let down the waterskins, held open by circles of wood, and filled them with water. Some historians have refused to believe that Joab and his small band of warriors could have managed to climb up this chimney; they hold that it would have proved an insuperable obstacle. This must also have been the view of the Jebusites. Two English members of the Parker mission answered this skeptical view: in half an hour and with the help of only three wooden cross pieces they managed to climb from (H) to (F), thus repeating the exploit of David's men.
Next, from (F) to (D) the attackers had only to follow the gentle slope (E). At D), the passageway for the water drawers became narrower and, still at D), there was a drop of about eight and a half feet that, in all probability was usually negotiated by a movable ladder. Even if the ladder had been taken away this little difficulty would hardly have delayed Joab and his men for very long. Very soon the party had only to climb the steps (C) cut in the rock which led to (B). Lastly, through the entrance ramp (A) -which the archaeologists have not yet succeeded in uncovering -the assailants burst out on to the Ophel.
This explanation, despite its logical and plausible nature, has encountered opposition. In the first place owing to the slender nature of its textual foundation there are great difficulties of translation and interpretation. In addition, the underground excavations are far from complete. Indeed there exists a second Zinnor which enabled the besieged Jebusites to obtain water supplies at the base of the rock; but this second corridor, whose general plan is known, has only been explored so far very incompletely on account of the difficulties of excavating beneath an inhabited city. It is therefore unlikely that archaeological investigation will be further carried out on this site in the near future. Although scientific prudence requires that we should await the complete findings of these underground excavations, most Scriptural scholars believe that the explanation of Joab's expedition given above is the most probable one.
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