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PALACE

Even without the ancient literary references to palaces, the existence of a sociopolitical hierarchy could be discerned archaeologically. Remains of many palaces, which served as residences and administrative centers for royalty, have been discovered in the biblical world. Their identity is evident in their size, layout, elaborate decorations, and contents, including expensive furniture, costly domestic utensils, and state archives (e.g., collections of cuneiform tablets or ostraca). The earliest identifiable palaces date to the early 3rd millennium b.c.; these examples come from Mesopotamia, where competition for land and resources fostered the evolution of government and placed power in the hands of an aristocracy.

The ancient terminology was no more precise than the English translations, and the same words can often refer to a “temple,” “palace,” or “citadel” (e.g., Heb. bayiṯ, hêḵāl, ʾarmôn). Some of the earliest Sumerian palaces and Persian royal residences from a much later period are known from their size, lavish interiors, and facilities. Mari’s palace, which dates to the 1st Dynasty of Babylon, includes some 300 rooms. A palace at Ai dates to ca. 2500 and reflects the presence of a ruling class in Palestine. Other Early Bronze Age palaces have been found at Tell Mardikh (ancient Ebla) in Syria and at Tell Jarmuth/Yarmut and Arad in Israel. Impressive Middle Bronze palaces include those at Ur, Eshnunna, Larsa, and Uruk in Mesopotamia and those at Shechem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Lachish. Other royal residences and administrative centers have been found in Luxor, Tell el-Amarna, Knossos, Mycenae, and Boghazköy. Smaller but readily identifiable palaces have been unearthed in Palestine at Gezer, Tell Jemmeh, Tell el-µesi, and Aphek. In the Iron Age the Assyrians built elaborate palaces in their capitals of Nineveh, Nimrud, and Khorsabad. The Assyrian-style palace, the bīt ḫilāni or “open court building,” has parallels at palaces in Megiddo and Gezer.

No remains have been linked with the palaces of David (2 Sam. 5:9; 7:1-2) or Solomon (1 Kgs. 7:1-12) in Jerusalem, but some scholars detect Syrian influences in the account of Solomon’s temple. Palatial residences from Hazor and Megiddo have been dated to Solomonic times. Equally famous is the palace of Omri and Ahab at Samaria. Excavations at this site recovered ivory furniture inlay and decoration (1 Kgs. 22:39). The OT also mentions Ahab’s palace at Jezreel (1 Kgs. 21:1), the Assyrian palace at Nineveh (Nah. 2:6), and the palace of Babylon (2 Kgs. 20:18; Dan. 4:4, 29[MT 1, 26]). The Persian palace at Susa is featured prominently throughout the book of Esther.

Royal residences from NT times include Herod’s palaces at Jericho and Jerusalem (near the Jaffa Gate) and a series of fortress-palace complexes, the most famous of which was located at Masada. Palaces were common enough that they appear in figurative language of the OT prophets — especially as symbols of national-political life (e.g., Isa. 34:13; Jer. 17:27; Amos 2:5).

Bibliography. A. Kempinski and R. Reich, eds., The Architecture of Ancient Israel (Jerusalem, 1992); G. R. H. Wright, Ancient Building in South Syria and Palestine, 2 vols. HO 7, 1/2 B/3 (Leiden, 1985).

Gerald L. Mattingly

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

PALACE

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)