Do you know what it’s like to rummage through your old stuff and pick something up and say, “Ooo cool!  I didn’t know I had that!”  That’s what it felt like when I discovered The City of David among some old books while cleaning my basement.  In March, I visited Israel for the first time; and as you can imagine, I gave myself quite the “to be read” pile before the tour.  Though I didn’t make it to this book before my trip to the Holy Land, I loved the information in this little volume.

Before and during my trip to Israel, I heard many people say that Jerusalem doesn’t leave you with the impact you think it would.  Some say it’s too commercialized.  Too modern.  Too built up to get the “feel” of ancient Israel.  If you’ve had that problem on your own trip or heard that line so much you just assume you would feel the same way, I’d encourage you to find a copy of this book.  It isn’t an exhaustive account of the whole city, but it gives you enough information it may change your thinking.

The things I enjoyed reading about after my trip to Israel were the Jebusite Shaft, Hezekiah’s Tunnel and the Spring Gihon.  Ironically, my tour group didn’t go to any of these places, but we walked by Hezekiah’s Tunnel while we were at the Pool of Siloam.  I guess seeing the area heightened my imagination while reading!  Anyway, these out of the way places have some very neat history attached to them and if I ever go back to Jerusalem, I would want to see these sites now that I know the story behind them.

Conclusion:  No matter where you read The City of David, you’ll feel like you’re in Israel.  Though the material is very academic, it isn’t overwhelming.  No big words or complicated statistics only scholars would understand.  But…if you’re in Jerusalem and going to these places, you might want to make sure a copy of this book is tucked away in your backpack.  In some chapters, the author gives specific locations where you can see certain things.  This might include statements like, “Re-cross the street and proceed five steps upward toward the Pool of Siloam…” and so forth.  I for one, thoroughly enjoyed Jerusalem, but if I would have had this information in my hand while walking around the Pool of Siloam, I believe I would have absorbed much more.  Places like Jerusalem has so much history, you may see something and not even realize how important it is.  This book will help remedy that!  To close, this is a small, but great book.  If you want to go, have been or plan to go to Israel, read The City of David, you won’t regret it!

For Purchase…

From Amazon —> City of David