The Broad Wall of Jerusalem

Seven metres thick. That is the width of an ancient wall in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City, and it goes by a simple name: the Broad Wall.

Scripture: You counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall.

The verse you just heard sits in a passage describing chariots at the gate, breaches in the city and defensive preparations. Nearby lines mention many breaches in David's city, water gathered in a pool, and a reservoir between two walls.

For a long time, it was believed that Jerusalem of this period was confined to a narrow hill south of the Temple Mount, called the City of David.

Then, in the 1970s, Israeli archaeologist Nahman Avigad unearthed this wall. His dig showed that by the late eighth century BC, the city had spread to include the hill west of the Temple Mount.

The scale is striking. The unbroken stretch his dig uncovered runs sixty-five metres, and in places it is preserved to a height of three point three metres.

This photo shows urban structures abutting the Broad Wall. The wall is located in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.

It was first dated to King Hezekiah. In 2024, based on carbon-dating, a lab method that estimates age from carbon in organic material, it was attributed to King Uzziah.

That matters. While the wall was tied to Hezekiah, its motive was thought to be Sennacherib's campaign in Judah, and it was presumed that it might be referred to in Nehemiah chapter three and Isaiah chapter twenty-two.

On the new attribution, the proposed motive is rebuilding the city after a strong earthquake, according to Wikipedia.

So be careful with the link. It was only a presumption, made while the wall was attributed to Hezekiah. A 2024 carbon-dating attribution now assigns it to Uzziah. The wall is a massive defensive structure, but it does not by itself confirm that verse.

A wall this thick is a massive defensive structure. May the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today. Follow Bible Evidence, and we will turn over another stone together.