Biblical “Chamber” Identified in Jerusalem?

They estimate that the entire three-room building originally measured approximately 65 by 55 feet, with room A being the largest and having a stone-paved floor, and rooms B and C being smaller and having packed-earth floors. The latter two rooms were likely used for storage.

The building (excavations reveal that there was originally a second story that collapsed into the ground floor) had several interesting archaeological finds, including ivory plaques; 45 bowls that likely were a set of drinking vessels; some Phoenician vessels, including a “black on red” juglet and several carved stone bowls that were probably brought to Jerusalem from the coast of Tyre (modern-day Lebanon); several storage jars, which residue analysis revealed contained vanilla-spiced wine and/or olive oil.

Now, the really fascinating finds were several bullae and clay seals with names on them. One in particular stood out, as it mentioned “To Nethanmelek, the servant of the king” whose name is recorded in 2 Kings 23:11. In fact, that passage sheds light on what this structure may have been.

And he [King Josiah] removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts. And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

The word “precincts,” which is used in several versions (like the ESV), is often translated as “suburbs” (GNV, KJV, YLT), “court” (HCSB, NIV, NKJV, NLT), or “courtyard” (CJB, CEV, NAS, NET). There seems to be an attempt here to state that this chamber was near but not on the Temple Mount itself, which is exactly where this building was discovered.

In addition to pottery and ivory, there were several animal bones found, showing what the occupants ate. What was found was mostly lamb, goat, cattle, and even some chickens, as well as several types of fish. The use of vanilla indicates that Jerusalem was connected to broad global trading networks because vanilla grows naturally in the tropics of India and Africa and must have been imported into Israel through long-distance caravan trade. The kings of Judah clearly benefited from this trade, allowing Jerusalem’s rulers and nobility to enjoy exotic luxuries in the capital. The prophet Amos foresaw this scenario when the ruling elite—who took the best for themselves, lived luxurious lifestyles, and cared little about the common citizens—would be taken into exile (Amos 6:4–7).

This public building, usually called a “chamber” in most Scripture translations, was a magnificent residence and likely a reception hall where a senior royal official (probably chamberlain Nathan-melech) carried out the routine business and administrative duties of the kingdom for King Josiah (and likely later kings). But the authors describe the condition of some of the artifacts as being burnt, and they believe that this destruction took place when Nebuchadnezzar’s armies destroyed Jerusalem.

Throughout the building, we found the collapsed walls and floors of the upper story, along with charred wood and burnt debris caused by a great fire that engulfed the building. The pottery from the collapse, together with radiocarbon and archaeomagnetic data, all confirm the site was destroyed in the early sixth century—most likely during the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE that marked the end of the First Temple period.

The more we study history, the more we see that it corroborates the biblical accounts!

While we distrust some of these dating methods (especially for older dates), these seem to be generally accurate, as Scripture and historical evidence both confirm Judah’s and Jerusalem’s conquest by the Babylonians (2 Kings 25:8–10; 2 Chronicles 36:17–20). These same Scripture passages also detail that “Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon . . . burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down” (2 Kings 25:8–9). So a broken and burned royal (or noble’s) house met the exact end as described in the Bible.

The more we study history, the more we see that it corroborates the biblical accounts! Over the years, numerous archaeological finds have confirmed the Bible’s history.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.