David's Tomb - History

History

The tomb is located in a corner of a room situated on the ground floor remains of the former Hagia Zion a ancient house of worship; the upper floor of the same building has traditionally been viewed as the Cenacle of Jesus. In 1335, the ancient synagogue and church became a Franciscan monastery, but, due to tensions with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, the monastery was closed in 1551 and ownership of the site was transferred to a Muslim family. The site was apparently not viewed as David's Tomb until the 12th century. According to Benjamin of Tudela, writing about 1173, the tomb was discovered during repairs to the church; the motivation for it being declared to be the tomb of David is uncertain. It is impossible to verify whether the tomb is original to the location, as crusaders removed the tomb from its earlier context, and placed within it a stone sarcophagus, newly built for the purpose; the sarcophagus now rests over a 14th century floor.

After the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, it fell on the Israel side of the Green Line. Between 1948 and 1967 the Old City was occupied by Jordan, which barred entry to Jews even for the purpose of praying at Jewish holy sites. The closest accessible site to the site of the ancient Jewish Temple was Mount Zion. Jewish pilgrims from around the country and the world went to David's Tomb and climbed to the rooftop to pray. Since 1949, a blue cloth, with basic modernist ornamentation, has been placed over the sarcophagus. The images on the cloth include several crown-shaped Rimmon placed over Torah scrolls, and a violin, and the cloth also features several pieces of text written in Hebrew. The building is now part of the Diaspora yeshiva.