King David`s Tomb

Kind David’s Tomb: A 1,000 year old tradition claims that King David’s tomb is located on Mount Zion.

In 1170, Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, a pilgrim to the land of Israel, told of a cave with many treasures, where “the tombs of David’s house and the kings that followed him” are situated. In the Old Testament it is said that “David was buried in his own city” (the City of David).

Prior to the discovery of the City of David at its current location, it was believed that David’s city is located right here on Mount Zion. The mountain was therefore got its current name, after the “Zion Fortress that is the City of David”. Once the mistake was realized, the search for the tombs continued at the current site of the City of David. But tombs were not found. According to archeologists, King David’s burial place remains unknown, yet this does not rule out the possibility that King David is indeed buried here; there are some theories claiming that the graves were relocated here, due to the density of the city.

Every year during the festivities of the holiday of Shavuot, on the second day to the Jewish month of Sivan, a big celebration takes place here, marking the birth and death days of King David. Thousands of followers gather at the place to read from the Book of Psalms and to keep the mitzvah of studying all night long.

During the time of the British Mandate, the Dajani family, that held the rights over the site, was forced to enable visits to the tomb, also by non-Muslims. Only after 1948 it was made clear that believers were fooled by being led into “a fake” tomb, located right next to the room of the Last Supper.