David

This article is about the biblical king. For David (disambiguation), see David (disambiguation).

King David
Statue of David in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome King David (detail) by Nicolas Cordier.
Reign	over Judah c.1010 - 1003 BC; over Judah and Israel c.1003 - 970 BC.
Predecessor	Saul
Successor	Solomon
House	House of David
Father	Jesse
Mother	not named in the Bible; identified by the Talmud as Nitzevet daughter of Adael.

David Hebrew: דָּוִד, Modern: David, Tiberian: dɔwið, "beloved"; Arabic: دَاوُۥدَ, Dāwud; Greek: Δαβιδ was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Bible. He is depicted as a righteous king, although not without fault, as well as an acclaimed warrior, musician and poet, traditionally credited for composing many of the psalms contained in the Book of Psalms.

Thiele dates his life to c.1040–970 BC, his reign over Judah c.1010–1003 BC, and his reign over the united Kingdom of Israel c.1003–970 BC. The Books of Samuel are the only source of information on his life and reign, although the Tel Dan stele records the existence in the mid-9th century of a Judean royal dynasty called the "House of David".

David's life is particularly important to Jewish, Christian, and Islamic culture. In Islam, David (Dawood) is a prophet and the king of a nation, as well as the young warrior who slew Goliath before gaining power and ruling his kingdom. He is remembered for his eloquent speech and the beautiful recitation of God's word.

Quranic Narrative of Story of David and Bathsheba

Quranic narrative of the story of David and Bathsheba is quite different from Biblical. All Muslims believe that David never committed adultery or plotted to kill Uriah. The story has a short narrative in Quran Charter 38, Saad,

21-25 And has the news of the litigants reached you? When they climbed over the wall into (his) Mihrab (a praying place or a private room,). When they entered in upon Dawud (David), he was terrified of them, they said: "Fear not! (We are) two litigants, one of whom has wronged the other, therefore judge between us with truth, and treat us not with injustice, and guide us to the Right Way. Verily, this my brother (in religion) has ninety nine ewes, while I have (only) one ewe, and he says: "Hand it over to me, and he overpowered me in speech." [Dawud (David)] said (immediately without listening to the opponent): "He has wronged you in demanding your ewe in addition to his ewes. And, verily, many partners oppress one another, except those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and they are few." And Dawud (David) guessed that We have tried him (in matter of Bathsheba) and he sought Forgiveness of his Lord, and he fell down prostrate and turned (to Allah) in repentance. So We forgave him that, and verily, for him is a near access to Us, and a good place of (final) return (Paradise).

Maududi in his exegesis Tafhimul Quran explain these verses by narrating through various sources that Bathsheba was not only a woman of beauty but she was very virtuous too. Thus, David thought of making her a Queen and an example of virtue for Israel women to follow. Maududi says that it was common for Israeli men to ask their friends to leave their wives for them, and many men would do so for various reasons. Since Uriah the Hittie was close to David, David asked Uriah to give him Bathsheba. Among friends it would not have mattered, but David was also a king and this could be interpreted as a command of King by Uriah, thus Uriah would find it difficult to say no if he wanted to refuse Bathsheba. Hence the case of two litgators was sent to David by God, the case was a sign of mistake that David had made by asking Uriah for his wife. As soon as David ruled the judgement he realised that the litigators case was not different from his own and Uriah. Hence, David repented and God forgave him. Maududi argues that the adultery and plot to murder are fabrications and such things never happened. Instead he says that when Uriah would have got killed in battle and David would have married Bathsheba such lies of adultery and plot to murder would have been invented by David's enemies and spread among the public, these tales later found their way to Bible.

Religions and David

David in Judaism

David's reign represents the formation of a coherent Jewish kingdom centered in Jerusalem and the institution of an eternal royal dynasty; the failure of this "eternal" Davidic dynasty after some four centuries led to the later elaboration of the concept of the Messiah, at first a human descendant of David who would occupy the throne of a restored kingdom, later an apocalyptic figure who would usher in the end of time.{

In modern Judaism David's descent from a convert (Ruth) is taken as proof of the importance of converts within Judaism. David is also viewed as a tragic figure; his acquisition of Bathsheba, and the loss of his son are viewed as his central tragedies.

Many legends have grown around the figure of David. According to one Rabbinic tradition, David was raised as the son of his father Jesse and spent his early years herding his father's sheep in the wilderness while his brothers were in school. Only at his anointing by Samuel - when the oil from Samuel's flask turned to diamonds and pearls - was his true identity as Jesse's son revealed.{ David's adultery with Bathsheba was only an opportunity to demonstrate the power of repentance, and some Talmudic authors stated that it was not adultery at all, quoting a Jewish practice of divorce on the eve of battle. Furthermore, according to David's apologists, the death of Uriah was not to be considered murder, on the basis that Uriah had committed a capital offence by refusing to obey a direct command from the King.

According to midrashim, Adam gave up 70 years of his life for the life of David. Also, according to the Talmud Yerushalmi, David was born and died on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks). His piety was said to be so great that his prayers could bring down things from Heaven.

David in Christianity

Originally an earthly king ruling by divine appointment ("the anointed one", as the title Messiah had it), the "son of David" became in the last two pre-Christian centuries the apocalyptic and heavenly who would deliver Israel and usher in a new kingdom. This was the background to the concept of Messiahship in early Christianity, which interpreted the career of Jesus "by means of the titles and functions assigned to David in the mysticism of the Zion cult, in which he served as priest-king and in which he was the mediator between God and man." The early Church believed that "the life of David [foreshadowed] the life of Christ; Bethlehem is the birthplace of both; the shepherd life of David points out Christ, the Good Shepherd; the five stones chosen to slay Goliath are typical of the five wounds; the betrayal by his trusted counsellor, Achitophel, and the passage over the Cedron remind us of Christ's Sacred Passion. Many of the Davidic Psalms, as we learn from the New Testament, are clearly typical of the future Messias."

David and King Saul, by Rembrandt. David plays the lyre (depicted here as a harp) to the king "tormented by an evil spirit"

In the Middle Ages, "Charlemagne thought of himself, and was viewed by his court scholars, as a 'new David'. [This was] not in itself a new idea, but [one whose] content and significance were greatly enlarged by him." The linking of David to earthly kingship was reflected in later Medieval cathedral windows all over Europe through the device of the Tree of Jesse its branches demonstrating how divine kingship descended from Jesse, through his son David, to Jesus.

Western Rite churches (Roman Catholic, Lutheran) celebrate his feast day on 29 December, Eastern-rite on 19 December. The Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Church celebrate the feast day of the "Holy Righteous Prophet and King David" on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (two Sundays before the Great Feast of the Nativity of the Lord), when he is commemorated together with other ancestors of Jesus. He is also commemorated on the Sunday after the Nativity, together with Joseph and James, the Brother of the Lord.

The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cites David as one directed by God to practise polygamy, but who sinned in committing adultery with Bathsheba and having Uriah killed. This clarifies the LDS doctrine that polygamy is only allowed as directed by the Lord, otherwise it is a grievous sin.

David in Islam

Main article Islamic view of David

In the Qur'an and in the Islamic tradition, David (Arabic داود, Dāwūd) is one of the prophets of Islam, to whom the Zabur (Psalms) were revealed by God. The Islamic tradition includes many elements from the Jewish history of David, such as his battle with the giant Goliath, but rejects the Biblical portrayal of David as an adulterer and murderer - the rejection is based on the goodness of the Prophets of God in Islam (fallible, but to an extent of minor and basic human error) and on the concept of ismah, or the infallibility of the prophets (according to Shia Islam). According to some, but not all Islamic traditions David was not from Judah but from Levi and Aron.

David also appears in various Hadith (oral traditions derived from those who knew the Prophet Muhammad). In Sahih al-Bukhari and in Abd-Allah ibn Amr he is named as the person whose way of fasting and praying is the most perfect: "God's Apostle (Muhammad) said to me, "The most beloved fasting to God was the fasting of (the Prophet) David who used to fast on alternate days. And the most beloved prayer to God was the prayer of David who used to sleep for (the first) half of the night and pray for 1/3 of it and (again) sleep for a sixth of it." David was also given the most beautiful voice of all mankind, just as Joseph was given the most beautiful appearance. In one hadith, Abu Hurairah narrates that Muhammad said, "The reciting of the Zabur (i.e. Psalms) was made easy for David. He used to order that his riding animals be saddled, and would finish reciting the Zabur before they were saddled." Other hadith relate that David's reading of psalms was so entrancing that fish would leave the sea to listen when he recited, and that it was he who began the building of the Holy Temple, completed by his son Solomon, and which later became the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Historicity of David

See The Bible and history and dating the Bible for a more complete description of the general issues surrounding the Bible as a historical source.

Archaeological evidence

The Tel Dan Stele

Tel Dan Stele

An inscription found at Tel Dan dated c.850-835 BC may contain the phrase 'House of David' (ביתדוד). "If the reading of בית דוד [House of David] on the Tel Dan stele is correct, ... then we have solid evidence that a 9th-century BC Aramean king considered the founder of the Judean dynasty to be somebody named דוד" [David]. The Mesha Stele from Moab, dating from approximately the same period, may also contain the name David, although the reading is uncertain. Kenneth Kitchen has proposed that an inscription of c. 945 BC by the Egyptian Pharaoh Shoshenq I mentions "the highlands of David," but this has not been widely accepted.

The interpretation of the archeological evidence on the extent and nature of Judah and Jerusalem in the 10th century BC is a matter of fierce debate. Israel Finkelstein and Ze'ev Herzog of Tel Aviv University do not believe the archeological record supports the view that Israel at that time was a major state, but rather was a small tribal kingdom, although both Finkelstein and Silberman do accept that David and Solomon were real kings of Judah about the 10th century BC. They claim that surveys of surface finds aimed at tracing settlement patterns and population changes have shown that between the 16th and 8th centuries BC, a period which includes the biblical kingdoms of David and Solomon, the entire population of the hill country of Judah was no more than about 5,000 persons, most of them wandering pastoralists, with the entire urbanised area consisting of about twenty small villages.

According to Ze'ev Herzog "the united monarchy of David and Solomon, which is described by the Bible as a regional power, was at most a small tribal kingdom". Conversely William Dever, in his What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It?, holds that the archaeological and anthropological evidence supports the broad biblical account of a Judean state in the 10th century BC.

City of David

The Bronze and Iron Age remains of the City of David the original urban core of Jerusalem, identified with the reigns of David and Solomon were investigated extensively in the 1970s and 1980s under the direction of Yigael Shiloh of Hebrew University, but failed to discover significant evidence of occupation during the 10th century BC although recent findings may dispute that. In 2005 Eilat Mazar found a Large Stone Structure which she claimed was David's Palace.

The biblical account

The biblical evidence for David comes from the book of Samuel (two books in the Christian tradition), and the book of Chronicles (also two books in the Christian tradition). (Although almost half of the Psalms are headed "A Psalm of David", the headings are later additions, and no psalm can be attributed to David with certainty). Chronicles, however, merely retells Samuel from a different theological vantage point, and contains little if any information not available there, and the biblical evidence for David is therefore dependent almost exclusively on the material contained in the chapters from 1 Samuel 16 to 1 Kings 2.

Russian icon of St. David, the Prophet and King, 18th century (Iconostasis of Kizhi monastery, Karelia, Russia).

The question of David's historicity therefore becomes the question of the date, textual integrity, authorship and reliability of 1st and 2nd Samuel. Since Martin Noth put forward his analysis of the Deuteronomistic History biblical scholars have accepted that these two books form part of a continuous history of Israel, compiled no earlier than the late 7th century BC, but incorporating earlier works and fragments. Samuel's account of David "seems to have undergone two separate acts of editorial slanting. The original writers show a strong bias against Saul, and in favour of David and Solomon. Many years later, the Deuteronomists edited the material in a manner that conveyed their religious message, inserting reports and anecdotes that strengthened their monotheistic doctrine. Some of the materials in Samuel I and II , notably the lists of officers, officials, and districts are believed to be very early, possibly even dating to the time of David or Solomon. These documents were probably in the hands of the Deuteronomists when they started to compile the material three centuries later."

Beyond this, the full range of possible interpretations is available, from the "maximalist" position of the late John Bright, whose "History of Israel", dating largely from the 1950s, takes Samuel at face value, to the recent "minimalist" scholars such Thomas L. Thompson, who measures Samuel against the archaeological evidence and concludes that "an independent history of Judea during the Iron I and Iron II periods [i.e., the period of David] has little room for historicizing readings of the stories of I-II Samuel and I Kings." Within this gamut some interesting studies of David have been written. Baruch Halpern has pictured David as a lifelong vassal of Achish, the Philistine king of Gath; Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman have identified as the oldest and most reliable section of Samuel those chapters which describe David as the charismatic leader of a band of outlaws who captures Jerusalem and makes it his capital. Steven McKenzie, Associate Professor of the Hebrew Bible at Rhodes College and author of King David: A Biography, states the belief that David actually came from a wealthy family, was "ambitious and ruthless" and a tyrant who murdered his opponents, including his own sons.

David's legacy

The oldest complete Tree of Jesse window is in Chartres Cathedral, 1145.

Genealogy

According to Ruth 4:18–22, David is the tenth generation descendant from Judah, the fourth son of the patriarch Jacob (Israel). The genealogical line runs as follows: Judah → Pharez → Hezron → Ram → Amminadab → Nahshon → Salmon → Boaz (the husband of Ruth) → Obed → Jesse → David.

The New Testament traces the genealogy of Jesus back to David and Abraham, with three blocks of fourteen "generations" each being similarly schematic. In the ancient world each letter of the alphabet had a numerical value, the value for the name "David" being fourteen: the fourteen "generations" thus underscored Christ's Davidic descent and his identity as the expected Messiah.

David's family

David was born in Bethlehem, in the territory of the Tribe of Judah. His father was named Jesse. His mother is not named in the Bible, but the Talmud identifies her as Nitzevet daughter of Adael. David had seven brothers and was the youngest of them all. He had eight wives: Michal, the second daughter of King Saul; Ahinoam the Jezreelite; Abigail the Carmelite, previously wife of Nabal; Maachah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; Haggith; Abital; Eglah; and Bathsheba, previously the wife of Uriah the Hittite.

The Book of Chronicles lists David's sons by various wives and concubines. In Hebron he had six sons 1 Chronicles 3:1–3: Amnon, by Ahinoam; Daniel, by Abigail; Absalom, by Maachah; Adonijah, by Haggith; Shephatiah, by Abital; and Ithream, by Eglah. By Bathsheba, his sons were: Shammua; Shobab; Nathan; and Solomon. His sons born in Jerusalem by other wives included: Ibhar; Elishua; Eliphelet; Nogah; Nepheg; Japhia; Elishama; and Eliada. 2 Samuel 5:14–16 According to 2 Chronicles 11:18, Jerimoth, who is not mentioned in any of the genealogies, is mentioned as another of David's sons. According to 2 Samuel 9:11, David adopted Johnathan's son Mephibosheth as his own.

David also had at least one daughter, Tamar by Maachah, who was raped by Amnon, her half-brother. Her rape leads to Amnon's death. 2 Samuel 13:1–29 Absalom, Amnon's half-brother and Tamar's full-brother, waits two years, then avenges his sister by sending his servants to kill Amnon at a feast to which he had invited all the king's sons. 2 Samuel 13

Descendants of David

The following are some of the more notable persons who have claimed descent from the Biblical David, or had it claimed on their behalf:

• Jesus of Nazareth c. 4 BC - AD 30
• Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon of Spain/haRaMbaM apx. 1135-1204)
• Judah Loew, Yehuda Loew ben Bezalel (c. 1525, Prague; 22 August 1609 Prague), also known as "The Maharal of Prague".
• The Abravanel family
• The Baal Shem Tov, and through him every Hassidic Rebbe descended from him
• Eliezer Silver
• Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, whose family is descended from Judah Loew.
• Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
• The Royal House of Georgia

Representation in art and literature

David, Michelangelo, 1500-1504

Art

Famous sculptures of David include (in chronological order) those by:

• Donatello (c. 1430 - 1440), David (Donatello)
• Andrea del Verrocchio (1476), David (Verrocchio)
• Michelangelo (1504), David (Michelangelo)
• Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1624), David (Bernini)
• Antonin Mercié (1873)

Literature

• Dryden's long poem Absalom and Achitophel is an allegory that uses the story of the rebellion of Absalom against King David as the basis for his satire of the contemporary political situation, including events such as the Monmouth Rebellion (1685), the Popish Plot (1678) and the Exclusion Crisis.
• Elmer Davis's novel Giant Killer (1928, The John Day company) retells and embellishes the Biblical story of David, casting David as primarily a poet who managed always to find others to do the "dirty work" of heroism and kingship. In the novel, Elhanan in fact killed Goliath but David claimed the credit; and Joab, David's cousin and general, took it upon himself to make many of the difficult decisions of war and statecraft when David vacillated or wrote poetry instead.
• Gladys Schmitt wrote a novel titled "David the King" (1946, Doubleday Books) which proceeds as a richly embellished biography of David's entire life. The book took a risk, especially for its time, in portraying David's relationship with Jonathan as overtly homoerotic, but was ultimately panned by critics as a bland rendition of the title character.
• In Thomas Burnett Swann's Biblical fantasy novel How are the Mighty Fallen (1974, DAW) David and Jonathan are explicitly stated to be lovers. Moreover, Jonathan is a member of a winged semi-human race (possibly nephilim), one of several such races co-existing with humanity but often persecuted by it.
• Joseph Heller, the author of Catch-22, also wrote a novel based on David, God Knows (1984, Simon & Schuster). Told from the perspective of an aging David, the humanity—rather than the heroism—of various biblical characters are emphasized. The portrayal of David as a man of flaws such as greed, lust, selfishness, and his alienation from God, the falling apart of his family is a distinctly 20th century interpretation of the events told in the Bible.
• Jill Eileen Smith's "The Wives of King David" (2009, Revell) is a Christian series that depicts the biblical David's life through the eyes of his famous wives: Michal, Abigail and Bathsheba. The first fiction is set against the 'backdrop of opulent palace life, raging war, and desert escapes as Princess Michal deals with love, loss, and personal transformation as one of the wives of David.'
• Day of War by Cliff Graham (2009, Tate) is a novel about the early years of King David's Warriors. It is being made into a major motion picture franchise from director David L. Cunningham and producer Grant Curtis.
• Juan Bosch, Dominican political leader and writer, wrote "David: Biography of a King" (1966, Hawthorn, NY) a realistic approach to David's life and political career.
• Allan Massie wrote "King David" (1996, Sceptre), a novel about David's career which portrays the king's relationship to Jonathan and others as openly homosexual.
• Madeleine L'Engle's novel Certain Women (1993, HarperOne) explores family, the Christian faith, and the nature of God through the story of King David's family and an analogous modern family's saga.
• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used the story of David and Bathsheba as the main structure for the Sherlock Holmes story the Crooked Man. The betrayal of the Crooked Man is paralleled with David's betrayal of Uriah the Hittite, carried out in order to win Bathsheba.
• Stefan Heym's "The King David Report" (1998, Northwestern University Press) is a fiction depicting the writings of the Bible historian, Ethan, upon King Solomon's orders, of a true and authoritative report on the life of David, Son of Jesse.
• Timothy S. Wilkinson has written "Prophet of Israel" and "Judge of Israel," the first two volumes of "The Eternal Throne Chronicles," TomothyWilkinson.net a series of historical novels based on David's life and the events leading up to it. (2009, Lulu Inc.)
• Malachi Martin's 1980 factional novel King of Kings:A Novel of the Life of David relates the life of David, Adonai's champion in his battle with the Philistine deity Dagon.

Film

• Gregory Peck played King David in the 1951 film David and Bathsheba, directed by Henry King. Susan Hayward played Bathsheba and Raymond Massey played the prophet Nathan.
• Finlay Currie played an aged King David in the 1959 film Solomon and Sheba, directed by King Vidor. Yul Brynner played Solomon and Gina Lollobrigida played the Queen of Sheba.
• Richard Gere portrayed King David in the 1985 film King David directed by Bruce Beresford.
• Nathaniel Parker portrayed King David in the 1997 film "David", with Leonard Nimoy as Samuel and Jonathan Pryce as Saul.

Music

• Josquin des Pres's Absalon fili mi is a polyphonic lamentation from David's perspective on the death of his son.
• Arthur Honegger's oratorio, Le Roi David ('King David'), with a libretto by Rene Morax, was composed in 1921 and instantly became a staple of the choral repertoire; it is still widely performed.
• Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah" has references to David ("there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord", "The baffled king composing Hallelujah") and Bathsheba ("you saw her bathing on the roof") in its opening verses.
• "Mad About You", a song on Sting's 1991 album The Soul Cages explores David's obsession with Bathsheba from David's perspective.
• Dead by the Pixies is a retelling of David's adultery and repentance.
• Herbert Howells (1892–1983) composed an artsong for voice and piano called "King David".
• Eric Whitacre wrote a song, "When David Heard," based on 2 Samuel, chronicling the death of David's son, Absalom and David's grief over losing his son.
• mewithoutYou has a song from their album It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright, entitled "The Angel of Death Came to David's Room," which tells the story of David struggle with the Angel of Death when his (David's) time of death has arrived. It is based on folk tradition of King David and some Hebrew Bible.

Musical theatre

• King David, a modern oratorio, with a book and lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Alan Menken.

Television

• In 2009, NBC introduced the series Kings, which was explicitly designed as a modern retelling of the David story.
• In the PBS television series Wishbone the episode "Little Big Dog" recounts the story of David, his favor with Saul, and his triumphant battle over Goliath.
• The season two episode of Xena: Warrior Princess "Giant Killer" features David and his killing of Goliath.

Cards

For a considerable period, starting in the 15th century and continuing until the 19th, French playing card manufacturers assigned to each of the court cards names taken from history or mythology. In this context, the King of Spades was often known as "David".

See also

• David and Jonathan
• King David's Palace site
• King David's Tomb
• Midrash Samuel
• Passover songs
• Tel Arad

References

• Kirsch, Jonathan (2000) King David: the real life of the man who ruled Israel. Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-43275-4.
• See also the entry "David" in Easton's Bible Dictionary.
• Dever, William G. (2001) What did the Bible writers know and when did they know it? William B. Eerdmans Publ. Co., Cambridge UK.

Further reading

• For a more complete summary of all the episodes in the Saul/David story in Samuel (but excluding Chronicles), see synopsis

External links

• Etymology of "David"
• Complete Bible Genealogy David's family tree
• The Eternal House Of David Family Reunion
• Poet Robert Pinsky Takes on King David onThoughtcast
• Double Identity: Orpheus as David. Orpheus as Christ? Biblical Archaeology Review
• Psalm 34 in Hebrew (with English translation) illustrating the acrostic form
• U2 performs ‘40’ live in Chicago, 2007
• hebrewpsalms.org
• Sunday after the Nativity: Commemoration of the Holy Righteous David the King, Joseph the Betrothed, and James the Brother of the Lord Orthodox icon and synaxarion