Background
He was born in Bethlehem, the youngest son of Jesse of the tribe of Judah and great-grandson of Boaz and Ruth.
He was born in Bethlehem, the youngest son of Jesse of the tribe of Judah and great-grandson of Boaz and Ruth.
He grew up as a shepherd and a skilled musician.
While still tending the sheep, he was anointed by the prophet Samuel as the future successor to King Saul. He was taken to Saul’s court to play to the king, who was passing through one of his fits of depression. At first the king took to David and made him one of his courtiers.
He married the king’s daughter Michal and his friendship with Saul’s son and heir Jonathan remains proverbial. However, repeated attempts by the mentally disturbed king on David’s life led him to flee and take refuge among the Philistines. Now, he lived as an outlaw, but received religious legitimacy when he was joined by Abiathar, sole survivor of Saul’s massacre of the priests of Nob.
David took service with Achish, king of Gath, receiving in return Ziklag in southern Judah. He was not averse to joining the Philistines in their attack on Saul but they remained suspicious of him and sent him away from the battlefield.
David returned to Judah and settled in Hebron, the ritual and tribal capital, where he was crowned king and remained for over seven years.
David built an empire in stages. After defeating the Philistines, he undertook campaigns against other hostile neighbors, including the Moabites, the Edomites, and the Ammonites. During the Ammonite war David committed adultery with Bathsheba and engineered her husband’s death so that he could marry her. For this he was severely rebuked by Nathan the prophet, and punished by the death of their first offspring and by the divine decree that the sword would never depart from his house. Finally, he defeated the Arameans, captured Damascus and extended his rule as far as the river Euphrates.
In David’s old age, he was confronted with a struggle for the succession between his son Adonijah, next in line for the throne, and Solomon, his son by Bathsheba. Court maneuvers by Bathsheba and Nathan the prophet ensured the succession to Solomon.
David was buried in the City of David in Jerusalem but the site is unknown. Since the Middle Ages, a grave in Jerusalem has been venerated as David’s tomb, but the identification is the result of a misunderstanding.
Quotations: In the ensuing battle and Philistine victory, Saul and Jonathan were killed. On hearing this David uttered his famous lament: “How are the mighty fallen!... Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon... Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely, in life and death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions” (2 Sam. 1).
The personality of David made a deep and lasting impression on the Jewish people, later transmitted to the Christian and the Muslim traditions. He was admired for his courage, energy, wisdom, and deep trust in God. According to tradition he was the “sweet singer of Israel" to whom the book of Psalms was attributed. The kings of Judah were descended from him (the house of David) and so traditionally would the Messiah, who would restore the kingdom of the house of David, symbol of the link between God and the Jewish people.
Quotes from others about the person
The Rabbis on King David
• King David continues to live.
• A harp hung over David’s bed. At midnight, the north wind blew through it and it played of itself. Then the king arose and studied Torah until dawn.
• God looks foward to the kingship of David until the end of time.
• David was so pious that his prayers could bring things from heaven to earth.
• He was one of the few pious men over whom the evil inclination had no power.