David

This article is about the Biblical monarch. For the name "David", see David (name). For other uses, see David (disambiguation).
"King David" redirects here. For other uses, see King David (disambiguation).

David
דָּוִד‎
King David Playing the Harp (1622)
by Gerard van Honthorst
King of Israel
Reigncontroversial; between 10th century BCE and 9th century BCE[1]
PredecessorIsh-bosheth[2][3]
SuccessorSolomon
Consort
8 wives:
Issue
18+ children, including:
HouseHouse of David
FatherJesse
MotherNitzevet (Talmud)
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Menorah Star of David
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Southern Kingdom of Judah
Hasmonean dynasty
Herodian dynasty
Jewish-Roman Wars
See also

(Italics indicate a disputed
reign or non-royal title)

Judaism portal

David (/ˈdeɪvɪd/; Biblical Hebrew: דָּוִד‎, romanized: Dāwīḏ, "beloved one")[a][5] was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy,[6][7] according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.

According to Jewish works such as the Seder Olam Rabbah, Seder Olam Zutta, and Sefer ha-Qabbalah (all written over a thousand years later), David ascended the throne as the king of Judah in 885 BCE.[8] The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damascus in the late 9th/early 8th centuries BCE to commemorate a victory over two enemy kings, contains the phrase bytdwd (𐤁𐤉𐤕𐤃𐤅𐤃), which is translated as "House of David" by most scholars. The Mesha stele, erected by King Mesha of Moab in the 9th century BCE, may also refer to the "House of David", although this is disputed.[9][10] Apart from this, all that is known of David comes from biblical literature, the historicity of which has been extensively challenged,[11] and there is little detail about David that is concrete and undisputed.[12] Debates persist over several controversial issues: the exact timeframe of David's reign and the geographical boundaries of his kingdom; whether the story serves as a political defense of David's dynasty against accusations of tyranny, murder and regicide; the homoerotic relationship between David and Jonathan; whether the text is a Homer-like heroic tale adopting elements from its Ancient Near East parallels; and whether elements of the text date as late as the Hasmonean period.

In the biblical narrative of the Books of Samuel, David is described as a young shepherd and harpist whose heart is devoted to Yahweh, the one true God. He gains fame and becomes a hero by killing Goliath. He becomes a favorite of Saul, the first king of Israel, but is forced to go into hiding when Saul suspects David of plotting to take his throne. After Saul and his son Jonathan are killed in battle, David is anointed king by the tribe of Judah and eventually all the tribes of Israel. He conquers Jerusalem, makes it the capital of a united Israel, and brings the Ark of the Covenant to the city. He commits adultery with Bathsheba and arranges the death of her husband, Uriah the Hittite. David's son Absalom later tries to overthrow him, but David returns to Jerusalem after Absalom's death to continue his reign. David desires to build a temple to Yahweh, but is denied because of the bloodshed of his reign. He dies at age 70 and chooses Solomon, his son with Bathsheba, as his successor instead of his eldest son Adonijah. David is honored as an ideal king and the forefather of the future Hebrew Messiah in Jewish prophetic literature, and many psalms are attributed to him.

David is also richly represented in post-biblical Jewish written and oral tradition and referenced in the New Testament. Early Christians interpreted the life of Jesus of Nazareth in light of references to the Hebrew Messiah and to David; Jesus is described as being directly descended from David in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke. In the Quran and hadith, David is described as an Israelite king as well as a prophet of Allah.[13][14] The biblical David has inspired many interpretations in art and literature over the centuries.

  1. ^ Frevel, Christian (2023). History of Ancient Israel. Atlanta: SBL Press. pp. 176, 190. ISBN 978-1-62837-514-5. The geographical extent of David's—even extrabiblically probable—rule as well as its precise date remain controversial in research. Yet, divorced from the biblical findings, there is nothing to suggest it should be dated around 1000 BCE. (p. 176) …the local ruler David, whenever—tenth or ninth century BCE—he is to be dated. (p. 190)
  2. ^ Garfinkel, Yosef; Ganor, Saar; Hasel, Michael G. (2018). In the Footsteps of King David: Revelations from an Ancient Biblical City. Thames & Hudson. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-50077428-1. Archived from the original on 2020-10-11. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  3. ^ Avioz, Michael (2015). Josephus' Interpretation of the Books of Samuel. Bloomsbury. p. 99. ISBN 9780567458575. Archived from the original on 2020-10-11. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  4. ^ Botterweck, G. Johannes; Ringgren, Helmer (1977). Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Wm. B. Eerdmans. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-8028-2327-4.
  5. ^ "Strong's Hebrew: 1732. דָּוִיד (David) -- perhaps "beloved one," a son of Jesse". biblehub.com.
  6. ^ Carr, David M. (2011). An Introduction to the Old Testament: Sacred Texts and Imperial Contexts of the Hebrew Bible. John Wiley & Sons. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-44435623-6. Archived from the original on 2020-10-11. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  7. ^ Falk, Avner (1996). A Psychoanalytic History of the Jews. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-83863660-2. Archived from the original on 2020-10-11. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  8. ^ Ben Halpetha, Jose (1971). M.D. Yerushalmi (ed.). Seder Olam Rabba (in Hebrew). Gil Publishers, in affiliation with the Haredi Youth Organization. OCLC 233090728., s.v. Seder Olam Zutta, p. 107 (who gives the year of his ascension as 2875 anno mundi).
  9. ^ "New reading of Mesha Stele could have far-reaching consequences for biblical history". phys.org. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  10. ^ Amanda Borschel-Dan. "High-tech study of ancient stone suggests new proof of King David's dynasty". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  11. ^ Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel; by Isaac Kalimi; page 32; Cambridge University Press, 2018; ISBN 9781108471268
  12. ^ Moore & Kelle 2011, pp. 232–233.
  13. ^ "David". Oxford Islamic Studies. Oxford. Archived from the original on 2018-11-19. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  14. ^ Manouchehri, Faramarz Haj; Khodaverdian, Shahram (2017-09-28). "David (Dāwūd)". Encyclopaedia Islamica. Brill. Retrieved 2021-03-10.


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