1Sa 16:13-1Ki 2:11; 1Ch 11:1-29:30
David (Heb. Dâwîd, generally interpreted as “beloved”; Gr. Daueíd, Dauíd or Dabíd). The meaning competes with other proposals. It has been suggested that the dwdh of the Moabite Stone* and the dawidum of the Mari texts mean “chief” or “commander”, and that this would be the true meaning; however, this interpretation is questionable. The name David also appears in the Ebla texts from prepatrical times. 1. Youngest son of Jesse, a Bethlehemite, and ancestor of Christ. He was the 2nd king of Israel. He reigned from c 1011 to 971 BC As a young man David is depicted as a fair-haired, handsome boy with 305 beautiful eyes (1Sa 16:10-13; 17:12-14). Like many other Palestinian boys, as a young man he was put to care for the family’s few sheep (17:28). As a shepherd he showed unusual courage by single-handedly killing a bear and a lion (vs 34-36). After Saul was rejected as king, God directed Samuel to anoint him as king. This ceremony was performed in secret (16:1-13), and its true meaning would not have been understood even by members of David’s family. Whatever the case, Saul knew nothing of it at first. From the day of his anointing, the Spirit of the Lord came mightily on David (v 13). b. As a member of Saul’s court. Saul, seized with bouts of melancholy after the Spirit of God departed from him, was advised to seek relaxation in music. David, a skilled player on the lyre, was chosen to calm Saul’s anguished mind. The king liked the boy, and he made him his armor bearer and kept him in the palace for a long time, though not continuously (1Sa 16:14-23; 17:15). This will have been of great educational value to the shepherd who was destined to become the future king of Israel. Around that time, in a war against the Philistines, Jesse’s 3 eldest sons responded to Saul’s call for soldiers and set out for the battlefield, about 15 miles west of Bethlehem. Here Goliath, the Philistine champion, challenged the Hebrews to name an opponent; but the challenge went unanswered, and for about 6 weeks the 2 armies stood face to face without fighting (1Sa 17:1-16). At the end of that period, David, who was at home, was sent to bring some provisions to his brothers. The rest of the story is well known (vs 17-53): David killed Goliath, kept the giant’s armor as a souvenir, and later put the sword in the tabernacle (v 54; 21:9). That Saul asked Abner whose son David was does not mean that he did not know him, but rather that he may have forgotten the name of his father (17:55-58). It seems that he was interested in whether the boy came from a family of heroes and warriors. When David was questioned, the humble young man replied simply that he was the son of Jesse of Bethlehem, not pointing to any notable ancestors. He was modest and did not ask the king to fulfill his promise to enrich the man who defeated Goliath, nor to make him his son-in-law, nor exempt him from taxes (v 25). David’s conduct—his plainness, modesty, courage, and piety toward him—earned him the admiration of Jonathan, the crown prince, and the two became close friends (18:1, 3). This friendship survived great difficulties, and he never died. Their devotion and loyalty to each other has rarely been repeated and was probably never surpassed. 153. Anointing of David by Samuel. Described in a 3rd century wall painting found in the Dura Europos synagogue (Map XIII, C-5). Saul no longer allowed David to abandon him (1Sa 18:2), but his relationship with the young man turned to jealousy and hatred when he saw that the young man was hailed as a hero greater than himself. So, upset by forebodings that David would become king (vs 6-9), he made plans to assassinate him. In a fit of rage he tried to kill him while he was playing the lyre (vs 10, 11). He later sent him away (v 13), and gave David’s promised daughter to another man (vs 17-19). Noting later that her youngest daughter loved David, she offered her in marriage to him in exchange for her killing 100 Philistines as a marriage dowry, hoping they would finish him off (vs 20-27). David, however, was victorious in all his confrontations with the Philistines, and he became more and more loved and honored by the people. This only increased Saul’s deadly fear and hatred of him (vs 28-30). The time came when he asked the members of his court, among whom were David’s enemies (24:9), to assassinate him (19:1). Jonathan’s intervention brought about a brief respite (vs 2-7), but Saul’s resentment soon revived, and he made another attempt to kill him with his spear (vs 9, 10). He later tried to arrest him, but David, with the help of his wife, escaped to Samuel (vs 11-19). After another attempt by Jonathan to reconcile his father with David, he became convinced that it was no longer safe for his friend to remain at court. The 2 parted ways, mutually assuring each other of his devotion (ch 20). It seems that after this they met only once more (1Sa 23:16-18). c. As a fugitive. With a few faithful followers, David left the capital, tricking him into obtaining some provisions and Goliath’s sword from the high priest at Nob (1Sa 21:1-9). As an indirect consequence of this subterfuge, all but one of Nob’s priests were killed (22:6-19). In his desperation, David sought refuge among the national enemies, the Philistines. When he discovered that he was in danger at Gath, he escaped by playing the fool (21:10-22:1). He returned to Judah and stayed in a cave in Adullam, in the mountainous area southwest of Bethlehem, but took his parents to Moab for safety reasons (22:1-4). He gathered around him a band of disaffected men that soon numbered 400 (v 2), and later about 600 (23:13). Among them was Abiathar, the only priest to escape Saul’s massacre at Nob; therefore, David’s group was not deprived of spiritual leadership (22:20-23). When the inhabitants of Keilah were disturbed by the attacks of the Philistines, David spared them. Knowing where David was, Saul went out to attack him, but the persecuted man fled to the desert of Judah, where Saul preferred not to follow him. While in the desert of Ziph, David was visited by Jonathan and was pursued again by Saul, and was almost captured. However, Saul abandoned the persecution because of the news of a Philistine invasion (1Sa 23:1-28). David then moved to the wilderness around En-gedi, near the western shore of the Dead Sea. Saul, pursuing him again, inadvertently entered a cave occupied by David, giving David the opportunity to take revenge. However, he desisted from doing so; whereupon he convinced the king of his innocence. Consequently, Saul stopped bothering the fugitive for a time (1Sa 23:29-24:22). While in southern Judah, David’s company protected the people of the region from robbers. In return, David hoped that the people would supply him with the provisions he and his group needed. When they approached Nabal, a rich cattle rancher, he not only did not give them the requested supplies but also insulted him. Only the wit and wisdom of Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saved him from David’s wrath; when soon after Nabal died, he took her as his wife (1Sa 25: 2-42). Later, the Zifs, who had already betrayed him once (23:19), again informed Saul of David’s presence when he entered his territory. Having forgotten his promise to leave him alone, the king began a new campaign against him, and he again fell into the hands of David. Again he spared his life, and again Saul promised peace to his rival (1Sa_26). However, he could not trust Saul. Tired of being a fugitive in his own country, he made a 2nd attempt to find refuge among the Philistines. Meanwhile, they had become convinced that David, as Saul’s enemy, was their ally, and allowed him to live in his territory. Achish, king of Gath, gave him Ziklag, a town on the southeastern border of Philistine territory (27:1-6). During his one year and 4 month stay in Ziklag, David raided various desert tribes, but he told the Philistines that he had been fighting Judah (vs 7-12). When the Philistines assembled to attack Saul on Mount Gilboa, David and his 600 men accompanied them, but were sent back for fear they would defect to the Israelites. When David and his followers returned to Ziklag, and found that the town had been destroyed by the Amalekites and that all their dependents had been taken prisoner, they quickly followed them and were successful in recovering both the goods and the prisoners ( 28:1, 2; 29:2-30:20). Hearing the news of Israel’s defeat, and the death of Saul and Jonathan, he lamented his death with a beautiful poem (2Sa_1). d. as king of Judah. Abner, Saul’s commander-in-chief, immediately put Ishbosheth on the throne at Mahanaim, east of the Jordan, but the tribe of Judah broke away from Israel and crowned David as king at Hebron (2Sa 2:1- 10). This division produced constant battles between the 2 groups for about 7 1/2 years, until Abner, and then Ish-bosheth, were killed. With this, the tribes were left without a king and invited David to assume the kingdom over the entire nation (2:11; 3:6-5:5). David was then about 37 years old, and had several wives and children (5:4, 5; 3:2-5). and. As king of Israel and Judah. David’s first act as king of the 12 tribes was to conquer Jerusalem from the Jebusites. He made it the capital of the kingdom and called it the “city of David” (2Sa 5:6-10). Since Jerusalem was between Judah and the southernmost part of the northern tribes, and did not belong to any of them, the selection of this fortress as the nation’s new capital did not arouse jealousy among the tribes. In several battles against the Philistines, David managed to defeat them so completely that they ceased to be a threat to Israel (2Sa 5:17-25; 8:1; 21:15-22; 1Ch 14:8-17; 18:1; 20 :4-8). He also made war against the Moabites, the Arameans of Zoba and Damascus, the Ammonites, the Edomites, and the Amalekites (2Sa 8:10; 12: 26-31). Victorious in all battles, he was able to extend his territories to neighboring regions, thus increasing the nation’s resources and his personal fame. David also took leadership in religious matters. He brought the ark of Kiriath-jearim to Jerusalem and put it in a tent-sanctuary (2Sa_6; 1Ch 13: 1-16: 6). He made plans for a permanent temple, but by divine order his construction was prevented. However, he made many preparations for it (2Sa_7; 1Ch_17; 22: 7-10), and he organized the ecclesiastical personnel in a very complete way: priests, Levites, musicians and singers, temple guard and other servants (1Ch 23: 2 -26: 28). But David not only had triumphs, he also experienced serious difficulties in his reign. Their…