David’s Early Life

David was born in Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, in the year 2854 (907 BCE), during
the era of the prophets. He was the youngest of seven sons, and only 10 generations
removed from Judah, one of Jacob's 12 sons. He was also a descendant of Ruth, the
famous Moabite convert.1

A red-cheeked, bright-eyed and handsome young man, he used to tend to the sheep of
his father, Jesse. Now, the people had recently anointed Saul as the first king of Israel,
but Saul soon sinned and fell from Divine grace.

It was then that the prophet Samuel (as directed by G-d) anointed David as king of
Israel. And so his ascension to the throne began.2

(See here for more.)

David and Saul

King Saul and David’s first encounter occurred when an evil spirit gripped King Saul. His
advisors suggested he bring in a skilled musician who would play for the king to ease
his mind. One of the attendants present recommended that the king bring in young
David, whom he knew to be a skilled performer. Little did Saul know that the young lad
who was playing before him was destined to be his successor.3

David and Goliath

At this time, King Saul was battling the Philistines, longtime enemies of Israel.

In the valley of Elah, the two armies were poised for battle, with nothing but a hill
separating them. The Philistines vastly outnumbered Saul’s army.

A Philistine giant, Goliath, appeared on the hill, and his words came roaring down like
thunder:

Why should you come out to engage in battle? I am the Philistine [champion], and you are Saul’s

servants. Choose one of your men and let him come down against me. If he overcomes me in

combat and kills me, we will become your slaves; but if I best him and kill him, you shall be our

slaves and serve us.4

The sight of the fierce giant, six cubits and a span (about 10 feet5) tall, a towering figure
on the hill, clad in armour, iron and brass from head to foot, filled the Jews with great
terror. There was not a single man in the Israelite camp who dared accept the
challenge.

Day after day, for 40 days, this mighty giant appeared on the hill to repeat his challenge,
morning and evening.
Then, young David, filled with courage, approached the giant with just a staff, a
slingshot and five stones.6 And with one shot, he slew the giant where he stood. He
proceeded to cut off his head and presented it to King Saul. The Philistines witnessing
this event fled in fear. And David was a national hero.7,8

(See here for more.)

True Friendship

“A love that is not dependent on anything will never perish . . . an example of this is the
love between David and Jonathan.”9

When David overcame Goliath in battle and was brought to King Saul’s palace to be
rewarded, he met Jonathan, the son of King Saul, for the first time. At that moment, their
love and respect for each other was first founded: “When [David] finished speaking with
Saul, Jonathan’s soul became bound up with the soul of David; Jonathan loved David
as himself.”10

This bond between the two proved itself, even in the most difficult of times. Later on,
King Saul began to fear that David wanted his throne and sought to kill him. Despite
knowing that David posed a potential threat to his place in line to the crown, Jonathan
loved David and protected him from his father’s attempts to have him killed.

(See here for more.)

David the Warrior

King Saul then selected David to be a warrior in his army. David’s success was so
great, the verse relates, “When the [troops] came home [and] David returned from killing
the Philistines, the women of all the towns of Israel came out . . . The women sang as
they danced, and they chanted: ‘Saul has slain his thousands; David, his tens of
thousands!’”11

King Saul started to grow envious of David’s glory and kept a watchful and jealous eye
on David.12

King Saul vs. David

G-d continued to grant David much success in battle. King Saul started to fear that
David’s fame and power would one day help him usurp the throne. This led to a war
between the two men.

It started when David was playing the harp for the king, and a cloud of fear and anger
suddenly fell upon the king. King Saul took hold of a spear and threw it at David. By
Divine intervention, David managed to escape.
David fled south to the mountains of Judah, his home. He needed food and weapons.
He obtained these from the city of Nob. At that time Nob was a holy place, distinguished
because it housed the Tabernacle and the priests. David was taken in and cared for by
Ahimelech and his fellow priests. This provided David with the opportunity to stock up
on food and weapons. During his stay, he was seen by Doeg the Edomite, who was a
servant of King Saul.

Fearing this, David escaped to the city of Gath, and then sought refuge in one of the
caves near Adullam, in the plains of Judah. It was a secure retreat, and David’s brothers
and all his father's household came to him. His solitary abode was soon known, and he
was joined by many who were in distress, or in debt or had any other reason to be
discontented.

Doeg the Edomite related news of David’s whereabouts to the king.

King Saul embarked on a quest to hunt down and kill David. There were two times
during this hunt when King Saul was at the mercy of David, and instead of taking
advantage of the situation and killing the king, David spared his life, as he dared not to
lay his hand upon G-d’s anointed one. It was only after David spared his life for the
second time that King Saul finally retreated and let David be.13

(See here for more.)

Death of Saul and Jonathan

King Saul was then waging a mighty war against the Philistines.

David was in Ziklag (where he had retreated in fear that King Saul would change his
mind and hunt him again) when he heard that Saul (and his son Jonathan) had died in
battle. David sincerely mourned the death of Saul and Jonathan and the defeat of
Israel.14

(See here for more.)

David Crowned as King

After the death of Saul, David saw that the time had come for him to emerge from exile
and take over the leadership of his people. He left Ziklag and proceeded to the ancient
city of Hebron, in Judah. There the people of Judah gathered and anointed him king. In
the prime of his life (he was 30 years old), David was wise in council, prompt in action,
G-d-fearing and earnest, and the people recognized him as the most suitable candidate
for the throne in those troubled times.

King David’s ascension to the throne did not go unprotested. Abner (previously a
general in King Saul’s army) felt that the crown should remain in the family of King Saul.
However, his forces were beaten swiftly, and he had no choice but to acknowledge the
reality of David being king over all of Israel.
The people swarmed to Hebron to pay homage to their beloved king and to anoint him
publicly. The occasion turned into a great national celebration that lasted for three days.
In time, he moved his capital from Hebron to Jerusalem.15

(See here for more.)

King David's Victories

Israel was still surrounded by many hostile tribes.

King David maintained a standing army consisting of 12 divisions, each one

representing one tribe of Israel. Each division numbered 24,000 men. Thus, King
David's army totalled 288,000 men. David knew that before there could be real peace
for his people, he would have to subdue the neighbouring enemies. He fought and
subdued the Philistines, invaded Moab, slew most of their soldiers, and imposed a
heavy tribute upon the people.

Then King David marched against Hadadezer, king of Zoba in Syria, whose empire
extended from the vicinity of Damascus eastward to the borders of the Euphrates. He
vanquished his armies, subjected his people and sent the best of his horses to
Jerusalem.

This unparalleled succession of victories not only established King David's power, but
also spread his name abroad. He was regarded as one of the mightiest rulers in the
East.16

(See here for more.)

King David’s Wives

While King David had numerous wives,17 only eight are named in the book of
Samuel: Michal, Ahinoam, Abigail, Maacah, Haggit, Avital, Eglah and Bathsheba. While
not much detail is given about these women, we do know information about some of
them:

Michal was the second eldest daughter of King Saul. When the king was confronted by
Goliath, he promised that the warrior to defeat this giant would be wed to one of his
daughters. David came and slew the giant. King Saul proposed that David marry his
eldest daughter, Merav. However, at that time, Merav had already already been given in
marriage to another.18 King Saul then discovered that his daughter, Michal, wished to
marry David. The king requested from David as a wedding dowry to marry Michal, one
hundred foreskins from his enemies, the Philistines. King Saul had hoped that David
would fall in battle (as he grew fearful of David as explained earlier), but David
succeeded and took Michal as his wife.19

Abigail is described as a wise and beautiful women. It happened that when David and
his men were fleeing from King Saul, he went to a wealthy man named Nabal to
replenish his supply of food and weaponry. David expected Nabal to act generously
towards him, as he had protected and did not take advantage of his shepherds who
were him throughout his travels. However, Nabal, a fool and a drunk, refused and even
mocked David. When his refusal was reported back to David, he made ready for war
against Nabal. Abigail, the wife of Nabal, heard about this great commotion and quickly
diffused the situation by running ahead and greeting David with plenty of food and gifts.
Ten days later, G-d struck Nabal and he died. Upon hearing of Nabal’s death, David
sought to take Abigail as his wife and proposed to her.20

King David and Bathsheba

It happened sometime after David was proclaimed king that he was taking a stroll on the
rooftops, and he beheld the beauty of a woman named Bathsheba. David inquired
about the woman and was informed that she was married to a soldier named Uriah.
Now David’s passion for Bathsheba was strong, and he wished to marry her. He sent
Uriah to the front lines of battle, knowing full well that he was giving him a death
sentence. When news of Uriah’s death reached David, he took Bathsheba as his wife.

G-d was displeased with David’s actions and sent the prophet Nathan to rebuke the
king. Knowing that he sinned, David sat in penance until G-d forgave him.

This story raises many questions that are beyond the scope of this article, but a couple
of points need to be addressed in order to bring some clarity to the story. 21

According to the Talmud, the reason King David sought to marry Bathsheba and was
willing to go to great lengths to do so was because he saw by Divine inspiration that he
was destined to marry her and bear the next king of Israel.22 Furthermore, before
sending Uriah off to battle, he had a quick discussion with him regarding the war; in the
midst of which King David gave Uriah a command to go home, a command that Uriah
did not obey. He told the king, “The ark and Israel and Judah are located at Sukkot, and
my master Joaband Your Majesty’s men are camped in the open; how can I go
home?”23
Referring to Joab (David’s general) as “my master” in front of the king was tantamount
to treason, and Uriah deserved the death penalty for his rebellion. 24 However, King
David sentenced him to death under the guise of sending him to war so people should
not say, “King David had Uriah killed so that he could take his wife.”25

Justified though his actions may be, they were still displeasing to G-d. Nathan the
prophetinformed the king that the first child he would have with Bathsheba would die as
a consequence of his actions.26 Shortly after this, Bathsheba gave birth to a boy who fell
critically ill. David fasted and prayed in the hope of rescinding G-d’s decree, but alas, on
the seventh day, the baby passed away. David accepted this as part of his penance, got
up from fasting and prostrated before G-d.27,28

(See here for more information regarding King David’s wives.)

Birth of Solomon

David and Bathsheba then gave birth to a son they called Solomon, "the peaceful," but
whom Nathan the prophet, blessing him in the name of G-d, called Jedidiah, "the
beloved of G-d." Solomon was destined to rule over Israel.
David’s Other Sons

David had a number of sons, three of whom—Absalom, Adoniah, and Solomon—

became prominent in the history of Israel.

Absalom was a handsome, ambitious and charismatic prince. He believed that he was
destined to be king and feared that his elderly father would pass the crown on to young
Solomon (as King David was Divinely inspired to). And so he rallied some of the
greatest warriors and advisers and led a revolt against his father.

News of the revolt broke David’s heart and, instead of confronting his son in an all-out
war, he fled on foot with some of his loyal servants. Absalom was determined to chase
down his father, and a bloody battle ensued. Realizing that his father had the upper
hand, Absalom fled in terror and dismay. As he was riding through the woods on his
swift mule, his long locks of his hair got caught in the spreading branches of a large
tree. Unable to extricate himself, he remained suspended, for his mule had escaped.
One of David's servants brought this intelligence to Joab (King David’s general), who
gave the order that Absalom be put to death.

Even though Absalom had caused great troubles for his father, King David nonetheless
grieved and mourned for the death of his son.

Unfortunately, Absalom was not the only son to seek the throne. Adoniah also had
grand plans to obtain the crown, but King David put an immediate halt to any other
usurpers by having Solomon anointed and pronounced King of Israel.29

(See here for more.)

David Lives Forever

At the age of 70, King David passed away. It is said that before his death he asked G-d
to reveal exactly when he would leave this world.30 G-d, not wishing to divulge this
information, merely informed him on which day of the week he was die: Shabbat. David
made sure to be constantly studying Torah throughout every Shabbat so that the Angel
of Death (Satan) would not be able to take his soul. When David’s time on earth came
to an end, the Angel of Death distracted the king from his learning by shaking the trees
in his garden. The king climbed the stairs to see what the commotion was, but one of
the steps broke underneath his feet. Startled, the king paused from his studies, and it
was that moment that the king passed away.

David the Composer

© Yoram Raanan

King David was not just another figure in history. He lives on to this day. One of King
David’s greatest works, and arguably his greatest legacy, was the book of Psalms.
During his spare time, King David would study the Torah and sing songs of praise to
G-d. The book of Psalms has been a refuge for the Jewish people in their times of
trouble throughout history. Whenever Jews are in distress, they open up the book of
Psalms and cry out to G-d.
(See here for more on King David and the Psalms.)

Solomon and the Temple

King David wished to build the Holy Temple in Jerusalem as a dwelling place for G-d.
However, Nathan the prophet told King David that it was not his destiny to build the Holy
Temple (as he had spilled much blood).31 His son Solomon would build the
Temple.32Nonetheless, King David wished to participate in any way he could. And so he
instructed Solomon in the building process and procured the necessary materials for the
construction.33

King David was not only involved in the building of the first Holy Temple, but will be
involved in the building of the third, as the Messiah will be a direct descendant of King
David, and he will take us out of this exile, build the final resting place for G-d and lead
us to a world filled with peace and tranquillity. 34