David was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the third king of the United Kingdom of Israel

David (meaning, "beloved one") was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the third king of the United Kingdom of Israel. In the Books of Samuel, he is described as a young shepherd and harpist who gains fame by slaying Goliath, a champion of the Philistines, in southern Canaan. David becomes a favourite of Saul, the first king of Israel; he also forges a notably close friendship with Jonathan, a son of Saul. However, under the paranoia that David is seeking to usurp the throne, Saul attempts to kill David, forcing the latter to go into hiding and effectively operate as a fugitive for several years. After Saul and Jonathan are both killed in battle against the Philistines, a 30-year-old David is anointed king over all of Israel and Judah. Following his rise to power, David conquers the city of Jerusalem and establishes it as Israel's capital, subsequently taking the Ark of the Covenant into the city to be the central point of worship in the Israelite religion.

According to the biblical narrative, David commits adultery with Bathsheba, leading him to arrange the death of her husband, Uriah the Hittite. David's son Absalom later schemes to overthrow him and, during the ensuing rebellion, David flees from Jerusalem, but returns after Absalom's death to continue his reign over Israel and Judah. He desires to construct a temple to Yahweh in which to house the Ark but, because he shed much blood, Yahweh denies David the opportunity to do so. David rules as king of the Israelites until his death at age 70, prior to which he chooses Solomon—a son born to him and Bathsheba—as his successor instead of Adonijah, his eldest surviving son with Haggith. He is honoured in Jewish prophetic literature as an ideal king and the forefather of the future Hebrew Messiah, and many psalms are ascribed to him.

Historians of the Ancient Near East agree that David probably lived around 1000 BCE, but there is little else that is agreed on about him as a historical figure. According to Jewish tradition, as defined in the works Seder Olam Rabbah, Seder Olam Zutta, and Sefer ha-Qabbalah, David ascended the throne as the king of Judah in 885 BCE. The Tel Dan stele, a Canaanite-inscribed stone that was erected by a king of Aram-Damascus in the late-9th/early-8th centuries BCE to commemorate his victory over two enemy kings, contains the Hebrew-language phrase Beit David, which is translated to "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. Apart from this, all that is known of David comes from biblical literature, the historicity of which has been extensively challenged, and there is little detail about David that is concrete and undisputed.

David is richly represented in post-biblical Jewish written and oral tradition, and is also discussed in the New Testament. The 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. The biblical David has inspired many interpretations in art and literature over the centuries.

FAMILY
The First Book of Samuel and the First Book of Chronicles both identify David as the son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, the youngest of eight sons. He also had at least two sisters, Zeruiah, whose sons all went on to serve in David's army, and Abigail, whose son Amasa went on to serve in Absalom's army, Absalom being one of David's younger sons. While the Bible does not name his mother, the Talmud identifies her as Nitzevet, a daughter of a man...

LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David

TAGS: David, Tribe of Judah, Shepherds, People from Bethlehem, Jewish poets, Jewish royalty, Harpists, Eastern Orthodox saints, Catholic saints, Books of Samuel people, Biblical murderers, Anglican saints, Angelic visionaries, Ancient history of Jerusalem, 10th-century BC Kings of Israel (united monarchy), 11th-century BC Kings of Israel (united monarchy), David

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