Information AboutDavid |
|
'', by Caravaggio , c. 1599. Prado , Madrid ]] David (c.1005–970 BCE) ( ; . He is depicted as a righteous king—although not without fault—as well as an acclaimed warrior, musician and poet (he is traditionally credited with the authorship of many of the Psalms ). His life and reign, as recorded in the Hebrew Bible 's books of Samuel (from I Samuel 16 onwards) and Chronicles , have been of central importance to Jewish and Western Culture . THE BIBLICAL ACCOUNT OF DAVID , by Rembrandt . David plays the lyre (depicted here as a Harp ) to the king "tormented by an evil spirit"]] This section summarizes only a few major episodes from David's life, chosen on the basis of their fame and/or importance in later Western and Jewish culture.For a more complete summary of all the episodes in the Saul/David story in Samuel (but excluding Chronicles), see synopsis David is chosen God withdraws his favor from King said Samuel , 'Anoint him; for this is he.'" David plays the lyre before Saul Saul is tormented by an evil spirit. His servants suggest he send for David, "skillful in playing [the Lyre ], a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the LORD is with him." So David enters Saul's service, and finds favour in his sight, "and whenever the evil spirit was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand; so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him." 1 Samuel 16:14-23 David and Goliath The Israelite s under Saul are facing the army of the Philistines . David, the youngest of the sons of Jesse, brings food to his brothers who are with Saul, and hears the Philistine champion, the giant Goliath , challenge the Israelites to send their own champion to decide the outcome in single combat. David insists to his brothers that he can defeat Goliath; Saul, upon hearing of this, sends for him, and reluctantly allows him to make the attempt. David is indeed victorious, felling Goliath with a stone from his Sling , at which the Philistines flee in terror and the Israelites win a great victory. David brings the head of Goliath to Saul, who asks him whose son he is, and David replies, "I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite". 1 Samuel 17 .]] The enmity of Saul Saul makes David a commander over his armies and gives him his daughter Michal in marriage. David is successful in many battles, and the women say, "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." David's popularity awakens Saul's fears - "What more can he have but the kingdom?" - and by various stratagems the king seeks David's death. But the plots of the jealous king all proved futile, and only endear the young hero the more to the people, and especially to Jonathan , Saul's son, one of those who love David. Warned by Jonathan of Saul's intention to kill him, David flees into the wilderness. 1 Samuel 18 and subsequent chapters of 1 Samuel. David in the wilderness In the wilderness David gathers a band of heroes and becomes the champion of the oppressed while evading the pursuit of Saul. He accepts Ziklag as a fief from the Philistine king Achish of Gath , but continues to secretly champion the Israelites. Achish marches against Saul, but David is excused from the war on the accusation of the Philistine nobles that his loyalty to their cause cannot be trusted. David is made king Saul and Jonathan are killed in the battle with the Philistines, and David mourns their death. 2 Samuel 1 ; the death of Saul and Jonathan is described in the closing chapter of 1 Samuel. Then David goes up to Hebron , where he is anointed king over Judah , while in the north Saul's son Ish-bosheth is king over the tribes of Israel . 2 Samuel 2:1-10 War ensues between Ish-bosheth and David, and Ish-bosheth is assassinated. The assassins bring the head of Ish-bosheth to David hoping for reward, but David executes them for their crime. 2 Samuel 4 Yet with the death of the son of Saul the elders of Israel come to Hebron, and David is anointed King of Israel and Judah. Upon these events he is 30 years old. 2 Samuel 5 King David David conquers the and Aram (modern Syria ), Edom and Moab (roughly modern Jordan ), the lands of the Philistines, and much more. 2 Samuel 8 and subsequent chapters. Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite , 1526.]] David lies with Bathsheba , "the wife of Uriah The Hittite ", and Bathsheba becomes pregnant. David sends for Uriah, who is with the Israelite army at the siege of Rabbah , that he might lie with her and so conceal the identity of the child's father, Uriah refuses to do so while his companions are in the field of battle. David then sends Uriah back to Joab , the commander, with a message instructing him to abandon Uriah on the battlefield, "that he may be struck down, and die." And so David marries Bathsheba and she bears his child, "but the thing that David had done displeased the LORD." 2 Samuel 11 The prophet Nathan speaks out against David's sin, saying: "Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have smitten Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife." And although David repents, God "struck the child ... and it became sick ... on the seventh day the child died.") David then leaves his lamentations, dresses himself, and eats. His servants ask why he lamented when the baby was alive, but leaves off when it is dead, and David replies: "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, who knows whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."[http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=Rsv2Sam.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=12&division=div1 2 Samuel 12 Absalom David’s beloved son Absalom rebels against his father. The armies of Absalom and David come to battle in the Wood Of Ephraim , and Absalom is caught by his hair in the branches of an oak. David’s general Joab kills him as he hangs there. When the news of the victory is brought to David he does not rejoice, but is instead shaken with grief: “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!” The Psalms of David David is described as the author of the majority of the Psalms . One of the most famous is traditionally said to have been composed by David after Nathan upbraided him over Bathsheba and Uriah. Perhaps the best-known is Psalm 23 : : ::1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ::2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: :::he leadeth me beside the still waters. ::3 He restoreth my soul: :::he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. ::4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, :::I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; :::thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. ::5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: :::thou anointest my head with oil; :::my cup runneth over. ::6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: :::and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever." Reign of David "Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. The time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. Then he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor; and Solomon his son reigned in his stead" (1 Chronicles 29:26 - 28). DAVID IN LATER ABRAHAMIC TRADITION David in Judaism tend to aging David, c. 1435]] David's reign represents the formation of a coherent Jewish Kingdom centered in Jerusalem and the institution of an eternal royal dynasty; when this "eternal" Davidic dynasty failed after some four centuries, it formed the basis for the Jewish belief in the Messiah - at first the human occupant of the throne of David, later the quasi-supernatural figure who would usher in the end of time. In modern Judaism David's descent from a convert ( Ruth ) is taken as proof of the importance of converts within Judaism, and that he was not allowed to build a permanent temple due to his involvement with wars is taken as proof of the imperative of peace in affairs of state. David is also viewed as a tragic figure; his acquisition of Bathsheba, and the loss of his son are viewed as his central tragedies. Many legends grew up around the figure of David. According to Rabbinic tradition, David was raised as the illegitimate son of his father Jesse's favourite slave-girl, Illegitimacy of David's descent in Jewish tradition . and spent his early years herding his father's sheep in the wilderness while his brothers were in school. Only at his anointing by Samuel - when the oil from Samuel's flask turned to diamonds and pearls - was David's true identity as Jesse's legal son revealed. David's piety was said to be so great that his prayers could bring down things from Heaven, and his adultery with Bathsheba was only an opportunity to demonstrate the power of repentance: some Talmudic Authors even argued that the affair was not adultery at all, quoting a supposed custom of divorce on the eve of battle to prevent the wives of the missing-in-action from becoming '' Agunot ''. Furthermore, the Talmudic scholars argued, the death of Uriah was not tantamount to murder, as it was David's right as king to execute traitors to the throne, to which category Uriah belonged due to a technicality; yet at the same time others said that David was stricken by leprosy for the sin, and for a time was abandoned by both his Court and by the Holy Spirit. Jewish Encyclopedia, "David" According to midrashim, Adam gave up 70 years of his life for the life of David. Also, according to the Talmud Yerushalmi, David was born and died on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot (Weeks). David in Christianity David's adaptation of the Jebusite Zion cult, "with its understanding of kingship as the ... presence of God on earth," led to Jerusalem's eventual status as the Jewish Holy City. Originally an earthly king ruling by divine appointment ("the anointed", as the title decorated countless cathedral windows, its branches demonstrating how divine kingship descended from Jesse, through his son David, to Jesus and thence to the anointed kings of Europe. The Roman Catholic Church and Lutheran Church celebrate his feast day on December 29 . David in Mormonism The '' Doctrine And Covenants '' of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints cites David as one directed by God to practice Polygamy , but who sinned in committing adultery with Bathsheba and having Uriah killed: :"Verily, thus saith the LORD ... David’s wives and concubines were given unto him of me, by the hand of Nathan, my servant, and others of the prophets who had the keys of this power; and in none of these things did he sin against me save in the case of Uriah and his wife; and, therefore he hath fallen from his exaltation." Doctrine and Covenants 132:1, 38-39 (see highlighted portions). This clarifies the Mormon doctrine that polygamy is only allowed as directed by the Lord, otherwise it is a grievous sin. ''Book of Mormon'', Jacob 2:28-30 . The Church forbade polygamy in 1890 , citing a revelation given to Wilford Woodruff at that time. Doctrine and Covenants, Official Declaration—1 Other Davidic interpretations in Mormonism closely match traditional Christianity. David in Islam David, known in the Islam ic tradition as Dawood (), is one of the Prophets Of Islam , to whom the Zabur ( Psalms ) were revealed by Allah . Muslim s reject the Biblical portrayal of Dawood (in his association with Uriah ) as an adulterer and murderer. This is based on the Islamic belief in the righteousness of prophets. Goliath appears in the Qur'an as Jalut; and like in Judaism, Jalut's slayer is Dawood. In 's) army. David in the Bahá'í Faith In the Bahá'í faith, David is seen as a prophet during the dispensation of Moses . Bahá'u'lláh , the founder of the Religion, is thought to be a distant descendant,http://bahai-library.com/?file=gonzales_genealogy_shoghieffendi although little is made of this relationship. HISTORICITY OF DAVID ''See The Bible And History and Dating The Bible for a more complete description of the general issues surrounding the Bible as a historical source.'' Archaeology An inscription found at Tel Dan and dated c.850-835 BCE apparently contains the phrase "House of David" in reference to the royal house of Judah; the Mesha Stele from Moab, and from a similar time, may contain the same phrase; and Kenneth Kitchen has proposed that an inscription of c. 945 BCE by the Egyptian pharoah Shoshenq I mentions "the highlands of David," but this has been questioned.See, for example, ''The Tel Dan Inscription: A Reappraisal and a New Interpretation'' Sheffield Academic Press, 2003 , pp. 193-194. See also King David: A Biography (Steven McKenzie, Associate Professor
The Bronze and Iron Age remains of the LMLK:"Belonging to the king", or "for the king". attached to oil jars associated with the Judean royal bureaucracy of the late 8th century BCE), nor the inscribed potshards which would provide evidence of widespread literacy. Surveys of surface finds aimed at tracing settlement patterns and population changes have shown that between the 16th and 8th centuries BCE, a period which includes the biblical kingdoms of David and Solomon, the entire population of the hill country of Judah was no more than about 5,000 persons, most of them wandering pastoralists, with the entire urbanised area consisting of about twenty small villages.On settlement patterns in ancient Judah, see A. Ofer, "'All the Hill Country of Judah': From a Settlement Fringe to a Prosperous Monarchy," in I. Finkelstein and N. Na'aman, eds., ''From Nomadism to Monarchy'' (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1994), pp. 92-121; "The Judean Hills in the Biblical Period," Qadmoniot 115 (1998), 40-52 (Hebrew); "The Monarchic Period in the Judaean Highland," in A. Mazar, ed., ''Studies in the Archaeology of the Iron Age in Israel and Jordan'' (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), pp. 14-37. While the Tel Dan stele is largely accepted as supporting the historical existence of a Judean royal dynasty tracing its descent from an individual named David, the interpretation of the archeological evidence on the extent and nature of Judah and Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE is a matter of fierce debate. On one hand is the view of , in his '' What Did The Biblical Writers Know And When Did They Know It? ,''[http://books.google.com/books?id=6-VxwC5rQtwC&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127&dq=dever+archaeologist&source=web&ots=hTb69Ntpq9&sig=6boKenG3GOaky3YTJDx5LKr851k#PPP1,M1 Dever, What Did the Biblical Writers Know...?] holds that while archaeological investigation of Genesis, Moses and the Exodus "has ... been discarded as a fruitless pursuit", the archaeological and anthropological evidence supports the broad biblical account of a Judean state in the 10th century BCE.See especially chapter 4 of ''What Did the Biblical Writers Know?'' The Bible and David's Reign The biblical evidence for David comes from three sources: the Psalms , the Book Of Samuel (two books in the Christian tradition), and the Book Of Chronicles (also two books in the Christian tradition). Of these, the Psalms need to be treated with great scepticism: although almost half of them are headed "A Psalm of David", the headings are later additions, and the Hebrew preposition translated in English as "of" can also be translated as "for". "No psalm can be attributed to David with certainty, and aside from the headings, they contain no information about David's life that is useful for historical reconstruction."[http://www.bibleinterp.com/commentary/McKensie_020301.htm Steven McKenzie, Associate Professor Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee]. Chronicles retells Samuel from a different theological vantage point, but contains little if any information not available in Samuel. The biblical evidence for David is therefore dependent almost exclusively on the material contained in the chapters from 1 Samuel 16 to 1 Kings 2. The question of David's historicity therefore becomes the question of the date, textual integrity, authorship and reliability of 1st and 2nd Samuel. Since Martin Noth put forward his analysis of the Deuteronomistic History biblical scholars have accepted that these two books form part of a continuous history of Israel, compiled no earlier than the late 7th century BCE, but incorporating earlier works and fragments. Samuel's account of David "seems to have undergone two separate acts of editorial slanting. The original writers show a strong bias against Saul, and in favour of David and Solomon. Many years later, the Deuteronomists edited the material in a manner that conveyed their religious message, inserting reports and anecdotes that strengthened their monotheistic doctrine. Some of the materials in Samuel I and II , notably the lists of officers, officials, and districts are believed to be very early, possibly even dating to the time of David or Solomon. These documents were probably in the hands of the Deuteronomists when they started to compile the material three centuries later." "King David and Jerusalem: Myth and Reality", Israel Review of Arts and Letters, 2003 , Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Beyond this, the full range of possible interpretations is available, from the "maximalist" position of the late and Neil Asher Silberman have identified as the oldest and most reliable section of Samuel those chapters which describe David as the charismatic leader of a band of outlaws who captures Jerusalem and makes it his capital.Finkelstein and Silberman, "David and Solomon", 2006. See review "Archaeology" magazine . DAVID'S FAMILY Bible).]] David's father was Jesse , the son of Obed , son of Boaz of the tribe of Judah and Ruth the Moab ite, whose story is told at length in the Book Of Ruth . David's lineage is fully documented in , (the " Pharez " that heads the line is Judah's son, ). David had eight wives, although he appears to have had children from other women as well:
In his old age he took the beautiful Abishag into his bed for health reasons, "but the king knew her not (intimately)" (). As given in , David had sons by various wives and Concubine s; their names are not given in ''Chronicles''. By Bathsheba, his sons were: His sons born in Hebron by other mothers included:
His sons born in Jerusalem by other mothers included: According to , another son was born to David who is not mentioned in any of the genealogies: David also had at least one daughter, Tamar, progeny of David and Maachah and the full sister of Absalom, who is later raped by her brother Amnon CLAIMED DESCENDANTS OF DAVID A number of persons have claimed descent from the Biblical David, or had it claimed on their behalf. See List Of Messiah Claimants . The following are some of the more notable:
REPRESENTATION IN ART AND LITERATURE '', Michelangelo , 1500-1504.]] Art Famous sculptures of David include (in chronological order) those by:
Literature Elmer Davis 's 1928 novel ''Giant Killer'' retells and embellishes the Biblical story of DAVID, casting David as primarily a poet who managed always to find others to do the "dirty work" of heroism and kingship. In the novel, Elhanan in fact killed Goliath but David claimed the credit; and Joab , David's cousin and general, took it upon himself to make many of the difficult decisions of war and statecraft when David vacillated or wrote poetry instead. Gladys Schmitt wrote a novel titled "David the King" in 1946 which proceeds as a richly embellished biography of David's entire life. The book took a risk, especially for its time, in portraying David's relationship with Jonathan as overtly Homoerotic , but was ultimately panned by critics as a bland rendition of the title character. In Thomas Burnett Swann 's Biblical Fantasy Novel ''How are the Mighty Fallen'' (1974) David And Jonathan are explicitly stated to be lovers. Moreover, Jonathan is a member of a winged semi-human race (possibly Nephilim ), one of several such races co-existing with humanity but often persecuted by it. Joseph Heller , the author of '' Catch-22 '', also wrote a novel based on David, '' God Knows ''. Told from the perspective of an aging David, the humanity — rather than the heroism — of various biblical characters are emphasized. The portrayal of David as a man of flaws such as greed, lust, selfishness, and his alienation from God, the falling apart of his family is a distinctly 20th century interpretation of the events told in the Bible. Juan Bosch , Dominican political leader and writer, wrote "David: Biography of a King" (1966) a realistic approach to David's life and political career. Allan Massie wrote "King David" (1995), a novel about David's career which portrays the king's relationship to Jonathan and others as openly homosexual. Film Gregory Peck , played King David in the 1951 film '' David And Bathsheba '', directed by Henry King . Susan Hayward played Bathsheba and Raymond Massey played the prophet Nathan. Finlay Currie , played an aged King David in the 1959 film '' Solomon And Sheba '', directed by King Vidor . Yul Brynner played Solomon and Gina Lollobrigida played the Queen of Sheba. Jeff Chandler , played King David in the 1960 TV movie ''A Story of David'', directed by Bob McNaught. Basil Sydney played King Saul and Donald Pleasence played Nabal. Keith Michell , played the older King David, and Timothy Bottoms , played the younger King David in the 1976 TV Miniseries ''The Story of David'', directed by David Lowell Rich and Alex Segal. Richard Gere portrayed King David in the 1985 film '' King David '' directed by Bruce Beresford . Nathaniel Parker played King David in the 1997 TV movie ''David''. It also starred Sheryl Lee as Bathsheba and Leonard Nimoy as Samuel. SEE ALSO
NOTES (Note:Online Bible references are to the Revised Standard Version) REFERENCES
REFERENCES TO DAUD (DAVID) IN THE QUR'AN
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|