(Daʹvid) [probably, Beloved].
Of all Hebrew Scripture personages, only Moses and Abraham are mentioned more frequently by Christian Bible writers.
Shepherd, musician, poet, soldier, statesman, prophet, and king
Outdoor life prepared him to live as a fugitive when, in later life, he fled the wrath of Saul. He also acquired skill in throwing slingstones, and he developed endurance, courage, and a willingness to pursue and rescue sheep separated from the flock, not hesitating to kill a bear or a lion when necessary.
The superscriptions of no less than 73 psalms indicate that David was their composer, but still other psalms are elsewhere attributed to David.
David hurls the stone in his sling and brings the enemy champion down. Then with Goliath’s own sword David decapitates him, and he returns to camp with the trophies of war, the giant’s head and sword.—1Sa 17:45-54
popularity stirred up envy in Saul, who kept “looking suspiciously at David from that day forward.” Twice when David was playing as in former times, Saul hurled a spear with the intent of pinning David to the wall, and both times Jehovah delivered him. Saul had promised to give his daughter to whoever killed Goliath, but now he was reluctant to give her to David. Finally Saul agreed to the marriage of a second daughter, provided David brought him “a hundred foreskins of the Philistines,” an unreasonable demand that Saul calculated would mean David’s death. Courageous David, however, doubled the dowry, presented Saul with 200 foreskins, and was married to Michal.
When David was again playing before Saul, the king for the third time sought to pin him to the wall. Under the cover of night David fled。
For the next several years David lived as a fugitive,
David, who had been hiding there in the back of the cave, crept up and cut off the skirt of Saul’s garment but spared his life, saying that it was unthinkable o
He and his men extended kindness to Nabal, a wealthy stock raiser whose work was in Carmel, to the S of Hebron, only to be rebuffed by this ingrate. Quick thinking on the part of Nabal’s wife Abigail stayed David’s hand from exterminating the males of the household, but Nabal was stricken by Jehovah and died. Thereupon David married the widow, so that now, in addition to Ahinoam from Jezreel, David had yet another wife, Abigail of Carmel; during David’s long absence, Saul had given Michal to another man.
One night David and Abishai crept into the sleeping camp of Saul and made off with his spear and water jug. Abishai wanted to kill Saul, but David spared Saul’s life the second time, saying that, from Jehovah’s viewpoint, it was unthinkable for him to thrust out his hand against God’s anointed one. (1Sa 26:1-25) This occasion was the last time David saw his adversary.
The tragic news of Saul’s death grieved David very much. He was not so concerned that his archenemy was dead as he was that the anointed one of Jehovah had fallen. He was 30 years old when he became king
David ruled at Hebron seven and a half years before moving his capital, at Jehovah’s direction, to the captured Jebusite stronghold, Jerusalem. There he built the City of David on Zion and continued to rule another 33 years.
While living at Hebron, King David took more wives, had Michal returned, and fathered a number of sons and daughters. (2Sa 3:2-5, 13-16; 1Ch 3:1-4) After moving to Jerusalem, David acquired still more wives and concubines who, in turn, bore him more children.—
Some three months later, with careful preparations, including sanctifying the priests and Levites and making sure the Ark was carried on their shoulders instead of being placed on a wagon as at first, it was brought to Jerusalem. David, simply clad, showed his joy and enthusiasm on this great occasion by “leaping and dancing around before Jehovah.” But his wife Michal chided David, saying he acted “just as one of the empty-headed men.” For this unjustified complaint Michal “came to have no child down to the day
David also arranged for expanded worship of Jehovah at the Ark’s new location by assigning gatekeepers and musicians and seeing that there were “burnt offerings . . . constantly morning and evening.” (1Ch 16:1-6, 37-43) In addition, David thought of building a temple-palace of cedar to house the Ark, to replace its tent. But David was not permitted to build the house, for God said: “Blood in great quantity you have spilled, and great wars you have waged. You will not build a house to my name, for a great deal of blood you have spilled on the earth before me.” (1Ch 22:8; 28:3) However, Jehovah made a covenant with him promising that the kingship would everlastingly remain in his family, and in connection with this covenant God assured him that his son Solomon, whose name is from a root meaning “peace,” would build the temple.
It was therefore in line with this kingdom covenant that Jehovah permitted David to expand his territorial rule from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates, securing his borders, maintaining peace with the king of Tyre, battling and conquering opponents on all sides—Philistines, Syrians, Moabites, Edomites, Amalekites, and Ammonites.
Upon observing from his rooftop beautiful Bath-sheba bathing herself, he entertained wrong desires. (Jas 1:14, 15) After learning that her husband Uriah was off to war, David had the woman brought to his palace, where he had relations with her. In time the king was notified that she was pregnant. No doubt fearing that Bath-sheba would be publicly exposed and put to death for immoral conduct, David quickly sent word to the army that Uriah should report to him in Jerusalem, with the hope that Uriah would spend the night with his wife. But even though David got him drunk, Uriah refused to sleep with Bath-sheba. In desperation, David sent him back to the army with secret instructions to the commander Joab to have Uriah put in the front lines, where he would surely be killed. The scheme worked. Uriah died in battle, his widow observed the customary period of mourning, and then David married the widow before the townspeople were aware of her pregnancy.—2Sa 11:1-27.
Jehovah was watching, however, and uncovered the whole reprehensible matter. If Jehovah had permitted the case involving David and Bath-sheba to be handled by human judges under the Mosaic Law, both of the wrongdoers would have been put to death, and of course, the unborn offspring of their adultery would have died with the mother. (De 5:18; 22:22) However, Jehovah dealt with the case himself and showed mercy to David because of the Kingdom covenant (2Sa 7:11-16), no doubt because David himself had shown mercy (1Sa 24:4-7; compare Jas 2:13) and because of repentance that God observed on the part of the wrongdoers. (Ps 51:1-4) But they did not escape all punishment. By the mouth of the prophet Nathan, Jehovah pronounced: “Here I am raising up against you calamity out of your own house.”—2Sa 12:1-12.
The adulterine child born to Bath-sheba soon died, even though David fasted and mourned over the sick child for seven days. (2Sa 12:15-23) Then David’s firstborn son Amnon raped his own half sister Tamar, and he was subsequently murdered by her brother, to the grief of his father. (2Sa 13:1-33) Later, Absalom, the third and beloved son of David, not only attempted to usurp the throne but openly despised and publicly disgraced his father by having relations with David’s concubines. (2Sa 15:1–16:22) Finally, the humiliation reached its peak when civil war plunged the country into a struggle of son against father, ending in Absalom’s death, contrary to the wishes of David and much to his grief.
David always showed the right heart condition by repenting and begging Jehovah’s forgiveness.
David always had it in his heart to build that temple, and though not permitted to do so, he was allowed to set a great task force to hewing stones and gathering materials that included 100,000 talents of gold ($38,535,000,000) and 1,000,000 talents of silver ($6,606,000,000), and copper and iron without measure. (1Ch 22:2-16) Out of his personal fortune David contributed gold of Ophir and refined silver valued at more than $1,202,000,000. David also provided the architectural plans, received by inspiration, and organized the tens of thousands of Levites into their many divisions of service, including a great chorus of singers and musicians.
In the closing days of David’s life, the 70-year-old king, now confined to his bed, continued to reap calamity within his family. His fourth son, Adonijah, without the knowledge or consent of his father and, more seriously, without Jehovah’s approval, attempted to set himself up as king. When this news reached David, he moved quickly to have his son Solomon, Jehovah’s choice, officially installed as king and sit upon the throne.
