| Catholic Action Host the Historical
Wells of King David, when he order his
soldiers to bring him water from a wells
near Bethlehem.
King David
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(Around 1035-961 BCE) King of Judah and
Israel 1000-961 BCE.
Our main sources for the life of David are the
Biblical books of Samuel,
Kings and Chronicles. The sources are
for its time unusually balanced,
presenting both negative and positive
aspects of his personality as well as
investigating it in depth. Is generally
assumed that our sources for his life
are predominantly trustworthy, and that
they were written down fairly short time
after the death of David. Yet, it is
clear that these sources are written by
sympathizers of David. Some of the
stories of his life are apparently
legends, like the famous story of his
fighting the giant Goliath.
Beyond the Biblical texts, there is no
historical proof of a Hebrew king named
David. The few exceptions date about
100-200 years after his death, and
usually refer to "the house of David",
but never to a King David. Some
historians have questioned the
historicity of David, and it is quite
plausible to understand David as a
legendary figure instead of a historical
one. But even if this should be the
case, many elements of his biography
must have historical roots, referring to
either one or more kings from the
Hebrews' old history.
RELIGIOUS IMPORTANCE
David is together with
Abraham and
Moses one of the most central
personalities of
Judaism. With David the process
of turning the Hebrew religion into a
monotheistic cult was completed. He
established Yahweh as the supreme deity
of
Jerusalem, and other divine names
became merely titles to Yahweh. He
founded Jerusalem as the religious
centre of Judaism, by making it the
permanent residence of the Ark — the
wooden coffin representing the highest
god of the Hebrews. He strengthened the
religion by uniting the Hebrew tribes,
and formed a regional strong power of
the two lands of
Judah
and Israel.
The figure of David would over the following
centuries develop into a figure of more
than the importance of a great human
being. The figure of
Messiah — the promised king that
would deliver the
Jews from the burden of foreign
rule was formed upon the ideals and
characteristics of David. As the
supporters of
Jesus claimed that he had been
the Messiah, they supported this by
defining a lineage of David (through
Joseph, who was not his father, just
stepfather).
BIOGRAPHY
David
was born in Bethlehem, as son of the
shepherd Jesse, and grandson of Boaz and
Ruth. There are no records of his age at
no point, but it appears likely that he
was born between 1040 and 1030 BCE.
According to the earliest stories, he
was both musical and brave, the latter
proven by his defeating the giant
Goliath of the Philistines.
His reputation made him be appointed armour-bearer
to Saul, first king of
Israel. His success as a warlord made
Saul offer him the hand of his daughter
Michal. David's position was by then so
strong that he was able to negotiate a
double dowry.
But as David's popularity continued to rise,
Saul felt threatened and came to banish
him from the court. David installed
himself in the Judean desert, as the
leader of a gang of outlaws and refugees
living from theft. Eventually he entered
the service of the Philistine king
Achish, who appointed David ruler of the
town of
Ziklag. Through these years, David
maintained and improved his good
relations with important men of the
Judean tribes.
1000 BCE: Saul and three of his
sons dies in a battle with the
Philistines. David takes advantage of
the situation, and with the help of his
allies he assumes power of Judah, and
establishes himself as king with
Hebron as his capital. David
would still face some years of fighting
with Ishbal, Saul's sole surviving son.
In order to secure his position, David forms a
harem by marrying daughters of important
Hebrew chiefs. But the relations between
his wives are difficult, and from this
future tensions and conflicts would
arise.
Ishbal is murdered by his own courtiers,
leaving David with no contenders for his
kingship.
993: David is anointed king of
Israel.
As king of the two kingdoms, David sets
out on a campaign against most of the
neighbour peoples. Quickly, the
Philistines,
Moabites, Arameans,
Edomites
Ammonites, Jebusites are
defeated. From the Jebusites, David
conquered their holy city of Zion or
Shalem, which was renamed
Jerusalem.
Soon the reign of David becomes dominated by
fractions inside his family, where his
oldest son Absalom is the most
rebellious. Fights are conducted between
David's men and those of Absalom.
Absalom is eventually killed, but more
problem awaits after David has chosen
his son Solomon as heir, at the cost of
Adonijah, the oldest son and natural
heir after Absalom's death. Adonijah
flees the kingdom but instals himself
outside David's kingdom, while trying to
forge alliances against Solomon.
961: David dies a natural death, and is
buried in
Jerusalem. He is succeeded by Solomon.
David's long lasting political impact was both
substantial, as well as exaggerated in
some respects. His kingdom did fall
apart after his death, as
Israel left the alliance. Yet, he had
formed a state that would survive many
more rulers to come.
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