49 Facts About King David

1.

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.

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2.

King David 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.

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3.

Historians of the Ancient Near East agree that King David probably lived around 1000 BCE, but there is little else that is agreed on about him as a historical figure.

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4.

Apart from this, all that is known of King David comes from biblical literature, the historicity of which has been extensively challenged, and there is little detail about King David that is concrete and undisputed.

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5.

King David is richly represented in post-biblical Jewish written and oral tradition, and is discussed in the New Testament.

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6.

The early Christians interpreted the life of Jesus of Nazareth in light of references to the Hebrew Messiah and to King David; Jesus is described as being directly descended from King David in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke.

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7.

The biblical King David has inspired many interpretations in art and literature over the centuries.

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8.

King David 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.

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9.

King David is described as cementing his relations with various political and national groups through marriage.

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10.

In 1 Samuel 17:25, it states that King David Saul had said that he would make whoever killed Goliath a very wealthy man, give his daughter to him and declare his father's family exempt from taxes in Israel.

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11.

Later, King David wanted Michal back and Abner, Ish-bosheth's army commander, delivered her to King David, causing her husband great grief.

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12.

In Hebron, King David had six sons: Amnon, by Ahinoam; Daniel, by Abigail; Absalom, by Maachah; Adonijah, by Haggith; Shephatiah, by Abital; and Ithream, by Eglah.

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13.

King David's sons born in Jerusalem of his other wives included Ibhar, Elishua, Eliphelet, Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama and Eliada.

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14.

King David fails to bring Amnon to justice for his violation of Tamar, because he is his firstborn and he loves him, and so, Absalom murders Amnon to avenge Tamar.

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15.

King David, sent by his father to bring provisions to his brothers serving in Saul's army, declares that he can defeat Goliath.

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16.

King David goes first to Nob, where he is fed by the priest Ahimelech and given Goliath's sword, and then to Gath, the Philistine city of Goliath, intending to seek refuge with King Achish there.

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17.

King David goes next to the cave of Adullam, where his family joins him.

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18.

Similar passage occurs in 1 Samuel 26, when King David is able to infiltrate Saul's camp on the hill of Hachilah and remove his spear and a jug of water from his side while he and his guards lie asleep.

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19.

King David brings the Ark of the Covenant to the city, intending to build a temple for God, but the prophet Nathan forbids it, prophesying that the temple would be built by one of David's sons.

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20.

King David calls her husband, Uriah the Hittite, back from the battle to rest, hoping that he will go home to his wife and the child will be presumed to be his.

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21.

When David is old and bedridden, Adonijah, his eldest surviving son and natural heir, declares himself king.

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22.

Bathsheba and Nathan go to David and obtain his agreement to crown Bathsheba's son Solomon as king, according to David's earlier promise, and the revolt of Adonijah is put down.

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23.

King David dies at the age of 70 after reigning for 40 years, and on his deathbed counsels Solomon to walk in the ways of God and to take revenge on his enemies.

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24.

King David is an important figure in Rabbinic Judaism, with many legends around him.

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25.

However, in tractate Sanhedrin, King David expressed remorse over his transgressions and sought forgiveness.

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26.

Also, according to the Talmud Yerushalmi, King David was born and died on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.

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27.

King David's piety was said to be so great that his prayers could bring down things from Heaven.

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28.

King David is commemorated on the Sunday after the Nativity, together with Joseph and James, the Brother of the Lord.

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29.

In European Christian culture of the Middle Ages, King David was made a member of the Nine Worthies, a group of heroes encapsulating all the ideal qualities of chivalry.

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30.

King David's life was thus proposed as a valuable subject for study by those aspiring to chivalric status.

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31.

King David was considered as a model ruler and a symbol of divinely-ordained monarchy throughout medieval Western Europe and Eastern Christendom.

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32.

King David was perceived as the biblical predecessor to Christian Roman and Byzantine emperors and the name "New King David" was used as an honorific reference to these rulers.

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33.

King David is an important figure in Islam as one of the major prophets sent by God to guide the Israelites.

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34.

King David is mentioned several times in the Quran with the Arabic name ????, Dawud or Da'ud, often with his son Solomon.

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35.

When David killed Goliath, God granted him kingship and wisdom and enforced it.

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36.

King David was made God's "vicegerent on earth" and God further gave King David sound judgment as well as the Psalms, regarded as books of divine wisdom.

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37.

Together with Solomon, King David gave judgment in a case of damage to the fields and King David judged the matter between two disputants in his prayer chamber.

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38.

Since there is no mention in the Quran of the wrong King David did to Uriah nor any reference to Bathsheba, Muslims reject this narrative.

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39.

King David's voice is described as having had a captivating power, weaving its influence not only over man but over all beasts and nature, who would unite with him to praise God.

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40.

The instance in the Book of Jashar, excerpted in Samuel 2, where King David "proclaims that Jonathan's love was sweeter to him than the love of a women", has been compared to Achilles' comparison of Patroclus to a girl and Gilgamesh's love for Enkidu "as a woman".

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41.

Some other studies of David have been written: Baruch Halpern has pictured David as a brutal tyrant, a murderer and a lifelong vassal of Achish, the Philistine king of Gath; Steven McKenzie argues that David came from a wealthy family, was "ambitious and ruthless" and a tyrant who murdered his opponents, including his own sons.

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42.

Besides the two steles, Bible scholar and Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen suggests that King David's name appears in a relief of Pharaoh Shoshenq, who is usually identified with Shishak in the Bible.

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43.

The relief claims that Shoshenq raided places in Palestine in 925 BCE, and Kitchen interprets one place as "Heights of King David", which was in Southern Judah and the Negev where the Bible says King David took refuge from Saul.

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44.

The evidence suggested that David ruled only as a chieftain over an area which cannot be described as a state or as a kingdom, but more as a chiefdom, much smaller and always overshadowed by the older and more powerful kingdom of Israel to the north.

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45.

King David has compared David to Labaya, a Caananite warlord living during the time of Pharaoh Akhenaten.

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46.

King David has been depicted several times in films; these are some of the best-known:.

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47.

King David playing the harp, ceiling fresco from Monheim Town Hall, home of a wealthy Jewish merchant.

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48.

King David, stained glass windows from the Romanesque Augsburg Cathedral, late 11th century.

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49.

Arnold Zadikow, 1930: The Young King David displayed in the entrance of Berlin's Jewish Museum from 1933 until its loss during the Second World War.

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