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King David was known for his diverse skills as a warrior and psalm writer. In 40 years, between 1010 and 970 BCE, he united IsraelNation of the Jewish People, led them to victory, conquered land and paved the way for his son, SolomonThe Wise King of Israel, to build the Holy Temple. Almost all knowledge of him is derived from the Prophets and Writings: Samuelan important leader of ancient Israel. I and II, Kings I and Chronicles I. David was the 8th son of Jesse. He was also a descendent of Ruththe great-grandmother of King David. David began as a shepherd in Bethlehem. One day, the Samuelan important leader of ancient Israel. called him out of the field and anointed him without the knowledge of the king, Saul. His first interaction with Saul came when the king was looking for someone to play music, and the king’s attendant summoned David to play. Saul was pleased and kept him as a musician. The first time David displayed his courage was when, as a boy with only a stick and stones, he confronted the 9-foot, armored Philistine giant, Goliath. After skilled warriors had cowered in fear for 40 days, David made a slingshot, invoked G-d’s name, and killed the giant. After this, Saul took David on as commander and David formed a friendship with Saul’s son, Jonathan. David was successful against the Philistines and this made Saul jealous. David stayed with Saul, however, and Saul offered him his own daughter, Merav. He later reneged on his promise, but offered David his second daughter, Michal, in exchange for the foreskins of 100 Philistines, a price that David paid. Saul’s jealousy of David grew and he asked Jonathan to kill David. Jonathan was a friend of David’s, however, and hid him. He then went and convinced Saul not to kill David. Saul promised, and David returned. This promise did not last and, after Saul attempted to kill David again, Michal helped David run away to the prophet Samuelan important leader of ancient Israel.. David returned briefly to make a peace pact with Jonathan and to verify that Saul was still planning to kill him. He then continued his flight from Saul, finding refuge with the king of Moab. On the way, a priest gave David a weapon. When Saul heard this, he sent Doeg to kill 85 of the city’s priests. In the course of his flight, David gained the support of 600 men, and he and his band traveled from city to city. At one point, in Ein Gedi, David crept up on Saul while he was in a cave, but instead of killing him, cut a piece from his cloak and confronted Saul. Saul broke down and admitted that David would one day be king and asked David to swear that he would not destroy Saul’s descendants or wipe out Saul’s name. David swore to this, but it did not stop Saul from continuing to pursue him. Finally, David and his supporters joined Achish, the Philistine king who entrusted David with control of the city of Ziklag. Under Achish, David raided the cities of nomads who harassed the Jews and gave the spoils as gifts to the leaders of Judah to win their support for him against Saul. While David was out battling a tribe called the Amalekites, Saul and Jonathan were killed in a fight with the Philistines. David mourned, and then became king of Judah. He moved to Hebron, along with his wives and his followers. The people of Judea were grateful to David for saving them from desert raiders while he was in Ziklag, and they appointed David king. Meanwhile, Abner crowned Ish-Boshet son of Saul king over the tribes of IsraelNation of the Jewish People. The kingdoms of Judah and IsraelNation of the Jewish People fought, with David’s dynasty growing stronger as Saul’s grew weaker. Finally, after Abner had a fight with Ish-Boshet, Abner approached David and made a pact, which allowed David to unite the 2 kingdoms and rule over all of IsraelNation of the Jewish People. As Abner was leaving David, however, David’s advisor and army commander killed Abner without David’s knowledge. Soon, Ish-Boshet was also killed and the tribes anointed David as their king. David was 30, and had ruled over Judah for 7 years. Over the years, he had taken more wives and had many children. He made pacts with kings of various surrounding countries.
David’s first action as king was to capture what is now the City of David in JerusalemThe capital of Israel, fortify it and build a palace. When the Philistines heard
that David had been anointed king and was threatening their hegemony over all of Palestine, they attacked, and captured Bethlehem. David retaliated and beat them. Once David had established the safety of his kingdom, he brought the Ark to JerusalemThe capital of Israel. He wanted to build a temple and consulted Natan the prophet. Natan said G-d would always be with David, but it would be up to David’s son to build the Temple because David had shed blood. David began fighting wars against IsraelNation of the Jewish People’s neighbors. He defeated the Moabites, the Edomites, the Ammonites and the Arameans. These wars began as defensive wars, but ended with the establishment of a Davidic empire that extended over both sides of the Jordan RiverIsrael's longest river., to the Mediterranean. David enforced justice and established civil and military administrations in JerusalemThe capital of Israel. He divided the country into 12 districts, each with its own civil, military and religious institutions. He also established JerusalemThe capital of Israel as the center. Each district paid taxes to JerusalemThe capital of Israel and the people made pilgrimages to JerusalemThe capital of Israel each year on Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot. Despite this flawless reign on a national level, David had many problems. One day while the men were at war, David spied a woman, Bathsheba, from his rooftop. He discovered that she was married to Uriah, but this did not stop him from getting her pregnant. He then recalled Uriah from battle and pretended that Uriah was the father of Bathsheba’s baby. Uriah refused to go home to his wife, so David sent Uriah to the front lines of battle, where he was killed. David then married Bathsheba. When confronted by Natan, David admitted his sin. In punishment, Bathsheba’s child died and David was cursed with a rebellion from within his own house. Bathsheba and David soon had a 2nd son, SolomonThe Wise King of Israel. David’s personal strife continued when his son Amnon raped Tamar, Amnon’s half-sister. Absalom, who was David’s son and Tamar’s brother, then killed Amnon. Absalom fled, but David could not stop thinking about him. Finally, Joab convinced David to allow Absalom to return. Absalom was a handsome man and became popular with IsraelNation of the Jewish People. Then, 40 years after Samuelan important leader of ancient Israel. had made David king, Absalom went to Hebron intending to rebel against his father and take over his kingdom. He had the support of the men of Hebron who were insulted by the removal of the kingdom from Hebron. David feared that Absalom would return and conquer JerusalemThe capital of Israel, so he and all his followers fled. David told the priests to remain in the city and spy on Hushai. Absalom reached JerusalemThe capital of Israel, took over the city and slept with David’s concubines. Hushai befriended Absalom, advised him, and told the priests to send messengers informing David of Absalom’s plans. David gathered his troops and then killed 20,000 of Absalom’s soldiers, including Absalom himself. David returned to power. A 2nd revolt broke out at the hands of Sheba, but with the help of Joab, David succeeded in crushing this rebellion as well, killing Sheba. Eventually David grew old and had to stop fighting. At this point, Adonijah, David’s son, declared himself king. David, however, had promised Bathsheba that her son SolomonThe Wise King of Israel would be king, and publicly anointed SolomonThe Wise King of Israel. Fearful of retribution Adonijah ran to the altar in JerusalemThe capital of Israel, but SolomonThe Wise King of Israel pardoned him. David delivered a last set of instructions to his son, telling him to follow the words of G-d and to repay in kind specific people that had either wronged David or helped him. David then died after 40 years as king, 33 of those in JerusalemThe capital of Israel. He was buried in the City of David. David was a poet and the rabbis believe that David wrote the Book of Psalms. Throughout his life, David prepared for the construction of the Holy Temple by setting aside the necessary physical materials, commanding the Levites and others in their duties for the Temple, and giving the plan for the Temple to SolomonThe Wise King of Israel. It is then fitting that according to tradition, the Messiah, who will build the 3rd temple, will be from the Davidic dynasty. Today, Jews pray daily for the coming of the "Messiah, son of David."
King David's Tomb is an IsraelNation of the Jewish People Travel prime pick.
Travelers who Tour IsraelNation of the Jewish People in style do not want to miss this essential stop on Mount Zion!
On your IsraelNation of the Jewish People Tour, do not forget to checkout Mount Zion and King David's Tomb!