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{{Short description|Biblical figure and Israelite monarch}}
{{About|the Biblical monarch|the name "David"|David (name)|other uses|David (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|King David|other uses|King David (disambiguation)}}
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{{Use Oxford spelling|date=August 2022}}
{{use dmy dates|cs1-dates=yy|date=November 2021}}

{{Infobox royalty
| name         = David<br/>{{nobold|{{lang|he|{{Script/Hebrew|דָּוִד}}}}}}
| title        = 
| image        = King David, the King of Israel.jpg
| caption      = ''King David Playing the Harp'' (1622)<br/>by [[Gerard van Honthorst]]
| reign        = controversial; between 10th century BCE and 9th century BCE<ref>{{cite book | last=Frevel | first=Christian | title=History of Ancient Israel | year=2023 | publisher=SBL Press | location=Atlanta | pages=176, 190 | isbn=978-1-62837-514-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yvy6EAAAQBAJ |quote=The geographical extent of David’s—even extrabiblically probable—rule as well as its precise date remain controversial in research. Yet, divorced from the biblical findings, there is nothing to suggest it should be dated around 1000 BCE. (p. 176) …the local ruler David, whenever—tenth or ninth century BCE—he is to be dated. (p. 190)}}</ref>
| succession   = [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|King of Israel]]
| predecessor  = [[Ish-bosheth]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Garfinkel |first1=Yosef |last2= Ganor |first2=Saar |last3=Hasel |first3= Michael G. |title=In the Footsteps of King David: Revelations from an Ancient Biblical City |date=2018 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=978-0-50077428-1 |page=182 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=C_NjDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT182 |access-date=2020-10-05 |archive-date= 2020-10-11 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201011131758/https://books.google.com/books?id=C_NjDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT182 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Avioz |first1= Michael |title=Josephus' Interpretation of the Books of Samuel |date=2015 |publisher= Bloomsbury |isbn=9780567458575 |page=99 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FQPSBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA99 |access-date=2020-10-04 |archive-date= 2020-10-11 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201011131759/https://books.google.com/books?id=FQPSBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA99 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| successor    = [[Solomon]]
| queen        = {{Collapsible list 
 | titlestyle = font-weight: normal; background: inherit; font-style: italic; text-align: left;
 | title = 8 wives:
 |[[Michal]]
 |[[Ahinoam]] 
 |[[Abigail]]
 |[[Maachah]]
 |[[Haggith]]
 |[[Abital]]
 |[[Eglah]]
 |[[Bathsheba]]}}
| consort      = 
| issue        = {{Collapsible list 
 | titlestyle = font-weight: normal; background: inherit; font-style: italic; text-align: left;
 | title = 18+ children, including:
 |[[Amnon]]
 |[[Chileab]]
 |[[Absalom]]
 |[[Adonijah]]
 |[[Shephatiah]]
 |[[Ithream]]
 |[[Shammua]]
 |Shobab
 |[[Nathan (son of David)|Nathan]]
 |[[Solomon]]
 |[[Ibhar]]
 |Elishua
 |Eliphalet
 |Nogah
 |[[Nepheg]]
 |Japhia
 |Elishama
 |Eliada
 |[[Jerimoth]]
 |[[Tamar (daughter of David)|Tamar]]}}
| royal house  = [[Davidic line|House of David]]
| father       = [[Jesse (biblical figure)|Jesse]]
| mother       = [[Nitzevet]] ([[Talmud]])
}}

{{Monarchy of Ancient Israel}}

'''David''' ({{IPAc-en |ˈ|d|eɪ|.|v|ᵻ|d}}; {{Langx|hbo|{{Script/Hebrew|דָּוִד}}|Dāwīḏ}}, "beloved one"){{efn | {{langx|ar|داود}} <small>(traditional spelling)</small>, {{lang |ar|داوود}}, ''Dāwūd''; {{langx|grc-x-koine|Δαυίδ|Dauíd}}; {{langx|la|Davidus, David}}; {{langx |gez|ዳዊት}}, ''Dawit''; {{langx|xcl|Դաւիթ}}, ''Dawitʿ''; {{langx|cu|Давíдъ}}, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one".<ref name= BR77>{{cite book| first1=G. Johannes | last1 = Botterweck| first2 =Helmer | last2 = Ringgren|title= Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lBUH0Znxbb8C&pg=PA158|year=1977|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans |isbn= 978-0-8028-2327-4|page=158}}</ref>}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1732.htm|title=Strong's Hebrew: 1732. דָּוִיד (David) -- perhaps "beloved one," a son of Jesse|website=biblehub.com}}</ref> was a king of [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|ancient Israel and Judah]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Carr |first1=David M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OzHhuvuEQxQC&pg=PA58 |title=An Introduction to the Old Testament: Sacred Texts and Imperial Contexts of the Hebrew Bible |date=2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-44435623-6 |page=58 |access-date=2020-10-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011131758/https://books.google.com/books?id=OzHhuvuEQxQC&pg=PA58 |archive-date=2020-10-11 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Falk |first1=Avner |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z10-Xz9Kno4C&pg=PA115 |title=A Psychoanalytic History of the Jews |date=1996 |publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University Press |isbn=978-0-83863660-2 |page=115 |access-date=2020-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011131816/https://books.google.com/books?id=z10-Xz9Kno4C&pg=PA115 |archive-date=2020-10-11 |url-status=live}}</ref> according to the [[Hebrew Bible]] and [[Old Testament]].

The [[Tel Dan stele]], an [[Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions|Aramaic-inscribed stone]] erected by a king of [[Aram-Damascus]] in the late 9th/early 8th centuries BCE to commemorate a victory over two enemy kings, contains the phrase {{Lang|oar-Latn|bytdwd}} ({{Lang|oar|𐤁𐤉𐤕𐤃𐤅𐤃}}), which is translated as "[[Davidic line|House of David]]" by most scholars. The [[Mesha Stele]], erected by King [[Mesha]] of [[Moab]] in the 9th century BCE, may also refer to the "House of David", although this is disputed.<ref>{{Cite web|title=New reading of Mesha Stele could have far-reaching consequences for biblical history|url=https://phys.org/news/2019-05-mesha-stele-far-reaching-consequences-biblical.html|access-date=2021-07-22|website=phys.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Amanda Borschel-Dan|title=High-tech study of ancient stone suggests new proof of King David's dynasty|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/high-tech-study-of-ancient-stone-keeps-davidic-dynasty-in-disputed-inscription/|access-date=2021-07-22|website=[[The Times of Israel]]}}</ref> According to Jewish works such as the ''[[Seder Olam Rabbah]]'', ''[[Seder Olam Zutta]]'', and ''[[Sefer ha-Qabbalah]]'' (all written over a thousand years later), David ascended the throne as the king of Judah in 885 BCE.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ben Halpetha|first=Jose|author-link=Jose ben Halafta |title=Seder Olam Rabba|editor=M.D. Yerushalmi |date=1971|publisher=Gil Publishers, in affiliation with the Haredi Youth Organization|location=|language=he |oclc=233090728|title-link=Seder Olam Rabba}}, s.v. ''Seder Olam Zutta'', p. 107 (who gives the year of his ascension as 2875 ''[[anno mundi]]'').</ref> Apart from this, all that is known of David comes from biblical literature, [[Historicity of the Bible|the historicity of which has been extensively challenged]],<ref name="Kalimi p. 32">Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel; by Isaac Kalimi; page 32; Cambridge University Press, 2018; {{ISBN|9781108471268}}</ref> and there is little detail about David that is concrete and undisputed.{{sfn|Moore|Kelle|2011|pp=232–233}} Debates persist over several controversial issues: the exact timeframe of David's reign and the geographical boundaries of his kingdom; whether the story serves as a political defense of David's dynasty against accusations of tyranny, murder and regicide; the homoerotic relationship between [[David and Jonathan]]; whether the text is a [[Homer]]-like heroic tale adopting elements from its [[Ancient Near East]] parallels; and whether elements of the text date as late as the [[Hasmonean]] period.

In the [[deuteronomistic history|biblical narrative]] of the [[Books of Samuel]], David is described as a young shepherd and [[kinnor|harpist]] whose heart is devoted to [[Yahweh]], the one true God. He gains fame and becomes a hero by killing [[Goliath]]. He becomes a favorite of [[Saul]], the first king of Israel, but is forced to go into hiding when Saul suspects David of plotting to take his throne. After Saul and his son [[Jonathan (1 Samuel)|Jonathan]] are killed in battle, David is anointed king by the [[tribe of Judah]] and eventually all the tribes of Israel. He conquers [[Jerusalem]], makes it the capital of a [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|united Israel]], and brings the [[Ark of the Covenant]] to the city. He commits adultery with [[Bathsheba]] and arranges the death of her husband, [[Uriah the Hittite]]. David's son [[Absalom]] later tries to overthrow him, but David returns to Jerusalem after Absalom's death to continue his reign. David desires to build a temple to Yahweh, but is denied because of the bloodshed of his reign. He dies at age 70 and chooses [[Solomon]], his son with Bathsheba, as his successor instead of his eldest son [[Adonijah]]. David is honored as an ideal king and the forefather of the future [[Messiah in Judaism|Hebrew Messiah]] in [[Jewish]] prophetic literature, and many [[psalms]] are attributed to him.

David is also richly represented in post-biblical [[Jewish history|Jewish written and oral tradition]] and referenced in the [[New Testament]]. [[Early Christians]] interpreted the life of [[Jesus|Jesus of Nazareth]] in light of references to the Hebrew Messiah and to David; Jesus is described as being directly descended from David in the [[Gospel of Matthew]] and the [[Gospel of Luke]]. In the [[Quran]] and [[hadith]], David is described as an Israelite king as well as a [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|prophet of Allah]].<ref name="oxis">{{cite web |title=David |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e510 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119035811/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e510 |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 November 2018 |access-date=10 March 2021 |website=Oxford Islamic Studies |publisher=Oxford}}</ref><ref name="brilleoi">{{cite journal |last1=Manouchehri |first1=Faramarz Haj |last2=Khodaverdian |first2=Shahram |date=28 September 2017 |title=David (Dāwūd) |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-islamica/*-COM_036118 |journal=Encyclopaedia Islamica |publisher=Brill |access-date=10 March 2021}}</ref> The biblical David has inspired many interpretations in art and literature over the centuries.

==Biblical account==

===Family===
The [[First Book of Samuel]] and the [[First Book of Chronicles]] both identify David as the son of [[Jesse (biblical figure)|Jesse]], the [[Bethlehem]]ite, the youngest of eight sons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christiananswers.net/q-aiia/jessesons.html|title=Jesse's Sons – How many sons did Jesse, King David's father, have? |website=christiananswers.net|access-date=2019-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923043448/https://christiananswers.net/q-aiia/jessesons.html|archive-date=2019-09-23|url-status=dead}}</ref> He also had at least two sisters: [[Zeruiah]], whose sons all went on to serve in David's army, and [[Abigail (mother of Amasa)|Abigail]], whose son [[Amasa]] served in [[Absalom]]'s army, Absalom being one of David's younger sons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://biblehub.com/1_chronicles/2-16.htm|title=1 Chronicles 2:16 Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. And the three sons of Zeruiah were Abishai, Joab, and Asahel.|website=biblehub.com|access-date=2019-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923043447/https://biblehub.com/1_chronicles/2-16.htm|archive-date=2019-09-23|url-status=dead}}</ref> While the [[Bible]] does not name his mother, the [[Talmud]] identifies her as [[Nitzevet]], a daughter of a man named Adael, and the [[Book of Ruth]] claims him as the great-grandson of [[Ruth the Moabite |Ruth]], the [[Moabites|Moabite]], by [[Boaz]].<ref>Babylonian Talmud, Tractate ''Bava Batra'' 91a</ref>

David is described as cementing his relations with various political and national groups through [[Marriage of state|marriage]].{{sfn|Lemaire|1999|p={{page needed|date=November 2021}}}} According to {{bibleverse|1|Samuel|17:25|NKJV}}, King Saul 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. Saul offered David his oldest daughter, [[Merab]], a marriage David respectfully declined.<ref>{{Cite book |last= Brueggemann |first= Walter |title= David and His Theologian: Literary, Social, and Theological Investigations of the Early Monarchy |year= 2011 |publisher=[[Wipf and Stock]] |isbn= 9781610975346 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=piVNAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200724141421/https://books.google.com/books?id=piVNAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 July 2020}}</ref> Saul then gave Merab in marriage to [[Adriel the Meholathite]].<ref>{{cite web |title=1 Samuel 18:19 |publisher= Bible Hub |url=http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-19.htm |access-date= 2018-08-17 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140508042658/http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-19.htm |archive-date= 2014-05-08 |url-status= live}}</ref> Having been told that his younger daughter [[Michal]] was in love with David, Saul gave her in marriage to David upon David's payment in [[Philistine]] [[foreskin]]s<ref>{{cite web |title=1 Samuel 18:18-27 |publisher= Bible Hub |url=http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-27.htm |access-date= 2018-08-17 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140508043105/http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-27.htm |archive-date= 2014-05-08 |url-status= live}}</ref> (ancient Jewish historian [[Josephus]] lists the [[dowry]] as 100 Philistine heads).<ref>{{cite book |author=Flavius Josephus |editor=[[William Whiston]] |title= Antiquities of the Jews |date=1998 |publisher=Thomas Nelson |chapter= 6.10.2}}</ref> Saul became jealous of David and tried to have him killed. David escaped. Then Saul sent Michal to Galim to marry [[Palti, son of Laish]].<ref>{{cite web |title=1 Samuel 25:14 |publisher= Bible Hub |url=http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/25-14.htm|access-date=2018-08-17 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150420003858/http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/25-14.htm |archive-date= 2015-04-20 |url-status= dead}}</ref> David then took wives in [[Hebron]], according to [[2 Samuel]] 3; they were [[Ahinoam]] the Yizre'elite; [[Abigail]], the widow of Nabal the Carmelite; [[Maacah]], the daughter of Talmay, king of [[Geshur]]; [[Haggith]]; [[Abital]]; and [[Eglah]]. Later, David wanted Michal back and [[Abner]], [[Ish-bosheth]]'s army commander, delivered her to him, causing Palti great grief.<ref>{{cite web |title=2 Samuel 3:14 |publisher= Bible Hub |url=http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/3-14.htm |access-date= 2018-08-17 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180817093338/https://biblehub.com/2_samuel/3-14.htm |archive-date= 2018-08-17 |url-status= live}}</ref>

The [[Book of Chronicles]] lists his sons with his various wives and [[concubine]]s. In [[Hebron]], David had six sons: [[Amnon]], by [[Ahinoam]]; [[Daniel (son of David)|Daniel]], by [[Abigail]]; [[Absalom]], by [[Maachah]]; [[Adonijah]], by [[Haggith]]; [[Shephatiah]], by [[Abital]]; and [[Ithream]], by [[Eglah]] ({{Bibleverse|1 Chronicles|3:1–3|NIV}}). By Bathsheba, his sons were [[Shammua]], Shobab, [[Nathan (son of David)|Nathan]], and [[Solomon]]. David's sons born in Jerusalem of his other wives included [[Ibhar]], Elishua, [[Eliphelet]], Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama and Eliada ({{Bibleverse|2 Samuel|5:14–16|NIV}}). [[Jerimoth]], who is not mentioned in any of the genealogies, is mentioned as another of his sons in {{bibleverse|2|Chronicles|2  11:18|NKJV}}. His daughter [[Tamar (2 Samuel)|Tamar]], by Maachah, is raped by her half-brother Amnon. David fails to bring Amnon to justice for his violation of Tamar, because he is his firstborn and he loves him, and so Absalom (her full brother) kills Amnon to avenge Tamar.<ref>According to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version of {{bibleverse|2|Samuel|13:21|NKJV}}, "... he did not punish his son Amnon, because he loved him, for he was his firstborn." Despite the great sins they had committed, David showed grief at his sons' deaths, weeping twice for Amnon ({{bibleverse|2|Samuel|13:31–26|NKJV}}) and seven times for Absalom.</ref><ref>Soṭah, 10b</ref>

===Narrative===
{{Anchor|childhood|Jesse|Bethlehem|Saul rejected}}

[[Yahweh|God]] is angered when [[Saul]], Israel's king, unlawfully offers a sacrifice<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Sam|13:8–14|NRSV}}</ref> and later disobeys a divine command both to kill all of the [[Amalek]]ites and to destroy their confiscated property.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Sam|15:1–28|NRSV}}</ref> Consequently, God sends the prophet [[Samuel]] to anoint a shepherd, David, the youngest son of [[Jesse (biblical figure)|Jesse]] of [[Bethlehem]], to be king instead.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Sam|16:1–13|NRSV}}</ref>
[[File:Samuel e david.jpg|right|thumb|[[1 Samuel 16|Samuel anoints David]], [[Dura-Europos synagogue]], now in [[Syria]], 3rd century CE]]

{{Anchor|At Saul's court}}
After God sends an evil spirit to torment Saul, his servants recommend that he send for a man skilled in playing the [[kinnor|lyre]]. A servant proposes David, whom the servant describes as "skillful in playing, a man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the Lord is with him." David enters Saul's service as one of the royal armour-bearers and plays the lyre to soothe the king.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Sam|16:14-23|NRSV}}</ref>

{{Anchor|David and Goliath}}
[[File:Osmar Schindler David und Goliath.jpg|thumb|right|''David and Goliath'' (1888), color lithograph by German artist [[Osmar Schindler]].]]

War comes between Israel and the [[Philistines]], and the giant [[Goliath]] challenges the Israelites to send out a champion to face him in single combat.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Sam|17:1–11|NRSV}}</ref> David, sent by his father to bring provisions to his brothers serving in Saul's army, declares that he can defeat Goliath.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Sam|17:17–37|NRSV}}</ref> Refusing the king's offer of the royal armour,<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Sam|17:38–39|NRSV}}</ref> he kills Goliath with his [[Sling (weapon)|sling]].<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Sam|17:49–50|NRSV}}</ref> Saul inquires the name of the young hero's father.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Sam|17:55–56|NRSV}}</ref>
[[File:Sweet stories of God; in the language of childhood and the beautiful delineations of sacred art (1899) (14751566596).jpg|thumb|David raises the head of Goliath, [[Gustave Doré]]'s illustration (1866), colorized and published in [[Josephine Pollard]]'s ''Sweet stories of God'' (1899).]]

Saul sets David over his army. All Israel loves David, but his popularity causes Saul to fear him ("What else can he wish but the kingdom?").<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Sam|18:5–9|NRSV}}</ref> Saul plots his death, but Saul's son [[Jonathan (1 Samuel)|Jonathan]], who [[David and Jonathan|loves David]], warns him of his father's schemes and David flees. He goes first to [[Nob (Bible)|Nob]], where he is fed by the priest [[Ahimelech]] and given Goliath's sword, and then to [[Gath (city)|Gath]], the Philistine city of Goliath, intending to seek refuge with King [[Achish]] there. Achish's servants or officials question his loyalty, and David sees that he is in danger there.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1|Samuel|21:10–11|NRSV}}</ref> He goes next to the cave of [[Adullam]], where his family joins him.<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Samuel|22:1|NKJV}}</ref> From there he goes to seek refuge with the king of [[Moab]], but the prophet [[Gad (prophet)|Gad]] advises him to leave and he goes to the [[Forest of Hereth]],<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Samuel|22:5|NKJV}}</ref> and then to [[Keilah]], where he is involved in a further battle with the Philistines. Saul plans to besiege Keilah so that he can capture David, so David leaves the city in order to protect its inhabitants.<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Samuel|23:1–13|NKJV}}</ref> From there he takes refuge in the mountainous [[Wilderness of Ziph]].<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Samuel|23:14|NKJV}}</ref>
[[File:Jusepe Leonardo 001.jpeg|thumb|Saul threatening David, by [[José Leonardo]]]]

{{Anchor|David and Jonathan}}
Jonathan meets with David again and confirms his loyalty to David as the future king. After the people of [[Ziph (Bible)|Ziph]] notify Saul that David is taking refuge in their territory, Saul seeks confirmation and plans to capture David in the [[Wilderness of Maon]], but his attention is diverted by a renewed Philistine invasion and David is able to secure some respite at [[Ein Gedi]].<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Samuel|23:27–29|NKJV}}</ref> Returning from battle with the Philistines, Saul heads to Ein Gedi in pursuit of David. Needing privacy "[[defecation |to attend to his needs]]", Saul enters the cave where, as it happens, David and his supporters are hiding. David realises he has an [[Window of opportunity |opportunity]] to kill Saul, but instead, he secretly cuts off a piece of Saul's robe. When Saul leaves the cave, David comes out to pay homage to the king, and to demonstrate using the piece of robe that he holds no malice towards him. The two are thus reconciled and Saul recognises David as his successor.<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Samuel|24:1–22|NKJV}}</ref>

A similar passage occurs in {{Bibleverse|1 Sam|26|NRSV}}, when 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. In this account, David is advised by [[Abishai (biblical figure)| Abishai]] that this is his opportunity to kill Saul, but David declines, saying he will not "stretch out [his] hand against the Lord's anointed".<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Samuel|26:11|NKJV}}</ref> In the morning, David once again demonstrates to Saul that, despite ample opportunity, he did not deign to harm him. Saul, despite having already reconciled with David, confesses that he has been wrong to pursue David, and blesses him.<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Samuel|26:25|NIV}}</ref>

In {{bibleverse|1|Samuel|27:1–4|NIV}}, David begins to doubt Saul's sincerity, and reasons that the king will eventually make another attempt on his life. David appeals to king Achish of Gath to grant him and his family sanctuary. Achish agrees, and upon hearing that David has fled to Philistia, Saul ceases to pursue him,<ref>cf. {{bibleverse|1|Samuel|21:10–15|NKJV}}</ref> though no such pursuit seemed to be in progress at the time. Achish permits David to reside in [[Ziklag]], close to the border between Philistia and Judah. To further ingratiate himself to Achish and the Philistines, David and his men raid the [[Geshur]]ites, the [[Girzites]], and the [[Amalek]]ites, but lead the royal court to believe they are attacking the Israelites, the [[Jerahmeelite]]s, and the [[Kenite]]s. While Achish comes to believe that David had become a loyal [[vassal]], the princes (or lords) of Gath remain unconvinced, and at their request, Achish instructs David to remain behind to guard the camp when the Philistines march against Saul.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Sam|29:1–11|NRSV}}</ref> David returns to Ziklag and saves his wives and the citizens from an Amalekite raid.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1|Samuel|30:1|NKJV}}</ref> Jonathan and Saul are killed in battle with the Philistines,<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Sam|31:1–13|NRSV}}</ref> and after hearing of their deaths, David travels to Hebron, where he is anointed king over Judah.<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Sam|2:1–4|NRSV}}</ref> In the north, Saul's son [[Ish-Bosheth]] is anointed king of Israel, and war ensues until Ish-Bosheth is murdered.<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Sam|2:8–11|NRSV}}</ref>

{{Anchor|Proclaimed king|Jerusalem and the Davidic covenant}}
With the death of Saul's son, the elders of Israel come to [[Hebron]] and David is anointed king over [[children of Israel |all of Israel]].<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Sam|5:1–3|NRSV}}</ref> He conquers [[Jerusalem]], previously a [[Jebusite]] stronghold, and makes it his capital.<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Sam|5:6–7|NRSV}}</ref> He brings the [[Ark of the Covenant]] to the city,<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Sam|6:1–12|NRSV}}</ref> intending to build a temple for God, but the prophet [[Nathan (Prophet)|Nathan]] forbids it, prophesying that the temple would be built by one of David's sons.<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Sam|7:1–13|NRSV}}</ref> Nathan also prophesies that God has made a covenant with the house of David stating, "your throne shall be established forever".<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Sam|7:16|NRSV}}</ref> David wins additional victories over the Philistines, Moabites, [[Edomites]], Amalekites, [[Ammon]]ites and king [[Hadadezer ben Rehob|Hadadezer]] of [[Aram-Zobah]], after which they become tributaries. His fame increases as a result, earning the praise of figures like King [[Tou (biblical figure)|Toi]] of [[Hamath]], Hadadezer's rival.<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Sam|8:1–14|NRSV}}</ref>
[[File:Eugène Siberdt - The Prophet Nathan rebukes King David.jpg|thumb|''The Prophet Nathan rebukes King David'', oil on canvas by [[Eugène Siberdt]], 1866–1931 (Mayfair Gallery, London)]]

{{Anchor|Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite}}
During a siege of the Ammonite capital of [[Rabbah]], David remains in Jerusalem. He spies a woman, [[Bathsheba]], bathing and summons her; she becomes pregnant.<ref name=RichardsRichards2002>{{cite book|author=Lawrence O. Richards|title=Bible Reader's Companion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S4D_IVZ1cCQC&pg=PA210|year=2002|publisher=David C Cook|isbn=978-0-7814-3879-7|pages=210–|access-date=2017-07-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216035112/https://books.google.com/books?id=S4D_IVZ1cCQC&pg=PA210|archive-date=2019-12-16|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Wilton2004>{{cite book|author=Carlos Wilton|title=Lectionary Preaching Workbook: For All Users of the Revised Common, the Roman Catholic, and the Episcopal Lectionaries. Series VIII|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GxyxOxf5DmcC&pg=PA189|date=June 2004|publisher=CSS Publishing|isbn=978-0-7880-2371-2|pages=189–}}</ref><ref name=Zucker2013>{{cite book|author=David J. Zucker|title=The Bible's Prophets: An Introduction for Christians and Jews|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nTtJAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA51|date= 2013 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|isbn=978-1-63087-102-4|pages=51–}}</ref> The text in the Bible does not explicitly state whether Bathsheba consented to sex with David.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=2+Samuel+11:2-4&version=nrsv |title=2 Samuel 11:2–4 |access-date=2018-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202024758/http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=2+Samuel+11:2-4&version=nrsv |archive-date=2018-12-02 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Campbell2005>{{cite book |author=Antony F. Campbell|title=2 Samuel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FgmyJVkci14C&pg=PA104 |year=2005|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-2813-2|pages=104–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Sara M. Koenig|title=Isn't This Bathsheba?: A Study in Characterization|date=2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O4ZMAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA69|publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|isbn=978-1-60899-427-4 |pages=69–}}</ref><ref name=Campbell2004>{{cite book|author=Antony F. Campbell|title=Joshua to Chronicles: An Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vQEcTgQuP94C&pg=PA161|year=2004 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|isbn=978-0-664-25751-4|pages=161– |access-date=2017-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216035108/https://books.google.com/books?id=vQEcTgQuP94C&pg=PA161 |archive-date=2019-12-16|url-status=live}}</ref> David calls her husband, [[Uriah the Hittite]], back from the battle to rest, hoping that he will go home to have sex with his wife and the child will be presumed to be his. Uriah does not visit his wife, however, so David conspires to have him killed in the heat of battle. David then marries the widowed Bathsheba.<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Sam|11:14–17|NRSV}}</ref> In response, Nathan, after trapping the king in his guilt with a parable that actually described his sin in analogy, prophesies the punishment that will fall upon him, stating "the sword shall never depart from your house."{{efn|1=Some commentators believe this meant during David's lifetime.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/12-10.htm |title=2 Samuel 12:10 |website=Bible Hub |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801181431/http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/12-10.htm |archive-date=2017-08-01 }}</ref> Others say it included his posterity.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/2-samuel-12-10.html |title=2 Samuel 12:10 |website=Salem Web Network |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729103412/http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/2-samuel-12-10.html |archive-date=2017-07-29}}; {{Bibleverse|2 Sam|12:8–10|NRSV}}</ref> }} When David acknowledges that he has [[sin]]ned,<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Samuel|12:13|NRSV}}</ref> Nathan advises him that his sin is forgiven and he will not die,<ref>Adultery was a capital crime under [[Mosaic law]]: {{bibleverse||Leviticus|20:10|ESV}}</ref> but the child will.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Samuel|12:14|NIV}}: NIV translation</ref>
{{anchor|David's son Absalom rebels}}
In fulfillment of Nathan's words, the child born of the union between David and Bathsheba dies, and another of David's sons, [[Absalom]], fueled by vengeance and lust for power, rebels.<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Sam|15:1–12|NRSV}}</ref> Thanks to [[Hushai]], a friend of David who was ordered to infiltrate Absalom's court to successfully sabotage his plans, Absalom's forces are routed at the battle of the [[Wood of Ephraim]], and he is caught by his long hair in the branches of a tree where, contrary to David's order, he is killed by [[Joab]], the commander of David's army.<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Sam|18:1–15|NRSV}}</ref> David laments the death of his favourite son: "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!"<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Sam|18:33|NRSV}}</ref> until Joab persuades him to recover from "the extravagance of his grief"<ref>{{cite web |work=Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges |url=http://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/2_samuel/19.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731122102/http://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/2_samuel/19.htm |archive-date=2017-07-31 |url-status=live |title=2 Samuel 19 |access-date=12 August 2017}}</ref> and to fulfill his duty to his people.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Samuel|19:1–8}}</ref> David returns to [[Gilgal]] and is escorted across the [[River Jordan]] and back to Jerusalem by the tribes of [[Tribe of Judah|Judah]] and [[Tribe of Benjamin|Benjamin]].<ref>{{Bibleverse|2|Samuel|19:15–17|NKJV}}</ref>

{{Anchor|Death}}
When David is old and bedridden, [[Adonijah]], his eldest surviving son and natural heir, declares himself king.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Kings|1:1–5|NRSV}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Kings|1:11–31|NRSV}}</ref> David dies at the age of 70 after reigning for 40 years,<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Sam|5:4|NRSV}}</ref> and on his deathbed counsels Solomon to walk in the ways of God and to take revenge on his enemies.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Kings|2:1–9|NRSV}}</ref>

===Psalms===
[[File:Psautier de Paris, MSS. gr. 139, fol. 1v.jpg|thumb|David Composing the Psalms, [[Paris Psalter]], 10th century<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Caqa12aj55wC|title=The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843–1261|editor1=Helen C. Evans|editor2=William W. Wixom|date=5 March 1997|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|access-date=5 March 2018|via=Internet Archive|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Caqa12aj55wC/page/n114 86]|isbn=9780870997778}}</ref>]]
The [[Book of Samuel]] calls David a skillful harp (lyre) player<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Samuel|16:15–18|NIV}}</ref> and "the sweet psalmist of Israel."{{efn|1=Other translations say, "the hero of Israel's songs", "the favorite singer of Israel", "the contented psalm writer of Israel", and "Israel's beloved singer of songs".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/23-1.htm |title=2 Samuel 23:1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170727014338/http://biblehub.com/2_samuel/23-1.htm |archive-date=2017-07-27 }}</ref>}} Yet, while almost half of the [[Psalms]] are headed "A Psalm of David" (also translated as "to David" or "for David") and tradition identifies several with specific events in David's life (e.g., [[Psalm 3|Psalms 3]], [[Psalm 7|7]], [[Psalm 18|18]], [[Psalm 34|34]], [[Psalm 51|51]], [[Psalm 52|52]], [[Psalm 54|54]], [[Psalm 56|56]], [[Psalm 57|57]], [[Psalm 59|59]], [[Psalm 60|60]], [[Psalm 63|63]] and [[Psalm 142|142]]),<ref>Commentary on II Samuel 22, The Anchor Bible, Vol. 9. ''II Samuel''. [[P. Kyle McCarter, Jr.]], 1984. New York: Doubleday. {{ISBN|0-385-06808-5}}</ref> the headings are late additions and no psalm can be attributed to David with certainty.<ref name="McKenzie_on_David">{{cite web |url=http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/McKensie_020301.shtml |author=Steven McKenzie |title=King David: A Biography |website=The Bible and Interpretation |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-06-21 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120621040818/http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/McKensie_020301.shtml}}</ref>

Psalm 34 is attributed to David on the occasion of his escape from [[Abimelech]] (or King [[Achish]]) by pretending to be insane.<ref>Psalm 34, ''Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament'', Kohlenberger, J.R, 1987. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House {{ISBN|0-310-40200-X}}</ref> According to the parallel narrative in 1 Samuel 21, instead of killing the man who had exacted so many casualties from him, Abimelech allows David to leave, exclaiming, "Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?"<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Samuel|21:15|NIV}}</ref>

==Interpretation in Abrahamic tradition==

===Rabbinic Judaism===
David is an important figure in [[Rabbinic Judaism]], with many legends about him. According to one tradition, David was raised as the son of his father Jesse and spent his early years herding his father's sheep in the wilderness while his brothers were in school.<ref name="Ginzberg 1909">{{cite book |title= The Legends of the Jews|url= https://archive.org/details/legendsofjews0007ginz|last= Ginzberg|first= Louis|year= 1909|publisher= Jewish Publication Society|location= Philadelphia}}</ref>

David's adultery with Bathsheba is interpreted as an opportunity to demonstrate the power of repentance, and the Talmud says it was not adultery at all, citing a Jewish practice of divorce on the eve of battle. Furthermore, according to Talmudic sources, Uriah's death was not murder, because Uriah had committed a capital offense by refusing to obey a direct command from the King.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=82&letter=D#260|title=David|website=jewishencyclopedia.com|access-date=2014-10-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011100050/http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=82&letter=D#260|archive-date=2011-10-11|url-status=live}}</ref> However, in tractate Sanhedrin, David expressed remorse over his transgressions and sought forgiveness. God ultimately forgave David and Bathsheba but would not remove their sins from Scripture.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin|page=107a}}</ref>

In [[Legends of the Jews|Jewish legend]], David's sin with Bathsheba is the punishment for David's excessive self-consciousness. He had besought God to lead him into temptation so that he might give proof of his constancy like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who successfully passed the test and whose names later were united with God's, while David failed through the temptation of a woman.<ref name="Ginzberg 1909"/>

According to [[midrashim]], [[Adam]] gave up 70 years of his life for the life of David.<ref>Zohar Bereishis 91b</ref> Also, according to the [[Talmud Yerushalmi]], David was born and died on the Jewish holiday of [[Shavuot]] (Feast of Weeks). His piety was said to be so great that his prayers could bring down things from Heaven.<ref>{{Citation
 | last1 = Ginzberg | first1 = Louis
 | translator-last = Szold | translator-first = Henrietta
 | title = Legends of the Jews
 | website = [[Sefaria]]
 | date = 1909
 | url = https://www.sefaria.org/Legends_of_the_Jews.4.4.50?lang=en
 | access-date = October 26, 2021 }}</ref>

===Christianity===
{{Infobox saint
| name = King David the Prophet
| birth_date = 
| death_date = 
| feast_day = December 29, 6 October – Catholicism
| venerated_in = [[Catholic Church]]<ref>{{Cite web| url=https://catholicsaints.info/king-david/| title=King David| date=2008-10-28| access-date=2019-09-16| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420233200/http://catholicsaints.info/king-david/| archive-date=2019-04-20| url-status=live}}</ref><br/>[[Eastern Orthodoxy]]{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}<br/>[[Oriental Orthodoxy]]
| image = 5201-king-david-in-prayer-pieter-de-grebber.jpg
| imagesize = 250px
| caption = ''King David in Prayer'', by [[Pieter de Grebber]] ({{Circa|1640}})
| birth_place = 
| death_place = 
| titles = Holy Monarch, Prophet, Reformer, Spiritual Poet and Musician, Vicegerent of God, Psalm-Receiver
| beatified_date = 
| beatified_place = 
| beatified_by = 
| canonized_date = 
| canonized_place = 
| canonized_by = 
| attributes = [[Psalms]], [[Harp]], Head of [[Goliath]]
| patronage = 
| suppressed_date = 
| issues = 
| prayer = 
| prayer_attrib = 
}}
{{See also|Genealogy of Jesus|Davidic line}}
The Messiah concept is fundamental in Christianity. Originally an earthly king ruling by divine appointment ("the anointed one", as the title [[Messiah]] had it), in the last two centuries BCE the "son of David" became the apocalyptic and heavenly one who would deliver Israel and usher in a new kingdom. This was the background to the concept of Messiahship in early Christianity, which interpreted the career of Jesus "by means of the titles and functions assigned to David in the mysticism of the Zion cult, in which he served as priest-king and in which he was the mediator between God and man".<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/152497/David "David"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090819074455/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/152497/David |date=2009-08-19 }} article from ''Encyclopædia Britannica Online''</ref>

The early Church believed that "the life of David foreshadowed the life of Christ; [[Bethlehem]] is the birthplace of both; the shepherd life of David points out Christ, [[The Good Shepherd (Christianity)|the Good Shepherd]]; the five stones chosen to slay Goliath are [[Typology (theology)|typical]] of the [[Holy Wounds|five wounds]]; the betrayal by his trusted counsellor, [[Ahitophel]], and the passage over the [[Kidron Valley|Cedron]] remind us of Christ's [[Passion (Christianity)|Sacred Passion]]. Many of the Davidic Psalms, as we learn from the New Testament, are clearly typical of the future Messiah."<ref name=corbett>John Corbett (1911) [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04642b.htm King David] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070925212531/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04642b.htm |date=2007-09-25 }} ''[[The Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' (New York: Robert Appleton Company)</ref> In the [[Middle Ages]], "[[Charlemagne]] thought of himself, and was viewed by his court scholars, as a 'new David'. [This was] not in itself a new idea, but [one whose] content and significance were greatly enlarged by him".<ref>{{cite book |last=McManners |first=John |title=The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DhpKxQT8n74C&pg=PA101 |page=101 |isbn=9780192854391 |date=2001-03-15 |publisher=OUP Oxford |access-date=2016-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160209020220/https://books.google.com/books?id=DhpKxQT8n74C&pg=PA101 |archive-date=2016-02-09 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Western Christian]] churches celebrate David's feast day on 29 December or 6 October,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Zeno|title=Lexikoneintrag zu »David (8)«. Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon, Band 1. Augsburg 1858, ...|url=http://www.zeno.org/Heiligenlexikon-1858/A/David+(8)|access-date=2021-10-09|website=www.zeno.org|language=de}}</ref> Eastern-rite on 19 December.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160312173029/https://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/1229.shtml Saint of the Day] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530061211/http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/1229.shtml |date=2008-05-30 }} for December 29 at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Washington, D.C.</ref> The [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] celebrate the [[feast day]] of the "Holy Righteous Prophet and King David" on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (two Sundays before the [[Great Feast]] of the [[Christmas|Nativity of the Lord]]) and on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers (Sunday before the [[Christmas|Nativity]]), when he is commemorated together with other [[genealogy of Jesus|ancestors of Jesus]]. He is also commemorated on the Sunday after the Nativity, together with [[Saint Joseph|Joseph]] and [[James, the Brother of the Lord]] and on 26 December (Synaxis of the Mother of God).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Пророк Дави́д Псалмопевец, царь Израильский |url=https://azbyka.ru/days/sv-david-car |access-date=2021-10-09 |website=azbyka.rudays |language=ru}}</ref>

====Middle Ages====
[[File:Arms of Ireland (Variant 1) (Historical).svg|thumb|left|upright=0.75|Coat of arms [[attributed arms|attributed]] to King David by mediaeval heralds.<ref>{{cite book|title=Lindsay of the Mount Roll |last=Lindsay of the Mount |first=Sir David|author-link=David Lyndsay|date=1542 |url=https://archive.org/stream/facsimileofancie00lind#page/n49/mode/2up|publisher=Edinburgh, W. & D. Laing |access-date=2015-06-21|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203022459/https://archive.org/stream/facsimileofancie00lind#page/n49/mode/2up|archive-date=2016-02-03}}</ref> (Identical to the [[Coat of arms of Ireland|arms of Ireland]])]]

In European [[Christian culture]] of the [[Middle Ages]], David was made a member of the [[Nine Worthies]], a group of heroes encapsulating all the ideal qualities of [[chivalry]]. His life was thus proposed as a valuable subject for study by those aspiring to chivalric status. This aspect of David in the Nine Worthies was popularised first through literature, and thereafter adopted as a frequent subject for painters and sculptors.

David was considered a model ruler and a symbol of [[Divine right of kings|divinely ordained monarchy]] throughout medieval [[Western Europe]] and [[Eastern Europe|Eastern]] [[Christendom]]. He was perceived as the biblical predecessor to Christian Roman and Byzantine emperors and the name "New David" was used as an honorific reference to these rulers.<ref name=Garipzanov>{{cite book|last1=Garipzanov|first1=Ildar H.|title=The Symbolic Language of Royal Authority in the Carolingian World (c. 751–877)|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-9004166691|pages=128, 225|year=2008}}</ref> The [[Kingdom of Georgia|Georgian]] [[Bagrationi|Bagratids]] and the [[Solomonic dynasty]] of [[Empire of Ethiopia|Ethiopia]] claimed direct [[Claim of the biblical descent of the Bagrationi dynasty|biological descent]] from him.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rapp|first=Stephen H. Jr. |title=Imagining History at the Crossroads: Persia, Byzantium, and the Architects of the Written Georgian Past |date=1997|publisher=Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan|page=528}}</ref> Likewise, kings of the [[Franks|Frankish]] [[Carolingian dynasty]] frequently connected themselves to David; [[Charlemagne]] himself occasionally used "David" his pseudonym.<ref name=Garipzanov/>

===Islam===
{{Main|David in Islam}}
[[File:Spencer Coll. Persian MS. 46 fol 113v Davud slingshot.jpg|thumb|Islamic [[Persian miniature|miniature]] depicting Dawud besting the army of Jalut with a slingshot from a 1580 Persian ''[[Qisas al-Anbiya|Stories of the Prophets]]'' manuscript.]]
David (Arabic: داوود ''Dā'ūd'' or ''Dāwūd'') is an important figure in [[Islam]] as one of the major [[prophet]]s [[God]] sent to guide the [[Israelites]]. He is mentioned several times in the [[Quran]] with the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] name داود, ''Dāwūd'' or ''Dā'ūd'', often with his son [[Solomon in Islam|Solomon]]. In the Quran, David killed [[Goliath#Islam|Goliath]] ([[Q2:251]]), a giant soldier in the Philistine army. When David killed Goliath, God granted him kingship and wisdom and enforced it ([[Q38:20]]). David was made God's "[[vicegerent]] on earth" ([[Q38:26]]) and God further gave David sound judgment ([[Q21:78]]; [[Q37:21–24]], [[Q26]]) as well as the [[Psalms]], regarded as books of divine wisdom ([[Q4:163]]; [[Q17:55]]). The birds and mountains united with David in uttering praise to God ([[Q21:79]]; [[Q34:10]]; [[Q38:18]]), while God made iron soft for David ([[Q34:10]]),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://quran.com/34/10|title = Surah Saba - 10}}</ref> God also instructed David in the art of fashioning [[chain mail]] out of iron ([[Q21:80]]);<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://quran.com/21/80|title = Surah Al-Anbya - 80}}</ref> this knowledge gave David a major advantage over his [[bronze]] and [[cast iron]]-armed opponents, not to mention the cultural and economic impact. Together with Solomon, David gave judgment in a case of damage to the fields ([[Q21:78]]) and David judged the matter between two disputants in his prayer chamber ([[Q38:21–23]]). Since there is no mention in the Quran of the wrong David did to [[Uriah the Hittite|Uriah]] nor any reference to [[Bathsheba]], [[Muslim]]s reject this narrative.<ref>Wheeler, Brannon M. ''The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism'', "David"</ref>

Muslim [[tradition]] and the ''[[hadith]]'' stress David's zeal in daily prayer as well as in [[fasting]].<ref>"Dawud". ''Encyclopedia of Islam''</ref> Quran commentators, historians and compilers of the numerous ''[[Stories of the Prophets]]'' elaborate upon David's concise quranic narratives and specifically mention David's gift in singing his Psalms, his beautiful recitation, and his vocal talents. His voice is described as having a captivating power, weaving its influence not only over man but over all beasts and nature, who would unite with him to praise God.<ref>''Stories of the Prophets'', Ibn Kathir, "Story of David"</ref>

==Historicity==
{{See also|Historicity of the Bible|Davidic line#Historicity|label2=Davidic line § Historicity}}

===Literary analysis===
[[file:David SM Maggiore.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Statue of David (1609–1612) by [[Nicolas Cordier]]]]
Biblical literature and archaeological finds are the only sources that attest to David's life. Some scholars have concluded that this was likely compiled from contemporary records of the 11th and 10th centuries BCE, but that there is no clear historical basis for determining the exact date of compilation.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hill |first1=Andrew E. |last2=Walton |first2=John H. |title=A Survey of the Old Testament |edition=3rd |year=2009 |orig-year=1991 |publisher=Zondervan |location=Grand Rapids |isbn=978-0-310-28095-8 |page=258 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3PhbDc-PdvMC&pg=PA258 |quote=The events of the book took place in the last half of the eleventh century and the early part of the tenth century BC, but it is difficult to determine when the events were recorded. There are no particularly persuasive reasons to date the sources used by the compiler later than the events themselves, and good reason to believe that contemporary records were kept (cf. 2 Sam. 20:24–25). |access-date=2019-12-27 |archive-date=2020-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011131826/https://books.google.com/books?id=3PhbDc-PdvMC&pg=PA258 |url-status=live}}</ref> Other scholars believe that the [[Books of Samuel]] were substantially composed during the time of [[Josiah]], king of Judah, at the end of the 7th century BCE, extended during the [[Babylonian captivity]] and substantially complete by about 550 BCE. Old Testament scholar [[A. Graeme Auld]] contends that further editing was done even after then—the silver quarter-[[shekel]] Saul's servant offers to Samuel in {{bibleverse|1|Samuel|9:8|KJV}} "almost certainly fixes the date of the story in the Persian or Hellenistic period" because a quarter-shekel was known to exist in Hasmonean times.{{sfn|Auld|2003|p=219}} The authors and editors of Samuel drew on many earlier sources, including, for their history of David, the "history of David's rise"<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Samuel 16:14–2, 5:10|multi=yes}}</ref> and the "succession narrative".<ref>{{bibleverse|2 Samuel|9–20}} and {{bibleverse|1 Kings|1–2}}</ref>{{sfn|Knight|1991|p=853}} The [[Books of Chronicles]], which tells the story from a different point of view, was probably composed in the period 350–300 BCE, and uses Samuel and Kings as its source.{{sfn|McKenzie|2004|p=32}}

Biblical evidence indicates that David's Judah was something less than a full-fledged monarchy: it often calls him {{lang|he|[[nagid]]}} ({{literal translation|prince, chief}}; {{langx|he|נָגִיד|nāgīḏ|links=no}}) rather than {{lang|he|[[Malik|melekh]]}} ({{langx|he|מֶלֶךְ|lit=king}}); David sets up none of the complex bureaucracy that a kingdom needs. His army is made up of volunteers and his followers are largely relations or from his home region of [[Hebron]].{{sfn|Moore|Kelle|2011|pp=220–221}}

Beyond this, the full range of possible interpretations is available. A number of scholars consider the David story to be a heroic tale similar to the legend of [[King Arthur]] or the epics of [[Homer]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Thompson |first=Thomas L. |year=2001 |title=A view from Copenhagen: Israel and the History of Palestine |website=The Bible and Interpretation |url=https://bibleinterp.arizona.edu/articles/view-copenhagen-israel-and-history-palestine |access-date=December 25, 2020 |quote=The history of Palestine and of its peoples is very different from the Bible's narratives, whatever political claims to the contrary may be. An independent history of Judea during the Iron I and Iron II periods has little room for historicizing readings of the stories of I-II Samuel and I Kings.}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Redford|1992|pp=301–302|ps=: One (perversely perhaps) longs to see the result of the application of such a criterion to Geoffrey of Monmouth's treatment of Arthur, to the anonymous Joseph and Asenath, to the Alexander Romances, or a host of other Pseudepigrapha. Mesmerized by the literary quality of much of the writing in 1 and 2 Samuel—it is in truth a damned good story!—many scholars take a further step: "The Succession story must be regarded as the oldest specimen of ancient Israelite history writing."}}; {{harvnb|Pfoh|2016|p=54 n. 126|ps=: Isser links the David story with other heroic tales, like Homer's epics and King Arthur's legend}}</ref> while others find such comparisons questionable.<ref>Kalimi, Isaac. ''Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel'', Cambridge University Press, 2019, p. 53</ref>

The instance in the [[Book of Jashar]], excerpted in [[2 Samuel 1]]:26, where David "proclaims that Jonathan's love was sweeter to him than the love of a woman", has been compared to [[Achilles]]' comparison of [[Patroclus]] to a girl and [[Gilgamesh]]'s love for [[Enkidu]] "as a woman".{{sfn|Gordon|1955|p=89}}{{sfn|Horner|1978|p=19}} Others hold that the David story is a political apology—an answer to contemporary charges against him, of his involvement in murders and regicide.{{sfn|Baden|2013|p=12|ps=: the biblical narrative may be considered the ancient equivalent of political spin: it is a retelling, even a reinterpretation, of events, the goal of which is to absolve David of any potential guilt and to show him in a positive light.}} The authors and editors of Samuel and Chronicles aimed not to record history but to promote David's reign as inevitable and desirable, and for this reason there is little about David that is concrete and undisputed.{{sfn|Moore|Kelle|2011|pp=232–233}} Other scholars argue that, notwithstanding the apologetic tenor of the story, the authors of Samuel were also critical of David in several respects, suggesting that the text presents a complex portrait of him rather than a purely propagandistic one.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Book of Samuel and Its Response to Monarchy |last=Johnson |first=Benjamin J. M. |publisher=[[Kohlhammer Verlag]] |year=2021 |isbn=978-3-17-037041-8 |pages=225–241 |editor-last=Kipfer |editor-first=Sara |chapter=An Unapologetic Apology: The David Story as a Complex Response to Monarchy |editor-last2=Hutton |editor-first2=Jeremy M. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vgUYEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA225}}</ref>

Some other studies of David have been written: [[Baruch Halpern]] has pictured him as a brutal tyrant, a murderer, and a lifelong vassal of [[Achish]], the [[Philistine]] king of [[Gath (city)|Gath]];<ref>{{cite web |last=Carasik |first=Michael |date=June 2014 |url=http://www.bookreviews.org/pdf/1551_3721.pdf |title=Review of Baruch Halpern's ''David's Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King'' |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810172523/http://www.bookreviews.org/pdf/1551_3721.pdf}}</ref> Steven McKenzie argues that David came from a wealthy family, and was an "ambitious and ruthless" tyrant who murdered his opponents, including his sons.<ref name="McKenzie_on_David" /> Joel S. Baden has called him "an ambitious, ruthless, flesh-and-blood man who achieved power by any means necessary, including murder, theft, bribery, sex, deceit, and treason".{{sfn|Baden|2013}}{{page needed|date=November 2021}} [[William G. Dever]] described him as "a serial killer".{{sfn|Dever|2020|p=}}

[[Jacob L. Wright]] has written that the most popular legends about David, including his killing of Goliath, his affair with [[Bathsheba]], and his ruling of the unified [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Kingdom of Israel]] rather than just Judah, are the creation of those who lived generations after him, in particular those living in the late Persian or Hellenistic periods.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bibleinterp.arizona.edu/articles/2014/07/wri388001 |title=David, King of Judah (Not Israel) |date=July 2014 |access-date=3 September 2017 |website=bibleinterp.arizona.edu}}</ref>

===Archaeological findings===
{{main|Tel Dan stele}}
[[File:JRSLM 300116 Tel Dan Stele 01.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Tel Dan stele]]]]
The [[Tel Dan stele]], discovered in 1993, is an inscribed stone erected by [[Hazael]], a [[Aram-Damascus|king of Damascus]] in the late 9th/early 8th centuries BCE. It commemorates the king's victory over two enemy kings, and contains the phrase {{Lang|oar|𐤁𐤉𐤕𐤃𐤅𐤃}}, {{smallcaps|bytdwd}}, which most scholars translate as "House of David".{{sfn|Pioske|2015|p=180}}{{sfn|Lemaire|1994}} Other scholars have challenged this reading,<ref>{{harvp|Pioske|2015|p=180|ps=: "…the reading of ''bytdwd'' as "House of David" has been challenged by those unconvinced of the inscription's allusion to an eponymous David or the kingdom of Judah."}}</ref> but this is likely a reference to a dynasty of the [[Kingdom of Judah]] which traced its ancestry to a founder named David.{{sfn|Pioske|2015|p=180}}

Two [[epigrapher]]s, [[André Lemaire]] and [[Émile Puech]], hypothesised in 1994 that the [[Mesha Stele]] from [[Moab]], dating from the 9th century, also contain the words "House of David" at the end of Line 31, although this was considered as less certain than the mention in the Tel Dan inscription.{{sfn|Pioske|2015|p=210, fn. 18}} In May 2019, [[Israel Finkelstein]], [[Nadav Na'aman]], and [[Thomas Römer]] concluded from the new images that the ruler's name contained three consonants and started with a [[bet (letter)|''bet'']], which excludes the reading "House of David" and, in conjunction with the monarch's city of residence "Horonaim" in Moab, makes it likely that the one mentioned is King [[Balak]], a name also known from the [[Hebrew Bible]].{{sfn|Finkelstein|Na'aman|Römer|2019}}<ref name=AAAS/> Later that year, Michael Langlois used high-resolution photographs of both the inscription itself, and the 19th-century original [[Squeeze paper|squeeze]] of the then still intact stele to reaffirm Lemaire's view that line 31 contains the phrase "House of David".<ref name= AAAS>{{cite web |title= New reading of the Mesha Stele inscription has major consequences for biblical history |via= American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |date= 2 May 2019 |publisher= American Friends of Tel Aviv University |type= news release |url= https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-05/afot-nro050219.php |access-date= 22 October 2020 |archive-date= 2019-05-02  |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190502163452/https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-05/afot-nro050219.php |url-status= dead }}</ref>{{sfn|Langlois|2019}} Replying to Langlois, Na'aman argued that the "House of David" reading is unacceptable because the resulting sentence structure is extremely rare in West Semitic royal inscriptions.{{sfn|Na'aman|2019|p=196}}

[[File:Karnak Tempel 19.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|The Triumphal Relief of [[Shoshenq I]] near the [[Bubastite Portal]] at [[Karnak]], depicting the god [[Amun-Re]] receiving a list of cities and villages conquered by the king in his Near Eastern military campaigns.]]
Besides the two steles, Bible scholar and Egyptologist [[Kenneth Kitchen]] suggests that David's name also appears in a relief of the pharaoh [[Shoshenq I]], who is usually identified with [[Shishak]] in the Bible.<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Kings|14:25–27}}</ref><ref name= "Phar">{{cite book| url= https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/m/mckenzie-david.html |title=King David: A Biography |chapter= One | last =McKenzie | first = Steven L. |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-513273-4 |access-date=2018-06-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119124308/http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/m/mckenzie-david.html |archive-date= 2018-01-19|url-status=live}}</ref> The relief claims that Shoshenq raided places in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] in 925 BCE, and Kitchen interprets one place as "Heights of David", which was in southern Judah and the [[Negev]] where the Bible says David took refuge from Saul. The relief is damaged and interpretation is uncertain.<ref name= "Phar"/>

===Archaeological analysis===

Of the evidence in question, John Haralson Hayes and James Maxwell Miller wrote in 2006: "If one is not convinced in advance by the biblical profile, then there is nothing in the archaeological evidence itself to suggest that much of consequence was going on in Palestine during the tenth century BCE, and certainly nothing to suggest that Jerusalem was a great political and cultural center."<ref>A History of Ancient Israel and Judah; ByJames Maxwell Miller & John Haralson Hayes; pages 204; SCM Press, 2006; {{ISBN|9780334041177}}</ref> This echoed the 1995 conclusion of [[Amélie Kuhrt]], who noted that "there are no royal inscriptions from the time of the united monarchy (indeed very little written material altogether), and not a single contemporary reference to either David or Solomon," while noting, "against this must be set the evidence for substantial development and growth at several sites, which is plausibly related to the tenth century."<ref name="Kuhrtp438">{{cite book|last=Kuhrt|first=Amélie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V_sfMzRPTgoC&q=Kuhrt,+Amiele+(1995).+The+Ancient+Near+East.|title=The Ancient Near East, c. 3000–330 BC, Band 1|publisher=Routledge |year=1995|isbn=978-0-41516-762-8|location=New York|page=438 |author-link=Amélie Kuhrt}}</ref>

In 2007, [[Israel Finkelstein]] and [[Neil Asher Silberman]] stated that the archaeological evidence shows that Judah was sparsely inhabited and Jerusalem no more than a small village. 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 (Samaria)|kingdom of Israel]] to the north.<ref>{{harvnb|Finkelstein|Silberman|2007|pp=26–27}}; {{harvnb|Finkelstein|Silberman|2002|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bibleunearthedar00fink/page/189 189–190]|loc=Chapter 8|ps=: Archaeologically and historically, the redating of these cities from Solomon's era to the time of Omrides has enormous implication. It removes the only archeological evidence that there was ever a united monarchy based in Jerusalem and suggests that David and Solomon were, in political terms, little more than hill country chieftains, whose administrative reach remained on a fairly local level, restricted to the hill country.}}</ref> They posited that Israel and Judah were not monotheistic at the time and that later 7th-century redactors sought to portray a past golden age of a united, monotheistic monarchy in order to serve contemporary needs.{{sfn|Finkelstein|Silberman|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=lu6ywyJr0CMC&pg=PA23 23]; 241–247}} They noted a lack of archeological evidence for David's military campaigns and a relative underdevelopment of Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, compared to a more developed and urbanized Samaria, capital of Israel during the 9th century BCE.<ref>{{harvnb|Finkelstein|Silberman|2002|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=lu6ywyJr0CMC&pg=PA158 158]}}. "We still have no hard archaeological evidence—despite the unparalleled biblical description of its grandeur—that Jerusalem was anything more than a modest highland village in the time of David, Solomon, and Rehoboam."</ref>{{sfn|Finkelstein|Silberman |2002|p=131|loc=Table Two}}<ref>{{harvnb|Finkelstein|Silberman|2002|p=181}}. Speaking of Samaria: "The scale of this project was enormous."</ref>

In 2010, [[Amihai Mazar]] wrote that the [[United Monarchy]] of the 10th century BCE can be described as a "state in development".<ref name="amazar">{{cite book |last=Mazar |first= Amihai |chapter=Archaeology and the biblical Narrative: The Case of the United Monarchy |chapter-url= http://www.rehov.org/Rehov/publications/Mazar%20-%20The%20United%20%20Monarchy-BZAW2010.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140611170411/http://www.rehov.org/Rehov/publications/Mazar%20-%20The%20United%20%20Monarchy-BZAW2010.pdf |year=2010 |title=One God – One Cult – One Nation: Archaeological and Biblical Perspectives |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-022358-3 |archive-date=2014-06-11 |url-status= dead}}</ref> He compared David to [[Labaya]], a Caananite warlord living during the time of Pharaoh [[Akhenaten]]. While Mazar believes that David reigned over Israel during the 11th century BCE, he argues that much of the Biblical text is of "literary-legendary nature".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-12-12|title=First Person: Did the Kingdoms of Saul, David and Solomon Actually Exist?|url=https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/did-the-kingdoms-of-saul-david-and-solomon-actually-exist/|access-date=2021-07-20|website=Biblical Archaeology Society}}</ref> According to William G. Dever, the reigns of [[Saul]], David and [[Solomon]] are reasonably well attested, but "most archeologists today would argue that the United Monarchy was not much more than a kind of hill-country chiefdom".{{sfn|Dever|2020|loc=Chapter 5}}{{sfn|Dever|2017|pp=322–324}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=NOVA {{!}} The Bible's Buried Secrets {{!}} Archeology of the Hebrew Bible |website=PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bible/dever.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218105905/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bible/dever.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 December 2008|access-date=2021-07-20|quote=The stories of Solomon are larger than life. According to the stories, Solomon imported 100,000 workers from what is now Lebanon. Well, the whole population of Israel probably wasn't 100,000 in the 10th century. Everything Solomon touched turned to gold. In the minds of the biblical writers, of course, David and Solomon are ideal kings chosen by Yahweh. So they glorify them. Now, archeology can't either prove or disprove the stories. But I think most archeologists today would argue that the United Monarchy was not much more than a kind of hill-country chiefdom. It was very small-scale.}}</ref> [[Avraham Faust]] and Zev Farber argue that David managed to establish a [[empire|mini-empire]] through multiple conquests which are archaeologically attested in destruction layers of many urban centers dating to his time.{{sfn|Faust|Farber|2025|pp=406ff}}

[[Lester L. Grabbe]] wrote in 2017: "The main question is what kind of settlement Jerusalem was in Iron IIA: was it a minor settlement, perhaps a large village or possibly a citadel but not a city, or was it the capital of a flourishing—or at least an emerging—state? Assessments differ considerably".<ref>Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It? By Lester L. Grabbe; page 77Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017</ref> Isaac Kalimi wrote in 2018, "No contemporaneous extra-biblical source offers any account of the political situation in Israel and Judah during the tenth century BCE, and as we have seen, the archaeological remains themselves cannot provide any unambiguous evidence of events."<ref name="Kalimi p. 32"/>

The view of Davidic Jerusalem as a village has been challenged by [[Eilat Mazar]]'s excavation of the [[Large Stone Structure]] and the [[Stepped Stone Structure]] in 2005.<ref>Zachary Thomas, "Debating the United Monarchy: let's see how far we've come." ''Biblical Theology Bulletin'' (2016).</ref> Mazar proposed that these two structures may have been architecturally linked as one unit and that they date to the time of King David. Mazar supports this dating with a number of artifacts, including pottery, two Phoenician-style ivory inlays, a black-and-red jug, and a radiocarbon-dated bone, estimated to be from the 10th century.<ref>Mazar, Eilat, ''Excavations at the Summit of the City of David, Preliminary Report of Seasons 2005–2007'', Shoham, Jerusalem and New York, 2009, pp. 52–56.</ref> Dever, [[Amihai Mazar]], [[Avraham Faust]], and Nadav Na'aman have argued in favour of the 10th-century BCE dating and responded to challenges to it.<ref name="amazar"/><ref>Avraham Faust 2010. "The large stone structure in the City of David: a reexamination." ''Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins''.</ref><ref>"The Stepped Stone Structure" in Mazar ed., The Summit of the City of David Excavations 2005–2008: Final Reports Volume I: Area G (2015), pp. 169–88</ref>{{sfn|Na'aman|2014}}{{sfn|Dever|2017|pp=277–283}} In 2010, Eilat Mazar announced the discovery of part of the [[ancient city walls around the City of David]], which she believes date to the 10th century BCE. According to Mazar, this would prove that an organized state did exist in the 10th century.<ref name=":0" /> In 2006, [[Kenneth Kitchen]] came to a similar conclusion, arguing that "the physical archaeology of tenth-century [[Canaan]] is consistent with the former existence of a unified state on its terrain."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kitchen |first=K. A.|title=On the Reliability of the Old Testament|date=2006-06-09|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-0396-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kw6U05qBiXcC&q=%22the+physical+archaeology+of+tenth-century+Canaan+is+consistent+with+the+former+existence+of+a+unified+state+on+its+terrain%22&pg=PA158}}</ref>

Scholars such as [[Israel Finkelstein]], Lily Singer-Avitz, [[Ze'ev Herzog]] and [[David Ussishkin]] do not accept these conclusions.<ref>Has King David's Palace in Jerusalem been Found? By Israel Finkelstein, Lily Singer-Avitz, Ze'ev Herzog & David Ussishkin; Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University, Volume 34, 2007 - Issue 2; Pages 142-164</ref> Finkelstein does not accept the dating of these structures to the 10th century BCE, based in part on the fact that later structures on the site penetrated deep into underlying layers, that the entire area had been excavated in the early 20th century and then backfilled, that pottery from later periods was found below earlier strata, and that consequently the finds collected by E. Mazar cannot necessarily be considered as retrieved ''in situ''.<ref>The "Large Stone Structure" in Jerusalem Reality versus Yearning By Israel Finkelstein, 2011; Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palastina-Vereins 127(1):2-10; at [https://www.mq.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/527790/Finkelstein-2011,-Jerusalem.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419090508/https://www.mq.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/527790/Finkelstein-2011,-Jerusalem.pdf|date=2023-04-19}}</ref> [[Aren Maeir]] said in 2010 that he has seen no evidence that these structures are from the 10th century BCE and that proof of the existence of a strong, centralized kingdom at that time remains "tenuous."<ref name=":0">'Jerusalem city wall dates back to King Solomon'; by Abe Selig; Jerusalem Post, 23 February 2010; at [https://www.jpost.com/Israel/Jlem-city-wall-dates-back-to-King-Solomon]</ref>

Excavations at [[Khirbet Qeiyafa]] by archaeologists [[Yosef Garfinkel]] and [[Saar Ganor]] found an urbanized settlement [[radiocarbon dated]] to the 10th century, which supports the existence of an urbanised kingdom. The [[Israel Antiquities Authority]] stated: "The excavations at Khirbat Qeiyafa clearly reveal an urban society that existed in Judah already in the late eleventh century BCE. It can no longer be argued that the Kingdom of Judah developed only in the late eighth century BCE or at some other later date."<ref name="garfinkel2012">{{cite web|last1=Garfinkel|first1=Yossi|last2=Ganor|first2=Sa'ar|last3=Hasel|first3=Michael|date=19 April 2012|title=Journal 124: Khirbat Qeiyafa preliminary report|url=http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.aspx?id=1989|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623021750/http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.aspx?id=1989|archive-date=23 June 2012|access-date=12 June 2018|website=Hadashot Arkheologiyot: Excavations and Surveys in Israel|publisher=Israel Antiquities Authority|ref=garfinkel2012}}</ref> But other scholars have criticized the techniques and interpretations to reach some conclusions related to Khirbet Qeiyafa, such as Israel Finkelstein and Alexander Fantalkin of [[Tel Aviv University]], who have instead proposed that the city is to be identified as part of a northern Israelite polity.<ref name="finkelsteinfantalkin2012">{{cite journal|last1=Finkelstein|first1=Israel|last2=Fantalkin|first2=Alexander|date=May 2012|title=Khirbet Qeiyafa: an unsensational archaeological and historical interpretation|url=http://archaeology.tau.ac.il/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Qeiyafa_Unsensational_Interpretation.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131195600/http://archaeology.tau.ac.il/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Qeiyafa_Unsensational_Interpretation.pdf |archive-date=2017-01-31 |url-status=live|journal=Tel Aviv|volume=39|pages=38–63|doi=10.1179/033443512x13226621280507|access-date=12 June 2018|ref=finkelsteinfantalkin2012|s2cid=161627736 |issn = 0334-4355}}</ref>

In 2018, [[Avraham Faust]] and Yair Sapir stated that a Canaanite site at [[Tel Eton]], about 30 miles from Jerusalem, was taken over by a Judahite community by peaceful assimilation and transformed from a village into a central town at some point in the late 11th or early 10th century BCE. This transformation used some [[ashlar]] blocks in construction, which they argued supports the United Monarchy theory.{{sfn |Faust|Sapir|2018|p= 1|ps=: 'The lack of evidence for public construction and state apparatus in the region of Judah before the 8th century, expressed for example by the total lack of ashlar construction, is one of the oft-quoted evidence against the historical plausibility of a kingdom centered in Judah. The building of the "governor's residency," along with other lines of evidence, suggests that the settlement at Tel'Eton was transformed in the 10th century BCE, lending important support to the historicity of the United Monarchy'}}<ref>Proof Of King David? Not Yet. But Riveting Site Shores Up Roots Of Israelite Era, By Amanda Borschel-Dan; Times Of Israel; 14 May 2018; At [https://Www.Timesofisrael.Com/Proof-Of-King-David-Not-Yet-But-Riveting-Site-Shores-Up-Roots-Of-Israelite-Era/]</ref>

==Art and culture==

===Literature===
[[File:081.David Mourns the Death of Absalom.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|David mourning the death of Absalom, by Gustave Doré]]
Literary works about David include:
*'''1517''' ''[[Davidiad|The Davidiad]]'' is a [[Neo-Latin]] [[epic poem]] by the [[Croatian language|Croatian]] [[national poet]], [[Catholic priest]], and [[Renaissance humanism|Renaissance humanist]] [[Marko Marulić]] (whose name is sometimes [[Latinisation of names|Latinized]] as "Marcus Marulus"). In addition to the small portions that attempt to recall the epics of [[Homer]], ''The Davidiad'' is heavily modeled upon [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]''. This is so much the case that Marulić's contemporaries called him the "Christian Virgil from [[Split, Croatia|Split]]." The [[philologist]] [[Miroslav Marcovich]] also detects, "the influence of [[Ovid]], [[Lucan]], and [[Statius]]" in the work.
*'''1681–82''' [[John Dryden|Dryden]]'s long poem ''[[Absalom and Achitophel]]'' is an allegory that uses the story of the rebellion of [[Absalom]] against King David as the basis for his satire of the contemporary political situation, including events such as the [[Monmouth Rebellion]] (1685), the [[Popish Plot]] (1678) and the [[Exclusion Crisis]].
*'''1893''' [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]] may have used the story of David and Bathsheba as a foundation for the [[Sherlock Holmes]] story ''[[The Adventure of the Crooked Man]]''. Holmes mentions "the small affair of Uriah and Bathsheba" at the end of the story.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C2IpCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT291|title=The Sherlock Holmes Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained |date= 1 October 2015|publisher=Dorling Kindersley |access-date= 12 February 2018|via= Google Books |isbn=978-0-24124833-1|archive-date=11 October 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201011131826/https://books.google.com/books?id=C2IpCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT291 |url-status= live}}</ref>
*'''1928''' [[Elmer Davis]]'s 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 son of Jair|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.
*'''1936''' [[William Faulkner]]'s ''[[Absalom, Absalom!]]'' refers to the story of Absalom, David's son; his rebellion against his father and his death at the hands of David's general, Joab. In addition it parallels Absalom's vengeance for the rape of his sister [[Tamar (daughter of David)|Tamar]] by his half-brother, [[Amnon]].
*'''1946''' [[Gladys Schmitt]]'s novel ''David the King'' was 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.
*'''1966''' [[Juan Bosch (politician)|Juan Bosch]], a Dominican political leader and writer, wrote ''David: Biography of a King'', as a realistic portrayal of David's life and political career.
*'''1970''' [[Dan Jacobson]]'s ''The Rape of Tamar'' is an imagined account, by one of David's courtiers Yonadab, of the rape of Tamar by Amnon.
*'''1972''' [[Stefan Heym]] wrote ''The King David Report'' in which the historian [[Ethan (biblical figure)|Ethan]] compiles upon King Solomon's orders "a true and authoritative report on the life of David, Son of Jesse"—the East German writer's wry depiction of a court historian writing an "authorized" history, many incidents clearly intended as satirical references to the writer's own time.
*'''1974''' In [[Thomas Burnett Swann]]'s biblical fantasy novel ''How are the Mighty Fallen'', 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 coexisting with humanity but often persecuted by it.
*'''1980''' [[Malachi Martin]]'s [[Faction (literature)|factional]] novel ''King of Kings: A Novel of the Life of David'' relates the life of David, Adonai's champion in his battle with the Philistine deity Dagon.
*'''1984''' [[Joseph Heller]] wrote a novel based on David called ''[[God Knows (novel)|God Knows]]'', published by Simon & Schuster. Told from the perspective of an aging David, the humanity—rather than the heroism—of various biblical characters is 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.
*'''1993''' [[Madeleine L'Engle]]'s novel ''Certain Women'' explores family, the Christian faith, and the nature of God through the story of King David's family and an analogous modern family's saga.
*'''1995''' [[Allan Massie]] wrote ''King David'', a novel about David's career that portrays the king's relationship to Jonathan as sexual.<ref>{{cite book|last1=O'Kane|first1=Martin|editor1-last=Exum|editor1-first=Jo Cheryl|title=Beyond the Biblical Horizon: The Bible and the Arts|page=[https://archive.org/details/beyondbiblicalho00jche/page/86 86]|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AUd28eEXGfoC&q=massie+jonathan&pg=PA86|access-date=15 August 2015|chapter=The Biblical King David and His Artistic and Literary Afterlives|isbn=978-9004112902|year=1999|publisher=BRILL |url=https://archive.org/details/beyondbiblicalho00jche/page/86}}</ref>
*'''2015''' [[Geraldine Brooks (writer)|Geraldine Brooks]] wrote a novel about David, ''[[The Secret Chord]]'', told from the point of view of the prophet [[Nathan (prophet)|Nathan]].<ref name=Gilbert>{{cite news|last1=Gilbert|first1=Matthew|title='The Secret Chord' by Geraldine Brooks|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2015/10/03/book-review-the-secret-chord-geraldine-brooks/5XqipZWUj40EQVoerjtQmO/story.html|access-date=4 October 2015|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=3 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005034331/https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2015/10/03/book-review-the-secret-chord-geraldine-brooks/5XqipZWUj40EQVoerjtQmO/story.html|archive-date=5 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Hoffman|first1=Alice|title=Geraldine Brooks reimagines King David's life in 'The Secret Chord'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/geraldine-brooks-reimagines-king-davids-life-in-the-secret-chord/2015/09/28/e0a4a69c-62de-11e5-9757-e49273f05f65_story.html|access-date=29 March 2018|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=28 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330075856/https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/geraldine-brooks-reimagines-king-davids-life-in-the-secret-chord/2015/09/28/e0a4a69c-62de-11e5-9757-e49273f05f65_story.html|archive-date=30 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
*'''2020''' [[Michael Arditti]] wrote ''The Anointed'', a novel about David told by three of his wives, Michal, Abigail and Bathsheba.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-04-14 |title=Book review: The Anointed, by Michael Arditti |url=https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/books/book-review-anointed-michael-arditti-2538664 |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=www.scotsman.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-05-08 |title=The Anointed by Michael Arditti — a David less divine |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/34eb0bda-8489-11ea-b6e9-a94cffd1d9bf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/34eb0bda-8489-11ea-b6e9-a94cffd1d9bf |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=2022-09-01}}</ref>

===Paintings===
*'''1599''' [[Caravaggio]] ''[[David and Goliath (Caravaggio)|David and Goliath]]''
*'''{{Circa|1610}}''' [[Caravaggio]] [[David with the Head of Goliath (Caravaggio, Rome)|David with the Head of Goliath]]
*'''1616''' [[Peter Paul Rubens]] ''David Slaying Goliath''

===Sculptures===
{{multiple image
|align = center 
|direction = horizontal
|header = David in sculpture
|header_align = center
|header_background =
|footer =
|footer_align = left/right/center
|footer_background =
|width =
|image1 = Florenz - Bargello 2014-08-09r.jpg
|width1 = 170
|caption1 = ''[[David (Donatello, bronze)|David]]'' by [[Donatello]]
|image2 = David, Andrea del Verrocchio, ca. 1466-69, Bargello Florenz-01.jpg
|width2 = 195
|caption2 = ''[[David (Verrocchio)|David]]'' by [[Verrocchio]] 
|image3 = 'David' by Michelangelo Fir JBU005 denoised.jpg
|width3 = 200
|caption3 = ''[[David (Michelangelo)|David]]'' by [[Michelangelo]]
|image4 = Bernini's David 02.jpg
|width4 = 200
|caption4 = ''[[David (Bernini)|David]]'' by [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini]]
}}
*'''1440?''' [[Donatello]], ''[[David (Donatello, bronze)|David]]''
*'''1473–1475''' [[Verrocchio]], ''[[David (Verrocchio)|David]]''
*'''1501–1504''' [[Michelangelo]], ''[[David (Michelangelo)|David]]''
*'''1623–1624''' [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini]], ''[[David (Bernini)|David]]''

===Film===
David has been depicted several times in films; these are some of the best-known:
*'''1951''' ''[[David and Bathsheba (film)|David and Bathsheba]],'' directed by [[Henry King (director)|Henry King]], with [[Gregory Peck]] in the role of David.
*'''1959''' ''[[Solomon and Sheba]],'' directed by [[King Vidor]], with [[Finlay Currie]] in the role of an aged King David.
*'''1961''' ''[[A Story of David]],'' directed by Bob McNaught, with [[Jeff Chandler (actor)|Jeff Chandler]] in the role of David.
*'''1985''' ''[[King David (film)|King David]]'', directed by [[Bruce Beresford]], with [[Richard Gere]] in the role of David.
*'''1996''' ''[[Dave and the Giant Pickle]]''
*'''2025''' ''[[David (2025 film)|David]]'', an animated film directed by Brent Dawes and Phil Chunningham, with Brandon Engman in the role of young David and [[Phil Wickham]] in the role of adult David.

===Television===
*'''1976''' ''[[The Story of David]]'', a made-for-TV film with [[Timothy Bottoms]] and [[Keith Michell]] as King David at different ages.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MtcXDQAAQBAJ&q=%22The+Story+of+David%22+1976+%22Timothy+Bottoms%22+Keith&pg=PA111|title=The Bible in Motion: A Handbook of the Bible and Its Reception in Film|first=Rhonda|last=Burnette-Bletsch|date=12 September 2016|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG|access-date=2 September 2018|via=Google Books|isbn=9781614513261|archive-date=11 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011131826/https://books.google.com/books?id=MtcXDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA111&dq=%22The+Story+of+David%22+1976+%22Timothy+Bottoms%22+Keith&hl=en#v=onepage&q=%22The+Story+of+David%22+1976+%22Timothy+Bottoms%22+Keith&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>
*'''1997''' ''[[David (1997 film)|David]]'', a TV-film with [[Nathaniel Parker]] as King David and [[Leonard Nimoy]] as the Prophet Samuel.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kW8j6sHvrewC&q=%22Nathaniel+Parker%22+david+nimoy&pg=PA368|title=Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors|first=Jerry|last=Roberts|date=5 June 2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press|access-date=14 February 2018|via=Google Books|page=368|isbn=9780810863781|archive-date=11 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011131826/https://books.google.com/books?id=kW8j6sHvrewC&pg=PA368&dq=%22Nathaniel+Parker%22+david+nimoy&hl=en#v=onepage&q=%22Nathaniel+Parker%22+david+nimoy&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>
*'''1997''' ''[[Solomon (film)|Solomon]]'', a sequel to ''David'', with [[Max von Sydow]] playing an older King David.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0tLUAwAAQBAJ&q=%22Max+von+Sydow%22+solomon+anouk&pg=PA168|title=Hollywood's Ancient Worlds|first=Jeffrey|last=Richards|date=1 September 2008|publisher=A&C Black|access-date=14 February 2018|via=Google Books|page=168|isbn=9781847250070|archive-date=11 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011131826/https://books.google.com/books?id=0tLUAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA168&dq=%22Max+von+Sydow%22+solomon+anouk&hl=en#v=onepage&q=%22Max+von+Sydow%22+solomon+anouk&f=false|url-status= live}}</ref>
*'''2009''' ''[[Kings (U.S. TV series)|Kings]]'', a re-imagining loosely based on the biblical story, with David played by [[Christopher Egan]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://forward.com/culture/104244/david-my-david/|title=David, My David|access-date=14 February 2018 | work = Forward |date=26 March 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180215055002/https://forward.com/culture/104244/david-my-david/|archive-date=15 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
*King David is the focus of the second episode of [[History Channel]]'s ''[[Battles BC]]'' documentary, which detailed all of his military exploits in the bible.<ref>{{cite web |website=History |title=Battles BC |url= http://www.history.com/content/battles-bc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100207180103/http://www.history.com/content/battles-bc |archive-date=2010-02-07}}</ref>
*'''2012''' ''[[Rei Davi]]'', a Brazilian miniseries with Leonardo Brício as David.<ref>[http://www.recordtvnetwork.com/interna.php?p=39&l=en "King David - Record TV Network"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140618183326/http://www.recordtvnetwork.com/interna.php?l=en&p=39 |date=2014-06-18  }}. ''recordtvnetwork.com''.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120327054803/http://veja.abril.com.br/noticia/celebridades/minisserie-biblica-%E2%80%98rei-davi%E2%80%99-bate-a-luxuria-de-%E2%80%98as-brasileiras%E2%80%99-da-globo "Texto bíblico de 'Rei Davi' bate a luxúria de 'As Brasileiras'"]. ''[[Veja (magazine)|Veja]]'' (in Portuguese). [[Editora Abril]]. 2012-02-24. Archived from [http://veja.abril.com.br/noticia/celebridades/minisserie-biblica-%E2%80%98rei-davi%E2%80%99-bate-a-luxuria-de-%E2%80%98as-brasileiras%E2%80%99-da-globo the original] on 2012-03-27.</ref>
*'''2013''' ''[[The Bible (TV series)|The Bible]]'', a miniseries with [[Langley Kirkwood]] in the role of David.
*'''2016''' ''[[Of Kings and Prophets]]'' in which David is played by [[Olly Rix]].
*'''2025''' ''[[House of David (TV series)|House of David]],'' multi-season series of David's life which [[Michael Iskander]] plays the role of David.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Klinker |first=Ryan |date=February 26, 2025 |title='House of David' creator, actors share about their quests to bring King David's story to the screen |url=https://www.liberty.edu/news/2025/02/26/house-of-david-creator-actors-share-about-their-quests-to-bring-king-davids-story-to-the-screen/ |access-date=March 19, 2025 |website=Liberty University |language=en}}</ref><ref name=C21125>{{Cite web |last=McPherson |first=Chris |date=February 11, 2025 |title='House of David' Wants to Be More Than Just Faith-Based Storytelling, Plus Everything Else We Learned About Prime Video's Epic |url=https://collider.com/house-of-david-set-visit/ |access-date=March 19, 2025 |website=Collider |language=en}}</ref>

===Music===
[[File:Stamp of Israel - Festivals 5721 - 0.25IL (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=0.65|David on an [[Stamps of Israel|Israeli stamp]]]]
*The traditional birthday song [[Las Mañanitas]] mentions King David as the original singer in its lyrics.
*'''1622''' [[Thomas Tomkins]]'s choral [[anthem]] "When David Heard", about David's response to the death of his son [[Absalom]], is published in the anthology ''Songs of 1622''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Thomas Tomkins: The Last Elizabethan|isbn=9781351539166|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|editor=Anthony Boden|chapter=Awfull Majestie|date=5 July 2017 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5iMxDwAAQBAJ&dq=when+david+heard+thomas+tomkins&pg=PT131}}</ref> 
*'''1738''' [[George Frideric Handel]]'s oratorio ''[[Saul (Handel)|Saul]]'' features David as one of its main characters.<ref name= "Handel Institute">{{cite web|title=G. F. Handel's Compositions |url= http://www.gfhandel.org/43to100.html|publisher= The Handel Institute|access-date=28 September 2013|url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130924012912/http://gfhandel.org/43to100.html |archive-date= 24 September 2013}}</ref>
*'''1921''' [[Arthur Honegger]]'s oratorio ''[[Le roi David (Honegger)|Le Roi David]]'' with a libretto by [[René Morax]], instantly became a staple of the choral repertoire.
*'''1954''' [[Darius Milhaud]]'s opera ''[[David (Milhaud)|David]]'' premieres in Jerusalem in celebration of the 3,000th anniversary of the establishment of that city by David.<ref>{{cite news |title='David,' Milhaud's Opera Linking Events Of Bible With Today, Bows in Jerusalem|author=Peter Gradenwitz|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 2, 1954|page=38|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/06/02/archives/david-milhauds-opera-linking-events-of-bible-with-today-bows-in.html}}</ref>
*'''1964''' [[Bob Dylan]] alludes to David in the last line of his song "[[When The Ship Comes In]]" ("And like Goliath, they'll be conquered").
*'''1965''' [[Leonard Bernstein]] described the second movement of his ''[[Chichester Psalms]]'', which features a setting of [[Psalm 23]], sung by a boy soloist accompanied by a harp, as a "musical evocation of King David, the shepherd-psalmist".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.leonardbernstein.com/works/view/14/chichester-psalms|title=Works - Chorus & Orchestra - Chichester Psalms (1965)}}</ref>
*'''1983''' [[Bob Dylan]] refers to David in his song "[[Jokerman (song)|Jokerman]]" ("Michelangelo indeed could've carved out your features").<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IdbgeObYgIkC&pg=PA237 |title=Bob Dylan: Prophet, Mystic, Poet|first=Seth|last=Rogovoy |date=24 November 2009|publisher=Simon & Schuster|access-date=14 February 2018|via= Google Books|page=237|isbn=978-1-41655983-2 |archive-date=11 October 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201011131827/https://books.google.com/books?id=IdbgeObYgIkC&pg=PA237 |url-status=live}}</ref>
*'''1984''' [[Leonard Cohen]]'s song "[[Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen song)|Hallelujah]]" has references to David ("there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord", "The baffled king composing Hallelujah") and [[Bathsheba]] ("you saw her bathing on the roof") in its opening verses.
*'''1990''' The song "One of the Broken" by [[Paddy McAloon]], performed by [[Prefab Sprout]] on the album ''Jordan: The Comeback'', has a reference to David ("I remember King David, with his harp and his beautiful, beautiful songs, I answered his prayers, and showed him a place where his music belongs").
*'''1991''' "Mad About You", a song on [[Sting (musician)|Sting's]] album ''[[The Soul Cages]]'', explores David's obsession with Bathsheba from David's perspective.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mad About You|url= http://www.sting.com/discography/album/208/Singles|website=Sting.com|access-date=26 March 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170327080951/http://www.sting.com/discography/album/208/Singles|archive-date=27 March 2017|url-status= live}}</ref>
*'''2000''' The song "Gimme a Stone" appears on the [[Little Feat]] album ''[[Chinese Work Songs]]'' chronicles the duel with Goliath and contains a lament to Absalom as a bridge.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.littlefeat.net/index.php?page=lyrics&dc_id=261|title=Lyrics Database|website=Little Feat website|access-date= 2017-07-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304035626/http://www.littlefeat.net/index.php?page=lyrics&dc_id=261|archive-date=2016-03-04|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Musical theater===
*'''1997''' ''[[King David (musical)|King David]]'', sometimes described as a modern [[oratorio]], with a book and lyrics by [[Tim Rice]] and music by [[Alan Menken]].

===Radio===
*'''1962''' ''[[Twilight of a Hero]]'', an Australian radio play that sold to the BBC

===Playing cards===
For a considerable period, starting in the 15th century and continuing until the 19th, French [[playing card]] manufacturers assigned to each of the court cards names taken from history or mythology.  In this context, the [[King of spades]] was often known as "David".<ref>{{cite web|last= Mikkelson |first= David|date=29 September 2007 |url= http://www.snopes.com/history/world/cardking.asp |title=Four Kings in Deck of Cards |website= Snopes |access-date= 2009-07-16 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211119165841/http://www.snopes.com/history/world/cardking.asp |archive-date=2021-11-19|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.madore.org/~david/misc/cards.html |title=Courts on playing cards |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120208003621/http://www.madore.org/~david/misc/cards.html |archive-date=2012-02-08 |first=David |last= Madore}} Illustrations of the Anglo-American and French court cards</ref>

==Image gallery==
{{Gallery
| height = 160
| align = center
|File:Good-samaritan-inn-king-david.JPG
|King David as [[Orpheus]], mosaic of [[Gaza synagogue]], AD 508. [[Inn of the Good Samaritan|Museum of the Good Samaritan]] near [[Ma'ale Adumim]]
| File:Paris psaulter gr139 fol7v.jpg
| Miniature from the [[Paris Psalter]], David in the robes of a Byzantine emperor.
| File:King David in Augsburg Cathedral light.JPG
| King David, [[stained glass]] windows from the [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] [[Augsburg Cathedral]], late 11th century.
| File:David with the Head of Goliath-Caravaggio (1610).jpg
| [[Caravaggio]], 1610, ''[[David with the Head of Goliath (Caravaggio, Rome)|David with the Head of Goliath]]'', [[Galleria Borghese]], Rome
| File:Rosselli Triunfo David.jpeg
| [[Matteo Rosselli]], 1620, ''The triumphant David'', [[Galleria Palatina]], Florence.
| File:Saul and David by Rembrandt Mauritshuis 621.jpg
| [[Rembrandt]], {{circa|1650}}: ''Saul and David''.
| File:Monheim Town Hall 1.JPG
| King David playing the harp, ceiling fresco from [[Monheim Town Hall]], home of a wealthy Jewish merchant.
| File:Study of King David, by Julia Margaret Cameron.jpg
| ''Study of King David'', by [[Julia Margaret Cameron]]. Depicts Sir [[Henry Taylor (dramatist)|Henry Taylor]], 1866.
| File:The Ark Brought to Jerusalem.jpg
| The Ark is brought to Jerusalem (1896 Bible card illustration by the Providence Lithograph Company)
| File:Arnold Zadikow Young David.jpg
| [[Arnold Zadikow]], 1930: ''The Young David'' displayed in the entrance of Berlin's Jewish Museum from 1933 until its loss during the Second World War.
| File:PikiWiki Israel 69694 tower of david.jpg
| Replica of Verrocchio's David in the [[Tower of David]], Jerusalem
| File:King David on Zion.jpg
| King David Monument on [[Mount Zion]]

}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Judaism|Christianity|Islam|Saints|Latter Day Saints}}
*[[David and Jonathan]]
*[[David's Mighty Warriors]]
*[[David's Tomb]]
*[[City of David (archaeological site)|City of David]]
*[[Tower of David]]
*[[Kings of Israel and Judah]] 
*[[Large Stone Structure]]
*[[Midrash Shmuel (aggadah)]]
*[[Sons of David]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist|30em}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
*{{Cite book |last=Auld |first=Graeme |chapter=1 & 2 Samuel |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&pg=PA213 |editor1=James D. G. Dunn |editor2=John William Rogerson |title=Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible |publisher=Eerdmans |year=2003 |isbn=9780802837110 |access-date=2016-01-07 |archive-date=2018-12-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225110904/https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&pg=PA213 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book
 | first=Joel
 | last=Baden
 | title=The Historical David: The Real Life of an Invented Hero
 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fTyK-TmD7gAC
 | date=October 8, 2013
 | publisher=HarperOne
 | isbn=978-0-06-218833-5
 }}
* {{Cite book|last=Dever|first=William G.|title=Beyond the Texts: An Archaeological Portrait of Ancient Israel and Judah|year=2017|publisher=SBL Press|isbn=978-0-88414-217-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mog6DwAAQBAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Dever|first=William G.|title=Has Archaeology Buried the Bible?|year=2020|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-1-4674-5949-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39HoDwAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite journal
 | last1=Faust|first1=Avraham
 | last2=Sapir|first2=Yair
 | title=The "Governor's Residency" at Tel 'Eton, The United Monarchy, and the Impact of the Old-House Effect on Large-Scale Archaeological Reconstructions
 | journal=Radiocarbon|volume=60|issue=3|year=2018|pages=801–820
 | issn=0033-8222|doi=10.1017/RDC.2018.10
|bibcode=2018Radcb..60..801F
 |doi-access=free}}
*{{cite book |title=The Bible's First Kings: Uncovering the Story of Saul, David, and Solomon |last=Faust |first=Avraham |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2025 |isbn=978-1-009-52633-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xqCu0AEACAAJ |last2=Farber |first2=Zev I.}}
*{{cite journal
 |last1        = Finkelstein
 |first1       = Israel
 |last2        = Na'aman
 |first2       = Nadav
 |last3        = Römer
 |first3       = Thomas
 |title        = Restoring Line 31 in the Mesha Stele: The 'House of David' or Biblical Balak?
 |journal      = Tel Aviv
 |volume       = 46
 |issue        = 1
 |year         = 2019
 |pages        = 3–11
 |issn         = 0334-4355
 |doi          = 10.1080/03344355.2019.1586378
 |s2cid        = 194331133
 |url          = https://serval.unil.ch/resource/serval:BIB_66A006EE463B.P001/REF.pdf
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20210427190341/https://serval.unil.ch/resource/serval:BIB_66A006EE463B.P001/REF.pdf
 |archive-date = 2021-04-27
 |url-status   = live
}}
*{{cite book |last1=Finkelstein |first1=Israel |last2=Silberman |first2=Neil Asher |year=2002 |title=The Bible Unearthed. Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and The Origin of Its Sacred Texts |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-0-7432-2338-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/bibleunearthedar00fink }}
*{{Cite book |last1=Finkelstein |first1=Israel |last2=Silberman |first2=Neil Asher |year=2007 |title=David and Solomon: In Search of the Bible's Sacred Kings and the Roots of the Western Tradition |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-0-7432-4363-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hvq6JbIHBDEC |access-date=2016-11-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011131826/https://books.google.com/books?id=Hvq6JbIHBDEC&printsec=frontcover&hl=en |archive-date=2020-10-11 |url-status=live }}
*{{cite journal |last=Gordon |first=Cyrus H. |author-link=Cyrus H. Gordon |title=Homer And Bible: The Origin and Character of East Mediterranean Literature |journal=Hebrew Union College Annual |volume=26 |date=1955 |pages=43–108 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/23506150 |jstor=23506150 }}
*{{cite book |title=Jonathan Loved David: Homosexuality in Biblical Times |first=Tom |last=Horner |publisher=John Knox Press |location=Westminster |date=1978 |isbn=9780664241858}}
*{{Cite book|last=Knight|first=Douglas A|chapter=Sources|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC|editor=Watson E. Mills, Roger Aubrey Bullard|title=Mercer Dictionary of the Bible|publisher=Mercer University Press|year=1991|isbn=9780865543737|access-date=2016-01-07|archive-date=2018-12-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225110900/https://books.google.com/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC&printsec=frontcover|url-status=live}}
*{{cite journal
 | url=https://ixtheo.de/Record/167157415X
 | title=The Kings, the City and the House of David on the Mesha Stele in Light of New Imaging Techniques
 | last=Langlois
 | first=Michaël
 | journal=Semitica
 | date=2019
 | volume=61
 | pages=23–47
 }}
*{{cite journal
 |last         = Lemaire
 |first        = André
 |author-link  = André Lemaire
 |title        = 'House of David' Restored in Moabite Inscription
 |journal      = Biblical Archaeology Review
 |volume       = 20
 |issue        = 3
 |year         = 1994
 |pages        = 30–37
 |url          = https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/20/3
 |access-date  = 2021-08-23 
 |archive-date = 2022-11-22 
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20221122090651/https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/20/3
 |url-status   = dead
}}
*{{cite book |last=Lemaire |first=André |year=1999 |chapter=The united monarchy: Saul, David and Solomon |editor=Hershel Shanks |title=Ancient Israel: From Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple |publisher=Biblical Archaeology Society |edition=Revised |isbn=978-1880317549}}
*{{Cite book| last=McKenzie| first=Steven L.| title=Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries: I & II Chronicles| publisher=Abingdon Press| year=2004| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s3weTW7ylToC| isbn=978-1-4267-5980-2| access-date=2016-11-12| archive-date=2020-10-11| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011131827/https://books.google.com/books?id=s3weTW7ylToC&printsec=frontcover&hl=en| url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Moore |first1=Megan Bishop |last2=Kelle |first2=Brad E. |title=Biblical History and Israel's Past |year=2011 |publisher=Eerdmans |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qjkz_8EMoaUC&pg=PA19 |isbn=978-0-8028-6260-0 |access-date=2016-05-24 |archive-date=2018-12-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225110857/https://books.google.com/books?id=Qjkz_8EMoaUC&pg=PA19 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite journal |last=Na'aman |first=Nadav |title=The Interchange Between Bible and Archaeology |journal=Biblical Archaeology Review |date=January–February 2014 |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=57–62 |url=https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/40/1/12 |access-date=2021-11-04 |url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Na'aman|first1=Nadav |title=The Alleged 'Beth David' in the Mesha Stele: The Case Against It |journal=Tel Aviv|volume=46|issue=2|year=2019|pages=192–197 |doi=10.1080/03344355.2019.1650494 |s2cid=214431108 |issn=0334-4355}}
* {{cite book
 | first=Emanuel
 | last=Pfoh
 | title=The Emergence of Israel in Ancient Palestine: Historical and Anthropological Perspectives
 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PWreCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA54
 | date=April 1, 2016
 | publisher=Routledge
 | isbn=978-1-134-94775-1
 }}
*{{Cite book |last1=Pioske |first1=Daniel |date=2015 |title=David's Jerusalem: Between Memory and History |series=Routledge Studies in Religion |volume=45 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1317548911 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IrKgBgAAQBAJ |access-date=2020-09-16 |archive-date=2020-06-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618005631/https://books.google.com/books?id=IrKgBgAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book
 | first=Donald B.
 | last=Redford
 | title=Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times
 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G9PgDwAAQBAJ
 | date=1992
 | publisher=Princeton University Press
 | isbn=978-0-691-21465-8
 }}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
*{{Cite book |editor1-last=Alexander |editor1-first=David |editor2-last=Alexander |editor2-first=Pat |year=1983 |title=Eerdmans' Handbook to the Bible |edition=New rev. |publisher=Eerdmans |location=Grand Rapids, Mich. |isbn=978-0-8028-3486-7}}
*{{cite book|last=Alter|first=Robert|title=The David Story: A Translation with Commentary of 1 and 2 Samuel|publisher=W. W. Norton |year=2009 |isbn=978-0393320770 }}
*{{Cite book|last=Bergen|first=David T.|title=1, 2 Samuel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eGT6fWsajqcC&pg=PA49|publisher=B&H Publishing Group|year=1996|isbn=9780805401073|access-date=2016-01-07|archive-date=2018-12-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225110902/https://books.google.com/books?id=eGT6fWsajqcC&pg=PA49|url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book|last=Breytenbach|first=Andries|title=Past, Present, Future: The Deuteronomistic History and the Prophets|publisher=Brill|year=2000|chapter=Who Is Behind The Samuel Narrative?|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uP22QHpnKq8C&pg=PA50|editor=Johannes Cornelis de Moor|editor2=H.F. Van Rooy|isbn=978-9004118713|access-date=2016-01-07|archive-date=2018-12-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225110852/https://books.google.com/books?id=uP22QHpnKq8C&pg=PA50|url-status=live}}
*{{cite book
| last1 = Brettler
| first1 = Mark Zvi
| chapter = Introduction to the Historical Books
| editor1-last = Coogan
| editor1-first = Michael David
| editor2-last = Brettler
| editor2-first = Marc Zvi
| editor3-last = Newsom
| editor3-first = Carol Ann
| title = The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| year = 2007
| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Nc-i_pQsiW8C&q=%22Deuteronomistic+history%22%22completed+only+in+the+Babylonian+exile%22&pg=PA311
| isbn = 9780195288803
}}
*{{Cite book |last=Bright |first=John |year=1981 |title=A History of Israel |location=Philadelphia |publisher=Westminster Press |edition=3rd |isbn=978-0-664-21381-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofisrael03edbrig }}
*{{Cite book |last=Bruce |first=F. F. |year=1963 |title=Israel and the Nations: From the Exodus to the Fall of the Second Temple |location=Grand Rapids, MI |publisher=Eerdmans |oclc=1026642167}}
*{{Cite book |last=Coogan |first=Michael D. |year=2009 |title=A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: the Hebrew Bible in its Context |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199740291}}
*{{Cite book
| last1 = Coogan
| first1 = Michael David
| chapter = Cultural Contexts: The Ancient Near East and Israel
| editor1-last = Coogan
| editor1-first = Michael David
| editor2-last = Brettler
| editor2-first = Marc Zvi
| editor3-last = Newsom
| editor3-first = Carol Ann
| title = The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| year = 2007
| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Nc-i_pQsiW8C&q=%22the+chronology+of+the+first+three+kings+of+Israel%22&pg=RA1-PA512
| isbn = 9780195288803
}}
*{{Cite book |last=Dever |first=William G. |year=2001 |title=What did the Bible writers know and when did they know it? |publisher=William B. Eerdmans Publ. Co. |location=Cambridge, UK}}
*{{Cite book|last=Dick|first=Michael B|chapter=The History of 'David's Rise to Power' and the Neo-Babylonian Succession Apologies|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vlkb0cSBGlIC&pg=PA373|editor=Bernard Frank Batto|editor2=Kathryn L. Roberts|title=David and Zion: biblical studies in honor of J.J.M. Roberts|publisher=Eisenbrauns|year=2004|isbn=9781575060927|access-date=2016-01-07|archive-date=2018-12-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225110903/https://books.google.com/books?id=Vlkb0cSBGlIC&pg=PA373|url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book|last=Eynikel|first=Erik|title=Past, present, future: the Deuteronomistic History and the Prophets|publisher=Brill|year=2000|chapter=The Relation Between the Eli Narrative and the Ark Narratives|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uP22QHpnKq8C&pg=PA50|editor=Johannes Cornelis de Moor|editor2=H.F. Van Rooy|isbn=978-9004118713|access-date=2016-01-07|archive-date=2018-12-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225110852/https://books.google.com/books?id=uP22QHpnKq8C&pg=PA50|url-status=live}}
*{{Cite news |last=Fridman |first=Julia |date=February 20, 2014 |title=The Naked Truth About King David, the 8th Son |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/archaeology/.premium-1.575418 |work=[[Haaretz]] |access-date=September 4, 2017 |archive-date=September 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904105718/http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/archaeology/.premium-1.575418 |url-status=live }}
*{{Cite book|last=Gordon|first=Robert|title=I & II Samuel, A Commentary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JMJ1ZAnswuUC&pg=PA338|publisher=Paternoster Press|year=1986|isbn=9780310230229|access-date=2016-01-07|archive-date=2018-12-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225110902/https://books.google.com/books?id=JMJ1ZAnswuUC&pg=PA338|url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book |last=Green |first=Adam |year=2007 |title=King Saul: The True History of the First Messiah |publisher=Lutterworth Press |location=Cambridge, UK |isbn=978-0718830748}}
*{{Cite book
| last1 = Halpern
| first1 = Baruch
| chapter = David
| editor1-last = Freedman
| editor1-first = David Noel
| editor2-last = Allen C.
| editor2-first = Myers
| title = Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible
| publisher = Eerdmans
| year = 2000
| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qRtUqxkB7wkC&q=%221+Sam.+16-1+Kgs.+2+are+our+main+sources%22&pg=PA318
| isbn = 9789053565032
}}
*{{Cite book|last=Halpern|first=Baruch|title=David's Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King|publisher=Eerdmans|year=2001|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tn8PG4XfuBAC&pg=PA8|isbn=9780802827975|access-date=2016-01-07|archive-date=2018-12-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225110850/https://books.google.com/books?id=tn8PG4XfuBAC&pg=PA8|url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book |last=Harrison |first=R. K. |year=1969 |title=An Introduction to the Old Testament |location=Grand Rapids, MI |publisher=Eerdmans |oclc=814408043}}
*{{Cite book|last=Hertzberg|first=Hans Wilhelm|title=I & II Samuel, A Commentary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=friNN7IdjOIC&pg=PA11|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|date=1964|edition=trans. from German 1960 2nd|isbn=9780664223182|access-date=2016-01-07|archive-date=2018-12-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225110854/https://books.google.com/books?id=friNN7IdjOIC&pg=PA11|url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book|last=Jones|first=Gwilym H|chapter=1 and 2 Samuel|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wCRYl9Ikk6EC&pg=PA196|editor=John Barton|editor2=John Muddiman|title=The Oxford Bible Commentary|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2001|isbn=9780198755005|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordbiblecomme0000unse}}
*{{Cite book |last=Kidner |first=Derek |year=1973 |title=The Psalms |location=Downers Grove, IL |publisher=Inter-Varsity Press |isbn=978-0-87784-868-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/psalms172introdu00kidn }}
*{{Cite book |last=Kirsch |first=Jonathan |year=2000 |title=King David: the real life of the man who ruled Israel |publisher=Ballantine |isbn=0-345-43275-4}}
*{{Cite book|last=Klein|first=R.W.|chapter=Samuel, Books of|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6OJvO2jMCr8C&pg=PA314|editor=Bromiley, Geoffrey W|title=The international standard Bible encyclopedia|publisher=Eerdmans|year=2003|isbn=9780802837844|access-date=2016-01-07|archive-date=2018-12-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225110852/https://books.google.com/books?id=6OJvO2jMCr8C&pg=PA314|url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book|last=Knight|first=Douglas A|chapter=Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomists|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNLN1nEEys0C|editor=James Luther Mays|editor2=David L. Petersen|editor3=Kent Harold Richards|title=Old Testament Interpretation|publisher=T&T Clark|year=1995|isbn=9780567292896|access-date=2016-01-07|archive-date=2018-12-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225110859/https://books.google.com/books?id=SNLN1nEEys0C&printsec=frontcover|url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book |last=Noll |first=K. L. |year=1997 |title=The Faces of David |location=Sheffield, UK |publisher=Sheffield Acad. Press |isbn=978-1-85075-659-0}}
*{{Cite book|last=Rosner|first=Steven|url=http://www.guidetothepsalms.com|title=A Guide to the Psalms of David|publisher=Outskirts Press|year=2012|access-date=2020-10-11|archive-date=2018-12-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225110855/http://www.guidetothepsalms.com/|url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book|last=Pfoh|first=Emanuel|title=The Emergence of Israel in Ancient Palestine: Historical and Anthropological Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PWreCwAAQBAJ&q=%22The+now+famous+tel+dan+stele%22&pg=PA100|publisher=Routledge|year=2016|isbn=9781134947751|ref=none}}
*{{Cite book|last=Schleffer|first=Eben|title=Past, Present, Future: The Deuteronomistic History and the Prophets|publisher=Brill|year=2000|chapter=Saving Saul from the Deuteronomist|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uP22QHpnKq8C&pg=PA50|editor=Johannes Cornelis de Moor|editor2=H.F. Van Rooy|isbn=978-9004118713|access-date=2016-01-07|archive-date=2018-12-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225110852/https://books.google.com/books?id=uP22QHpnKq8C&pg=PA50|url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book|last=Soggin|first=Alberto|title=Introduction to the Old Testament|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|year=1987|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mqSNsKXnHQgC&pg=PA112|isbn=9780664221560|access-date=2016-01-07|archive-date=2016-02-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207201230/https://books.google.com/books?id=mqSNsKXnHQgC&pg=PA112|url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book|last=Spieckerman|first=Hermann|chapter=The Deuteronomistic History|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=41_0okLzQJkC&pg=PA337|editor=Leo G. Perdue|title=The Blackwell companion to the Hebrew Bible|publisher=Blackwell|year=2001|isbn=9780631210719|access-date=2016-01-07|archive-date=2019-01-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106043128/https://books.google.com/books?id=41_0okLzQJkC&pg=PA337|url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book |last=Thompson |first=J. A. |year=1986 |title=Handbook of Life in Bible Times |location=Leicester, UK |publisher=Inter-Varsity Press |isbn=978-0-87784-949-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/handbookoflifein0000thom }}
*{{Cite book|last=Tsumura|first=David Toshio|title=The First Book of Samuel|publisher=Eerdmans|year=2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iLKAlhLDkMwC&pg=PA103|isbn=9780802823595|access-date=2016-01-07|archive-date=2018-12-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225110851/https://books.google.com/books?id=iLKAlhLDkMwC&pg=PA103|url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book|last=Van Seters|first=John|title=In Search of History: Historiography in the Ancient World and the Origins of Biblical History|publisher=Eisenbrauns|year=1997|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0-skPdXtewwC&pg=PA406|isbn=9781575060132|access-date=2016-01-07|archive-date=2016-02-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160209013206/https://books.google.com/books?id=0-skPdXtewwC&pg=PA406|url-status=live}}
*{{Cite book|last=Walton|first=John H|chapter=The Deuteronomistic History|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=41_0okLzQJkC&pg=PA337|editor=Andrew E. Hill|editor2=John H. Walton|title=A Survey of the Old Testament|publisher=Zondervan|year=2009|isbn=9780631210719|access-date=2016-01-07|archive-date=2019-01-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106043128/https://books.google.com/books?id=41_0okLzQJkC&pg=PA337|url-status=live}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote|David}}
*[http://www.complete-bible-genealogy.com/names/david_593.htm Complete Bible Genealogy]—David's family tree
*[http://www.colecciondeverda.com/search/label/Personajes%20Antiguo%20Testamento%20(David) David engravings from the De Verda collection]
*[http://www.christianiconography.info/david.html King David] at the [http://www.christianiconography.info Christian Iconography web site]
*[http://www.christianiconography.info/goldenLegend/david.htm ''The History of David''], by William Caxton
*"[https://www.bibleodyssey.org:443/people/main-articles/david David]" by Kent Harold Richards at [https://www.bibleodyssey.org:443/people/main-articles/david Bible Odyssey]

{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|[[Davidic line|House of David]]|||||[[Tribe of Judah]]|name=David of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah}}
{{S-reg|}}
{{S-new|reason = Rebellion from [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Israel]] under [[Ish-bosheth]]}}
{{S-ttl|title = [[Kingdom of Judah|King of Judah]]}}
{{S-aft|rows=2|after = [[Solomon]]}}
{{S-bef|before = [[Ish-bosheth]]}}
{{S-ttl|title = [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|King of the United <br/> Kingdom of Israel and Judah]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Navboxes
|title = Articles related to David
|list = 
{{IsraeliteKings}}
{{Adam to David}}
{{Prophets in the Tanakh}}
{{Psalms}}
{{First Book of Samuel}}
{{Prophets in the Qur'an|no}}
{{Solomon}}
{{Catholic saints}}
{{Rulers of the Ancient Near East}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:David| ]]
[[Category:11th-century BC monarchs]]
[[Category:Kings of Israel (united monarchy)]]
[[Category:10th-century BC monarchs]]
[[Category:Ancient history of Jerusalem]]
[[Category:Angelic visionaries]]
[[Category:Anglican saints]]
[[Category:Biblical murderers]]
[[Category:Characters in the Divine Comedy]]
[[Category:Christian saints from the Old Testament]]
[[Category:Family of Solomon]]
[[Category:Harpists]]
[[Category:Jewish royalty]]
[[Category:Jewish poets]]
[[Category:People from Bethlehem]]
[[Category:Shepherds]]
[[Category:Tribe of Judah]]
[[Category:Warlords]]
[[Category:Heroes in mythology and legend]]
[[Category:Ancient musicians]]