David
David (; Hebrew: דָּוִד, romanized: Dāwiḏ, "beloved one") was a leader of the Tribe of Judah who became the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.
David's reign may have occurred around the 9th century BC, although the timeframe of his reign and geographical boundaries of his kingdom are disputed. Most of what is known of David comes from biblical literature, the historicity of which has been extensively challenged, and there is little detail about David that is concrete and undisputed. Debates persist over several controversial issues: whether the story serves as a political defence of David's dynasty against accusations of tyranny, murder and regicide; the 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 biblical narrative of Samuel, David is portrayed as a young shepherd and harpist devoted to God who becomes a hero by killing the Philistine Goliath. After falling out with King Saul, David goes into hiding; following Saul and Jonathan’s deaths, he becomes king first of Judah and eventually all Israel. He conquers Jerusalem, makes it the capital, and brings the Ark there. After committing adultery with Bathsheba and arranging her husband Uriah’s death, David survives his son Absalom’s rebellion and continues to reign. Denied permission to build God's temple because of his bloodshed, David dies at 70 and names Solomon, his son with Bathsheba, as successor. He is portrayed as an ideal king and ancestor of the future Hebrew Messiah, with many psalms attributed to him.
David is also richly represented in post-biblical Jewish written and oral tradition and referenced in the New Testament. Early Christians interpreted the life of 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 prophet of Allah. The biblical David has inspired many interpretations in art and literature over the centuries.
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