Life of king david wikipedia bible

He reigned for 7 years only in Judah. After the death of Ishbosheth, Saul's son, David became king over all the territory of Israel. David recognized that his position as king had been granted by God. This made him humble and confident in the Lord in everything he did. During his reign, David achieved great victories:. David captured Jerusalem from the Jebusites and made it the capital of Israel 2 Samuel He achieved numerous military victories, leading to the expansion of the kingdom 2 Samuel 8.

He also made preparations for the construction of the Lord's Temple 1 Chronicles Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail 1 Chronicles This was a very sad episode in David's life. As we see in the Bible, David was wise, brave, and feared the Lord. He achieved great victories over his opponents and made Jerusalem the religious capital of the kingdom by bringing the Ark of the Covenant there.

However, like all human beings, David also had his failings: he committed adultery with Bathsheba, a married woman. After learning that she had become pregnant, he tried to cover up the affair. When that failed, he arranged for her husband, Uriah, to be killed. This terrible act was not approved by God. David was confronted by the prophet Nathan and punished by the Lord with the death of the child.

Nevertheless, David repented and turned back to the Lord. This attitude was evident in many of his psalms, particularly in Psalm Because of this, and despite his shortcomings, he was called "a man after God's own heart. Of the biblical Psalms, 73 are attributed to David. The most well-known is Psalm 23, in which David recognizes God as his shepherd, guide, and protector throughout his journey.

In many Psalms, David expresses praise and prayers to the Lord. In addition to these songs of worship, David also wrote messianic Psalms - those containing direct references to Christ such as Psalms 22, 41, 55,etc. In this way, David is not only a musician, poet, and composer but also belongs to the list of biblical prophets. Psalm 22 serves as a powerful example of David's prophecies that were fulfilled in Jesus:.

Dogs surround me; a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; my enemies stare at me and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment. You can read a verse-by-verse explanation of Psalm David is referred to as "a man after God's own heart" 1 Samuela title that accompanied his journey and reputation.

The key to understanding this lies in David's deep relationship and communion with God for much of his life. Although his spiritual life was not always consistent, David played a crucial role in demonstrating how to be someone who pleases the Lord. Loving God above all else, and doing so wholeheartedlycaptures this uniqueness. Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their life, And in their death they were not parted; They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions How have the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle!

Jonathan is slain on your high places. I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was more wonderful than the love of women. How have the mighty fallen, And the weapons of war perished! The sages characterized the relationship between Jonathan and David in the following Mishnah :. Which love depended on a selfish end?

This was the love of Amnon and Tamar. And which did not depend on a selfish end? This was the love of David and Jonathan. Avot " [ 8 ]. In Christian tradition, David and Jonathan's love is understood as the intimate camaraderie between two young soldiers with no sexual involvement. In response to the argument that homoeroticism was edited out, some traditionalists who subscribe to the Documentary Hypothesis note the significance of the lack of censoring of the descriptions at issue, in spite of the Levitical injunctions against homoerotic contact.

Presuming such editing would have taken place, Martti Nissinen comments, "Their mutual love was certainly regarded by the editors as faithful and passionate, but without unseemly allusions to forbidden practices Emotional and even physical closeness of two males did not seem to concern the editors of the story, nor was such a relationship prohibited by Leviticus.

Medieval literature occasionally drew upon the biblical relationship between David and Jonathan to underline strong personal, intimate friendships and homoerotic relationships between men. The anonymous Vita Edwardi Secundic. Jonathan cherished David, Achilles loved Patroclus. David had mourned for Jonathan. The Renaissance artists Donatello and Michelangelo both brought out strong homoerotic elements in their sculptural depictions of the youthful David, which were bronze and marblerespectively.

Some modern scholars and writers have interpreted the love between David and Jonathan as a homosexual relationship. This was first pioneered by Tom Horner, [ 17 ] then adopted by John Boswell. The story of David and Jonathan is introduced in Samuel 1where it says that "Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself", something that modern scholars have described as philia or love at first sight.

This attraction is given extravagant expression. In the first place it appears to be love at first sight. We are told: "When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David" 1 Sam Is it something David has said? Not likely. It is not something David has said. Instead, the reader's gaze has twice been directed to David's extraordinary beauty.

The relationship between David and Jonathan has also been compared more explicitly to other homoerotic relationships in Near Eastern literature, including by Cyrus H. Gordonwho noted the instance in the Book of Jasharexcerpted in Samuel 2in which David "proclaims that Jonathan's love was sweeter to him than the love of a woman", as life of king david wikipedia bible similar to both Achilles ' comparison of Patroclus to a girl and Gilgamesh 's love for Enkidu "as a woman".

David's praise in 2 Samuel for Jonathan's love for him over the love of women has been read as evidence for same-sex attraction, along with Saul's exclamation to his son at the dinner table, "I know you have chosen the son of Jesse — which is a disgrace to yourself and the nakedness of your mother! There is more than mere homosociality in the dealings of David and Jonathan, as asserted by two 21st century studies: the biblical scholar Susan Ackerman[ 26 ] and the Orientalist Jean-Fabrice Nardelli.

Ackerman explains this as a case of liminal, viz. Nardelli disagrees and argues that the various covenants Jonathan engaged David into as the superior partner gradually elevated David's status and may be seen as marriage-like. Susan Ackerman also argues that there is highly eroticized language present in six different sections in the Hebrew Bible in regards to the relationship of David and Jonathan.

Of these six examples, Ackerman identifies the most important example being the last one the Song of the Bow due to David's assertion that Jonathan's love to David "was more wonderful than the love of women". Although David was married, David himself articulates a distinction between his relationship with Jonathan and the bonds he shares with women.

David is married to many women, one of whom is Jonathan's sister Michal, but the Bible does not mention David loving Michal though it is stated that Michal loves David. Martti Nissinen has concluded: [ 29 ]. Perhaps these homosocial relationships, based on love and equality, are more comparable with modern homosexual people's experience of themselves than those texts that explicitly speak of homosexual acts that are aggressive, violent expressions of domination and subjection.

A number of groups made up of gay Roman Catholics trying to reconcile their faith with their sexuality have also adopted the names: Davide e Gionata Italyand David et Jonathan France. The military might of the enemy frightens the king to the point where he justifies consulting a witch in Endor in a vain attempt to contact Samuel's spirit. Although the response he receives frightens him it does not change his war plans.

David and his forces, whose help was rejected by the Philistines when they gathered to fight Israel, travel back home to Ziklag 1Samuel When he arrives in the city, he finds it burned down by the Amalekites. He also discovers many of the inhabitants, including his family, were taken captive. David and about men then begin to pursue the Amalekites by traveling south of Ziklag to a life of king david wikipedia bible named Besor.

Leaving men behind at the stream due to fatigue, his forces cross it and attack the Amalekites. He destroys the enemy along with rescuing his family and other captives 1Samuel He and his men then return to Ziklag. It is on the third day after his arrival in Ziklag that David learns the Philistines attacked and overcame Israel's army on Mount Gilboa 2Samuel - 2.

Killed during the battle were three of Saul's sons, one of which was his beloved friend Jonathan. Saul, wounded during the battle, avoided be captured alive by committing suicide 1Samuel Upon hearing the sad news David and his men mourn and fast for their slain brethren 2Samuel 1. David, after mourning the loss of Saul and Jonathan, asks God if he should move out of Ziklag.

The Lord informs him he should move him and his family to Hebron 2Samuel - 2. David, at age 30, is anointed king of the tribe of Judah in Hebron 2Samuel - 4. He also commends the men of Jabeshgilead for retrieving Saul and his sons' bodies from the wall of Bethshan and burning them 1Samuel - 13, 2Samuel - 7.

Life of king david wikipedia bible

Saul's military commander Abner, shortly after David is made Judah's king, begins to execute his plan to make Saul's son Ishbosheth Eshbaal ruler over the rest of Israel 2Samuel - He takes Ishbosheth to Mahanaim then soon takes several men to Gibeon. In Gibeon, twelve of his men fight and lose to twelve of David's men led by Joab.

Ishbosheth, at the age of forty, becomes king of over all the Israelite tribes except Judah 2Samuel Abner, angry at an accusation laid against him by Ishbosheth, abandons supporting him. He then meets with David and promises both he and the rest of Israel will now support him 2Samuel - Joab, angered that David didn't arrest or kill Abner when he had the chance, murders Abner when he returns to Hebron.

Two of King Saul's military captains, sensing Ishbosheth's weakness after the death of Abner, murder him in his sleep 2Samuel - 7. Ishbosheth's rule lasts only two years 2Samuel All the tribes of Israel, right after Ishbosheth's death, anoint David as their king. David ruled only over the tribe of Judah for seven and one-half years 2Samuel - 5.

To delve further into the details of King David's life delineated in this timeline, please see the Biblical chapters of Ruth 4, 1Samuel 16 to 30, 2Samuel 1 to 24, 1Kings 1 and 2 and 1Chronicles 2 - 3, 6, 9 to He was the father of King Solomonand an ancestor of Jesus. David was the youngest of the eight sons of Jessea shepherd; Jesse was the grandson of Ruth Ruth 4: 17, David was a shepherdlike his father.

While taking care of the sheep, he would use a sling to keep wild animals from hurting them. He would also play his harp. Many of the songs he wrote during his life are found in the book of Psalms. He called David, the shepherd, to his palace because David was good at playing the harp, and the soft music soothed Saul when he was being tormented by the evil spirit.

Saul "liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him. When David was about twelve years old, [ source? His father was worried about them, and sent David to check on them. He took his harp with him, and King Saul, who was very troubled, heard him play and found it soothing [ source?

He asked for David to remain with the army. If he wins, we will be your slaves, but if I win, then you life of king david wikipedia bible be our slaves! David's faith was very different from that of King Saul, who, not thinking about God, immediately said, "You are not able When King Saul saw that David was brave enough to fight Goliath, he agreed to send him.

Saul gave David armour and weapons, but they were too heavy for him. David told Saul that he would use his sling instead. He then used a smooth stone and hit Goliath in the forehead, killing him instantly. Although Saul was pleased at the victory, he began to worry that David would begin to seek power. Later, because of David's excellent fighting skills and loyalty to God, King Saul appointed David to a high rank in the army and married him to one of his own daughters, Michal.

Whenever David went into battle, he returned with a victory, and all the people were pleased with him, and King Saul treasured him very much. David became a close companion and friend of Saul's son Jonathan. But one day, when King Saul was coming out to greet his people, the women of the town came out, singing and dancing, with tambourines and lutes.

And as they danced, they sang the following words:.