PERSON · KING

David

The shepherd who became Israel's greatest king.

1 Samuel 16:1–13

Born: Bethlehem
Died: Jerusalem
Role: King of Israel
Capital: Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:9)
Reign: 40 years: 7 years in Hebron, 33 years in Jerusalem (1 Kings 2:11)
Ministry: United Monarchy, c. 1010–970 BC (2 Samuel 5:4–5)

The Story

He began with sheep. That is where Scripture finds him first — out on the hills beyond Bethlehem, tending his father's flock while his brothers stood tall before the prophet Samuel. When Samuel arrived at the house of Jesse looking for Israel's next king, Jesse did not even think to call his youngest son in from the field. Seven sons passed before Samuel, and the Lord rejected every one. Only then did Jesse send for the boy. He came in from the pasture, and the word of the Lord came to Samuel plainly: this is the one.

¹²And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.
1 Samuel 16:12·KJV

He was anointed that day, in the middle of his family, with oil poured over his head and the Spirit of the Lord coming upon him from that moment forward. It is the kind of scene that could be easily misread as a fairy tale — the overlooked youngest child chosen for greatness. But Scripture is not making a fairy tale point. It is making a theological one. The Lord had already told Samuel exactly what He was doing and why: man sees the outward appearance, but the Lord sees the heart.

⁷But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
1 Samuel 16:7·KJV

David's anointing was not about his youth or his looks or his position in the family. It was about something the Lord saw in him that no one else in that room could see.

What followed was not an immediate coronation. David went back to his sheep. The kingdom he had been anointed to receive would not come to him for years, and it would not come easily. In the meantime, he was brought into the court of Saul to play the harp when an evil spirit troubled the king, and he was sent by his father to carry supplies to his brothers on the battlefield. It was on one of those errands that he walked into the valley of Elah and heard the Philistine giant Goliath defying the armies of Israel. While trained soldiers stood frozen, this shepherd boy asked what would be done for the man who killed the Philistine and took away the reproach from Israel. His oldest brother scolded him for it. Saul's men doubted him. But David had already been tested in quieter ways — he had killed a lion, and he had killed a bear, defending his father's flock with his own hands. He stood before Goliath not on the strength of his own reputation but on the name of the Lord of hosts.

⁴⁵Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
1 Samuel 17:45·KJV

The giant fell. Israel's fear broke. And the young man from Bethlehem was suddenly something the nation could not ignore.

Life & Legacy

Death

Scripture

David died in Jerusalem after reigning forty years over Israel—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem—and was buried in the City of David. Before his death he charged Solomon his son to walk in the ways of the Lord and to deal with remaining enemies and allies according to wisdom.

1 Kings 2:1–11

Legacy

Scripture

David was remembered throughout Scripture as the standard against which subsequent kings of Judah were measured, repeatedly described as a man after God's own heart. God made an everlasting covenant with him, promising that his throne and kingdom would be established forever. He is credited with organizing Temple worship, composing or commissioning many of the Psalms, and establishing Jerusalem as the political and religious center of Israel.

2 Samuel 7:8–16; 1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22

Character

Scripture

Scripture records David as a skilled musician, a courageous warrior, and a man devoted to the Lord, yet also as one who committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged the death of her husband Uriah the Hittite. When confronted by the prophet Nathan, David acknowledged his sin and sought God's forgiveness, as reflected in Psalm 51.

2 Samuel 11:1–27; 2 Samuel 12:1–13; Psalm 51:1–4

Significance

Scripture

David is the most extensively narrated figure in the Hebrew Bible, occupying large portions of 1 Samuel, all of 2 Samuel, and portions of 1 Kings and 1 Chronicles. The New Testament identifies Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of David, and the Davidic covenant is cited in the New Testament as the basis for messianic expectation. The apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost cited David's words in Psalm 16 as prophetic of the resurrection.

Matthew 1:1; Acts 2:29–31; 2 Samuel 7:12–16

DeathScripture

1 Kings 2:1–11

LegacyScripture

2 Samuel 7:8–16; 1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22

CharacterScripture

2 Samuel 11:1–27; 2 Samuel 12:1–13; Psalm 51:1–4

SignificanceScripture

Matthew 1:1; Acts 2:29–31; 2 Samuel 7:12–16

Roles

KingWarriorProphet

Quick Facts

Meaning: beloved
Also known as: Son of Jesse

In Scripture

1 Samuel 16:1–13key

¹And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth–lehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. ²And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. ³And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. ⁴And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Beth–lehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? ⁵And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. ⁶And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him. … (7 more)

KJV

1 Samuel 16:1–13key

KJV

1 Samuel 17:1–58

¹Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephes–dammim. ²And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. ³And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. ⁴And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. ⁵And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. ⁶And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. … (52 more)

KJV

2 Samuel 5:1–12

¹Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. ²Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel. ³So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord: and they anointed David king over Israel. ⁴David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. ⁵In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah. ⁶And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither. … (6 more)

KJV

2 Samuel 7:1–29

¹And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies; ²That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. ³And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with thee. ⁴And it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying, ⁵Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in? ⁶Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. … (23 more)

KJV

2 Samuel 11:1–27

¹And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. ²And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. ³And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath–sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? ⁴And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house. ⁵And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child. ⁶And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. … (21 more)

KJV

1 Kings 2:1–11

¹Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, ²I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; ³And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: ⁴That the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel. ⁵Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. ⁶Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. … (5 more)

KJV

Psalms 23:1–6

¹The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. ²He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. ³He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. ⁴Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. ⁵Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. ⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

KJV

Acts 2:29–31

²⁹Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. ³⁰Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; ³¹He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

KJV

In Print

David's Mighty Men
The shepherd-king they followed into the wilderness.
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