Editing David (section)

==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/>

=== Christian interpretation of the promise of David’s eternal dynasty ===
Many Christian theologians interpret the covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7 as a messianic promise ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ. In this view, David is seen as a typological forerunner of the Messiah, whose throne is described as enduring “forever”.<ref>Robertson, O. Palmer. ''The Christ of the Covenants''. Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 1980, p. 259.</ref><ref>Goldsworthy, Graeme. ''Gospel and Kingdom: A Christian Interpretation of the Old Testament''. Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1981, pp. 99–101.</ref>

*  Psalm 2, often attributed to the anointed, David, contains royal language interpreted messianically:
:''“Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.”''<ref>Psalm 2:8, ESV.</ref>
This verse is cited in the New Testament in reference to Jesus (e.g., Acts 13:33; Hebrews 1:5).<ref>Bruce, F. F. ''The New Testament Development of Old Testament Themes''. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968, pp. 105–107.</ref>

*  Psalms 25 and 37 speak of the righteous inheriting the land. Christian interpreters see these passages as consistent with Christ’s kingdom teachings and inheriting the land in Christ:
:''“His offspring shall inherit the land.”'' (Psalm 25:13)
:''“The meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.”'' (Psalm 37:11)<ref>ESV.</ref>
These themes are echoed in the Beatitudes:
:''“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”'' (Matthew 5:5)<ref>Carson, D. A. ''The Sermon on the Mount: An Evangelical Exposition of Matthew 5–7''. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1978, pp. 24–25.</ref>

*  Psalm 89 reinforces the Davidic covenant’s enduring nature:
:''“His offspring shall endure forever... like the moon it shall be established forever.”'' (Psalm 89:36–37)<ref>ESV.</ref>
This is often interpreted as a prophecy of Christ’s eternal reign.<ref>Wright, Christopher J. H. ''Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament''. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1992, pp. 103–105.</ref>

*  The prophet Jeremiah similarly affirms:
:''“David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel.”''<ref>Jeremiah 33:17, ESV.</ref>

*  Ezekiel uses Davidic imagery to bookend his New Covenant vision:
:''“I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David.”''<ref>Ezekiel 34:23, ESV.</ref>
:''“David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd.”''<ref>Ezekiel 37:24, ESV.</ref>
Daniel I. Block notes that these references frame the hope for a restored, unified leadership under a messianic figure.<ref>Block, Daniel I. ''The Book of Ezekiel, Chapters 25–48''. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998, pp. 505–506.</ref>

*  Psalm 132, the longest of the Psalms of Ascent, begins with a plea to remember David's sufferings and recounts God's covenant oath. It is framed by two brief Psalms of David (Psalms 131 and 133), emphasizing both humility and unity. Several theologians interpret this structure as typologically linking David’s afflictions to those of Christ. Alec Motyer writes that “the sufferings of David become a prefigurement of the sufferings of the greater David.”<ref>Motyer, J. Alec. ''The Message of the Psalms''. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993, pp. 444–445.</ref> Spurgeon similarly notes that David’s zeal and sorrows “shadow the greater Son of David, who had no place to lay his head.”<ref>Spurgeon, Charles H. ''The Treasury of David, Vol. 3: Psalms 88–110''. London: Passmore and Alabaster, 1885, commentary on Psalm 132.</ref>

Christian interpreters commonly understand these prophetic and poetic passages to converge in Jesus as the promised Son of David and eternal King (Matthew 1:1; Revelation 19:16).<ref>Spurgeon, Charles H. ''The Treasury of David, Vol. 3: Psalms 88–110''. London: Passmore and Alabaster, 1885, commentary on Psalm 138:2.</ref><ref>Motyer, J. Alec. ''The Message of the Psalms''. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993, p. 209.</ref>

===Islam===
{{Main|David in Islam}}
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>