Lesson 32 – David Comes to
the Court
Use the biblical text to
write answers to the following questions.
a. How did the ancient
people describe depression?
b. Why was David summoned to
the king's court?
c. How does the text
describe David?
d. What did Jesse send as
gifts to Saul?
e. How did Saul first feel
about David?
f. What position did David
hold in Saul's court?
g. What did David do to help
Saul feel better?
h. What was Jonathan's
relationship to Saul? (See
i.
What words does the narrator
use to describe Jonathan's feelings for
David in 18:1?
j. What
did Jonathan give as a sign of the covenant he made with David?
k. To which position was David promoted?
1.
What did the women sing as Saul
and David returned from battle?
m. What did Saul do the next day during his
rage?
The first line of the "Bible
Background," acknowledges the fact that the story of Saul's kingship is told in such a way to favor
David.
Where
do you see evidence of such a slanted viewpoint in the story?
Why
is it important for us to identify the viewpoint employed by the author or authors of any biblical text?
What
reasons are listed in paragraphs 5 and 7 of the "Bible Background" for David's popularity among the people?
What
popular leaders in today's world
remind you of David?
More
questions
More
information on David & Goliath
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he
leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's
sake.
Bible
Background (taken from Journey
through the Bible, Christian Board of Publications, 1995, p. 102)
:The story of Saul's kingship is told in a way that favors David.
This is unfortunate, for Saul's story is also one worth hearing more fully and clearly. We can still see in the tradition how
much Saul is loved and honored by the
people, even after Samuel turns his back on Saul and after Saul's suspicions of David become irrational. Samuel
kept his eye on Saul, watching for
Saul to show signs of becoming a despot and leading
2Nothing goes right for Saul, but everything goes right for young David. Samuel immediately picks him out as the destined future king of
3David's killing of
the giant Goliath does not fit smoothly into the first story of David's coming to Saul's attention and
entering his service. The story of the killing of the giant presupposes that
David is a young man, not
experienced in warfare, still living with his parents in
4Leaving aside all
the customary armor worn by soldiers, David meets the giant with five stones for his sling and his
own confidence in his skill in using the sling, plus his trust in God's help. The
giant is struck
down by the stone, and David is then able to use the giant's own sword to deal the deathblow. And with this act, David's career in
5These stories of
David and Saul are among the most
popular in the entire Old Testament. No doubt,
they grew and grew over time, as the community delighted in the accounts of Samuel's anointing David as king and David's extraordinary bravery and skill in defeating the Philistine giant,
Goliath. They also clearly open up
for readers the tragedy that was
facing the Israelites at this time. Their first king, Saul, who never wished to be a king, and who was extremely careful not to claim special places
and privileges for himself, was on
the way to being replaced by one who
seemed to be lucky from birth. Even when we allow for exaggerations by
the storytellers, we have to grant that David was a person who simply stood
out. He was capable of enlisting the loyalty and affection of others, was
excellent in sizing up situations and individuals, and he was himself a true and loyal friend.
6But all the gifts
that made David so suitable for leadership in
7What the Israelites needed was someone to inspire the other tribes
to join up, someone who could successfully
lead in the battle skirmishes that were Israel's best way to drive back the
Philistines. And that person had now emerged: the young David, for whom
everything seemed to go right. The stories
make it clear that David had two fundamental
assets, in addition to his personal gifts. The first was that God was obviously with this young man; he enjoyed God's favor, and that was why he was so successful and so capable of leadership.
The second thing was that David was
ready to turn to God in prayer, to
ask for divine guidance through the regular religious channels. These two
features of David's leadership meant
that he was sure to rise in favor
with the people. But as David grew in favor, Saul grew more and more unstable. Violence is sure to break out—and it does.
1 Samuel 16:14-23
Now the spirit
of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented
him.
And Saul's
servants said to him, "See now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting
you.
Let our lord
now command the servants who attend you to look for someone who is skillful in
playing the lyre; and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play
it, and you will feel better.
"
So Saul said
to his servants, "Provide for me someone who can play well, and bring him
to me."
One of the
young men answered, "I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is
skillful in playing, a man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of
good presence; and the LORD is with him."
So Saul sent
messengers to Jesse, and said, "Send me your son David who is with the sheep."
Jesse took a
donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent them by his son
David to Saul.
And David
came to Saul, and entered his service. Saul loved him greatly, and he became
his armor-bearer.
Saul sent to
Jesse, saying, "Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in
my sight."
And whenever
the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with
his hand, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit would
depart from him.
You see the Philistines
gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to
Saul and the Israelites
gathered and encamped in the
They would all come out
during the day and trash talk each other.
The Philistines, they stood
on the mountain on the one side, while
And there came out from the
camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of
He had a helmet of bronze on
his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail made of bronze that weighed
about 125 lbs.
He had shin guards of bronze
on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.
The shaft of his spear was
like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head made of iron weighed about 15 lbs;
and his shield-bearer went before him.
He stood and shouted to the
troops of
"Why don’t you come get me you cowards?
Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul?
Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.
If he is able to fight with
me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and
kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us."
And the Philistine said,
"Today I defy the ranks of
When Saul and all
Now David was the son of
Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul Jesse was already old.
The three eldest sons of
Jesse had followed Saul to the battle.
David was the youngest and
he went back and forth from Saul to feed his father's sheep at
For forty days the
Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.
Jesse said to his son David,
"Quickly, take your brothers some food and also take these ten cheeses to
the commander of their thousand. See how your brothers are doing and bring some
token from them."
Now Saul and all the men of
David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions,
and went as Jesse had commanded him.
He came to the encampment as the army was getting ready to go to the battle
line, shouting the war cry.
David left the things in
charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his
brothers.
As he talked with them,
Goliath came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke the same words
as before. And David heard him.
All the Israelites, when
they saw the man, fled from him in fear.
The Israelites said to
David, "Did you see that guy? He’s humiliating us. The king will pay a
fortune to whoever kills him, and will give him his daughter and make his
family free in
So David said to the guys
around him,
"So, give me that again,
what exactly is it that someone gets for killing this
uncircumcised Philistine that defys the armies of the living God?"
His eldest brother, Eliab,
heard him talking to the men; and Eliab got really angry at David. He said to
David,
"Why have you come down? Who’s watching the sheep?
I know, you snuck away just so you could come down to
see the battle."
David said, "What are
you getting on me for? It was only a question."
David turned away from his
brother and told the people he would like to fight the Philistine.
When the men heard this they
told Saul and Saul sent for David.
David said to Saul,
"Let no one's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight
with this Philistine."
Saul said to David,
"You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; you’re just a boy,
and he has been a warrior from his youth."
But David said to Saul,
"Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a
bear came, and took a lamb from the flock,
I went after it and killed
it, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would
catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it.
Your servant has killed both
lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them,
since he has defied the armies of the living God."
David said,
"The LORD, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the
bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine."
So Saul said to David,
"Go, and may the LORD be with you!"
Saul clothed David with his
armor.
He put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail.
David strapped Saul's sword
over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, but it was too much for him.
David told Saul,
"I can’t even walk with these, much less fight."
So David removed them.
Then he took his staff in
his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the river bed and put them in his
pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.
The Philistine came on and
drew near to David, with his shield- bearer in front of him.
When the Philistine looked
and saw David, he laughed, for he was only a little kid.
The Philistine said to
David, "What? You think I’m a dog
so you came out to play with me with your stick?"
And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
The Philistine said to
David,
"Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the
wild animals of the field."
But David had this trash
talk stuff down and said back,
"You come to me with sword and spear and javelin;
but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of
This very day the LORD will
deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and
I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds
of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know
that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the
LORD does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and God
will give you into our hand."
When the Philistine drew
nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the
Philistine.
David put his hand in his
bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the
stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on
the ground.
So David took out the
Philistine with just a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine.
David didn’t even have a sword, so he ran and stood over the Philistine; he
grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut off
his head with it.
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
The troops of
David took the head of the
Philistine and brought it to
When Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the
commander of the army, "Abner, who is this kid?" Abner said, "As
your soul lives, O king, I do not know."
“Well, go find out,” Saul
commanded him.
On David's return from
killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the
head of the Philistine in his hand.
Saul said to him,
"Whose son are you, young man?"
And David answered, "I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite."
When David had finished speaking to Saul,
the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as
his own soul.
Saul took him that day and would not let him
return to his father's house.
Then Jonathan made a covenant with David,
because he loved him as his own soul.
Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that
he was wearing, and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his
bow and his belt.
David went out and was successful wherever
Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set him over the army. And all the people,
even the servants of Saul, approved.
As they were coming home, when David
returned from killing the Philistine, the women came out of all the towns of
And the women sang to one another as they
made merry, "Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten
thousands."
Saul was very angry, for this saying
displeased him. He said, "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and
to me they have ascribed thousands; what more can he have but the
kingdom?"
So Saul eyed David from that day on.
The next day an evil spirit from God rushed
upon Saul, and he raved within his house, while David was playing the lyre, as
he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand;
and Saul threw the spear, for he thought,
"I will pin David to the wall." But David eluded him twice.
Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD
was with him but had departed from Saul.
So Saul removed him from his presence, and
made him a commander of a thousand; and David marched out and came in, leading
the army.
David had success in all his undertakings;
for the LORD was with him.
When Saul saw that he had great success, he
stood in awe of him.
But all
dA'vid [dwd]. The second king of
1. Sources
2. Name and family
3. Early stories
4. Fugitive
5. King at
6. King at
7. Estimate
Bibliography
1. Sources. The main sources are the books of SAMUEL are I Kings 1:1-2 (see KINGS, I AND II, §
1), paralleled, with significant omissions and additions, in I Chr. 11-29 (see CHRONICLES, I AND
II). Many of the materials of Samuel and Kings are contemporary, or nearly so,
with the times of David--notably the court records of II Sam. 9:1-20--and are
manifestly some of the most authentic historical writings of the OT.
2. Name and family. The name David occurs nearly eight hundred times in the OT,
ca. sixty times in the NT. The term dawidum occurs more than a score
of times in the Mari Texts, but it probably has nothing to do with the name of
David, as formerly thought. The Alalakh Tablet (6.37) is not clear. The only
unequivocal parallel is found in the archives of Khafajah. For studies of the
Mari Texts, see bibliograpby. Tradition is unanimous
in attesting David's Judean origin. He was a member of the Bethlehemite family
of Jesse, who was himself reckoned in the late genealogy of Ruth as the
grandson of Boaz and Ruth (Ruth 4:18-22). Hence Moabite blood flowed in his
veins, and this fact was apparently not forgotten in later days I Sam. 22:3-4),
though afterward David dealt severely with the Moabites II Sam. 8:2). David had
at least six brothers and two sisters (I Chr. 2:13-16).I Sam.
David's family is far more complicated, as may be
understood from the circumstances of his life and the customs of the age.
Diagrams 2-3 attempt to present the facts as gathered
from the several narratives of the Bible.
3. Early stories. The stories of David's growing fame are in some respects
embellished by later, idealizing elements, but there is no reason to doubt
their essential correctness. David was a gifted and many-sided personality. In
fact, there are many indications that he possessed charismatic qualities.
He comes to the attention of the biblical narrator
first in connection with Saul's disobedience during the Amalekite campaign,
when Saul was rejected in favor of a "neighbor of yours, who is better
than you" I Sam. 15:28). Samuel went to
I Sam. 16:14-23 follows logically and most
naturally on the Amalekite episode oI Sam. 15:1. Because of Samuel's rejection,
Saul became melancholy. To soothe the troubled mind of the king, a skilful
player on lyre or harp was suggested. Saul assented to the proposal, and one of
his servants forthwith recommended the son of Jesse. Evidently David's ability
as a gifted musician was well known at the royal court. He is depicted as one
"skilful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and
a man of good presence" I Sam. 16:18), which pretty well sums up the
character of David at this time. Arriving at court, he at once became the
personal attendant of the king, who thought very highly of him. In fact, he
made him one of his armor-bearers. By virtue of its position and its tenor,
this appears the most likely story of David's introduction to royal circles.
The Goliath tale is probably secondary. It has David
coming to the notice of Saul through the heroic feat of the slaying of the
Philistine giant.* The Philistines and Israelites were encamped ca. eighteen miles SW of Jerusalem, between Azekah and
Soco, at a place called Ephes-dammim, the location of which is unknown today.
On the side of the enemy was a. giant from
See map "PalestineI Samuel 16:1-31, Saul and David,"
under SAUL.
Again, there may be legendary elements in this
narrative, but there can be no doubt about the Philistine struggle and the
service of David's brothers in Saul's army. Nor can there be any inherent
improbability that the daring youth from
In any case, David's rise to fame was
extraordinary. He was so successful in his service and so discreet in his
actions that the king soon put him in charge of a group of soldiers, to the
complete satisfaction of the people and the officials of the court. On their
return from a campaign against the old enemy, they were welcomed home by a
group of women celebrating their victory with the fateful song:
Saul has slain his
thousands,
And David his ten thousands I Sam. 18:7;
cf. 21:11; 29:5).
These lines attest the popularity of David, whether
it was achieved by some heroic deed or in the ordinary course of resistance
against the foe. The disturbed mind of Saul could not bear such extravagant
praise for the man who had so recently come to his court. With the virtual
curse of Samuel resting upon him, he now felt himself slipping and, as we learn
later I Sam. 19:22), must have sensed somehow an alliance between the old
prophet and the young man who was succeeding all too well. Henceforth he tried
his best to put David out of the way.
Saul's attempt to pin David to the wall with his
spear is explained as a seizure of an "evil spirit from God" I Sam.
At the request of David, Jonathan pleaded with his
father on his behalf. Saul promised by oath that David should not be put to
death, but the very sight of the man of success impelled the king to violate
his vow, so that he sent his police to take David from his quarters. David
might have met his doom then and there had not Michal plotted his escape. The
partisanship of his own children for David so enraged Saul that he pursued him
to Naioth in Ramah (
There is no reason to doubt the general sequence
of events related in chs. 18-20. So far David's
conduct remained beyond reproach. That he conducted local skirmishes with the
Philistines cannot be questioned; neither can the growing deterioration of the
relationship between him and Saul. His marriage to Michal also appears quite
certain.
Before we follow David's career as an outlaw, it
is necessary to pause a moment over his relations with the crown prince,
Jonathan. There are numerous references to their friendship in the books of
Samuel. From their first meeting they developed a relationship which was to
last beyond the death of Jonathan. They entered into a covenant of friendship
(18:1-5) ratified by Jonathan's gift of personal military equipment. This
covenant was further strengthened by Jonathan's plea for David (19:2-10), his
assistance in ascertaining the mind of his father toward David and informing
him accordingly (ch. 20), and the renewal of the covenant between them at Horesh
(
4. The
fugitiveI Sam. 21:1-27; 30). The only
avenue of escape from the clutches of Saul was to seek refuge with the
Philistines, who were powerful enough to protect him. On the way he stopped at
Nob, where, by his clever deception of Ahimelech the priest, he acquired
provisions for the flight I Sam. 21:1-9), which ended with his taking refuge
with Achish, the tyrant of
From
While there, David was informed of a Philistine
raid against Keilah ca. fourteen miles E of Gath.
After some hesitation (23:3), he and his men drove the Philistines away and
took a quantity of booty. Saul soon heard about David's adventure at Keilah and
set out to find him. In the meantime David, having discovered that the citizens
would not protect him from Saul, fled to the desert of Ziph, some ten miles S
of Keilah (23:13-23). Informers from Ziph told Saul of David's whereabouts, and
he was once more compelled to flee, this time to the desert around Maon, S of
Ziph, where he was almost trapped by the forces of the king (23:26-28). From
there David withdrew to Engedi (24:1 ff), midway down the W shore of the Dead
Sea.* Again loyalists were not slow in bringing the news of David's new
hide-out to Saul, who at once went in search of him. On this campaign the king
fell into the hands of the fugitive, who spared his life because he had sworn
he would not lay hands on the Lord's anointed one. Fig.
ENG 28.
After Saul's departure David again turned westward
to the
Once more Saul is said to have pursued David in
the region of Ziph, only to fall into the power of the latter, who again spared his life. Most scholars regard this story
(ch. 26) as parallel with that related in ch. 24. In any case, David could no
longer feel secure among his own people and so sought protection from the
Philistines at
David had by this time quite a coterie of
followers, which might have become burdensome to Achish had he not, at David's
request, given David a place where he might fend for himself. Ziklag, which was
to be his center of operations until he took up residence at
Matters went on in this fashion for two years
(29:3), when the Philistines decided to strike another blow against
David's Ziklag period,
therefore, enabled him to gain supplies for the next step, to wipe out
opponents on the borders of
5. King at
David lost no time in marching northward in
His first act as king of
Just then there was a serious altercation between
Abner and the man he had placed on Saul's throne. The difficulty ostensibly was
occasioned by Abner's dealings with one of Saul's concubines, which pointed up
Abner's ambitions: "Abner was making himself
strong in the house of Saul" (3:6). The position of Abner is clearly
reflected by the fact that Ish-bosheth could do nothing when Abner threatened
to deliver the kingdom to David. Abner was the de facto
executor of Saul's kingdom and as such immediately undertook arrangements with
David to deliver to him the political estate of his former king. Here again the
Davidic genius displayed itself, and circumstances played into his hands. He
did not make overtures to Abner but allowed him to initiate proceedings which
led to the transfer of the throne to David. Moreover, David, having been
approached by Abner, was in position to lay down certain terms favorable to
himself which at the same time were not detrimental to
the pride of Abner or
Ish-bosheth had by now demonstrated his incapacity
to maintain
Again circumstances intervened to overcome the
obstacles placed in his way by the rash act of Joab. When news of Abner's death
reached Ish-bosheth, both he and his followers, realizing the extent of their
loss, were utterly disheartened. Ish-bosheth was helpless. David waited. Then
two leaders of guerrilla bands from Beeroth murdered Ish-bosheth during his
noonday siesta. The basis for their deed is not clear, but it can be said with
considerable certainty that David had nothing to do with it, for when they
brought Ish-bosheth's head to him, he rewarded them with death (4:9-12), just
as he had done with the Amalekite who brought him news of Saul's death, and he
gave honorable burial to Ish-bosheth's head in the grave of Abner at Hebron.
There remained now no legitimate successor of Saul
except the lame and therefore impossible Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan.
David's claim as son-in-law of the king was thus unimpeachable, though there is
no indication that he pressed it openly. The elders of
It is to be observed that the people of
For 7½ years David remained at
6. King at
Evidently the Philistines were slow in reacting
against the rapidly expanding power of David; at least, this is the conclusion
indicated when the venture against
However this may be,
David was compelled to deal with them on two, apparently not too widely
separated, occasions. His rule over both
This defeat ended his major open conflict with the
Philistines and turned the tables on them. David now changed positions with them,
and they became his vassals, though there is no indication that he disrupted
their internal organization. He did not even add their city-states to
The next major diplomatic stroke was David's
handling of the religious problem, which, so far as
Not only did David thus bring to his capital the
sacred symbol of
Many regard all of II Sam. 7:1 as a later midrash. But there is undoubtedly some early material in it.
That David should have desired to build a house for the ark is what might be
expected. Just why his plan was not carried through is unknown. It may have
been because he was too busy with wars I Kings 5:3; I Chr. 28:3), or because his plans were too
elaborate for immediate execution, or because he felt the time was not ripe to
break with the old tabernacle tradition which he had just employed with the
Israelite priesthood to win the support of the religious elements of his
kingdoms. The prayer of David II Sam. 7:18-29) is also early, for the most
part, and has to do with the perpetuation of his dynasty. The chapter combines
two elements, the desire to build the house of the Lord and the promise of the
continuity of the Davidic dynasty. But the chief significance of the chapter in
connection with David is its emphasis on the traditional combination of the
religion and politics in his kingdom.
See map "