David (Hebrew: דָּוִד, דָּוִיד, David Dāwîḏ; Dawid; Arabic: داود Dāwūd) was a culture hero, and according to the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel and according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew and Luke an ancestor of Jesus. His life is conventionally dated to c. 1040–970 BCE, his reign over Judah c. 1010–1002 BCE, and his reign over the United Kingdom of Israel c. 1002–970 BCE.
The Books of Samuel, 1 Kings, and 1 Chronicles are the only sources of information on David, although the Tel Dan stele (dated c.850–835 BCE) contains the phrase ביתדוד (bytdwd), read as "House of David", which some take as confirmation of the existence in the mid-9th century BCE of a Judean royal dynasty called the House of David. The Mesha Stele from Moab, dating from approximately the same period, may also contain the name David in line 12, where the interpretation is uncertain, and in line 31, where one destroyed letter must be supplied by conjectural emendation.
David is very important to Jewish, Christian and Islamic doctrine and culture. In the Bible, David, or David HaMelekh, is the King of Israel, and the Jewish people. Biblical tradition maintains that a direct descendant of David will be the Messiah. In Islam he is considered to be a prophet and the king of a nation. He is depicted as a righteous king, though not without faults, as well as an acclaimed warrior, musician, and poet, traditionally credited for composing many of the psalms contained in the Book of Psalms.
Read more about David: Legend and Legacy
Famous quotes containing the word david:
“With liberty and pleasant weather, the simplest occupation, any unquestioned country mode of life which detains us in the open air, is alluring. The man who picks peas steadily for a living is more than respectable, he is even envied by his shop-worn neighbors. We are as happy as the birds when our Good Genius permits us to pursue any outdoor work, without a sense of dissipation.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The most attractive sentences are, perhaps, not the wisest, but the surest and roundest. They are spoken firmly and conclusively, as if the speaker had a right to know what he says, and if not wise, they have at least been well learned.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Poor shad! where is thy redress? When Nature gave thee instinct, gave she thee the heart to bear thy fate? Still wandering the sea in thy scaly armor to inquire humbly at the mouths of rivers if man has perchance left them free for thee to enter.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)