BIOGRAPHY
Around 1037
B.C.E, Jesse, the son of Boaz and Ruth, had a son and named him David. Living
in Bethlehem, Palestine, David’s father was a shepherd. Early stories tell
us that he was musical and courageous at an early age. Supposedly, he defeated
the evil giant, Goliath in a fight against the Phillistines. After being recognized
for his characteristics, he was appointed as an official for the first king
of Israel, Saul.
David was so successful at his position that Saul offered
the hand of his daughter, Michal, to him. Eventually, Saul became threatened
by David’s rising popularity and power. So he banished David from the court
of his officials. David then joined the Phillistine government, still keeping
ties with important and powerful men of Judean tribes. In 1000 B.C.E, Saul
and his three sons ironically die in battle, against the Philistines, and
David tried to take over as king, establishing Hebron as his capital. To
ensure his position as king, David marries all of the Hebrew chief’s daughters
and his courtiers murder his closest competitor as king.
Soon enough, in 933 B.C.E, David was anointed king of
Israel. As king, King David quickly made friends by defeating the Philistine,
Moabites, Arameans, Edomites, Ammonites, and Jebusites. In his defeat against
the Jebusites, he conquered their Holy City, Zion or Shalom, and renamed
it… Jerusalem. However, though he had been dominating outsiders to his kingdom,
his kingdom had been dominated by rebellions within his own family. His
first son, Absalom, became extremely rebellious and it led to David’s army,
killing Absalom and his regiment. Adonijah, the next oldest sun, was furious
when David named his heir to the throne, Solomon. Adonijah leaves Jerusalem
and tries to force alliances against Solomon. In 961 David died a natural
death, was buried in Jerusalem, and was succeeded by Solomon.