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The young David was anointed king by the prophet Samuel, as described in 1 Samuel 16, but in practice King Saul continued to rule for many years, during which he tried, on various occasions, to eliminate the threat that David posed to his kingdom. Saul's death on Mount Gilboa in battle against the Philistines enabled David to return from exile at Ziklag and to be chosen king by his tribe, Judah. For his tribal capital David chose Hebron. Following a war of succession between David and Ish-boshet (son of Saul), David became sole king: "All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, We are your own flesh and blood... and the Lord said to you: You shall shepherd My people Israel ... And they anointed David king over Israel"(2 Samuel 5:1-3). |
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David ruled in Hebron for more than seven years, including five years over the whole nation. Having consolidated his kingdom, he sought a new capital to unify the nation. His diverse considerations in choosing "Zion" are cited in the introductory screens to First Temple Period and City of David: "But David captured the stronghold of Zion... David occupied the stronghold; therefore it was renamed the City of David"(1 Chronicles 11:4-7). By bringing the Ark of the Covenant to his city, David established Jerusalem, symbolically and practically, as both a religious and political capital: "David whirled with all his might before the Lord... Thus David and the whole House of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouts and with blasts of the horn" (2 Samuel 6:14-15). From his small capital David ruled a vast kingdom (described, for example, in 2 Samuel 8), taking advantage of the temporary decline of Egypt in the south and Aram in the north. David laid an extensive organizational and engineering foundation for building the Temple in his city (see 1 Chronicles 22), but various reasons prevented him from undertaking the project. Tradition says that it was God's doing because "you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight" (1 Chronicles 22:8). |
David in fact could only purchase the land on which the Temple was to be built, on which he placed an altar in order to atone for the sin he had committed while commanding the people:" [The prophet] Gad came to David the same day and said to him, 'Go and set up an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite... So David bought the threshing floor... And David built there an altar to the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings and offerings of well-being "(2 Samuel 24:18-25). It is significant that David did not order the city's residents killed and the king executed at the time of the conquest, and long afterward even paid the former king full value for private land on Mount Moriah. In a prophetic utterance the task of building the Temple is entrusted to David's son: "When your days are done and you lie with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you... and I will establish his kingship. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish his royal throne forever"(2 Samuel 7:12-13). David's kingdom, which was born in civil war and court intrigues, is also passed to his son Solomon in the aftermath of bloody events. Tradition ascribes to David a splendid combination of spiritual potency together with military acumen, a passionate character, and a penchant for court machinations. |
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