person · P0033
David דוד המלך
Shepherd of Beit Lechem, anointed by Shmuel, king of Israel for forty years, and founder of the dynasty and of Jerusalem as capital. Author in tradition of Tehillim. Per the Rambam he received the Oral Torah from Shmuel and his court and transmitted it to Achiyah HaShiloni.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- דוד המלך
- Also known as
- David HaMelech, King David
- Era
- bible
- Received the mesorah from
- Shmuel
- Transmitted the mesorah to
- Achiyah HaShiloni
- Teachers
- Shmuel
- Children
- Shlomo
II. When
- Traditional
- 2854–2924 AM
- Academic
- conventionally c. 1010–970 BCE for his reign; precise dates uncertain
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈70 years
- Precision
- approximate
III. Where
- Places
- Jerusalem
IV. What
- Events
- Tel Dan Stele
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Received the Oral Torah from Shmuel and his court, and transmitted it to Achiyah HaShiloni — the sixth link in Rambam's forty-generation chain.
Confidence is for the chain as stated by the Rambam. |
rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| Anointed by Shmuel at Beit Lechem, "and the spirit of God rested on David from that day onward"; became king at thirty and reigned forty years.
Confidence is for what the biblical text states. |
biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| The Tel Dan Stele (9th century BCE, Aramaic) refers to a king "of the house of David" (bytdwd) — the earliest external reference to the Davidic dynasty, though not to David's person or deeds.
The reading "house of David" is accepted by most scholars; a minority read the phrase otherwise. The stele attests the dynasty's name a century-plus after the traditional David.
|
archaeology external | ★★★★☆ | |
| David was the youngest son of Yishai of Beit Lechem and was tending the family's sheep when Shmuel came to anoint one of Yishai's sons. | biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| Shaul gave his daughter Michal to David as a wife after David delivered the required bride-price. | biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| David was thirty years old when he became king; he reigned seven years and six months in Chevron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. | biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| David took Bat-Sheva as his wife; she later bore him a son named Shlomo. | biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| David died and was buried in the City of David. | biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| Traditional lifespan 2854–2924 AM per Seder Olam reckoning (reigned 2884–2924).
Schematic traditional dating. |
tradition reconstruction | ★★☆☆☆ |