King David Research Paper

King David is one of the most popular heroes of the Old Testament and with good reason. He is introduced as the youngest of ten sons, which in the time of eldest-son inheritance makes him an instant underdog and his father does not even bring him from the fields for Samuel to judge him for the kingship (1 Samuel 16:0). Despite this, David is chosen as the next king of the Lord’s chosen people and proves his bravery and faith in the Lord by defeating the giant Goliath, whom no other Israelite was brave enough to fight (1 Samuel 17:11). As king, David brings about an Israeli golden age is responsible for many victories over Israel’s foes. Despite all this David is far from a perfect man and in 2 Samuel 11-12 he rapes the married Bathsheba

When Saul seeks to kill David, David defects to the Philistines, and even pledges to fight for the Philistines against his fellow Israelites (1 Samuel 28:2). This treason is emphasized by the Philistine King Achish who defends David to the other Philistines by saying “Since he deserted to me I have found no fault in him to this day” (1 Samuel 29:3). The other Philistinian’s do not allow David to fight in the battle and Saul is killed in the fighting, allowing David to enforce his claim to the throne (1 Samuel 31:5). While David has opportunities to kill Saul in 1 Samuel 24:4 doing so would have made him a violent usurper to the throne instead of the rightful heir and killing God’s anointed king bought political and religious risks. Since killing Saul directly was not a choice, Saul’s death in battle worked very well in David’s favor. In fact, Saul dying worked out so well for David that is possible that David used his trust with King Achish to create a battle he knew Saul would lose. This episode shows that David is willing to break moral codes and even fight against his own people to gain power. Since adultery is punished by death in Israel, David must know that his affair with Bathsheba will carry major consequences, including the loss of his throne if the crime becomes public (Leviticus 20:10). This gives

However, this plan fails as Uriah refuses to break his soldierly vows of purity saying that he could not relax while his comrades fought for Israel (2 Samuel 11:11). David does not take no for an answer and instead gets Uriah drunk as a way of manipulating him to break his vow and sleep with his life (2 Samuel 11:13). Uriah again refuses to go home and be with his life so the next morning David writes a letter to Joab condemning Uriah to die (2 Samuel 11:14). As mentioned earlier, David is used to getting what he wants. His wealth and power mean that he enjoys the finer things as shown by his fine jewelry and many wives (Brueggemann, 75). David is not used to being told no so Uriah refusal must infuriate him and it causes him to act rashly. Alter writes that “the Machiavellian David has suddenly lost his manipulative coolness” (254). The threat to David’s power has such an effect on him that it overcomes his usual moral sense and he acts violently. The fact that David writes the letter the next morning shows that he shows no remorse over attempting to trick a loyal soldier. This sets up a contrast between the moral character of David, King of Israel, and Uriah, a foreigner. While Uriah is fighting for David as a loyal soldier, David rapes his wife and attempts to cover up his crime (Brueggemann, 275).