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David (/ˈdeɪvɪd/; Hebrew: דָּוִד, Modern: Davīd, Tiberian: Dāwīḏ) is described in the Hebrew Bible as a king of the United Monarchy of Israel and Judah. In the Books of Samuel, David is a young shepherd who gains fame first as a musician and later by killing the giant Goliath, a champion of the Philistines in southern Canaan. David becomes a favourite of the first king of united Israel, Saul, and forges a close friendship with Jonathan, a son of Saul. Out of suspicion that David is seeking to usurp the throne, Saul attempts to kill David, forcing the latter to go into hiding and operate as a fugitive for several years. After Saul and Jonathan are both killed in battle against the Philistines, a 30-year-old David is anointed king over all of Israel and Judah, following which he conquers the city of Jerusalem, establishes it as Israel's capital, and takes the Ark of the Covenant into the city to be the centre-point of worship in the Israelite religion.

According to the biblical narrative, David commits adultery with Bathsheba, leading him to arrange the death of her husband, Uriah the Hittite. David's son Absalom later schemes to overthrow him and, during the ensuing rebellion, David flees Jerusalem, but returns after Absalom's death to continue his reign over Israel and Judah. He desires to construct a temple to Yahweh in which to house the Ark but, because he shed much blood, Yahweh denies David the opportunity to do so. David rules as king of the Israelites until his death at age 70, prior to which he chooses Solomon, a son born to him and Bathsheba, to be his successor instead of Adonijah, his eldest surviving son. He is honored in prophetic literature as an ideal king and the forefather of the future Hebrew Messiah, and many psalms are ascribed to him.

Historians of the Ancient Near East agree that David probably lived around 1000 BCE, but that there is little else that is agreed on about him as a historical figure. The Tel Dan stele, a Canaanite-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damascus in the late-9th/early-8th centuries BCE to commemorate his victory over two enemy kings, contains the Hebrew-language phrase Beit David (ביתדוד‎), which most scholars translate as "House of David". The Mesha stele, erected by king Mesha of Moab in the 9th century BCE, may also refer to the "House of David", but this is disputed. Apart from this, all that is known of David comes from biblical literature, the historicity of which is doubtful, and there is little detail about David that is concrete and undisputed.

David is richly represented in post-biblical Jewish written and oral tradition, and is discussed in the New Testament. The early Christians interpreted the life of Jesus in light of references to the Hebrew Messiah and to David; Jesus is described as being descended from David in the gospels of Matthew and of Luke. The biblical character of David has inspired many interpretations in art and literature over centuries. In the Quran and hadith, David is mentioned as a prophet-king of Allah.

Biblical account

Family

The First Book of Samuel and the First Book of Chronicles both identify David as the son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, the youngest of eight sons. He also had at least two sisters, Zeruiah, whose sons all went on to serve in David's army, and Abigail, whose son Amasa went on to serve in Absalom's army, Absalom being one of David's younger sons. While the Bible does not name his mother, the Talmud identifies her as Nitzevet, a daughter of a man named Adael, and the Book of Ruth claims him as the great-grandson of Ruth, the Moabite, by Boaz.

David is described as cementing his relations with various political and national groups through marriage. In 1 Samuel 17:25, it states that King Saul had said that he would make whoever killed Goliath a very wealthy man, give his daughter to him and declare his father's family exempt from taxes in Israel. Saul offered David his oldest daughter, Merab, a marriage which David respectfully declined. Saul then gave Merab in marriage to Adriel the Meholathite. Having been told that his younger daughter Michal was in love with David, Saul gave her in marriage to David upon David's payment in Philistine foreskins (ancient Jewish historian Josephus lists the dowry as 100 Philistine heads). Saul became jealous of David and tried to have him killed. David escaped. Then Saul sent Michal to Galim to marry Palti, son of Laish. David then took wives in Hebron, according to 2 Samuel 3; they were Ahinoam the Yizre'elite; Abigail, the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; Maacah, the daughter of Talmay, king of Geshur; Haggith; Abital; and Eglah. Later, David wanted Michal back and Abner, Ish-bosheth's army commander, delivered her to David, causing her husband (Palti) great grief.

The Book of Chronicles lists his sons with his various wives and concubines. In Hebron, David had six sons: Amnon, by Ahinoam; Daniel, by Abigail; Absalom, by Maachah; Adonijah, by Haggith; Shephatiah, by Abital; and Ithream, by Eglah. By Bathsheba, his sons were Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. David's sons born in Jerusalem of his other wives included Ibhar, Elishua, Eliphelet, Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama and Eliada. Jerimoth, who is not mentioned in any of the genealogies, is mentioned as another of his sons in 2 Chronicles 11:18. His daughter Tamar, by Maachah, is raped by her half-brother Amnon. David fails to bring Amnon to justice for his violation of Tamar, because he is his firstborn and he loves him, and so, Absalom (her full brother) murders Amnon to avenge Tamar. Although Absalom did avenge his sister's defilement, ironically he showed himself not to be very much different from Amnon; as Amnon had sought the advice of Jonadab in order to rape Tamar, Absalom had sought the advice of Ahitophel who advised Absalom to have incestuous relations with his father's concubines in order to show all Israel how odious he was to his father . Despite the great sins they had committed, David showed grief at the deaths of his sons, weeping twice for Amnon and weeping seven times for Absalom.

Narrative

God is angered when Saul, Israel's king, unlawfully offers a sacrifice and later disobeys a divine command both to kill all of the Amalekites and to destroy their confiscated property. Consequently, God sends prophet Samuel to anoint a shepherd, David, the youngest son of Jesse of Bethlehem, to be king instead.

After God sends an evil spirit to torment Saul, his servants recommend that he send for a man skilled in playing the lyre. A servant proposes David, whom the servant describes as "skillful in playing, a man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the Lord is with him." David enters Saul's service as one of the royal armour-bearers and plays the lyre to soothe the king.

War comes between Israel and the Philistines, and the giant Goliath challenges the Israelites to send out a champion to face him in single combat. David, sent by his father to bring provisions to his brothers serving in Saul's army, declares that he can defeat Goliath. Refusing the king's offer of the royal armour, he kills Goliath with his sling. Saul inquires the name of the young hero's father.

Saul sets David over his army. All Israel loves David, but his popularity causes Saul to fear him ("What else can he wish but the kingdom?"). Saul plots his death, but Saul's son Jonathan, one of those who loves David, warns him of his father's schemes and David flees. He goes first to Nob, where he is fed by the priest Ahimelech and given Goliath's sword, and then to Gath, the Philistine city of Goliath, intending to seek refuge with King Achish there. Achish's servants or officials question his loyalty, and David sees that he is in danger there. He goes next to the cave of Adullam, where his family joins him. From there he goes to seek refuge with the king of Moab, but the prophet Gad advises him to leave and he goes to the Forest of Hereth, and then to Keilah, where he is involved in a further battle with the Philistines. Saul plans to besiege Keilah so that he can capture David, so David leaves the city in order to protect its inhabitants. From there he takes refuge in the mountainous Wilderness of Ziph.

Jonathan meets with David again and confirms his loyalty to David as the future king. After the people of Ziph notify Saul that David is taking refuge in their territory, Saul seeks confirmation and plans to capture David in the Wilderness of Maon, but his attention is diverted by a renewed Philistine invasion and David is able to secure some respite at Ein Gedi. Returning from battle with the Philistines, Saul heads to Ein Gedi in pursuit of David and enters the cave where, as it happens, David and his supporters are hiding, "to attend to his needs". David realises he has an opportunity to kill Saul, but this is not his intention: he secretly cuts off a corner of Saul's robe, and when Saul has left the cave he comes out to pay homage to Saul as the king and to demonstrate, using the piece of robe, that he holds no malice towards Saul. The two are thus reconciled and Saul recognises David as his successor.

A similar passage occurs in 1 Samuel 26, when David is able to infiltrate Saul's camp on the hill of Hachilah and remove his spear and a jug of water from his side while he and his guards lie asleep. In this account, David is advised by Abishai that this is his opportunity to kill Saul, but David declines, saying he will not "stretch out hand against the Lord's anointed". Saul confesses that he has been wrong to pursue David and blesses him.

In 1 Samuel 27:1–4|NKJV, Saul ceases to pursue David because David took refuge a second time with Achish, the Philistine king of Gath. Achish permits David to reside in Ziklag, close to the border between Gath and Judea, from where he leads raids against the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites, but leads Achish to believe he is attacking the Israelites in Judah, the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites. Achish believes that David had become a loyal vassal, but he never wins the trust of the princes or lords of Gath, and at their request Achish instructs David to remain behind to guard the camp when the Philistines march against Saul. David returns to Ziklag and saves his wives and the citizens from the Amalekites. Jonathan and Saul are killed in battle, and David is anointed king over Judah. In the north, Saul's son Ish-Bosheth is anointed king of Israel, and war ensues until Ish-Bosheth is murdered.

With the death of Saul's son, the elders of Israel come to Hebron and David is anointed king over all of Israel. He conquers Jerusalem, previously a Jebusite stronghold, and makes it his capital. He brings the Ark of the Covenant to the city, intending to build a temple for God, but the prophet Nathan forbids it, prophesying that the temple would be built by one of David's sons. Nathan also prophesies that God has made a covenant with the house of David stating, "your throne shall be established forever". David wins additional victories over the Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, Amalekites, Ammonites and king Hadadezer of Aram-Zobah, after which they become tributaries. His fame increase as a result, earning the praise of figures like king Toi of Hamath, Hadadezer's rival.

During a siege of the Ammonite capital of Rabbah, David remains in Jerusalem. He spies a woman, Bathsheba, bathing and summons her; she becomes pregnant. The text in the Bible does not explicitly state whether Bathsheba consented to sex. David calls her husband, Uriah the Hittite, back from the battle to rest, hoping that he will go home to his wife and the child will be presumed to be his. Uriah does not visit his wife, however, so David conspires to have him killed in the heat of battle. David then marries the widowed Bathsheba. In response, Nathan, after trapping the king in his guilt with a parable that actually described his sin in analogy, prophesies the punishment that will fall upon him, stating "the sword shall never depart from your house." When David acknowledges that he has sinned, Nathan advises him that his sin is forgiven and he will not die, but the child will. In fulfillment of Nathan's words, the child born of the union between David and Bathsheba dies, and another of David's sons, Absalom, fueled by vengeance and lust for power, rebels. Thanks to Hushai, a friend of David who was ordered to infiltrate Absalom's court to successfully sabotage his plans, Absalom's forces are routed at the battle of the Wood of Ephraim, and he is caught by his long hair in the branches of a tree where, contrary to David's order, he is killed by Joab, the commander of David's army. David laments the death of his favourite son: "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!" until Joab persuades him to recover from "the extravagance of his grief" and to fulfill his duty to his people. David returns to Gilgal and is escorted across the River Jordan and back to Jerusalem by the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.

When David is old and bedridden, Adonijah, his eldest surviving son and natural heir, declares himself king. Bathsheba and Nathan go to David and obtain his agreement to crown Bathsheba's son Solomon as king, according to David's earlier promise, and the revolt of Adonijah is put down. David dies at the age of 70 after reigning for 40 years, and on his deathbed counsels Solomon to walk in the ways of God and to take revenge on his enemies.

Psalms

The Book of Samuel calls David a skillful harp (lyre) player and "the sweet psalmist of Israel." Yet, while almost half of the Psalms are headed "A Psalm of David" (also translated as "to David" or "for David") and tradition identifies several with specific events in David's life (e.g., Psalms 3, 7, 18, 34, 51, 52, 54, 56, 57, 59, 60, 63 and 142), the headings are late additions and no psalm can be attributed to David with certainty.

Psalm 34 is attributed to David on the occasion of his escape from Abimelech (or King Achish) by pretending to be insane. According to the parallel narrative in 1 Samuel 21, instead of killing the man who had exacted so many casualties from him, Abimelech allows David to leave, exclaiming, "Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?"

Historicity

Tel Dan Stele

The Tel Dan Stele, discovered in 1993, is an inscribed stone erected by Hazael, a king of Damascus in the late 9th/early 8th centuries BCE. It commemorates the king's victory over two enemy kings, and contains the phrase Template:Lang-he, bytdwd, which most scholars translate as "House of David". Other scholars have challenged this reading, but it is likely that this is a reference to a dynasty of the Kingdom of Judah which traced its ancestry to a founder named David.

Mesha Stele

Two epigraphers, André Lemaire and Émile Puech, hypothesised in 1994 that the Mesha Stele from Moab, dating from the 9th century, also contain the words "House of David" at the end of Line 31, although this was considered as less certain than the mention in the Tel Dan inscription. In May 2019, Israel Finkelstein, Nadav Na'aman, and Thomas Römer concluded from the new images that the ruler's name contained three consonants and started with a bet, which excludes the reading "House of David" and, in conjunction with the monarch's city of residence "Horonaim" in Moab, makes it likely that the one mentioned is King Balak, a name also known from the Hebrew Bible. Later that year, Michael Langlois used high-resolution photographs of both the inscription itself, and the 19th-century original squeeze of the then still intact stele to reaffirm Lemaire's view that line 31 contains the phrase "House of David". Replying to Langlois, Na'aman argued that the "House of David" reading is unacceptable because the resulting sentence structure is extremely rare in West Semitic royal inscriptions.

Bubastite Portal at Karnak

Besides the two steles, Bible scholar and Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen suggests that David's name also appears in a relief of Pharaoh Shoshenq, who is usually identified with Shishak in the Bible. The relief claims that Shoshenq raided places in Palestine in 925 BCE, and Kitchen interprets one place as "Heights of David", which was in Southern Judah and the Negev where the Bible says David took refuge from Saul. The relief is damaged and interpretation is uncertain.

History of interpretation in the Abrahamic religions

Rabbinic Judaism

David is an important figure in Rabbinic Judaism, with many legends around him. According to one tradition, David was raised as the son of his father Jesse and spent his early years herding his father's sheep in the wilderness while his brothers were in school.

David's adultery with Bathsheba is interpreted as an opportunity to demonstrate the power of repentance, and the Talmud states that it was not adultery at all, quoting a Jewish practice of divorce on the eve of battle. Furthermore, according to Talmudic sources, the death of Uriah was not to be considered murder, on the basis that Uriah had committed a capital offense by refusing to obey a direct command from the King. However, in tractate Sanhedrin, David expressed remorse over his transgressions and sought forgiveness. God ultimately forgave David and Bathsheba but would not remove their sins from Scripture.

In Jewish legend, David's sin with Bathsheba is the punishment for David's excessive self-consciousness who had besought God to lead him into temptation so that he might give proof of his constancy as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (who successfully passed the test) whose names later were united with God's, while David eventually failed through the temptation of a woman.

According to midrashim, Adam gave up 70 years of his life for the life of David. Also, according to the Talmud Yerushalmi, David was born and died on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks). His piety was said to be so great that his prayers could bring down things from Heaven.

Christianity

King David the Prophet
King David in Prayer, by Pieter de Grebber (c. 1640)
Holy Monarch, Prophet, Reformer, Spiritual Poet and Musician, Vicegerent of God, Psalm-Receiver
Venerated in	Roman Catholicism Eastern Orthodoxy Islam
Feast	December 29, 6 October – Roman Catholicism
Attributes	Psalms, Harp, Head of Goliath

The Messiah concept is fundamental in Christianity. Originally an earthly king ruling by divine appointment ("the anointed one", as the title Messiah had it), the "son of David" became in the last two centuries BCE the apocalyptic and heavenly one who would deliver Israel and usher in a new kingdom. This was the background to the concept of Messiahship in early Christianity, which interpreted the career of Jesus "by means of the titles and functions assigned to David in the mysticism of the Zion cult, in which he served as priest-king and in which he was the mediator between God and man".

The early Church believed that "the life of David foreshadowed the life of Christ; Bethlehem is the birthplace of both; the shepherd life of David points out Christ, the Good Shepherd; the five stones chosen to slay Goliath are typical of the five wounds; the betrayal by his trusted counsellor, Ahitophel, and the passage over the Cedron remind us of Christ's Sacred Passion. Many of the Davidic Psalms, as we learn from the New Testament, are clearly typical of the future Messiah." In the Middle Ages, "Charlemagne thought of himself, and was viewed by his court scholars, as a 'new David'. not in itself a new idea, but content and significance were greatly enlarged by him".

Western Rite churches (Lutheran, Roman Catholic) celebrate his feast day on 29 December or on 6 October, Eastern-rite on 19 December. The Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches celebrate the feast day of the "Holy Righteous Prophet and King David" on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (two Sundays before the Great Feast of the Nativity of the Lord), when he is commemorated together with other ancestors of Jesus. He is also commemorated on the Sunday after the Nativity, together with Joseph and James, the Brother of the Lord.

Middle Ages

In European Christian culture of the Middle Ages, David was made a member of the Nine Worthies, a group of heroes encapsulating all the ideal qualities of chivalry. His life was thus proposed as a valuable subject for study by those aspiring to chivalric status. This aspect of David in the Nine Worthies was popularised firstly through literature, and was thereafter adopted as a frequent subject for painters and sculptors.

David was considered as a model ruler and a symbol of divinely-ordained monarchy throughout medieval Western Europe and Eastern Christendom. David was perceived as the biblical predecessor to Christian Roman and Byzantine emperors and the name "New David" was used as an honorific reference to these rulers. The Georgian Bagratids and the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia claimed a direct biological descent from him. Likewise, kings of the Frankish Carolingian dynasty frequently connected themselves to David; Charlemagne himself occasionally used the name of David as his pseudonym.

Islam

David (Arabic: داوود Dā'ūd or Dāwūd) is an important figure in Islam as one of the major prophets sent by God to guide the Israelites. David is mentioned several times in the Quran with the Arabic name داود, Dāwūd or Dā'ūd, often with his son Solomon. In the Quran David killed Goliath (Q2:251), a giant soldier in the Philistine army. When David killed Goliath, God granted him kingship and wisdom and enforced it (Q38:20). David was made God's "vicegerent on earth" (Q38:26) and God further gave David sound judgment (Q21:78; Q37:21–24, Q26) as well as the Psalms, regarded as books of divine wisdom (Q4:163; Q17:55). The birds and mountains united with David in uttering praise to God (Q21:79; Q34:10; Q38:18), while God made iron soft for David (Q34:10), God also instructed David in the art of fashioning chain mail out of iron (Q21:80); this knowledge gave David a major advantage over his bronze and cast iron-armed opponents, not to mention the cultural and economic impact. Together with Solomon, David gave judgment in a case of damage to the fields (Q21:78) and David judged the matter between two disputants in his prayer chamber (Q38:21–23). Since there is no mention in the Quran of the wrong David did to Uriah nor any reference to Bathsheba, Muslims reject this narrative.

Muslim tradition and the hadith stress David's zeal in daily prayer as well as in fasting. Quran commentators, historians and compilers of the numerous Stories of the Prophets elaborate upon David's concise quranic narratives and specifically mention David's gift in singing his Psalms as well as his beautiful recitation and vocal talents. His voice is described as having had a captivating power, weaving its influence not only over man but over all beasts and nature, who would unite with him to praise God.

Historical criticism

Literary criticism

Biblical literature and archaeological finds are the only sources that attest to David's life. Some scholars have concluded that this was likely compiled from contemporary records of the 11th and 10th centuries BCE, but that there is no clear historical basis for determining the exact date of compilation. Other scholars believe that the Books of Samuel were substantially composed during the time of King Josiah at the end of the 7th century BCE, extended during the Babylonian exile (6th century BCE), and substantially complete by about 550 BCE. Old Testament scholar Graeme Auld contends that further editing was done even after then—the silver quarter-shekel which Saul's servant offers to Samuel in 1 Samuel 9 "almost certainly fixes the date of the story in the Persian or Hellenistic period" because a quarter-shekel was known to exist in Hasmonean times. The authors and editors of Samuel drew on many earlier sources, including, for their history of David, the "history of David's rise" and the "succession narrative". The Book of Chronicles, which tells the story from a different point of view, was probably composed in the period 350–300 BCE, and uses Samuel and Kings as its source.

Biblical evidence indicates that David's Judah was something less than a full-fledged monarchy: it often calls him negid, meaning "prince" or "chief", rather than melek, meaning "king"; the biblical David sets up none of the complex bureaucracy that a kingdom needs (even his army is made up of volunteers), and his followers are largely related to him and from his small home-area around Hebron.

Beyond this, the full range of possible interpretations is available. A number of scholars consider the David story to be a heroic tale similar to King Arthur's legend or Homer's epics, whereas others think that such comparisons are questionable. Others hold that the David story is a political apology—an answer to contemporary charges against him, of his involvement in murders and regicide. The authors and editors of Samuel and Chronicles did not aim to record history, but to promote David's reign as inevitable and desirable, and for this reason there is little about David that is concrete and undisputed.

Some other studies of David have been written: Baruch Halpern has pictured David as a brutal tyrant, a murderer and a lifelong vassal of Achish, the Philistine king of Gath; Steven McKenzie argues that David came from a wealthy family, was "ambitious and ruthless" and a tyrant who murdered his opponents, including his own sons. Joel S. Baden has described him as "an ambitious, ruthless, flesh-and-blood man who achieved power by any means necessary, including murder, theft, bribery, sex, deceit, and treason. William G. Dever described him as "a serial killer".

Jacob L. Wright has written that the most popular legends about David, including his killing of Goliath, his affair with Bathsheba, and his ruling of a United Kingdom of Israel rather than just Judah, are the creation of those who lived generations after him, in particular those living in the late Persian or Hellenistic periods.

Isaac Kalimi wrote about the tenth century BCE that: "Almost all that one can say about King Solomon and his time is unavoidably based on the biblical texts. Nevertheless, here also one cannot always offer conclusive proof that a certain biblical passage reflects the actual historical situation in the tenth century BCE, beyond arguing that it is plausible to this or that degree."

Archaeologic criticism

Isaac Kalimi wrote in 2018 that: "No contemporaneous extra-biblical source offers any account of the political situation in Israel and Judah during the tenth century BCE, and as we have seen, the archaeological remains themselves cannot provide any unambiguous evidence of events."

Lester L. Grabbe wrote in 2017 that: "The main question is what kind of settlement Jerusalem was in Iron IIA: was it a minor settlement, perhaps a large village or possibly a citadel but not a city, or was it the capital of a flourishing – or at least an emerging – state? Assessments differ considerably …"

John Haralson Hayes and James Maxwell Miller wrote in 2006: "On the other hand, if one is not convinced in advance by the biblical profile, then there is nothing in the archaeological evidence itself to suggest that much of consequence was going on in Palestine during the tenth century BCE, and certainly nothing to suggest that Jerusalem was a great political and cultural center."

Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman have stated that the archaeological evidence shows that Judah was sparsely inhabited and Jerusalem no more than a small village. The evidence suggested that David ruled only as a chieftain over an area which cannot be described as a state or as a kingdom, but more as a chiefdom, much smaller and always overshadowed by the older and more powerful kingdom of Israel to the north. They posited that Israel and Judah were not monotheistic at the time, and that later seventh-century redactors sought to portray a past golden age of a united, monotheistic monarchy in order to serve contemporary needs. They noted a lack of archeological evidence for David's military campaigns and a relative underdevelopment of Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, compared to a more developed and urbanized Samaria, capital of Israel during the 9th century BCE.

Amihai Mazar has written that the United Monarchy of the 10th century BCE can be described as a "state in development". He has also compared David to Labaya, a Caananite warlord living during the time of Pharaoh Akhenaten. While Mazar believes that David reigned over Israel during the 11th century BCE, he argues that much of the Biblical text is “literary-legendary nature”. According to William G. Dever, the reigns of Saul, David and Solomon are reasonably well attested, but "most archeologists today would argue that the United Monarchy was not much more than a kind of hill-country chiefdom".

Amélie Kuhrt acknowledges that "there are no royal inscriptions from the time of the united monarchy (indeed very little written material altogether), and not a single contemporary reference to either David or Solomon," but she concludes, "Against this must be set the evidence for substantial development and growth at several sites, which is plausibly related to the tenth century." Kenneth Kitchen reaches a similar conclusion, arguing that "the physical archaeology of tenth-century Canaan is consistent with the former existence of a unified state on its terrain."

The view of Davidic Jerusalem as a village has been challenged by Eilat Mazar's excavation of the Large Stone Structure and the Stepped Stone Structure in 2005. Eilat Mazar proposed that these two structures may have been architecturally linked as one unit, and that they date back to the time of King David. Mazar supports this dating with a number of artifacts; including pottery, two Phoenician-style ivory inlays, a black-and-red jug, and a radiocarbon dated bone; dated to or around the 10th century. Amihai Mazar, Avraham Faust, Nadav Na'aman and William G. Dever have also argued in favour of the 10th century BCE dating and have responded to challenges against it.

In 2010, archaeologist Eilat Mazar announced the discovery of part of the ancient city walls around the City of David which she believes date to the tenth century BCE. According to Mazar, this would prove that an organized state did exist in the 10th century.

Scholars such as Israel Finkelstein, Lily Singer-Avitz, Ze'ev Herzog and David Ussishkin do not accept these conclusions. Finkelstein does not accept the dating of these structures to the 10th century BCE, based in part on the fact that later structures on the site penetrated deep into underlying layers, that the entire area had been excavated in the early 20th century and then backfilled, that pottery from later periods was found below earlier strata, and that consequently the finds collected by E. Mazar cannot necessarily be considered as retrieved in situ. Aren Maeir said in 2010 that he has seen no evidence that these structures are from the 10th century BCE, and that proof of the existence of a strong, centralized kingdom at that time remains "tenuous."

Excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa by archaeologists Yosef Garfinkel and Saar Ganor found an urbanized settlement radiocarbon dated dating to the 10th century, which supports the existence of an urbanised kingdom. Following such discovery, the Israel Antiquities Authority stated, "The excavations at Khirbat Qeiyafa clearly reveal an urban society that existed in Judah already in the late eleventh century BCE. It can no longer be argued that the Kingdom of Judah developed only in the late eighth century BCE or at some other later date." However, the techniques and interpretations to reach some conclusions related to Khirbet Qeiyafa have been criticized by other scholars, such as Israel Finkelstein and Alexander Fantalkin of Tel Aviv University, who have, instead, proposed that the city is to be identified as Philistine.

In 2018, Avraham Faust and Yair Sapir stated that a Canaanite site at Tel Eton, about 30 miles from Jerusalem, was taken over by a Judahite community by peaceful assimilation, and transformed from a village into a central town at some point in the late 11th or early 10th century BCE. This transformation used some ashlar blocks in construction, which they argued supports the United Monarchy theory.

Art and literature

Literature

Literary works about David include:

• 1517 The Davidiad is a neo-Latin epic poem by the Croatian national poet, Roman Catholic priest, and Renaissance humanist Marko Marulić (whose name is sometimes Latinized as "Marcus Marulus"). In addition to the small portions that attempt to recall the epics of Homer, The Davidiad is heavily modeled upon Virgil's Aeneid. This is so much the case that Marulić's contemporaries called him the "Christian Virgil from Split." The philologist Miroslav Marcovich also detects, "the influence of Ovid, Lucan, and Statius" in the work.
• 1681–82 Dryden's long poem Absalom and Achitophel is an allegory that uses the story of the rebellion of Absalom against King David as the basis for his satire of the contemporary political situation, including events such as the Monmouth Rebellion (1685), the Popish Plot (1678) and the Exclusion Crisis.
• 1893 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle may have used the story of David and Bathsheba as a foundation for the Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of the Crooked Man. Holmes mentions "the small affair of Uriah and Bathsheba" at the end of the story.
• 1928 Elmer Davis's novel Giant Killer retells and embellishes the biblical story of David, casting David as primarily a poet who managed always to find others to do the "dirty work" of heroism and kingship. In the novel, Elhanan in fact killed Goliath but David claimed the credit; and Joab, David's cousin and general, took it upon himself to make many of the difficult decisions of war and statecraft when David vacillated or wrote poetry instead.
• 1936 William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! refers to the story of Absalom, David's son; his rebellion against his father and his death at the hands of David's general, Joab. In addition it parallels Absalom's vengeance for the rape of his sister Tamar by his half-brother, Amnon.
• 1946 Gladys Schmitt's novel David the King was a richly embellished biography of David's entire life. The book took a risk, especially for its time, in portraying David's relationship with Jonathan as overtly homoerotic, but was ultimately panned by critics as a bland rendition of the title character.
• 1966 Juan Bosch, a Dominican political leader and writer, wrote David: Biography of a King, as a realistic portrayal of David's life and political career.
• 1970 Dan Jacobson's The Rape of Tamar is an imagined account, by one of David's courtiers Yonadab, of the rape of Tamar by Amnon.
• 1972 Stefan Heym wrote The King David Report in which the historian Ethan compiles upon King Solomon's orders "a true and authoritative report on the life of David, Son of Jesse"—the East German writer's wry depiction of a court historian writing an "authorized" history, many incidents clearly intended as satirical references to the writer's own time.
• 1974 In Thomas Burnett Swann's biblical fantasy novel How are the Mighty Fallen, David and Jonathan are explicitly stated to be lovers. Moreover, Jonathan is a member of a winged semi-human race (possibly nephilim), one of several such races coexisting with humanity but often persecuted by it.
• 1980 Malachi Martin's factional novel King of Kings: A Novel of the Life of David relates the life of David, Adonai's champion in his battle with the Philistine deity Dagon.
• 1984 Joseph Heller wrote a novel based on David called God Knows, published by Simon & Schuster. Told from the perspective of an aging David, the humanity—rather than the heroism—of various biblical characters is emphasized. The portrayal of David as a man of flaws such as greed, lust, selfishness, and his alienation from God, the falling apart of his family is a distinctly 20th-century interpretation of the events told in the Bible.
• 1993 Madeleine L'Engle's novel Certain Women explores family, the Christian faith, and the nature of God through the story of King David's family and an analogous modern family's saga.
• 1995 Allan Massie wrote King David, a novel about David's career that portrays the king's relationship to Jonathan as sexual.
• 2015 Geraldine Brooks wrote a novel about King David, The Secret Chord, told from the point of view of the prophet Nathan.

Paintings

• 1599 Caravaggio David and Goliath
• c. 1610 Caravaggio David with the Head of Goliath
• 1616 Peter Paul Rubens David Slaying Goliath
• c. 1619 Caravaggio, David and Goliath

Sculptures

• 1440? Donatello, David
• 1473–1475 Verrocchio, David
• 1501–1504 Michelangelo, David
• 1623–1624 Gian Lorenzo Bernini, David

Film

David has been depicted several times in films; these are some of the best-known:

• 1951 In David and Bathsheba, directed by Henry King, Gregory Peck played David.
• 1959 In Solomon and Sheba, directed by King Vidor, Finlay Currie played an aged King David.
• 1961 In A Story of David, directed by Bob McNaught, Jeff Chandler played David.
• 1985 In King David, directed by Bruce Beresford, Richard Gere played King David.
• 1996 In Dave and the Giant Pickle

Television

• 1976 The Story of David, a made-for-TV film with Timothy Bottoms and Keith Michell as King David at different ages.
• 1997 David, a TV-film with Nathaniel Parker as King David and Leonard Nimoy as the Prophet Samuel.
• 1997 Max von Sydow portrayed an older King David in the TV-film Solomon, a sequel to David.
• 2009 Christopher Egan played David on Kings, a re-imagining loosely based on the biblical story.
• King David is the focus of the second episode of History Channel's Battles BC documentary, which detailed all of his military exploits in the bible.
• 2012 Rei Davi, a Brazilian miniseries with Leonardo Brício as David.
• 2013 Langley Kirkwood portrayed King David in the miniseries The Bible.
• 2016 Of Kings and Prophets in which David is played by Olly Rix

Music

• The traditional birthday song Las Mañanitas mentions King David as the original singer in its lyrics.
• 1738 George Frideric Handel's oratorio Saul features David as one of its main characters.
• 1921 Arthur Honegger's oratorio Le Roi David with a libretto by René Morax, instantly became a staple of the choral repertoire.
• 1964 Bob Dylan alludes to David in the last line of his song "When The Ship Comes In" ("And like Goliath, they'll be conquered").
• 1983 Bob Dylan refers to David in his song "Jokerman" ("Michelangelo indeed could've carved out your features").
• 1984 Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah" has references to David ("there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord", "The baffled king composing Hallelujah") and Bathsheba ("you saw her bathing on the roof") in its opening verses.
• 1990 The song "One of the Broken" by Paddy McAloon, performed by Prefab Sprout on the album Jordan: The Comeback, has a reference to David ("I remember King David, with his harp and his beautiful, beautiful songs, I answered his prayers, and showed him a place where his music belongs").
• 1991 "Mad About You", a song on Sting's album The Soul Cages, explores David's obsession with Bathsheba from David's perspective.
• 2000 The song "Gimme a Stone" appears on the Little Feat album Chinese Work Songs chronicles the duel with Goliath and contains a lament to Absalom as a bridge.

Musical theater

• 1997 King David, sometimes described as a modern oratorio, with a book and lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Alan Menken.

Playing cards

For a considerable period, starting in the 15th century and continuing until the 19th, French playing card manufacturers assigned to each of the court cards names taken from history or mythology. In this context, the King of spades was often known as "David".

Image gallery

• Rembrandt, c. 1650: Saul and David.
• Mural of King David from an 18th-century sukkah (Jewish Museum of Franconia).
• Miniature from the Paris Psalter: David in the robes of a Byzantine emperor.
• Matteo Rosselli The triumphant David.
• King David playing the harp, ceiling fresco from Monheim Town Hall, home of a wealthy Jewish merchant.
• King David, stained glass windows from the Romanesque Augsburg Cathedral, late 11th century.
• Study of King David, by Julia Margaret Cameron. Depicts Sir Henry Taylor, 1866.
• The Ark is brought to Jerusalem (1896 Bible card illustration by the Providence Lithograph Company)
• Arnold Zadikow, 1930: The Young David displayed in the entrance of Berlin's Jewish Museum from 1933 until its loss during the Second World War.

See also

• David and Jonathan
• David's Mighty Warriors
• David's Tomb
• Kings of Israel and Judah
• Large Stone Structure
• Midrash Shmuel (aggadah)
• Sons of David

Notes

1. King David was a Black Man not a white European. Some scholars think that the biblical description of David reigning for exactly "forty years", like Solomon, is formulaic in nature and not intended as historical, which calls into question our understanding of the exact length of David's reign and the exact years it traverses. Some scholars propose that David's rule occupied the middle third of the 10th century BCE.
2. Template:Lang-ar (traditional spelling), داوود, Dāwūd; Template:Lang-grc-koi; Template:Lang-la; Template:Lang-gez, Dawit; Template:Lang-xcl, Dawitʿ; Template:Lang-cu, Davidŭ; possibly meaning "beloved one".
3. Some commentators believe this meant during David's lifetime. Others say it included his posterity.
4. Other translations say, "the hero of Israel's songs," "the favorite singer of Israel," "the contented psalm writer of Israel," and "Israel's beloved singer of songs."

References

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2. H.M. Niemann, "Comments and Questions about the Interpretation of Khirbet Qeiyafa: Talking with Yosef Garfinkel", Journal of Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Law (2017), p. 255.
3. Garfinkel, Yosef; Ganor, Saar; Hasel, Michael G. (2018). In the Footsteps of King David: Revelations from an Ancient Biblical City. Thames & Hudson. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-50077428-1. Archived from the original on 2020-10-11. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
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6. Carr, David M. (2011). An Introduction to the Old Testament: Sacred Texts and Imperial Contexts of the Hebrew Bible. John Wiley & Sons. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-44435623-6. Archived from the original on 2020-10-11. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
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12. ^ Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel; by Isaac Kalimi; page 32; Cambridge University Press, 2018; ISBN 9781108471268
13. ^ Moore & Kelle 2011, pp. 232–233.
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17. "1 Chronicles 2:16 Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. And the three sons of Zeruiah were Abishai, Joab, and Asahel". biblehub.com. Archived from the original on 2019-09-23. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
18. Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Bava Batra 91a
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26. 1 Chronicles 3:1–3
27. 2 Samuel 5:14–16
28. According to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version of 2 Samuel 13:21, "... he did not punish his son Amnon, because he loved him, for he was his firstborn." "2 Samuel 13 NLT". Bible Gateway. Archived from the original on 2019-09-23. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
29. 1 Sam 13:8–14
30. 1 Sam 15:1–28
31. 1 Sam 16:1–13
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33. 1 Sam 17:1–11
34. 1 Sam 17:17–37
35. 1 Sam 17:38–39
36. 1 Sam 17:49–50
37. 1 Sam 17:55–56
38. 1 Sam 18:5–9
39. 1 Samuel 21:10–11
40. 1 Samuel 22:1
41. 1 Samuel 22:5
42. 1 Samuel 23:1–13
43. 1 Samuel 23:14
44. 1 Samuel 23:27–29
45. 1 Samuel 24:1–22
46. 1 Samuel 26:11
47. 1 Samuel 26:25, NIV text
48. cf. 1 Samuel 21:10–15
49. 1 Sam 29:1–11
50. 1 Samuel 30:1
51. 1 Sam 31:1–13
52. 2 Sam 2:1–4
53. 2 Sam 2:8–11
54. 2 Sam 5:1–3
55. 2 Sam 5:6–7
56. 2 Sam 6:1–12
57. 2 Sam 7:1–13
58. 2 Sam 7:16
59. 2 Sam 8:1–14
60. Lawrence O. Richards (2002). Bible Reader's Companion. David C Cook. pp. 210–. ISBN 978-0-7814-3879-7. Archived from the original on 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
61. Carlos Wilton (June 2004). Lectionary Preaching Workbook: For All Users of the Revised Common, the Roman Catholic, and the Episcopal Lectionaries. Series VIII. CSS Publishing. pp. 189–. ISBN 978-0-7880-2371-2.
62. David J. Zucker (2013-12-10). The Bible's Prophets: An Introduction for Christians and Jews. Wipf and Stock Publishers. pp. 51–. ISBN 978-1-63087-102-4.
63. "2 Samuel 11:2-4". Archived from the original on 2018-12-02. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
64. Antony F. Campbell (2005). 2 Samuel. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 104–. ISBN 978-0-8028-2813-2.
65. Sara M. Koenig (2011-11-08). Isn't This Bathsheba?: A Study in Characterization. Wipf and Stock Publishers. pp. 69–. ISBN 978-1-60899-427-4.
66. Antony F. Campbell (2004). Joshua to Chronicles: An Introduction. Westminster John Knox Press. pp. 161–. ISBN 978-0-664-25751-4. Archived from the original on 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2017-08-19.
67. 2 Sam 11:14–17
68. "2 Samuel 12:10". Bible Hub. Archived from the original on 2017-08-01.
69. "2 Samuel 12:10". Salem Web Network. Archived from the original on 2017-07-29.; 2 Sam 12:8–12:10
70. 2 Samuel 12:13
71. Adultery was a capital crime under Mosaic law: Leviticus 20:10
72. 2 Samuel 12:14: NIV translation
73. 2 Sam 15:1–12
74. 2 Sam 18:1–15
75. 2 Sam 18:33
76. "2 Samuel 19". Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Archived from the original on 2017-07-31. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
77. 2 Samuel 19:1–8
78. 2 Samuel 19:15–17
79. 1 Kings 1:1–5
80. 1 Kings 1:11–31
81. 2 Sam 5:4
82. 1 Kings 2:1–9
83. Helen C. Evans; William W. Wixom, eds. (1997-03-05). The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843-1261. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 86. ISBN 9780870997778. Retrieved 2018-03-05 – via Internet Archive.
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87. ^ Steven McKenzie. "King David: A Biography". The Bible and Interpretation. Archived from the original on 2012-06-21.
88. Psalm 34, Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament, Kohlenberger, J.R, 1987. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House ISBN 0-310-40200-X
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90. ^ Pioske 2015, p. 180.
91. Lemaire 1994.
92. Pioske 2015, p. 180, Chapter 4: David's Jerusalem: The Early 10th Century BCE Part I: An Agrarian Community: ‘…the reading of bytdwd as "House of David" has been challenged by those unconvinced of the inscription's allusion to an eponymous David or the kingdom of Judah.’
93. Pioske 2015, p. 210, fn. 18.
94. Finkelstein, Na’aman & Römer 2019.
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98. 1 Kings 14:25–27Template:Bibleverse with invalid book
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102. Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin. p. 107a.
103. Zohar Bereishis 91b
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105. "King David". 2008-10-28. Archived from the original on 2019-04-20. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
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107. "David" Archived 2009-08-19 at the Wayback Machine article from Encyclopædia Britannica Online
108. John Corbett (1911) King David Archived 2007-09-25 at the Wayback Machine The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York: Robert Appleton Company)
109. McManners, John (2001-03-15). The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity. p. 101. ISBN 9780192854391. Archived from the original on 2016-02-09. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
110. Zeno. "Lexikoneintrag zu »David (8)«. Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon, Band 1. Augsburg 1858, ..." www.zeno.org (in German). Retrieved 2021-10-09.
111. Saint of the Day Archived 2008-05-30 at the Wayback Machine for December 29 at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Washington, D.C.
112. "Пророк Дави́д Псалмопевец, царь Израильский". azbyka.rudays (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-10-09.
113. Lindsay of the Mount, Sir David (1542). Lindsay of the Mount Roll. Edinburgh, W. & D. Laing. Archived from the original on 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
114. ^ Garipzanov, Ildar H. (2008). The Symbolic Language of Royal Authority in the Carolingian World (c. 751–877). Brill. pp. 128, 225. ISBN 978-9004166691.
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116. "Surah Saba - 10".
117. "Surah Al-Anbya - 80".
118. Wheeler, Brannon M. The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism, "David"
119. "Dawud". Encyclopedia of Islam
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121. Hill, Andrew E.; Walton, John H. (2009) . A Survey of the Old Testament (3rd ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan. p. 258. ISBN 978-0-310-28095-8. Archived from the original on 2020-10-11. Retrieved 2019-12-27. The events of the book took place in the last half of the eleventh century and the early part of the tenth century BC, but it is difficult to determine when the events were recorded. There are no particularly persuasive reasons to date the sources used by the compiler later than the events themselves, and good reason to believe that contemporary records were kept (cf. 2 Sam. 20:24–25).
122. Auld 2003, p. 219.
123. (1 Samuel 16:14–2, 5:10Template:Bibleverse with invalid book
124. 2 Samuel 9–20Template:Bibleverse with invalid book and 1 Kings 1–2Template:Bibleverse with invalid book
125. Knight 1991, p. 853.
126. McKenzie 2004, p. 32.
127. Moore & Kelle 2011, pp. 220–221.
128. *Thompson, Thomas L. (2001). "A view from Copenhagen: Israel and the History of Palestine". The Bible and Interpretation. Retrieved 2020-12-25. The history of Palestine and of its peoples is very different from the Bible's narratives, whatever political claims to the contrary may be. An independent history of Judea during the Iron I and Iron II periods has little room for historicizing readings of the stories of I-II Samuel and I Kings.
129. Redford 1992, pp. 301–302: One (perversely perhaps) longs to see the result of the application of such a criterion to Geoffrey of Monmouth’s treatment of Arthur, to the anonymous Joseph and Asenath, to the Alexander Romances, or a host of other Pseudepigrapha. Mesmerized by the literary quality of much of the writing in 1 and 2 Samuel—it is in truth a damned good story!—many scholars take a further step: "The Succession story must be regarded as the oldest specimen of ancient Israelite history writing.”; Pfoh 2016, p. 54 n. 126: Isser links the David story with other heroic tales, like Homer's epics and King Arthur's legend
130. Kalimi, Isaac. Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel, Cambridge University Press, 2019, p. 53
131. Baden 2013, p. 12: the biblical narrative may be considered the ancient equivalent of political spin: it is a retelling, even a reinterpretation, of events, the goal of which is to absolve David of any potential guilt and to show him in a positive light.
132. Carasik, Michael (June 2014). "Review of Baruch Halpern's David's Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-08-10.
133. Baden, Joel (2014-07-29). The Historical David: The Real Life of an Invented Hero. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-218837-3.
134. Dever 2020.
135. "David, King of Judah (Not Israel)". bibleinterp.com. July 2014. Archived from the original on 2019-05-10. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
136. Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It? By Lester L. Grabbe; page 77Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017
137. A History of Ancient Israel and Judah; ByJames Maxwell Miller & John Haralson Hayes; pages 204; SCM Press, 2006; ISBN 9780334041177
138. Finkelstein & Silberman 2007, pp. 26–27; Finkelstein & Silberman 2002, pp. 189–190, Chapter 8: Archaeologically and historically, the redating of these cities from Solomon's era to the time of Omrides has enormous implication. It removes the only archeological evidence that there was ever a united monarchy based in Jerusalem and suggests that David and Solomon were, in political terms, little more than hill country chieftains, whose administrative reach remained on a fairly local level, restricted to the hill country.
139. Finkelstein & Silberman 2002, p. 23; 241–247.
140. Finkelstein & Silberman 2002, pp. 158. "We still have no hard archaeological evidence—despite the unparalleled biblical description of its grandeur—that Jerusalem was anything more than a modest highland village in the time of David, Solomon, and Rehoboam."
141. Finkelstein & Silberman 2002, p. 131, Table Two.
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143. ^ Mazar, Amihai. Archaeology and the biblical Narrative: The Case of the United Monarchy (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-06-11.
144. "First Person: Did the Kingdoms of Saul, David and Solomon Actually Exist?". Biblical Archaeology Society. 2020-12-12. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
145. Dever 2020, p. .
146. Dever 2017, p. .
147. "NOVA | The Bible's Buried Secrets | Archeology of the Hebrew Bible". PBS. Retrieved 2021-07-20. The stories of Solomon are larger than life. According to the stories, Solomon imported 100,000 workers from what is now Lebanon. Well, the whole population of Israel probably wasn't 100,000 in the 10th century. Everything Solomon touched turned to gold. In the minds of the biblical writers, of course, David and Solomon are ideal kings chosen by Yahweh. So they glorify them. Now, archeology can't either prove or disprove the stories. But I think most archeologists today would argue that the United Monarchy was not much more than a kind of hill-country chiefdom. It was very small-scale.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
148. Kuhrt, Amélie (1995). The Ancient Near East, c. 3000–330 BC, Band 1. New York: Routledge. p. 438. ISBN 978-0-41516-762-8.
149. Kitchen, K. A. (2006-06-09). On the Reliability of the Old Testament. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8028-0396-2.
150. Zachary Thomas, "Debating the United Monarchy: let's see how far we've come." Biblical Theology Bulletin (2016).
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155. Na'aman 2014.
156. Dever 2017, pp. 277–283.
157. ^ 'Jerusalem city wall dates back to King Solomon'; by Abe Selig; Jerusalem Post, 23 February 2010; at
158. Has King David's Palace in Jerusalem been Found? By Israel Finkelstein, Lily Singer-Avitz, Ze'ev Herzog & David Ussishkin; Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University, Volume 34, 2007 - Issue 2; Pages 142-164
159. The "Large Stone Structure" in Jerusalem Reality versus Yearning By Israel Finkelstein, 2011; Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palastina-Vereins 127(1):2-10; at
160. Garfinkel, Yossi; Ganor, Sa'ar; Hasel, Michael (2012-04-19). "Journal 124: Khirbat Qeiyafa preliminary report". Hadashot Arkheologiyot: Excavations and Surveys in Israel. Israel Antiquities Authority. Archived from the original on 2018-01-01. Retrieved 2018-06-12. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2012-06-23 suggested (help)
161. Finkelstein, Israel; Fantalkin, Alexander (May 2012). "Khirbet Qeiyafa: an unsensational archaeological and historical interpretation" (PDF). Tel Aviv. 39: 38–63. doi:10.1179/033443512x13226621280507. S2CID 161627736. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
162. Faust & Sapir 2018, p. 1: ‘The lack of evidence for public construction and state apparatus in the region of Judah before the 8th century, expressed for example by the total lack of ashlar construction, is one of the oft-quoted evidence against the historical plausibility of a kingdom centered in Judah. The building of the “governor’s residency,” along with other lines of evidence, suggests that the settlement at Tel‘Eton was transformed in the 10th century BCE, lending important support to the historicity of the United Monarchy’
163. Proof Of King David? Not Yet. But Riveting Site Shores Up Roots Of Israelite Era, By Amanda Borschel-Dan; Times Of Israel; 14 May 2018; At
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Sources

• Auld, Graeme (2003). "1 & 2 Samuel". In James D. G. Dunn; John William Rogerson (eds.). Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802837110. Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
• Baden, Joel (2013-10-08). The Historical David: The Real Life of an Invented Hero. HarperOne. ISBN 978-0-06-218833-5.
• Dever, William G. (2017). Beyond the Texts: An Archaeological Portrait of Ancient Israel and Judah. SBL Press. ISBN 978-0-88414-217-1.
• Dever, William G. (2020). Has Archaeology Buried the Bible?. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4674-5949-5.
• Faust, Avraham; Sapir, Yair (2018). "The "Governor's Residency" at Tel 'Eton, The United Monarchy, and the Impact of the Old-House Effect on Large-Scale Archaeological Reconstructions". Radiocarbon. 60 (3): 801–820. doi:10.1017/RDC.2018.10. ISSN 0033-8222.
• Finkelstein, Israel; Na’aman, Nadav; Römer, Thomas (2019). "Restoring Line 31 in the Mesha Stele: The 'House of David' or Biblical Balak?" (PDF). Tel Aviv. 46 (1): 3–11. doi:10.1080/03344355.2019.1586378. ISSN 0334-4355. S2CID 194331133.
• Finkelstein, Israel; Silberman, Neil Asher (2002). The Bible Unearthed. Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and The Origin of Its Sacred Texts. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-2338-6.
• Finkelstein, Israel; Silberman, Neil Asher (2007). David and Solomon: In Search of the Bible's Sacred Kings and the Roots of the Western Tradition. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-4363-6. Archived from the original on 2020-10-11. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
• Knight, Douglas A (1991). "Sources". In Watson E. Mills, Roger Aubrey Bullard (ed.). Mercer Dictionary of the Bible. Mercer University Press. ISBN 9780865543737. Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
• Langlois, Michaël (2019). "The Kings, the City and the House of David on the Mesha Stele in Light of New Imaging Techniques". Semitica. 61: 23–47.
• Lemaire, André (1994). "'House of David' Restored in Moabite Inscription". Biblical Archaeology Review. 20 (3): 30–37.
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• McKenzie, Steven L. (2004). Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries: I & II Chronicles. Abingdon Press. ISBN 978-1-4267-5980-2. Archived from the original on 2020-10-11. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
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• Redford, Donald B. (1992). Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-21465-8.

Further reading

• Alexander, David; Alexander, Pat, eds. (1983). Eerdmans' Handbook to the Bible (New rev. ed.). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-3486-7.
• Bergen, David T. (1996). 1, 2 Samuel. B&H Publishing Group. ISBN 9780805401073. Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
• Breytenbach, Andries (2000). "Who Is Behind The Samuel Narrative?". In Johannes Cornelis de Moor; H.F. Van Rooy (eds.). Past, Present, Future: The Deuteronomistic History and the Prophets. Brill. ISBN 978-9004118713. Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
• Brettler, Mark Zvi (2007). "Introduction to the Historical Books". In Coogan, Michael David; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Newsom, Carol Ann (eds.). The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195288803.
• Bright, John (1981). A History of Israel (3rd ed.). Philadelphia: Westminster Press. ISBN 978-0-664-21381-7.
• Bruce, F. F. (1963). Israel and the Nations: From the Exodus to the Fall of the Second Temple. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. OCLC 1026642167.
• Coogan, Michael D. (2009). A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: the Hebrew Bible in its Context. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199740291.
• Coogan, Michael David (2007). "Cultural Contexts: The Ancient Near East and Israel". In Coogan, Michael David; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Newsom, Carol Ann (eds.). The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195288803.
• Dever, William G. (2001). What did the Bible writers know and when did they know it?. Cambridge, UK: William B. Eerdmans Publ. Co.
• Dick, Michael B (2004). "The History of 'David's Rise to Power' and the Neo-Babylonian Succession Apologies". In Bernard Frank Batto; Kathryn L. Roberts (eds.). David and Zion: biblical studies in honor of J.J.M. Roberts. Eisenbrauns. ISBN 9781575060927. Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
• Eynikel, Erik (2000). "The Relation Between the Eli Narrative and the Ark Narratives". In Johannes Cornelis de Moor; H.F. Van Rooy (eds.). Past, present, future: the Deuteronomistic History and the Prophets. Brill. ISBN 978-9004118713. Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
• Fridman, Julia (2014-02-20). "The Naked Truth About King David, the 8th Son". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2017-09-04. Retrieved 2017-09-04.
• Gordon, Robert (1986). I & II Samuel, A Commentary. Paternoster Press. ISBN 9780310230229. Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
• Green, Adam (2007). King Saul: The True History of the First Messiah. Cambridge, UK: Lutterworth Press. ISBN 978-0718830748.
• Halpern, Baruch (2000). "David". In Freedman, David Noel; Allen C., Myers (eds.). Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN 9789053565032.
• Halpern, Baruch (2001). David's Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802827975. Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
• Harrison, R. K. (1969). An Introduction to the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. OCLC 814408043.
• Hertzberg, Hans Wilhelm (1964). I & II Samuel, A Commentary (trans. from German 1960 2nd ed.). Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664223182. Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
• Jones, Gwilym H (2001). "1 and 2 Samuel". In John Barton; John Muddiman (eds.). The Oxford Bible Commentary. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198755005.
• Kidner, Derek (1973). The Psalms. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press. ISBN 978-0-87784-868-4.
• Kirsch, Jonathan (2000). King David: the real life of the man who ruled Israel. Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-43275-4.
• Klein, R.W. (2003). "Samuel, Books of". In Bromiley, Geoffrey W (ed.). The international standard Bible encyclopedia. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802837844. Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
• Knight, Douglas A (1995). "Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomists". In James Luther Mays; David L. Petersen; Kent Harold Richards (eds.). Old Testament Interpretation. T&T Clark. ISBN 9780567292896. Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
• Noll, K. L. (1997). The Faces of David. Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Acad. Press. ISBN 978-1-85075-659-0.
• Pfoh, Emanuel (2016). The Emergence of Israel in Ancient Palestine: Historical and Anthropological Perspectives. Routledge. ISBN 9781134947751.
• Rosner, Steven (2012). A Guide to the Psalms of David. Outskirts Press. Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
• Schleffer, Eben (2000). "Saving Saul from the Deuteronomist". In Johannes Cornelis de Moor; H.F. Van Rooy (eds.). Past, Present, Future: The Deuteronomistic History and the Prophets. Brill. ISBN 978-9004118713. Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
• Soggin, Alberto (1987). Introduction to the Old Testament. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664221560. Archived from the original on 2016-02-07. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
• Spieckerman, Hermann (2001). "The Deuteronomistic History". In Leo G. Perdue (ed.). The Blackwell companion to the Hebrew Bible. Blackwell. ISBN 9780631210719. Archived from the original on 2019-01-06. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
• Thompson, J. A. (1986). Handbook of Life in Bible Times. Leicester, UK: Inter-Varsity Press. ISBN 978-0-87784-949-0.
• Tsumura, David Toshio (2007). The First Book of Samuel. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802823595. Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
• Van Seters, John (1997). In Search of History: Historiography in the Ancient World and the Origins of Biblical History. Eisenbrauns. ISBN 9781575060132. Archived from the original on 2016-02-09. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
• Walton, John H (2009). "The Deuteronomistic History". In Andrew E. Hill; John H. Walton (eds.). A Survey of the Old Testament. Zondervan. ISBN 9780631210719. Archived from the original on 2019-01-06. Retrieved 2016-01-07.

External links

• Complete Bible Genealogy—David's family tree
• David engravings from the De Verda collection
• King David at the Christian Iconography web site
• The History of David, by William Caxton
• "David" by Kent Harold Richards at Bible Odyssey

v t e Rulers of the ancient Near East

Territories/ dates Egypt Canaan Ebla Mari Kish/ Assur Akshak/ Akkad Uruk Adab Umma Lagash Ur Elam 4000–3200 BCE Naqada I Naqada II Egypt–Mesopotamia relations Pre-Dynastic period (4000–2900 BCE) Susa I Uruk period (4000–3100 BCE) (Anu Ziggurat, 4000 BCE) (Anonymous "King-priests") Susa II (Uruk influence or control) 3200–3100 BCE Proto-Dynastic period (Naqada III) Early or legendary kings: Upper Egypt Finger Snail Fish Pen-Abu Animal Stork Canide Bull Scorpion I Shendjw Iry-Hor Ka Scorpion II Narmer / Menes Lower Egypt Hedju Hor Ny-Hor Hsekiu Khayu Tiu Thesh Neheb Wazner Nat-Hor Mekh Double Falcon Wash 3100–2900 BCE Early Dynastic Period First Dynasty of Egypt Narmer Menes Neithhotep (regent) Hor-Aha Djer Djet Merneith (regent) Den Anedjib Semerkhet Qa'a Sneferka Horus Bird Canaanites Jemdet Nasr period (3100–2900 BCE) Proto-Elamite period (Susa III) (3100–2700 BCE) 2900 BCE Second Dynasty of Egypt Hotepsekhemwy Nebra/Raneb Nynetjer Ba Nubnefer Horus Sa Weneg-Nebty Wadjenes Senedj Seth-Peribsen Sekhemib-Perenmaat Neferkara I Neferkasokar Hudjefa I Khasekhemwy Early Dynastic Period I (2900–2700 BCE) First Eblaite Kingdom First kingdom of Mari Kish I dynasty Jushur, Kullassina-bel Nangishlishma, En-tarah-ana Babum, Puannum, Kalibum 2800 BCE Kalumum Zuqaqip Atab Mashda Arwium Etana Balih En-me-nuna Melem-Kish Barsal-nuna Uruk I dynasty Meshkiangasher Enmerkar ("conqueror of Aratta") 2700 BCE Early Dynastic Period II (2700–2600 BCE) Zamug, Tizqar, Ilku Iltasadum Lugalbanda Dumuzid, the Fisherman Enmebaragesi ("made the land of Elam submit") Aga of Kish Gilgamesh Old Elamite period (2700–1500 BCE) Indo-Mesopotamia relations 2600 BCE Third Dynasty of Egypt Djoser (First Egyptian pyramids) Sekhemkhet Sanakht Nebka Khaba Qahedjet Huni Early Dynastic Period III (2600–2340 BCE) Sagisu Abur-lim Agur-lim Ibbi-Damu Baba-Damu Kish II dynasty (5 kings) Uhub Mesilim Ur-Nungal Udulkalama Labashum Lagash En-hegal Lugal- shaengur Ur A-Imdugud Ur-Pabilsag Meskalamdug (Queen Puabi) Akalamdug Enun-dara-anna Mesh-he Melem-ana Lugal-kitun Adab Nin-kisalsi Me-durba Lugal-dalu 2575 BCE Old Kingdom of Egypt Fourth Dynasty of Egypt Snefru Khufu Djedefre Khafre Bikheris Menkaure Shepseskaf Thamphthis Ur I dynasty Mesannepada "King of Ur and Kish", victorious over Uruk 2500 BCE Phoenicia (2500–539 BCE) Second kingdom of Mari Ikun-Shamash Iku-Shamagan Ansud Sa'umu Ishtup-Ishar Ikun-Mari Iblul-Il Nizi Kish III dynasty Ku-Baba Akshak dynasty Unzi Undalulu Uruk II dynasty Ensha- kushanna Mug-si Umma I dynasty Pabilgagaltuku Lagash I dynasty Ur-Nanshe Akurgal A'annepada Meskiagnun Elulu Balulu Awan dynasty Peli Tata Ukkutahesh Hishur 2450 BCE Fifth Dynasty of Egypt Userkaf Sahure Neferirkare Kakai Neferefre Shepseskare Nyuserre Ini Menkauhor Kaiu Djedkare Isesi Unas Enar-Damu Ishar-Malik Ush Enakalle Elamite invasions (3 kings) Shushun-Tarana Napi-Ilhush 2425 BCE Kun-Damu Eannatum (King of Lagash, Sumer, Akkad, conqueror of Elam) 2400 BCE Adub-Damu Igrish-Halam Irkab-Damu Kish IV dynasty Puzur-Suen Ur-Zababa Urur Lugal-kinishe-dudu Lugal-kisalsi E-iginimpa'e Meskigal Ur-Lumma Il Gishakidu (Queen Bara-irnun) Enannatum Entemena Enannatum II Enentarzi Ur II dynasty Nanni Mesh-ki-ang-Nanna II Kikku-Siwe-Temti 2380 BCE Sixth Dynasty of Egypt Teti Userkare Pepi I Merenre Nemtyemsaf I Pepi II Merenre Nemtyemsaf II Netjerkare Siptah Adab dynasty Lugal-Anne-Mundu "King of the four quarters of the world" 2370 BCE Isar-Damu Enna-Dagan Ikun-Ishar Ishqi-Mari Invasion by Mari Anbu, Anba, Bazi, Zizi of Mari, Limer, Sharrum-iter Ukush Lugalanda Urukagina Luh-ishan 2350 BCE Puzur-Nirah Ishu-Il Shu-Sin Uruk III dynasty Lugal-zage-si (Governor of Umma, King of all Sumer) 2340 BCE Akkadian Period (2340–2150 BCE) Akkadian Empire Sargon of Akkad Rimush Manishtushu Akkadian Governors: Eshpum Ilshu-rabi Epirmupi Ili-ishmani 2250 BCE Naram-Sin Lugal-ushumgal (vassal of the Akkadians) 2200 BCE First Intermediate Period Seventh Dynasty of Egypt Eighth Dynasty of Egypt Menkare Neferkare II Neferkare Neby Djedkare Shemai Neferkare Khendu Merenhor Neferkamin Nikare Neferkare Tereru Neferkahor Neferkare Pepiseneb Neferkamin Anu Qakare Ibi Neferkaure Neferkauhor Neferirkare Second Eblaite Kingdom Third kingdom of Mari (Shakkanakku dynasty) Ididish Shu-Dagan Ishma-Dagan (vassals of the Akkadians) Shar-Kali-Sharri Igigi, Imi, Nanum, Ilulu (3 years) Dudu Shu-turul Uruk IV dynasty Ur-nigin Ur-gigir Lagash II dynasty Puzer-Mama Ur-Ningirsu I Pirig-me Lu-Baba Lu-gula Ka-ku Hishep-ratep Helu Khita Puzur-Inshushinak 2150 BCE Ninth Dynasty of Egypt Meryibre Khety Neferkare VII Nebkaure Khety Setut Ur III period (2150–2000 BCE) Nûr-Mêr Ishtup-Ilum Ishgum-Addu Apil-kin Gutian dynasty (21 kings) La-erabum Si'um Kuda (Uruk) Puzur-ili Ur-Utu Umma II dynasty Lugalannatum (vassal of the Gutians) Ur-Baba Gudea Ur-Ningirsu Ur-gar Nam-mahani Tirigan 2125 BCE Tenth Dynasty of Egypt Meryhathor Neferkare VIII Wahkare Khety Merikare Uruk V dynasty Utu-hengal 2100 BCE (Vassals of UR III) Iddi-ilum Ili-Ishar Tura-Dagan Puzur-Ishtar (vassals of Ur III) Ur III dynasty "Kings of Ur, Sumer and Akkad" Ur-Nammu Shulgi Amar-Sin Shu-Sin 2025–1763 BCE Amorite invasions Ibbi-Sin Elamite invasions Kindattu (Shimashki Dynasty) Middle Kingdom of Egypt Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt Mentuhotep I Intef I Intef II Intef III Mentuhotep II Mentuhotep III Mentuhotep IV Third Eblaite Kingdom (Amorites) Ibbit-Lim Immeya Indilimma (Amorite Shakkanakkus) Hitial-Erra Hanun-Dagan (...) Lim Dynasty of Mari (Amorites) Yaggid-Lim Yahdun-Lim Yasmah-Adad Zimri-Lim (Queen Shibtu) Old Assyria Puzur-Ashur I Shalim-ahum Ilu-shuma Erishum I Ikunum Sargon I Puzur-Ashur II Naram-Sin Erishum II Isin-Larsa period (Amorites) Dynasty of Isin: Ishbi-Erra Shu-Ilishu Iddin-Dagan Ishme-Dagan Lipit-Ishtar Ur-Ninurta Bur-Suen Lipit-Enlil Erra-imitti Enlil-bani Zambiya Iter-pisha Ur-du-kuga Suen-magir Damiq-ilishu Dynasty of Larsa: Naplanum Emisum Samium Zabaia Gungunum Abisare Sumuel Nur-Adad Sin-Iddinam Sin-Eribam Sin-Iqisham Silli-Adad Warad-Sin Rim-Sin I (...) Rim-Sin II Uruk VI dynasty: Alila-hadum Sumu-binasa Naram-Sin of Uruk Sîn-kāšid Sîn-iribam Sîn-gāmil Ilum-gamil An-am Irdanene Rîm-Anum Nabi-ilišu Sukkalmah dynasty Siwe-Palar-Khuppak Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt Amenemhat I Senusret I Amenemhat II Senusret II Senusret III Amenemhat III Amenemhat IV Sobekneferu 1800–1595 BCE Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt Fourteenth Dynasty of Egypt Abraham (Biblical) Kings of Byblos Kings of Tyre Kings of Sidon Yamhad (Yamhad dynasty) (Amorites) Old Assyria (Shamshi-Adad dynasty 1808–1736 BCE) (Amorites) Shamshi-Adad I Ishme-Dagan I Mut-Ashkur Rimush Asinum Ashur-dugul Ashur-apla-idi Nasir-Sin Sin-namir Ipqi-Ishtar Adad-salulu Adasi (Non-dynastic usurpers 1735–1701 BCE) Puzur-Sin Ashur-dugul Ashur-apla-idi Nasir-Sin Sin-namir Ipqi-Ishtar Adad-salulu Adasi (Adaside dynasty 1700–722 BCE) Bel-bani Libaya Sharma-Adad I Iptar-Sin Bazaya Lullaya Shu-Ninua Sharma-Adad II Erishum III Shamshi-Adad II Ishme-Dagan II Shamshi-Adad III Ashur-nirari I Puzur-Ashur III Enlil-nasir I Nur-ili Ashur-shaduni Ashur-rabi I Ashur-nadin-ahhe I Enlil-Nasir II Ashur-nirari II Ashur-bel-nisheshu Ashur-rim-nisheshu Ashur-nadin-ahhe II First Babylonian dynasty ("Old Babylonian Period") (Amorites) Sumu-abum Sumu-la-El Sabium Apil-Sin Sin-Muballit Hammurabi Samsu-iluna Abi-Eshuh Ammi-Ditana Ammi-Saduqa Samsu-Ditana Early Kassite rulers Second Babylonian dynasty ("Sealand Dynasty") Ilum-ma-ili Itti-ili-nibi Damqi-ilishu Ishkibal Shushushi Gulkishar DIŠ+U-EN Peshgaldaramesh Ayadaragalama Akurduana Melamkurkurra Ea-gamil Second Intermediate Period Sixteenth Dynasty of Egypt Abydos Dynasty Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt ("Hyksos") Semqen 'Aper-'Anati Sakir-Har Khyan Apepi Khamudi Mitanni (1600–1260 BCE) Kirta Shuttarna I Baratarna 1531–1155 BCE New Kingdom of Egypt Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt Ahmose I Amenhotep I Third Babylonian dynasty (Kassites) Agum-Kakrime Burnaburiash I Kashtiliash III Ulamburiash Agum III Karaindash Kadashman-Harbe I Kurigalzu I Kadashman-Enlil I Burna-Buriash II Kara-hardash Nazi-Bugash Kurigalzu II Nazi-Maruttash Kadashman-Turgu Kadashman-Enlil II Kudur-Enlil Shagarakti-Shuriash Kashtiliash IV Enlil-nadin-shumi Kadashman-Harbe II Adad-shuma-iddina Adad-shuma-usur Meli-Shipak II Marduk-apla-iddina I Zababa-shuma-iddin Enlil-nadin-ahi Middle Elamite period (1500–1100 BCE) Kidinuid dynasty Igehalkid dynasty Untash-Napirisha Thutmose I Thutmose II Hatshepsut Thutmose III Amenhotep II Thutmose IV Amenhotep III Akhenaten Smenkhkare Neferneferuaten Tutankhamun Ay Horemheb Hittite Empire Ugarit Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt Ramesses I Seti I Ramesses II Merneptah Amenmesses Seti II Siptah Tausret Elamite Empire Shutrukid dynasty Shutruk-Nakhunte 1155–1025 BCE Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt Setnakhte Ramesses III Ramesses IV Ramesses V Ramesses VI Ramesses VII Ramesses VIII Ramesses IX Ramesses X Ramesses XI Third Intermediate Period Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt Smendes Amenemnisu Psusennes I Amenemope Osorkon the Elder Siamun Psusennes II Phoenicia Kings of Byblos Kings of Tyre Kings of Sidon Kingdom of Israel Saul Ish-bosheth David Solomon Syro-Hittite states Middle Assyria Eriba-Adad I Ashur-uballit I Enlil-nirari Arik-den-ili Adad-nirari I Shalmaneser I Tukulti-Ninurta I Ashur-nadin-apli Ashur-nirari III Enlil-kudurri-usur Ninurta-apal-Ekur Ashur-dan I Ninurta-tukulti-Ashur Mutakkil-Nusku Ashur-resh-ishi I Tiglath-Pileser I Asharid-apal-Ekur Ashur-bel-kala Eriba-Adad II Shamshi-Adad IV Ashurnasirpal I Shalmaneser II Ashur-nirari IV Ashur-rabi II Ashur-resh-ishi II Tiglath-Pileser II Ashur-dan II Fourth Babylonian dynasty ("Second Dynasty of Isin") Marduk-kabit-ahheshu Itti-Marduk-balatu Ninurta-nadin-shumi Nebuchadnezzar I Enlil-nadin-apli Marduk-nadin-ahhe Marduk-shapik-zeri Adad-apla-iddina Marduk-ahhe-eriba Marduk-zer-X Nabu-shum-libur Neo-Elamite period (1100–540 BCE) 1025–934 BCE Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Babylonian dynasties ("Period of Chaos") Simbar-shipak Ea-mukin-zeri Kashshu-nadin-ahi Eulmash-shakin-shumi Ninurta-kudurri-usur I Shirikti-shuqamuna Mar-biti-apla-usur Nabû-mukin-apli 911–745 BCE Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt Shoshenq I Osorkon I Shoshenq II Takelot I Osorkon II Shoshenq III Shoshenq IV Pami Shoshenq V Pedubast II Osorkon IV Twenty-third Dynasty of Egypt Harsiese A Takelot II Pedubast I Shoshenq VI Osorkon III Takelot III Rudamun Menkheperre Ini Twenty-fourth Dynasty of Egypt Tefnakht Bakenranef Kingdom of Samaria Kingdom of Judah Neo-Assyrian Empire Adad-nirari II Tukulti-Ninurta II Ashurnasirpal II Shalmaneser III Shamshi-Adad V Shammuramat (regent) Adad-nirari III Shalmaneser IV Ashur-Dan III Ashur-nirari V Eight Babylonian Dynasty Ninurta-kudurri-usur II Mar-biti-ahhe-iddina Shamash-mudammiq Nabu-shuma-ukin I Nabu-apla-iddina Marduk-zakir-shumi I Marduk-balassu-iqbi Baba-aha-iddina (five kings) Ninurta-apla-X Marduk-bel-zeri Marduk-apla-usur Eriba-Marduk Nabu-shuma-ishkun Nabonassar Nabu-nadin-zeri Nabu-shuma-ukin II Nabu-mukin-zeri Humban-Tahrid dynasty Urtak Teumman Ummanigash Tammaritu I Indabibi Humban-haltash III 745–609 BCE Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt ("Black Pharaohs") Piye Shebitku Shabaka Taharqa Tanutamun Neo-Assyrian Empire (Sargonid dynasty) Tiglath-Pileser Shalmaneser Marduk-apla-iddina II Sargon Sennacherib Marduk-zakir-shumi II Marduk-apla-iddina II Bel-ibni Ashur-nadin-shumi Nergal-ushezib Mushezib-Marduk Esarhaddon Ashurbanipal Ashur-etil-ilani Sinsharishkun Sin-shumu-lishir Ashur-uballit II Assyrian conquest of Egypt Assyrian conquest of Elam 626–539 BCE Late Period Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt Necho I Psamtik I Necho II Psamtik II Wahibre Ahmose II Psamtik III Neo-Babylonian Empire Nabopolassar Nebuchadnezzar II Amel-Marduk Neriglissar Labashi-Marduk Nabonidus Median Empire Deioces Phraortes Madyes Cyaxares Astyages 539–331 BCE Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt (First Achaemenid conquest of Egypt) Kings of Byblos Kings of Tyre Kings of Sidon Achaemenid Empire Cyrus Cambyses Darius I Xerxes Artaxerxes I Darius II Artaxerxes II Artaxerxes III Artaxerxes IV Darius III Twenty-eighth Dynasty of Egypt Twenty-ninth Dynasty of Egypt Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt Thirty-first Dynasty of Egypt 331–141 BCE Argead dynasty and Ptolemaic Egypt Ptolemy I Soter Ptolemy Ceraunus Ptolemy II Philadelphus Arsinoe II Ptolemy III Euergetes Berenice II Euergetis Ptolemy IV Philopator Arsinoe III Philopator Ptolemy V Epiphanes Cleopatra I Syra Ptolemy VI Philometor Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator Cleopatra II Philometor Soteira Ptolemy VIII Physcon Cleopatra III Ptolemy IX Lathyros Cleopatra IV Ptolemy X Alexander Berenice III Ptolemy XI Alexander Ptolemy XII Auletes Cleopatra V Cleopatra VI Tryphaena Berenice IV Epiphanea Ptolemy XIII Ptolemy XIV Cleopatra VII Philopator Ptolemy XV Caesarion Arsinoe IV Hellenistic Period Argead dynasty: Alexander III Philip III Alexander IV Antigonid dynasty: Antigonus I Seleucid Empire: Seleucus I Antiochus I Antiochus II Seleucus II Seleucus III Antiochus III Seleucus IV Antiochus IV Antiochus V Demetrius I Alexander III Demetrius II Antiochus VI Dionysus Diodotus Tryphon Antiochus VII Sidetes 141–30 BCE Kingdom of Judea Simon Thassi John Hyrcanus Aristobulus I Alexander Jannaeus Salome Alexandra Hyrcanus II Aristobulus II Antigonus II Mattathias Alexander II Zabinas Seleucus V Philometor Antiochus VIII Grypus Antiochus IX Cyzicenus Seleucus VI Epiphanes Antiochus X Eusebes Antiochus XI Epiphanes Demetrius III Eucaerus Philip I Philadelphus Antiochus XII Dionysus Antiochus XIII Asiaticus Philip II Philoromaeus Parthian Empire Mithridates I Phraates Hyspaosines Artabanus Mithridates II Gotarzes Mithridates III Orodes I Sinatruces Phraates III Mithridates IV Orodes II Phraates IV Tiridates II Musa Phraates V Orodes III Vonones I Artabanus II Tiridates III Artabanus II Vardanes I Gotarzes II Meherdates Vonones II Vologases I Vardanes II Pacorus II Vologases II Artabanus III Osroes I 30 BCE–116 CE Roman Empire (Roman conquest of Egypt) Province of Egypt Judaea Syria 116–117 CE Province of Mesopotamia under Trajan Parthamaspates of Parthia 117–224 CE Syria Palaestina Province of Mesopotamia Sinatruces II Mithridates V Vologases IV Osroes II Vologases V Vologases VI Artabanus IV 224–270 CE Sasanian Empire Province of Asoristan Ardashir I Shapur I Hormizd I Bahram I Bahram II Bahram III Narseh Hormizd II Adur Narseh Shapur II Ardashir II Shapur III Bahram IV Yazdegerd I Shapur IV Khosrow Bahram V Yazdegerd II Hormizd III Peroz I Balash Kavad I Jamasp Kavad I Khosrow I Hormizd IV Khosrow II Bahram VI Chobin Vistahm 270–273 CE Palmyrene Empire Vaballathus Zenobia Antiochus 273–395 CE Roman Empire Province of Egypt Syria Palaestina Syria Province of Mesopotamia 395–618 CE Byzantine Empire Byzantine Egypt Palaestina Prima, Palaestina Secunda Byzantine Syria Byzantine Mesopotamia 618–628 CE (Sasanian conquest of Egypt) Province of Egypt Shahrbaraz Shahralanyozan Shahrbaraz Sasanian Empire Province of Asoristan Khosrow II Kavad II 628–641 CE Byzantine Empire Ardashir III Shahrbaraz Khosrow III Boran Shapur-i Shahrvaraz Azarmidokht Farrukh Hormizd Hormizd VI Khosrow IV Boran Yazdegerd III Peroz III Narsieh Byzantine Egypt Palaestina Prima, Palaestina Secunda Byzantine Syria Byzantine Mesopotamia 639–651 CE Muslim conquest of Egypt Muslim conquest of the Levant Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia and Persia Chronology of the Neolithic period Rulers of ancient Central Asia Rulers with names in italics are considered fictional. Hallo, William W.; Simpson, William Kelly (1971). The Ancient Near East: A History. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. pp. 48–49. ISBN 978-0-15-502755-8. "Rulers of Mesopotamia". CDLI:wiki. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. Thomas, Ariane; Potts, Timothy, eds. (2020). Mesopotamia: Civilization Begins. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-60606-649-2. Roux, Georges (1992). Ancient Iraq. London: Penguin Books Limited. pp. 532–534 (Chronological Tables). ISBN 978-0-14-193825-7. ^ Per the Sumerian King List. Unger, Merrill F. (2014). Israel and the Aramaeans of Damascus: A Study in Archaeological Illumination of Bible History. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-62564-606-4.

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