The Life and Witness of David

By Larry R. Helyer

The Life and Witness of David introduces the general reader to the remarkable career of David son of Jesse. This man streaked across the skies like a meteor and could rightly be called a Hebrew superstar. The stories about him are among the most beloved and captivating in Scripture. The author distills this amazing story in thirteen chapters and adds a fourteenth to sum up David's legacy in history, liturgy, and worship.

David transformed the land of Israel from an insignificant federation of tribes into a Middle Eastern power, an extraordinary feat unparalleled in Israel's history. His importance, however, lies less in his military and political accomplishments than in his spiritual and theological contributions. In his action-packed life and in the book of Psalms, David, the man after God's own heart, speaks through the Spirit of God to our hearts in all the vicissitudes of life.

At numerous points, the author draws attention to moments in David's story that reecho in the pages of the NT. David's story prefigures the story of David's greater son, Jesus, Son of God. The typological links connecting David and Christ in redemptive history are a key emphasis in this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Release date: Dec 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781532691348

Larry R. Helyer

For twenty nine years Larry R. Helyer was professor of biblical studies at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. Now retired, he continues to write on theological topics and serve as an adjunct professor in the United States and abroad. He is the author of Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period.

Book preview

Climbing into David’s Family Tree

It’s good to know where you come from. It makes you what you are today. It’s DNA, it’s in your blood.

—Alexander McQueen

To fully appreciate and understand a superstar personality, one must investigate his or her roots. Ancestry and family history play important roles in shaping us, even if we are quite oblivious to their influence. Heredity silently but powerfully influences who we are. Though unaware of it at the time, David was destined for greatness. Not because he was born into an aristocratic and wealthy family like Alexander the Great; he was not. Nor was his father one of the movers and shakers of his day—he wasn’t even on the radar of the powers that be at the time. In fact, we learn that when David went out to confront Goliath, neither King Saul nor his commander, Abner, even knew who David’s father was.¹

Jesse’s Genealogy

So, who was David’s father? Jesse was an Ephrathite landowner who lived near the village of Bethlehem and, like his neighbors, owned sheep.² But Jesse also descended from one of the most powerful tribes in the ancient federation of Israel, the tribe of Judah. In fact, one of Jesse’s direct ancestors, Nashon, served as a distinguished Judahite civil and military leader, being the first to offer contributions for the newly installed tabernacle.³

Caleb ben Jephunneh

Also found in the family tree was a certain Caleb ben (son of) Jephunneh,⁴ a man with remarkable faith and courage.⁵ His complete trust in the Yahweh’s promises and power is narrated in the story of the twelve spies sent to spy out the land of Canaan and report back their findings to the people of Israel.⁶ Caleb and the celebrated Joshua were the only two spies to urge the people to proceed with the invasion. When the majority report emphasized the formidable opposition they faced, Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, ‘We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it’ (Num 13:30). But the people were disheartened and rebelled. They refused to believe that Yahweh could or would enable them to conquer the Canaanite inhabitants.

Caleb and Joshua tried valiantly to dissuade them from their refusal: Do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them (Num 14:9). Their impassioned plea fell on deaf ears: But the whole assembly talked about stoning them (Num 14:10). Caleb’s courageous confidence re-echoes in young David’s challenge to the Philistine champion Goliath: This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head (1 Sam 17:46). Another interesting connection is the fact that both Caleb and David were threatened with stoning by their dispirited kinsmen following devastating setbacks.⁷

The stories of Caleb ben Jephunneh don’t end with the aborted invasion of Canaan. Yahweh promised Caleb and Joshua that because of their faith they would live to enter the Promised Land. That promise was kept. Remarkably, at age eighty-five, Caleb led the attack on the dreaded Anakites (giants) of Hebron and drove them out. He then enlarged his inheritance by taking the city of Debir lying south of Hebron.⁸

Oral traditions were an essential aspect of life among middle eastern peoples (they still are among traditional, non-westernized families). The exploits of their ancestor Caleb were almost certainly recited and celebrated among the clans and families of Judah. I can easily imagine Jesse regaling his sons around the fire with the heroic deeds of Caleb ben Jephunneh, consciously and subconsciously influencing their thinking and behavior.

In fact, David probably imitated the fearless warrior Caleb while tending the family sheep in the Wilderness of Judah. Recall how young David described his exploits to Saul: When a lion or bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it (1 Sam 17:34–35). In short, young David acted the part of the mighty warrior Caleb from the tribe of Judah.

Judah the Patriarch

But there is more to David’s ancestry than that; in fact, a lot more. Climbing higher into David’s ancestral tree reveals more surprises. Today, the unraveling of the genetic code and its DNA sequences has opened a new day in genealogy. Each somatic cell of our bodies contains the total genetic information unique to us, enabling the tracing of one’s ancestry into the mists of antiquity. I recently submitted a saliva sample to the genographic project of National Geographic. The results traced my regional ancestry back five-hundred to ten-thousand years ago, with about 72 percent of my DNA coming from northwestern Europe. If David’s DNA could be analyzed, I think a surprising fact would come to light. He inherited some Canaanite DNA. The basis for this conjecture lies in a story, recorded in Genesis 38, involving Judah, the grand patriarch of this proud tribe. As they say, we all have skeletons in our family closet, and Judah certainly had his share.

As it turns out, Judah disgraced himself in his treatment of his youngest brother, Joseph, the darling of his father Jacob. It was Judah who urged his brothers to sell Joseph to slave traders going to Egypt rather than kill him.⁹ To his credit, he later acknowledged his guilt to Joseph.¹⁰ Later, Judah went a step further and offered to take Benjamin’s place when Grand Vizier Joseph’s missing silver cup turned up in Benjamin’s sack—secretly planted by Joseph’s servants at his orders.¹¹ Worth noting in this narrative is the leading role Judah played as spokesperson for the brothers, even though he was not the firstborn.¹² More than that, he took responsibility for the welfare of the youngest son, Benjamin.

Judah’s actions foreshadowed greatness. Indeed, Jacob’s deathbed blessing prophesied the future preeminence of the tribe of Judah, resonating with messianic overtones.¹³ The patriarch prophesied the coming of a great descendent of Judah who will possess the scepter and ruler’s staff and to whom the nations will be obedient.¹⁴ One hears in these words a preview of the grand throne room scene in the book of Revelation featuring the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David (Rev 5:5). Enigmatically, the prophecy further proclaims, he will wash his garments in wine (Gen 49:11), in my view, a veiled reference to the blood of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29).¹⁵

Not long after this dramatic (and traumatic!) episode, another skeleton comes to light. Contrary to custom, Judah separates from his brothers and stays at Adullam with Hirah, the Canaanite.¹⁶ Deviating even further from patriarchal preferences, he marries a Canaanite woman, the daughter of Shua. Intermarriage with Canaanites was something abhorred by the family of Abraham and Isaac.¹⁷ Then, compounding his transgressions, Judah fathers two sons, Perez and Zerah, through his Canaanite daughter-in-law, Tamar.¹⁸

The Tamar episode is not one of the highlights in the life of the patriarch. Judah fails at a number of points to be a bearer of the Abrahamic blessing to all peoples. In fact, Tamar the Canaanite demonstrates more integrity than Judah, a fact he forthrightly acknowledges.¹⁹ Whether Tamar believed in the God of the patriarchs is not stated. I think she did. If so, she was a forerunner of two other Gentile women, the Canaanite Rahab and the Moabitess Ruth, who cast their lot with the God of Israel. As it turns out, all three of these Gentile women are in the direct line of Jesus the Messiah.²⁰

Truly, there is a wideness in God’s mercy, and throughout the OT we encounter Gentiles who by faith are incorporated into the people of God, anticipations of the great influx of Gentiles in the post-Pentecost era of redemptive history.²¹ The upshot of Judah’s involvement with Tamar is that Perez is a direct ancestor of David. That Tamar was not discretely deleted from Judah’s family tree is reflected in a blessing uttered over Boaz and his new bride, Ruth: Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah (Ruth 4:12).

Achan the Zerahite

Another embarrassment crops up in an ancestor named Achan from the Zerahite clan of Judah (Zerah was the brother of Perez). This man succumbed to the lure of loot in the aftermath of the sack of Jericho.²² Against explicit orders not to take any of the things devoted to Yahweh’s treasury, Achan stole a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels (Josh 7:21). The result was an unexpected setback in the attack on Ai. Once the culprit was discovered, Achan and his immediate family paid the ultimate price, being stoned to death at a place called Achor.²³ Achan’s failure at Jericho replays in King David’s lure of lust in his shameful adultery with Bathsheba and his prideful attempt to number the people of Israel. We will revisit these moral meltdowns in some detail later.

Hur

On the positive side, there were two Judahite ancestors who stood tall and stood out among their peers. One was named Hur. This man experienced some of the most dramatic events in the birth of the nation. His status is evidenced by the fact that he served as a close adviser and associate to Moses.²⁴ The most noteworthy episode involving Hur was an Amalekite surprise attack upon the Hebrews during their encampment in the Sinai wilderness. Aaron and Hur stood alongside Moses and upheld his hands in intercession to Yahweh for the people of Israel so that they could repel the attack.²⁵ Moses had such confidence in his leadership ability he appointed him and Aaron as judges during his absence on Mount Sinai.²⁶ Hur’s stalwart spirituality left a lasting legacy and resurfaces in the spiritual ardor of King David.²⁷

Bezalel ben Uri

Another outstanding Judahite, a grandson of Hur, was a man of extraordinary artistic ability. His name was Bezalel and his claim to fame lay in his exquisite fashioning of the furniture, utensils, vessels, and tapestries of the Tent of Meeting during the wilderness wanderings.²⁸ If doubts be entertained about how he could have possibly acquired the requisite skills, one needs to remember that the Hebrews had only recently escaped from Egypt. Bezalel probably received his training as an apprentice and craftsman in Egypt, one of the great cultural centers of the ancient world. In fact, the Tutankhamun exhibit features decorative pieces that probably resemble furniture in the wilderness tabernacle.²⁹

My point is this: creative genius is something inherited as part of the genetic code—of course inherent ability must be developed through instruction and diligent practice. It thus comes as no surprise that David’s artistic side displays itself in multiple ways. He was both a gifted musician and songwriter as well as a craftsman of musical instruments. We later learn that much of the temple hymnody was the product of his literary and musical genius. The legacy of David was extraordinary, and we will devote an entire chapter summarizing his many contributions to the heritage of Israel.

Jabez

One more Judahite merits honorable mention. Named Jabez by his mother, an unusual though not unprecedented occurrence in a strongly patriarchal culture, his name sounds similar to the Hebrew word for pain and was chosen because Jabez’ birth was very painful. This, however, is not why the Chronicler singles this man out for special praise. It was Jabez’ character that set him apart from his peers: Jabez was more honorable than his brothers (1 Chr 4:9). Not only was he an honorable man, he was not afraid to ask great things of God, including personal blessing, safety, and freedom from pain: Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain (1 Chr 4:10).

Although the request is daring, the response is extraordinary: And God granted his request (1 Chr 4:10). One hears in the bold requests of Jabez many similar requests rising from the prayers of David too numerous to list. Though not without his flaws, David was an honorable man who cried out for great things from the true and living God. His story may have inspired the Baptist missionary William Carey to utter this famous exhortation: Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.

Enough has been said to illustrate my point about the powerful influence of heredity. Episodes in the PBS series Finding Your Roots with Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. illustrate this in amazing ways. In David we see a man like Caleb, a warrior and leader who inspired other men to follow and serve him—even die for him. We also see a man possessed of the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that enabled Hur to be a spiritual leader and Bezalel to be a master craftsman. In David, the sovereign God chose a man with designer genes to accomplish great things and prepare the way for even greater things.

The Historicity of King David

Before we delve into the story of David, however, an important question must be addressed: Are the narratives about David historical? Many modern scholars are skeptical and will dismiss my retelling of David’s life as naïve, simplistic, and uncritical because I accept at face value the Hebrew narratives as handed down in sacred Scripture. Detractors counter with this challenge: prove that the David of Scripture really existed. Others, less skeptical, shake their heads and fault my reading as tone deaf to the multi-faceted layers and competing viewpoints present in the received text, oblivious to the need to read against the grain and to employ a hermeneutic of suspicion, that is, to assume that those with vested interests and commitments are telling the story and slant it to suit their agendas. In their view, I have presented as factual what is in reality an idealized, often partisan, and sometimes legendary account of a person whose historical reality, if not questionable, is, at the very least, considerably less than what I’ve portrayed in this book. A full reply would require another book, but I must at least justify my approach.

Methodology

At the outset, I address the question of method. How does one read and interpret the Bible? That raises an all-important question concerning the nature of the biblical text. No one can be completely neutral in this regard.³⁰ There are basically three options:

•Accept the traditional, historic position of the Christian church, which confesses the divine inspiration and authority of Scripture.

•Reject the confessional stance and treat the Bible as no different than any other piece of ancient literature.

•Attempt to have your cake and eat it too by qualifying the concepts of inspiration and authority in order to accommodate Scripture to the standards of a modern educated mentality, a position admittedly far short of the creedal approach adopted by the historic Christian church whether ancient, medieval, or modern.³¹

My methodological starting point lies in a commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and his final authority in all matters of faith and practice.³² Consequently, I accept his verdict on the authority of Scripture. This of course begs another question, namely, can we trust the Gospel traditions as reliable witnesses to what Jesus actually said and did? Once again, this requires a lengthy response in defense of the trustworthiness of the Gospels. I point the reader to the work of New Testament scholars Craig Blomberg and Craig Keener for arguments in support of the reliability of the Gospel tradition.³³ All parties in the debate agree that according to the Gospel tradition as we have it, Jesus accepted the inspiration and authority of the Old Testament.³⁴ We can go a step further and demonstrate that he sanctioned the authority of further revelation in what the church later designated the New Testament.³⁵ Therefore, to reject the witness of Christ to the authority of both Testaments fails to read the text from its divinely intended perspective and purpose.

If it be objected that adopting the traditional approach to Scripture abandons reason and amounts to a dogmatic imposition on the text, I respond by saying that the text itself claims to be divine revelation.³⁶ Thus to reject the clear witness of Scripture to its origin and authority necessarily imposes an alternative and alien interpretive framework on the text. In such an approach, the autonomous reader now stands over the text rather than under it and reads against the grain, that is, contrary to the way the text itself wants to be read.³⁷

Intention

That the biblical text wants to be read as an historical account could hardly be made clearer by the author/editor of First Chronicles:

As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, together with the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands. (

1

Chr

29

:

29

)

If it be objected that Chronicles is a late, post-exilic account of Israel’s history, one should note that in the exilic books of First and Second Kings, we have reference to the annals of Solomon (1 Kgs 11:41), the annals of the kings of Israel (1 Kgs 14:19), and the annals of the kings of Judah (1 Kgs 14:29). But the books of Samuel also witness to written sources upon which the author/editor drew. David’s lament for Saul and Jonathan is said to be written in the Book of Jashar (2 Sam 1:18). Samuel wrote down the duties of kingship on a scroll and deposited it before the Lord (1 Sam 10:25). In Second Samuel, we have summary lists of David’s victories, David’s government officials and mighty men, and a census with a grand total of fighting men.

In brief, there are sufficient reasons to affirm that the events recorded in Scripture about David and his reign are not literary inventions, but rather, have a basis in historical fact documented by state archives and prophetic records. This is not to say that literary artistry and conventions were not also creatively employed.³⁸ The narrator knows how to tell a good story in ways that appeal to his readers and listeners—real history can be really engaging history!

A qualification is necessary. These books are obviously not intended as a history of Israel; they are focused on rise and fall of the House of Saul and the eventual triumph of the House of David. Nonetheless, this fascinating story unfolds against the backdrop of a real history; namely, Israel’s history during the Levantine Iron Age.

The books of Samuel narrate the story of an extraordinary person, the key player in leading Israel through a major transition in their national history. At the beginning of David’s story, Israel is just emerging from a tribal federation and evolving into a rudimentary form of monarchy under the House of Saul. By the end of David’s story, Israel sits astride the Levant as a major regional power headed by a strong central government.

Canonical Considerations

But far more is going on than that. Just as clearly, the books of Samuel witness to an important, even critical connection to what went before. The events recorded bear an unmistakable relationship to the foundational documents of Israel; namely, the Torah of Moses. David’s story continues and in part fulfills the promises to the patriarchs. Looked at from the perspective of the entire Christian Bible, the books of Samuel take their place in a grand meta-narrative of redemptive history, anticipating what will come later. As I will repeatedly point out, David’s story plays a vital role in the continuing NT witness of God’s master plan culminating in a new creation and a new Jerusalem.

In the final analysis, only an overarching theological purpose can do justice to the books of Samuel.³⁹ In this literary masterpiece, David son of Jesse plays a crucial role in bringing about God’s ultimate purpose: to reestablish his kingdom on earth. David’s story thus moves us closer to the fulfillment of the prayer Jesus taught his disciples: Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matt 6:10). The link between David and Christ is a master key to understanding the unfolding message of Scripture. "This is the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Matt 1:1).

The reader may still have a nagging question. Is the story factual? Did the events narrated actually occur as stated, or is this a fictional and romanticized version of what really happened?⁴⁰ The short answer is that artifactual and literary evidence does exist supporting the essential historicity of the biblical narratives about David.

For the record, I want the reader to know that as interesting as these discussions are, the biblical texts are not fundamentally dependent on external verification to establish their historical worth.⁴¹ In the final analysis, the Spirit of God witnesses to the truthfulness of the Word of God. When he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth (John 16:13). In the words of the Apostle Paul, We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us (1 Cor 2:12). King David’s testimony stands sure: the word of the Lord is right and true . . . (Ps 33:4).

But I also want the reader to know that my case by no means rests solely on the internal witness of the Spirit. Facts matter and faith founded on fiction is foolish. Therefore, for the reader who wishes to examine and weigh the corroborating evidence, I provide documentation in the rest of this chapter. I think it speaks for itself. For the reader who is not interested in pursuing this further, skip to the next chapter to continue the story of a superstar.

Evidence for the Historicity of David The Tale of the Text: Literary Evidence

Three texts have either been discovered or reconstructed from previously existing texts appearing to refer to the House of David as an historical entity on the stage of middle eastern history in the Iron Age.

Tel Dan Inscription

The star witness is the Tel Dan Inscription. This remarkable discovery, like many in archaeological digs, was serendipitous. As the excavation team at Tel Dan was closing up operations after the 1993 season, one of the staff members, Gila Cook, happened to catch a glimpse of a piece of slab peeking out of the debris. Because of the angle of the early morning sunlight, she detected what appeared to be writing on the surface. This attracted her attention and she gathered other staff members to examine it. The lead excavator, Abraham Biran, was astounded. Before him was an Aramaic inscription. After the inscription was carefully studied, Biran released a restoration and translation.⁴²

In his opinion, now corroborated by other epigraphic specialists, the slab was part of a memorial or victory stela authorized by Hazael, king of Aram.⁴³ As Biran reconstructs the text, Hazael boasts of killing [Jeho]ram son of [Ahab] king of Israel and [Ahaz]iah son of [Jehoram kin]g of Beth-David.⁴⁴ The level from which the fragment was found dates to the eighth century BC, but the inscription itself, on epigraphical grounds, dates to the ninth century. The discrepancy is explained by the fact that the stela was actually found in secondary use, that is, reused in later construction.

A majority of ANE scholars now acknowledge that this inscription constitutes an early (perhaps the earliest) non-biblical reference to the Davidic dynasty. Despite a few naysayers, the fragment counts as empirical evidence for the historicity of the biblical David. To be sure, this does not validate the biblical account of David’s recorded exploits, but it does caution against an outright dismissal of his historicity and relegation to mythology.

Mesha Stela

A second but contested occurrence of House of David has been proposed by André Lemaire. He reconstructed line 31 of the famous Mesha Stela as follows: "And the House of David inhabited Horonaim." The Mesha stela (also called the Moabite Stone), dating to about 840 BC, celebrates a Moabite king’s victory over Israel and Judah.⁴⁵ If Lemaire’s reading is correct, it would predate the Tel Dan Stela and thus be the earliest reference to David outside the Hebrew Bible.

Shishak Inscription

A third possible occurrence of House of David has been proposed by Kenneth Kitchen based upon his new reading of the Shishak Inscription (Shoshenq I).⁴⁶ He believes that there is a reference to the highlands of David, where the context points to areas around the vicinity of Jerusalem. If Kitchen’s reading stands, this would indeed be the earliest extra-biblical reference to David since the inscription dates to only about fifty years after David’s death. Since Kitchen’s reading is disputed, I include it as a possible reference to David.

In light of the above, I conclude that sufficient evidence exists for holding to a probable reference to David in extra-biblical material. As of yet, there is none for King Solomon. But one must take into account that there are only four references from the ninth through the seventh centuries BC indisputably referring to an Israelite or Judahite king. The lack of any extra-biblical reference to Solomon may well lie in the geo-political circumstances at the time of the united kingdom. The great river valley kingdoms of Egypt and Assyria-Babylonia were in a period of relative decline and thus did not interfere with Israel. Whereas they had commercial ties with Israel, they did not seek to dominate the land between and consequently there are no victory stelae or annalistic accounts of conquest. In other words, the four references to kings of Israel or Judah appear in records or inscriptions that refer to military conquest. These include Shalmanezer’s black obelisk (ninth century), Sargon’s inscription (eighth century), Sennacherib’s prism (early seventh century), and Nebuchadnezzar’s chronicle (early sixth century).

I take this a step further: the Israelite and Judahite kingdoms that all ANE historians agree did exist did not suddenly appear on the scene.⁴⁷ The foundations and basic infrastructure had already been laid in the days of David and Solomon. In other words, the history of the united kingdom was not invented by literary geniuses but was a necessary historical precursor to the undisputed post-united kingdom era of Israel and Judah. The minimalist and revisionist historians have a blind spot in this regard.⁴⁸

The Tale of the Tell: Artifactual/Architectural Evidence

The next question is whether inscriptional evidence can be supported by architectural and material evidence on the ground. Here again, recent archaeological work is beginning to throw welcome light on a formerly dark corner. Prior to 1993, it was not uncommon to hear archaeologists and historians discount the biblical version of David’s kingdom because there was a dearth of artifactual evidence dating to the tenth century BC.