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[[Image:David.jpg|right|thumb|King David, perhaps the greatest ruler of Israel and ancestor of the [[Jesus Christ|Lord]].]] The holy and righteous '''King David''' was the second king of all Israel, after [[Saul]], around approximately 1000 B.C. He was also a [[prophet]], having written a great number of the [[Psalter|Psalms]], and one of the Forefathers of [[Jesus Christ|Christ]]. The Church commemorates him together with all the ancestors of Christ on the [[Sunday of the Forefathers]] (December 11-17, depending on the day on which the [[Nativity]] falls, ) and also on the first Sunday after the Nativity, along with [[Joseph the Betrothed]] and the [[Apostle James the Just]]. 

A complete account of the life of King David can be found in the [[Old Testament]] starting in 1 [[I Kingdoms|1 Samuel]] 16, the entire book of [[II Kingdoms|2 Samuel]], and [[III Kingdoms|1 Kings ]] 1-2. A slightly edited version of this story, along with some additional specifics of the Kingking's reign, is also found in [[I Paraleipomenon|1 Chronicles]], particularly beginning in Chapter 11.

David was born in Bethlehem as the eighth and youngest son of Jesse. After [[Saul]]'s disobedience to God (see 1 Sam 15), the Lord ordered the [[Prophet ]] [[Samuel]] to Bethlehem to visit Jesse and anoint one of his son's sons as the new king. As the youngest, David was left in the fields to tend the sheep while the holy man was visiting his father; however, the Lord revealed to Samuel that none of the first seven sons was his Chosen One, and Samuel inquired of Jesse whether he had another son. Then David was called, and Samuel was told to anoint him. A notable quote quotation concerning David's righteousness occurs in this passage:

At least eight of David's wives are named in [[Holy Scripture]]. The first, Michal, Saul's daughter, is noted for scorning David’s prophetic dance upon receiving the Ark of the Covenant; this is why she was said to be barren. The second, Abigail, had lived with her husband Nabal in Carmel when David came through in his flight from Saul. While Nabal refused any aid, Nabal Abigail secretly interceded, bringing David many supplies. Afterwards, when Abigail told her husband of the help she had given David, he dropped dead from (seemingly) a heart attack, leaving Abigail free to marry David. The other wives listed (see 1 Chr 3) were Maacha, daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; Haggith; Abital; Eglah; and Bathsheba, mother of [[Solomon]]. He also took "more wives" in Jerusalem. In all, 1 Chronicles lists by name nineteen sons of David.

Several episodes in David’s family life are noteworthy. The first is the famous affair with Bathsheba, one of the few happenings that show shows any weakness in King David. One evening the King began to walk around the rooftop of his palace, which overlooked the surrounding city. He saw below him a beautiful woman taking a bath and was seized with lust. He summoned the woman, Bathsheba, to his palace and slept with her. Unfortunately, Bathsheba conceived a child because of this encounter, and her husband Uriah the Hittite had been away on the spring military campaign for some time, making it impossible to claim he was the father. So she sent a message to King David, who immediately called Uriah back to Jerusalem, hoping that he would sleep with his wife. Uriah, however, refused to enter his home, sleeping outside on the steps, out of solidarity with his fellow soldiers camped in tents far from home. The next day David tried to get him drunk and have him go to his house, but this failed as well. So David panicked and sent Uriah back to his commander with an order to put him on the front lines and then withdraw from him, effectively having him killed. Uriah the Hittite then died in battle, and David married Bathsheba. The Lord would not let the affair go unpunished, though, and sent the [[Prophet]] Nathan to David to rebuke him, finally telling David that the child would die. David mourned for his son, spending seven days fasting, weeping, and entreating the Lord for the life of his son, but the child died after this time. Solomon, the future king, was born to David and Bathsheba following the death of their first son.

After several more episodes of turmoil, David called Solomon to his deathbed and gave him advice on how to rule the kingdom. He died at the age of sixty-three and was buried in his city, Jerusalem.

Furthermore, David's consistently relied on the Lord and thus served as a model king. The Scripture accounts regarding David go out of their way to show his sense of fairness and justice. For example, David rewards all of his men equally, even those too exhausted to continue the chase, after his great victory over the Amakelites (1 Sam 30:23). This episode may be seen as reminiscent of Christ's Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 20). He refused to ever touch his adversary King Saul, was furious about the rape of Tamar, and lamented the death of his rebellious son Absalom, whom he had ordered that no one injure, etc.

Besides his role as Saul's harpist, David composed a large number of the Psalms; whether every single one was written by the king is uncertain. Most of the psalms are prefaced by a few words in both the [[Septuagint]] and Masoretic texts, and 73 of the 150 (or 151, if the one [[Deuterocanon|deuterocanonical ]] psalm is included) explicitly name David as their author. Other introductions give even more detail. For example, Psalm 51 (50 in the Septuagint), our most famous psalm of repentance, is said to have been written by David after Nathan confronted him about his affair with Bathsheba. In any case, David’s contribution to church music and liturgics cannot be ignored, as the Psalms figure prominently in Orthodox worship.

Although the Lord would not allow David himself to construct the First Temple in Jerusalem, he set aside much gold and finery from his spoils of war to be used in it. He bought the sight site of the future Temple, where he built only an altar. According to 1 Chr 28, David himself wrote out the plans for the Temple, which he gave to Solomon, and also arranged the priests who would serve there into divisions, as well as designating numerous weights and measures important in the Temple’s function.

* [http://www.comeandseeicons.com/d/saintsd.htm Come and see icons: Listings for David] (Great icons of King David.)