King David 

Basic Info

1 Samuel 16:1—2 Samuel 

David was anointed by the prophet Samuel while he was still a shepherd boy. He was the youngest son of Jesse. He went to the battlefront to bring his brothers something and that is when the encounter between David and Goliath occurred. Afterward, David was a favorite of King Saul’s for a brief time, but Saul began to be jealous of David and to distrust him. Saul’s son Jonathan was David’s best friend. Saul started to persecute David and tried to have him killed, but David always escaped. David once had a chance to kill Saul but spared him. 

Eventually Saul and three of his sons (including Jonathan) died in battle and David became king. By then, Samuel the prophet was dead and Nathan had taken over that role. David moved the capital to Jerusalem and had the Ark of the Covenant brought there, dancing before it wearing only an apron. His wife, Michal (Saul’s daughter), scolded him for dancing almost naked in the streets. Shortly after this, the events between David and Bathsheba occurred.

Many other events occurred during David’s reign, including one of his daughters (Tamar) being raped by one of her brothers (Amnon). Another son, Absalom, rebelled against David and was killed in a battle. At one point, David gathered architects to develop plans for a Temple to hold the Ark of the Covenant, but, as punishment for his sins related to Bathsheba, God wouldn’t let David finish it. That being said, God did make a covenant with David whereby God would establish an eternal kingdom in David’s line. This is an important part of the messianic prophesies in the Jewish Tradition.

Christians understand Jesus to be of the House of David, so they understand him to be the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant.

What to Look For

• David’s physical appearance and attitude
• Evidence of God’s favor on David
• Evidence of David’s taking God for granted
• Other people in the artwork (Nathan, Samuel, David’s brothers or father Jesse, David’s children or wives, subjects, soldiers, etc.)
• The relationship between David and the other people in the artwork

Questions to Focus a General Interpretation

Does the artwork seem to be a symbolic reminder of God’s promise to David, a portrait of David as the great king foreshadowing Jesus Christ, an exploration of the theme that God often choose to work through imperfect (sinful) people, a consideration of the earthly temptations that even great kings are subject to, or some combination of these?

Questions to Guide a Personal Interpretation

Notice the artwork’s attention to David’s faults and gifts. Does this depiction of David offer you any wisdom for how you reflect on your own sinfulness?

Questions to Suggest a Historical Interpretation



Does the artwork depict David with qualities that the king during the author’s time and place had or should have had? How might the artwork’s emphasis relate to the king in the artist’s time and place?