50 Fun Facts About King David

Which order by King David does the Bible say brought a deadly plague on Israel?

A census of his people; one biblical account says God incited David to count them, while the later retelling in 1 Chronicles blames Satan instead.

David's father Jesse came from which town?

Bethlehem; because Micah foretold a ruler would come from Bethlehem, Matthew's Gospel says the Messiah had to be born in David's hometown.

The Book of Ruth names David as the great-grandson of Ruth and which man?

Boaz noticed Ruth, a Moabite widow, gleaning grain in his fields and married her; their son Obed became David's grandfather.

Which prophet was sent by God to anoint the young David as king?

Samuel first assumed David's tall eldest brother Eliab was the chosen one, until God told him that the Lord looks at the heart.

What was David's job before he entered Saul's service?

Shepherd; David told Saul he had killed a lion and a bear that attacked his father's sheep, so he could take on the giant too.

David first entered Saul's court to do what?

Play the lyre to soothe him; the music eased Saul's torment, yet on two occasions the jealous king hurled a spear at David while he played.

Which famous saying comes from David's lament after King Saul died in battle?

How the mighty have fallen is the lament's refrain, and David pleaded 'tell it not in Gath' so the Philistines could not gloat over Saul's death.

David refused Saul's armour and faced the Philistine giant with what weapon?

A sling; its stone sank into the giant's forehead, he fell facedown, and David, who had no sword of his own, cut off his head.

Whose bronze David was the first freestanding nude male statue made since antiquity?

Donatello; the Medici kept it in their palace courtyard, and when the family was expelled from Florence in 1494 it was moved to the Palazzo della Signoria.

The duel between David and the Philistine giant took place in which valley?

Elah; for forty days the giant stepped out between the two armies every morning and evening, challenging Israel to send out a champion.

Which famous ancient manuscripts make David's giant foe under seven feet tall?

The Dead Sea Scrolls read 'four cubits and a span', as do the Septuagint and Josephus, while the Masoretic Text makes the giant two cubits taller.

Which son of Saul loved David and warned him of his father's plots?

Jonathan; after his death, David sought out his lame son Mephibosheth, restored the family's land and gave him a seat at the royal table for life.

Which daughter of Saul became David's wife?

Michal; Saul set her bride price at 100 Philistine foreskins, hoping David would be killed collecting them, and David brought back 200.

Fleeing Saul, David received the slain giant's sword from the priest Ahimelech at which place?

Nob; when Saul learned that the priest had helped David, he had Ahimelech and the other priests of Nob put to death.

In which cave did David's family join him while he hid from Saul?

Adullam; everyone who was in distress, in debt or discontented gathered there too, and David became the leader of about 400 men.

In a cave at Ein Gedi, what did David secretly cut from Saul instead of killing him?

A piece of his robe; even that small cut troubled David's conscience, but showing it to Saul persuaded the king to make peace, for a time.

Sneaking into Saul's camp at night, David took the king's spear and what else?

A jug of water; David carried them off as proof that he had spared the sleeping king's life a second time.

Which Philistine king of Gath gave David the town of Ziklag?

David raided desert tribes while letting Achish believe he was attacking Israelites.

At Gath, David escaped the Philistine king by doing what?

Pretending to be insane; the Philistines had recognised him as the hero of the victory song, so he acted the madman until he was driven away.

Which wealthy man's widow, Abigail, became one of David's wives?

Nabal the Carmelite had refused David's men provisions before his sudden death.

After Saul died, in which city was David first anointed king over Judah?

Hebron; David ruled Judah from there for more than seven years before the elders of all Israel came to Hebron and anointed him king over every tribe.

Which of Saul's sons was made rival king of Israel after his father's death?

Ish-bosheth; Abner, the general who made him king, later defected to David, and two of Ish-bosheth's own captains murdered him.

Which city did David conquer from the Jebusites and make his capital?

Jerusalem; the Jebusites taunted that even the blind and the lame could keep David out, but he captured their fortress anyway.

What sacred object did David bring to his new capital?

The Ark of the Covenant; when the oxen stumbled, Uzzah reached out to steady it and was struck dead, so David left the Ark with Obed-edom for three months.

Why was David denied the chance to build the temple himself?

The bloodshed of his reign; 1 Chronicles says God told David he had shed much blood in many wars, so David stockpiled materials for his son to build it.

Which prophet promised that David's "throne shall be established forever"?

Nathan; when David proposed building a temple, Nathan first told him to go ahead, then came back with God's word forbidding it.

Which metal does the Quran say God made soft for David so he could craft armour?

Iron; commentators say he shaped it without fire or hammer, and though a king, he earned his living with his own hands.

What did Uriah the Hittite carry back to the front for David?

His own death warrant, a letter ordering that he be left exposed in battle; David wrote it after Uriah refused to sleep at home while his comrades camped in the field.

The prophet rebuked David's adultery with a parable about a rich neighbour stealing what?

A poor man's lamb; David angrily declared the rich man deserved to die, only to be told, 'You are the man!'

What punishment did the prophet pronounce on David after the affair?

"The sword shall never depart from your house"; the prophet also foretold that the child born of the affair would die, and it died on the seventh day.

Which of David's sons raped his half-sister Tamar?

Amnon; when David failed to punish him, Tamar's brother Absalom waited two years, then had his servants kill Amnon at a feast.

What did David's wife put in his bed to fool Saul's men while he escaped through a window?

A household idol; when Saul's men came to seize David, she sent them away by claiming he was ill in bed.

How was David's rebel son caught before he was killed?

By his hair in a tree, or by his head in some translations; his mule ran on beneath an oak and left Absalom hanging there.

Who commanded David's army and killed the rebel son against orders?

Joab; he drove three darts into Absalom's heart, then scolded David for mourning so openly that it shamed the troops who had saved him.

Which friend of David infiltrated the rebel court to sabotage its plans?

Hushai; his advice to wait and raise a huge army won out, and Ahithophel, whose plan to strike at once was ignored, went home and hanged himself.

Which son did David choose as his successor?

Solomon; his brother Adonijah had already proclaimed himself king, but David overruled him and had Solomon anointed instead.

Who was the mother of David's chosen heir?

Bathsheba; she later passed on Adonijah's request to marry David's attendant Abishag, which her son read as a bid for the throne and punished with death.

Fleeing Absalom, David climbed where?

Mount of Olives; David went up it weeping, and centuries later Luke's Gospel places Jesus on the same ridge, weeping over the city.

What did David order for Saul's self-proclaimed killer?

Execution; the man was probably lying to win a reward, since the Bible's earlier account says Saul fell on his own sword.

Which Baroque sculptor carved a marble David caught twisting in mid-throw?

Bernini; where earlier sculptors showed David calm before the fight or triumphant after it, he froze him mid-throw with a furrowed brow.

Which two tribes escorted David back across the Jordan after the revolt?

Judah and Benjamin; the other tribes felt shut out, and Sheba son of Bikri soon led them in a fresh revolt that ended when his refuge town executed him.

The Tel Dan stele, found in 1993, contains a phrase most scholars read as what?

House of David; its author, probably Hazael of Damascus, boasts of killing Israel's king and a king of the House of David, deaths 2 Kings credits to Jehu.

Which holy book does the Quran say God gave to David?

The Psalms, called the Zabur in Arabic; the Quran says God commanded the mountains and the birds to echo David's hymns.

According to Jewish tradition, David was born and died on which festival?

Shavuot, which is one reason the Book of Ruth, whose closing family tree ends with David, is read aloud on that festival.

Which medieval emperor saw himself as a "new David"?

Charlemagne; his court scholars called him 'David', and one of them, Alcuin, warned him not to heed those who say the voice of the people is the voice of God.

Which Ethiopian emperor, the last of a dynasty claiming descent from King David, was overthrown in 1974?

Haile Selassie; Rastafarians came to revere him as God incarnate, yet he told an interviewer he was a mortal man and stayed an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian.

Which quarries supplied the marble block Michelangelo carved into his David?

Carrara; two earlier sculptors had left the block unfinished, and it lay neglected in the cathedral workshop yard for about 25 years before Michelangelo took it on.

Michelangelo's David was moved indoors in 1873 to which Florence gallery?

Galleria dell'Accademia; after nearly 370 years outdoors in the Piazza della Signoria, the statue was brought inside to save it from weathering.

Which Baroque artist painted David holding the giant's severed head between 1605 and 1610?

Caravaggio; the severed head is thought to be his own face, and if he painted it while wanted for murder, he may have meant it as a plea to a cardinal who could pardon him.

Some scholars think the giant's original slayer in the text was which warrior?

Elhanan; one verse credits him with killing Goliath the Gittite, while 1 Chronicles 20:5 says the man he killed was Goliath's brother Lahmi.