King David

May 6, 2020

King David (Acts 13:22)

“When God

Had removed Saul,

He made David

Their king.

In his testimony

About David,

God said.

‘I have found David

The son of Jesse

To be a man

After my heart,

Who would carry out

All my wishes.’”

καὶ μεταστήσας αὐτὸν ἤγειρεν τὸν Δαυεὶδ αὐτοῖς εἰς βασιλέα, ᾧ καὶ εἶπεν μαρτυρήσας Εὗρον Δαυεὶδ τὸν τοῦ Ἰεσσαί, ἄνδρα κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν μου, ὃς ποιήσει πάντα τὰ θελήματά μου.

The author of Acts indicated that Paul said that when God had removed Saul (καὶ μεταστήσας αὐτὸν), he made David (ἤγειρεν τὸν Δαυεὶδ) their king (αὐτοῖς εἰς βασιλέα).  In his testimony (μαρτυρήσας) about David, God said (ᾧ καὶ εἶπεν) that he found (Εὗρον) David (Δαυεὶδ), the son of Jesse (τὸν τοῦ Ἰεσσαί), to be a man (ἄνδρα) after his heart (κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν μου), who would carry out (ὃς ποιήσει) all his wishes (πάντα τὰ θελήματά μου).  Paul then moved on to King David who replaced King Saul.  God found that David, the son of Jesse, to be a man after his own heart who would carry out all his wishes.  Paul indicated that David was better than Saul.  Paul would stop his history lesson with David.  Why was King David better than King Saul?

June 11, 2019

The Psalms (Lk 20:42-20:42)

“David himself

Says

In the Book of Psalms.

‘The Lord said

To my Lord.

Sit at my right hand!’”

 

αὐτὸς γὰρ Δαυεὶδ λέγει ἐν βίβλῳ ψαλμῶν Εἶπεν Κύριος τῷ Κυρίῳ μου Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου

 

Luke had Jesus continue by saying that David himself said that (αὐτὸς γὰρ Δαυεὶδ λέγει) in the Book of Psalms (ἐν βίβλῳ ψαλμῶν) that the Lord said to my Lord (Εἶπεν Κύριος τῷ Κυρίῳ μου) to sit at my right hand (Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου).  Here is an explicit reference to the Book of the Psalms with the assumption that King David (1000 BCE) had written this psalm.  Thus, citing Psalm 110 was like citing David himself.  There was something similar in Matthew, chapter 22:43-44, and Mark, chapter 12:36.  Mark used Psalm 110:1 as the basis of this question about David and the Messiah Christ.  Mark indicated that Jesus said that David himself (αὐτὸς Δαυεὶδ εἶπεν), inspired by the Holy Spirit (ἐν τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ Ἁγίῳ), spoke about the “Lord (Κύριος).”  In Psalm 110:1, David said that the Lord said to his Lord to sit at his right hand (Εἶπεν Κύριος τῷ Κυρίῳ μου Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου).  Matthew indicated that Jesus asked them what did David mean when, inspired by the Spirit, he called the future Messiah, a son of David, “Lord” (Πῶς οὖν Δαυεὶδ ἐν Πνεύματι καλεῖ αὐτὸν Κύριον λέγω).  Jesus then cited Psalm 110:1, where David said that the Lord said to his Lord to sit at his right hand (Εἶπεν Κύριος τῷ Κυρίῳ μου Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου).  Thus, there was an attempt to give Davidic authority to this biblical saying.  Do you like the psalms?

January 1, 2019

Jesse (Lk 3:32-3:32)

“The son of Jesse,

The son of Obed,

The son of Boaz,

The son of Sala,

The son of Nahshon.”

 

τοῦ Ἰεσσαὶ τοῦ Ἰωβὴδ τοῦ Βοὸς τοῦ Σαλὰ τοῦ Ναασσὼν

 

This is pretty much the same as Matthew, chapter 1:5-6, as the genealogies almost match here.  Luke said that David was the son of Jesse (τοῦ Ἰεσσαὶ), the son of Obed (τοῦ Ἰωβὴδ), the son of Boaz (τοῦ Βοὸς), the son of Sala (τοῦ Σαλὰ), and the son of Nahshon (τοῦ Ναασσὼν).  The genealogy at the end of Ruth, chapter 4:18-22, goes from Judah to David.  Nahshon was a famous warrior prince of Judah, especially in Numbers, chapter 7:12.  Nahshon was the father of Salma or Salmon (Σαλμών), the direct male ancestor of King David, and all of the kings of the Kingdom of Judah.  Sala or Salmon was the father of Boaz with Rahab his wife.  Boaz was the father of Obed with Ruth his wife.  Obed was the father of Jesse.  Jesse had 7 sons with King David the youngest son.  Ruth was a Moabite non-Jewish widow.  She traveled to Israel with her Jewish mother-in-law Naomi.  There she then married Boaz in a beautiful love story in the biblical book of Ruth.

January 1, 2019

The son of David (Lk 3:31-3:31)

“The son of Melea,

The son of Menna,

The son of Mattatha,

The son of Nathan,

The son of David.”

 

τοῦ Μελεὰ τοῦ Μεννὰ τοῦ Ματταθὰ τοῦ Ναθὰμ τοῦ Δαυεὶδ

 

Once again, these genealogies of Matthew and Luke converge with the name of David.  However, they both have different sons of David for their lineage.  Matthew, chapter 1:6-8, has Solomon, while Luke has Nathan.  King David had 6 sons while living in Hebron for a little over 7 years, based on 2 Samuel, chapter 3.  Each son had a different mother.  After King David moved to Jerusalem, he had some more wives and concubines.  Altogether, David had at least 20 named children, as indicated in 2 Samuel, chapter 13.  Shimea or Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon (Σολομῶνα), were the 4 sons of him and Bathsheba.  Solomon followed David to the throne as king, because of the intrigues of his mother Bathsheba, as found in 1 Kings, chapters 1-2.  I Chronicles, chapter 3, lists the kings of Judah, based on 1 Kings and 2 Kings.  Based on those 2 books, there was no disruption in the lineage of David via Solomon to all the kings of Judah before the Exile, since there were no revolutions in the southern kingdom of Judah.  However, Luke’s Nathan never became a king.  Luke listed the genealogy as the son of Melea (τοῦ Μελεὰ), the son of Menna (τοῦ Μεννὰ), the son of Mattatha (τοῦ Ματταθὰ), the son of Nathan (τοῦ Ματταθὰ), the son of David (τοῦ Δαυεὶδ).

December 31, 2018

Jesus was thirty years old (Lk 3:23-3:23)

“Jesus was

About thirty years old

When he began

His work.

 

Καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν Ἰησοῦς ἀρχόμενος ὡσεὶ ἐτῶν τριάκοντα,

 

This saying is unique to Luke.  He was the only one of the gospel writers who put an age on Jesus.  He said that Jesus was about 30 years old when he began his work (Καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν Ἰησοῦς ἀρχόμενος ὡσεὶ ἐτῶν τριάκοντα).  Perhaps this is an allusion to King David who was 30 when he became king in 2 Samuel, chapter 5:4.  For some the age of 30 was considered mature.  Anyway, this concept of Jesus being about 30 with a 3-year public ministry put his death at age 33, a common Christian tradition.

August 10, 2018

Prologue

This Gospel of Matthew has a prologue with five parts that echo the book of Genesis.  First, there was the genealogy of Jesus via Joseph that began with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Then this genealogy went through the twin sons of Judah and the descendants of Perez.  Then it went from Ruth to King David.  Then there was the kings of Judah from Solomon to the gap and up to and including the Babylonian captivity.  Finally, there were the unknown names in this genealogy that led up to Joseph and his father.  Matthew then explained the genealogy of Jesus, since there were differences of this genealogy with that of the Gospel of Luke.

The second part of this prologue was the virgin birth of Jesus.  First of all, there was the conception of Jesus from Joseph’s point of view, not Mary’s.  Joseph wanted to divorce Mary for being pregnant until an angel in a dream told him that Jesus would be a special child that fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah.  After waking up from his dream, there was the virgin birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.

The third part of this prologue was the visit of the Magi.  They brought their questions to Herod the Judean Roman king, who was annoyed and frightened.  He found out that Bethlehem was described by the prophet Micah as the place where the Messiah would be born.  Herod summoned the Magi and sent them to Bethlehem.  The Magi followed the star and found Mary with the child at the so-called Epiphany.  However, they went home another route so that they did not go back to King Herod.

The fourth part was the flight into Egypt, as Joseph had another dream.  They went to Egypt to fulfill another prophecy that the Messiah would come out of Egypt.  Meanwhile, King Herod killed all the under two-year old boys in the Bethlehem area as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah.

Finally, the fifth part of the prologue was the return of Jesus to Nazareth when Joseph had a third dream.  He was told to return to Israel, or more specifically to Galilee in a place called Nazareth.  Thus, this prologue gave the unique perspective of Joseph.

March 5, 2018

Bethlehem as described by the prophet Micah (Mt 2:5-2:6)

“They told Herod.

‘In Bethlehem

Of Judea.

It has been written

By the prophet.’

‘You!

O Bethlehem!

In the land of Judah,

Are by no means least

Among the rulers of Judah.

From you

Shall come a ruler

Who is to shepherd

My people Israel.’”

 

οἱ δὲ εἶπαν αὐτῷ· Ἐν Βηθλέεμ τῆς Ἰουδαίας· οὕτως γὰρ γέγραπται διὰ τοῦ προφήτου·

Καὶ σύ, Βηθλέεμ γῆ Ἰούδα, οὐδαμῶς ἐλαχίστη εἶ ἐν τοῖς ἡγεμόσιν Ἰούδα· ἐκ σοῦ γὰρ ἐξελεύσεται ἡγούμενος, ὅστις ποιμανεῖ τὸν λαόν μου τὸν Ἰσραήλ.

 

Interesting enough the response from the Jerusalem Sanhedrin was a quote from the prophet Micah, chapter 5:2.  These priests and scribes told Herod (οἱ δὲ εἶπαν αὐτῷ) that the place for the birth of this new king had to be Bethlehem in Judea (Ἐν Βηθλέεμ τῆς Ἰουδαίας).  The prophet Micah, without mentioning him by name, had written about this (οὕτως γὰρ γέγραπται διὰ τοῦ προφήτου).  The quote from Micah is a paraphrase of Micah, as there was no mention of Ephrathah here.  Micah had uttered this ode about the small town of Bethlehem, where King David came from also.  Thus, this new ruler of Israel would be from this same place or part of the Davidic bloodline, as Matthew has pointed out.  Bethlehem was in the land of Judah (Βηθλέεμ γῆ Ἰούδα), not far from Jerusalem, about 6 miles.  Bethlehem was not the least among the various clans of Judah (οὐδαμῶς ἐλαχίστη εἶ ἐν τοῖς ἡγεμόσιν Ἰούδα).  The new leader or ruler would shepherd or lead (ἐξελεύσεται ἡγούμενος, ὅστις ποιμανεῖ) the Lord’s people of Israel (τὸν λαόν μου τὸν Ἰσραήλ).  Matthew with this citation, made the clear connection between, David, Bethlehem, and Jesus.

 

March 1, 2018

King David (Mt 1:6-1:6)

“David was

The father of Solomon

By the wife of Uriah.”

 

Δαυεὶδ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Σολομῶνα ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Οὐρίου,

 

King David had 6 sons while living in Hebron for a little over 7 years, based on 2 Samuel, chapter 3.  Each son had a different mother.  After King David moved to Jerusalem, he had some more wives and concubines.  Altogether, David had at least 20 named children, as indicated in 2 Samuel, chapter 13.  Shimea or Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon (Σολομῶνα), were the 4 sons of him and Bathsheba.  However, she was not mentioned by name here but was simply called the wife of Uriah (ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Οὐρίου).  King David had Uriah killed, while committing adultery with her.  Notice that the Greek text did not say wife but only implied it, saying she from Uriah.  Solomon followed David to the throne as king, because of the intrigues of his mother Bathsheba and the prophet Nathan, as found in 1 Kings, chapters 1-2.  The Greek text used the term ‘begat’ (ἐγέννησεν) to represent the relationships between David and Solomon.  However, it seems perfectly acceptable to simply call David the father instead of saying “fathered him.”

February 3, 2018

The Writings

The Writings, as they were referred to in the New Testament, were the poetic or wisdom books.  They include the Psalms, some written by David, but mostly ranging from the 10th–4th century BCE, and the Proverbs, ascribed to Solomon, ranging from the 9th century–3rd century BCE, as well as the Book of Job, from the 6th century BCE.  Both the Psalms and Proverbs were written over a period of time, but they each have an author attributed to them, King David to the Psalms, and King Solomon to the Proverbs.  Job was not an Israelite, but his story was instructive to the Israelites.

January 25, 2018

Destroy those against Jerusalem (Zech 12:8-12:9)

“On that day,

Yahweh will shield

The inhabitants

Of Jerusalem.

Thus,

The feeblest among them,

On that day,

Shall be like David.

The house of David

Shall be like God.

The house of David

Shall be like the angel of Yahweh,

At their head.

On that day,

I will seek to destroy

All the nations

That come against Jerusalem.”

On this coming day, Yahweh was going to shield Jerusalem from all attacks.  The weakest among them would be like King David.  The house of David would be like God, with the angel of Yahweh leading it.  Yahweh was going to destroy every country that tried to go against Jerusalem.  This was a very strong defense of the city of Jerusalem and the Davidic royalty, on the day of Yahweh.