King David דוד המלך
the second king of Israel, unifier of the kingdom, author of the Psalms
David was born in 2854 in Bethlehem, the eighth son of Yishai and a descendant of Boaz and Ruth. Shmuel anointed him as a boy: «Man looks at the eyes, but the Lord looks at the heart.»
He went out against Goliath with a sling and five stones. Then came years of flight from Shaul: the cave of Adullam, Ein Gedi where he cut the corner of the king's robe but would not touch him, exile among the Philistines.
In 2884 he became king in Chevron over Yehuda, seven years later over all Israel, and captured the stronghold of Zion, making Jerusalem the capital. He brought the Ark there, dancing before it with all his might, and wished to build a House — but heard from the prophet Natan that his son would build it.
His fall is the affair of Batsheva and Uriah; his greatness is how he received Natan's rebuke: «I have sinned before the Lord.»
He died in 2924, aged seventy. From his house come all the kings of Judah and, by tradition, the Messiah.