How Much Do You Know About the Life of King David?

The young David was a shepherd and musician. His music is what first made him famous.

Jesse of Bethlehem had eight sons. David was the youngest.

The story of David and Goliath is one of the Bible's most famous. A young David killed the massive Philistine Goliath with a slingshot after the man spoke ill of Israel.

David was known as a musician, skilled at playing the lyre. A lyre is a small u-shaped harp.

God was displeased with King Saul and sent an evil spirit to torment him. David was called to help soothe the king by playing the lyre for him.

David became a favorite of Saul, the first King of Israel, after slaying Goliath the Philistine. Saul later turned on the young man, out of fear that he was going to steal the throne from him.

David mostly used marriage to create good relations with diverse groups of people and had eight wives. They were Michal, Ahinoam, Abigail, Maachah, Haggith, Abital, Eglah, and Bathsheba.

Solomon was the third and final king of United Israel. He is remembered for his wisdom, wealth and occult powers in certain traditions.

David was a shepherd when God sent the prophet Samuel to anoint him as king after becoming angry with King Saul. He was the youngest son of Jesse of Bethlehem, who was a farmer and sheep breeder.

King Saul becomes convinced that David is trying to take the throne from him and tries to have him killed. Saul's son Jonathan informs David of his father's plans, so David flees Israel which results in a long chase.

David was born to Jesse of Bethlehem in Bethlehem. This city was located in Judah, Israel.

In one account, when David has an opportunity to kill Saul, he secretly cuts off a piece of his clothing instead and uses it to prove that he is not trying to kill and supplant the king. The pair reconcile. However, there are various stories contradicting this within the Bible.

The first king of United Israel and Judah was Saul. The second was David.

As King, David leads Israel to conquer Jerusalem, which previously belonged to the Jesubites. He made it the capital of Israel.

David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. It is a gold-covered wooden chest containing the original stones the Ten Commandments were inscribed on, and according to myth several other religious artifacts.

David wanted to build a temple in Jerusalem for God, but the prophet Nathan forbid it. According to Nathan's prophecy, one of his sons would build the temple.

After seeing Bathsheba bathing on a rooftop, David summoned her and impregnated her. She was married to Uriah the Hittite, whom David had killed so he could marry her and cover up their affair.

When David acknowledges that he has sinned his life is spared, but the prophet Nathan prophecies that his son will die. His and Bathsheba's first child dies a few days after it's born.

Absalom rebels against David. Despite being given orders to not kill him, the commander of David's army kills Absalom in battle after his long hair gets caught in a tree.

David had a long and successful reign as king of Israel. He is considered by many to be the best king of Israel.

Bathsheba gave birth to several children by David. These include an unnamed child who died a few days after it was born and Solomon.

David had multiple wives and many concubines. In the Bible, 20 of his sons and one of his daughters are mentioned by name, though there were likely more children than that.

Amnon was David's first son, born in the city of Hebron to his wife Ahinoam of Jezreel. He was killed by his half brother Absalom.

Adonijah was David's fourth son by Haggith. He was David's oldest surviving son and natural heir, but the throne was given to Solomon anyway.

David had his first named children in the city of Hebron. By Bathsheba, he had Solomon and a few other children in Jerusalem.

David is old and bedridden at age 70. He dies in bed and appoints Solomon as king before he dies.

David was the son of Jesse of Bethlehem. Jesse was of the tribe of Judah.

Jonathan was the son of Saul, the first King of Israel. Jonathan is remembered as one of those who loved David, and their relationship is the source of a lot of scholarly discussion.

On his deathbed, David asks his son Solomon to do two things. He tells him to walk in the ways of God and get revenge on his enemies.

The Bible itself attributes roughly half of its psalms to David in headings. However, the headings were late additions and this can't be proven.

At one point, David escapes from King Abimelech in a unique way. According to Psalm 34, he does this by pretending to be crazy until he's let go.

Scholars believe that the authors of the Bible wanted to make David's reign look desirable. For this reason, few of the details provided in the Bible about his life are considered to be wholly accurate historical fact.

David captured Jerusalem and made it the capital of Israel. He is thought to have been buried in a part of Jerusalem known as the City of David.

Solomon is credited with building the first temple in Jerusalem. This completes the prophecy of Nathan, who forbade David from building it on the grounds that it was meant for one of his sons to accomplish.