On the Historicity of King David

Introduction

Among the most famous characters in the Hebrew Old Testament, is King David the son of Jesse. Jews widely regard David as one of their greatest kings. He is also significant in the Christian tradition as Jesus the Messiah is said to be his descendant (Lk 1:32). Skeptics of the Hebrew faith (and consequentially the Christian faith) have questioned the historical existence of such a person. The charge is that King David is a Jewish legend on par with King Arthur. Therefore, the purpose of this essay is to explore the evidence for a historical King David of Israel.

The Case Against David

Critics of a historical King David point out that the documents which record his life (primarily 1-2 Samuel) are not very well supported by manuscript evidence. The earliest manuscript is the “Samuel Scroll”(4QSamb) which dates to 300 BC at the earliest. This is 700 years after David’s life. This, they charge, leaves open the possibility that these documents have been significantly altered. Furthermore, these documents show signs of heavy bias towards David. Thus, even if they have survived accurately, how can one be sure that what they have recorded is true?

Refuting Objections

To answer these objections, it should first be noted that the farther back in history one studies, the less evidence there is. Most of the past has been lost, and therefore, very little of ancient history can be accessed. Critics must either be willing to go on scant evidence or abandon the task of recovering ancient history all together. The Jews did a remarkable job of preserving what they considered Scripture. Fortunately, they included 1-2 Samuel as Scripture, and so it was meticulously preserved. Because the Jews were so meticulous about preserving their Scriptures, one can be reasonably confident that 1-2 Samuel have been accurately preserved over time. This has been evidenced by the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The historical accuracy of these texts is a matter of hot debate, and largely depends on ones openness to miracles. How reliable 1-2 Samuel are, is beyond the scope of the topic being discussed here. Nonetheless, they do offer historical evidence for King David as will be shown later.

The Archaeological Case For David

King David is generally believed to have lived around 1000 BC. If he existed, then one would expect to find evidence of his existence around this time or shortly after. Therefore, this is the time period that should be examined first. In 1993, Avraham Biran found a stele (an ancient monument) in northern Israel. The stele contains a reference to King David. This has been named the Tel Dan Inscription. This inscription is celebrating the victory of an Aramean king. It includes the phrase “king of the House of David.” It seems to be the earliest, historical evidence for king David (besides the Old Testament). This is evidence that there was a dynasty named after King David. This is impossible if he never existed. The Mesha Stele (AP 5066), dated to about one hundred years after David would have reigned, mentions "the House of David." Once again, this is evidence that there was a significant king named David. Yosef Garfinkel discovered the inscription "Ishbosheth" on pottery shards dating to around 1000 BC. According to 2 Samuel 2:8, Ishbosheth was the son of king Saul who was king between the death of Saul and the crowning of King David. This seems to be at least indirect evidence that someone by this name lived around this time. Of course, there is no reason to believe that this Ishbosheth is the same one mentioned in the Bible. However, it does show that this was a name in use at this time. Minimally this casts doubt on the idea that the story of David is entirely legendary. The author shows knowledge of a name known in that time. The archaeological evidence is scant, but this is also the case for much of ancient history. Considering how many times Jerusalem has been destroyed and rebuilt, it should not be too surprising that precious little of the city’s ancient history has survived.

The Historical Case For David

What about the Biblical narrative itself? Steven L. McKenzie argues that the existence of the books of 1-2 Samuel argue for a historical David. This is not because they can be confirmed by standard tests of historiography, but because they are apologetic in nature. In other words, McKenzie’s thesis is that David was viewed as a brutal man of war, and 1-2 Samuel served to vindicate David’s action to the Jewish people. McKenzie’s view is that David was a much darker individual that the Bible portrays him. Orthodox Christians may wish to dispute McKenzie’s final conclusion on this point, but his argument is valuable for the argument being presented here. If these books do function as a defense for king David, then there must have been a king David to defend. The source material for 1-2 Samuel may also be too early to be plausibly explained as legendary. Of course this is uncertain, but if it correct, then this does refute the idea of David as a myth. This would speak strongly to his historical existence.

Conclusion

In summary, the extra-biblical data certainly indicates that a there was indeed a king over Israel, named David, around 1000 BC. The biblical evidence (evaluated on purely historical grounds) also speaks to David as a real, historical, person. Who exactly David was, is another question, and should be addressed separately. Nonetheless, there is enough relevant evidence to conclude that David existed, and this provides a foundation to evaluate the accuracy of the Biblical narrative.

Bibliography

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Gordon, Robert Patterson. 1 and 2 Samuel: A Commentary. (Exeter, UK: Paternoster Press, 1986).

Halpern, Baruch. David’s Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001).

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McDowell, Josh and Sean McDowell. Evidence that Demands a Verdict. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2017).

McKenzie, Steven L. King David: A Biography (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2000).

McKenzie, Steven L. “Who Was King David?”. Word & World. Volume 23, Number 4. (Fall 2003).

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