The Kings of Israel – 4 / David – 2

David the King

 A “long war” ensued between the house of Saul and the house of David (2 Samuel 3:1). But in the meantime a disagreement soon split Abner and Ishbosheth (Eshbaal). Both of them were killed, apparently as a result of personal vengeance (2 Samuel 3–4).  The way was open for David to become the king of all Israel:

All the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. (2 Samuel 5:3)

The Philistines could no longer remain indifferent in the face of the unification of their longtime enemy. They attacked twice in the central hill country, once near the Valley of Rephaim and probably once near Gibeon. But David defeated them both times (2 Samuel 5:17–25).  The Philistines then gave up their efforts at military expansion.

After driving off the Philistines, David was free to attack the Jebusites of Jerusalem and take the city, which until then had remained in Canaanite hands: “And David dwelt in the stronghold [of Jerusalem] and called it the City of David” (2 Samuel 5:9).

Jerusalem soon became not only the political capital of Judah and Israel, but also the religious center of all Israel. To accomplish this, David brought the Ark of the Covenant to the City of David (2 Samuel 6). This was the Ark that, according to tradition, had accompanied Israel in the Sinai, that had rested in the tabernacle of Shiloh before being captured by the Philistines and that had remained in storage at Kiriath Yearim after being returned by the Philistines. When David brought the Ark to Jerusalem, the religion of Yahweh became a unifying factor, strengthening the bond between Judah and Israel.

From the beginning of his career, David showed himself to be a fervent Yahwist. His religious devotion was confirmed by the presence in his retinue of the priest Abiathar and the prophet Gad. David’s devotion to Yahweh probably made it easier for the leaders of Israel to accept him as their king.

David cemented his relations with various political and national groups through marriage. His wives included Abigail of Carmel; Ahinoam of Jezreel; and Maacah, daughter of the Transjordanian king of Geshur (2 Samuel 3:2–5).

Militarily, David had already developed a cadre of well-trained troops when he fled from Saul. These devoted soldiers were ready to follow him anywhere, and, in fact, did follow him from the wilderness of Judah to Gath, Ziklag, Hebron and, finally, Jerusalem. These troops became his personal guard and the core of his regular army. His nephew Joab served as chief of the army (2 Samuel 8:16).

After checking the Philistine advances on Israel’s western border, David was free to expand his kingdom to the east. There he defeated the Moabites, who then became a vassal state, paying tribute to David (2 Samuel 8:2). As discussed below, David also fought with the Ammonites, although the precise sequence of these wars is unclear. He also led a campaign to Edom, where he won a battle in the Valley of Salt. David then appointed “garrisons (or governors) in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David’s servants” (2 Samuel 8:14).

In the biblical tradition, after the Philistines, the Ammonites were Israel’s most important adversary. The Ammonite war began as a result of a diplomatic incident. Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, had been David’s friend. When Nahash died, David sent condolences to his son and successor, Hanun. But Hanun treated David’s messengers with contempt: He cut away half of their beards and half of their garments, accusing them of being David’s spies (2 Samuel 10:1–5). Hanun probably thought he could get away with this because of an alliance he had made with the Aramean kingdoms of northern Transjordan and southern Syria (2 Samuel 10:6).

In retaliation, David’s general, Joab, led an attack near the Ammonite capital. An Ammonite ally—Hadadezer the Rehobite, king of Zobah—summoned other Arameans from “beyond the Great Bend of the Euphrates” to join forces against David (2 Samuel 10:16). David met and defeated this Aramean army at Helam (2 Samuel 10:17–18). He “took from him [Hadadezer] a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers; and David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough for a hundred chariots” (2 Samuel 8:4). (Apparently, chariots were not used much in David’s army; otherwise, he would not have crippled so many horses.)

As a result of this enormous victory, David was able to conquer Rabbah, the Ammonite capital. David then “took the crown of their king (or of Milkom) from his head … and it was placed on David’s head” (2 Samuel 12:30). The Ammonites became David’s subjects. In addition, the kingdom of Zobah, headed by Hadadezer, became David’s vassal: “David put garrisons (or governors) in Aram of Damascus; the Syrians [Arameans] became servants to David and brought tribute” (2 Samuel 8:6). Finally, “All the kings who were servants of Hadadezer … made peace with Israel and became subject to them” (2 Samuel 10:19). Among them was Toi, the king of the important kingdom of Hamath (2 Samuel 8:9–10). David thus extended his direct or indirect political control from the Red Sea to the bend of the Euphrates.
By gaining control over international trade routes, the Israelite kingdom became an economic power. David became rich from the spoil and tribute brought to Jerusalem. Even the Phoenician king of Tyre, Hiram, started trading with him, especially after David made Jerusalem his capital (2 Samuel 5:11–12).

The incipient Nature of the Early State

The expansion of David’s kingdom altered the status of Jerusalem.  From a small declining Canaanite city-state with a territory of a few square miles, it became—probably with little physical change—the capital of the united Israelite and Judahite kingdoms. These kingdoms, after David’s victories, extended far and wide. The borders of the United Kingdom stretched from Dan to Beersheba, but its many administrative territories and vassal states reached far beyond. David’s kingdom may have been a strong chiefdom or a kind of empire at this point, but it was still not well organized with a strong central administration.

At least toward the end of David’s reign, there was a kind of royal cabinet in Jerusalem in which David’s general Joab played an important role:

So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered justice and equity to all his people. And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder, and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests; and Seraiah was secretary; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethite and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were priests. (2 Samuel 8:15–18; cf. 2 Samuel 20:23–26)

The spoils of war, the levies from the administered territories, the tributes of vassal kings—all flowed into David’s royal treasury. Further, the produce of the royal lands filled the royal coffers (1 Chronicles 27:25–31). Justice was administered at the local level by the elders of the cities, but appeals could now be taken directly to the king (2 Samuel 14:15).

David planned to build a new Temple in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 7) and organized a census, probably as a basis for administration, taxation and conscription (2 Samuel 24:1–9). Both the Temple project and the census met internal opposition. Even the prophet Gad, one of David’s oldest and most loyal companions, opposed the census; he did, however, support the construction of an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the site David purchased for the Temple (2 Samuel 24:18).

The guiding principles of the United Kingdom were organization and centralization. But the process of centralization really only began toward the end of David’s reign. It was later applied more broadly by his son and successor, Solomon.