David

a central figure in Hebrew history and literature. According to Ussher, he was born 1085 and died 1015 B. C. The lad's life with his father Jesse's flocks; the friendship of Jonathan; the jealousy of Saul; David's skill on the harp and skill with the sling; the death of the Philistine giant, Goliath; the winning of Abigail, his wife; the love of his sister Zeruiah, and the devotion of her three sons, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel; the extension of the kingdom of Israel over the surrounding heathen nations; his great crime toward Bathsheba and her husband Uriah; the faithfulness of the prophet Nathan; the rebellion of Absalom; the death of Abner; and David's preparations for the building of a great temple,--in all a reign of thirty-three years,--form one of the most interesting portions of the scriptural narrative. The Psalms of David, the sweet singer of Israel, rank with the finest examples of poetry in the Hebrew or any other language. In the King James Bible, that is to say, the common edition, the collection includes 150 psalms. It is the hymn book of the Hebrew people, called in their tongue the book of praises. In the original most of these psalms or sacred songs have titles. The title gives the name of the poem, the tune to which it is to be chanted, the occasion on which it is to be used, and the name of the author. According to these titles, one psalm was written by Moses, seventy-three by David, twenty-six by Solomon, and others by various writers. Thirty-four, assigned to no particular author, are called orphans by the Hebrews. Most critics think that David really wrote about forty of the selections. See Bible