Before David became king of Israel, of which nation was he king?

JoshCaleb12

Trick questions aside... David wasn't king of anything prior to becoming King of Israel. In I Samuel 21, the servants of Achish call him "king of the land"... but this was while he was fleeing Saul, who was still king of Israel, although Samuel had already annointed David as the successor. Sep 26 05, 6:12 AM

miltonebx

He was the son of King Solomon and was not previousally a King of any nation. Sep 26 05, 6:12 AM

JoshCaleb12

David was NOT the son of Solomon... Solomon was David's son. Sep 26 05, 6:19 AM

picqero

Not a trick question at all. According to the Bible (KJV & other versions) David was anointed king of this nation, seven and a half years before being anointed king of Israel. Oh, and he was Jesse's youngest son. Sep 26 05, 6:52 AM

Arpeggionist

Before being annointed as the undisputed king of Israel, David was annointed king of Judah after King Saul's death. The rest of the tribes to the north annointed Saul's son Ishboshet. A civil war began, during which David's popularity slowly grew, to the point when he'd even managed to recruit Avner ben Ner, Ishboshet's cheif of staff. Avner's career under David lasted only a short while, as Yoav (Joab) ben Z'ruiah had him killed (avenging Joab's brother Asael). But by that point David had won the war. Ishboshet was assasinated in his sleep by two of his own servants, Ba'anah and Rechab, whose executions David immediately ordered. Only then was he annointed as king of all of Israel. In the first years of his reign, David based his capital in Hebron, until he decided to move his capital to Jerusalem, which he (or more accurately Joab) conquered from the Jebusites. Sep 26 05, 10:25 AM

picqero

Well done Arpegg'. My next question was going to be about the inhabitants of Jerusalem at the time of David, but you've already correctly said they were the Jebusites. Sep 26 05, 11:58 AM

Arpeggionist

The Bible is also conflicted about that. The book of Joshua lists Adonitzedek, King of Jerusalem, as one of the 31 kings who were defeated in the battles of the Israelites west of the Jordan (Joshua 11). In the end of the book of Judges - which some scholars say is actually set prior to the time of Deborah - a Levite is reluctant to spend a night in Jerusalem because it is occupied by Jebusites and not Israelites (and instead he spends the night in the nearby town of Giv'ah, Judges 19:11-12). Sep 26 05, 3:58 PM