David's Journey to Kingship: The Path Before the Crown

David was the youngest of eight siblings. Known for his handsome appearance with beautiful eyes and red hair, he was chosen by his father Jesse to tend the family sheep. In these early years, David acquired many skills. As the scriptures depict (1 Samuel 16:18), he was 'a talented musician, a mighty warrior, a man of words and good appearance, and Hashem was with him.' Despite this, his greatest quality was the purity of his heart. For both physical and spiritual reasons, Hashem chose David to be anointed as the future king of Israel, a role realized through the prophet Samuel.

While David was being anointed, King Saul began to be troubled by an evil spirit. Saul's servants, who knew of David's talent for music, suggested bringing him to soothe Saul. Thus began a personal connection between Saul and David, who became his closest supporter and private musician.

In those days, the Philistines gathered to battle against Israel, led by Goliath, a giant armed with formidable weapons. For forty days and nights, Goliath challenged Israel, without anyone daring to face him. David, deeply disturbed by Goliath's blasphemy and the defilement of Hashem's name, decided to take action. With Saul's consent, he confronted and killed Goliath.

David's great success in battle, along with his many talents and his looks, won him the people's admiration, including the love of Saul's son Jonathan and daughter Michal. However, Saul saw David's success with envy, which turned into a suspicion for his own reign's safety. The prophet Samuel's departure from Saul and Saul's own continuing struggles with his spirit worked to David's disadvantage.

In an attempt to remove David, Saul appointed him as a military commander, hoping he'd die in combat. When this didn't work, Saul offered his daughter Merab to David in exchange for a hundred Philistine foreskins, hoping it would lead to David's death. Yet again, David succeeded, bringing back two hundred foreskins.

David continued to thrive in battle, causing Saul's envy to peak. During one instance when David played music for Saul, Saul tried to kill him by throwing a spear at him. David escaped with Michal's help, who let him down through a window.

This marked the start of David's escape from Saul, who sought his life. Initially, he fled to the prophet Samuel, but when Saul came to where Samuel was, David moved repeatedly from place to place. He visited Ahimelech the priest in Nob, Achish king of Gath, and various regions in Judah. During his flight, David gathered around him a diverse group of followers, forming a makeshift personal army that would later become the basis of his national army. Despite this, David continued to acknowledge Saul as the legitimate king of Israel and opposed his assassination, proclaiming to his men that Saul was 'Hashem's anointed one.' This declaration led Saul to temporarily cease his pursuit of David.

David, unconvinced by Saul's words, settled with his men and family in the territory of Achish, king of Gath. Achish eventually granted him Ziklag. However, when Achish waged war against Saul and demanded David's allegiance, the Philistine leaders suspected David might side with Saul. Consequently, Achish released David from his obligation.

Upon returning to Ziklag, David found that the Amalekites had raided and burned the city, taking its residents captive. David and his men pursued and defeated the Amalekites, rescuing the captives and recovering the plunder, a portion of which David sent to the elders of Judah.

Following this victory, David received news of Saul's and his sons' deaths in battle. David mourned them deeply and composed a heartfelt lament. Subsequently, under Hashem's guidance, he went to Hebron, where he was anointed king over the house of Judah at the age of thirty.

Even after David's anointment, pockets of resistance remained loyal to Saul's house, seeing his son Ish-bosheth as the rightful heir. Abner, Saul’s army commander, led this resistance. However, this resistance dwindled as Abner eventually switched allegiance to David, paving the way for David's united rule. In a poignant scriptural account (2 Samuel 5:1-3), it describes how all the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron, affirming their kinship and fulfilling Hashem's promise that David would shepherd and lead them. The elders of Israel sealed this covenant, and David was anointed king over all Israel.

David's reign was marked by persistent unrest, with battles against external enemies and internal uprisings alike. This narrative extends beyond this summary, and those wishing to study further should delve into the book of 2 Samuel.

[1] The 'Yalkut Ma'am Loez' explains that the evil spirit was a 'melancholic illness with symptoms as described by physicians—constant worry, shaking, and perpetual fear.'

[2] See 'Metzudat David' commentary on 1 Samuel, chapter 18, verse 13, that discusses this appointment.

[3] 'Men in distress, in debt, and those discontented gathered to him, and he became their leader, with about four hundred men.' (1 Samuel 22:2; see also 'Metzudot' commentary).

[4] Later, Joab, son of Zeruiah, executed Abner for killing his brother Asahel. David disapproved of this act. Subsequently, Ish-bosheth was murdered by two Israelite commanders, Baanah and Rechab, sons of Rimmon. David condemned their actions and ordered their execution as punishment. (See 2 Samuel, chapters 3-4 for details).