TWO DAVID’S
There are two David’s in the Bible both have Jesse for their father, let’s look at the differences.
Jesse was an Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah he was old and he had 8 sons.
1Sa 17:12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul.
SAMUEL ANOINTED DAVID KING HE HAD SEVEN
BROTHERS
The time had come for David to be anointed King of Israel and to take over from Saul. This would take some time before David was able to rule as King.
1Sa 16:1 Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.”
1Sa 16:6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before Him!”
1Sa 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
1Sa 16:8 So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.”
1Sa 16:9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.”
1Sa 16:10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.”
Jesse had not even considered that David would be the one that God wanted to be King of Israel, he did not even get him until Samuel asked for him to come in from the sheep.
1Sa 16:11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.”
1Sa 16:12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!”
1Sa 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
THIS DAVID IS A YOUTH
David joins his brothers who were with the army of Saul, who were trying to find a way to defeat Goliath.
1Sa 17:13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
1Sa 17:14 David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul.
1Sa 17:20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle.
1Sa 17:21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army.
1Sa 17:22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers.
David was willing to rid the Philistine from the army of Israel.
1Sa 17:31 Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him.
1Sa 17:32 Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
David was young and courageous, he did not fear the giant, he knew God was with him.
1Sa 17:33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”
David and Goliath
1Sa 17:42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking.
1Sa 17:43 So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
1Sa 17:44 And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
1Sa 17:45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
1Sa 17:46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
1Sa 17:47 Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
1Sa 17:48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
1Sa 17:49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.
1Sa 17:50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.
1Sa 17:51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
1Sa 17:55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?” And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”
1Sa 17:56 So the king said, “Inquire whose son this young man is.”
1Sa 17:57 Then, as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
Here we see David was a young man and Saul did not know who he was.
1Sa 17:58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” So David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
David and Jonathan
David and Jonathan became very close right from the start of their friendship.
1Sa 18:1 Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
1Sa 18:2 Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore.
David was an obedient soldier, he was put in charge of the army and was well liked by the men under him.
1Sa 18:5 So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.
The Lord was with David, he was a wise leader, the people loved him, but Saul was afraid of him.
1Sa 18:14 And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the LORD was with him.
1Sa 18:15 Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him.
1Sa 18:16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.
David married Michal
1Sa 18:20 Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.
1Sa 18:21 So Saul said, “I will give her to him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, “You shall be my son-in-law today.”
Saul wanted to kill David
Saul knew that David was loved by God and his daughter, he was a threat to Saul. This troubled Saul and so he decided to kill David.
1Sa 18:28 Thus Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him;
1Sa 18:29 and Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul became David’s enemy continually.
1Sa 18:30 Then the princes of the Philistines went out to war. And so it was, whenever they went out, that David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed.
Saul plotted to kill David, fortunately his wife knew of the plan and helped David escape.
1Sa 19:11 Saul also sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. And Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.”
1Sa 19:12 So Michal let David down through a window. And he went and fled and escaped.
David took the sword of Goliath
After David fled from Saul, he came to Nob. David had no weapons or food, he took the showbread and the sword of Goliath from Ahimelech the priest.
1Sa 21:6 So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away.
1Sa 21:9 So the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”
David had a number of wives, two of them were Abigail and Ahinoam.
1Sa 27:3 So David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow.
The Death of Saul
1Sa 31:1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
1Sa 31:2 Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons.
1Sa 31:3 The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.
1Sa 31:4 Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.” But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it.
1Sa 31:5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him.
1Sa 31:6 So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.
David became King
2Sa 2:4 Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, “The men of Jabesh Gilead were the ones who buried Saul.”
2Sa 2:10 Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. Only the house of Judah followed David.
2Sa 2:11 And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
David had many wives and children these were born in Hebron.
2Sa 3:2 Sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;
2Sa 3:3 his second, Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite; the third, Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur;
2Sa 3:4 the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;
2Sa 3:5 and the sixth, Ithream, by David’s wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron.
More children were born to David in Jerusalem.
2Sa 5:14 Now these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,
2Sa 5:15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia,
2Sa 5:16 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.
David wanted to get the ark of the covenant.
2Sa 6:2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the Name, the LORD of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim.
David and Bathsheba
2Sa 11:3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
2Sa 11:4 Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house.
2Sa 11:5 And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.”
Solomon.
2Sa 12:24 Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the LORD loved him,
Solomon was also called JEDIDIAH.
2Sa 12:25 and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.
THE SECOND DAVID
This is the second David, he is a waring man not a youth
1Ch 2:12 Boaz begot Obed, and Obed begot Jesse;
1Ch 2:13 Jesse begot Eliab his firstborn, Abinadab the second, Shimea the third,
1Ch 2:14 Nethanel the fourth, Raddai the fifth,
1Ch 2:15 Ozem the sixth, and David the seventh.
THIS DAVID WAS NOT A YOUTH
1Sa 16:17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.”
1Sa 16:18 Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the LORD is with him.”
HE BECAME THE ARMOURBEARER
1Sa 16:21 So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer.
HE PLAYED THE HARP
1Sa 16:23 And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.
In closing let’s notice when Saul was killed that his armourbearer was with him. David was his armourbearer and would play music to Saul.
1Sa 31:3 The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.
1Sa 31:4 Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.” But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it.
1Sa 31:5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him.
1Sa 31:6 So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.
The armourbearer was called David, he played music for Saul to help him when the evil spirits troubled him. HOWEVER THIS DAVID IS NOT KING DAVID.
King David was told of Sauls death, he was unaware of what happened he was alive and well, therefore Kind David and the Armourbearer called David are not the same person.
2Sa 1:1 Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag,
2Sa 1:2 on the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. So it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.
2Sa 1:11 Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him.
2Sa 1:12 And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
This article explains in detail the mystery of the two David’s. One was King David, the other was Saul’s armourbearer, he was not a youth but was a man of war.