Years of David's reign. King David

In the scriptures

In the Old Testament

Origin and anointing

David was the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse, a Bethlehemite from the tribe of Judah, the great-grandson of Boaz (Boaz) and the Moabite Ruth (Ruth).

Therefore, God, having rejected King Saul (Shaul) for disobedience, sent the prophet Samuel (Shmuel) to anoint David in the presence of his father and brothers as the future king. With the anointing, the Spirit of God descended on David and rested on him (1 Samuel 16:1-13).

At the court of King Saul

Called to King Saul, David played the harp to drive away the evil spirit that was tormenting the king for his apostasy. After David, who came to the Israeli army to visit his brothers, accepted the challenge of the Philistine giant Goliath and killed him with a sling, thereby ensuring victory for the Israelites, Saul finally took him to court (1 Samuel 16:14 - 18:2).

As a courtier and warrior, David won the friendship of the king's son Jonathan (Jonathan), and his courage and success in the fight against the Philistines began to overshadow the glory of Saul himself in the eyes of the people. This aroused the envy and jealousy of the king, so “ from that day forward Saul looked at David suspiciously"(1 Samuel 18:7-9). Over time, suspicions grew stronger and Saul tried to kill David twice. When this failed, Saul began to act more cautiously. He put David in danger during the war with the Philistines - using the feelings of his daughter Michal for the young leader, he forced David to risk his life, but he proved himself to be a brave and courageous man (1 Sam. 18: 3-30).

Now Saul no longer hid his enmity. The incident with the spear that the king threw at David, and the threat of going to prison, from which only his wife Michal saved him, forced David to flee to Samuel in Ramah. At the last meeting, Jonathan confirmed to David that reconciliation with Saul was no longer possible (1 Samuel 19:20).

Flight and emigration

Under the pretext of fulfilling the king's secret order, David received the showbread and the sword of Goliath from the priest Ahimelech in Nob (Nove), and then fled to the Philistine king Achish in Gath (Gat). There they wanted to capture David, and in order to save himself, he pretended to be insane (1 Sam. 21; Ps. 33:1; 55:1).

Then David sought refuge in the cave of Adollam, where he gathered around him relatives and many oppressed and dissatisfied; he hid his parents with the Moabite king. David's hasty flight and his futile attempts to find safety were put an end to God's command conveyed to him through the prophet Gad to go to the land of Judah (1 Sam. 22:1-5). From there the Lord, in response to David's question, led him further to the liberation of Keilah from the Philistines, where Abiathar, the only priest from Nob who escaped Saul's vengeance, came to him with the ephod. Saul, having heard about David’s stay in Keilah, began many years of merciless persecution of his rival (1 Sam. 23). However, he eluded him again and again, while David twice refused the opportunity to kill the king, God’s anointed, so as not to suffer punishment for this (1 Samuel 23; 24; 26).

Realizing the possible consequences (1 Samuel 27:1), David, with 600 soldiers and both wives, whom he had married by that time, left for Gath. There he entered the service of the Philistine king Achish, who provided him with Ziklag (Ziklag) to live in (1 Sam. 27:2-7). Over the next 16 months, God forced David to drink the bitter cup to the end. He was supposed to appear to be an enemy of Israel without actually being one. Therefore, he deceived Achishus regarding the direction of his robber raids and killed mercilessly so that his lies would not be revealed. Having thus won the trust of the Philistine, David was forced to go with the army of Achish against Israel, but he and his people, as potential defectors, were sent home (1 Samuel 27:8 - 28:2; 29).

Finding upon their return that Ziklag had been burned and their wives and children taken captive, David’s people rebelled and wanted to stone him. Then David did something that he had not resorted to since Keilah: he turned to the Lord and received an answer. Pursuing the Amalekite army, David's detachment captured rich booty and captured all the captives alive and unharmed, and their property intact. Two days later, a certain Amalekite brought him news of the death of Saul on Gilboa (Gilboa). David grieved until evening, and his grief found vent in a song of lament dedicated to Saul and Jonathan. Then he ordered the execution of the messenger who confessed to the murder of the king of Israel (2 Sam. 1).

King in Hebron

After David again inquired of the Lord, he moved (possibly with the consent of Achish) to Hebron, where the tribe of Judah anointed him king. However, Abner, Saul's military commander, installed the latter's son, Ishbosheth, in Mahanaim, which was not under the rule of the Philistines, and established his authority over the remaining tribes.

In the many years of war between Judah and Israel, David's power constantly increased. He had 6 sons in Hebron, including Amnon, Absalom and Adonijah. Finally, Abner quarreled with Ishbosheth and entered into negotiations with David, who first of all demanded that his wife Michal be returned to him. This was fulfilled, but even before a final agreement was reached, Abner was killed by Joab, who avenged the death of Asahel. However, instead of trying his nephew Joab for murder, the king only publicly mourned Abner, thus trying to avert suspicions of incitement from himself.

When, soon after this, two Benjamites who served in the army of Ish-bosheth killed their king and brought his head to Hebron, David immediately ordered their execution (2 Sam. 2-4). After seven years of David's reign over the house of Judah, the path to power over all the people was clear. All the elders of Israel, prepared in advance by Abner, appeared in Hebron and anointed David as king (2 Sam. 5:1-5; 1 Chron. 11:1-3; -40).

King in Jerusalem

After his accession to the throne, David first took Jerusalem, which was considered impregnable and had previously belonged to the Jebusites, and made this city, located on the border between the inheritances of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, the capital, the so-called “city of David” - from a military and political point of view, an unusually successful step (it did not turn out to be preference neither to the north nor to Judah). David re-fortified the city and ordered the construction of a royal palace there, using the labor of artisans sent to him by the Tyrian king.

New wives and concubines bore him new sons and daughters (2 Samuel 5:6-16; 1 Chronicles 3:4-9; 1 Chronicles 14:1-7). As soon as the first victories provided David with foreign policy peace, he began to transform Jerusalem into a cult-religious capital. From the time of his return from the land of the Philistines, the Ark of the Covenant was located in Kiriathiarim (Kiryat Jearim) (1 Sam. 7:1). Although the first attempt to transfer the Ark to Jerusalem ended in failure, David still managed to complete this task, and amid the rejoicing of the people, a solemn procession brought the Ark carried by the Levites to the capital, where it was placed in a pre-arranged tabernacle (cf. Ps. 23; 131). On the way, the king himself, dressed in a priestly cape (ephod), danced in front of the ark. Michal condemned this behavior as degrading the king's dignity before the people. As punishment for this, from that time on she remained childless (2 Samuel 6; 1 Chronicles 13; 15 et seq.).

Foreign Wars

As soon as David became king of all Israel, the Philistines, to whom he seemed dependent and harmless in Hebron, again became active. Near Jerusalem, they were twice completely defeated by David, acting on the instructions of the Lord (2 Sam. 5:17-25). Subsequent battles (2 Kings 21:15-22) led to the conquest of the Philistines (2 Kings 8:1; 1 Chronicles 18:1). In the north, David defeated the Syrians of Damascus and Adraazar, king of Suva, which earned him the friendship of Adraazar’s opponent, Thoi, king of Hamath; in the south and southeast, David established his dominance over Moab, Edom, and the Amalekites (2 Sam. 8:2-14). Relations with the Ammonites under King Naash were peaceful, but his son Hannon provoked a war by insulting David’s ambassadors. With their first campaign, Joab and Abishai destroyed the alliance between Annon and the Arameans (Syrians) called to his aid, who then finally submitted to David. A year later, David took Rabbah.

The kingdom of David extended from Ezion-Geber on the Gulf of Aqaba in the south to the border of Hamath in the north and occupied, with the exception of narrow coastal strips inhabited by the Philistines and Phoenicians, the entire space between the sea and the Arabian desert. Thus, Israel basically reached the borders of the promised land (Num. 34:2-12; Ezek. 47:15-20).

State building

A vast kingdom required an orderly organization of administration and troops. At court, David created, largely following the Egyptian model, the positions of scribe and scribe (2 Sam. 8:16 et seq.).

Next we learn about the king's advisers (1 Chron. 27:32-34), about the officials who managed the king's property (27:25-31), and about the overseer of the collection of taxes (2 Sam. 20:24). Along with the leaders over individual tribes (1 Chronicles 27:16-22), the already mentioned Levitical judges and officials acted (1 Chronicles 26:29-32). David also carried out a general census of the people, which, however, was contrary to the will of the Lord and was not completed (1 Chron. 27:23 et seq.).

The highest military rank was possessed by the chief military commander, that is, the head of the people's militia, which consisted of 12 military units obliged to serve for a month, and the head of the personal guard of the king, the Chelethites and the Peletheites (2 Sam. 20:23), mercenaries of Cretan and Philistine origin.

A special position was occupied brave of David- his companions since the flight from Saul, famous for their exploits. Some of them (Joab, Abishai, Benei) subsequently occupied senior command positions (2 Kings 23:8-39; 1 Chronicles 11:10 - 12:22; 20:4-8).

Gibeonites and Mephibosheth

When David asked the Lord about the cause of the three-year famine, he was ordered to atone for Saul's old blood debt to the Gibeonites. At the request of the latter, David gave them two sons and five grandsons of Saul, who were brutally executed. After David ordered their remains to be interred, “ God had mercy on the country"(2 Samuel 21:1-14). David was to act in this case as the supreme ruler and judge of his people, obeying the requirement of the Lord, who laid the debt of Saul's blood on his family; he himself did not harbor personal hatred for the family of Saul.

As a sign of this, David called Mephibosheth, the lame son of Jonathan, to his court and allowed him to eat at the royal table with his sons (2 Sam. 9). Because God had given him kingdom and victory, David showed royal mercy towards Saul's last grandson.

David and Bathsheba

At the height of his power, during the war with the Ammonites, David fell into sin. Seeing a beautiful woman bathing and learning that she was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his brave men, David, despite this, sent for her.

Bathsheba was forced to comply. When the king learned that she was expecting a child from him, he called her husband from the campaign. However, Uriah refused to enter his house in front of the entire court, which confused the plans of David, who hoped that with the arrival of Uriah, Bathsheba’s pregnancy would be associated with the name of her husband. David sent orders to Joab to send Uriah to a place where he would die in battle. And this commander, who had not yet atoned for the sin of killing Abner, carried out the order. Uriah fell in battle. After the mourning period, Bathsheba officially became David’s wife and bore him a son. Then God sent the prophet Nathan to the king, who announced the verdict: the sword will not depart from the house of David forever, and his wives will be openly given to another. His son must die, but David himself will have his death sentence revoked because he admitted his sin. Forgiveness extended to the marriage with Bathsheba, from whom David’s successor, Solomon, was now born (2 Sam. 11:2 - 12:25).

From this time on, David's life was both subject to judgment and promise. The king's eldest son Amnon committed violence against his half-sister Tamar. David, having learned about this, did nothing and thus betrayed Amnon to the revenge of Tamar’s brother (Tamar) Absalom, who ordered him to be killed, and he himself fled to his grandfather in Geshur (chapter 13).

Joab came up with a pretext under which the king could, without passing judgment, call his son back. Absalom achieved complete forgiveness for himself (2 Samuel 14) and prepared a rebellion against David. Suddenly launching hostilities, he received the support of Ahithophel, Bathsheba's grandfather and adviser to the king. After the capture of Jerusalem, Ahithophel prompted Absalom to openly make his wives the concubines left in the palace by the fleeing David (2 Samuel 15; 16).

Thus, God's judgment was fulfilled, but another council of Ahithophel managed to disavow Hushai, David's confidant. This gave the king the opportunity to go beyond the Jordan with reliable troops and gather an army in Mahanaim. In the decisive battle, David did not take command, but gave his commanders a categorical order to spare the life of Absalom, which Joab deliberately ignored.

Infinitely grieving over the death of his son, the king, under the influence of Joab, who threatened him with new betrayals, nevertheless gathered his courage and showed himself to the people at the city gates (2 Samuel 17:1 - 19:9). On the way back to Jerusalem, David, fully aware of God's judgment, showed mercy to opponents and suspects.

By this, however, he was unable to prevent a new uprising that broke out under the leadership of Sheba, from the tribe of Benjamin, but was skillfully and mercilessly suppressed by Joab. At the same time, Joab, with the help of another murder, eliminated Amasa, who was appointed by David as military leader in his place (2 Samuel 19:10 - 20:22).

Transfer of the kingdom to Solomon and death

Peace reigned, but only until the time when the king’s condescension turned out to be fatal for Adonijah, the eldest king’s son at that time: knowing that his father was in old age, he lusted for power. The prophet Nathan and Bathsheba managed to motivate David to action. Having gathered his strength, he said: “ Take with you the servants of your lord, and put Solomon my son on my mule, and bring him to Gion, and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there as king over Israel, and blow the trumpet and shout: Long live King Solomon! Then bring him back, and he will come and sit on my throne; he will reign in my place; I bequeathed to him to be the leader of Israel and Judah"(1 Kings 1:33-35). They did so, and Solomon, having become king, solemnly returned to the palace, and Adonijah’s party disintegrated, but temporarily remained unpunished.

David felt that his end was near. He called Solomon to him and bequeathed him to faithfully serve God and build a Temple in Jerusalem from the gold and silver he had prepared. With his last will, David bequeathed to his son to carry out royal justice over Joab. He also ordered Solomon to reward the sons of Barzillai and not to leave Shimei unpunished. (1 Kings 2:7-8)

David died at the age of 70 after 40 years of reign and was buried in Jerusalem (1 Kings 2:10-11).

In the New Testament

In legends

In Jewish tradition

According to Jewish tradition, the Messiah should come from the line of David, who will transform the world of violence and selfishness into a world where there will be no wars, and the whole earth will be filled with love for God and people.

In Christianity

David in Islam

Image in art

Many works of art from different eras and generations are dedicated to David. For example, the famous sculpture by Michelangelo, paintings by Titian and Rembrandt, reflecting episodes from his life, the oratorio “King David” by the French composer Arthur Honegger, etc.

On October 7, 2008, a bronze monument to King David was erected on Mount Zion, received by the Israeli authorities as a gift from the Russian charitable foundation St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Footnotes and sources

see also

Links

• Article " David» in the Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia

Rulers of Ancient Israel and Judah

Kings of Judah

The holy king and prophet David went down in history as an ideal king, national hero and psalmist.

He is a descendant of the tribe of Judah from which, according to prophecy, the Messiah should come. He was chosen by God to rule the people of Israel for his meekness and faith.

He was anointed to the kingdom three times: in adolescence by the prophet Samuel, at 27 years old - for the kingdom of Judah, and at 30 - for the united kingdom of Israel.

Life of David

David was the youngest son of one of the elders of Bethlehem, Jesse. As a young man, he tended flocks of sheep, showing fearlessness in fights with wild animals. Thanks to his meek character and deep faith, even in adolescence he received a blessing from God to become the king of Israel.

Saul, who ruled the state at this time, became disliked and abandoned by the Lord for disobedience, and was obsessed with fits of uncontrollable anger. Having heard about David, who became a skilled musician, he invited him to the court to pacify his pain.

Soon, at the age of 18, he defeated the most powerful warrior of the Philistines, Goliath, ending the war. After this, he was appointed commander of the Jewish army and married the king’s youngest daughter, Michal. With his courage and military successes, he gained the love and respect of the people, thereby incurring assassination attempts and persecution from King Saul, which continued until the latter’s death.

Fleeing from persecution, David and his supporters (600 soldiers) fled to the lands of their former enemies - the Philistines. King Achish allowed him to settle in the city of Ziklag. David and a small army raided the Amalekites who lived in the area, giving part of the spoils to Achish. Michal was married off in his absence.

Sword of David

After David cut off Goliath's head, he took possession of his sword, but not wanting to use it as a weapon, he takes it to Nova.

For David, the sword is a symbol of the victory of faith in God over weapons. That is why, when he fled from Saul, he takes this sword from the priest Ahimelech.

King Saul at this time continued to fight the Philistines. After the death of him and his eldest son Jonathan and the defeat of the Israelites, David was proclaimed king of the Southern Kingdom with his capital in Hebron. Saul's youngest son Ishbosheth waged war with David for two years, but was treacherously killed by his own commanders. From the moment David becomes the ruler of all Israel.

Kingdom of David

David reigned for 40 years, of which 7 ruled Judah, 33 ruled Israel. In the 11th century BC. The Israelis occupied the city of Jerusalem during their conquests.

King David built a palace on the site of the old city and proclaimed Jerusalem the capital of Israel, greatly expanding it. The construction of the tabernacle and the transfer of the Ark of the Covenant to it served the purpose of turning Jerusalem into the main cult center of the state. David carried out a series of successful conquests, annexing Moab, Syria and Idumea.

The lands of the Jewish kingdom extended from the Euphrates to Gaza. David's reign brought power and prosperity to Israel.

King David was a deeply religious man, his personality takes on the characteristics of holiness. He established the order of the temple service, introduced music into it, and composed songs of praise - psalms.

In religious ecstasy, he had prophetic visions about the events of the life and death of the Savior. These innovations were not to everyone's liking. For this reason, the rebellions that his sons Absalom and Adonijah staged towards the end of David’s life found supporters. To end the unrest, on the advice of the elders, David transferred the throne to his youngest son Solomon.

Book of David

King David created a book of psalms - the Psalter. This is a collection of 150 hymns of religious and lyrical content, which at one time were performed accompanied by a psaltery, a plucked string instrument - hence the name.

Although the authorship is traditionally attributed to David, it is clearly the result of collective creativity, many of the poems were created much later. The psalms were introduced into temple ritual under King David, and after they were translated into other languages, they became the basis of Christian worship.

The Psalter is divided into 20 sections, each of which, in turn, is divided into three parts. Nowadays, it is read in full in church once during the week, and twice during Lent.

King David's Wife

King David married several times; researchers agree that there were 8 wives. The first wife, Saul’s daughter, after David’s accession to Judea, was returned to him from her second husband. But soon the king lost interest in her and removed her from himself.

One day, David fell in love with the beautiful Bathsheba, the wife of the military leader Uriah, whom he sent to certain death in order to marry her. Solomon, the future legendary king of Israel, will be born from Bathsheba. The names of Abigail, Ahinoam, Maakhi, Aggif, Avital, and Egla are also known.

Children of King David

The Tsar had many children from his wives and numerous concubines. He had six sons in Hebron and seven in Jerusalem. And they all laid claim to the throne and quarreled among themselves, but the tenth son, Solomon, born to his beloved wife Bathsheba, became the heir.

Descendants of King David

David founded a royal dynasty that ruled the united kingdom of Israel and Judah for 400 years.

His successor, Solomon, was renowned for his wisdom and justice. He brought his father's plan to life by building the Jerusalem Temple. It is believed that one of the branches has ruled in Ethiopia since the 13th century AD.

Where is King David buried?

King David died at the age of 70 and was buried in Jerusalem on Mount Zion. His reign, as well as that of his son Solomon, is called the “golden age” of the state of Israel.

In the three leading world religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - he is revered as a righteous man and a prophet.

King David Award

Since 1963, the Harp of David Award has been established in Israel, which is awarded based on the results of public surveys to the best actors, directors, dancers and singers.

King David is the great king of Israel and Judah, prophet and creator of psalms included in "Psalms" and have become an important part of Orthodox worship. He is also called David the Psalmist.

When David was very young, predicted that he would become king of Israel, and blessed him for the kingdom. At that time, there was a war with the Philistine tribe, among whom the strongest was the hero Goliath. David, without armor, armed only with a stick and a sling, defeated him in a duel. King Saul brought the young warrior closer to him, but David soon fell out of favor, and the king tried to kill him. After this, David and 600 of his followers went into exile.

During the next war, King Saul died, and David became king of Judah (the southern kingdom with its capital in Hebron), and then the united kingdom of Judah and Israel. Soon he captured the city of Jerusalem, which belonged to the Jebusite tribe, and made it the capital. The king ordered that the great shrine of the Israelites be delivered there - the Ark of the Covenant with the tablets on which applied, received by him from Sinai. King David planned to build a temple in Jerusalem, but God did not give him a blessing for this, since David shed too much blood during his life. The temple was built by the son of David - the wise King Solomon .

One day, the king, already having several wives, fell in love with Bathsheba, the wife of one of his mercenaries. He ordered her to be brought to the palace, and her husband to be sent to war to certain death. This atrocity was exposed by the prophet Nathan, who predicted David’s death. David admitted his sin and repented, and the punishment was commuted: David remained alive, but his firstborn son with Bathsheba died. But their second son, Solomon, became the heir to the throne.
The memory of the Tsar and Prophet David is celebrated in the Orthodox Church on the 1st Sunday after the Nativity of Christ.

Saul was the first king of Judah, but soon became a tyrant, for which the Lord deprived him of his blessing. After this, the king began to be tormented by an evil spirit, which only young David could drive away with his playing of the kinnor (an ancient Eastern musical instrument similar to a lyre).

David was married to King Saul's daughter Michal and was friends with his son Jonathan. Michal saved David when Saul wanted to kill him and helped him escape. While David was in exile, her father married her off to someone else, but David returned her to himself when he became king

The Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines for some time, but God struck them with severe illnesses, and the Philistines themselves returned it to the Jews. When the ark was brought to Jerusalem, David began to dance for joy in front of all the people, not fearing that this would humiliate his royal dignity.

Having been denounced by the prophet Nathan, the king composed a repentant psalm: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy...” (50th Psalm) - which is still one of the most famous church penitential hymns.

Towards the end of David's life, riots began in the kingdom. His eldest son Amnon dishonored his sister Tamar, for which he was killed by his brother Absalom. Then Absalom declared himself king and went against his father with a war, during which he was also killed. Another son of David, Adonijah, was killed by order of the newly reigned Solomon.

David. David, anointed king when he was still a shepherd, became the most famous king of Israel and the ancestor of a long line of kings of Judah almost until the end of the political existence of the people.

David did not immediately ascend the throne, but had to spend his entire youth in various adventures, hiding from the bloodthirsty jealousy of the increasingly morally declining king.

During the first seven years of his reign, his residence was, and after the murder of Saul’s son, Ishbosheth (Ishbosheth), everyone recognized David as their king.

David came to the conviction that in order to establish royal power in the country, he needed a capital, which, not belonging to any tribe individually, could serve as a common capital for the entire people.

For this purpose, he outlined one strong fortress on the border between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, which, despite all the efforts of the Israelites, defended its independence and previously belonged to the brave tribe.

That was Jerusalem, which, as can be seen from the latest discoveries, even before occupied an important position among other cities of the country, having a kind of hegemony over them.

This fortress was now about to fall before the power of the new king, and David founded his royal capital in it. The new capital, thanks to its magnificent position, began to quickly attract the Jewish population, soon flourished magnificently and richly, and Jerusalem became one of the most famous cities in the history of not only the Israeli people, but of all mankind.

With David, the rapid growth of the entire kingdom begins.

Thanks to the extraordinary energy of this brilliant king, the affairs of internal improvement that had been upset at the end of the previous reign were soon put in order, and then a whole series of victorious wars began, during which the worst enemies of Israel were finally crushed - as well as the Edomites, whose lands became the property of Israel.

Thanks to these victories and conquests, the kingdom of the Israeli people became a powerful monarchy, which for a time ruled all of Western Asia and in whose hands lay the fate of numerous peoples who reverently brought their tribute to the formidable king.

The Israelites entered into close friendly relations with the Phoenicians, and this friendship with a highly cultured people was very useful and beneficial to them in the development of their material culture.

At the same time, spiritual life began to develop rapidly, and the richest flowering of ancient Jewish spiritual and religious poetry dates back to this time, which found especially remarkable expression in the marvelous in its depth and fiery feelings of David himself and the singers close to him.

Towards the end of the reign, as a result of polygamy introduced by the king, various unrest began, which overshadowed the last years of the life of the great king, and after severe turmoil, the throne passed to the son of his most beloved wife, but at the same time the main culprit of all his disasters, Bathsheba, namely to young Solomon (around 1020 BC).

Readers of our magazine are already familiar with Archpriest Leonid Grilikhes - a Semitologist, head of the Department of Biblical Studies at the Moscow Academy of Sciences, teacher of ancient oriental languages, poet and translator. Continuing our conversations about the Old Testament, we will talk today about David - the king of Israel, psalmist, warrior, one of the most remarkable personalities of Old Testament history.

— There are a lot of unforgettable people, bright, powerful personalities in the Old Testament - what distinguishes David from all the others, what is his peculiarity? Why exactly did he, or more precisely, his voice, his psalms become an absolutely integral part of Orthodox worship and our Christian life?

— David is an amazing person not only in biblical, but also in world history. Firstly, everything that we see today in Jerusalem is connected with his name. It was David who gave Jerusalem the spiritual impetus that made it the holy city of three religions. At the beginning of the 10th century BC, David conquered this small fortress at the foot of Mount Zion and made it the capital of Israel united under his rule. And from that moment began the history of Jerusalem as a holy city - a city that not only belonged to the king, but became the place of the Lord. The spiritual power of this city, the power that is still felt by all who come to Jerusalem today, is leavened in the personality of David.

Secondly, the hymnographic tradition of the Church dates back to David. It should be remembered that not all the psalms contained in the Psalter were written by David; but it was David who was the founder of this kind of poetry. All biblical poetry and, ultimately, all church hymnography goes back to the songs that David composed. She all grew up on his word, on his devotion to God, trust in God, confidence that with God he would walk through the wall if necessary.

And the third thing, which is especially important and what is perhaps more important than anything else, is that the messianic line goes back to David; Christ is a descendant of David; even during the life of the king, the prophet Nathan told him that the Messiah would come from him (see: 2 Sam. 7 , 14-16). Thus, the city dedicated to God, and the hymnography addressed to God, and, finally, the Lord himself, incarnate and born in the line of David - all this converges in one person.

— David is a king, the second king in the history of Israel; the first of the kings, Saul, turned out to be unworthy of the anointing, and he was replaced by David. The era of Judges has ended, the era of Kingdoms has begun. I would like to ask about the spiritual meaning of kingship, anointing to the kingdom. Why does the Lord tell the prophet Samuel to give the Israelites a king, as if condescending to their inability to cope without a king? It turns out that this is not at all a great event in the life of Israel, but, on the contrary, evidence of a certain fall, weakness.

“This is truly a completely unique event; in its uniqueness it is not inferior to monotheism. In all eastern and not only eastern religions, royal power is extolled and deified, and only the Bible says that dynastic royal power is God’s condescension to the weakness of people, to their lack of faith and cowardice. Addressing the prophet Samuel with a request: set a king over us(1 Sam. 8 , 5), the Israelites reject the judges who were chosen directly by God and want what they think is a more stable institution of government. The Lord descends to their request (see: 1 Sam. 8 , 7-9) and in the end, by His mercy, gives Israel such a king who himself becomes a symbol of devotion to God. The first king of Israel, Saul, loses power precisely because he was not submissive to God; he did not want to obey the words of the prophet Samuel. But the Lord saw a true king in David, a shepherd boy, a musician, the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse.

— Reading the story of David (1, 2 and the beginning of the 3rd book of Kings), we see every now and then that he behaves strangely and unreasonably in the eyes of his contemporaries; This unreasonableness always reminds us of something. Saul pursues David and wants to kill him; David saves his life, refusing to raise his hand against God’s anointed, and mourns Saul when he dies. David refuses to punish Shimei, the king who insulted him publicly, because The Lord commanded him to curse David. Who can say: why are you doing this?(2 Kings 16:10). David forgives, loves, waits and finally mourns his son Absalom, although he betrayed him and wanted to kill him (see: 2 Samuel 18)... And all this makes us turn our attention not to the Old Testament, but to the New Testament.

- God is always the same. Both in the Old Testament and in the New there is one and the same God. People are simply not equally close or far from Him. The New Testament opens an era of extreme intimacy between God and man. In the Old, He is not revealed in such completeness. But in those to whom He approached, to whom He revealed Himself - in Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David - we really find a lot of New Testament things. These are glimpses of the coming New Testament. David is a very courageous man, warlike, he is terrible for those with whom he fights, but for some reason we still read to this day: Remember, Lord, David and all his meekness(Ps. 131 , 1). What is David's meekness? The fact is that in the first place he has what God reveals to him, and here David is truly the meekest person. He was meek - before the word of God, which was an indisputable decree for him, even if it did not in any way fit with his interests in earthly understanding. And that is why David was moving in the right direction. Note that unlike other ancient rulers who saw themselves as earthly gods, David always knew that he was just a man. What are his days? like a rustic color(Ps. 102 , 15). He never became arrogant. I did not lose the correct, sober vision of myself. Power and fame change a person; how many people in the history of mankind are there who can withstand the test of power and glory? David is one of the few.

- Does he always stand it, though? What about the story of Uriah the Hittite and his wife, Bathsheba (see: 2 Kings 11)?

— David committed a crime. And we should be grateful to the biblical chroniclers that they write about this so openly and do not try to disguise it. David took the wife of Uriah, a man whose behavior, as depicted in the pages of the Bible, is completely impeccable and noble, and who is also extremely devoted to King David. But David sent Uriah to his death. In this situation, David looks like a scoundrel. The Bible shows us how far he fell. And the prophet Nathan comes to him (see: 2 Sam. 12 ) and tells him this. And here we again see the difference between David and most earthly rulers, from Ivan the Terrible, for example, who killed Metropolitan Philip; David is ready to hear the words convicting him; he knows that the voice of the prophet is the voice of God. David's repentance is as deep as his fall. That’s why it lifts him up from there, from the abyss, and that’s why we hear the 50th Psalm every day during worship. And we must learn a lesson for ourselves from this situation, in other words, derive for ourselves the following law of repentance: in order to lift us up, it must be as deep as the sin in us.

— There is a metaphor for the fate and personality of David: the sun breaks through dense clouds here and there and blinds people with its rays. Does it reflect the truth?

— David is very contradictory. And here we must again thank the ancient Israelite chroniclers: usually the court chronicles look completely different, listing only the great merits of the king. We talked about the fact that he refused to punish Shimei, who publicly insulted him, but before his death, he still ordered Shimei to be executed (see: 3 Kings. 2 , 8-9). And David of the era of Saul, young David, is the commander of such a detachment of fugitives, essentially an armed gang hiding in the mountains, and what he does, how he survives, is very similar to modern racketeering, the practice of “protection protection” for rich people , let us at least remember the story of Nabal and his wife Abigail (see: 1 Sam. 25 ). Moreover, for some time David served the ancient enemies of Israel, the Philistines, Achish, king of Gath (see: 1 Sam. 27 ). David is forced to live according to the laws of that time, which, however, differ little from today. But at the same time, an absolutely amazing heart beats in David, an amazing soul lives in him, something that is ahead of himself. God chose David, and David was responsive. The reason for its inconsistency is precisely because it is not identical to itself, because God, as it were, raises it above itself. The people who wrote down the chronicle of David's reign felt this, and for them it was most significant. And this remained for centuries.

— Many people remember Akhmatova’s lines: “There is sadness in me, which King David royally bestowed on thousands of years.” But he also gave us royal joy—joy in the Lord...

- Yes, indeed, many psalms are an expression of joy, rejoicing, and praise. This jubilation sometimes overwhelms David. The Bible depicts how, forgetting about his royal dignity, David danced in front of the Ark of the Covenant when the Ark was carried to Jerusalem (see: 2 Sam. 6 , 5). For which, by the way, he received contempt from his own wife Michal, who hears from him the answer: I will play and dance before the Lord(2 Sam. 6 , 21).

— Why does Archangel Gabriel predict the Infant Christ throne of David his father(Luke 1:32)? It would seem that what is common between the throne (power) of David, the earthly king, tribal leader - and the Throne of the Son of God?

“You need to understand that during the era of the Second Temple a special theological language developed, and the expression “throne of David” cannot be taken literally. They were expecting a Messiah from the line of David. And therefore the expression “throne of David” served as an indication of messianic dignity.

— The image of King David, apparently, meant a lot to our ancestors; The churches of Vladimir Rus', the Demetrius Cathedral, the Intercession on the Nerl are decorated with bas-reliefs of King David with a psalter. This is not a coincidence, is it?

— In the understanding of our ancestors, David is an ideal king who, on the one hand, remains faithful to God, and on the other, unites the people. For the princes of the era of disunited Rus', for Andrei Bogolyubsky and Vsevolod the Big Nest, David was first of all a unifying king, because under the rule of David two kingdoms, northern and southern, united. Israel during the time of David and then Solomon was a large, strong, powerful empire, uniting not only the Israelite tribes, but also neighboring tribes. That is why on the western facade of the Demetrius Cathedral we see two lions at the feet of David. Prince Vsevolod, who was brought up in Greece, could perceive David as his patron for another reason: he is the youngest of the sons of Yuri Dolgoruky, from his second wife, and he, nevertheless, was called to reign. Therefore, David, the youngest of the sons of Jesse, David, whom his brothers bowed to, meant a lot to Vsevolod. On the northern facade of the Demetrius Cathedral there is another image: a man is sitting, and on his knees is a little boy in boots, this speaks of princely dignity, and in front of him there are two more youths on both sides - they bow to him. Apparently this is a picture of Jesse and David. For Prince Vsevolod, this was a kind of paradigm - being chosen by God despite human institutions.

— Why is there not a single Orthodox church consecrated in the name of David? After all, the memory of David is celebrated by the Church (January 10), and the Psalter is read and sung in every church.

- Don't know. For some reason there is no such tradition. I was in Georgia, met with His Holiness Patriarch Elijah, and the first thing he told me: in all of Russia there is not a single temple in the name of David the Psalmist, and we consecrated such a temple. The Patriarch invited me to this small temple on the banks of the Kura River so that I could read psalms there in the language of David - in Hebrew.

— But you also translate the psalms into modern Russian. Why do you, a priest, need this? The ecclesiastical, Church Slavonic version does not satisfy you?

— I really like the way the Psalter sounds in Church Slavonic. This text is very convenient for church recitation. And I know that many who read, especially those who begin to read the psalms in church, get great pleasure from this reading. But I think that first of all it’s the sound. Because the meaning remains not entirely clear. Usually the ear picks out a separate phrase or phrase, then the meaning goes somewhere, recedes, the connection is lost, then again our perception picks out another phrase... and as a result, only individual sentences are stored in our heads, which only over time, with constant reading practice The Psalms may begin to take shape in certain images. I am speaking, of course, about myself, about my perception, but I think that almost everyone who reads the Church Slavonic Psalter feels something similar. As for the Synodal translation into Russian, it definitely conveys the meaning of the psalms more clearly (although it must be borne in mind that there are a lot of inaccurate or even completely incorrect readings in it), but the ponderousness, artlessness of the language, the absence of even a hint of poetry (that euphony , which distinguishes our Slavic text) frighten off the reader, who somehow intuitively understands that the psalms should be poetry.

Thus, the Slavic text sounds beautiful, but is difficult to understand, and the Synodal translation, although clearer, does not sound. In my translations, I try to combine two tasks: to convey the meaning of the original as accurately and clearly as possible, but at the same time to achieve the beauty of sound, focusing on the rich tradition of Russian poetry. Although I try to preserve the tonic versification characteristic of biblical poetry and prefer internal rhymes. Of course, these translations are not intended to be read during worship, but rather for home reading, with the goal of gaining a better understanding of the rich world of psalmic poetry.

Translations of the psalms of Archpriest Leonid Grilikhes

Psalm 41

1 To the director of the choir.
Teaching of the sons of Korah.

2 Like a deer that strives
to the valley to the water
My soul, O God, yearns for You.

3 My soul thirsts for God -
Living God.
When will I come and see the image of God?

4 My tears day and night -
bread for me.
All day long they tell me:
“Where is your God?”

5 But my soul melts within me
I just remember how I walked in the crowd
How I entered the house of God
with a singing crowd
With a cry of joy and praise

6 Why did the soul sink?
Why are you crying in me?
,
He is my Deity.

7 My soul, O God, has fallen
Because I remembered You
In the land of Jordan,
On the ridges of Hermon,
From the top of Mount Mizar

8 The abyss calls to the abyss,
Your jets rumble,
All Your waves and waves
They passed over me.

9 During the day the Lord will show me mercy,
I will sing a song to Him at night -
To the God of my life I pray

10 To my rock, to God I will say:
Why have you forgotten me?
Why am I under the yoke of the enemy?
Why am I walking around gloomy?

11 It's like my bones are being broken
When my enemies tease me
All day long they tell me:
“Where is your God?”

12 Why did your soul droop?
Why are you crying in me
Trust in God, I will be there again
Praise Him for your salvation
He is my Deity.

Psalm 42

1 Judge me, O God,
Resolve my dispute
From the cruel, from the deceitful,
Save us from the vile ones!

2 My God, You are my support!
Why did you leave me?
Why am I under the yoke of the enemy?
Why am I walking around gloomy?

3 Thy light and righteousness have come,
Let them guide me
They will lead me to Your holy mountain,
To where Your tabernacle is.

4 And when I reach
altar of God,
I will praise You to the tune of the cithara,
God of joy and joy -
God and Divinity.

5 Why did your soul droop?
Why are you crying in me
Trust in God, I will be there again
Praise Him for your salvation
He is my Deity.