David, the Imposter King, Kingdom and House

In the generation Yahshua was born, some Jews believed that David was Yahweh’s chosen one, his kingdom was eternal, and his son Solomon was the one who would build a house for Yahweh. They believed that David was Yahweh’s anointed king, whose kingdom passed to his son Solomon.  They denied that Yahshua was the Messiah (mashiach משיח means ‘anointed’) because he didn’t kill Israel’s enemies like David and Solomon did, to free Israel from Roman rule.

This is the result of believing the Davidic propaganda which permeates the historical accounts in 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Chronicles, as well as Psalms.

Was David a Shepherd Who Yahweh Called to be King of Israel?

In the accounts in 2 Sam 7: 7 – 9 and 1 Chr 17: 7 – 8, David is presented as Messianic figure – a shepherd of sheep, called to rule Israel, making his name great.

In the article The Story of King David – Inspired or Propaganda? we looked at evidence that David was not a young shepherd of sheep, but a seasoned warrior who had killed many in battle.  It is this propaganda – David the shepherd boy who slew the giant Goliath, that made David’s name well known, not Yahweh. What’s more, it gave the illusion that David, like the Messiah, was a shepherd of sheep.

Contrast the warrior David with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who were “all peace-loving shepherds, inclined to live quietly beside their tents, anxious to steer clear of strife and clamour, in no circumstances prepared to meet force with force and oppose injustice with the sword” as stated by Wellhausen on p. 320 in Prolegomena to the History of Israel.

In the article Were Saul and David Yahweh’s Anointed King’s? we saw how Israel demanding a king over them was a rejection of Yahweh’s rule, Saul was picked as king by lot (or ‘lottery’), and there are contradictory accounts of David’s anointing which is evidence of ‘Davidic propaganda’. If Saul was picked by lot, then it is likely that David was similarly selected by the people who wanted a king over them, not by Yahweh who warned them about the oppression they would experience under a king.

Was David a Just and Righteous King?

David succeeded in ruling with justice and righteousness צדקה (Strong’s H6666) according to 2 Sam 8:15 and 1 Chr 18:14, and he claims to have ruled over men righteously צדיק (Strong’s H6662), in fear of God in 2 Sam 23:1 – 5. Yet, he pleaded with Yahweh “Do not bring Your servant into judgment, for no one alive is righteous צדק (Strong’s H6663) before you” in Ps 143:2.  Perhaps this is the verse Paul quoted in Romans 3:10 (although not word for word) “None אין righteous צדיק not אין even גם one alone אחד.“

John similarly said “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” in 1 John 1:8. So, David was deceiving himself when he said “Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness צדקתי (Strong’s H6666), according to the cleanness of my hands he has recompensed me.  For I have kept the ways of Yahweh, and have not acted wickedly against my God.  For all his ordinances were before me, and his statutes, I did not depart from them.  I was also blameless toward him, and I kept myself from iniquity.  Therefore, Yahweh has recompensed me according to my righteousness צדקתי (Strong’s H6666), according to my cleanness before his eyes.” In 2 Sam 22:  21 – 25.

In reality, David was an adulterer (2 Sam 11:4), a murderer (2 Sam 11:15), attempted to cover up his adultery through murder (2 Sam 11: 6 to 25).

In Deut 17, under the Law a wicked person v2 on the evidence of two or three witnesses shall be put to death v6.  In Leviticus 20:10 “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife–with the wife of his neighbour–both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death”, and in Leviticus 24:17 “Anyone who takes the life of a human being is to be put to death”.

There are anomalies in 2 Sam 12:7 – 20 that make me wonder if some of it is propaganda:

• Did Yahweh tell David “I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.  I gave your lord’s house to you and your lord’s creditors of (נשי translated ‘wives’) into your bosom (חיק translated ‘arms’), I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more.” v 7 – 8? The mistranslation of נשי is evidence against the text being inspired.
• It is confirmed that Bathsheba was Uriah’s wife אשת in Matt 1:6. So, it is likely that Yahweh rebuked David for despising word Yahweh to do evil in sight, killing Uriah with the sword, and his wife אשת taken to be your woman אשה and killed with sword sons of Ammon v9, and as a result the sword will never depart from your house v10.
• Again, נש is translated ‘wives’ in v11, evidence against the text being inspired.  Also, the idea that Yahweh would give David’s wives to his companions to lie with, “before the sun” v12 (for all too see?) is blasphemous.
• After Nathan brought David’s sin to his attention and Yahweh gave his verdict that David would not die in 2 Sam 12:13, and David did not die at that time.
• Yahweh apparently decided that “because great contempt with enemies of Yahweh in words this also the son born to you will surely die” in v14.  Then Yahweh struck the child that the wife of Uriah bore to David and became sick אנש, David pleaded for the boy and would not eat, but on the seventh day the child died, and then David ate in 2 Sam 12:15 – 20. It is difficult to say if this account is true or not, as it is not recorded elsewhere.  We must wonder if Yahweh would kill a child for the sins of the parents because his enemies might say contemptuous things. Perhaps David’s life was spared, and the rest of the account was added for some other reason.

In David’s repentance in Psalm 51, he asks Yahweh to blot out his transgressions v1, all his iniquities v 9, and to “not take your Holy Spirit from me” v11, and “restore to me the joy of Your salvation” v12.  There are a few oddities in Psalm 51– in verse 4 where David says “against you, you only, I have sinned” which is untrue because he sinned against Bathsheba and her husband certainly – in verse 19 David states “then you will delight in righteous sacrifices, in burnt offering” which opposes verse 16 where David says “you do not delight in sacrifice otherwise I would give it”.  Also, David seems quite arrogant in verses 12 and 14 where he offers to “teach transgressors your way” and “joyfully sing of Your righteousness” but these offers appear to be contingent on him having his salvation restored v12 and being delivered from bloodguilt v14.  Was this repentance acceptable to Yahweh to restore David’s salvation? 

Was David Yahweh’s Faithful One?

In Psalm 16:10, the Hebrew חסיד is translated ‘Holy One’, which is misleading because the Hebrew קדוש (Strong’s H6918) is translated ‘Holy One’ in Isa 5:24, Luke 4:34, 1 Peter 1:15, 1 John 2:20, & Rev 16:5.

According to Strong’s Concordance, חסיד (Strong’s H2623 32 occurrences) means ‘kind, pious’, from H2616 that means ‘to be good, kind’, and similarly חסד (Strong’ H2617 247 occurrences) means ‘goodness, kindness’.  But Brown-Driver-Briggs indicate that חסד also means ‘fidelity’ in Gen 24:27, 49, Exodus 34:6, Ps  23:6, 25:10, 26:3, 36:11, 40:12, 41:11, 57:4, 61:8, 77:9, 85:11, 86:15, 88:12, 89:3,11, 15, 25, 92:3, 98:3,101:1, 103:4, 115:1, 117:2, 138:2 , Jer 9:23, 16:5, Hosea 2:21, and Micah 7:20.

In Hosea 6: 4 Yahweh says “What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you O Judah? For your loyalty חסד is like a morning cloud, like the early dew that goes away.”, and in v6 “For loyalty חסד my delight is in and not sacrifices, and knowledge of God from burnt offerings.” Then in v7 Yahweh said “but they, like Adam, transgressed the covenant name, they dealt treacherously with me”.  In this example, it is clear that חסד must mean ‘loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity’ which is the opposite of transgression.  The words ‘lovingkindness’ or ‘mercy’ fail to capture the reciprocity of our relationship with Yahweh.

According to Abarim Publications online Biblical Hebrew Dictionary, the noun חסד is used in a legal context, when two parties make a covenant, a binding treaty in Gen 21:23, and official relationship in 1 Sam 20: 8 – 15.  Yahweh’s “hesed towards us is even more difficult to explain, but he mentions it often (Exodus 20:6, 34: 6 – 7).  And because of the legal ring to this word, translators usually render it with words like loving-kindness, true faithfulness or faithful love.”  They conclude חסד is best translated “‘allegiance’ since that word covers both a natural inclination and a formal contract”.

Peter reveals that Yahshua was Yahweh’s Faithful One חסיד whose body would not see decay in Acts 2:27, in reference to Psalms 16:10 where David says “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will you allow your Faithful One חסידך to see corruption”.  Similarly, Paul quotes Psalm 16:10 and states that David’s body did see corruption, “but he whom God raised did not see corruption” in Acts 13:34 – 37.  Did David believe he was Yahweh’s Faithful One whose body would not decay in the ground?

Did Yahweh Promise to Put David’s Enemies Under his Feet?

Yahshua questioned the Jews “How then Does David in the Spirit call him ‘Lord’? For he says ‘Yahweh said to my Lord “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ So, if David calls him ‘Lord’, how can he be David’s son?” Matt 22: 43 – 44.  He quoted Psalm 110: 1 – 2, so they would see that this prophesy was about him, not David.

Reading the Historical narrative in 2 Samuel, we would believe the prophecy of Yahweh putting “your enemies under your feet” in Ps 110:1 was for David.  Yahweh allegedly promised to save Israel from the hands of all their enemies by the hand of David 2 Sam 3:18, 19:9, give David rest on every side from his enemies 2 Sam 7:1, 11, eliminate all his enemies 2 Sam 7:9, free him from the hand of his enemies 2 Sam 18:19, having saved him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul 2 Sam 22:1, 4.  

But David himself pursued and destroyed his enemies, devoured and crushed them under his feet, giving Yahweh credit for arming him with strength for battle, subduing his enemies, making them retreat from him in 2 Sam 22:38 – 41.

It is clear that David’s enemies pursued him all the days of his life, as many of his Psalms are asking Yahweh to rescue him from his enemies Ps 3:1, 9:13, 17:9, 18:48, 25:19, 27:12, 35:1, 38:19, 42:9, 54:3, 55:3, 56:1 – 7, 59:1 – 2, 64:1 – 2, 68:1, 69:4, 71:4, 140:1 – 4. 

Solomon states his father David was unable to build a house for Yahweh because of the wars that surrounded him, until Yahweh put them “under the soles of his feet, but now Yahweh my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary of crisis. So, I plan to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, according to what Yahweh said to my father David ‘I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build a house for My Name’.” in 1 Kings 5:3 – 5.  But Solomon, like his father David, had his enemies killed in 1 Kings 2:19 – 46.

Was Solomon the Son Who Would Build a House for Yahweh, Whose Kingdom Was Established Forever?

There is a significant amount of propaganda in the Hebrew Bible that make it appear Solomon was the son of David who would build a house for Yahweh, and whose kingdom was established forever 1 Kings 5:5, 8:19, 2 Sam 7:12 – 13, 1 Chr 17:12, 22:10, 28:6, 2 Chr 2:1.

Some of the propaganda makes it appear Solomon was the ‘Son of God’, the Messiah!

In 2 Sam 7:12 Yahweh said to David “when are full your days and you lie down union with your father’s and set up of union with your seed after you leader come forth from your body [organ of generation] מעיך and establish my והכינתי union with את kingdom of him ממלכתו. Although it sounds like Solomon is the seed who came forth from David’s body, the Hebrew מע (Strong’s H4578) is used of future descendants in Isa 48:19 “Your descendants would have been like the sand and the offspring of your body [organ of generation] מע like the grains of sand . . .”

Paul confirmed it was Yahshua, “who was a descendant of David according to the flesh, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead” in Romans 1: 2 – 4.  Although Paul said Yahshua was promised through the prophets, it’s not easy to find prophecies that haven’t been tainted by Davidic or Solomonic propaganda.

They go so far as to attribute Yahweh’s words “He will be My son, and I will be his Father” to Solomon in 1 Chr 22:10 and 28:6, which makes it appear he was the ‘Son of God’, the title of Yahshua throughout the New Testament. Paul confirms that Yahshua was the promised one, written about in Psalm 2:7 “You are My Son, today I have become your Father.” in Act 13:32 – 33.

The quote “You are My Son, today I have become your Father” from Ps 2:7 is attributed to Yahshua in Heb 1:5, along with the quote “I will be his Father, and he will be My Son” that is from 2 Sam 7:14. 

2 Sam 7:14 ends with “if אשר (Strong’s H834) he commits iniquity עות (Strong’s H5753) and I will chasten him כח (Strong’s H3198) with the rod שבט (Strong’s H7626) of men אנשים (Strong’s H376) and with the blows נגעי (Strong’s H5061) of the sons of men”, making it appear that Yahweh’s son will be a sinner who he will discipline. But many words are mistranslated to disguise the real meaning, which prophesies that this son “will guide אשר (Strong’s H833) in the support him עות (Strong’s H5790), and the judge/decide of him כח (Strong’s H3198) in tribe שבט (Strong’s H7626) sick/corrupt of them אנשים (Strong’s H605) and with my mark of נגעי (Strong’s H5061) sons בני Adam אדם.”  (Some of the words are properly classified but mistranslated, and others are misclassified, which together completely change the meaning of the sentence!)

The prophecy in 2 Sam 7:14 is about Yahshua, because Yahweh said in v13 “He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”  It is through Yahshua, not Solomon, that David’s “house and kingdom will endure forever before Me, and your throne will be established forever” 2 Sam 7:16.  As Gabriel told Mary “You will conceive and give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Yahshua.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. Yahweh God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.  His kingdom will never end.” in Luke 1:31 – 33.