December 26 Feast (Urs) of David, Prophet and King - Celebrated in the Orthodox Church David (p.b.u.h.) according to the Hebrew Bible, was the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel, and according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus. His life is conventionally dated to c. 1040–970 BCE, his reign over Judah c. 1010–1002 BCE, and his reign over the United Kingdom of Israel c. 1002–970 BCE. The Books of Samuel, 1 Kings, and 1 Chronicles are the Biblical sources of information on David, although the Tel Dan Stele (dated c. 850–835 BCC) contains the phrase בית דוד (Beit David), read as House of David, which most scholars take as confirmation of the existence in the mid-9th century BC of a Judean royal dynasty called the House of David. He is depicted as a righteous king, although not without faults, as well as an acclaimed warrior, musician, and poet, traditionally credited for composing many of the psalms contained in the Book of Psalms. David is central to Jewish, Christian, and Islamic doctrine and culture. Biblical tradition maintains that a direct descendant of David will be the Messiah. In Islam, he is considered a prophet David (Arabic داود, Dāwūd) is a highly important figure in Islam as one of the major prophets sent by God to guide the Israelites. David is mentioned several times in the Quran, often with his son Solomon. The actual Arabic equivalent to the Hebrew Davīd is Dawūd. In the Quran: David killed Goliath (II: 251), Goliath was a powerful king who used to invade random kingdoms and villages. Goliath was spreading evil and corruption. When David killed Goliath, God granted him kingship and wisdom and enforces it (XXXVIII: 20). David is made Gods vicegerent on earth (XXXVIII: 26) and God further gives David sound judgment (XXI: 78; XXXVII: 21–24, 26) as well as the Psalms, which are regarded as books of divine wisdom (IV: 163; XVII, 55). The birds and mountains unite with David in uttering praise to God (XXI: 79; XXXIV: 10; XXXVIII: 18), while God instructs David in the art of fashioning chain-mail out of iron (XXXIV: 10; XXI: 80). Together with Solomon, David gives judgment in a case of damage to the fields (XXI: 78) and David judges in the matter between two disputants in his prayer chamber (XXXVIII: 21–23). Since there is no mention in the Quran of the wrong David did to Uriah nor is there any reference to Bathsheba, Muslims reject this narrative. Muslim tradition and the hadith stress Davids zeal in daily prayer as well as in fasting. Quran commentators, historians and compilers of the numerous Stories of the Prophets elaborate upon Davids concise Quranic narratives and specifically mention Davids gift in singing his Psalms as well as his musical and vocal talents. His voice is described as having had a captivating power, weaving its influence not only over man but over all beasts and nature, who would unite with him to praise God.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 16:55:11 +0000
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