ABSTRACT
David accepts God's will with all humility and proceeds with the business of building his kingdom. Covenantal politics is emphasized at every turn, expressing both an understanding of Israelite political culture and a set of normative political expectations which place political actors and actions under judgment. The Davidic paradigm is one of competing paradigms of the classic regime in the Jewish political tradition, along with the previous Mosaic regime. Prior to the regime change, Samuel as judge and prophet continued in the line of Moses and Joshua and straddled the constitutional and civil authority. David's wisdom was to recognize that, once constitutionalized by covenant, the basic lines of authority had to be maintained but could be manipulated to serve his ends. David then personally and privately charges Solomon to maintain Israel's constitution as king, using the classic formula of the Torah.
