ABSTRACT
King David is one of the central figures in the history of Israel, told in the pages of the Bible. Historically, he oversees and consolidates an immense political change in the governance of Israel. Theologically he is a key element in the future hope of the nation, and becomes the type of divine, benign and powerful leadership which Christians see fulfilled in Jesus, the Christ. The story of the choosing and early years of David is told with an extremely positive spin, such that his manipulative dexterity and self-promotion are almost universally ignored in the present day. Saul is vilifed, David is lifted up. The reader is carried along, entranced by the magic of his personality. David's story is very long, and complex. Unusually, his military and political exploits are told alongside his relationships with individual women and men, so that the connection between political and sexual conquest is made very clear.
