David, (flourished c. 1000 bce), biblical Israelite king and the first monarch of all the Israelite tribes. He was the father of Solomon, who expanded the empire that David built. He is an important figure in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam also that the youngest son of Jesse, David began his career as an aide at the court of Saul, Israel’s first king. He so distinguished himself as a warrior against the Philistines that his resultant popularity aroused Saul’s jealousy, and a plot was made to kill him but, according to the biblical account, David was proclaimed king in Hebron. He struggled for a few years against the contending claim and forces of Ishbaal, Saul’s surviving son, who had also been crowned king, but the civil war ended with the murder of Ishbaal by his own courtiers and the anointing of David as king over all of Israel.
