David

David is the second king of Israel and the founder of the Davidic dynasty from which, in Christian tradition, Jesus descends (Matthew 1:1; Luke 3:31). His story spans 1 Samuel 16 through 1 Kings 2 and 1 Chronicles 11–29. The narrative portrays him as shepherd, giant-slayer, musician, warrior, fugitive from Saul, and finally king who brought the Ark to Jerusalem and received the covenant promise of 2 Samuel 7. He is depicted as both morally exemplary ("a man after God's own heart," 1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22) and morally failed (the Bathsheba / Uriah narrative, 2 Samuel 11–12). Seventy-three Psalms are titled as his in the Masoretic Text. The 9th-century-BCE Tel Dan Stele's "house of David" inscription is a widely-discussed extra-biblical reference; scholars debate whether "bytdwd" should be read as a reference to the dynasty — the reference works cited survey the discussion.