Scripture: 1 Samuel 16 – 1 Kings 2; 2 Samuel 7
David, the shepherd who defeats Goliath, becomes king of Israel, makes Jerusalem his capital and founds a dynasty that rules Judah for four centuries.
Until 1993 no inscription outside the Bible mentioned David, and some scholars argued he was a later legend. That year the Tel Dan Stele was found, a 9th-century BCE Aramaic victory inscription naming a king of the 'House of David'. A 'House of David' reading has also been proposed on the Mesha Stele, though that is debated. Sites such as Khirbet Qeiyafa show fortified towns in Judah around 1000 BCE.
