David
King of Israel and Judah · Historical Figures · Lived 1039 BC to 969 BC · aged 70
David is read about 6,010 times a day, in 112 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 27 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 400 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?The shepherd who slew Goliath and became Israel's second king - a bronze-age ruler whose historical existence is disputed but whose biblical story shaped three religions and launched a thousand sculptures.
Also in Deutsch
Photos 12
Samuel anoints David, Dura-Europos synagogue, now in Syria, 3rd century AD.
David and Goliath (1888), color lithograph by German artist Osmar Schindler
David raises the head of Goliath, Gustave Doré's illustration (1866), colorized and published in Josephine Pollard's Sweet stories of God (1899).
Saul threatening David, by José LeonardoIn their own words 4
, Wash me O Lord for my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, lead me in the way everlasting.
I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.
In their orbit
About this person
The Hebrew Bible casts David as a harpist devoted to Yahweh who wins fame by felling the Philistine giant Goliath. He becomes a favorite of King Saul, then a fugitive when Saul fears a rival. After Saul and his son Jonathan die in battle, the tribes anoint David king. He conquers Jerusalem, makes it his capital, and brings the Ark of the Covenant there. He commits adultery with Bathsheba and arranges her husband Uriah's death. His son Absalom tries to overthrow him but is killed; David returns to rule. He wants to build a temple but is refused because of his bloodshed. He dies at 70 and names Solomon - his son with Bathsheba - as successor. Jewish tradition honors him as ancestor of the coming Messiah; early Christians traced Jesus to his line; the Quran names him prophet and king.
Fame.am measures public visibility signals. It does not measure human value, talent, morality, or credibility.