including the Philistine city-states, reducing them to vassals and forcing
them to pay tribute. Second, he extended the borders of his kingdom in all
directions, thus creating a contiguous kingdom that contrasted the patch-
work territory of the tribal confederation.
Third, David captured the heretofore impenetrable city of Jerusalem from
the Jebusites. The military genius that this task required was matched by the
political acumen David displayed by making Jerusalem the new capital of the
United Monarchy. Situated neither in Judea nor within the land of any other
Israelite tribe, Jerusalem could be claimed equally by all the tribes. Protected
by the topography of the Judean Hills, Jerusalem would be easy to defend.
David reinforced the centrality of Jerusalem by relocating the Tabernacle and
the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. From this point on, Jerusalem would
remain the religious center of the Israelite and, later, of the Jewish world.
Fourth, David attained religious legitimacy for his dynastic reign as king
of Israel, thus avoiding the sorts of problems confronted by Saul as he lost the
endorsement of Samuel. David not only extended the borders, but reached
those borders promised by biblical tradition – the Euphrates River to the
north, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, the Egyptian border to the south,
and the eastern desert. Thus, David transformed himself and his reign into
the agent through which the biblical promise of the land was fulfilled. This,
along with Samuel’s endorsement, added a component of religious legitimacy
that granted him wide latitude in the political and military endeavors under-
taken by his dynastic successors.
David further enhanced this religious legitimacy through a series of diplo-
matic moves. He subordinated the priesthood without alienating it. He won
the support of the Aaronite priesthood, and then incorporated the indigenous
Jerusalem priesthood as a second line of priests, the Zadokites, that was
beholden to the dynasty. In contrast to Saul’s alienation of Samuel by the end
of his reign, David won the support of a leading prophet, Nathan. The
crowning achievement in David’s legitimacy was delivered by Nathan, who
conveyed to David a corollary to the promissory covenant with the patriarchs:
an eternal royal-grant covenant in the form of a divine promise that David’s
dynastic rule would never end. By accomplishing these tasks, David was able
to unite the tribes, transforming a loose confederation into a more unified
monarchy with a strong allegiance to the dynasty, to the Tabernacle, and to
the city of Jerusalem.
In a sense, the passionate nature that had fueled David’s successes as a war-
rior, king, and poet surfaced in other ways periodically during his rise to
power. While a vassal of King Saul, David sang to Saul to ease the latter’s
bouts of what appear to have been depression and schizophrenia. Once king,
while transporting the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, David sang and
danced half-naked in the street, prompting censure from his wife Michal
(now identified disparagingly as Eglah, or Cow).
12 The world of the Hebrew Bible