Bible: How old was David when he became king? The story of King David’s life is a fascinating narrative full of victory, defeat, betrayal and redemption. As a shepherd, composer, giant slayer, fugitive, father, and king, he gained experiences unimaginable to any human being in a lifetime. At every stage of his life, he saw God’s hand in his life in a unique way.
The story of David in the Bible begins when the prophet Samuel anointed him as the new king of Israel by God’s command (1 Samuel 16:1-13). This anointing took place after King Saul was rejected by God (1 Samuel 15:10-35) due to not completely destroying the Amalekites according to God’s command (1 Samuel 15:1-9).
In response, Prophet Samuel reprimanded Saul as follows:
“Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he also has rejected thee from the kingdom” (1 Samuel 15:23).
Unfortunately, the text does not directly mention David’s age when he was anointed king. However, there are some clues that can be used to estimate his age:
Age of older brothers: David was the eighth son of Jesse’s eight sons (1 Samuel 16:10). His three older brothers were fighting for King Saul at that time (1 Samuel 17:13). If we assume that their ages are between 18 and 20 years old, Dawood was probably between 15 and 17 years old.
David’s Skills: At the time of his anointing, David was known as the shepherd of his father’s sheep and was known for his skills in playing the harp (1 Samuel 16:18). This shows that he was old enough to take on important responsibilities.
Finally, based on these clues, it is estimated that David was about 15-17 years old when he was anointed king by Samuel. Of course, this is an estimate and we cannot say with certainty how accurate it is.
When did David become king in Hebron?
When it comes to the exact timeline of David’s life and his age at certain events, many dates are approximate. However, the Bible clearly states that David became king in Hebron at the age of 30 after the death of King Saul and his son Jonathan (1 Samuel 31).
Shortly after Saul’s remaining son, Ishbo Baath, was murdered by his own advisers (2 Samuel 4), the Bible tells us that “all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron to make him king” (2 Samuel 5:1). -3). It then states that David became king at age 30 and reigned 40 years: seven and a half years in Hebron and 33 years over the entire nation (2 Samuel 5:1-5).
This part of the Bible gives us a firmer foundation for building a timeline for the rest of David’s life.
How many years did David become the king of the entire nation of Israel?
If we assume that David was 30 years old when he reigned in Hebron, which is true according to the Bible (2 Samuel 5:1-5), and he reigned there for seven and a half years, then when he took the city of Jerusalem from the Jebusites Conquered and established it as the capital of Israel, he was about 37 or 38 years old (2 Samuel 5:5-12; 1 Chronicles 11:4-9).
Furthermore, if David ruled over the entire nation of Israel in Jerusalem for another 33 years, added to his seven years in Hebron, he would have been king for a total of 40 years. According to this account, he was about 70 years old when he died and handed over the kingdom to his son Suleiman.
Therefore, based on this assumption and biblical information, David became king of the entire nation of Israel at around 37-38 years of age and died at around 70 years of age.
Today in the article : Bible: How old was David when he became king? We reviewed useful information about the Bible and the way of Jesus. If you wish, you can view other articles of Ali Vahidi about Christianity
