King David’s Troubled Life
by Damien F. Mackey According to professor emeritus Israel Finkelstein, known as the “king” of Israeli archaeologists, from Tel Aviv University, there is very little, to no, real history or archaeology for kings David and Solomon. Finkelstein is a complete biblical minimalist. Part One: An Overview King David of Israel (c. 1000 BC), son of Jesse, was a man of startling contradictions. As a shepherd youth, nothing was too hard for him (cf. Sirach 48:13). And when he, an untested warrior, saw the Philistine giant Goliath mocking the armies of Israel, he viewed him like any bear, or lion, who endangered the flock. So while King Saul, towering head and shoulders above the rest of Israel, stood there trembling with his soldiers, and refusing to confront Goliath in single-hand combat, David, deadly with the sling, did not hesitate to step into the breach. Yet, later in life, as a he grew...