How is the Hebrew David Famous?

Answer 1

The Hebrew David, also known as King David, grew up during a period of national teshuva (repentance and drawing near to God). He was the youngest son of an aristocratic family, and was initially ignored by his elders. He seemed a simple shepherd, but in the privacy of the fields he followed in the Forefathers' footsteps and meditated in the Torah and prayed to God. Over a couple of decades, he attained an extremely high level of closeness to God, so that when he heard that Goliath the Philistine warrior was terrorizing the Jewish soldiers of King Saul, he had perfect trust that God would vindicate him. He went and faced the heavily-armed Goliath with no weapons or armor at all, picking up just a few pebbles as he strode forward. The famous outcome, in which the stone entered precisely through Goliath's narrow visor and penetrated his forehead, was an open miracle that sent the Philistines into disarray and defeat and enthralled the Jewish nation. In this and every one of his great successes, David maintained his utter humility and returned to his prayers and Torah.

When King Saul was found wanting in God's eyes, the prophet Samuel was sent by God to anoint David as king.

A few of King David's accomplishments were: he finally subjugated all the oppressive neighboring nations who had harassed the Jews on and off during the 350-year era of the Judges. He widened the borders as far as the Euphrates. He composed and collated the book of Psalms (Tehillim) with Divine inspiration. He laid the blueprints and created the foundations for the first Temple, and amassed vast quantities of gold, silver, copper, and fine woods to be used in its construction. But above all, he intensified the wave of national teshuva (drawing near to God) and sparked an inundation of intensity in the service of God.

During his lifetime, David had to contend with all manner of enemies and perils, but God aided him without fail, as mentioned in the opening verse of Psalm 18. The book of Psalms is replete with the dangers that David faced (Psalms 3, 5, 9, 22, 59, 63, 73, 89, 109, 144 and others).