Was David a giant-killing king who joined together Israel and Judah?

Answer 1

The evidence is conflicting. Even The Bible seems to be unsure about David's battle with Goliath, while scholars doubt whether Israel and Judah were ever joined together, some even doubting the existence of David himself.

According to the biblical story in 1 Samuel, David definitely did kill giants, including the famous Goliath. According to 1 Chronicles, David does not seem to have killed Goliath, even though the First Book of Samuel gives this battle as the most important reason for the eventual acceptance of David as king. In terms of history and the archaeological record, there is no evidence of any skeletons, artefacts or independent records to show that a giant ever lived.

According to the Bible, David ruled over a United Monarchy of Israel and Judah. Finkelstein and Silberman (The Bible Unearthed) believe that the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were always separate, with different life styles, different pottery, different myths and legends, and even speaking different dialects of Hebrew. They insist there is no evidence the kingdoms ever were united.