The Messiah, "the Anointed One," originally began as an earthly king who ruled by divine appointment.

In the last two centuries BC, the "Son of David," another name for the Messiah, became the apocalyptic and Heavenly One who would deliver Israel and create a new kingdom. This was Christianity's beginning idea of the Messiah.

The early Christian church held the concept the life of David foreshadowed the life of Jesus. Some similarities of both are:

-they were born in Bethlehem
-David's shepherd life painted Jesus as the Good Shepherd
-the five stones David chose to use to slay Goliath were symbolic of the five wounds Jesus suffered:

-----crown of thorns
-----flogged at the pillar
-----nail wounds in His hands
-----nail wounds in His feet
-----lance piercing His side

-David betrayed by his trusted counselor Ahitophel (Psalm 41:9 and Psalm 55:12-14, and passage over the Kidron Valley northeast of the Old City of Jerusalem, which separated the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives, reminds of the Passion of Jesus:

-----triumphant entry into Jerusalem
-----cleansing of the Temple
-----anointing
-----Last Supper
-----agony in Gethsemane
-----arrest
-----Sanhedrine trial
-----trial before Pontius Pilate
-----crucifixion
-----death
-----burial
-----resurrection

-According to the New Testament, many of David's Psalms are typical of the Messiah

David was a member of the Nine Worthies, a historical, scriptural, and legendary group who personified the ideals of chivalry established in the Middle Ages. Their lives were chosen as valuable studies for others on how to become chivalric. They are:

3 Christians:
-King Arthur
-Charlemagne
-Godfrey of Bouillion, the Leader of the First Crusade, and King of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100. He was known as the Defender of the Holy Sepulchre.

3 Jews:
-David
-Joshua
-Judah Maccabeus, who led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid (Greek) Empire from 167BC to 160BC. Hanukkah commemorates Jewish worship at the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 167BC after Judah Maccabeus removed the statutes of Greek gods and goddesses from the Temple and purified it.

3 Pagans:

-Julius Caesar
-Alexander the Great
-Hector, the greatest warrior for Troy in the Trojan War

David was considered a model ruler and a symbol of divinely-ordained monarchy. He was perceived as the biblical predecessor to Christian Roman and Byzantine emporers. They were called "New Davids."

3 Dynasties claimed direct biological descent from David:

-the Solomonic Dynasty of Ethiopia of the 13th Century. This dynasty lasted until 1974.

-the Georgian Bagratids Dynasty that reigned in Georgia, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, from the Middle Ages to the Early 19th Century.

-kings of the Frankish Carolingian Dynasty of the 8th Century, from about 750 to 887. Named after Charlemagne, many of them were called Charles. Ruled Western Europe and the West Bank of the Rhine River region.

Sources:

Bible
worldhistory.org
myjewishlearning.com
britannica.com
nationalgeographic.com

Next Time: Sea Of Galilee #32: Early Branches Of David's Family Tree