David Expands His Kingdom

DAVID’S KINGDOM expanded outward in all directions, possibly reaching as far as the Euphrates in northern Syria. This week, we read the records of David’s wars against the Arameans of Damascus and Zobah to the north, the small kingdoms east of the Jordan (Ammon, Moab, and Edom), and the Amalekites in the south.  We discuss the historical context of David’s reign and the recent discovery of an Iron Age kingdom in southern Turkey and northern Syria, known from inscriptions as Palistin (and probably related to the Philistines who settled between Israel and Egypt), whose best-known king, Taita, may be the Toi/Tou mentioned in 2 Sam. 8 and 1 Chr. 18. We also discuss David’s kindness to Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, something that would have been unusual in a time when preserving the life of a male descendant of the former king, Saul, would have been unusual.