Who was davids mother in the bible

Q: Who was King Davids favorite wife?

Megillah 15a). They claim that she was Davids favorite wife and was therefore called Eglah” (calf), because she was as beloved to him as a calf. Eglah, the name of one of Davids wives, is mentioned in II Sam. 3:5.

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What is the name of David's mother?
Was Bathsheba David's mother?
Who was the first wife of King David?
Who was King David's favorite wife?
How many children did King David have in the Bible?
Who is the father of David in the Bible?

Answer

The Bible does not mention King David’s mother by name. A Jewish legend has named her Nitzevet, but there is no biblical confirmation of that name. David’s father, Jesse, lived in Bethlehem and was from the tribe of Judah. David was the youngest of eight brothers (1 Samuel 17:12–14). David also had at least two sisters: “Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail” (1 Chronicles 2:16). But we don’t have much information on David’s mother other than she was a godly woman: in one of David’s psalms, he prays, “Save me, because I serve you just as my mother did” (Psalm 86:16).

Some scholars believe David’s sisters, Abigail and Zeruiah, may have been his half-sisters and that their father was not Jesse but Nahash. The book of 2 Samuel refers to Abigail as the daughter of Nahash: “Absalom had appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Jether, an Israelite who had married Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah the mother of Joab” (2 Samuel 17:25).

Nahash was an Ammonite king (1 Samuel 11:1). Speculation suggests that David’s mother had been married to Nahash when she bore the half-sisters and then later became the second wife of Jesse. Further speculation implies that David’s mother was not yet married to Jesse when she became pregnant—that perhaps she was still married to Nahash when she conceived David.

In Jewish tradition, David’s mother was Nitzevet, the daughter of Adael and the wife of Jesse. The Talmud relates a complicated story concerning Nitzevet: her husband, Jesse, began to doubt the purity of his ancestry, since he was the grandson of Ruth the Moabitess (Ruth 4:17). Due to his doubts, Jesse stopped having marital relations with Nitzevet after she had borne her seventh son. Instead, Jesse planned to marry his Canaanite servant and have children with her. The maidservant, however, had pity on Nitzevet and offered Nitzevet a plan: on the wedding night, Nitzevet and the maidservant could secretly switch places, and Nitzevet could sleep with Jesse one more time. The switch worked, much as Leah and Rachel’s switch had worked on Jacob, and Nitzevet became pregnant with David, her eighth son. Nitzevet never revealed to Jesse what she had done, even when her pregnancy was apparent; therefore, Nitzevet came to be despised as an immoral woman, and her son, David, grew up an outcast in his own family. Again, this is an extrabiblical legend, and there is no way to confirm the accuracy of the tale of Nitzevet.

These theories could explain why David was not accepted by his family: “I am a foreigner to my own family, a stranger to my own mother’s children” (Psalm 69:8). David was left to tend the flocks when the prophet Samuel invited all of Jesse’s sons to a sacrifice (1 Samuel 16:5). God had told Samuel that He would choose one of the sons to be anointed king, but the family never even considered David as a possibility (1 Samuel 16:11). The theories might also shed some light on Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (ESV).

While David’s mother’s name is not given in the Bible, one passage mentions David’s genuine care and concern for her. First Samuel 22:3–4 relates how David traveled to Moab to request an audience with the king of Moab. David was seeking sanctuary for his parents, a safe place for his “father and mother” to live.

The story of David reveals God’s amazing grace and sovereignty. Like Jesus Christ, David was a “stone the builders rejected” (Psalm 118:22; Luke 20:17), and, like Jesus, David was chosen by God to do great things. David’s mother, though nameless to us, has the honor of raising a king of Israel and continuing the line of the Messiah.

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King David’s mother

The Bible does not give us the name of King David’s mother. But it does mention that David was the son of Jesse who was from the tribe of Judah and lived in Bethlehem. The Bible tells us that David was the youngest of eight brothers: “Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul” (1 Samuel 17:12–14).

King David had also at least two sisters,“Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail” (1 Chronicles 2:16). Some scholars point that their father of these girls was not Jesse but Nahash. For in 2 Samuel it points to Abigail as the daughter of Nahash: “Absalomhad appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Jether, an Israelite who had married Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah the mother of Joab” (2 Samuel 17:25). Nahash was an Ammonite king (1 Samuel 11:1). The name Nahash is the familiar Hebrew word for “serpent.”

It is possible that King David’s mother was a second wife to Jesse David’s father but her name is not mentioned in the Bible.

King David

King David (c. 1000 bce), was the second king of ancient Israel. David founded the Judaean dynasty and united all the tribes of Israel under a single rule. His son Solomon expanded the empire that he built (1 Kings 4:21). The main narrative of David’s career consists of several chapters in the books 1 and 2 Samuel in the Old Testament.

David was the youngest son of Jesse. But he was chosen by God and anointed by Samuel the prophet to be king over Israel after Saul disobeyed the Lord (1 Samuel 16:10, 13). He rose to popularity a national hero when he killed the giant Goliath, a warrior of the Philistines, Israel’s enemies (1 Samuel 17:32-50).

The rise in popularity caused aroused Saul’s jealousy. And he plotted to kill him. David then fled into southern Judah and Philistia, on the coastal plain of Palestine where he hid for many years. During those years, David got the chance to kill Saul more than once but he refused saying that he will not touch the Lord’s anointed (1 Samuel 19:1–2; 24:5–7).

After the death of Saul, David was announced a king in Hebron (2 Samuel 5-8). And he conquered the Jebusite-held town of Jerusalem, which he made the capital of the new united kingdom and to which he moved the sacred Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 6).

David subdued the Philistines fully and they were never again a serious threat to the Israelites’ security (1 Chronicles 18). He went on to set up an empire by becoming the ruler of many small kingdoms bordering on Israel, including Edom, Moab, and Ammon (2 Samuel 8). David’s great victories as a military leader was impaired by interconnected family disputes and political revolts.

David was anointed king by God because he was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:13–14; Acts 13:22). The intent of his heart was to serve his Creator (Psalms 57:7; 108:1), and when he sinned, he repented in sincerity and humility (Psalms 32:5–7; 51:1–17). The Psalms are also attributed to him, a tribute to his legendary faith, humility and great devotion of God.

In His service,
BibleAsk Team

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