The second king of the Israelites (9th cent. BC), born in Bethlehem, the youngest son of Jesse of the tribe of Judas. First he was anointed sovereign of the tribe of Judas and later of all the tribes of Jerusalem. At the beginning of his reign he conquered Jerusalem and made it his capital where he placed the Arc of the Covenant and conceived to erect a temple in Jerusalem but it was built only by his son Solomon. This temple became the Old Testament prototype of the Mother of God, a living temple of the incarnated God. David’s psalms collected in the Psalter rank him among the greatest writers and prophets. They prophesy a number of circumstances of Christ’s life: his incarnation, redeeming sacrifice and resurrection and contain symbolic images of the Mother of God as “the tabernacle of God”. Feast day: during the Christmas week.
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