Who Was King David’s Mother? (Part 3 – Other Speculations)

In the last post, we discussed how David was treated as an outcast because his mother had been previously married to a heathen king (the king of Ammon) and thus David’s brothers and father treated him as an outcast. In this final part, we’ll look at some other speculations about who the mother of King David was.

Other Speculations about Who King David’s Mother Was

The explanation I’ve laid about above seems to make the most historical, and most of all Biblical, sense. But, there are others floating around out there as well.

One speculation I’ve found was that David’s father Jesse accused David’s mother of committing adultery. The account goes that Jesse disowned her, and married another woman. But, that woman felt sorry for David’s mother and, on the night of the marriage, swapped places with her and Jesse actually slept with his original wife, thinking it was his new wife (think Jacob, Rachel, and Leah), thus impregnating her with David, though he wasn’t aware of it. Therefore, he disowned her and David.

Another speculation is that Jesse committed adultery with a Hittite and that is how David was born, and why he was consequently rejected by his brethren, having a strange woman for a mother. This same thing happened to Jephtha in Judges 11:1-2  Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.  (2)  And Gilead’s wife bare him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou art the son of a strange woman.

Again, the explanation we’ve laid out in this post is more Biblically viable than the others we’ve found. None of it matters other than to get a better understanding of the kind of drama that happened in the lives of those we love to read about in the Bible! They were people, just like us!!

More scriptures for further reading on the reasons for God’s prohibition of the Hebrews marrying Ammonites and Moabites

Numbers 25:1-2  And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.  (2)  And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.

Deuteronomy 7:3-4  Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.  (4)  For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

1 Kings 11:1; 4 – 6  But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; (4-6)  For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.  (5)  For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.  (6)  And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.

Ezra 9:1-2  Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.  (2)  For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.

Nehemiah 13:23-26  In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab:  (24)  And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews’ language, but according to the language of each people.  (25)  And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves.  (26)  Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin.2 Corinthians 6:14-16  Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?  (15)  And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?  (16)  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Who Was King David’s Mother? (Part 2 – David the Outcast)

Psalm 51:5 (KJV) – “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

In Part 1 of this series, we brought out how that in this Psalm, David was not referring to being born into the sin nature because they didn’t understand that concept yet.

David Was an Outcast Among his Family

Let’s look into this and find out why I say this. David had two half-sisters (Zeruiah, Abigail) according to 1st Chronicles 2:15(b) -16(a) …David the seventh:  (16)  Whose sisters were Zeruiah, and Abigail…. The father of David’s half-sisters was not Jesse. 2 Samuel 17:25(b)  …Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab’s mother.

Nahash, the father of Zeruiah and Abigal, David’s half-sisters, was an Ammonite king, according to 1 Samuel 11:1  Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabeshgilead…1 Samuel 12:12  And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king.

David’s father was Jesse, not Nahash. It seems that David’s mother (whom Jewish tradition names as Nitzevet, the daughter of Adael) had been previously married to Nahash, King of Ammon and Zeruiah and Abigail were David’s half-sisters through his mother’s previous marriage to Nahash. This would also help explain why Nahash showed kindness to David, perhaps out of respect for David’s mother, Nahash’s former wife, and the mother of two of Nahash’s children, according to 2 Samuel 10:2  Then said David, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon.

Jesse seems to have been the second husband of David’s mother, and David’s mother seems to have been the second wife of Jesse, the first wife being the mother of David’s seven older half-brothers. Jesse’s first wife would have been in better standing before the `righteousness of the law’ since his first wife had not been married to, or the concubine of, a heathen king, as was David’s mother.

This perhaps explains why David’s half-brothers, Jesse’s older sons, would have felt they were superior to David, and thus treated David as an outcast. This may also be why David would be accused of being proud, for thinking he was as good as them….1st Samuel 17:28 …and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart…

David may not have been considered, by his father Jesse, as a `true’ son as David’s half-brothers were. On a side note, you might think Jesse would not have treated his son this way, since Jesse himself was one quarter Moabite, being the grandson of Ruth, a Moabitess. Ruth 4:21-22  And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,  (22)  And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

Samuel had called Jesse and his sons, and thus expected `all’ his sons, to the sacrifice. 1 Samuel 16:5  And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

Jesse had been told to bring `his sons’ by the prophet Samuel and seems to have been confident he had obeyed the prophet, even knowing he did not bring David. 1 Samuel 16:11  And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. This reinforces the understanding that sometimes God chooses those whom men esteem to be worthless to be the most used in His kingdom!

It seems that David’s mother was a Jewish woman, because she seems to have had a relationship with God, as David states in Psalms 86:16  …and save the son of thine handmaid. This was a phrase of respect and submission to the Lord.

David’s mother does not seem to have been an Ammonite, as the Law states in Deuteronomy 23:3  An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever:

In the next post we’ll look at some other speculations of who the mother of King David was.

Who Was King David’s Mother?(Part 1)

I found the following on the web and thought it was interesting. It is adapted from its original post, which you can read by clicking here

David Was Conceived in Sin?

Psalm 51:5 (KJV) – “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

This is a Hebrew poetic parallelism where the second line of the verse says the same thing as the first line but in a slightly different way.

The subject of Psalm 51:5 does not seem to be dealing with the condition of David’s nature as a sinner at, or before, his birth. Although it is true that he was born in sin (into the nature of sin) just like all other people, they did not understand this concept as we do today. As a matter of fact, this concept was not understood fully until it was written about by Paul in Romans 7.

This is where Paul discusses that he could not do the things he wanted to do, and yet would find himself doing the things he doesn’t want to do. He ultimately comes to the understanding, through revelation from God, Romans 7:17; 21  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (21)  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. This has come to be known as the law of sin, or the sin nature.

Even in John 3, when Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God., the Lord did not tell him why nor did Nicodemus ask why this was the case. He asked how to be born again, but he did not ask why. Again, the revelation of being born into the sin nature wasn’t revealed until Romans 7. This is why we must be born again.

In our original text of Psalm 51:5, David was not referring to being born into the sin nature because they didn’t understand that concept yet. They understood the requirement to keep the commandments of the Old Testament law. Furthermore, the Hebrew word for “sin” in Psalm 51:5 is chata which indicates a sinful action rather than a sinful location (i.e. being born into (location) the sin nature) as stated in Romans 7.

In the next post, we’ll look at why David was such an outcast among his family!

Zealously Affected…but not Well

Galatians 4:16-17 (KJV)  Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?  (17)  They zealously affect you, but not well…

The letter to the Galatians was written by Paul to prove that justification is not obtained through rites or laws and that they are not essential to obtain salvation. During this time of Paul’s ministry, there were religious teachers who were trying to get these new Christians in Galatia to believe that they could only be accepted by God if they kept the commandments of the Old Testament. The Old Testament Law was intended by God to constantly remind people of how sinful they were and how much in need of a Savior they were. This knowledge was intended by God to lead people to Christ for their salvation.

Paul is pointing out that those who would focus more on the Law for their spiritual justification minimize the power of Christ as their Mediator and Justifier because they are depending on their religious works rather than upon the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

In this particular area of Galatians, Paul is drawing the reader’s attention to the fact that these false teachers were zealous about their influence on others and were apparently having some form of an effect on the believers there. Paul, just like all ministers who are called of God, did his part by stepping in and heading off the devil’s attempts to destroy these believers.

The main approach the devil was using was trying to get these Christians to depend upon their own ability to keep a religious law rather than depend upon Christ’s ability to save them and set them free from the power of their sin.

“One approach the enemy of our souls uses to influence Christians in a negative way is by using the ways and fashions of this world.”

In this post, we’re going to take this concept of being zealously affected in a negative way and show how that we as Christians, no matter how long we’ve served God, must always be vigilant against the influences that this present evil world has on us and to ensure we are not effected by those influences in a negative way.

One approach the enemy of our souls uses to influence Christians in a negative way is by using the ways and fashions of this world. When we speak of “fashions of this world” negatively affecting the Christian, this doesn’t mean that a Christian cannot have any sense of fashion about their clothing, hairstyle, vehicle, etc. It simply means that we do not allow the trends of the current social system (“the world”) to have so much influence on those decisions that we start to look and act like those who don’t even know God.

We are reminded by Paul in 1st Corinthians 7:31 …for the fashion of this world passeth away. The original word for “fashion” used in this verse is the Greek word schema, from which we get the English word “scheme” or design. While the Christian lifestyle is one of living according to the guidelines set by God in His word, those who don’t know God are not going to do this. Therefore, their fashions, schemes, and designs are meant to accentuate, show, and exalt qualities about themselves.

The child of God, however, while aware of looking relevant and pleasant, is also aware of the guidelines in God’s word about things such as outward modesty and holiness. In other words, our goal is not to lift ourselves up to garner everyone’s attention nor is it to lower ourselves down so as to be like everyone around us.

With this said, there are some kinds of clothing that, though they may be trendy and popular, the born again Christian just isn’t going to wear them. Again, looking relevant and pleasant are still possible but not at the cost of properly representing Christ in this world!

Video Teaching: “The Development of Emerging Leaders in the Kingdom of God”

The Apostle Paul poured into Titus as an emerging leader in the kingdom of God. Pastor Fulmer explains how that this wasn’t just something for Paul to do, but this same thing should be done in the church today!

Dealing with Diotrephes

3rd John 1:9-10  I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.  (10)  Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

I recently posted a blog entitled A Gift to Gaius. It was meant to be a Biblical illustration of servant-leadership in which I brought out the value of giving positive feedback and how it no doubt served Gaius in a way that only positive feedback from a respected person can. There is also another form of servant-leadership I’d like to address in this post.

Pastors are known as shepherds when it comes to leading God’s people, and the Apostle John was no exception to this. Just as shepherds have to love their sheep, so also are Pastors expected to love the people they lead. We see John’s loving side of this role in his opening address to Gaius. We see how much Gaius and his efforts for the kingdom of God meant to John and the great Apostle showed immense excitement for the fact that there was a man in that church who could be counted on to take on substantive and important roles! This would bless any Pastor!

There is another side of shepherding that, although it’s often recognized among those leading actual sheep, it is often overlooked, completely ignored, or even despised when it comes to spiritual shepherds. The side of which I’m speaking is the protective side of shepherding.

We see an example of this in the ever famous account of David and Goliath, where David tells King Saul in 1st Samuel 17:34-36  And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:  (35)  And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.  (36)  Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear…

This part stands out to me as it pertains to the protecting side of servant-leadership because, as I alluded to earlier, it seems that when we think of leading God’s people as a shepherd, we think of it as only being in a loving, soft, or caring way. While there is certainly a place for this, it is as if that’s the only side of leadership there is or that we should acknowledge.

That’s not even the only side of actual shepherding, as we see from the words of David who was a young shepherd at the time he spoke these words. So, if we are going to use shepherding as an illustration of servant-leadership, then let’s make sure we get both sides of the illustration involved.

When David told King Saul that he killed the lion and the bear, it was for the sole intent of protecting those sheep. He didn’t allow the lion and bear to be around the sheep because “The bear just has a few anger issues that need to get worked out, but one day he’ll repent” or “The lion just likes to play a little rough with the sheep, but he means well” or “One day the lion will lay down with the lamb and he will understand the error of his ways. I just need to keep loving and teaching him and the bear until they finally understand and repent”. And yet, this is how shepherding God’s people is viewed!

As a shepherd, David did not view it that way. He viewed it as “I need to serve these sheep and serve my father, to whom these precious sheep belong, by protecting them against these predators who obviously have ill intent against the sheep.” David recognized “Both are predators and that’s what predators do. So, I need to take the proper steps to ensure these predators don’t do to my sheep what predators like to do to sheep…kill and eat them!”

THIS is what the Apostle John was doing when he told Gaius about Diotrephes in 3rd John 1:10  Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

In other words, “I’m dealing with this, not because I don’t care for Diotrephes, but as a service to those whom he is destroying by his evil works.” Just like David, John was protecting the sheep from the predator that obviously had ill intent. He didn’t say, “Well, Diotrephes just needs to pray and hear the Gospel a little more and he’ll eventually get it”. John was willing to deal with the situation, knowing that the temporary friction it caused would create heat for a while, but he also knew he could take the heat and that the long lasting benefits would be worth the investment of time and energy.

Just as in our last post, there is a caring and loving side of servant-leadership, but there is also a protecting side of servant-leadership. John understood this and, rather than letting the innocent get slaughtered for the sake of keeping one person or not offending anyone (good luck with that), John was willing to accept the responsibility of his role as an Apostle and deal with the one who wasn’t doing right in order to preserve and protect those who were doing right. That is a side of shepherding we don’t hear much about, but it is definitely Biblical and it ends up serving everyone better!

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A Gift to Gaius

3 John 1:5-7  Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers;  (6)  Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well:  (7)  Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.

The Apostle John, who wrote five books in the New Testament which include The Gospel of John, 1st John, 2nd John, 3rd John, and Revelation, shows to us in this shortest of New Testament books, a very important attribute of servant-leadership. It is something that, if one is not open to seeing, could be missed completely and probably is missed to the casual Bible reader who is just trying to complete their daily Bible reading and sees the brevity of this letter as an easy task.

As a Pastor, along with teaching Biblical doctrines and practical application of the Bible to my congregation, I often find myself teaching on personal development principles, so certain words and events tend to stand out to me from that perspective as well.

In the scriptures above, Gaius is the recipient of this letter and he apparently would take care of travelling ministers as they passed through his town while preaching the Gospel. There was also a church there because John would later have to deal with some issues in that church, which we’ll talk about in a later post.

Gaius was well known by John as being someone who took care of these travelling ministers and Gaius probably did these things without looking for any kind of emotional payoff from others; no likes on Facebook; just good, old fashioned love for God and appreciation for the ministry of the Gospel!

In this world of social media it seems like people think the smallest thought or deed should be recorded, noticed, and praised and so they post it on their social media accounts and wait for the responses to roll in. There will be people who give those responses even to the smallest and most mundane of things thus creating this never-ending feedback loop among the needy and the needed. While social media can have its place and be a kind of blessing even to the work of God, it is certainly not without its downfalls.

I believe John wanted to send Gaius this letter as a way of not only thanking him for his sacrificial service to the kingdom of God (which would probably have been considered an honor in itself) but by giving him a bigger gift even than that.

What gift is that? The gift to Gaius was feedback. This gave Gaius the “30,000 foot view” of the bigger plan and mission and let him see from way up high (John’s perspective) where Gaius’ efforts fit into that plan and mission down on the ground. As John would put it, verse 8 – …that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth. In other words, “Gaius, your personal efforts are helping to ensure that the truth of God’s word continues to be preached and people are given the chance to be saved! Ultimately we are building God’s kingdom and this is how your efforts fit into that!”.

Additionally, it was not just intellectual information nor an emotional outburst of “Yippy, yippy Gaius is awesome!”, but genuine and practical feedback about how Gaius’ personal efforts fit into and helped the greater mission. This is not something that had to be given all the time, nor should it be expected all the time, but it no doubt helped Gaius realize that his efforts weren’t being taken for granted but that he was serving a bigger purpose.

This approach can be applied in any setting where people are involved and it’s something I’m currently working on implementing at my own level of leadership as I also grow and develop personally. I’m sure it was appreciated by the one receiving it because it not only showed he was having a positive impact, but it also showed him where he stood in the heart of the Apostle; something I’m sure meant a lot to Gaius.

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Faith That Takes a Risk

Hebrews 11:31  By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

You can read about this event in Joshua 2. In this account, as the army of Israel was preparing to conquer the city of Jericho, Joshua, who was the leader of the Israel’s army at that time, sent two spies into the city to secretly gather information. This way they would know more about the city before they launched an attack.

While the spies were in the city, they went into the house of a woman named Rahab, who secretly brought them into her house and kept them safe from the army of Jericho. The spies made a promise to Rahab that, when they came in to conquer the city, they would ensure the safety of any person who was safely inside Rahab’s home during the attack.

After it was safe to leave Rahab’s house, they went back to Joshua and told him all that Rahab had done to help them during their mission. When the army of Israel would later go in and capture the city of Jericho, they made sure to keep this promise and the family of Rahab was not harmed.

When Rahab provided a safehouse for the Jewish spies, she did so at great risk to her life. This is because Israel was a feared enemy of Jericho and the king no doubt would have had her executed for such an act! But, Rahab had Faith that Takes a Risk, specifically the risk of obeying and honoring the God of Heaven even at great danger to herself!

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Rahab states her reason for protecting the spies in Joshua 2:9-11  And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.  (10)  For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.  (11)  And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.

The part that stands out to me the most is where she says, “…for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath”. She had faith in the God of Israel and He made sure she was protected and blessed because she was willing to take a risk in order to serve Him!

In these last days, are you willing to have Faith that Takes a Risk so that you may be faithful to God, as Rahab was?

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