IN forming an estimate of David ... no true picture can be obtained of him unless we are willing to recognize his human limitations. That he was a great warrior admits of no doubt. Indeed, he was essentially a soldier, courageous and of boundless energy. . . . But he also shows traits of cruelty in the treatment of his enemies, connives at treachery, and is willing to make use of underhand measures to accomplish his ends. The best evidence of the virility and resourcefulness of his character is the empire he founded. He united under his sceptre Judah and Israel, the tribes of the Negeb, Edom, Moab, and Ammon, while the Aramaean tribes, Zoba, Beth Rechob, and Beth Maacah, were made tributary. Thus he became the most powerful ruler in southern Syria. . . . But, with all his faults, he remains one of the most notable figures in Hebrew history, and it is not surprising that the attachment to him should have led to the idealization of him by popular tradition, evidenced by later writers. That he was a poet as well as a musician cannot be doubted. His authorship of the Elegy over Saul and Jonathan is generally admitted; and this alone would prove his right to be remembered as "the sweet singer of Israel."
From "The New International Encyclopaedia."
