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In this question Are any notable biblical characters historical figures? the answer touches the Davidic dynasty and not king David himself. I was wondering whether or there was a real "king David" to whom can be attributed all the fallowing accomplishments, as they are all attributed to him by the bible (old testament):

  • Being one of the first king of the Israelite people.
  • Conquering and settling Jerusalem (called Jebus before the conquer).
  • Conquering relatively vast territories and bringing the Israeli (not modern day Israel) borders to their biggest state ever.
  • Actually being called David (or something resembling that name)
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Actually, according to the Biblical narrative, Israel's territories grew to their biggest state ever under Solomon, David's son. – Mason Wheeler Aug 5 '12 at 2:33

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There does not seem to be an abundance of evidence, although it is the opinion of scholars that King David likely existed.

The evidence we do have:

The Tel Dan Stele

The Tel Dan Stele is written in Aramaic script without vowels which makes translation difficult, allowing for multiple interpretations. Scholars seem to agree that the first part of a phrase refers to house, but disagree if the second part of the phrase is "beloved", "uncle", or "house".

The consensus seems to be that the stele refers to a "House of David":

The inscription, which dates to the ninth century bce, that is to say, about a century after David was thought to have ruled Israel, includes the words Beit David ("House" or "Dynasty" of David"). It is the first near-contemporaneous reference to David ever found. It is not conclusive; but it does strongly indicate that a king called David established a dynasty in Israel during the relevant period. - Source

The Mesha Stele

The Mesha Stele is also thought to contain the Name David in two places, which scholars consider a very reasonable translation, however it is not certain. This paper is a series of updates and corrections to an earlier paper, however it still explains the problem in establishing the text on the stele.

I will update with the original paper when I find it.

The City of David

The City of David is a subject of much scholarly debate, of which the Wiki page has a good summary of. There is evidence of pots and sculptures that have been dates to a time that corresponds to what scholars agree would have been King Davids reign.

The evidence we have so far shows only that:

  • There may have been a "House of David"
  • There was a functioning city and government that corresponds with the time and place King David is thought to have ruled

We don't yet have enough evidence to say for sure that King David existed, or that the claims made about him are true.

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It's also important to remember that, even if a real King David existed and ruled and deposed a King Saul, the Bible only gives the victor's history. He could just as easily been a minor chieftain whose glory grew with the telling. – SigmaX May 14 '12 at 3:59
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@SigmaX, the Bible also gives the losers history, when Israel loses :) – Benjol May 15 '12 at 12:00
I was talking about the Davidic dynasty in particular. And the point was that a "losers history" account of the Davidic dynasty would be an important source of information about the Davidic dynasty -- just like the "loser's history" of the Babylonian invasion is good evidence that it was actually as significant as, say, the Babylonian might claim. – SigmaX May 16 '12 at 17:45

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