David and Solomon

Koran

Bible

Goliath

When they met Goliath and his warriors they cried, "Lord, fill our hearts with steadfastness.  Make us firm of foot and help us against the unbelievers."  By Allah's will they routed them.  David slew Goliath, and Allah bestowed on him sovereignty and wisdom and taught him what He pleased.  Had Allah not defeated some by the might of others, the earth would have been utterly corrupted.  But Allah is bountiful to mankind.

The Cow 2:250  page 37

Goliath

1 Sam 17:1-37    NKJV

17:1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered together at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.

 

4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 And he had bronze greaves on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. 7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him. 8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, "Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us." 10 And the Philistine said, "I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together." 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

 

12 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. 13 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. 14 David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul. 15 But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. 16 And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening. 17 Then Jesse said to his son David, "Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. 18 And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them." 19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

 

20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. 22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. 25 So the men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father's house exemption from taxes in Israel." 26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, "What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" 27 And the people answered him in this manner, saying, "So shall it be done for the man who kills him."

 

28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was aroused against David, and he said, "Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle." 29 And David said, "What have I done now? Is there not a cause?" 30 Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.

 

31 Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him. 32 Then David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." 33 And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth." 34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God." 37 Moreover David said, "The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you!"

 

1 Sam 17:38-47

38 So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David fastened his sword to his armor, and he tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, "I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them." So David took them off.

 

40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. 41 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. 43 So the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!" 45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD's, and He will give you into our hands."

NKJV

David and Solomon

And tell of David and Solomon:  how they passed judgment regarding the cornfield in which strayed lambs had grazed by night.  We gave Solomon insight into the case and bore witness to their judgment.

 

We bestowed on both of them wisdom and knowledge and caused the mountains and the birds to join with David in Our praise.  All this We did. We taught him the armourer’s craft, so that you might have protection in your wars.  Will you then give thanks?

 

To Solomon We subjected the raging wind:  it sped at his bidding to the land which We had blessed.  We had knowledge of all things. 

 

We assigned him devils who dived for him into the sea and who performed other tasks besides.  Over them We kept a watchful eye.

Al-Anbiyaa     The Prophets  21:7

No similar account is found in the Bible.

Solomon  & Queen of Sheba

We bestowed knowledge on David and Solomon.  The two said, “Praise be to Allah who has exalted us above many of His believing servants.”

 

Solomon succeeded David.  He said:  “Know, my people, we have been taught the tongue of birds and endowed with all good things.  Surely this is the signal favor.”

 

His forces of jinn and men and birds were called to Solomon’s presence, and ranged in battle array.  When they came to the Valley of the Ants, an ant said:  “Go into your dwellings, ants, lest Solomon and his warriors should unwittingly crush you.”

 

He smiled at her words, and said:  “Inspire me, Lord, to tender thanks for the favors You have bestowed on me and on my parents, and to do good works that will please You.  Admit me, through Your mercy, among Your righteous servants.”

 

He inspected the birds and said:  “Why is it that I do not see the lapwing?  Is he not here?  If he does not offer me a good excuse, I shall sternly punish him or even slay him.”

 

The bird, who was not long in coming, said:  “I have just seen things unknown to you.  With truthful news I come to you from Sheba, where I found a woman reigning over the people.  She is possessed of every virtue and has a splendid throne.  I found that she and her subjects worship the sun instead of Allah.  Satan has seduced them and debarred them from the right path, so that they might not be guided to the worship of Allah who brings to light all that is hidden in the heavens and the earth and knows what you conceal and what you reveal.  Allah; there is no god but Him, the Lord of the Glorious Throne.”

 

He replied:  “We shall soon see if what you say is true or false.  Go and deliver to them this message of mine.  Then turn aside and wait their answer.”

 

The Queen of Sheba said:  “Know, my nobles, that I have received a gracious message.  It is from Solomon:  “In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.  Do not exalt yourselves above me, but come to me in all submission.”  Nobles, let me hear your counsel, for I make no decision without your consent.”

 

They replied:  “We are a valiant and mighty people.  It is for you to decide; so consider what you should ordain.”

 

She said:  “When kings invade a city they ravage it and abase the mightiest of its people.  These men will do the same.  But I shall send them a present and see with what reply the envoys will return.”

 

And when her envoy came to him, Solomon said:  “Is it gold that you would give me?  That which Allah has bestowed on me is better than all the riches He has given you.  Yet you glory in your gift.  Go back to your people:  we will march against them with forces they cannot oppose, and drive them from their land humbled and contemned.”

 

And to his nobles he said:  “Which of you will bring to me her throne, before they sue for peace?”

 

A demon from among the jinn replied:  “I will bring it to you before you rise from your seat.  I am strong enough and faithful.”

 

But he who was deeply versed in the Book, said:  “I will bring it to you in a twinkling.”

 

And when he saw it set before him, Solomon said:  “This is a favor from My Lord with which He would test my gratitude.  He that gives thanks has much to gain; but he who is ungrateful . . . My Lord is all sufficient and gracious!”

 

Then he said:  “Let her throne be altered, so that we may see whether or not she will recognize it.”

 

And when she came to Solomon, she was asked:  “Is your throne like this?”  And she replied, “It looks as though it were the same.”

 

He said:  “Before her we were endowed with knowledge, and before her we submitted to the Lord.  Her false gods have led her astray, for she comes from an unbelieving nation.”

 

She was bidden to enter the palace; and when she saw it she thought it was a pool of water, and bared her legs.  Gut Solomon said:  “It is a palace paved with glass.”

 

“Lord,” she said, “I have sinned against my own soul.  Now I submit with Solomon to Allah, Lord of the Universe.”

Al-Naml      The Ant   27:15-44

Solomon &  Queen of Sheba

1 Kings 10:1-13    NKJV

10:1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 3 So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her. 4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her. 6 Then she said to the king: "It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7 However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard. 8 Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness." 10 Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great quantity, and precious stones. There never again came such abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

 

11 Also, the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought great quantities of almug wood and precious stones from Ophir. 12 And the king made steps of the almug wood for the house of the LORD and for the king's house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers. There never again came such almug wood, nor has the like been seen to this day. 13 And King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, besides what Solomon had given her according to the royal generosity. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.

 

Matt 12:42

42 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

NKJV

Solomon served by Jinn

To Solomon We subjected the wind, traveling a month’s journey morning and evening.  We gave him a spring flowing with molten brass, and jinn who served him by leave of his Lord.  Those of them who did not do Our bidding We shall chasten with the torment of the Fire.  They made for him whatever he pleased:  shrines and statues, basins as large as watering troughs, and built in cauldrons.  We said:  “Give thanks, House of David.”  Yet few of My servants are truly thankful.

 

And when We had decreed his death, they did not know that he was dead until they saw a worm eating away his staff.  And when his corpse fell down, the jinn realized that had they had knowledge of the unknown, they would not have remained in shameful bondage.

Saba     Sheba     34:12-14

No similar account is found in the Bible.

David

Bear with what they say, and remember Our servant David, who was both a mighty and a penitent man.  We made the mountains join with him in praise evening and morning, and the birds, too, in all their flocks;  all were obedient to him.  We made his kingdom strong, and gave him wisdom and discriminating judgment.

 

Have you heard the story of the two litigants who entered his chamber by climbing over the wall?   When they went in to David and saw that he was alarmed, they said:  “Have no fear.  We are two litigants, one of whom has wronged the other.  Judge rightly between us and do not be unjust; guide us to the right path.”

 

“My brother here has ninety nine ewes, but I have only one ewe.  He demanded that I should entrust it to him, and got the better of me in the dispute.”

 

David replied:  “He has certainly wronged you in seeking to add your ewe to his flock.  Many partners are unjust to one another; but not so those that have faith and do good works, and they are few indeed.”

 

David realized that we were only testing him.  He sought forgiveness of his Lord and fell down penitently on his knees.  We forgave him his sin, and in the world to come he shall be honored and well received.

 

We said:  “David, We have made you master in the land.  Rule with justice among men and do not yield  to lust, lest it turn you away from Allah’s path.  Because they forget the Day of Reckoning, those that stray from Allah’s path shall be sternly punished.

Sad  38:17-26

Nathan’s message to David

2 Sam 12:1-15    NKJV

12:1 Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: "There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him." 5 So David's anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! 6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity."

 

7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! 9 Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. 10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' 11 "Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.' " 13 So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die." 15 Then Nathan departed to his house.

 

Solomon

We gave Solomon to David; and he was a good and faithful servant.  When, one evening, his prancing steeds were ranged before him, he said:  “My love for good things has distracted me from the remembrance of my Lord; for now the sun has vanished behind the veil of darkness.  Bring me back my chargers!”  And with this he fell to hacking their legs and necks.

 

We put Solomon to the proof and placed a body upon his throne, so that he at length repented.  He said:  “Forgive me Lord, and bestow upon me such power as shall belong to none after me.  You are the Bountiful giver.”

 

We subjected the wind to him, so that it blew softly at his bidding, wherever he directed it; and the devils, too, among whom were builders and divers and others bound with chains.  “All this We gave you,”  We said. “It is for you to bestow or withhold, without reckoning.”  “In the world to come he shall be honored and well received.

Sad  38:30-40

 

1 Kings 3:3-15    NKJV

3 And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.

 

4 Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask! What shall I give you?" 6 And Solomon said: "You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7 Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. 9 Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?"

 

10 The speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 Then God said to him: "Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, 12 behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. 13 And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. 14 So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days." 15 Then Solomon awoke; and indeed it had been a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.