1. King David was a black man?

Earlier this week I was musing on the revelation of the black race in the scriptures when I remembered that I had read that David was “ruddy”.  I raced excitedly to blueletterbible.org and found two texts in the Book of 1 Samuel. In the text, God had sent Prophet Samuel to Bethlehem with the intent of anointing a King to replace Saul:

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

And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy (‘admoniy/H 132), [and] withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this [is] he.

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah (1 Samuel 16: 11 -13).

 

 

2. The exciting meaning of ‘admoniy

‘Admoniy, meaning red, is an adjective which describes the complexion of the young David.   Here is deep revelation:

  • ‘Admoniy  comes from the root  word ‘adam  (H 119).
  • The writer therefore showed the similarity between David’s and Adam’s complexion.
  • We can therefore conclude that David was a bronze man
  • In contrast, people who were described as “black”, like Solomon’s wife, were much darker, possibly ebony in complexion. For example, Solomon’s wife said that she had been scorched by the sun

 

 

3. Goliath the giant disdained David because his complexion was ruddy

The second scriptural reference to  David’s skin color was made in relation to his encounter with Goliath. The giant disdained him because he was ruddy (‘admoniy/H 132)  and only a youth.  Again the word ‘admoniy/H 132 is used to describe David’s  bronze complexion:

And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was [but] a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.

 

 

4. Racial issues in the scripture

As we read between the lines,  scriptures reveal  existing issues related to skin complexion.  For example:

  • Solomon’s wife asked the people of Jerusalem not to disdain her because she was black
  • Goliath disdained David because he was bronze

The writers singled out these skin tones because the individuals concerned were different from their peers and relatives.   Consider that the entire slave trade and racism were built on the issue of  the black race being an inferior one.

How many people have gone to hell as a result – God created man black! Blessings and celebrate your black heritage!