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This dissertation focuses on David and Solomon's relationship to non-Israelite peoples and countries. This study starts with the premise that David violates one of the deuteronomistic editor/s chief concerns about intermingling with the Canaanite population and thereby prepares the conditions for Solomon's downfall and the division of the kingdom. In addition, it is argued that David initiates the kind of political and religious policies that, according to the deuteronomistic historian, ultimately led to exile in 586 and 721 B.C.E. Throughout chapters two and three of the dissertation, various methodological disciplines are utilized to study the literary aspects of the text and to discern the ramifications these relationships had on David, his family, and the people of Israel. Close study of the literary aspects of the text demonstrates that David appears with non-Israelites in a variety of contexts and that these accounts derive from older source material. Moreover, the historical considerations show that these relationships hampered David's claim to Saul's throne, contributed to political unrest, caused general dissatisfaction among the northern tribes, and laid the foundation for subsequent cultic abuse and apostasy. The final chapter of the dissertation utilizes a comparison/contrast analysis between David and the Patriarchal family. The first part of the chapter lays out numerous parallels between the J narratives of Genesis and the Court History of David. This analysis demonstrates that the Patriarchs, and particularly Abraham, serve as a model for David and his monarchy. The last half of the chapter utilizes the legacy of the Patriarchs as a means to critique David in terms of his relationship to the Canaanite population. Several J texts contain warnings about the Canaanite population, and they show that Abraham's family did not become intimate with the people of the land. As a result, the covenant prospered. Judah, the ancestor of David, takes a Canaanite wife and his family is plagued by death and disruption. It is argued that Judah not only represents David, but his misfortunes, in essence, "foreshadow" the calamity of David's family and the hardships the Israelites suffered when their leaders became intimate with the Canaanite population.
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