[[WMG:[[center:[-''Literature/TheBible'' '''[[Characters/TheBible Main Character Index]]'''\\
[[Characters/BookOfGenesis Genesis]] | [[Characters/BookOfExodus Exodus through Deuteronomy]] | [[Characters/BookOfJoshua Joshua]] | [[Characters/BookOfJudges Judges]] | '''Samuel''' | [[Characters/BooksOfKings Kings]] | [[Characters/BookOfEsther Esther]] | [[Characters/BookOfJob Job]] | [[Characters/TheFourGospels Matthew through John]] | [[Characters/ActsOfTheApostles Acts]]]]-]]]

[[foldercontrol]]

!The Prophets
[[folder:Eli]]
* {{Curse}}: Through the wickedness of his sons, Eli lost favor with God and it was prophesied that all men in his family will be ruined. The priests of Nob, most were his relatives, were killed by Saul and his youngest son Abiathar, David's high priest, was exiled by Solomon for supporting a rival to the throne.
* DeathByFallingOver: After hearing of his sons' death, he fell from his chair and broke his neck. To be fair, he ''was'' already very old.
* HeroicBSOD: Caused him to fall out of his chair and break his neck. Also caused his newly-widowed pregnant daughter-in-law to [[MaternityCrisis go into labor prematurely]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Samuel]]
->''The Lord called Samuel: and he answered, "Here am I".''
----
%%* TheChosenOne
* CradleToGraveCharacter: The ''Books of Samuel'' begin with Hannah praying to bear a son, a prayer that is answered as the prophet Samuel is conceived and born to her. The first book then follows Samuel's tutelage under Eli, his reign as a Judge, and his relationship with the first kings of Israel. As David starts to step up as a hero, Samuel dies of old age, only to reappear from beyond the grave thanks to the intercession of a medium.
* DecoyProtagonist: He has 2 books [[ArtifactTitle named after him]] but he dies before the end of the first book and is replaced by David.
* LastOfHisKind: The last of The Judges.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The people respect his choices and words, even when he comes on strong. There is little opposition to him, although Saul pushes the boundaries once he becomes the king. Most of what Samuel calls Saul out on are examples of ignoring God's Word, and Saul wanting to ignore that for his own gain.
* UsedToBeASweetKid: As seen below, he was a WaifProphet and loyal servant of Eli. Unlike other examples, he does not become evil, but quite formidable, decapitating the King of the Amalekites who Saul spared and terrifying the latter even from beyond the grave.
* WaifProphet: started as one, when he was a child. It was the promise his mother made with God in exchange for his existence that he would spend his life in God's servitude.
* WhatTheHellHero: He rebukes Saul for only partially obey the divine command to utterly wipe out the Amalekites (which included their finest animals, which Saul spared).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Nathan]]
%%* HonestAdvisor
* WhatTheHellHero: Famously gives one to David for pulling the UriahGambit to cover up his adultery with Bathsheba.
[[/folder]]

!House of Saul
[[folder:Saul]]
->''"For rejecting The Lord's command, He has rejected you as king!"''
----
* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: He [[DrivenToSuicide fell on his own sword,]] because he did not want his enemies to abuse and mock him.
* BeautyIsBad: He is described as being a beautiful king, although that was when he was young and heroic and he could have fallen into IWasQuiteALooker.
* BrokenAce: Saul (particularly in his prime) was tall, strong, handsome, and a great warrior. He was also plagued with jealousy, paranoia, and some sort of demonic spirit that affected his mood and sleep - and would probably be categorized as a mental illness nowadays.
* DrivenToSuicide: At the end of 1st Samuel, when he was badly wounded in the battle with the Philistines, he tells his armor-bearer to slay him so that his enemies wouldn't make sport of him, but since his armor-bearer refused, Saul falls upon his own sword and dies, and so also does his armor-bearer. An Amalekite who goes around RobbingTheDead comes to King David with the personal effects of King Saul and [[UnreliableNarrator tells the story of him having to slay Saul when he was badly wounded in battle]], hoping to get a reward for the cool loot he had taken. However, the only reward the Amalekite gets is to be killed by King David himself, since according to David the Amalekite testified by his own mouth that he had killed "the Lord's anointed".
* FallenHero: He was good at first, but let his ego get the worst of him.
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: He didn't take kindly to the fact that God was going to replace him.
* GreenEyedMonster: Was mortally jealous of David.
* HeelRealization: After being spared by David he seems to realize he is acting cruelly and selfishly and even admits that David is more righteous than he. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to last and he ultimately becomes a...
* {{Hypocrite}}: Had all magic users purged but went to a witch to summon the spirit of Samuel for advice on his what would turn out to be his final battle.
* IgnoredEpiphany: Admitted that he had treated David evilly and that David had been good to him, but he went right back to trying to kill him.
* LargeAndInCharge: He was noticeably taller than all the other people around.
* MercyKill: According to a young soldier David spoke to he initially survived his wounds on the battlefield suffering great pain until begging the soldier to finish him off. He did so, which David kills him for.
* OfferedTheCrown: They don't call him King Saul for nothing.
* OldSoldier- Died fighting at 72.
* PunishedForSympathy: He was rebuked by Samuel for sparing Agag and the best of his animals and thus, God rejects him as King of Israel.
* RefusalOfTheCall: Was actually scared to be king. He hid when Samuel tried to present him to the people.
%%%* ScrewDestiny
* UngratefulBastard: David shows him nothing but kindness and understanding and spares his life several times. How does he repay David for this? By continually trying to kill him of course!
* UriahGambit: UrExample, he used it on David before David [[TropeNamers named it]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Jonathan]]
->''"Your love was greater than that of a woman's!"''
----
* AmbiguouslyGay: Due to his closeness to David, it has been speculated that he might be attracted to David. In the book, it is not explained if they are just friends or if at least one of them is attracted to the other.
* ConflictingLoyalty: Was caught between his father's insane paranoia of his best friend David and his loyalty to his friend
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Despite being a very important character in the First Book of Samuel as well as David's best friend, he is abruptly killed off in battle alongside his brothers and father with very little fanfare.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With David. See above quote from 2 Samuel. Could be that the text was referring to the [[TrueCompanions close bond of friendship]] between the two, but still...
* NiceGuy: Unlike his father, Jonathan was a good man who didn't have a bad bone in his body.
* TragicHero: Doomed simply BecauseDestinySaysSo.
%%* WarriorPrince:
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Abner]]
->''[[AntagonistInMourning Your hands were not fettered. Your feet were not bound. You fell as one falls before wicked men.]]''
----
* DontMakeMeDestroyYou: Abner loses a battle against David's forces (led by Joab) and is forced into retreat. Joab's brother Asahel (specifically mentioned as being a fast runner) gives chase and tries to run him down. Abner warns him to back off. Asahel doesn't. [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice Abner skewers him.]] Drama and revenge ensue.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Implied he becomes this, counseling Saul's son Ishbaal.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Abner offers his services to David after Ishbaal accused Abner of sleeping with one of Saul's concubines.
* {{Hypocrite}} - Goes on a rant to Ishbal about his accusations of treachery then makes a treasonous correspondence with David.
%%* HeelFaceDoorSlam
* IAmXSonOfY[=/=]ShapedLikeItself: He is introduced as "Abner, the son of Ner." Rather humorously, his name can be roughly translated as "my father (is) Ner."
* TheStarscream: Sleeps with one of Saul's concubines, showing he had ambitions for the crown.
[[/folder]]

!House of David (also includes wives, children, and nephews)
[[folder:David]]
->''And David danced before the Lord with all his might.''
----
* TwentyBearAsses: Although he only needed to bring back 100. Unless the other hundred were for Jonathon.
* AnAesop: David is an example of a man of God on what ''not'' to do. After committing adultery and having Uriah killed, then taking Bathsheba as his wife, God actually cuts him off until he repents. David is still devoted to God, but when God let his first born die after fasting, David stops fasting and continues with his life[[note]]The whole reason why he was fasting in the first place was to ask God to save his son from his illness, but God wouldn't have none of it unless he genuinely repents, which David wasn't praying for.[[/note]]. It's not until the end of his life that he realizes he lost God's favor, and David is forgiven.
* AmbiguouslyBi: The story about him falling for Bathsheba is definitive proof that he liked women, but his relationship with Jonathan has been seen to have homoerotic undertones.
* AntagonistInMourning:
** David's the ''pro''tagonist, but when his opponent Saul dies he still goes further than most in mourning a man bent on killing him.
** He wept hard for Absalom too. It's understandable though, as he was his son.
* AntiHero: He always does what is right. But when he [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope decides not to]]...
* TheAtoner:
** Fasts and prays following God's judgment on him for his adultery and subsequent UriahGambit to cover it up; as a result, his life and kingdom are spared but he and Bathsheba [[RedemptionEqualsAffliction lose their first, newborn child and the rest of David's family life is extremely troubled]].
** Also many passages within the Psalms attributed to him are quite repentant.
* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: An Amalekite claimed to have killed Saul and handed David Saul's crown, implying that he owes being king to the Amalekites. David instead kills him [[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves for murdering the king]].
* BadassBookworm: He was a harp virtuoso and psalmist who also knew how to beat up men and beasts much bigger and stronger than himself.
* BadassBoast: Tells one to Goliath before killing him:
--> You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.
* BadassIsraeli: The original. The "Star of David" is the frame of his shield. As a teenage shepherd, he had to regularly kill wild beasts that would try to prey on his flock. Then he collected [[TwentyBearAsses 200 Philistines Foreskins]], [[DavidVsGoliath killed Goliath]] and became a badass king. He's also a WarriorPoet, a portion of ''Literature/BookOfPsalms'' was written by him, which contains his repentance after inventing the UriahGambit as well as a PrayerOfMalice against the nations going after him.
* BalancedHarem: Had one of these. (It's good the be the king!) It's still not enough to stop his cheating heart, though.
* BigScrewedUpFamily: His family! Amnon rapes his half-sister, Absalom kills Amnon and then plots sedition against his father, Adonijah plots to take over the kingdom when David was near death and no successor was officially named, and most of David's other sons just go along with the whole thing like it's no big deal.
* BreakTheCutie: In his last days, he is described as "no longer feeling warmth". A stark contrast to the happy well-adjusted shepherd boy he once was.
* CurbStompBattle: Killed Goliath with a single stone, then cut his head off with his own sword.
* DownfallBySex: His greatest mistake started with this. He saw a woman named Bathsheba bathing when he was looking out on his city one night, they slept together, and he had her husband killed to hide the fact that it got her pregnant in the {{Trope Namer|s}} for the UriahGambit. A number of family problems would ensue after this, culminating in his son Absalom's rebellion and Adonijah attempting to proclaim himself king close to David's death.
* TheDreaded: To the Philistines. It's bad enough that he killed their champion and slaughtered tens of thousands of them. Then he decided to go for [[GroinAttack their junk]] all to prove his love for Michal.
* FeelingTheirAge: At one point, he becomes too old and too frail to fight in combat.
* FounderOfTheKingdom: Fits the mold better than Saul, who was more of a warlord. Also, it is his dynasty that rules in Israel for several generations.
* HeroicBSOD:
** What he suffers when told that Jonathan and Saul kicked it. Self-inflicted ClothingDamage included.
** He gets another one after the death of Absalom followed by a WhatTheHellHero speech from one of his generals for mourning his enemy and hating the men who fought for him.
* HumbleHero: He admits his wrongdoings and he recognizes his human frailty.
* IntimateHealing: When David was old, he could not get warm, so they got a young girl named Abishag to care for him, which included snuggling up beside him. Oddly, [[NotWhatItLooksLike their relationship was not sexual.]]
* KidHero: Given Saul's description of him as a ''youth'', he was probably still in his teens when introduced and when he kills Goliath.
* KickTheDog:
** See UriahGambit.
** Not punishing Amnon for raping his half-sister Tamar. Some texts say he didn't because he was the [[ParentalFavoritism firstborn.]]
* ManlyTears: He was a formidable warrior who cried quite a lot.
* MultipleChoicePast: The book can't quite decide whether he was part of Saul's court before the fight with Goliath or just happened to be visiting his relatives at the time. It seems to alternate. He has two different first meetings with Saul described.
* MurderTheHypotenuse: The hypotenuse being poor Uriah.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Very narrowly averted; The only thing that stopped David from wiping out Nabal's house when he insulted him was quick thinking on Abigail's part. David snaps out of it and [[{{Lampshade}} thanks God]] that he was prevented from having such blood guilt on his hands.
** Although this ''is'' his reaction after Nathan [[WhatTheHellHero calls him out]] on his UriahGambit.
* MyGreatestFailure: The whole Bathsheba incident.
* NobleFugitive: Sort of. He was just a shepherd boy, but was anointed as the king of Israel by the prophet Samuel. Unfortunately, Saul was still the king, and was not very excited about this. David eventually ends up on the run from Saul.
* ObfuscatingInsanity: Did this while in exile before he was crowned king when the [[OhCrap King of Gath]] ([[DavidVersusGoliath Goliath]]'s hometown) recognized him as an anti-Philistine guerrilla warrior.
* OutdoorBathPeeping: Infamously saw Bathsheba bathing on the roof.
* OfferedTheCrown: Again, he's ''King'' David.
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: His two sons Amnon and Absalom were killed in his lifetime long before his own death.
* TheParagonAlwaysRebels: Subverted. When he was on the run from King Saul, he pretended to serve the Philistines but was really attacking Israel's Enemies.
* ParentsAsPeople: Though David loved his children as a father should, he was a flawed parent in spite of it. The Bible mentions that he was very angry when he had heard what Amnon had done to Tamar, but did not punish him for it, either because Amnon was his eldest son or because it would be hypocritical of him to do so since the incident shortly happened after his affair with Bathsheba came to light. He refused to see Absalom for a while after he murders Amnon, but was also mentioned to have yearned for his third son all the while in a state of depression. Even after Absalom rebels against him, he refused to have him killed and was devastated when he heard that Joab had him executed anyway despite his orders.
%%* ThePatriarch
* PintsizedPowerhouse: David was the runt of his family.
* {{Polyamory}}: Michal and Bathsheba were just the start; he had eight total plus concubines.
* ThePurge: Killed all the men in Saul's family (except Jonathan's son) eligible for succession and forced Saul's daughter Michal to marry him again to force an alliance with the former royal family. His last wishes (textually, if not chronologically) were for Solomon were to kill Joab and Shimei, steward of the house of Saul.
* PreAsskickingOneLiner: 1 Samuel, 17:46. "This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you...!".
* PrettyBoy: "And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and withal of a fair countenance."
* AProtagonistShallLeadThem: The central narrative of the Books of Samuel is David’s ascent from being an overlooked shepherd boy in his father Jesse’s home to Israel’s greatest king.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: His "Mighty Men" were mercenaries and outlaws who joined him during his years as a fugitive.
* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: David had the men who killed Ishbal (Saul's heir apparent) executed. He also killed an Amalekite who had attempted to curry favour with him by falsely claiming to have killed Saul, declaring that he deserved to die for slaying the Lord's anointed.
* RightfulKingReturns: Part of the conditions for the Jewish Messiah is being of his bloodline. Given David is estimated to have lived 3000 years ago, had something like 18 wives and concubines, and one of his sons had somewhere around 1000, that's [[SingleLineOfDescent a good chunk of the population, or no-one at all]].
* TheRuntAtTheEnd: King David was significantly smaller and less important-looking than his brothers.
* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: David had a young girl as a ward in his old age who everyone thought was a concubine. One of his sons even asked to marry her, perhaps to subtly lay a claim to the throne. David always denied any claims of her being more than his nurse of sorts.
* SufferTheSlings: Goliath found out the hard way just how deadly they can be.
* {{Trope Namer|s}}: With Goliath.
** DavidVersusGoliath
** UriahGambit: The TropeNamer is David sending Uriah to die in order to marry his wife, who David had impregnated. Though Saul tried to pull it on him first with the Philistine Foreskins bit.
* TragicHero: His sins cause God to decree that he will never know peace as long as he reigns (that will go to Solomon).
* TheUnfavorite: Surprisingly, David was this among his brothers, as he was not even invited to the sacrifice that Samuel had invited Jesse and his sons to attend and, the Lord finding none among the sons present to anoint, Samuel asks if there still is another son.
* UpbringingMakesTheHero: Spent his childhood working as a shepherd for his father. Similarly to Moses, David also got TheCall from God.
* WarriorPoet: Kicks ass, writes poems, dances with his people. He's even got a nickname, "The Sweet Psalmist of Israel", his works can be found in ''Literature/BookOfPsalms''.
* WhatTheHellHero: After the above incident with Uriah, Nathan explicitly call him on this. He repents, but it's too late, at least for his first child with Bathsheba.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Had an opportunity, at one point during his younger years, to take advantage of Saul being in a compromising position (i.e. in a cave literally with his pants down [[note]]he was relieving himself[[/note]]) and kill him to take the throne. Wouldn't do it, and gave his reason essentially as, "He's still the man God chose as king, so until God decides that shouldn't be the case anymore, I'm not touching him.
* YoungConqueror: Became king of Judah at 23.
* YoungestChildWins: Youngest of eight, and that's just the brothers. He became king of Israel.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Michal]]
->''Now Saul’s daughter Michal was in love with David, and it was reported to Saul, and this pleased him."''
----
* LadyAndKnight: She is a princess who marries the most famous warrior of her day.
* RebelliousPrincess/Queen: She was the beautiful and proud daughter of King Saul and saved David's life from her own father when he tried to have him killed, risking her own in the process.
* StarCrossedLovers: She and David are pretty much the Bible's Romeo & Juliet. Her father tries to kill him multiple times, forcing David into exile, meaning that Michal was separated from him for years. In the meantime she was forced to marry another man. Eventually, despite all attempts to keep them apart they are reunited.
* TopWife: Michal was King David's childhood sweetheart and his first wife. Although they were separated by years and David took other wives, he still liked her well enough to demand for her to be returned to him, becoming his Queen ten years later.
* WellExcuseMePrincess: When David, as king, had the ark of the covenant brought to Jerusalem, she was quite snarky towards him revealing a lack of appreciation for his faith.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Abigail]]
->''When Abigail caught sight of David, she at once hastened and got down off the ass and fell upon her face before David and bowed to the earth. She then fell at his feet and said: “Upon me myself, O my lord, be the error; and, please, let your slave girl speak in your ears"''
----
%%* BeautyEqualsGoodness
* GuileHeroine: One of David's followers who mediated between the King and her JerkAss first husband rather skillfully and later was one of David's wives
%%* HumbleHero
* ShamingTheMob: After her husband Nabal insulted David, David led a couple of hundred men back to him, intending to wipe out his household. Abigail placates him with gifts of food and a heartfelt speech.
%%* SilkHidingSteel
* UglyGuyHotWife:
** Nabal, Abigail's first husband, is certainly ugly... at least in personality, though Abigail's beauty is specifically stated.
** Averted with her second husband David. He was quite handsome.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Absalom]]
->''"If I had only been a judge, then this land would have justice"''.
----
* AlasPoorVillain: David wept greatly over Absalom's death in spite of his rebellion against him.
* AntagonisticOffspring: He led a sedition against his father David in his attempt to overthrow him and seize the crown for himself.
* AssholeVictim: Both perpetrator and victim in this trope.
* EvilPrince: But only after he incited a rebellion against his father David. PlayedWith in that despite said actions to get the crown, we don't really have an idea of what he would have been like as king as his usurpation of David didn't last long enough to show it.
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: Avenged his sister's rape by killing his half-brother, then went off to plot against David's rule.
* KnightTemplarBigBrother: He avenged Tamar by murdering Amnon.
* LongHairedPrettyBoy: He was as handsome as his father and had long hair. His long hair makes him trapped in a tree and exposes him to be killed by Joab.
* MoralityPet: Arguably Tamar, though she disappears from the story before he gets really bad.
* ParentalFavoritism: Amnon may have been David's first and oldest son, but it's actually his third son Absalom who was his favorite child. When Absalom fled after his murder of Amnon, David yearned for him in spite of what he did and was so depressed by his absence that Joab was forced to convince David to bring Absalom back from his exile. David even commanded his men that no harm was to come to his son in spite of his rebellion against him. When Absalom was killed anyway despite his orders, David mourned his son's loss greatly.
* PrettyBoy: The most beautiful man in Israel.
* RapeAndRevenge: Killed his half-brother, Amnon, who had raped his sister Tamar.
* SixthRangerTraitor: Not him, but one of David's advisers who [[VillainsNeverLie said he would "serve you as I served your father"]].
* StartOfDarkness: It's heavily implied that David's failure to administer justice against Amnon for raping Tamar fueled Absalom's ambitions to overthrow his father from the throne, as Absalom's first campaign promise should he be king (seen in his quote above) is to deliver justice to the people of Israel in any of their domestic cases, which is something he feels David denied Tamar thereof.
* SympatheticMurderer: Given the circumstances, he manages to be a sympathetic ''fratricide''.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: He got quite a following in trying to usurp his father's role.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tamar]]
->''And she lived in her brother Absalom's house, a desolate woman.''
----
* BrotherSisterIncest: Unwillingly; she was raped by her half-brother Amnon.
%%* DefiledForever
* FatherIWantToMarryMyBrother: Begs Amnon to [[ShotgunWedding marry her]] (fearing no one else would want her because even though she was a princess, and though it wasn't consensual, she had still [[DefiledForever lost her virginity before marriage]]), saying that their father would allow it, but Amnon [[NeverMyFault blames her for]] [[ImAManICantHelpIt causing him to lust after her]] and casts her away in disgust.
* LustObject: For ''her own brother'', who is consumed with carnal desire for her and after being done with Tamar, turns her away in complete disgust.
* MoralityPet: To Absalom who, as the quote above states, kept her in his house after the rape.
* RapeAndRevenge: Absalom killed Amnon for raping her.
* RequisiteRoyalRegalia: Wore one as a mark of her chastity. She tore it apart after the rape.
* TarnishingTheirOwnBeauty: She marked her own face with ashes in absolute grief after her abuse.
* VirginityFlag: Tore her own special robe that marked her as a virgin when her half-brother Amnon raped her.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Amnon]]
->''But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he forced her and lay with her.''
----
* AssholeVictim: As an incestuous rapist, he clearly deserved what he got.
* BrotherSisterIncest: He raped his own half-sister Tamar.
* FlatCharacter: Apart from the RapeAndRevenge story, almost nothing is known about him.
* HateSink: He's a lustful incestuous rapist who defiles his own sister and casts her out hatefully after the deed is done. It's doubtful many readers were sad when he meets his end at his brother's hand shortly afterward.
* KickTheDog: As if raping her wasn't enough, he quickly had Tamar forcefully evicted from his house because he "hated her with intense hatred".
* NeverMyFault: After raping Tamar, he blames her for [[ImAManICantHelpIt causing him to lust after her]].
* ParentalFavoritism: One of the reasons why David refused to punish him was because he was his firstborn son.
* PlayingSick: In order to get Tamar alone, he pretended that he was sick and that he wanted her specifically to make and bring him some bread.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: To the point that Absalom decided to commit fratricide to avenge it.
* WoundedGazelleGambit: He pretended to be ill so that he could be alone with Tamar.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Joab]]
* AmbitionIsEvil: Some suggest that Joab ''actually'' killed Abner because he saw the older, veteran commander as a threat to his position, and simply used Asahel's death as a moral and legal justification.
%%* TheDragon
* EvenEvilHasStandards: At one point in 2 Samuel, David decides to take a census of Israel (which God would see as a [[{{Pride}} prideful action]]) Joab, to his credit, tries to hint to David that [[WhatTheHellHero this isn't a good idea.]] David ignores him, pulls rank and gives the order anyway. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero As a result, Israel falls under God's wrath in the form of a plague and seventy thousand people die.]]
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: Successfully evades being held accountable by David for his horrible deeds for David's entire life. Solomon turns out to have no such hangups.
* KlingonPromotion: Gets his old job back from Amasa this way.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Though ostensibly commander of David's army, Joab was doing evil things like disobeying David to kill David's son Absalom (who'd just staged a failed coup) and his intended replacement Amasa. Unlike many examples of the type, he does get killed for it once he outlives his usefulness (and supports a rival of the legitimate heir to the throne).
* YouKilledMyFather: His reason for killing Abner was him murdering his brother.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Asahel]]
* LightningBruiser: A badass warrior known for his sprinting ability; said to be "swift of foot, like a gazelle in the open field."
%%* BashBrothers: With Joab.
%%* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: How he dies.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bathsheba]]
* AnimalMotifs: Nathan compares her to an innocent lamb stolen from its owner by a rich man.
* BreakTheCutie: Loses the child she conceived with David, which is attributed to divine punishment (for him) for sleeping with a woman who was married to someone else. She ''does'' go on to have more children, however.
* BathingBeauty: Her first appearance has her undressing to take a bath. Given that she becomes pregnant by David shortly afterwards, it was likely not just ''any'' bath she was taking. It was most likely a ritual bath to purify her from her last menstrual period, which (assuming she had a regular 28-day cycle) would have coincided with her next ovulation.
* InnocentFanserviceGirl: She didn't seem to have any expectation of being spied on; she was bathing in her own home. It was ''David'' described explicitly as being on the roof, not her. (Although, in that time and place, people did ''a lot'' of things on their rooftops, including bathing.)
* LawOfInverseFertility: Gets pregnant from just ''one'' sexual encounter with David.
* NakedFirstImpression: David first saw her when she was taking her clothes off to take a bath.
* MySecretPregnancy: When she becomes pregnant by David, her husband Uriah was at war, and not allowed to have sex with her. David persuades Uriah to come home and make love to her, and she conceals from Uriah the fact that she's pregnant. Presumably, she was [[AvertedTrope not]] [[ObviousPregnancy showing yet, or at least had a smaller, easier-to-conceal bump]].
* QuestionableConsent: Was summoned to the palace... and may have felt that, as one of David's subjects who was married to one of his best and most loyal soldiers, she couldn't say no to the king's advances, or that there would be negative consequences if she did. There is no moral commentary on her sleeping with David, or even on her going along with his plan to pass her pregnancy off as being the result of sex with her husband, which is pretty notable (even progressive) for this time and place.
* ShotgunWedding: After David has her husband killed, he marries her... and he only did that because he found out she got pregnant and couldn't pass the baby off as Uriah's. It was passed off as an HonorableMarriageProposal.
* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: David believes this of her.
[[/folder]]

!Other figures
[[folder:Goliath]]
->''"Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves?"''
----
* {{BFS}}:
** David beheaded him with his own sword.
** Also carried a lance whose shaft is described as being as a "weaver's beam". For a modern comparison, this means that the pole of the spear was about as big around as the barrel of a regulation baseball bat. And the spear's head is estimated to have weighed at least fifteen pounds. In other words, this spear was ''absurdly'' large.
%%* TheBrute
* CombatByChampion: It seems to have been the Philistines' custom to offer this to opponents as a way of quickly deciding a battle. Didn't go so well this time.
* CurbStompBattle: Delivered by the much smaller David.
* DavidVersusGoliath: The TropeMaker.
* DecapitationPresentation: His fate after the battle.
* FeetOfClay: It only took one shot from a sling to kill him.
* GiantMook: His exact height [[DependingOnTheWriter varies from translation to translation]], but he's stated to have stood ''at least'' 6'9"--which is considerably tall even by modern standards, and later texts even place his stature as high as 11 feet tall. For comparison, Robert Wadlow, who holds the world record as the tallest recorded human being, stood just under 9 feet.
* {{Nephilim}}: Depending on how you interpret a passage in Genesis, he may or may not be half-angel/half-demon.
* UndignifiedDeath: A legendary champion who is killed by a youth hitting him in the face with a rock and cutting his head off.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Nabal]]
->''"Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Servants have been leaving their masters more and more these days."''
----
%%* TheAlcoholic
%%* DeadpanSnarker
%%* DeathOfTheHypotenuse
%%* {{Jerkass}}
* MeaningfulName: "The Fool", overlapping with UnfortunateNames. According to Abigail, it fit him.
* SelfDisposingVillain: Abigail stops David from [[DisproportionateRetribution slaughtering him and his servants]] and later dies after a VillainousBSOD.
* TooDumbToLive: Yes, Nabal, insult the man who went out of his way to protect your flocks and shepherds and only wants a bite of food in return, ''and'' who's got armed men accompanying him. [[SarcasmMode That'll win you his respect.]]
* UngratefulBastard: Considered this as David and his men protected him and his goods and yet refused to pay David back with the goodness of sharing his bounty.
%%* VillainousBSOD: And it killed him.
* VillainyFreeVillain: The only "villainous" thing Nabal did was refusing to pay into David's protection racket when his henchmen suggestively informed him that nothing had been stolen from him and no one hurt (implicitly, ''[[ShameIfSomethingHappened so far]]'') while they were in the neighborhood. For this, he was killed, and David's marauders would also have murdered his entire family if not for [[PleaseSpareHimMyLiege Abigail pleading for them]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Uriah]]
* TheMenFirst: He refused to have sex with his wife while a war was going on, despite royal orders, because he didn't want to accept privileges that his men weren't being allowed.
* MeaningfulName: "God is my light."
* TokenMinority: He's a Hittite resided in Israel, however, he's not among the gentiles as he followed the Israelite belief.
* UriahGambit: {{Trope Namer|s}}, while not the first victim of this trope, he was the first one died of this gambit.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hushai]]
* FakeDefector: David sends him to infiltrate Absalom's court during his insurrection, with the cover story of being a defector, and so whatever he can to sabotage its operations. Hushai does such a masterful job that he suckers Absalom into withholding his attack on the King until his forces are better prepared. This move does far more to get David's forces better ready still and enables Absalom's quick defeat.
* SixthRangerTraitor: Plays the role of TheMole for King David in the story of Absalom's rebellion. The guy even has the balls to lampshade it ''in front of Absalom''.
* {{Spymaster}}: While doing that inside job, Hushai also handles secret intelligence operations behind enemy lines with agents at his disposal.
[[/folder]]
----