King David, A Fiery Redhead!?
King David, A Fiery Redhead!?
When you think about the Israelites and the people from the Bible times, what do you think they looked like? I think that they had darker olive-colored skin, brown eyes, and really dark brown hair.
Today during my Bible study, I read something that took me by surprise. In volume 12 on "First and Second Samuel" of the “Thru the Bible Commentary Series,” J. Vernon McGee says that King David had red hair.
“When this verse says that David was “ruddy,” it means that he had red hair—and he had a temper to match his red hair, a hot temper. But in addition to the fact that he was red-headed, he was a fine-looking fellow.” (pg 93)
My first response after reading this was “NO WAY! This doesn’t fit the description at all.” Well, at least it doesn't’ fit the description I imagined what David looked like. Red hair, Really!? This is a silly example of why we need to dig in and study scripture for ourselves. There are tons of interesting facts that we will find out.
This intriguing thought that David may have had red hair made me want to do a little research. So I dug out my trusty ole concordance and looked up the word “ruddy.”
Ruddy is used four times in scripture (1 Samuel 16:12; 17:42; Song of Solomon 5:10; and Lamentations 4:7). Each time the word is used as a description of how someone looked by using three different words in Hebrew. These words are ādēm (Strongs 131), ādōm (Strongs 137), and ‘admônî (Strongs 145). Each word refers to the color red. Based on the word "ruddy," it is probable that King David had red hair.
Then this made me wonder if there were any other redheads in the Bible. Come to find out, there is one person in Davids genealogy. It was his 9th great uncle, Esau. Genesis 25:25 tells us that Esau had red hair. Thus with red hair running in the family genes, it is very probable that King David had red hair or at least a reddish hue to his hair.
Has this little study changed my mind about the color of King David’s hair? Possibly. I haven't completed the study to know 100% for sure. So I am not going to state anything as fact or not about this little insignificant topic. But, I am more open to the idea of him having an attribute that is different than what I originally thought.
Now, in my opinion, this was an unimportant rabbit trail that I went down. But, it is a great example of why we need to study God's Word ourselves. Some times we hear people say or we read things that don't quite fit with our thoughts or beliefs from scripture. They may be right or wrong. The only way we will know is to do the study ourselves, looking at scripture from the viewpoint of the original author and audience.
Things to Ponder
1. Based on your own Bible studies, what are some of the details you found interesting?
2. Have you ever heard someone or read something that didn't quite fit with your thoughts or beliefs from scripture? If so, what was it, and in your study did you find that you agreed or disagreed with them based on scripture?
