The Character of David in

Judaism, Christianity and Islam

Warrior, Poet, Prophet and King

Edited by

Marzena Zawanowska
Mateusz Wilk

LEIDEN | BOSTON
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 chapter 2

David the Pious Musician in Midrashic Literature

and Medieval Muslim Sources

Sivan Nir

1 Introduction

Music is integral to the reception history of David. When first presented to Saul
in 1 Samuel 16:3, David is portrayed as an accomplished lyre player who uses
his musical skills to soothe the mad king.1 David is also connected to stringed
instruments in Amos 6:5.2 The Book of Chronicles extends David’s relation-
ship with musical instruments to the realm of Temple music.3 Rolf Rendtorff
describes how David’s character was later enhanced by attributing many
Psalms to him that were considered to be musical expressions of David’s inner
musings, as alluded to by some of their titles and headings.4
Medieval Jewry continued to emphasize David’s spiritual nature and thus
further distanced him from his earthly depiction in biblical prose. Late Midrash
portrayed David as a humble sage (who at times rivaled Moses), which both
enhanced his epic qualities and fleshed out his biography.5 Systematic medi-
eval Bible exegesis, albeit occasionally apologetic, rendered the character of
David in the Book of Psalms to be more consistent with his biography in the
biblical narratives. His idealized nature as king also allowed exegetes to depict
him as a paradigm of spiritual, prophetic or state-craft excellence.6

1 The verse reads: “And whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David took the lyre
and played it with his hand, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit
“would depart from him.” Throughout this paper, all translations of biblical verses are based
on the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), unless included in the editions of the quoted
texts.
2 For more on David and music in the Bible, see Rendtorff, “David in Psalms,” 54.
3 See 1 Chronicles 23:5; 2 Chronicles 29:26–27. These instruments are not trumpets (which
would probably be attributed to Moses, based on Numbers 10:8).
4 See Rendtorff, “David in Psalms,” 56–58.
5 See Shenan, “David in Rabbinic literature,” 181–191. Some of these late midrashic biographical
materials might be informed by a Muslim context.
6 I plan to address David in Medieval Jewish Psalm exegesis in greater detail in the future.
The above summary is based on preliminary work that was part of my Ph.D. dissertation.

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2021 | doi:10.1163/9789004465978_004

44 Nir

This paper focuses on how David’s connection to the Book of Psalms was
used by midrashic and Muslim medieval sources to portray the musical facet
of his character.7 It compares the function and message of David’s midrashic
characterization as above all a Torah scholar in the Babylonian Talmud and the
Byzantine Midrash on Psalms8 to David’s depiction as an ascetic who musi-
cally duelled demons in several works of the Tales of the Prophets (Ar. Qiṣaṣ
al-anbiyāʾ). The article concludes with a brief examination of the impact of
these themes on some accounts of David’s death in these two corpora.
Recent scholarship has rejected the notion of “influence” in favour of more
complex dialectics that highlight the interdependent frames of self-definition
between Jews, Christians and Muslims.9 The identification of the reception
and reworking of traditions associated with Judeao-Christian sources (Ar.
Isrāʾīliyyāt) requires careful study and comparison, since not only are direct
attributions suspect, but the growing dissent stemming from the non-Islamic
sources and an embellished folkloristic tone, in the ninth, fourteenth and twen-
tieth centuries in particular, led to the preservation of those very sources where
these connections are harder to glimpse, and whose characters are presented
in a more pietistic portrait compatible with traditional Islamic values.10 Late
midrashic sources for their part also tended to avoid overtly direct discourse.11
The aim of this paper hence, is not to establish a direct relationship between
different interpretative traditions, but rather to trace the intricate web between

I consulted commentaries and translations by Saʿadya Gaon, Yefet ben ʿEli, Rashi,
Abraham Ibn Ezra, David Qimḥi and Isaac Abarbanel.
7 For the undisclosed Islamic reliance on Psalm verses when characterizing David see
Goitein, “Isrā’īliyāt,” 99–100.
8 The second part of Midrash Psalms is much later and Provencal, but has no bearing on the
accounts discussed in this paper. See Reizel, Introduction to Midrash, 281–285.
9 The need to go beyond the reductive debtor-creditor model of influence in favor of a more
intertextual cultural view when discussing the Qurʾān and its interpretation has been
repeatedly acknowledged in the last few decades. See, e.g., Lazarus-Yafeh, “Some Aspects,”
72–89; Firestone, “Abraham’s Journey,” 6–9; 23–24; Wasserstrom, Between Muslim and Jew,
56–75; Wheeler, “Israel and the Torah,” 61–85; Bernstein, Stories of Joseph, 1–10; Pregill,
“Bible and Qurʾān,” 643–659.
10 The literature on this topic is vast. See Vajda, “Isrāʾīliyyāt,” and the sources mentioned
there. For select studies, see Torrey, Jewish Foundation, 51, 68–75; Goitein, “Isrā’īliyāt,”
89–90; Kister, Studies, 101–103; Firestone, Journeys in Holy Lands, 312–313; Tottoli, Biblical
Prophets, 165–175. The term itself is a loaded one and was originally pejorative, see ibid,
“Origin and Use,” 193–210. For the complexity of the interdependencies between medi-
eval Islamic sources and late Midrash, see Shtober, “Jewish Legend and Islam,” 114–121.
For the impact of this process of selection on David’s medieval Islamic reception see
Mohammed, David in the Muslim Tradition, 98–124.
11 For some reasons see, Lazarus-Yafeh, Intertwined Worlds, 13–29; Perlmann, “The Medieval
Polemics,” 121–129.
David the Pious Musician in Midrashic Literature 45

them. My analysis of David can thus serve as a case study for the assessment of
the broader reception of biblical figures in Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyā’ and Midrash, even
in sources that might at first seem unrelated to one another.

2 Midrash: Sage First, Musician Second

Broadly speaking, rabbinic sources utilized passages from the Psalms that
were interpreted as David’s monologues to characterize him – perhaps
apologetically – as a pious king. However, both the Babylonian and Palestinian
traditions downplay the importance of music in favor of David’s spiritual char-
acter. The different Talmudic accounts (b. Berakhot 4a) below are marked by
letters for ease of reference:12

[…] A prayer of David […] Keep my soul, for I am pious.13 Levi and R. Isaac:
[A] The one says, “Thus spoke David before the Holy One, blessed be He;
Master of the world, am I not pious? All the kings of the East and the
West sleep to the third hour [of the day], but I, at midnight I rise to give
thanks unto Thee.”14 [B1] The other one says: “Thus spoke David before
the Holy One, blessed be He: ‘Master of the world, am I not pious? All
the kings of the East and the West sit with all their pomp among their
company, whereas my hands are soiled with the blood [of menstrua-
tion], with the fetus and the placenta, in order to declare a woman clean
for her husband. And what is more, in all that I do I consult my teacher,
Mephibosheth, and I say to him: My teacher Mephibosheth, is my deci-
sion right? Did I correctly convict, correctly acquit, correctly declare
clean, correctly declare unclean? And I am not ashamed [to ask].’ ” [B2]
R. Joshua, the son of R. Iddi, says: “Which verse [may be cited in support]?
And I recite Thy testimonies before kings and am not ashamed15 […].”16

Sources [A] and [B] both view Psalm 86:1–2 as a Davidic proclamation of piety,
whereas they interpret Psalm 99:62 as an example of this piety (namely, David

12 Abbreviated as B. See also Rashi on Psalms 57:9; 58:3.

13 Psalm 86:1–2.
14 Psalm 99:62.
15 Psalm 119:46.
16 Throughout this paper, all translations of passages from the Babylonian Talmud are based
on the Soncino English edition. A comparison to Ma⁠ʾagarim: The Historical Dictionary
project’s chosen Oxford manuscript for these passages (Ms. Bodleian Library, 366), has
revealed no meaningful variations.
46 Nir

rising every midnight to pray). Both sources also view this nightly act as proof
of David’s superiority to all Gentile kings. [A] argues for the piety of sacrificing
sleep in order to praise God. David is characterized as a paradigmatic pious
oriental king viewed through Hellenistic eyes. As Elimelech HaLevi pointed
out, this depiction is similar to several known Greek passages praising the
early-rising Cyrus.17 [B] on the other hand, as Avigdor Shenan remarked, is a
more rote kind of “Rabbinization.”18 David prefers rabbinic duties to worldly
pleasures.19 Hence, the rabbis’ own kind of unglamorous purity laws are the
true hallmarks of piety and not David’s music or Psalms, which are completely
absent from this account. The same indirect undermining of the importance of
music is also evident in another Talmudic account (b. Berakot 3b):

[…] R. Oshaia, in the name of R. Aha, replies: “David said: ‘Midnight never
passed me by in my sleep’.”20 [C] R. Zera says: “Till midnight he used to
slumber like a horse,21 from thence on he rose with the energy of a lion.”
[D] R. Ashi says: “Till midnight he studied the Torah, from thence on he
recited songs and praises” […]. [E] But did David know the exact time
of midnight? […] David had a sign. For so said R. Aha b. Bizana in the
name of R. Simeon the Pious: “A harp was hanging above David’s bed.
As soon as midnight arrived, a North wind came and blew upon it and
it played of itself. He arose immediately and studied the Torah till the
break of dawn. After the break of dawn the wise men of Israel came in
to see him and said to him: ‘Our lord, the King, Israel your people require
sustenance!’ ” […].22

This passage is a digression from a lengthy discussion about the number of

watches in the night and is structured similarly to the above mentioned
accounts. The source [C] describes David in line with [A]: he sleeps little and
lightly, and rises every midnight to praise God. [D] like [B] adds rabbinic ele-
ments and Torah study. David praises God and studies Torah. [E] argues that
David is no longer the one playing the harp. Instead, a divine sign in the form of
a gust of wind plays a tune to wake him precisely at midnight so he will study.23

17 See HaLevi, “David’s Violin,” 334–335. See also the sun worshipping kings in b. Berakot 7a.
18 For an explanation of the typical rabbinic treatment of biblical characters, see Levinson,
Twice Told Tale, 188–190.
19 See Shenan, “David in Rabbinic literature,” 198–199.
20 Based on Psalm 109:62.
21 According to the Talmud, horses sleep very lightly. See b. Sukkah 26a.
22 For a lengthy commentary on this passage, see Paris, “Economy and Government,” 114–115.
23 For more on this passage, see Shenan, “David in Rabbinic literature,” 188.
David the Pious Musician in Midrashic Literature 47

The implication is that studying is superior to music in the eyes of God. David
himself no longer needs to play his harp in praise, just study.
Possibly older Palestinian parallels to this Babylonian source [E] are col-
lected and expanded in the Midrash on Psalms (Midrash Psalms 22:8):24

[F] In another comment, For the leader; upon ʾayelet ha-šaḥar is inter-
preted as “For the leader; upon strength at dawn.” Elsewhere, Scripture
says, awake my glory; awake, psaltery and harp; I myself will awake at
dawn.25 This is as though David said: “I will awake the king’s glory for
the sake of my Maker’s glory, my glory being nothing before my Maker’s
glory.”26 [G] R. Phinehas said in the name of R. Eleazer ben Menahem:
“What did David use to do? He used to take a psaltery and a harp, put
them above his head, and upon waking himself at midnight, used to play
upon them; thereupon the sages of Israel,27 upon hearing David’s play-
ing, used to say: ‘If David, king of Israel, occupies himself at midnight
with Torah, with songs and praises, so much the more should we!’ And it
turned out that because of David, all the children of Israel sat down and
occupied themselves with Torah” […].28

24 Extrapolated solely on the rabbinic authorities named in Midrash Psalms and in the
Talmud, the Midrash Psalms version appears in fact to be older. Midrash Psalms cites a
fourth generation Palestinian Amora, whereas the Talmud names several fourth to sixth
generation Babylonian Amoraim. See their respective entries and possible periods of
activity in Hyman, Toldoth.
25 Psalm 57:9.
26 See Braude, Midrash on Psalms, vol. 1, 305. Comparison to Ms. Cambridge, University
Library, Or. 768 revealed little of interest, except the addition of another sage, which
might make the anonymous comments older. Moreover, this passage might have the addi-
tional aim of invalidating the possibility that David “awakened” God at dawn. Mishnah
(m. Maʿaser Šeni 5:15), teaches us that “Yoḥanan the High Priest […] did away with the
Awakeners and the Stunners.” The “Awakeners” were the Levites or priests, who each
morning woke God up with their song. Studies have shown that the practice had pagan
cognates. Egyptian temples, e.g., would awaken Serapis at dawn with songs and melodies.
See Friedheim, “Challenge of Music,” 71–72. The rabbinic sources conveniently circum-
vent such potential readings.
27 The possible influence of the Babylonian Talmud on the inclusion of “sages” underlined
in source [E] is missing from a clearly earlier parallel in Ruth Rabbah. See Ruth Rabbah
(Lerner) 6:1, which also references music-induced prophetic ecstasy 2 Kings 3:15, as well
as parallels in Midrash Psalms 57:4 and the Palestinian Talmud, (y. Berakhot 1:1). All these
sources mention David’s study companions rather than “sages.” Thus, the Midrash on
Psalms version might be a compromise to fit with the Babylonian Talmud’s addition.
28 See Braude, Midrash on Psalms, vol. 1, 305.
48 Nir

Source [F] identifies the “the leader” mentioned in the titles of certain
Psalms with David and so argues that he was strong at dawn. Hence, David
would already be up at the crack of dawn. Psalm 57:9 reports David stating
his devotion to the glory of God that surpasses his personal glory. Such senti-
ments lead David to rise early. The underlined Hebrew paraphrase of verse 9
is the Midrash on Psalms’ sole important contribution to the older Palestinian
accounts of this interpretation.29 The argument it puts forward is still very sim-
ilar to those in Talmudic sources [A], [C] and [D].
According to [G], David would serve as a role model for all of Israel. He
would rouse himself at midnight and play his musical instruments kept nearby,
to signal to the sages of Israel to study the Torah as well. As in the Talmud’s [E],
music is secondary and only acceptable when conducive to Torah study. This
hierarchical theme is expanded on in another account that refers to the divine
wind motif found in source [E]. Midrash on Psalms 22:8 continues:

[H] R. Levi said: “A window was left open above David’s couch – left open
to the north – and across the window hung a harp, and when the north
wind came up at midnight it blew through the harp, which then played
of itself;30 and David would say, Awake, my glory.31 How awakened? By
the psaltery and the harp. I will awaken the dawn:32 That is, ‘I shall be he
who awakes the dawn, the dawn shall not awake me.’ All night long his
inclination-to-evil would tempt him, saying ‘David! David!33 Is it the way
of kings that the dawn wake them? Kings sleep three hours into the day.’34
Yet thou declares I will awaken the dawn,35 and thou risest at midnight
saying: at midnight I will rise to give thanks unto Thee.”36

29 The interpretations following [F] ([G] and [H] of R. Phineḥas and R. Levi), are already
attested to by the Palestinian Talmud (y. Berakot 1:1) and thus older than Midrash Psalms.
An Aramaic version of [F] is found in y. Berakot 1:1 as well, further supporting the view
that the Hebrew version in Midrash Psalms is a later adaptation in language and content.
30 Divine worship with self-playing instruments might be inspired by pagan culture. The
rabbinic literature notes that there were pagan temples in which visitors encountered
statues that “spoke and sang” aided by ventriloquists or by tubes inserted in the statue.
See Friedheim, “Challenge of Music,” 79–80.
31 Psalm 57:8.
32 Psalm 57:8.
33 Note the address “David David” emulating divine calls to biblical characters, such as
“Samuel Samuel” in 1 Samuel 3:10. This fits the evil inclination’s learned discourse in
Palestinian sources, since it approaches David as if God were the one speaking. See more
on this discourse in Rosen-Zvi, “Yetzer,” 265–266.
34 As noted in the Babylonian Talmud above.
35 Psalm 57:8.
36 Psalm 119:62. See Braude, Midrash on Psalms, vol. 1, 305.
David the Pious Musician in Midrashic Literature 49

The wind and not David is, once more, the musician. The special focus of
this account is not that music encourages study, but on David’s inner tempta-
tion to go on sleeping. Music helps David conquer the evil inclination by rous-
ing him. This account, when compared to the Talmudic [A] and [B] dramatizes
David’s struggle rather than contrasts him with other kings.
This indifference towards David’s music is concomitant with the general
rabbinic outlook on music. According to numerous Talmudic and tannaitic
sources, after the destruction of the Temple, music was forbidden for all extents
and purposes. Emmanuel Friedheim argues that the abundance of such nega-
tive sources demonstrates the considerable influence exerted by pagan music
on Jewish society, which the rabbis wanted to stop.37 Ultimately, the rabbis
could not ban musical innovations altogether and had to adjust their rulings.
As a result, no explicit prohibition of even blatantly pagan music is to be found
anywhere in rabbinic literature.38 Hence, the implicit hierarchy between study
and music conveyed by the abovementioned accounts is another form of rab-
binic propaganda against music: even David the musician does not need music.

3 David’s Excessive Prayer and Fasting in Muslim Sources

David’s eminence in the Tales of the Prophets far outshines his lesser role in
Qurʾān. Consequently, several new trajectories emerge.39 Generally speaking,
the Islamic treatment of biblical figures as described by Aviva Schussman, veers
towards two complimenting trends, namely the etiological and the pietistic.40
Correspondingly, there are two possible kinds of Muslim reflection on the dis-
cussed rabbinic accounts about David. The first is the musical conflict with evil
and the genesis of musical instruments, which will be explored extensively in
the next section. The other is more straightforward and was integrated into the
extreme piousness of Muslim depictions of David, as mentioned in passing
by James Lindsay.41 Specifically, these sources all refer to the theme of David’s

37 See Friedheim, “Challenge of Music,” 83–84.

38 See Friedheim, “Challenge of Music,” 87–88. The rabbis were lenient as regards Greek
music in Hellenized “mixed” Jewish and Gentile cities such as Beth Gubrin and Caesarea
of the third through the fourth centuries CE.
39 Wagtendonk, “The Stories of David,” 343–344.
40 Schussman, “A Glance,” 104–105. For an overview of the genre, see Tottoli, Biblical Prophets,
138–163.
41 See Lindsay, “Case of David,” 65–68. The similarity to this account [C] was already noted
by Geiger and Taylor. See Geiger, Judaism and Islam, 145–146; Taylor, “Al-Bukhari and the
Aggada,” 199–200. For another trajectory connecting the very same rabbinic and Islamic
sources, about Adam gifting years of his life to David, see Schwarzbaum, Studies, 282.
50 Nir

light sleep resulting from his constant prayer (similar to the abovementioned
rabbinic accounts [A], [C], [D] and [H]).
It is hard to argue for a specific rabbinic source of influence. However, at
the very least, the same interpretation of the Psalms as presenting David’s
prayer practices can be considered to have shaped the exegetic tradition of the
Qurʾān:42 “Be patient over what they say and remember Our servant, David,
the possessor of strength; indeed, he was one who repeatedly turned back [to
Allah]” (Sura 38:17).
Although David’s strength was occasionally interpreted as physical prowess,43
Muslim tradition favored more ascetic endeavours, including nightly prayers.
An example is al-Ṯaʿlabī’s (d. 1035) use of one of the Qurʾānic verses that men-
tion David: “Among them were strength in worship and power in effort, as God
has said: and remember Our servant David, lord of might (Sura 38:17) – meaning
strength in worship, a penitent; that is, one who repents, gives praise, and is
obedient […].”44
The following account relates David rising to pray after the first half of the
night (i.e., at midnight) as in midrashic accounts. In his Ṣaḥīḥ (vol. 4, book 55,
no. 631), al-Buḫārī expounds:

Narrated by ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAmr (d. ca. 683): “Allah’s Apostle said to me,
‘The most beloved fasting to Allah was the fasting of [the Prophet] David
who used to fast on alternate days. And the most beloved prayer to Allah
was the prayer of David who used to sleep for [the first] half of the night
and pray for 1/3 of it and [again] sleep for a sixth of it.’ ”

The mention of midnight is absent in two possibly later45 accounts noted by

Ibn ʿAsākir (d. 1176) where David (or his family) rise at night and pray. This sug-
gests the primacy of the ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAmr account.46

42 Stillman notes the common practice in Jewish medieval sources to view various Psalm
verses as instances of monologue originally uttered by unrelated biblical characters. He
speculates whether this practice could have influenced Muslim exegesis, specifically with
regards to what Cain and Abel said to each other prior to their confrontation in Muslim
tradition. See Stillman, “Cain and Abel,” 235–236.
43 See, e.g., Zamaḫšarī on the verse.
44 See al-Ṯaʿlabī, Tales of the Prophets, 466.
45 Later in terms of the isnāds and thus mostly speculatively. See the next footnote.
46 See Lindsay, “Case of David,” 65. It reads there: “1) (Tabith): ‘David the Prophet of God
(May God bless him and grant him peace) used to allot the hours of the night and day
among his family. Some member of David’s family was awake to pray during each hour
of the day and night. (God) encompassed them in this verse, “Give thanks, House of
David. Yet few of My servants are truly thankful (Sura 34:13).’ 2) Another ḥadīṯ [authority
David the Pious Musician in Midrashic Literature 51

Ibn Kaṯīr (d. 1373) also makes reference in passing to the fact that David
would devote the last part of the day to sermons, which could be an Islamized
form of the nightly Torah study described in rabbinic accounts much like [G],
[E] and especially [D]: “David divided his working day into four parts: one to
earn a living and to rest, one to pray to his Lord, one to listen to the complaints
of his people, and the last part to deliver his sermons […].”47
While rabbinic exegesis of the Book of Psalms might have inspired ele-
ments in these Muslim images of David, they are novel in their own right.
They reframe David’s piety into third person reports, since they cannot use
the Psalms as textual evidence of David’s pious confessions. Moreover, fasting
is often described as concomitant with David’s prayers. Generally, fasting has
positive spiritual connotations in many medieval Muslim sources. David as a
prophet is associated with such practices by some authors such as al-Ġazālī48
(d. ca. 1111). It should be noted that according to some Muslim sources, David
might have sinned like his biblical counterpart.49 It should thus come as no
surprise that these sources also depicted him as committed to fasting so as
to emphasize his penitence. In fact, the hyperbolic nature of his fasting and
praying in Islam resulted in his reconceptualization as an exemplary penitent.
According to both James Lindsay and Marianna Klar, David in the Tales of the
Prophets as well as in the ḥadīṯ literature is always described as exceeding the
minimum obligations required of an average Muslim.50 In all likelihood, this

of Wuhayb b. al-Ward] (d. ca. 770): ‘David the Prophet of God (May God bless him and
grant him peace) used to [pray] in turn throughout the night with the members of his
household. An hour did not go by in his house without someone praying or mentioning
the name of God. When it was David’s appointed time, he rose to pray. It was as though
his heart contained his and his household’s worshipfulness. God looked upon his heart
and was pleased with what he saw of (David’s) worshipfulness and that of his household’.”
The interpretation of “heart” found in the second account might be a hidden reference to
1 Samuel 16:7, where the divine gaze into David’s heart is the main reason for him being
anointed as King. Account 2 also has David rouse himself as he does in the Palestinian
traditions.
47 See Ibn Kaṯīr, Stories of the Prophets, 146.
48 I have summarized what Berg noted on the subject of fasting which is also relevant to
David. Al-Ġazālī, in his Kitāb asrār al-ṣawm, points out that fasting earned the penitent
high esteem from God. He distinguishes three levels of fasting. The highest is that of the
Prophets, such as David, as well as the ṣiddīqūn and those who have been brought into the
proximity [of God] (Ar. al-muqarrabūn). There are various traditions in the Ḥadīt litera-
ture about fasting connected with ethical tendencies, which he quotes to support his own
view. See examples of these traditions about David below. For more on fasting, see Berg,
“Ṣawm.”
49 Such as the views of al-Ṭabarī and al-Kisāʾī on Sura 38:21ff.
50 See Lindsay, “Case of David,” 68; Klar, Interpreting al Thaʿlabī, 139–140. See also, Anabsi,
“David in Islam,” 5–9.
52 Nir

excess was aimed at emphasizing David’s sorrow for his sins. This pietistic
trend is emblematic of Islamic sources in conversation with rabbinic accounts
on David in general.51
Geneviève Gobillot describes how zuhd (roughly “ascetic”) ideas spread
from the biographies of Muḥammad and his companions, to mystical works
such as Ibn Ḥanbal’s (d. ca. 855) Kitāb al-zuhd (The Book of Religious Piety)
where asceticism is attributed to other figures like David. Interestingly, how-
ever, only from the tenth century onwards, do actual mystics become the
protagonists of these works. Similarly, a later ḥadīṯ seems to go against ear-
lier traditions based on a passage from the Qurʾān (Sura 25:67), which aims at
limiting ascetic trends.52 The above depiction of David as a pious renouncer
is probably a reflection of this gradual medieval embrace of asceticism and
therefore probably predates the tenth century waning of this trend.
Thus, depictions of David praying are part of an ongoing medieval Muslim
debate. He is portrayed as an extreme renouncer, but his practices are also con-
sidered too extreme by some of these same sources.53 David’s nightly prayers
are used to promote asceticism in much the same way Midrash used them to
encourage Torah study. Munim Sirry noted that al-Ġazālī in his Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm
al-dīn (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) finally reconciled the scholas-
tic and mystic aspects of zuhd.54 The Muslim portrayal of David’s character

51 See for instance, the interplay of sources about David slaying of Goliath, Sokolow, “Goliath
and ‘Og in Midrash and Ḥadith,” 52.
52 See Gobillot, “Zuhd,” IE 2. Midrashic sources reflect a similar ambiguous attitude toward
asceticism. Some sources depict certain rabbis as ascetics, whereas later sources elimi-
nate ascetic characteristics from the very same figures. See Urbach, The Sages, 395–396.
53 In some aḥādīṯ about David’s fasting, the narrator is not a proponent, admirable as it is.
For instance, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Buḫārī, vol. 3, book 31, no. 196: “Narrated by ʿAbdullah bin ‘Amr bin
al-ʿAs Allah’s Apostle said to me, ‘O ʿAbdullah! Have I not been informed that you fast
during the day and offer prayers all the night.’ ʿAbdullah replied, ‘Yes, O Allah’s Apostle!’
The Prophet said, ‘Do not do that; fast for few days and then give it up for few days, offer
prayers and also sleep at night, as your body has a right on you, and your wife has a right
on you, and your guest has a right on you. And it is sufficient for you to fast three days
in a month, as the reward of a good deed is multiplied ten times, so it will be like fasting
throughout the year.’ I insisted (on fasting) and so I was given a hard instruction. I said,
‘O Allah’s Apostle! I have power.’ The Prophet said, ‘Fast like the fasting of the Prophet
David and do not fast more than that.’ I said, ‘How was the fasting of the Prophet of Allah,
David?’ He said, ‘Half of the year,’ (i.e., he used to fast on every alternate day). Afterwards
when ʿAbdullah became old, he used to say, ‘It would have been better for me if I had
accepted the permission of the Prophet (where he allowed me to fast only three days
a month)’.”
54 See Sirry, “Pious Muslims,” 441–442; Shiloah, Music in the World of Islam, 31.
David the Pious Musician in Midrashic Literature 53

corresponds closely to this trend given the combination of the motifs of music
and fasting; al-Ġazālī used David as a precedent for both practices.55
Furthermore, al-ʿAṭṭār’s (d. ca. 1220) story of Mālik b. Dīnār’s “conversion” to
zuhd, includes reports of the latter being awakened at night to pray by a speak-
ing lute.56 This parallel provides a striking example of attributing a tale similar
to midrashic accounts of David (sources [E] and [H]) to a Muslim pious fig-
ure. Hence, David was turned into a paradigm of piety in Muslim narratives on
pious figures and later Midrashim bespeak of a similar process.57 This ascetic
trend is related to the settings of the following accounts, which underscore
David’s piety, using his musical gifts in a hyperbolic way compared to their
Jewish counterparts.

4 David’s Symbolic Musical Competition with Demons

Amnon Shiloah’s works on Islamic music show how David’s voice is not only
a precedent ever favoured by apologists but also possesses angelic connota-
tions in myriad medieval genres.58 Some of David’s descriptions in the Qurʾān
(Sura 21:79; 34:10) depict him as a kind of Orpheus with an entrancing voice.59
He is also identified with the invention of wind instruments called mizmār
and miʿzaf, because he was the first to play them. Rudi Paret notes that Ḥadīṯ60
praises David’s enchanting singing and not his capacity to play instruments.61
Ta‌ʾrīḫ and Qiṣaṣ place similar emphasis on the arresting beauty of David’s

55 See below.
56 See Sirry, “Pious Muslims,” 444–445. This conversation with a lute is unusual when com-
pared to a more mundane dream revelation that strengthens the motif’s association with
Midrash.
57 In fact, Goitein attributes direct Psalm quotations to Mālik b. Dīnār and his circle, and
describes their admiration of David. See Goitein “Isrāʾīliyyāt,” 98–100. For receptions
of these Islamic ideas integrated into David’s character in late Midrash, see the version
of account [E] in Seder Eliyahu 18 and also the unique Pirqei de Rabbi Eliezer 42, which
both add ascetic penitent elements absent from probably older sources. See also Midrash
Psalms 51:6 discussed as a sign of this kind of Islamic influence in Mohammed, David in
the Muslim Tradition, 148–149.
58 See for instance, Shiloah, Music in the World of Islam, 33 and other refrecnces to his stud-
ies that follow. David’s voice may have inspired or was inspired by the angel Israfil’s voice.
See Burge, Angels in Islam, 223, 229.
59 See Poché, “Mizmar,” 58–60; Shiloah, The Theory of Music, 119.
60 See Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: book 4, ḥadīṯ 1734; book 6, ḥadīṯ 279. See also Ṣaḥīḥ al-Buḫārī, vol. 6,
book 61, ḥadīṯ 568. David is sometimes described as playing wind instruments.
61 See Paret, “Dāwūd.”
54 Nir

voice rather than his capacity to play.62 In fact, al-Ṭabarī (d. 923) even tells us
that musical instruments were invented by demons63 as pale imitations of
David’s voice.64
The need to tackle the issue of forbidden instruments is also reflected in one
of al-Kisāʾī’s accounts (the oldest manuscripts date back to the early thirteenth
century65), where David’s enchanting voice is only used to draw the Israelites
away from their amusements with the devil’s musical instruments:

Ibn ‘Abbās (d. ca. 687) said: “Then the children of Israel became divided
and occupied themselves with the amusements of the devil: there were
those who played lutes and those who played drums, pipes, castanets and
the like – until God sent David as prophet and revealed sixty lines of the
Psalms to him. He also gave him such a voice he could recite correctly and
sedately in more than seventy melodies, the likes of which no one had
ever heard for sonority and volume […]. The children of Israel left their
diversion and amusement and came to David’s Tower to hear his music
[…]. He divided his time into three: a day for worship, a day for his wives
and a day for sitting in judgment. On the day for worship the ascetics
would come down form the mountains and caves, and the birds and
beasts would come from the air and the valleys and stand in rows around
the Tower […].”66

62 For example, Ibn Kaṯīr, Tales of the Prophets, 146. Generally, Ibn Kaṯīr chooses to focus on
David’s piety, and eliminates all tensions from his depiction (such as David’s sinfulness).
See Klar, Interpreting al-Thaʿlabī, 140. The author may have omitted David’s alleged con-
frontation with the demons for this same reason, or because of its transmitters’ associa-
tions with Isrāʾīliyyāt.
63 The demonic origins of musical instruments is not the only possibility mentioned in
medieval Muslim sources. Some scholars relegated musical instruments to the descend-
ants of Cain, as in the Bible and even mentioned the Devil’s involvement. Some midrashic
accounts show similar dispositions that may have inspired and in turn drew inspiration
from these Islamic views, such as Midrash Genesis Rabbah 22:32 and the late Midrash
Aggadah 4:21. See, e.g., Poché, “Mizmar,” 69 (on Ibn al-Kalbī). Thus, al-Ṭabarī may have
been familiar with the demonic connotation of music and chose to revisit this issue. This
is supported by the time gap between the transmitters, see the next footnote.
64 See al-Ṭabarī, History, vol. 3, 143: “According to what they have mentioned (Wahb b.
Munabbih? d. ca. 725–37), God did not give anyone of His creation a voice like his. So
when David recited the Psalms, wild beasts would gaze at him with delight, until they
were lined up, intently listening upon hearing his voice. The demons invented flutes,
lutes, and cymbals with only his voice as a model.”
65 See Tottoli, Biblical Prophets, 151–155.
66 See al-Kisāʾī, Tales of the Prophets, 278–279.
David the Pious Musician in Midrashic Literature 55

Gabriel Reynolds pointed out that the connection between David’s sing-
ing and the devil has a dramatic parallel in al-Ṯaʿlabī’s extensive account of
David’s life:67

[Abū Hurayra (d. c 681)68 said]: “[…] Among God’s favors were David’s
pleasant voice, delightful and agreeable comfort, a trilling voice, and
modulations in singing. God had not bestowed upon any of His creatures
a voice like his. He would recite the Psalms with seventy melodies so that
those with fever would sweat and the unconscious would revive. When he
recited the Psalms, he would go forth into the desert69 and stand there,
and the scholars of the children of Israel would stand about him while
the people would stand behind the scholars, the djinns behind the peo-
ple, and the demons behind the djinns. Wild beasts and beasts of prey
would draw near and be seized by the neck, while birds shielded him
from the sun’s rays, the flowing water stood still, the wind died down,
and the heavenly pipes, lutes, and cymbals did not make a sound. Cursed
Iblis envied him for that and it became unbearable for him. He said to his
demons: ‘Do you not see what has befallen you?’ They replied: ‘Command
us to do what you wish.’ He said: ‘The only thing that will turn the people
away from David is something that will contradict him and be contrary
to his situation.’ So they arranged pipes and lutes and strings and instru-
ments of kinds like David’s sounds. The foolish among the people heard
them and inclined toward them and were deceived by them […].”70

David is a kind of Orpheus conducting a divinely harmonious orchestra.

The envious Iblis and his demons entice the foolish among the people by
their demonic imitation of the Davidic orchestra, resulting in a test of faith.
According to Shiloah, this competition is evident in Ḥuǧwīrī’s71 (d. 1072) pos-
sibly older account, which places unique emphasis on God as the instigator of
the musical trial to identify the true believers among the flock.72

67 See Reynolds, “David,” EI3.

68 Abū Hurayra is also accused of transmitting Isrāʾīliyyāt. See Abbott, Studies, vol. 2, 8–9.
69 The choice of an isolated location might be another expression of an attempt to prove
David’s ascetic piety. Based on what Katz notes, “performance of the āḏān is meritorious
even in cases in which there is no need to inform others of the time of prayer, such as in
isolation.” See Katz, “Call to prayer.”
70 See al-Ṯaʿlabī, Tales of the Prophets, 463; Wagtendonk, “The Stories of David,” 345.
71 Note Ḥuǧwīrī’s even greater emphasis on the miraculous effects of David’s voice.
72 See Ḥuǧwīrī, The Kashf, 402–403: “[…] The whole of this topic (that what you glean
from music is dependent upon your moral character) is illustrated by the story of David,
whom God made his vice-regent and gave him a sweet voice and caused his throat to be
56 Nir

The underlined passages in al-Kisāʾī’s and al-Ṯaʿlabī’s accounts, and specif-

ically al-Ṯaʿlabī’s description of David attracting the sages of Israel by reciting
the Psalms, seem to resonate with the rabbinic David calling the sages and
all of Israel to study the Torah every night (accounts [G] and [E]), as Samuel
Rosenbaltt suggestes.73 Al-Kisāʾī might have chosen ascetics instead of sages
as a result of the reconceptualization of David’s character described in the
previous section. Even if these rabbinic versions indeed inspired the Muslim
accounts,74 the differences between the rabbinic and Muslim depictions of
David are far more interesting and instructive.
The transformation of David from harp or lute player into a singer or bearer
of wind instruments is the easiest to explain. Christian Poché suggests that
it might be connected to the nefarious magical connotations of string instru-
ments in pre-Islamic Arabia. The miʾzaf (an Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew
kinnor according to certain Arab historians) was part of the heritage of the
ancient Yemenite civilization associated with taming the djinns. A different
explanation suggests that the emphasis on David’s singing was related to the
unpopularity of the Christian psalterion among the Arabs.75 Hence, David’s
instruments were adapted to an Arabic context, and distanced from demonic
connotations.
The demonic motif in these accounts is a reflection of the wider controversy
over the nature of music in medieval Muslim thought. Music was perceived as
highly resonant with the soul and was considered to affect the moral qualities
of the listeners. Doris Behrens-Abouseif mentions that David was one of the
precedents used by pro-music thinkers such as al-Ġazālī and al-Fārābī (d. ca.

a melodious pipe, so that wild beats and birds came from mountain and plain to hear
him, and the water ceased to flow and the birds fell from the air. It is related that during
a month’s space the people who were gathered round him in the desert ate no food, and
the children neither wept nor asked for milk; and whenever the folk departed it was found
that many had died of the rapture the seized them as they listened to his voice; one time
it is said, the toll of the dead amounted to seven hundred maidens and twelve thousand
old men. Then God, wishing to separate those who listened to the voice and followed
their temperament from the followers of the truth who listened to the spiritual reality,
permitted Iblis to work his will and display his wiles. Iblis fashioned a mandolin and flute
and took up a station opposite to the place where David was singing. David’s audience
became divided into two parties: the blest and the damned. Those who were destined
to damnation lent ear to the music of Iblis, while those who were destined to felicity
remained listening to the voice of David […].” Also see Shiloah, The Theory of Music, 88.
73 See Rosenblatt, “Rabbinic Legends in Hadith,” 249.
74 Alternatively, the inspiration is not just in the Midrashim, but rather the Muslim call to
prayer.
75 See Poché, “Mizmar,” 64–66; Shiloah, Music in the World of Islam, 37. Also consider Rav
Huna’s reported hostility to harps in this light (Midrash Psalms 81:3).
David the Pious Musician in Midrashic Literature 57

950) who referred to David to justify their own musical activities.76 In their
view, David comes to embody the nature of good music, in direct opposition to
the devil’s music. Thus, the precedent of David’s singing was used (and abused)
in the moral struggle over the value of music in medieval Islam. He served as a
symbolic figure to better suit the audience’s changing needs, as in the case of
David’s alleged asceticism described above.
While the midrashic Palestinian sources concentrated on David’s evil
inclination77 (such as Midrash Psalms 22:8, account [H]), Muslim sources chose
to focus on the devil. The difference between an internal and external incen-
tive to sin – the inclination to do evil and the devil respectively – highlights
the stark philosophical disparity between the Jewish and Muslim accounts of
David, regardless of their possible similarity in other respects. Carol Bakhos
maintains that echoes of apocalyptic dualism that existed even in the Qurʾān
are one of the main features distinguishing Qiṣaṣ literature from most rabbinic
literature.78 Accordingly, the dichotomy between good and evil music transpir-
ing from these sources is typical of the Qiṣaṣ’ world view, and as such repre-
sents a distinctly Muslim treatment of David. Muslim thinkers claimed that
the way to God was pleasurable, as was David’s music. One simply needs to
discern the right kind of pleasure from the wrong one symbolized by the devil
and his music. The rabbinic narrative argues that Torah study is the one true
way leading to God and therefore the midrashic David is made to convey this
picture of an exemplary pious sage, not a musician. In essence, the rabbinic
views on music are similar to Islamic traditionalists’ views and at odds with the
above Islamic accounts, such as that of Ibn Abī al-Dunyā.79 However, it seems

76 Arabic authors considered that music had a powerful impact on the soul. Music can either
result in a profound religious experience or can act as a temptation to commit sins and
engage in dissolute behavior. Al-Ġazālī mentioned David and bird song as positive prec-
edents. He even argued that all prophets sent by God had beautiful voices like David’s,
thereby further cementing David’s music as a symbol on a par with fasting. Al-Ġazālī’s
views were accepted by other jurists and theologians, especially Ṣūfīs, who consid-
ered music one of the pleasures inherent to being in Paradise. See Behrens-Abouseif,
“Aesthetics.”
77 Note that the evil inclination appears in a text attributed to R. Levi in the Palestinian
accounts in the Midrash on Psalms and the Palestinian Talmud, but not in the Babylonian
account cited above ([B]; y. Berakot 4a). R. Levi was a second to third generation
Palestinian Amora (ca. the beginning of the fourth c. CE). The description of the yēṣer
in the above accounts is compatible with its non-sexual presentation in the sources of
that period, according to Rosen-Zvi, “Yetzer,” 264–269.
78 See Bakhos, “Migrating Motif,” in the concluding section of her article.
79 See Goitein, “Isrā’īliyāt,” 95; Shiloah, Music in the World of Islam, 34–35.
58 Nir

that those very same tradtionalists were also the ones more hositle to Isrā’īliyāt
and thus they left a much smaller mark on David’s reception.
These philosophical differences were still dominant when Qiṣaṣ litera-
ture was collected in written form. According to Yosef Toby’s analysis, the
far-reaching rabbinic disdain for Greek music is one of the reasons why Saʿadya
Gaon (d. ca. 942) rejected the Greek-Arabic focus on the pleasurable effects of
poetry.80 Apparently, he was still under the sway of traditionalist midrashic
notions of piety.

5 David’s Death in al-Kisāʾī and Midrash: An Extension of David’s

Previous Characterizations

The ideological differences between rabbinic and Islamic sources are further
supported by differences between the rabbinic accounts of David’s death and
the one in al-Kisāʾī. They convey entirely different messages, regardless of
al-Kisāʾī’s probable acknowledgment of some midrashic versions or details.81
The Talmud again uses David to show that Torah study is superior to music.
David’s music could not alter his destiny which was to die on a Sabbath, regard-
less of his protests. Rather, his Torah study stalled the angel of death for some
time and eventually forced the angel to resort to trickery82 (b. Šabbat 30b).83
As Stephen Burge argues, the death of prophets, such as Enoch, Noah,
Moses and Abraham, and their last interaction with the Angel of Death is a
common enough type scene in Islamic literature. However, only the pietistic
David and Muḥammad do not challenge the Angel in order to postpone their

80 See Toby, “Theory of Poetry,” 334–336.

81 This collection is more folkloristic in nature and uses extended stories including
Isrā’īliyāt, rather than Qurʾānic verses as the spring board for its accounts. See Schussman,
“A Glance,” 91–92, 99.
82 See in the section previewing both versions above.
83 See the Talmudic account (b. Šabbat 30b per Soncino, p. 87): “[…] Now, every Sabbath
day he (David who knew he would die on a Sabbath) would sit and study all day. On the
day that his soul was to be at rest, the Angel of Death stood before him but could not
prevail against him, because learning did not cease from his mouth. ‘What shall I do to
him?’ said he. Now, there was a garden before his house; so the Angel of Death went,
ascended and swayed the trees. He [David] went out to see: as he was ascending the lad-
der, it broke under him. Thereupon he became silent [interrupting his studies] and his
soul had repose […].” Islamic parallels to several motifs in this account exist, but unre-
lated to David: stalling death – the remembrance (Ar. ḏikr) of God stops the Devil, See
Burge, Angels in Islam, 178. Also see Ibid, 216, for a tradition reminiscent of God’s Talmudic
desire to keep David alive around longer for his beautiful prayers. Allah similarly denies
the prayers of the righteous in order prolong his enjoyment their prayers.
David the Pious Musician in Midrashic Literature 59

demise. The eminence of David’s piety goes intentionally beyond the possi-
bly related Jewish traditions.84 Indeed unlike David’s Talmudic study, nothing
could save David from death in al-Kisāʾī’s account of the incident. No mention
of his arresting voice is made, despite al-Kisāʾī’s considerable emphasis on its
irresistible power. David cannot gain a single hour of life, but instead is com-
forted by the promise that he is forgiven as a penitent:

Wahb (b. Munabbih) said: “David was exceedingly jealous of his women,
and whenever he went out, he would lock them and take the keys with
him.85 One day he went out, and upon his return, saw a handsome man in
the middle of the hall. Angrily he said: ‘Who are you, and who let you into
my hall among my women?’ ‘He let me in who is Master of the hall and
who gave you dominion and authority. I am he who fears not kings. I am
the Angel of Death, come to take your spirit.’ David trembled and said,
‘O Angel of Death, let me go to my people and my children to bid them
farewell.’ ‘I cannot do that, O David,’ said the angel. ‘Have you not heard
then when their term is expired, they shall not have respite for an hour,
neither shall their punishment be anticipated (Sura 10:50)?’ David wept
and said, ‘O Angel of Death, I have wept much over my sins and transgres-
sions. Will my tears avail me or not?’ ‘Yes, David,’ he said, ‘every tear that
falls from a penitent sinner’s eye weighs more in His scales than the earth
and the mountains.’ ‘O Angel of Death,’ said David, ‘who will the children
of Israel have after me?’ ‘Your successor is Solomon,’ said the angel. ‘Then
now is my spirit ready for death,’ David said. ‘Take that which God has
commanded you to take.’ And the angel took his spirit.”86

The paramount importance of repentance is borne out by the vivid, drama-

tized description of David’s acceptance of his own demise. This depiction of
his death forms an integral part of David’s representation as a Muslim exem-
plar of piety. If there is any connection to the Jewish accounts, it is polemi-
cal; namely that nothing can stop death. There are several reasons to assume
there was such a connection between the Jewish and Muslim accounts. The
first is the possible attribution of this story to the Isrāʾīliyyāt expert, Wahb ibn

84 Burge, Angels in Islam, 141–145; 241–243, 247–248, 250–253, 259–260; Rosenblatt, “Rabbinic
Legends in Hadith,” 250–251.
85 Cf. with the Baraita in the Babylonian Talmud (b. Giṭṭin 90a), where keeping wives under
lock and key is considered an excessive degree of sexual modesty. If this view had any
impact on al-Kisāʾī’s David, it was to portray him once again as excessively pious.
86 See al-Kisāʾī, Tales of the Prophets, 299–300.
60 Nir

Munabbih.87 The second lies in the fine details of another remark by al-Kisāʾīs
on the subject, which was evidently influenced by the rabbinic accounts on
David’s death: “It is related on the authority of the Prophet that David lived
for one hundred years and died on a Saturday. It is also said that his spirit was
taken while he was preaching from the pulpit.”88 The attribution of this state-
ment to the Prophet himself seems to suggest the apologetic integration of
Jewish materials into Muslim exegetic tradition.89 In addition, the statement
that David died while preaching echoes the Talmudic (b. Šabbat 30b) account
of David dying while studying, which is consistent with the overall tendency
in Muslim sources to replace descriptions of him studying at night with refer-
ences to him preaching. Furthermore, according to al-Kisāʾī, David dies on the
Sabbath as he does in the Talmud.
Finally, in a Palestinian account of David’s death, the light of the sun could
have spoiled his corpse and required the protection of birds to shade it (Ruth
Rabbah 3:2).90 This detail is echoed in some of al-Ṯaʿlabī91 and al-Kisāʾī’s
accounts. Both authors emphasize that after David’s sin, birds would no longer
shield him from the sun. This avian motif might have been drawn from the
Isrāʾīliyyāt, given that these transmitters are the only ones showcasing the
motif.92 In any case, al-Ṯaʿlabī and al-Kisāʾī seem to have been familiar with

87 See Abbot, “Wahab b. Munabbih,” 103–106.

88 See al-Kisāʾī, Tales of the Prophets, 300.
89 Al-Kisāʾī’s identity and the dating of his work are both difficult questions. It is possi-
ble that his “Tales of the Prophets” were later embellished with Isrāʾīliyyāt materials or
used as a repository for such materials to conceal their “problematic” Jewish provenance
behind the author’s authoritative persona. See Tottoli, Biblical Prophets, 151–155.
90 See Rabinowitz, Midrash Rabah, 44: “[…] And David died on a Pentecost which coincided
with the Sabbath and the Sanhedrin went up to present themselves to Solomon. He said
to them, ‘Move him from place to place’. They said to him, ‘but does not a Mishnah state
that a corpse may be washed and anointed as long as the limbs are not moved?’ he said to
them, ‘the dogs of my father’s house are hungry’. They answered him, ‘does not a Mishnah
state that pumpkins may be cut [on the Sabbath] for an animal, and a carcass for dogs?’
What did he do? He took a curtain and spread it over [the body] that the sun should not
beat down upon it, while others explain that he summoned eagles who spread their wings
over him that the sun should not beat down upon him.”
91 See al-Ṯaʿlabī, Tales of the Prophets, 463: “It is said that when David recited the Psalms after
having committed sins, the water did not stand still for him, the wild animals, domesti-
cated animals, and birds no longer paid attention to him as they had before that, and his
melody was impaired […].”
92 See Klar, Interpreting al-Thaʿlabī, 114. In al-Ṯaʿlabī’s lengthy Davidic address to God as
“creator of light,” David confesses his fear of the sun’s rays (in bold). While this speech
is heavily laced with references to the Qurʾān), it is still possible that it reflects Ruth
Rabbah. David’s loss of the shading birds in both sources is telling, given that the trans-
mitters are two notable Isrāʾīliyyāt experts (in bold): “Ibn Faṯawayh told us with his chain
David the Pious Musician in Midrashic Literature 61

the sun and bird shade motif, which in Jewish tradition was associated with
David’s demise, but transferred it to his sin and subsequent fall from divine
grace. If so, this would further testify to the complex reception of midrashic
materials in Muslim literature.

6 Conclusion

David’s association with the Psalms resulted in a reinterpretation of some

of them as an expression of his innermost thoughts. Both Babylonian and
Palestinian rabbis used this technique in homilies in which they tended to
read certain Psalms as David’s confessions of his rigorist nightly prayer routine.
These interpretations were aimed at distancing David from the musical aspect
of his character by implicitly suggesting the lesser importance of David’s pre-
occupation with music to that of his Torah study.
These rabbinic interpretations inspired different Islamic authors. The inte-
gration of Jewish materials in this corpus, however, was highly selective. The
nightly prayer motif was adopted in Muslim texts associated with zuhd litera-
ture that portrayed David as a model ascetic. Correspondingly, the midrashic
motif of David’s struggle against his own desires to awaken every night to
praise God was incorporated into other medieval Muslim texts debating the
value of music. Qiṣaṣ accounts made David the paradigm of positive music
battling the negative musical prowess of the Devil. A similar selective and
creative approach to Jewish sources in Muslim literature is also reflected in
al-Kisāʾī’s treatment of midrashic materials recounting David’s death. Neither

of transmission from Ka’ab al-Ahbar and from Wahb b. Munabbih, who all agreed,
saying: When the two angels came to David and he passed judgment on them himself,
they changed their form and ascended while saying […]: I am one who is unable to bear
the heat of Your Sun (Sura 20:119 Adam, Sura 76:13 not in paradise, Sura 9:81 those that
praised Islam did not understand that the sun is not hotter than Hell!). How then will I be
able to endure the heat of your fire? Praise be to the Creator of light, my God. I am he who
is unable to stand the noise of your threat. How, then, shall I be able to endure the noise of
hellfire? (Sura 25:12 is still a strange complaint, but might be related to the fact that David
was a musician) Praise be to the Creator of light, my God […].” See al-Ṯaʿlabī, Tales of the
Prophets, 473–474. The connection to Midrash is even more evident in al-Kisāʾi’s account,
where the birds provide shade to David as long as he is righteous: “I have favored thee with
an excellent voice, the like of which no one except thy father Adam has had […] I have
commanded the birds to assemble above thy head and to sing hymns of praise along with
thee […].” See al-Kisāʾī, Tales of the Prophets, 281. For an interpretation that uses this light
motif yet exonerates David of sin, see Mohammed, David in the Muslim Tradition, 67–68.
62 Nir

Torah study nor music can help al-Kisāʾī’s David postpone the time of death,
only pious repentance.
Thus, although the character of David and his musical gifts function as
exemplars for the two religious communities, they are made to convey differ-
ent sets of values that were particularly important to each of these respective
communities; namely, Torah study in Judaism and penitence in certain Islamic
circles. Later Italian, Provençal and Spanish Jewish thinkers93 absorbed such
Muslim notions of the spiritual value of music and formed a conception of
the character of David that departs from classical Midrash, but this issue goes
beyond the scope of this paper.94

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