The story of young Dawud as the youngest shepherd of eight brothers, who was chosen and anointed by Samuel to be king though his appearance was not the most prominent among his siblings.
The Youth of Prophet Dawud
According to the Torah, Dawud was born in Bethlehem, Ephrata, in the region of Judah. His father's name was Jesse. He was the youngest son of Jesse's eight sons. He had two sisters. He spent his youth as a shepherd of sheep and goats.
When he was still young, Samuel came to Jesse's place. At that time Samuel was grieving because Talut, who had been anointed as the first king of the Kingdom of Israel, had committed many violations of Allah's commands. For this reason Allah commanded Samuel to fill his horn with oil, to anoint a new king, and go to Jesse, for among his sons Allah had chosen a king for Himself. Samuel was afraid that if Talut found out about his plan, he would hinder him or even kill him, but Allah had provided a strong reason for Samuel to safely carry out the anointing, which was to bring a young bull and say: 'I have come to sacrifice to Allah.' This was not a contrived excuse, but an important ceremony, especially for the anointing of a king, which should be accompanied by a sacrifice to Allah.
When he arrived in Bethlehem, Samuel consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice ceremony. Then Jesse called his sons one by one and had them pass before Samuel. At first Samuel was impressed when he saw Jesse's firstborn son, Eliab, and thought he was the future king to be anointed, but Allah said:
"Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."
All seven of Jesse's sons had passed before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse: 'The Lord has not chosen these.' Then Samuel said to Jesse: 'Are all your sons here?' Jesse answered: 'There is still the youngest, but he is tending the sheep and goats.' Samuel said to Jesse: 'Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes.' So they sent and brought the youngest. He was ruddy with beautiful eyes and fine features. Then Allah said: 'Rise and anoint him, for this is the one.' With only the testimony of Dawud's close family, Samuel anointed Dawud to be king of Israel, while Talut still served as king. Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed Dawud in the midst of his brothers. Then Samuel departed.
King Talut, who had fallen out of Allah's favor, was abandoned by the angel spirit and began to be troubled by Satan. To reduce this disturbance, the servants of Talut suggested that the king call a harp player and suggested Dawud ibn Jesse as that harp player. Whenever the Satan fell upon Talut, Dawud would take his harp and play it; Talut would feel relieved and comfortable, and the evil spirit would depart from him. From then on Dawud would come and go between Talut and the task of tending his father's sheep in Bethlehem.
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