Jesse was the father of King David and an ancestor of Jesus.
Biography[]
Jesse was the son of Obed and the grandson of Boaz and Ruth, and he was raised in Bethlehem as a member of the Tribe of Judah. Jesse worked as a farmer, breeder, and owner of sheep, and he married Nitzevet and fathered Eliab, Abinadab, Shammah, Nethanel, Raddai, Ozem, David, Zeruiah, and Abigail. In 1063 BC, the prophet Samuel came to Bethlehem to search for a king to replace the corrupted Saul, and, while he was initially impressed by Eliab's physical strength, he was even more endeared to David's pure heart, and he anointed David as the next king of Israel. King Saul later sent for the young David, a talented lyrist, to play the harp for him to soothe his depression, and Jesse sent David along with some gifts for the king; David became the king's armor-bearer. That same year, Jesse sent David to bring bread to his brothers during the Battle of the Valley of Elah, only for David to also become a hero for slaying the Philistine champion Goliath with a slingshot. After Saul attempted to kill David to remove any threat to his kingship, David persuaded the King of Moab to allow for his parents to live in exile among the Moabites in Mizpah until the threat abated. On Jesse's death, he was buried in Ruth's tomb at Hebron.