1 Chronicles Resources
Websites
David's life story retold in Lego form. Warning: with sections titled "God Demands War" and "God Kills a Man for Touching the Ark" this is not for the timid.
Movie or TV Productions
Richard Gere as everyone's favorite King of Israel? Yes, please. Sigh.
This 2009 TV show was a modern retelling of David's story. Sadly, it only ran for a couple episodes before it was cancelled. Maybe God could put in a word with the execs at NBC?
This Iranian film is mostly told from a Muslim point of view; it follows the reign of King Solomon and his quest for wisdom and all things awesome.
The fourth episode of this 2013 TV mini-series takes us through the madness of King Saul, the ups and downs during the reign of King David, and the start of a really nice temple.
The folks over at National Geographic search for evidence that David and Solomon actually existed.
A History Channel documentary about the military victories of King David. Hey, it wasn't all dancing in the streets and writing psalms.
You know, for the kids! This episode is all about King David's rise to power. Think of it as the cartoon-y prequel to 1 Chronicles.
Historical Documents
There's been scholarly disagreement about whether a historical David or Solomon ever actually existed. This clay tablet was unearthed in 1993 in Tel Dan, Israel. It has an inscription that includes the words "House of David."
Video
A good breakdown of what's up with 1 Chronicles (and a couple other Bible books) from an Introduction to the Hebrew Bible course at Yale. You'll feel smarter after only a few minutes and you won't even have to move to Connecticut.
King David talks up his plan to move to Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. But Uzzah's just a teeny bit obsessed with touching things. What could go wrong?
War looms large over 1 Chronicles (and in the story of just about every religion on the planet). This video describes the different ways the major world religions spread through warfare.
Audio
Take a listen here for the full English version of Arthur Honegger's 1921 oratorio about the life of King David. It's just as dramatic as you'd imagine.
The singer "heard there was a secret chord that David played, and it pleased the Lord." Here's Jeff Buckley doing Leonard Cohen's classic, "Hallelujah."
Back in 1997, Alan Menken and Tim Rice wrote a musical all about the life of King David. Sadly, it didn't really take off (kings and battles don't usually add up to tons of fun on Broadway). Thanks to the Internets, you can still listen to all the songs from the score here. We nominate Hugh Jackman and Neil Patrick Harris to co-star if it ever gets to B'way.
Images
Here's what Israel's territory might have looked like around the time that Saul and David were running the place.
One artist's rendering of what the Temple looked like. How did he know? Check out the blueprints in 2 Chronicles.