- published: 08 Oct 2010
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David (/ˈdeɪvɪd/; Hebrew: דָּוִד, Modern David, Tiberian Dāwîḏ;ISO 259-3 Dawid; Arabic: داوُد Dāwūd; Syriac: ܕܘܝܕ Dawid; Ancient Greek: Δαυίδ; Latin: Davidus, David; Strong's: Daveed) was, according to the Books of Samuel, the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel, and according to the New Testament, an ancestor of Jesus. His life is conventionally dated to c. 1040 – 970 BCE, his reign over Judah c. 1010–970 BCE.
The Books of Samuel, 1 Kings, and 1 Chronicles are the only Old Testament sources of information on David, although the Tel Dan Stele (dated c. 850–835 BCE) contains the phrase בית דוד (bytdwd), read as "House of David", which many scholars confirm to be a likely plausible match to the existence in the mid-9th century BCE of a Judean royal dynasty called the House of David.
Depicted as a valorous warrior of great renown, and a poet and musician credited for composing much of the psalms contained in the Book of Psalms, King David is widely viewed as a righteous and effective king in battle and civil justice. He is described as a man after God's own heart in 1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22.
David J. Valesky (b. circa 1966) is a member of the New York State Senate.
He is a Democrat representing the 53rd Senate District. He previously represented the mostly rural 49th Senate District, which encompassed the city of Rome in Oneida County, all of Madison County, eastern and southern Onondaga County, including the eastern half of the city of Syracuse, and parts of Cayuga County in upstate New York. He was first elected to the office in 2004.
Valesky holds a B.A. in mathematics from the State University of New York at Potsdam and an M.A. in political science from the University of Connecticut.
He served as aide to former New York State Assembly Majority Leader Michael Bragman from 1989 to 1995. From 1995 to 2004, he served as vice president of communications at Syracuse's public television and radio station WCNY-TV/WCNY-FM and hosted the local public affairs program, Hour CNY. He resigned from WCNY to pursue the 49th District seat.
Valesky is married to wife Julie, and they have three children. The Valesky family currently resides in Oneida, where Valesky was born and raised. They are Roman Catholics and attend St. Patrick's Parish Church.