David
The David Referred to by the Báb Who preceded Moses is different than King David, father of Solomon and author of the Psalms[edit]
"...The David referred to by the Bab, and stated by Him to have preceded Moses, is not the same one as King David, the father of King Solomon, who lived in the tenth century B.C. and who obviously lived many years, and indeed many centuries after Moses. `Abdu'l-Baha has explained this in a Tablet."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of India, February 17, 1939: Dawn of a New Day, pp. 76-77, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1687)
"'Abdu'l-Bahá is the one who has interpreted the reference of the Báb concerning David, by saying that there were two Davids, one of them was the author of the Psalms. The Tablet in which the Master states this is absolutely authentic, but at the moment the original is not available."
- ((On behalf of?) Shoghi Effendi, Dawn of a New Day, pp. 93-94)
There have been two Davids even as there have been two Ishmaels[edit]
"Concerning the appearance of two Davids; there is a Tablet from 'Abdu'l-Bahá in which He says that just as there have been two Ishmaels, one the son of Abraham, and the other one of the Prophets of Israel, there have appeared two Davids, one the author of the Psalms and father of Solomon, and the other before Moses."
- ((On behalf of?) Shoghi Effendi, Dawn of a New Day, pp. 86-87)
Note: It seems in some way from the following that one of the Davids after Moses might be a Manifestation of God , though since the first quotation above states one of the Davids was *before* Moses, and the other David, King David, is apparently not to be considered a Manifestation of God (see how "Solomon" is mentioned next to "David" in the second quotation below; his name is also not capitalized in the pronoun "who" in the first quotation above nor as "author" in the second quotation), it may be that there was a third David or that the reference to "more exalted Manifestations" in the sentence immediately below, which cannot be contrastive with both David and Jesus together, since the Revelation of the latter was second only to Muhammad before the Báb, only refers back to Jesus (while perhaps also emphasizing King David's position as a regular prophet?) while "Messengers of the Word of God" is a more general term to include those of the station of such as King David); however, since the context of the quotation is in altering the law, it would seem redundant to state that King David did not alter the law because regular "prophets" (or non-universal Manifestations of God or followers) do not generally alter the law anyhow (though see Joseph, Peter and Paul); also, although it may seem odd that David heads the list of "Prophets" as a prophet (lower-case) included in with the Manifestations of God, it may simply be that David was listed first since he preceded Jesus in time.
"None of the many Prophets sent down, since Moses was made manifest, as Messengers of the Word of God, such as David, Jesus, and others among the more exalted Manifestations who have appeared during the intervening period between the Revelations of Moses and Muhammad, ever altered the law of the Qiblih."
- (Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Íqán, par. 55)
David (the King?) was not a Universal Manifestation of God but a follower and promoter[edit]
"The Manifestations of universal Prophethood Who appeared independently are, for example, Abraham, Moses, Christ, Muhammad, the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh. But the others who are followers and promoters are like Solomon, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel."
