According to Feldman, Josephus deliberately points out these acts that David engaged in in an effort to parallel similar deeds documented in Homer and Virgil. I guess the only point we can agree in is that Josephus primarily wrote to a Roman audience. With this in mind, Feldman writes that Josephus omits describing David in messianic terms to his Roman audience. I found that your scholar, McLaren, writes that in Josephus " there is little sense of an independent state being established and certainly no mention of its name, ‘Israel,’ let alone reference to ‘Zion*". So according to both scholars, Josephus deliberately omits mentioning certain information to his presumably Roman audience. I do understand your argument that in the first century there was not any Davidic messianic expectations hence Josephus' silence in regard to this issue.neilgodfrey wrote:Well the Hebrew Scriptures are certainly a Taliban-like text -- ordering stoning and death for all sorts of acts and mass slaughter of various select groups of unbelievers.
*The quote from McLaren is from The Jewish Revolt Against Rome: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
which currently costs $203. However, McLaren's section is available almost in it's entirety here.