David was born on 26 April 1932. His mother, Zipporah née Salomon, was the granddaughter of Yoel Moshe Salomon. His father, Hayim Melumad, was a pharmacist for sixty years, son of Yaakov Yehoshua Melumad, one of the first pharmacists in the city. There were two brothers and a sister, Sarah Peli (also a Lehi member) in the family. David studied in the Tachkemoni School and the Maaleh High School.

He was in the Scouts and then joined Lehi at a young age. Because of his youth, his activity was limited to putting up posters. As the War of Independence began, he started serving in Lehi units in Jerusalem. When he reached the enlistment age, he joined the IDF and served in both Nahal and the Artillery Corps. After he was discharged, he studied in the Technion in Haifa and received a degree in construction engineering.

He worked in the Jewish Agency and the Housing Ministry. Afterwards, he worked at Hebrew University. After the Six-Day War, he was one of the directors of the restoration of the campus on Mt. Scopus.

From 1975 to 1990, he worked for the Municipality of Jerusalem, and he was responsible for public buildings in the city, particularly the construction of schools and kindergartens. He contributed a great deal to preserving the unique architecture of the city, and he was active in the Engineers Union.

In 1961, he married Hannah Makovsky, a teacher who also trained other teachers in the pedagogical center. They had two daughters.

He passed away on 25 January 1990.