A that time in history, being anything less than pitch-black may have sufficed to earn one the nickname "Red."
And, hey: Wasn't Malcom X's nickname "Rufus" (= "red-haired") because his hair was NOT pitch-black?
My point is: A six-footer will be called "Shorty" in a society of 7-footers. Thus, the fact that the Bible describes King David as "ruddy" tells us nothing about his actual (absolute) complexion - only his complexion in relation to the average at that time, at that place.
Regards,
“A that time in history, being anything less than pitch-black may have sufficed to earn one the nickname “Red.”
“may have sufficed”?
What makes you believe the white races are only a few hundred years old?
Malccolm X was half white and had reddish hair.
The Hebrew word translated ruddy was the same as the Hebrew word describing Esau and it meant the color we refer to as “red”.
In the Song of Solomon, Solomon is described as “milky white”.