Rabbi David Chaim Pardo, referred to in the works of later authorities as "the Radap" or "the Shalad" (after his work Shoshanim LeDavid), was born in Venice on 1 Nissan 5478 (1718) to Rabbi Yaakov of Ragusa (Dubrovnik) and Iustina; the family descended from Rabbi Shmuel Aboab. Orphaned of his father as a child, he and his sister Rachel were taken in by a wealthy relative, Moshe (Shmuel) Ashkenazi, and he studied under Rabbi Shlomo Zalman of Lvov and Rabbi Yaakov Belilios.

In 5498 (1738) he moved to Spalato (Split) in Dalmatia, where he first taught children and became a student of the town's rabbi, Rabbi Avraham David Papo, whom he later succeeded. He opened a yeshiva there whose students included Rabbi Shabtai Ventura and Rabbi Avraham Pinso. He then served for nine years as rabbi of Sarajevo, where he introduced new ordinances, founded study and charitable societies, and opened a yeshiva that drew students from across the region.

In Livorno, in 5535 (1775), he met the Chida and formed a close bond with him; in 5544 (1784) his youngest son, Rabbi Avraham, married Simcha, the Chida's daughter. The two families held each other in deep esteem, though they sometimes disagreed sharply on matters of interpretation. In 5541 (1781) he set out for the Land of Israel and settled in Jerusalem in 5542 (1782), where he sat on the rabbinical court of Rabbi Yom Tov Algazi and headed the Chesed LeAvraham UVinyan Shlomo yeshiva.

His commentaries focus on texts few others had explained, such as the Tosefta and the Sifrei, comparing the Gemara, the Rambam and the Rishonim to arrive at the plain meaning. Works: Shoshanim LeDavid on the Mishnah (Venice, 1752), Maskil LeDavid on Rashi's Torah commentary (Venice, 5521), Michtam LeDavid (responsa, Salonica, 5532), LaMenatze'ach LeDavid, Chasdei David on the Tosefta, Sifrei Devei Rav on the Sifrei, Mizmor LeDavid and Chukat HaPesach. Several of his piyyutim are found in the prayer books and bakashot of the Eastern communities.

He passed away in Jerusalem on 12 Sivan 5550 (1790) according to his rediscovered tombstone (other sources give 1792), and was buried on the Mount of Olives, in the Sephardic section.