After Saul's kingship is revoked due to his disobedience of Samuel and general incompetence as a follower of the Lord, the search begins for a new king, one that will not make the Lord and Samuel so "sorry" about the whole affair of kingship. The man chosen is David, a young man that contrasts Saul in many ways. These contrasts are highlighted in our introduction to the boy, which parallels the proclaiming of Saul as king.
1 Samuel 9 informs us that Saul is "a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else." The phrase "head and shoulders" is not a figure of speech; Saul is literally a tall man. Samuel's discovery of Saul is a highly public affair. All the tribes are brought together and are narrowed down by tribe, then family, then individual men. But when Saul is chosen by lot, he cannot be found. Samuel has to ask the Lord as to Saul's location; the future king is discovered among the baggage. Saul is off in his own world, a trait that will typify him throughout his reign.
When David is anointed king, he is chosen specifically from among the sons of Jesse, a Bethlehemite. This makes the anointing a private affair, lessening the publicity that might occur from the choice of a second king in so short a time.
Saul's choosing is contrasted (and undermined) in other ways as well. It is not the oldest son, Eliab, that will be anointed. Indeed, the Lord explains, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature. Eliab is like Saul: tall and handsome. The Lord warns against judging by appearances, advice that surely extends to Israel as a whole. Israel may not be the biggest nation, and is bereft of iron weapons.* Israel is an underdog group. Likewise, David is the youngest of Jesse's sons. In biblical times this was an unfavorable position, but frequently in the biblical narrative it is the youngest son that is favored.
Like Saul, David must be called for. However, he is called under less public circumstances, and his calling serves to defy the normative expectation that the youngest would not be chosen as king. David is young and ruddy and handsome, with beautiful eyes. Yet he is small, an underdog, the youngest son of a Bethlehemite. This mismatched sense will follow David throughout his narrative, perhaps most strikingly displayed in the tale of David and Goliath.
*[The bible informs us that the Philistines control the metalworking process]
Evidence of the Documentary Hypothesis in the Davidic Narrative
A strong piece of evidence supporting the multiple authorship of the bible comes in the Davidic narrative. 1 Samuel 16 has him anointed by Samuel, after which time he goes to play the lyre for Saul in order to relieve him of his evil spirits. However, for the rest of the narrative, David does not seem to have ever been anointed, indicating the tale of David may actually be comprised of two or more traditions. Twice he abstains from killing Saul because Saul is "the Lord's anointed." David's anointing would seemingly override this, so perhaps David in that version of the story was not anointed at that time. If the multiple authorship hypothesis is correct, one of these traditions would have David anointed upon his introduction, while the other would have him anointed after the death of Saul. Indeed, there are three anointing scenes, one before and two after Samuel's death. Perhaps the biblical author wanted David to be anointed by Samuel, and so that tradition was added to the other anointing that occurs in 2 Samuel 2 and 2 Samuel 5
1 Samuel 17: David and Goliath
The story of David and Goliath is a classic in the biblical canon - as well as in art:
[Thanks David Gaya at Wikipedia!]
The setting: The Israelites and the Philistines are battling. A huge Philistine warrior by the name of Goliath offers a challenge of hand-to-hand combat, him agaisnt an Israelite. The winner's people will rule over the loser's. It is a simple wager, but no Israelite takes it - until the young David shows up. David is no soldier; he is simply delivering food to his three brothers who are in combat. However, David takes up the challenge, perhaps tempted by the promise of Saul's daughter and tax-free living in Israel. The young shepherd eschews Saul's armor and sword for a simple sling and five stones. The rest, as they say, is historicized fiction.
The tale of David and Goliath reinforces the underdog mentality of David and the Israelites as a whole. David is physically smaller and younger than Goliath, but that means he is light and agile. He is confident in his boast to Goliath:
"You come to me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled. This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head;"David then turns Goliath's promise back on him:
"and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand."
David invokes the Lord as divine warrior as champion of the Israelites. The Israelites only figure nominally into the battle, for "the battle is the Lord's." It was the Lord, David told Saul earlier, that saved him from lions and bears and allowed him to defeat them bare-handed. Battles are not won through sword and spear, but by what seem like fantastic actions resulting from trust in the Lord. David defeats Goliath with a mere stone. His boast that "the Lord does not save by sword and spear" has a peculiar resonance here, as 1 Samuel 13.19 informs the reader, "Now there was no smith to be found throughout all the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, 'The Hebrews must not make swords or spears for themselves.'" [It would therefore seem anachronistic that the Israelites "put X to the sword." But this is a matter for another time.] Only Saul and Jonathan have swords, and even these are not necessary to defeat the Philistines. Instead, Goliath is killed rather poetically by his own sword. Everything David promised is fulfilled, and the Philistines are defeated because of the Lord's actions.
Family Matters
There is an ever-so-brief period in which Saul is not jealous of David. It spans a whole five verses: 1 Samuel 18.1-5. In addition to Saul's adoration of his military prowess, Saul's son Jonathan develops an intense love for David, offering him many gifts to demonstrate his adoration. Jonathan's admiration of David saves the future king a number of times, while it simultaneously puts a wedge between Jonathan and his father.
Saul's jealousy stems from a legitimate source, though this source differs depending on what account we follow. If all the stories of David assume at this point that Saul's kingship has been revoked by Samuel, then Saul's fear might be that the new anointed has come. However, the Documentary Hypothesis allows the assumption that Saul's kingship was not revoked at all, and that the king is fending off a young upstart. It is a subtle difference, but knowing the reason could help us to better understand Saul's psychology.
Saul's jealousy is set off by a song that is sung as he and David return victorious from battle. The refrain haunts Saul, and he hears it repeated three times before his death:
"Saul has killed his thousands,With this jealousy as a basis, the rest of the narrative sees Saul hunting down David, and even when Saul concedes David's greatness and promises to stop hunting him, he resumes the hunt within a chapter. In classic laconic style we are never told the reason Saul's pursuit resumes. This fact is taken for granted, but again, understanding the reason would give us a greater insight into Saul's psychology. Multiple authorship makes it seem as though Saul reneges on his promise a number of times. And while this may have always been the intention of the story, there is a small chance that perhaps it was not.
and David his ten thousands."
(1 Sam. 18.7, 21.11, 29.5)
In any case, David does not kill Saul when he gets the chance, an inaction that contrasts well with Saul's active pursuit of David. David refuses to kill the Lord's anointed - which would seem to indicate he has not yet been anointed himself.
Meanwhile, David is off making a name for himself, while Saul and his son Jonathan battle the enemies of Israel. Finally, the Philistines overcome the Israelites, and Saul, his armor bearer, and Jonathan all die. An injured Saul in fact kills himself rather than being killed by the Philistines - his armor bearer is refuses to kill him, and ultimately slays himself the same way.
David learns of Saul's death from an Amalekite that stumbles into his camp. carrying Saul's crown and armlet The news evokes genuine sorrow in David, and he demands to know the conditions. The Amalekite claims that Saul asked him to deliver his death blow because he is mortally wounded. Probably the Amalekite is lying, and probably stripped Saul of his jewelry before realizing it might be more valuable for him to give it to David. The tale prior to this one supports this idea. It does not even matter to David whether the man is lying or not - though he takes him at face value. In David's mind, the man has killed the Lord's anointed, and the punishment for that is death.
In the wake of this bloodbath David comes to power.
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