King David: The Real Life of the Man Who Ruled Israel (Ballantine Reader's Circle) by Jonathan Kirsch Page A
Authors: Jonathan Kirsch
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Saul's emissary now told David, “but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” (1 Sam. 18:25) 2
If David took up the grotesque challenge, or so Saul calculated, he would certainly die by the sword of some Philistine soldier who refused to be separated from his foreskin. What else, after all, would better motivate a man in battle than the integrity of his own genitalia! But, yet again, Saul badly underestimated the willful young David, who may have declined to marry Merab but suddenly burned with desire for her younger sister.
The Bible does not explain his sudden change of heart, but David now relished the idea of sitting at Saul's table as the son-in-law of the king. Indeed, some scholars suspect that marriage to the daughter of the reigning king had always been David's first objective in his long, patient, ruthless plan to put himself on the throne of Israel. 3 So despite his earlier protestations of humility and poverty, David sallied forth in search of foreskins as a bride-price for Michal. Ever the overachiever, David returned with
two
hundred severed Philistine foreskins, twice as many as Saul had demanded. 4
Saul, foiled again, was forced to welcome the man he detested to the point of madness into the most intimate circles of his family and his court: “And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife.” (1 Sam. 18:27) But Saul had not yet resigned himself to his fate, and his efforts to do away with David only grew more frantic.If the Philistines would not do the job for him, vowed mad King Saul, he would find a way to do it himself even if it meant defying the will of God.
“And Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and Michal loved him,” the Bible sums up. “And Saul was yet more afraid of David, and Saul was David's constant enemy.” (1 Sam. 18:28–29)
A GAME OF CHESS
Saul could do nothing right, and David could do nothing wrong, for the simple reason that God willed it to be so—it was only a matter of time before his divine plan to unseat Saul and replace him with David was revealed, and David was elevated to his rightful place on the throne of Israel. Such is the subtext of the Bible as it has come down to us, a set of texts that were repeatedly “corrected” by successive generations of editors and redactors to put a theological seal of approval on King David and the dynasty that continued to reign in Jerusalem for five centuries.
But the pious account of David's rise to power, as we have already seen, may be read as an overlay applied to the older texts, a theologically correct effort by some later biblical source to rewrite history by attributing every act of human will to the hand of an unseen and unheard God. The core of the biblical text is much grittier, much bloodier, and much more suspenseful, as if the author was never quite sure of how it would all turn out. At the heart of the biblical life story of David are two men—each ambitious, willful, and ruthless—contending with each other for a crown. An open-eyed reading of the Bible permits us to conclude that David prevailed over Saul because of his superior skills in war and politics, not because God willed it so.
Saul's next move against David, for example, was a blunder. The hapless king confided to Jonathan that he intended to kill David at the first opportunity. Saul even spoke openly of his murderous intent within the royal household, which included bothJonathan and Michal, David's wife. Saul ought to have known that his plan would be communicated to David, and so it was that Jonathan, who “delighted much in David,” sought David out, urged him to remain out of sight, and warned him: “Saul my father seeks to slay you.” (1 Sam. 19: 1–2) In the meantime, while David absented himself from the court, Jonathan sought to change Saul's mind.
“Sir, do not wrong your servant David, because he has not wronged you,” urged Jonathan. “His conduct toward you has been beyond reproach. Did he not take his life in his
If David took up the grotesque challenge, or so Saul calculated, he would certainly die by the sword of some Philistine soldier who refused to be separated from his foreskin. What else, after all, would better motivate a man in battle than the integrity of his own genitalia! But, yet again, Saul badly underestimated the willful young David, who may have declined to marry Merab but suddenly burned with desire for her younger sister.
The Bible does not explain his sudden change of heart, but David now relished the idea of sitting at Saul's table as the son-in-law of the king. Indeed, some scholars suspect that marriage to the daughter of the reigning king had always been David's first objective in his long, patient, ruthless plan to put himself on the throne of Israel. 3 So despite his earlier protestations of humility and poverty, David sallied forth in search of foreskins as a bride-price for Michal. Ever the overachiever, David returned with
two
hundred severed Philistine foreskins, twice as many as Saul had demanded. 4
Saul, foiled again, was forced to welcome the man he detested to the point of madness into the most intimate circles of his family and his court: “And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife.” (1 Sam. 18:27) But Saul had not yet resigned himself to his fate, and his efforts to do away with David only grew more frantic.If the Philistines would not do the job for him, vowed mad King Saul, he would find a way to do it himself even if it meant defying the will of God.
“And Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and Michal loved him,” the Bible sums up. “And Saul was yet more afraid of David, and Saul was David's constant enemy.” (1 Sam. 18:28–29)
A GAME OF CHESS
Saul could do nothing right, and David could do nothing wrong, for the simple reason that God willed it to be so—it was only a matter of time before his divine plan to unseat Saul and replace him with David was revealed, and David was elevated to his rightful place on the throne of Israel. Such is the subtext of the Bible as it has come down to us, a set of texts that were repeatedly “corrected” by successive generations of editors and redactors to put a theological seal of approval on King David and the dynasty that continued to reign in Jerusalem for five centuries.
But the pious account of David's rise to power, as we have already seen, may be read as an overlay applied to the older texts, a theologically correct effort by some later biblical source to rewrite history by attributing every act of human will to the hand of an unseen and unheard God. The core of the biblical text is much grittier, much bloodier, and much more suspenseful, as if the author was never quite sure of how it would all turn out. At the heart of the biblical life story of David are two men—each ambitious, willful, and ruthless—contending with each other for a crown. An open-eyed reading of the Bible permits us to conclude that David prevailed over Saul because of his superior skills in war and politics, not because God willed it so.
Saul's next move against David, for example, was a blunder. The hapless king confided to Jonathan that he intended to kill David at the first opportunity. Saul even spoke openly of his murderous intent within the royal household, which included bothJonathan and Michal, David's wife. Saul ought to have known that his plan would be communicated to David, and so it was that Jonathan, who “delighted much in David,” sought David out, urged him to remain out of sight, and warned him: “Saul my father seeks to slay you.” (1 Sam. 19: 1–2) In the meantime, while David absented himself from the court, Jonathan sought to change Saul's mind.
“Sir, do not wrong your servant David, because he has not wronged you,” urged Jonathan. “His conduct toward you has been beyond reproach. Did he not take his life in his
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