“Will the ‘D’ the ‘A’ the ‘V’ the ‘I’ the ‘D’ ever
be hammered into unison said without horror?
take my name! take Jonathan! curl up inside it let it be your tent in the desert
i’ll anoint these ankles these heels these soles over & over
till all these pale royal territories heal”
Excerpt from Rich Goodson's poem ‘Michelangelo’s Idea For A Sculpture’
What’s left of love when even the memory of eros is erased? Maybe loyalty.
Whatever was the love story between David and Jonathan it is now long gone, the stuff of legend, queer fantasy and speculation. Maybe a role model for same sex love and maybe not so much. For King David, secure on this throne in Jerusalem, there is yet a threat of competing claims to the crown - coming from the people of the north who are still loyal to the first king - Saul. There is only one surviving son from that entire dynasty - and in today’s chapter this last threat will also be handled, with perhaps some semblance of grace.
When David’s soldiers took on the House of Saul across the Jordan river, right after the colossal combat in which Saul and his sons were slain, there was one more young prince left. Jonathan’s young son, MephiBaal, was dropped by his nanny as they fled. As a result of that accident he lost his ability to walk. This whole time this potential heir to the throne, despite his disability, is hidden away across the river, far away from David’s domain.
David knows about this last remaining son of Saul, of course, but because he once swore to Jonathan, in their famous seed-covenant, that they will never kill each other’s children - he can’t just kill this prince, whose name here is MephiBoshet - a later edit that will shame him, and remove the divine attribution from his original name. David questions Ziva, who was once a servant of Saul and is now instructed to bring back the young prince from exile.
David summons his former lover’s son to the palace, and welcomes him as a guest:
וַיִּשְׁתַּ֕חוּ וַיֹּ֖אמֶר מֶ֣ה עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ כִּ֣י פָנִ֔יתָ אֶל־הַכֶּ֥לֶב הַמֵּ֖ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר כָּמֽוֹנִי׃
“Mephibosheth prostrated himself again, and asked, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog like me?”
What does it take for a fugitive prince to label himself in this debasing way? What amount of fear is played out here? Mephiboshet is the only man with disabilities so prominently featured in the biblical texts. Why is this detail of his life so important?
It’s unclear how easy it is for a man, likely in his 20’s, who’s unable to walk, to fling himself and prostrate in front of the king. But Mephiboshet does so - he has to - with what’s likely not a small amount of dread, fully aware of the fate of his family, most of whom have already been somehow conveniently silenced or slain.
But David promises him lifelong protection, the return of King Saul’s lands in Gibea as an estate, with Ziva as the manager of the property, and a permanent seat for the prince at the king’s table, as one of the royal sons.
It’s an act of kindness, officially a sign of David’s loyalty and love. But is the young prince kept there as a prisoner, far from danger under fancy house arrest?
“This notice at the end about Mephibosheth’s lameness also underscores the continuing antithesis between the fates of the house of Saul and the house of David: King David came into Jerusalem whirling and dancing before the LORD; the surviving Saulide limps into Jerusalem, crippled in both legs.”
The prince’s disability becomes a metaphor, a sign of weakness. In a culture that worships war - as ours still is - how is this still the case? March is National Disability Awareness Month - and our story helps us pay attention to the many ways we still conflate physical challenges with mental or spiritual challenges, despite all that we know and should know better.
While the love between the two men is long over, Jonathan’s surviving son’s saga will continue, as well as that of his son Micha who is mentioned briefly here. Ziva, the servant of both houses, will also have a devious role.
David’s royal table is getting quite crowded, but another famous object of the king’s love is about to take her place at the head.
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