Two painful scenes paint the specific and cruel moments that depict and define the final fall of the House of Saul. With Abner’s killing, King Ishbaal of the North has ‘lost his grip’ and powerless, he is secluded in his home across the Jordan river. One hot summer afternoon as he is napping, and in the yard some workers are winnowing the wheat, two of his officers enter his bedroom, and cut off his head:
וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ הַבַּ֗יִת וְהֽוּא־שֹׁכֵ֤ב עַל־מִטָּתוֹ֙ בַּחֲדַ֣ר מִשְׁכָּב֔וֹ וַיַּכֻּ֙הוּ֙ וַיְמִתֻ֔הוּ וַיָּסִ֖ירוּ אֶת־רֹאשׁ֑וֹ וַיִּקְחוּ֙ אֶת־רֹאשׁ֔וֹ וַיֵּ֥לְכ֛וּ דֶּ֥רֶךְ הָעֲרָבָ֖ה כׇּל־הַלָּֽיְלָה׃
“They entered the house while he was asleep on his bed in his bedchamber; and they stabbed him to death. They cut off his head and took his head and made their way all night through the Arabah.”
They arrive in Hebron with daybreak, and display their loyalty to David, presenting him with the head of the dead king.
David, same as he did when news of Saul’s death comes to him, laments and punishes the killers fiercely - their hands and legs cut off they are killed and hang on the city walls.
But there is one more threat from Saul’s house, protected by the people of the North who have not lost their hope and loyalty to their first king whom they still cherish.
A little boy is left, a son of Jonathan. His age is not specified and he’s named here MephiBoshet - a Judean distortion of his earlier, regal, pagan name - MephiBaal. In the chaos and confusion that ensues when his uncle is slain, the boy is carried by his nursemaid, running for safety, but the boy is dropped to the ground, and is crippled. From this day on he won’t be able to walk.
We’ll hear more about this last remaining male heir of the House of Saul, but with his infirmity he is no longer considered a threat to David’s attempt to take over the entire nation’s rule.
Whoever wrote this history chooses to illustrate the severing of head and limbs as the symbols with which one dynasty is eliminated and another takes over.
Was David complicit in the killing of the king? The chapter clearly illustrates his innocence and rage, but as with other situations, he has the most to gain.
Ish-Baal’s head is buried alongside the body of Abner. He does not even get his own grave.
Today, Abner’s tomb is in a cave, under a mosque, near the Cave of the Patriarchs, deep inside the Palestinian-Israeli conflict - it is only open to the public a few days each year.
No mention of the dead king’s head is made.
(And just to confuse things between erased narratives, debated origins, and mythic legacies - another curious local tradition claims it is actually the burial place of Joseph the Carpenter, the father of Jesus, which is how the cave is called in Arabic.)
David’s path to ruling over Israel is clear.
Curious? Go Below the Bible Belt. Link in bio. subscribe:
Below the Bible Belt: 929 chapters, 42 months, daily reflections:
Become a free or paid subscriber and join Rabbi Amichai’s 3+ years interactive online quest to question, queer + re-read between the lines of the entire Hebrew Bible.
Enjoy daily posts, weekly videos and monthly learning sessions.
How can a closer and critical reading of this cornerstone of our culture help us rethink our values and live more honest, happy, healthy lives?
#Samuel #Samuel2 #Samuel2:4 #Shmuel #BooksofSamuel #Prophets #Neviim #Hebrewbible #bibleinterrupted #whowrotethebible? #Tanach #hebrewmyth #929 #hiddenbible #sefaria #labshul #belowthebiblebelt929 #postpatriarchy #patriarchy #offwithhishead #David #KingDavid #houseofsaul #Ishboshet #Mephiboshet #IshBaal #Mephibaal #HouseofDavid #Hebron #fatherofjesus #tombofAbner