David’s bad blood can not be denied. Not that he didn’t try.
Gone are the days when David, running away from Saul, all alone, seeks refuge from King Saul’s wrath in King Achish’s court in the Philistine city of Gath, but quickly escapes disguised as a madman. In this chapter, so many skirmishes later, David returns for refuge in Israel’s biggest enemy border town, but not alone - with him are his 2 new wives, 600 warriors and their households. Achish is now thrilled to get this battalion of terrorist traitors and they settle in their own town - Ziklag, likely a few miles north of BeerSheba. A footnote is added by the author - this city will belong in future to the Kings of Judah. It is the first time this royal designation is ever used, a hint as to the identity and time stamp of the authors/editors and their political fidelity to the Judean kings that hail from David. And as we already bring into perspective the authorial intent we may as well ponder to appreciate their choice of including this very murky chapter in their beloved king’s complex career. If you are trying to glorify the king who built this dynasty - why not hide or erase his dark days and bloody shadows? This question will keep coming up as many ponder the motives and reasons that make these books so layered and problematic. The facts are handed here without much context, except that the chapter begins with David ‘talking with his heart’ - a glimpse of inner monologue in which the future king reasons that it’s better to be a traitor and work for the enemy of Israel than be hunted down like a dog. And so indeed he flees from Saul, first in Gath - Goliath’s hometown, then in Ziklag, signing up to be the Philistine’s mercenary.
What modern political leader would survive such murky history today? Why is this even included in the bools that attempt to portray David as victim and hero on his way to the throne?
Robert Alter picks up on this puzzle and writes that
“For those scholars who have argued that David is no more a historical figure than King Arthur, this whole episode constitutes a problem: why would a much later, legendary, and supposedly glorifying tradition attribute this act of national treachery to David? (It would be rather like the invention of a story that Winston Churchill spent 1917–1918 in Berlin, currying the favor of the kaiser.) The compelling inference is that the writer had authentic knowledge of a period when David collaborated with the Philistines; he was unwilling to omit this uncomfortable information, though he did try to mitigate it.”
Other scholars will point at the four or more historical layers of the story’s writing/editing, with at least one of them who chose to include this narrative despite its problematic aspects either because it was too known to ignore - or because despite its horror it gives David an aura of fearless fierce strength.
So here it is: To satisfy his generous host’s hospitality David’s men raid the territories to the south -- The Geshurites, the Gizrites, and the Amalekites -- all the way towards Egypt.
They kill everyone, and bring the loot back to Gath.
When asked about the source of goods, David lies and says that it is from the Israelites, his own people, just across the border.
The king likes that, assuming that the decorated general of Saul’s army is now despised by Israel for his treason and therefore bound to the Philistines. Achish makes David his personal bodyguard.
It isn’t bad enough that David kills those innocent communities - how many? - or that he lies about it to Achish. The next verse tells us why he kills them all - a reason known as sinister strategy used by tyrants and dictators, both present and past:
וְאִ֨ישׁ וְאִשָּׁ֜ה לֹא־יְחַיֶּ֣ה דָוִ֗ד לְהָבִ֥יא גַת֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר פֶּן־יַגִּ֥דוּ עָלֵ֖ינוּ לֵאמֹ֑ר כֹּֽה־עָשָׂ֤ה דָוִד֙ וְכֹ֣ה מִשְׁפָּט֔וֹ כׇּ֨ל־הַיָּמִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָשַׁ֖ב בִּשְׂדֵ֥ה פְלִשְׁתִּֽים׃
David would leave no man or woman alive to be brought to Gath; for he thought, “They might say about us: David did this.” Such was his practice as long as he stayed in the territory of the Philistines
.
That’s a lot of blood and totalitarian disgrace. Is this grounded in history? How does it change what we think of the epic king and, again, why was this included?
Most Biblical scholars recognize that much of the books of Samuel were composed as an ‘apology’ for the Davidic monarchy, establishing his claim to the throne as unquestionable and rooted in divine design that includes rough means towards the noble goal. But in the troubling book David's Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King, the distinguished biblical scholar Prof. Baruch Halpern goes further. Halpern suggests that the biblical account of David’s life is a carefully crafted biased propaganda written by Solomon’s scribes to “defend David against his enemies’ picture of him and legitimize Solomon’s contested reign.” The mere use of David’s violence, he claims, gave him credence as a ruthless leader who will build a strong kingdom.
But at what price? He laments that David “spent most of his career as a brigand-king, and, where he ruled, he did so by employing murder and mayhem as tools of statecraft...His enemies considered him a mass murderer..The real David was not someone whom it would be wise to invite to dinner. And you certainly would not be happy to discover he was marrying your daughter, or even a casual acquaintance”
As we continue this journey it’s troubling to know that our history includes so many chapters of cruelty, not hidden or erased. Perhaps there is some honest value here, a core text about a founding father of a nation who is flawed as well as fabulous, complex and layered, told from many angles, some more flattering than others. David killed the people who may have told of his terrible rage but the truth lingers on, whispered, written, violent, vile.
We each hold secrets and shadows, traumas carried on from generations and our own bad blood. What does it mean that our great king also carries such human cruelty and what is the impact of the legacy to who and how we are right now?
The blood trail continues, leading us towards the tragic end of Saul and rise of David but first we’ll meet the most famous witch of biblical times.
Save the Date:
On Thursday, February 9th 2023, at 1pm EST, We’ll mark the end of the first book of Samuel - and the one-year anniversary of Below the Bible Belt with a special 60 min. monthly Live Zoom conversation with Rabbi Amichai - and you! Info and zoom link coming soon.
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