The cloak of power, torn again, in two, is back. It shows up in our saga, the king’s cloak cut into two is a not so subtle symbol of what tears them, and us, apart.
What privacy can a king have when every thought and act is public domain? The coat that covers him, his private second skin becomes a public property, mutilated, exposing his bare self.
For King Saul, struggling with loss of sovereignty and sanity, even a random cave he enters to relieve himself becomes a public arena of contempt. No privacy is left, as his private parts themselves are exposed to those hidden in the cave - and thus to us, the readers, this exposure, shockingly intimate, points towards his fast diminished status as the Anointed One. What king wants to be seen not on his throne but on the toilet?
Our chapter, situated in the saga of the ongoing chase of David and his men by Saul and his army, leads us to the Dead Sea, where caves abound. Saul leads 3.000 soldiers in hot pursuit, while David and his band of 600 men hide among the cliffs where deer roam, in cracks and caves. It’s into one of those caves that the king, alone, enters to relieve himself, unaware that David and his men are hidden deep in that very cave.
This image alone is worth focusing on - the hushed, horrible intimacy of the moment, the suspense, the silence of the dark cave, the vulnerability of the king who thinks he’s safe and private. But he’s not. Deep in the cave the men whisper:
וַיֹּאמְרוּ֩ אַנְשֵׁ֨י דָוִ֜ד אֵלָ֗יו הִנֵּ֨ה הַיּ֜וֹם אֲֽשֶׁר־אָמַ֧ר יְהֹוָ֣ה אֵלֶ֗יךָ הִנֵּ֨ה אָנֹכִ֜י נֹתֵ֤ן אֶת־אֹֽיִבְךָ֙ בְּיָדֶ֔ךָ וְעָשִׂ֣יתָ לּ֔וֹ כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר יִטַ֣ב בְּעֵינֶ֑יךָ וַיָּ֣קׇם דָּוִ֗ד וַיִּכְרֹ֛ת אֶת־כְּנַֽף־הַמְּעִ֥יל אֲשֶׁר־לְשָׁא֖וּל בַּלָּֽט׃
David’s men said to him, “This is the day of which YHWH said to you, ‘I will deliver your enemy into your hands; you can do with him as you please.’”
David went and stealthily cut off the corner of Saul’s cloak.
A cloak, coat or mantle cut in two is not a new symbol in our narrative. Remember when King Saul ripped Samuel’s prophetic mantle mid their argument - he was cursed by the prophet that his kingdom will be ripped off him as a result. Samuel’s torn coat echoes the torn bloody striped tunic of Joseph - their ancestor, who ends up in a dark pit, naked, sold to slavery by his brothers who dip the coat in goat’s blood and lie to their father - a beast killed our brother.
Here we are again, in a dark pit of a cave, brother against brother, and a coat used as a strategic pawn, sliced, silently, exhibit A.
Robert Alter comments on this moment:
“Clearly, what David feels is that he has perpetrated a kind of symbolic mutilation of the king by cutting off the corner of his garment—not with anything like a scissors, of course, but surely with his sword, his instrument for killing his enemies. The cloak (meʿil) has already been linked emblematically with kingship in the final estrangement between Samuel and Saul, and so David is in symbolic effect “cutting away” Saul’s kingship.”
The king departs the cave unaware of what just happened, but as he walks away to join his troops, David follows him and from a safe distance calls out to him: “Your Majesty!” and bows down as one does before a king.
The exchange between them is heartbreaking. David calls him ‘father’ and again repeats his innocence. He shows off the corner of the coat he’d cut to demonstrate his kindness and his reverence to the man anointed as King. How can one hurt the anointed, he asks. His question is veiled but clear - is he talking about Saul - or about himself?
David even quotes an ‘ancient idiom’ - ‘evil deeds arise from evil people’ - promising the king that it will not be David’s hand to activate the king’s demise. He names himself a ‘dead dog’ and a ‘small flea’ compared to Saul’s greatness. Is he being ironic?
Saul sobs as he responds, calls David ‘son’ and admits his fault. He admits David’s role as the new king - that’s big. But there is no resolution.
They part again. Despite the tears the chase and enmity are still on.
Scholars suggest that what we are reading here is the “History of David’s Rise” the first part of the David saga is in fact an apologetical account, crafted by later authors, meant to cover up what was likely David’s very violent coup d’état. This story makes it clear that David’s piety and grace are vast, stressed throughout the narrative, and the chapters ahead.
Ralph W. Klein, a contemporary biblical scholar, writes that “The speeches of the two main characters carry the meaning of the story. Did David attempt to wrest the throne from Saul by violence? No, David was innocent of any revolutionary intent. By cutting off only a corner of Saul’s robe David showed his innocence. Saul, on the other hand, appears as the real villain. He pursued David with a five-to-one numerical superiority and hunted down the innocent Bethlehemite with great force even though David was no more significant than the last flea on a dead dog. David repeatedly and confidently called on God to decide the case. His loyalty to his predecessor should be unquestioned. In his words, Saul was ‘my lord,’ ‘the king of Israel,’ and, significantly, ‘my father.’”
Can this growing human rift be mended, as a torn coat can? This story keeps it vague and open. The real intent of the storyteller might or might not be revealed as this chase goes on. The private and the public will keep blurring between throne and cave, highest aspirations and lowest human drives, on their and our journey to be whole.
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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