Blog. In exile in Ashbourne. Taking the Bible seriously.

 Hello world!  I find myself in a period of enforced leisure, 

                                                                                                   so for those who may be interested I have decided to write a Blog of Bible Studies.  If questions arise please feel free to email me and I will do my best to answer them as part of the next Blog.

I have recently been delivering a course of study relating to the book of Samuel (book, not books) and so, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted...

The second part of the Book of Samuel, that Christians call 2 Samuel, begins after that portion frequently called 'The History of David's rise.'  It takes us through the reign of the man who will later be eulogised as the perfect model of a monarch, an eulogy we will have much cause to question as we go.

I would like to suggest that we may divide 2 Samuel into 7 themes, spread across the book.

1    Israel and Judah, division and unity

2    Warfare with neighbours

3    David's family and wider relationships

4    God in the world

5    David's nature as a human being

6    The mighty men of David, the Gibborim

7    A seriously odd passage

1    Chapters 2: 1 - 11 & 17 - 3: 1, 3: 6 - 4:12, 20.                                                                                              Israel and Judah, division and unity

When theologians and Biblical archaeologist speak of 'the divided monarchy' they mean the period after Solomon, however the division is significantly older.  It arises from the division of the Hebrews into twelve tribes - Judah which will (with the annexation of Benjamin) become the kingdom of Judah, and the others as the kingdom of Israel.  

When David became king it was over Judah alone, Israel retaining the rightful heir of Saul, Ishbaal, and Saul's Commander in Chief, Abner.  The war between them continued until a breach between Ishbaal and his officers lead to the death of both Abner and Ishbaal, leaving David to grab the rest of the kingdom.  He took Saul's remaining heir to 'live in Jerusalem', a practical form of 'protective custody'.  

In Chapter 20 we find a rising against the centralising of power within Judah, which is only settled by the assassination of the leader of the rebellion.

This is in no way a picture of a nation strong and united behind God's exemplary monarch.

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2    Chapters 5: 1 - 10 & 15- 25, 8, 10, 12: 26 - 31, 21: 15 - 22                                                                        Warfare with neighbours

An unending series of triumphs for David and his generals.

He defeats the Jebusites and seized their capital, to become his new centre of power.                               He routs the Philistines and pursues them to their border.  Later he attacks and 'subdues' them.                He defeats the Moabites, massacring all the taller captive soldiers.                                                            He defeats the Syrians of Zoar and the Arameans of Damascus, crippling their chariot horses.                  He defeats Edom.                                                                                                                                          He takes the capital of the Ammonites, and takes the inhabitants as slave labour.                                      He successfully resists the Philistines, one of his champions killing Goliath!

One might deplore some of his actions, but the morality of the 10th century BCE is not ours today.

3    Chapters 3: 2 - 5 & 13 - 16, 9, 11 - 12 & 25, 13 - 19                                                                                    David's family and relationships     

 Anyone who approaches the Hebrew Scriptures with an idealised model of monogamy is in for a sharp surprise! Whilst at Hebron David has six sons by six wives - we don't know whether he had any daughters because they don't figure in the question of succession.  At Jerusalem he takes more wives and concubines, and continues to procreate prolifically!                                                         

Chapter 9 shows David as a master of realpolitik.  Even though Meriba'al is disabled, David doesn't trust him outside of his control.  His name was Meriba'al, not Mephibosheth which is a pious substitution.  It replaces Ba'al is my advocate with from the mouth of shame, as an insult to Ba'al!  To ensure that all opposition is contained, Saul's servant becomes Meriba'al's, also under David's eye.

In Chapter 11 we see David as the immoral and conniving monarch, in v2 as a peeking Tom, in 4&5 as a rapist of Uriah's wife, and in v 6-8 he calls Uriah back from battle so that the parentage of the child may be attributed to his return home.  In v 9-13 Uriah robs him of this hope, as an act of piety and proper relationship to his comrades, throwing David's perfidy into sharp relief.  So in v14-17 Uriah's fate - and Bathsheba's fate - is sealed.  It is worth asking why Uriah is called 'the Hittite' referencing an   empire which fell two centuries earlier.  I don't know whether the answer is worthwhile being bothered about, however!

In Chapter 12 we see David called to account, although it is not he who is directly afflicted, but his child with Bathsheba.  I sincerely hope that v24 abbreviates an extended time, because if not David appears worse and worse.  In v25 he has another son.

Chapters 13 - 19 shows a king who cannot control his family, will not give justice to a raped woman and withholds punishment where it is due.  He faces rebellion and almost loses the kingdom, in all of this saga continually failing to take the lead in what needs to be done.  In chapter 19 he alienates the army as a result of his misplaced loyalties.

If we were in any doubt as to David's character, we have it very clearly depicted here.

  4    Chapters 5: 11 - 12, 6, 21: 1 - 14, 24                                                                                                             God in the world

David realises that he is God's chosen after he is acknowledged by Hiram of Tyre.  This seems a rather odd circumstance, but maybe he regarded himself as the adventurer he truly was. 

In Chapter 6 he ties himself more securely to God by taking charge of the Ark of the Covenant and taking it into his power centre.  In the process he takes it by stages, so that any accumulated 'dangerous holiness' can be shed.

In Chapter 21 we find the remaining heirs of Saul - besides Meriba'al - conveniently disposed of by the Gibeonites, leaving David free of any guilt for their deaths.  Their killings are yet another occasion of human sacrifice 'on the mountain before the Lord'.

Chapter 24 is extremely odd, with a census being both inspired by and punished by God.

What we have in these passages is a strange and strained relationship between David and God.  On the one hand David appears to be a cynical exploiter of religion, on the other he is a terrified victim.  As ever the picture is confusing, but it certainly isn't of the perfect monarch.

5    Chapters 1, 7, 22, 23: 1 - 7                                                                                                                            David's nature as a human being.

In the first part of Chapter 1 we see David as a distraught leader in the presence of military disaster, followed very swiftly by a sign of his ruthlessness.  The second part is a beautiful lament, made more significant by verses 25 and 26.  As one ancient commentator said of Achilles and Patroclus in the Iliad "People ask whether they were homosexual or bisexual.  They were Late Bronze Age warriors, so of course they were."  One may wish to argue it away, but the implications of the verses are explicit.

In Chapter 7 we see a king dominated by hubris, slowly coming to realise that all that he has is a gift from God.  He also appreciates that the country and his successors will similarly be reliant on God.

Chapter 22 is completely out of position.  Chronologically it belongs at the end of  1 Samuel or at the very beginning of 2 Samuel. It certainly demonstrates David's appreciation of God as his saviour in time of peril.

Chapter 23: 1 - 7 is similar, but again speaks of a blessing on his successors - obviously a matter of great concern for him.  While his throne has emerged secure from civil wars, he knows that it is unlikely to be the case in the future.

He is a multi-faceted person, as are we all.  He knows how insecure the throne is that he bequeaths, and that only God can sustain it.

  

6    Chapter 23: 8 - 39                                                                                                                                          The Gibborim, the Mighty Men.

Here we have a list of those heroes who accompanied David in his perils.  It includes several figures of great interest, including Uriah the Hittite, and Elhanan who chapter 21 notes as the killer of Goliath.

7    Chapter 2: 12 - 16                                                                                                                                          An oddity

Twelve young men of each of David's and Ishba'al's armies come forward and all are killed by grasping another's head and thrusting their sword into the other's side.  "So they fell down together."  Now, I hope that I am not the only one who finds this a tad strange.  Some biblical commentators and anthropologists take the same view as myself, that won't please some people!

It seems like an organised sacrifice before the battle.  

Otherwise I am at a complete loss as to how to interpret this passage.

So, the perennial question, Why is this in the Bible?

Despite some rather poor editing (such as eliminating Ba'al from names) this comes through as an antidote to the rest of the scriptures and their hagiographic depiction of David.  He is depicted as a severely flawed man, and not a great hero of the faith.  

I would suggest that it is here because of the need to remind even the king that they are mortal and reign by God's will alone.