Syria and Palestine
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3000-332 B.C.
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The Early Israelites and
the Kingdoms of David and Solomon
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The Israelites migrated into the region of Palestine in the
13th century B.C. Conflicts in the settlement areas required a
military society, which extended beyond individual tribes and
became the basis, around 1020 B.C., of national unity.
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Many of the Canaanite
city-states in Palestine were destroyed by the sea peoples
around 1200 в.с, after which the 3
Philistines settled on the coast and established a federation of
individual city-states.
3 A Philistine bust,
relief, twelfth century B.C.
At the same time, the Semitic Aramaeans moved in, among them the
1 tribes of Israel. Related
folk groups had previously lived in Egypt and are described in
the biblical stories of Moses.
1
The Israelites conquer the
Canaanite city of Jericho
These Israelite groups had in common the
7 worship of the god Yahweh.The
isolation of this god from the gods of the neighboring peoples
and the maintenance of the purity of the Yahweh cult defined
their society. Around the year 1020 B.C., the Israelites
declared Saul their king and commander for the war against the
other Aramaean tribes and the Philistines. They did not,
however, grant him any internal authority, for example, to levy
a general tax.
7 The Philistines
rob the Ark of the Covenant,
the holy relic of the Israelites, painting, 19th century
After 2 Saul's death,
the successful military leader 4
David, from the tribe of Judah, was chosen as king around
1004 B.C. Unlike Saul, David relied on a private army, which he
also used to seize money and estates for himself. He overrode
the autonomy of the individual Israelite tribes and established
a unified state, with Jerusalem as its capital and political and
religious center.
2 Saul commits
suicide,
book illustration, 15th century
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Saul
Saul, Hebrew Shaʾul (flourished 11th century bc,
Israel), first king of Israel (c. 1021–1000 bc).
According to the biblical account found mainly in I
Samuel, Saul was chosen king both by the judge
Samuel and by public acclamation. Saul was similar
to the charismatic judges who preceded him in the
role of governing; his chief contribution, however,
was to defend Israel against its many enemies,
especially the Philistines.
Biblical account of his life.
The account of Saul’s life comes from the Old
Testament book of I Samuel. The son of Kish, a
well-to-do member of the tribe of Benjamin, he was
made king by the league of 12 Israelite tribes in a
desperate effort to strengthen Hebrew resistance to
the growing Philistine threat. For roughly two
centuries, Israel had existed as a loose
confederation of tribes, dependent for their unity
upon bonds of religious faith and covenant that were
renewed periodically in cultic ceremonies at the
central shrine at Shiloh. By Saul’s day, however,
the tribal rallies were no match for the superior
iron weapons and chariots of the Philistines, who
were pressing ever deeper into the central
highlands.
Two literary
strands are discernible in the accounts in I Samuel
involving Saul. One of these (9:1–10:16), reflecting
a favourable attitude toward the monarchy, relates
how the tall, handsome son of Kish was initially
selected by Samuel, the seer, in a private encounter
between the two men. From this same circle of
tradition (chapter 11) comes the account of Saul’s
heroic deliverance of the town of Jabesh-Gilead from
oppression by the Ammonites, which brought him to
the attention of all Israel and resulted in his
acclamation as king in a public ceremony at Gilgal.
A second body of tradition (I Samuel 8, 10:17–27,
and 12) is at pains to record Samuel’s misgivings
about the kingship. Although in this account he
anoints Saul as a concession to popular pressure,
Samuel warns of the loss of personal and tribal
freedom that will follow and interprets the action
as tantamount to a rejection of God.
Saul’s reign.
In many respects, Saul’s reign bears a closer
resemblance to the judges who preceded him than to
the succession of kings who followed. His chief
service to Israel, like that of the judges, lay in
the sphere of military defense. Together with his
stalwart son Jonathan and an army composed largely
of volunteers, he won significant victories over the
Philistines and succeeded in driving them out of the
central hills. A successful campaign against the
Amalekites in the south is also recorded (I Samuel
15). There is no evidence, however, that Saul made
any appreciable changes in the nation’s internal
structures. The only royal official named in the
accounts is the military commander Abner, Saul’s
cousin. In effect, Saul’s reign was marked by few of
the trappings of the typical Eastern monarchies,
with no court bureaucracy, splendid palace, or
harem. His capital at Gibeah is revealed by
archaeology as a simple, rustic fortress.
The two men who
significantly influenced Saul’s career were Samuel
and David. Even as Samuel’s endorsement proved
crucial in assuring Saul the kingship, probably
nothing contributed so much to the king’s subsequent
disintegration as his break with the powerful and
respected Samuel. Separate accounts attributed this
to Saul’s failure in religious duties—presumption in
offering unauthorized sacrifice before battle and a
reluctance to devote Amalek to destruction according
to the principle of holy war. Samuel’s rejection of
Saul, which was complete and irrevocable, withdrew
from the king the religious sanctions essential for
popular support and Saul’s own mental well-being.
David, who came
into Saul’s court because of either his military
prowess or his skill as a harpist, according to
varying accounts in I Samuel, is named both as the
one who soothed the king with his sweet music and as
the object of a fierce jealousy resulting from the
young warrior’s successes in battle. When secret
attempts to take David’s life proved no more
successful than Saul’s efforts to turn the hearts of
his daughter Michal (David’s wife) and his son
Jonathan away from their winsome husband and friend,
Saul declared openly his intention to slay David.
Only David’s flight to Philistia, which was beyond
Saul’s reach, saved him from the king’s unprovoked
and manic attacks. These accounts, though written
from a perspective favourable to David, portray
dramatically and convincingly the mental
deterioration of Saul. Nothing is more revealing of
the extent of the king’s derangement than the story
of his senseless slaughter of the 85 priests at Nob,
noted in I Samuel 22.
Adding to the
problems of Saul’s final days, the Philistines
mounted new attacks on the Israelite heartland. At
no time strong enough to deliver a final blow to the
persistent enemy, Saul gathered his forces at Mount
Gilboa in an effort to cut off their drive into the
Valley of Jezreel. A vivid story in I Samuel 28
relates how, on the eve of the fateful battle, Saul
sought, through a necromancer at Endor, some word of
encouragement from the dead Samuel. The oracle of
Samuel’s ghost, however, could only foretell the
doom awaiting on the following day—the defeat of the
Israelite forces and the death of Saul and his sons.
The Israelites, once again confronted by the
desperate conditions prevailing at Saul’s accession
to the throne, had to look to a new deliverer. The
man best fitted for the job was David.
Assessment.
Any fair evaluation of Saul’s stormy career must
look beyond the antimonarchal tendencies of his
biographers and the implicit comparisons with the
more successful David. Best described as a tragic
hero, Saul displayed a strength in battle and an
ability to inspire his followers that place him high
in the ranks of the military great. If unable
finally to solve the Philistine problem, he
nevertheless prevented their complete subjugation of
the land. So enduring was the devotion of the men of
Jabesh-Gilead that they risked their lives to remove
Saul’s exposed body from the Philistine fortress at
Beth-shan and give it proper burial (I Samuel
31:11–13). The finest tribute paid the fallen leader
is found in the immortal words of David’s
magnificent elegy in II Samuel 1, which begins, “Thy
glory, O Israel, is slain upon thy high places! How
are the mighty fallen!”
James King
West
Encyclopaedia Britannica
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The Battle of Gilboa,
by Jean
Fouquet
Death of King Saul,
1848 Elie Marcuse
David and Saul (1885) by Julius Kronberg
David Plays the Harp for Saul, by
Rembrandt van Rijn,
c. 1658.
Saul and David, by
Guercino
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David
After David killed the gigantic Philistine Goliath,
Saul had him brought to his court. David was protected
from the king's increasing jealousy of his popularity by
his love for Saul's son Jonathan. When Jonathan fell in
battle against the Philistines, Saul committed suicide
and David became king. During his reign, David's own son
Absalom rose up in an unsuccessful revolt against him.
Later, David fell in love with Bathsheba and deployed
her husband's forces in battle in such a way that he
would certainly be killed. David's son by Bathsheba,
Solomon, succeeded him as king.
King David by
Pedro
Berruguete
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Abishag, Bathsheba,
Solomon, and Nathan
tend to aging David, c. 1435
see also
collection:
Bathsheba
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David
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David,
Michelangelo,
1500-1504.
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David
with Goliath's head, by
Andrea del
Verrocchio
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David Entrusts a Letter to Uriah
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David and Uriah,
Rembrandt van Rijn
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King
David And Uriah by Richard Serrin
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King
David playing a triple harp, Domenico
Zampieri
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David
By Shira
Schoenberg
The biblical King David
of Israel was known for his diverse skills as both a
warrior and a writer of psalms. In his 40 years as
ruler, between approximately 1010 and 970 B.C.E., he
united the people of Israel, led them to victory in
battle, conquered land and paved the way for his son,
Solomon, to build the Holy Temple. Almost all knowledge
of him is derived from the books of the Prophets and
Writings: Samuel I and II, Kings I and Chronicles I.
David was the eighth
and youngest son of Jesse from the kingly tribe of
Judah. He was also a direct descendent of Ruth the
Moabite. David began his life as a shepherd in
Bethlehem. One day, the prophet Samuel called him out of
the field and anointed him without the knowledge of the
current king, Saul. David simply returned to his sheep.
His first interaction with Saul came when the king was
looking for someone to play music for him, and the
king’s attendant summoned the skilled David to play for
him. Saul was pleased with David and kept him in his
service as a musician.
The first time David
publicly displayed his courage was when, as an
inexperienced boy armed with only a stick and a few
stones, he confronted the nine-foot, bronze armored
Philistine giant, Goliath of Gath. After skilled
warriors had cowered in fear for 40 days, David made a
slingshot, invoked God’s name, and killed the giant.
After this, Saul took David on as commander of his
troops and David formed a close friendship with Saul’s
son, Jonathan.
David and Goliath,
by
Caravaggio,
c. 1599. Prado, Madrid
David was successful in
battle against the Philistines and this aroused the
jealousy of Saul, who tried to kill David by throwing a
spear at him. David stayed with Saul, however, and Saul
offered him his own daughter, Merav, as a wife. He later
reneged on his promise, but offered David his second
daughter, Michal, in exchange for the foreskins of 100
Philistines, a price that David paid.
Saul’s jealousy of
David grew and he asked his son Jonathan to kill David.
Jonathan was a friend of David’s, however, and hid David
instead. He then went to his father and convinced Saul
to promise not to kill David. Saul promised, and David
returned to his service. This promise did not last and,
after Saul attempted to kill David a second time, Michal
helped David run away to the prophet Samuel in Ramah.
David returned briefly to make a pact of peace with
Jonathan and to verify that Saul was still planning to
kill him. He then continued his flight from Saul,
finding refuge with the king of Moab. On the way, the
priest Ahimelech of Nob gave David a weapon. When Saul
heard this, he sent Doeg the Edomite to kill 85 of the
city’s priests.
In the course of his
flight, David gained the support of 600 men, and he and
his band traveled from city to city. At one point, in
Ein Gedi, David crept up on Saul while he was in a cave,
but instead of killing him, cut a piece from his cloak
and confronted Saul. Saul broke down and admitted that
David would one day be king and asked David to swear
that he would not destroy Saul’s descendants or wipe out
Saul’s name. David swore to this, but it did not stop
Saul from continuing to pursue him. Finally, David and
his supporters joined the service of Achish, the
Philistine king of Gath who entrusted David with control
of the city of Ziklag. Under Achish’s employ, David
raided the cities of nomads who harassed the Jews and
gave the spoils as gifts to the leaders of Judah to win
their support for him against Saul.
Eventually, while David
was out battling a tribe called the Amalekites, Saul and
Jonathan were killed on Mt. Gilboa in a fight with the
Philistines. David mourned, and then began a new stage
in his life, as king of Judah. He moved to Hebron, along
with his wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of
Carmel, and his followers. The people of Judea were
grateful to David for saving them from desert raiders
while he was in Ziklag, and they appointed David king.
Meanwhile, Abner son of
Ner crowned Ish-Boshet son of Saul king over the tribes
of Israel. The kingdoms of Judah and Israel fought, with
David’s dynasty growing stronger as Saul’s grew weaker.
Finally, after Abner had a fight with Ish-Boshet, Abner
approached David and made a pact with him, which allowed
David to unite the two kingdoms and rule over all of
Israel. As Abner was leaving David, however, David’s
advisor and army commander, Joab, killed Abner without
David’s knowledge. Soon, Ish-Boshet was also killed and
the tribes of Israel anointed David as their king. David
was 30 years old at the time, and had ruled over Judah
for seven years and six months. Over the years, he had
taken more wives and had many children. He had also made
pacts with kings of various surrounding countries.
David’s first action as
king was to capture what is now the City of David in
Jerusalem, fortify it and build himself a palace. When
the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king
and was threatening their hegemony over all of
Palestine, they attacked, spread out over the Valley of
Raphaim and captured Bethlehem. David retaliated and, in
three battles, forced the Philistines out of Israel.
Once David had
established the safety of his kingdom, he brought the
Holy Ark, which had been passed from city to city, to
Jerusalem. He then wanted to build a temple to God and
consulted Natan the prophet. Natan replied to David that
God would always be with David, but it would be up to
David’s son to build the Temple because David had been a
warrior and shed blood.
David then began
fighting wars against Israel’s neighbors on the east
bank of the Jordan. He defeated the Moabites, the
Edomites, the Ammonites and the Arameans. These wars
began as defensive wars, but ended with the
establishment of a Davidic empire that extended over
both sides of the Jordan River, as far as the
Mediterranean Sea. David enforced justice in his empire
and established civil and military administrations in
Jerusalem, modeled after those of the Canaanites and
Egyptians. He divided the country into twelve districts,
each with its own civil, military and religious
institutions. He also established Jerusalem as the
secular and religious center of the country. Each
district paid taxes to Jerusalem and the people began to
make pilgrimages to Jerusalem each year on the holidays
of Passover, Shavout and Sukkot.
Despite this flawless
reign on a national level, David had many problems in
his personal life. One day while the men were at war,
David spied a beautiful woman, Bathsheba, from his
rooftop. He discovered that she was married to Uriah the
Hittite, but this did not stop him from sending for her
and getting her pregnant. He then recalled Uriah from
battle and pretended that Uriah was the father of
Bathsheba’s baby. Uriah refused to go home to his wife,
so David sent Uriah to the front lines of battle, where
he was killed. David then married Bathsheba. When
confronted by Natan the prophet, David admitted his sin.
In punishment, Bathsheba’s child died and David was
cursed with the promise of a rebellion from within his
own house. Bathsheba and David soon conceived a second
son, Solomon.
David’s personal strife
continued when his son Amnon raped Tamar, Amnon’s
half-sister. Absalom, who was David’s son and Tamar’s
brother, then killed Amnon. Absalom fled, but David
could not stop thinking about him. Finally, Joab
convinced David to allow Absalom to return. Absalom was
a handsome man and became popular with the people of
Israel. Then, 40 years after Samuel had anointed David
king, Absalom, along with 200 men, journeyed to Hebron
with the intention of rebelling against his father and
taking over his kingdom. He had the support of the men
of Hebron who were insulted by the removal of the
kingdom from Hebron to Jerusalem, the elders whose
status was undermined by parts of David’s policy and the
Benjamites who wanted to avenge Saul’s family.
David feared that
Absalom would return and conquer Jerusalem, so he and
all his followers fled the city, leaving only 10
concubines to guard the palace. David told the priests
Zadok and Abiathar to remain in the city along with his
friend and now spy Hushai the Archite. Meanwhile,
Absalom reached Jerusalem, took over the city and slept
with David’s concubines. Hushai befriended Absalom,
advised him, and told the priests to send messengers
informing David of Absalom’s plans. David gathered his
troops and then killed 20,000 of Absalom’s Israelite
soldiers, including Absalom himself. David returned to
power. A second revolt broke out at the hands of Sheba
son of Bichri, but with the help of Joab, David
succeeded in crushing this rebellion as well, and in
killing Sheba.
Eventually David grew old
and had to stop fighting. He constantly felt cold and
could not get warm. At this point, Adonijah, David’s
oldest son, declared himself king. David, however, had
promised Bathsheba that her son Solomon would be king,
and publicly anointed Solomon. Fearful of retribution
Adonijah ran to the altar in Jerusalem, but Solomon
pardoned him and sent him home.
David delivered a last
set of instructions to his son, telling him to follow
the words of God and to repay in kind specific people
that had either wronged David or helped him. David then
died after 40 years as king, 33 of those in Jerusalem.
He was buried in the City of David.
David was a poet and
the rabbis believe that David wrote the Book of Psalms,
or at least edited it. Throughout his life, David
prepared for the construction of the Holy Temple by
setting aside the necessary physical materials,
commanding the Levites and others in their duties for
the Temple, and giving the plan for the Temple to
Solomon. It is then fitting that according to tradition,
the Messiah, who will build the third temple, will be
from the Davidic dynasty. Today, Jews pray daily for the
coming of the "Messiah, son of David."
Abishag, Bathsheba,
Solomon, and Nathan
tend to aging David, c. 1435
see also
collection:
Bathsheba
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Caravaggio
David
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Caravaggio
David
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Orazio
Gentileschi
David
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Nicolas
Poussin.
The Triumph of David
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Abishag,
Bathsheba, Solomon, and Nathan
tend to aging David,
c. 1435
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see also
collection:
Bathsheba
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