Week 8: Israel’s First Kings (1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings) Flashcards

Question

David vs. Saul Exam Q: Saul and David have a strained relationship. How would you describe the relationship between David and Saul?

Answer 1

1 Samuel describes the relationship between Saul and David as tense; there is tension between the desire for kingship, and the narrative intends to show that God moderates the authority of the King. Saul is jealousy of David's popularity and paranoid that David poses a threat to Saul's dynasty and lineage...he becomes obsessive. Saul was anointed as the first King of Israel. Samuel notifies Saul that God regrets making him the King of Israel, because Samuel’s worship practices are faulty; he commits an improper offering (e.g., 1 Sam 13) and an improper harem (e.g., 1 Sam 15). The narrative is emphasizing the importance of proper religious observances to Yahweh, by expressing God’s disappointment in Samuel. Immediately after, David enters the story. God anoints David as King while Saul is still King. It is indicated who is favoured of the two kings by who the spirit of the Lords comes upon. While the spirit of the Lord comes upon David, it departs from Saul, and is replaced by an evil spirit which torments him. Saul becomes jealous and erratic; he is depicted as emotionally unstable, violent, and out of control. However, David is deeply devoted to Yahweh, and acknowledges that Saul is the King, and will not do anything to usurp Saul. After David defeats Goliath and his excellence and accomplishments in battle are praised at the expense of Saul, David’s popularity increases and, in effect, Saul’s jealousy increases. Saul views David as a threat to his dynasty, and his bitterness toward David becomes obsessive. Saul does not want to lose sight of David, and tries to keep track of him at all times. (1) David marries Michal, Saul’s daughter, and becomes Saul’s son-in-law (2) David joins into a close relationship with one of Saul’s other children, Jonathan (more than a platonic relationship?). Saul hopes that David’s marriage to Michal will allow Saul to be on guard of David. His paranoia about David becomes out of control, and Saul tries to kill David multiple times, so David runs away to hide. Saul is upset he does not know where David is, and takes 3000 of his men to look for him. David has a chance to kill Saul, but refuses because Saul remains the Lord’s anointed one, and David urges Saul to respect David in the same way.

Answer 2

Goliath: 9 feet tall Philistine who taunts the Israelites for 40 days, daring them to hand to combat. Saul warns David not to fight Goliath because he is “only a boy” (1 Sam 17:33). David was too small to wear Saul’s armor. David kills Goliath with a single shot to the forehead and then cuts off his head. Compare to the Ark of the Covenant in the Philistine temple (1 Sam 4).

Answer 3

1 Sam 27: David escapes to Philistines and becomes a mercenary there. - Some Philistines worry David will deceive them and become an “adversary” (lit. a “satan”). This suggests that David may have been a ruthless warlord. Not everyone loved David: “What share do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel!” (1 Kings 12:16)

Answer 4

- After Saul is killed in battle (1 Sam 31), the people are again plunged into uncertainty - In the meantime, David becomes king of Judah (only) Saul’s sons are not able to successfully continue his dynasty in Israel “There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker” (2 Sam 3:1) In 2 Sam 5, all the tribes come to David at Hebron READ: 2 Sam 5:1-5

Answer 5

- David conquers Canaanite city of Jebus (Jerusalem), and establishes it as his capital - Maintains the tribal boundaries - Brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, uniting the tribes under worship of Yahweh - He does not build the Temple, Solomon does, but he purchases the land on which the Temple will be built - He purchases the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite as the site of an altar (2 Sam 24) and this later will become the temple site where the Holy of Holies goes

Answer 6

The stories in Samuel are depicting a tension between the desire for kingship and the Deuteronomistic effort to moderate authority of the King. The first three kings of Israel are Saul, David, Solomon; they are all evaluated somewhat ambiguously. David’s private life is a disaster Saul and David have a strained relationship David and Solomon have a significant impact on the cultural imagination of the Bible (e.g. Psalms [David], Solomon and Proverbs, Wisdom of Solomon) The age of the monarchy coincides with the development of prophecy; in the monarchy, we begin to see prophets.

Answer 7

God’s promises to David - and the clear favouritism the biblical narrative demonstrates to David - generate Royal Theology…

Answer 8

The theological conviction that Israel’s prosperity and security was dependent on individual Israelites’ adherence to the demands of the Torah and in particular matters of orthopraxis and social justice. Two commands of covenant theology: 1. Correct worship (how you honour God) 2. Correct treatment of other people (how you treat other people)

Answer 9

The thorough-going conviction that a descendent of David would remain on the throne in Jerusalem forever and that the city of Jerusalem (aka City of David or Zion in poetry) would never be destroyed. A promise made by God to David that there will be an eternal dynasty in his name, and he is in a favoured position. Royal Theology later led to overconfidence in the face of political threats and prophetic warnings. Positive: stability; we can expect kings from the line of David for eternity Negative: can lead to moral complacency (Do I need to go to Temple as often? Make as many sacrifices as needed?) This leads to a tension between royal theology and everlasting promise and covenant theology (obey these commands to gain reward)... The prophets (esp. Amos, Hosea, Micah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel) emphasized the demands of the covenant lay at the individual level, rather than a divine promise made to the king.

Answer 10

God promises that David’s line of lineage will continue for all time; he is promised a forever dynasty. Royal Theology was the confidence that God would establish the dynastic line of David forever. This line of thinking led to confidence in Judah, that the kingship would be everlasting and they had nothing to fear → this was severely challenged by the Babylonian Exile. 2 Samuel 7:11: predicts a dynasty coming from David. In the short term, this is about Solomon. In the long term, this is about the prediction of a dynasty of the Messianic Expectation (from David, and the tribe of Judah). All the Kings will be descendants of David. Judah becomes very stable because of the one ruling family of David. Royal Theology stands in tension with Covenant theology (they are rooted in an understanding of how God is involved). Royal Theology leads to complacency, and we see this being dealt with in the rest of the books, as the prophets urge the Kings not to be complacent, and emphasize that it is important to follow the two commands of covenant theology (correct worship and correct treatment of other people).

Answer 11

In Hebrew, there is no actual word for Temple (it is either house or palace, which suggests God as King, and God as dwelling in Israel). David wants to build a house for God, but God says He will build a house for David. What is meant by "house" is lineage or dynasty. 2 Samuel 7: 14: God will be a Father to David There is a Father-Son relationship in the messianic expectation (aspect of love). The Davidic covenant is an eternal covenant - yet David is told that he is not the one to build the Temple (probably because he is unclean from his sin with Bathsheba). At the end of the book of Samuel, David buys the smooth floor where they will build the Temple. He purchases the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite as the site of the altar (2 Sam 24), and this later will become the temple site where the Holy of Holies goes.