{"id":57293,"date":"2019-06-12T22:45:08","date_gmt":"2019-06-12T19:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=57293"},"modified":"2023-01-03T11:44:10","modified_gmt":"2023-01-03T09:44:10","slug":"sometimes-the-apple-does-fall-far-from-the-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/sometimes-the-apple-does-fall-far-from-the-tree\/","title":{"rendered":"Sometimes the Apple Does Fall Far from the Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[835,839],"acf":{"old_id":"57293","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34243,"related_cahpter":"240","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Explaining the failure of succession, and clamoring for a king","content":"

Samuel\u2019s sons, like Eli\u2019s before him, were unfit to succeed their father. Eli allowed Hofni and Phineas to serve as priests and they took advantage of their parishioners (2:12 ff.); Samuel appointed Joel and Abiyah as judges in a Beersheba district court and they used their positions to solicit bribes (vs. 3). In consequence thereof, the people clamored for a king in order to resemble all the surrounding nations (5). Samuel viewed their request with disfavor, appearing to take it personally, but God reassured him that it was He the people were rejecting, not the prophet (7), and acquiesced in their demand (9). There follows a long diatribe by Samuel enumerating the likely excesses of a monarchy (11-18) but the people were persistent (19) and God, too, affirmed their request (22).<\/span><\/p>\n

Several questions present themselves here:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Why would the people expect Samuel\u2019s sons to succeed him when the principle of succession was not a fixture of the era of the Judges?<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If the issue was succession, and both Eli and Samuel had already failed at it, why did they expect a monarchy to solve it?<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Since the Torah already made provision for a king (Deut. 17:14 ff.), why did both Samuel and God view the request negatively?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    First of all, we need to acknowledge that there was an active principle of succession already in force in respect of the priesthood. It could be that its weakening after Eli\u2019s sons made it suspect and that its further deterioration after Samuel\u2019s sons was the last straw. The reason we never saw it implemented during the era of the judges may simply be that since so many of them had such extensive tenures (20 years, 40 years) by the time they needed to be replaced their sons may have been otherwise successfully occupied and uninterested in public service. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Secondly, it may not have been the failure of succession, per se, that was disturbing but the confusion and uncertainty that it had caused. Dynastic succession may simply have appeared longer lasting and more stable.<\/span><\/p>\n

    As to the Torah\u2019s prior provision for monarchy and, yet, God\u2019s disinclination towards it, this is the subject of extensive speculation from the Talmud through the medieval exegetes. To cite but one representative opinion, here is part of the comment of Radak (Rabbi David Kimchi):<\/span><\/p>\n

    Because they demanded it in the form of a grievance (<\/span>tar’omet<\/span><\/em>) rather than in fulfillment of a mitzvah. Had they said, \u201cGive us a king to judge us justly and righteously,\u201d Samuel would not have disagreed because his own sons were unjust magistrates.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":57294,"id":57294,"title":"isam8-tree","filename":"isam8-tree.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam8-tree.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/sometimes-the-apple-does-fall-far-from-the-tree\/isam8-tree\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam8-tree","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":57293,"date":"2019-06-12 19:44:55","modified":"2019-06-12 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