{"id":58274,"date":"2019-06-26T08:40:45","date_gmt":"2019-06-26T05:40:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=58274"},"modified":"2023-01-18T19:42:11","modified_gmt":"2023-01-18T17:42:11","slug":"saul-had-nothing-to-worry-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/saul-had-nothing-to-worry-about\/","title":{"rendered":"Saul Had Nothing To Worry About"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/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":[834,502,885],"acf":{"old_id":"58274","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":56962,"related_cahpter":"250","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Through his entirely internally-generated hatred Saul turned his greatest asset into the man who would be forced to bring him down","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the saddest narratives in Tanakh is King Saul\u2019s decline into paranoia, and in particular his murderous fear of David. The most tragic aspect is that Saul had nothing to worry about from David.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is clear from the episode with Goliath, that David was both fearless and a man of faith. He disdained the heavy armor he was offered, and he faced Goliath\u2019s weapons with trust in God and he was rewarded with success. Following the enormous victory over the Philistines that David made possible, he remained modest. He identified himself to Saul simply as \u2018the son of your servant, Jesse from Bethlehem\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">David entered the royal court, and became close to Saul\u2019s son Jonathan. Jonathan clearly became very fond of David, although it is not obvious that the relationship was entirely symmetrical, in any case it is Jonathan\u2019s love rather than David\u2019s that is described. David grew in popularity which aroused Saul\u2019s resentment but did not seem to go to David\u2019s head. When Saul suggested David might marry his daughter Merav (an idea he did not follow through), David was humble in his response, \u2018who am I\u2026that I should be the king\u2019s son-in-law?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the end, it was another of Saul\u2019s daughters, Michal, who loved David and was firmly offered to him in marriage. The wedding came with a condition, the supply of one hundred Philistine foreskins. Saul made this stipulation in order to get David killed in the attempt, but David was gung-ho about the whole enterprise, \u2018the thing pleased David\u2019. What was more, David brought back double the amount that was asked of him. David evidently liked a fight and was good at it. He seemed to have no inkling that Saul was actually trying to get him killed (perhaps ironically, seeing as David used the same trick with Uriah many years later).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alas, Saul\u2019s suspicion and murderous intent only grew stronger, and yet it was all unnecessary. At this stage in the story David was delighted to be fighting for God and his father-in-law. His wife, Saul\u2019s daughter, loved him. His friend Jonathan, Saul\u2019s son, loved him. David was pleased and surprised to be ensconced in the centre of the royal family. Had Saul not turned against him there is no indication that David would have sought to overthrow him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Through his entirely internally-generated hatred Saul turned his greatest asset into the man who would be forced to bring him down.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">David and Saul, by Ernst Josephson, c 1878 \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":58275,"id":58275,"title":"isam18-josephson","filename":"isam18-josephson.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam18-josephson.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/saul-had-nothing-to-worry-about\/isam18-josephson\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam18-josephson","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":58274,"date":"2019-06-26 05:40:22","modified":"2019-06-26 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