{"id":60187,"date":"2019-07-28T14:02:38","date_gmt":"2019-07-28T11:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=60187"},"modified":"2023-02-19T21:36:27","modified_gmt":"2023-02-19T19:36:27","slug":"forming-davids-ethical-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/forming-davids-ethical-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Forming David\u2019s Ethical Legacy"},"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":[834,461,895],"acf":{"old_id":"60187","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":56118,"related_cahpter":"272","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Justice, kindness, loyalty\u00a0","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This chapter ties together many of the threads we have seen throughout the narrative spanning the end of I Samuel and the beginning of II Samuel. Instead of seeking vengeance, or at least ignoring the progeny of Saul, David seeks out any surviving family members, and ensures that they eat at the king\u2019s table. Not only is he performing kindness to the house of Saul, but, as David explicitly notes, he is particularly looking to reward the progeny of Jonathan, his beloved friend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And yet, as we have noted, despite the vicious divide between Saul and Jonathan regarding their view of David, the latter, as he underscored in his eulogy, saw the two as inextricably interconnected. To the end, David not only put to death those who were so brazen as to kill Saul and members of his royal family, but, recalling his loyal oath to Jonathan, he goes out of his way to perform kindness for his children.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Appropriately, it turns out that the sole survivor is Mephiboshet, son of Jonathan, who had become a cripple on the very battlefield that saw the death of his father and grandfather. For David, this is, if anything, even greater reason to treat Mephiboshet with extraordinary kindness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is more, it is perhaps in this story more than any other, in which we are witness to David\u2019s genuine magnanimity. In previous episodes, David could have easily acted with kindness out of enlightened self-interest: he consolidated his rule by ensuring that Saul\u2019s backers remained as sympathetic as possible toward him. Yet here, in the words of Mephiboshet, he was extending himself to \u201ca dead dog\u201d (v. 8). David\u2019s commitment to justice and kindness in this episode are not mere acts of political self-interest, as evidenced in his goodness to Saul and Jonathan\u2019s family long after the family\u2019s influence had dramatically declined.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the end, this is David\u2019s ethical legacy: for all the unjustified hatred spewed upon him by Saul and his enemies, David avoids the vengeance cycle, and instead shows not just healthy political instincts, but a true commitment to kindness and justice, the ultimate hallmarks of the Davidic dynasty.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":60203,"id":60203,"title":"2sam9-table","filename":"2sam9-table.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam9-table.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/forming-davids-ethical-legacy\/2sam9-table\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2sam9-table","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":60187,"date":"2019-07-28 11:02:26","modified":"2019-07-28 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