{"id":60647,"date":"2019-08-05T17:22:57","date_gmt":"2019-08-05T14:22:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=60647"},"modified":"2023-02-28T22:47:55","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T20:47:55","slug":"davids-concubines-more-than-meets-the-eye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/davids-concubines-more-than-meets-the-eye\/","title":{"rendered":"David’s Concubines: More Than Meets The Eye?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cAnd the king went out, and all his household with him, on foot, and the king left his ten concubines to watch over [his palace].\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2 Samuel 15 the prophecy David brought upon himself when he took Bathsheba and murdered her husband is coming to fruition. His son Absalom has risen up in an attempt to usurp the throne. David receives word that \u201cThe hearts of the men of Israel are following Absalom,\u201d and David responds by taking all of his servants and all of his household and fleeing Jerusalem.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All of his household except his concubines, who he leaves in charge of the palace.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Concubines in the biblical age were a kind of second wife, of a lower status than first wives, but still legally bonded to their husbands, and possessing a number of rights afforded to wives.<\/p>\n

Within the monarchy, concubines played a critical role tied to power. The biblical precursor to the adage \u201cwhoever has the money holds the power\u201d was that power lay in the hands of whomever lay with the concubines.<\/p>\n

Concubines were a symbol of power and dominion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So why did David leave his concubines in charge when he and his household fled Jerusalem? Perhaps he left them as a statement that, although he had fled, Jerusalem was still his.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But David did not merely leave these women in his palace; he left them there to watch over it<\/em>. Clearly these women, in this moment, were not merely symbols<\/em> of power\u2014they had been vested<\/em> with it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But unlike his queens, these were not the daughters of kings and political allies, these were more likely the handmaids of those better-connected women, or women of status whose fathers nonetheless lacked the means to pay a king\u2019s dowry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These were not women trained in royal affairs\u2014were they qualified to watch over the palace<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Perhaps\u00a0David’s leaving his concubines in charge was\u00a0an act of desperation. Or perhaps they weren’t left in charge at all, serving merely\u00a0as palace\u00a0guards.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But I am loath to write these women off too quickly, hesitant to strip them of a rare power they might have held, if only for a moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I am thinking instead of the debates that are unfolding in politics today, of whether a lifelong politician beholden to Big Money or a former bartender rooted in the proletariat is better suited to make decisions that affect the American masses. I like to at least entertain the idea that\u00a0David\u2019s concubines might have been\u00a0the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs of their day\u2014capable, determined, industrious women who understood Jerusalem and its people and held deep reverence for an unprecedented opportunity to govern.<\/p>\n

Perhaps, in this moment, David\u2019s concubines come to teach us that we should all put greater faith in the hands of the capable and committed, regardless of social status.<\/p>\n

Image: by Francesco de\u2019 Rossi Salviati, c. 1553 \/ wikimedia<\/p>\n","image":{"ID":60648,"id":60648,"title":"2sam15-Salviati_concubines","filename":"2sam15-Salviati_concubines.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam15-Salviati_concubines.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/davids-concubines-more-than-meets-the-eye\/2sam15-salviati_concubines\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2sam15-salviati_concubines","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":60647,"date":"2019-08-05 14:22:42","modified":"2019-08-05 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