Standing on Sarsfield Bridge in Limerick you can admire the mighty Shannon moving majestically towards the sea. However, if you’re a native of Cavan you might think back to its humbler origins as a tiny stream, before being amplified by various tributaries. The biblical figure of David is a bit like the Shannon. Although his beginnings as a young shepherd lad were humble, in later years he was destined to become a major figure in the Old Testament, competing only with Moses in terms of overall significance.
The biblical texts which paint David’s portrait have come down to us through the influx of many oral traditions – not all of them flattering, as we shall see. But first, here are a few interesting facts: a popularity poll would reveal that David’s name
occurs over a thousand times in the Bible, sixty of these in the New Testament. By contrast Moses is named about eight hundred times, whereas Abraham’s name appears only two hundred and fifty times.
If you are called David, you might be interested to know that your name goes back a long way. Its earliest attestation in the ancient Near East is in an Old Babylonian inscription dated about 1800 BC. The name David comes from a Semitic word dwd, meaning ‘beloved’. Some scholars think that the term ‘David’ may originally have been a title or throne name rather than a personal name.
Throughout this journey from David’s oblivion to his royal status, we read that the Lord was at his side, with events consistently turning in his favour.
This month we will explore the earliest phase of David’s career, focusing on the events that led the prophet Samuel to replace Saul, Israel’s first king, with David. In some further articles we will look at the various ways in which David’s reign unfolded, to understand how he captured the imagination of succeeding generations down to Gospel times and beyond.
Born in Bethlehem into the tribe of Judah, David’s boyhood years would have witnessed the ever-increasing threat posed by the dreaded Philistine army. The beleaguered Hebrews beg the prophet Samuel for a king ‘like the other nations’. Samuel’s response to this plea seems ambivalent. This is because the biblical sources themselves are complex and have placed side by side two opposing attitudes to kingship in ancient Israel. On one side the view is presented that Israel has rejected the Lord in asking for a king (1 Sam.8:5-6). On the other, the king is the Lord’s representative (1 Sam.10:1-9), and as such must not disobey the Lord’s commands, mediated to him by Samuel. Saul was anointed Israel’s first king by Samuel, but later failed in the mission entrusted to him.
There are three different accounts of how David came to the attention of Samuel and Saul. Although enhanced by later, idealising elements, each of them contains an essential kernel of truth: David was remembered as a gifted and charismatic personality.
David first comes to the biblical narrators’ attention in the context of Saul’s behaviour during the Amalekite campaign. Having disobeyed Samuel’s instructions regarding war booty, Saul is rejected in favour of a ‘neighbour of yours, who is better than you’ (1 Sam.15:28). Samuel then goes to Bethlehem to Saul’s successor, and, guided to the family of Jesse, he invites them to a sacrifice. After the sacrifice seven sturdy sons of Jesse were paraded before Samuel, but none met with his approval. The eighth and youngest, David, was away tending the flock that day. Summoned forthwith from his flock, David is described as ‘healthy-looking, had beautiful eyes, and was handsome.’
Samuel ‘anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward’ (1 Sam.16:13).
Although the overall tenor of this story is generally regarded as embellished, centring on Samuel rather than David, the connection of David with the family of Jesse, the anointing by Samuel, and the reference to the Spirit of the Lord remain key elements in the tradition.
Because of Samuel’s rejection of Saul, the latter became melancholy (1 Sam.16:14-20). To soothe the distressed king, a skilful player of the harp was suggested. Saul agreed to this, and one of his servants recommended David. Evidently David’s reputation as a gifted musician had preceded him to the royal court. He is depicted as one ‘skilful in playing, a man of valour, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the Lord is with him’ (1 Sam.16:18). This pretty much sums up the character of David at this time. Arriving at court, he immediately became the personal attendant of the king. As a measure of his esteem for him, Saul made him one of his armour-bearers. This second account may be the most likely of David’s introduction to royal circles.
The third account, the encounter with Goliath, is probably secondary. It has David coming to the notice of Saul through the heroic feat of slaying the Philistine giant. The story is so well known that it hardly needs mention here (1 Sam.17). While it has many legendary elements, there can be no doubt about the Philistine struggle that forms its background. Nor is it impossible that the courageous youth from Bethlehem performed some heroic exploit, an exploit that then grew into our present larger-than-life story.
Even if imaginatively elaborated in the telling, one thing emerges from these stories: the different accounts of David’s coming to prominence were so firmly established in the tradition that none of them was suppressed in favour of the other. Each story had its own coherence. Nevertheless, the transfer of kingship from Saul to David was by no means smooth. The stage is now set for severe turbulence.
As we will see next month, the period between David’s initial anointing in Bethlehem and his accession to the throne of Israel almost a decade later was fraught with danger.