Chronicles of heavenly demon
His life story might have been written by a woman.“See what Chronicles has made of David!” declared the 19 th century Bible scholar Julius Wellhausen. Most of the salacious, bloodthirsty and otherwise shocking incidents that we find in Samuel are left out entirely. The Book of Chronicles, composed and added to the Bible at a later date, preserves a willfully censored version that depicts David as a much milder, tamer and more pious figure.
#Chronicles of heavenly demon full#
The Book of Samuel is the first and unexpurgated version, chock full of sexual and physical violence, passion, scandal, dysfunction, and outrageous moral excess. David’s life story appears twice in the Bible. David’s story was so scandalous it had to be censored.“Seminary professors must consider it, as well as must the diagnostician of ancient male love.” The rest of the biblical narrative depicts David as an insatiable collector of women, including other men’s wives, but some modern readers prefer to take the ancient text at face value: “We have every reason to believe that a homosexual relationship existed,” argues Tom Horner, Bible scholar and Episcopal priest, with rare bluntness. David has always been a focus of speculation when it comes to the love that “passes the love of women.” This is how the Bible characterizes the love between David and Jonathan, the son of the first king of Israel, Saul. It was the latter who used to chant (much to the consternation of David’s predecessor King Saul): “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands!” “David” means “beloved” - of both God and humankind, especially women. “God do the same to me and more,” vowed David as he and his army approached the estate of Nabal, according to the earthy translation of the King James Version, “if I leave alive until morning a single one who pisses against the wall!” And he carried off the wife of a man named Nabal after shaking him down for flocks and herds under threat of violence. He is depicted as feigning madness in a cowardly attempt to avoid the wrath of the king of the Philistines. The word “ Satan” is used in the Hebrew Bible to describe David as an adversary. He is described as “a man after God’s own heart” by one biblical author, and “a bloodstained fiend of hell” by another. David, as depicted in the Hebrew Bible is, above all, a man of profound contradictions. The Second Book of Samuel states that it was a man named Elhanan, rather than David, who bested the Philistine giant. David is perhaps best known for fighting and killing the giant and Philistine champion Goliath with a slingshot - a suitably awesome feat for the future king of Israel - but the Bible betrays some doubt about who deserves the credit. My Jewish Learning is a not-for-profit and relies on your help Donate