Sociologists sometimes talk about those middle age couples who are caught in the “in-between generation” where they are financially and emotionally supporting both their children and their aging parents at the same time. But even less enviably a position was that of David who had to first flee for his life from his father-in-law Saul only later in life to have to do the same thing to avoid being killed by his own son. Despite these chaotic times, the author of I-II Samuel manages to tell both stories in a very ordered manner in which strict symmetry rules supremely, perhaps as an indications that both events were firmly under God's control.
The first of these to trying times in David's life is diagrammed below:
Figure 1: David Hides from Saul (I Sam. 21:10-II Sam. 1)
1. Saul under the tamarisk tree (I Sam. 21:10-22:23)
a. Achish distrusts David
b. song of the women
c. Saul under the tamarisk tree; he kills priests
d. one escapes and tells David
2. David’s successes in battle (I Sam. 23)
a. David inquires of the Lord twice
b. escapes when Saul is distracted by Philistines
3. David shames Saul; Saul calls David “my son” (I Sam. 24)
4. David and Abigail (I Sam. 25)
3'. David shames Saul; Saul calls David “my son” (I Sam. 26)
2'. David’s successes in battle (I Sam. 27-28)
b. Saul is afraid of the Philistines
a. Saul inquires of a witch
1'. Saul under a tamarisk tree (I Sam. 29:1-II Sam. 1)
a. Philistines distrust David
b. song of the women
c. Philistines kill Saul and bury him under a tamarisk tree
d. one man escapes and tells David
Dorsey proposes an almost identical structure to the above except that he begins his section at I Sam. 21:1 and ends it at I Sam. 31. This exclusion of II Sam. 1 weakens considerably the strict parallel between units 1 and 1'.
Chapter 25 would seem to be an inappropriate passage to stress in this overall section. However, McCarter, Jr. notes that Abigail’s speech in 25:28-31 “transforms David’s future wife into a kind of prophetess, who foresees the dynastic promise to the house of David in phrases that explicitly anticipate the Josianic rhetoric of the oracle of Nathan...” In addition, the importance of this chapter is highlighted by the use of the words “good” and “evil” exactly seven times each. It has also been noted that there are several analogies between the character and fate of Nabal in ch. 25 and that of Saul as seen in the bracketing sections 3 and 3'. (Leithart) In all three chapters David refrains from killing an enemy.
Fokkelman proposes a different structure for I Sam. 29-II Sam.1 in which David’s time with the Philistines (I Sam. 27 and 29) brackets Saul’s last night (ch. 28) just as David’s time with the Amelekites (I Sam. 30 and II Sam. 1) brackets Saul’s last day (I Sam. 31).
The above literary arrangement offers one explanation for the fact that the events of ch. 28 probably followed those of ch. 30 chronologically. (Tsumura)
The phrase “the LORD's anointed” appears six times in 3 and 3', and only once elsewhere in Sam-Kings.
In both Ic and I'c, Saul commands men to kill by the sword, but they refuse out of moral grounds.
While we may never know exactly why God put David through all the above trials, it is a different story with the next problem he had with his son Absalom. After David's great sin in taking Bathsheba and having her husband Uriah killed, Nathan confronted him with these prophetic words from God: “Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house...Thus says the LORD: I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this very sun. For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.”
Figure 2: David Hides from Absalom (II Sam. 13-20)
1. Disorder in David’s family (13:1-33)
2. Absalom's rebellion (13:34-15:16)
a. Absalom flees
b. David's heart goes out to Absalom
c. wise woman and Joab reunite them
b'. Absalom steals the hearts of men of Israel
a'. David flees
3. The people follow David out of the city (15:17-37)
4. Mephibosheth and his servant (16:1-4)
5. Shimei spared (16:5-14)
6. Absalom given counsel (16:15-17:14)
7. Messenger to David (17:15-22)
8. Ahithopel hangs himself (17:23)
9. Judah and Israel prepare
for battle (17:24-18:4)
10. David’s orders to spare Absalom (18:5)
9'. Judah and Israel battle (18:6-8)
8'. Absalom killed while hanging (18:9-18)
7'. Messenger to David (18:19-33)
6'. David given counsel (19:1-15)
5'. Shimei spared (19:16-23)
4'. Mephibosheth and his servant (19:24-30)
3'. The people greet David on his return (19:31-43)
2'. Sheba's rebellion (20:1-22)
a. trumpet is blown and people return to their tents
b. people of Judah follow king to Jerusalem
c. Joab kills Amasa
c'. Joab and wise woman kill Sheba
a'. people return to their tents and trumpet is blown
b'. Joab returns to king in Jerusalem
1'. Order in David’s kingdom (20:23-26)
Davis alternatively arranges sections 7 through 8' as two parallel cycles, which misses the strong similarity in the hangings of sections 9 and 9', and contradicts his own structure for Section 7.
The chiastic structure of section 8 has been demonstrated by Davis.
Traitorous kisses are evident at key spots in the text: the end of Section 2 (15:5) and the center of 2' (20:9). A kiss of the faithful, by contrast, is shown at the end of the chiasm 3 through 3' (19:39).
The probable non-chronological order in sections 7 through 7' (Schniedewind) is explained in part by the literary arrangement shown above.
Finally, take another look at the center sections in Figures 1 and 2, Now we can see another reason why I Samuel 25 was chosen at the place of honor in the first case – to be an exact parallel to the center passage of Figure 2. In both cases, we see David exhibiting mercy to someone who is his enemy. Both are prime examples of David being a man of God's own heart.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments