In a recent book, David Wolpe argues that David’s was the first fully explored and fleshed-out personality in human literature. Rather than follow the scholarly practice of trying to unravel and compare the different threads of the biblical narrative, Wolpe explores the psychology and meaning of this complex and compelling character. Indeed, writes Robin Russin, much of the power of the David narrative comes from its hero’s failings:
[O]ne of the arguments for the historical reality of David’s story is that he is portrayed as such a flawed, if charismatic, person. David soothes Saul’s troubled soul with his music at the same time that he has been chosen by Samuel to usurp Saul’s throne—because, essentially, David will be ruthless enough to utterly exterminate his opponents, where Saul was not. Indeed, as Wolpe notes (though disputes), many see “the stench of conspiracy” in David’s convenient absence from the battlefield where Saul and his son Jonathan are killed. The same David who earns—or simply inspires—the love and loyalty of his men steals the wife of one of his most faithful warriors and then, in order to cover his own guilt, sends the man off to die in the forefront of battle. The same David who is anointed to be the next king of all Israel later joins forces with Israel’s bitterest enemy when the need suits him. As Wolpe writes, “An unmixed motive does not seem to exist in David’s world, or in his heart.” The lesson seems to be that none of us is perfect—as God reminds David through the vehicle of the prophet Nathan, who “punctures in parable . . . not only David’s dormant conscience but his self-deceptions and rationalizations.” Even this most blessed of heroes, the chosen of God, is human, and afflicted—perhaps even more so—by the same moral faults and failures as the rest of us.
Read more at LA Review of Books
More about: Bible, King David, Samuel
