THE LEGENDS OF THE JEWS VOLUME IV BIBLE TIMES AND CHARACTERS

B >> BY LOUIS GINZBERG >> THE LEGENDS OF THE JEWS VOLUME IV BIBLE TIMES AND CHARACTERS

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27

Scarcely did David begin to move toward Goliath, when the giant
became conscious of the magic power of the youth. The evil eye
David cast on his opponent sufficed to afflict him with leprosy,
(39) and in the very same instant he was rooted to the ground,
unable to move. (40) Goliath was so confused by his impotence
that he scarcely knew what he was saying, and he uttered the
foolish threat that he would give David's flesh to the cattle of the
field, as though cattle ate flesh. One can see, David said to
himself, that he is crazy, and there can be no doubt he is doomed.
(41) Sure of victory, David retorted that he would cast the carcass
of the Philistine to the fowls of the air. At the mention of fowls,
Goliath raised his eyes skyward, to see whether there were any
birds about. The upward motion of his head pushed his visor
slightly away from his forehead, and in that instant the pebble
aimed by David struck him on the exposed spot. (42) An angel
descended and cast him to the ground face downward, so that the
mouth that had blasphemed God might be choked with earth. He
fell in such wise that the image of Dagon which he wore on his
breast touched the ground, and his head came to lie between the
feet of David, who now had no difficulty in dispatching him. (43)

Goliath was encased, from top to toe, in several suits of armor, and
David did not know how to remove them and cut off the head of
the giant. At this juncture Uriah the Hittite offered him his
services, but under the condition that David secure him an
Israelitish wife. David accepted the condition, and Uriah in turn
showed him how the various suits of armor were fastened together
at the heels of the giant's feet.

David's victory naturally added fuel to the fire of Saul's jealousy.
Saul sent Abner, his general, to make inquiry whether David, who,
he knew, was of the tribe of Judah, belonged to the clan of the
Perez or to the clan of the Zerah. In the former case his suspicion
that David was destined for kingship would be confirmed. Doeg,
David's enemy from of old, observed that David, being the
descendant of the Moabitess Ruth, did not even belong to the
Jewish communion, and Saul need entertain no fears from that
quarter. A lively discussion arose between Abner and Doeg, as to
whether the law in Deuteronomy regarding Moabites affected
women as well as men. Doeg, an expert dialectician, brilliantly
refuted all of Abner's arguments in favor of the admission of
Moabitish women. Samuel's authority had to be appealed to in
order to establish for all times the correctness of Abner's view.
(44) Indeed, the dispute could be settled only by recourse to threats
of violence. Ithra, the father of Amasa, in Arab fashion, for which
reason he was sometimes called the Ishmaelite, threatened to hew
down any one with his sword who refused to accept Samuel's
interpretation of the law, that male Moabites and male Ammonites
are forever excluded from the congregation of Israel, but not
Moabite and Ammonite women. (45)

PURSUED BY SAUL

As God stood by David in his duel with Goliath, so he stood by
him in many other of his difficulties. Often when he thought all
hope lost, the arm of God suddenly succored him, and in
unexpected ways, not only bringing relief, but also conveying
instruction on God's wise and just guidance of the world.

David once said to God: "The world is entirely beautiful and good,
with the one exception of insanity. What use does the world derive
from a lunatic, who runs hither and thither, tears his clothes, and is
pursued by a mob of hooting children?" "Verily, a time will come,"
said God in reply, "when thou wilt supplicate me to afflict thee
with madness." Now, it happened when David, on his flight before
Saul, came to Achish, the king of the Philistines, who lived in
Gath, that the brothers of Goliath formed the heathen king's
body-guard, and they demanded that their brother's murderer be
executed. Achish, though a heathen, was pious, for which reason
he is called Abimelech in the Psalms, after the king of Gerar, who
also was noted for piety. He therefore sought to pacify David's
enemies. He called their attention to the fact that Goliath had been
the one to challenge the Jews to combat, and it was meet,
therefore, that he should be left to bear the consequences. The
brothers rejoined, if that view prevailed, then Achish would have
to give up his throne to David, for, according to the conditions of
the combat, the victor was to have dominion over the vanquished
as his servants. In his distress, David besought God to let him
appear a madman in the eyes of Achish and his court. God granted
his prayer. As the wife and daughter of the Philistine king were
both bereft of reason, we can understand his exclamation: "Do I
lack madmen, that ye have brought this fellow to play the madman
in my presence?" Thus it was that David was rescued. Thereupon
he composed the Psalm beginning with the words, "I will bless the
Lord at all times," which includes even the time of lunacy. (46)

On another occasion David expressed his doubt of God's wisdom
in having formed such apparently useless creatures as spiders are.
They do nothing but spin a web that has no value. He was to have
striking proof that even a spider's web may serve an important
purpose. On one occasion he had taken refuge in a cave, and Saul
and his attendants, in pursuit of him, were about to enter and seek
him there. But God sent a spider to weave its web across the
opening, and Saul told his men to desist from fruitless search in
the cave, for the spider's web was undeniable proof that no one had
passed through its entrance. (47)

Similarly, when David became indebted to one of them for his life,
he was cured of his scorn for wasps. He had thought them good for
nothing but to breed maggots. David once surprised Saul and his
attendants while they were fast asleep in their camp, and he
resolved to carry off, as proof of his magnanimity, the cruse that
stood between the feet of the giant Abner, who like the rest was
sleeping. Fortunately his knees were drawn up, so that David could
carry out his intention unhindered. But as David was retiring with
the cruse, Abner stretched out his feet, and pinned David down as
with two solid pillars. His life would have been forfeit, if a wasp
had not stung Abner, who mechanically, in his sleep, moved his
feet, and released David. (48)

There were still other miracles that happened to David in his
flight. Once, when Saul and his men compassed David round
about, an angel appeared and summoned him home, to repulse the
raid of the Philistines upon the land. Saul gave up the pursuit of
David, but only after a majority had so decided, for some had been
of the opinion that the seizure of David was quite as important as
the repulse of the Philistines. (49) Again, in his battle with the
Amalekites, David enjoyed direct intervention from above.
Lightning in flashes and sheets illumined the dark night, so
enabling him to carry on the struggle. (50)

WARS

David's first thought after ascending the throne was to wrest
Jerusalem, sacred since the days of Adam, Noah, and Abraham,
from the grasp of the heathen. The plan was not easy of execution
for various reasons. The Jebusites, the possessors of Jerusalem,
were the posterity of those sons of Heth who had ceded the Cave
of Machpelah to Abraham only on condition that their descendants
should never be forcibly dispossessed of their capital city
Jerusalem. In perpetuation of this agreement between Abraham
and the sons of Heth, monuments of brass were erected, and when
David approached Jerusalem with hostile intent, the Jebusites
pointed to Abraham's promise engraven upon them and still plainly
to be read. (51) They maintained that before David could take the
city, which they had surrounded with a high wall, he would have to
destroy the monuments. Joab devised a plan of getting into
Jerusalem. He set up a tall cypress tree near the wall, bent it
downward, and standing on David's head, he grasped the very tip
of the tree. When the tree rebounded, Joab sat high above the wall,
and could jump down upon it. Once in the city, he destroyed the
monuments, and possessed himself of Jerusalem. (52) For David a
miracle had happened; the wall had lowered itself before him so
that he could walk into the city without difficulty. David, however,
was not desirous of using forcible means. He therefore offered the
Jebusites six hundred shekels, fifty shekels for each Israelitish
tribe. The Jebusites accepted the money, and gave David a bill of
sale. (53)

Jerusalem having been acquired, David had to prepare for war
with the Philistines, in which the king gave proof at once of his
heroic courage and his unshakable trust in God. The latter quality
he displayed signally in the battle that took place in the Valley of
the Giants. God had commanded David not to attack the host of
the Philistines until he heard "the sound of marching in the tops of
the mulberry trees." God desired to pass judgment upon the
tutelary angels of the heathen, before surrendering the heathen
themselves to the pious, (54) and the motion of the tops of the
trees was to indicate that the battle could proceed. The enemy
advanced until there were but four ells between them and the
Israelites. The latter were about to throw themselves against the
Philistines, but David restrained them, saying: "God forbade me to
attack the Philistines before the tops of the trees begin to move. If
we transgress God's command, we shall certainly die. If we delay,
it is probable that we shall be killed by the Philistines, but, at least,
we shall die as pious men that keep God's command. Above all, let
us have confidence in God." Scarcely had he ended his speech
when the tops of the trees rustled, and David made a successful
assault upon the Philistines. Whereupon God said to the angels,
who were constantly questioning him as to why he had taken the
royal dignity from Saul and given it to David: "See the difference
between Saul and David." (55)

Of David's other campaigns, the most notable is his war with
Shobach the Aramean, whom he conquered in spite of his gigantic
size and strength. Shobach was very tall, as tall as a dove-cote, and
one look at him sufficed to strike terror to the heart of the
beholder. (56) The Aramean general indulged in the belief that
David would treat the Syrians gently on account of the monument,
still in existence at that time, which Jacob and Laban had erected
on the frontier between Palestine and Aram as a sign of their
covenant that neither they nor their descendants should wage war
with each other. But David destroyed the monument. (57)
Similarly, the Philistines had placed trust in a relic from Isaac, the
bridle of a mule which the Patriarch had given to Abimelech, the
king of the Philistines, as a pledge of the covenant between Israel
and his people. David took it from them by force. (58)

However, David was as just as he was bold. Disregard of the
covenants made by the Patriarchs was far removed from his
thoughts. Indeed, before departing for the wars with the Arameans
and the Philistines, he had charged the Sanhedrin to investigate
carefully the claims of the two nations. The claims of the
Philistines were shown to be utterly unfounded. In no sense were
they the descendants of those Philistines who had concluded a
treaty with Isaac; they had immigrated from Cyprus at a much later
date. The Arameans, on the other hand, had forfeited their claims
upon considerate treatment, because under the "Aramean" Balaam,
and later again, in the time of Othniel, under their king
Cushan-rishathaim, they had attacked and made war upon the
Israelites. (59)

AHITHOPHEL

Among David's courtiers and attendants, a prominent place is
occupied by his counsellor Ahithophel, (60) with whom the king
was connected by family ties, Bath-sheba being his granddaughter.
(61) Ahithophel's wisdom was supernatural, for his counsels
always coincided with the oracles rendered by the Urim and
Thummim, and great as was his wisdom, it was equalled by his
scholarship. Therefore David did not hesitate to submit himself to
his instruction, (62) even though Ahithophel was a very young
man, at the time of his death not more than thirty-three years old.
(63) The one thing lacking in him was sincere piety, (64) and this
it was that proved his undoing in the end, for it induced him to
take part in Absalom's rebellion against David. Thus he forfeited
even his share in the world to come. (65)

To this dire course of action he was misled by astrologic and other
signs, which he interpreted as prophecies of his own kingship,
when in reality they pointed to the royal destiny of his
granddaughter Bath-sheba. (66) Possessed by his erroneous belief,
he cunningly urged Absalom to commit an unheard-of crime. Thus
Absalom would profit nothing by his rebellion, for, though he
accomplished his father's ruin, he would yet be held to account and
condemned to death for his violation of family purity, and the way
to the throne would be clear for Ahithophel, the great sage in
Israel. (67)

The relation between David and Ahithophel had been somewhat
strained even before Absalom's rebellion. Ahithophel's feelings
had been hurt by his being passed over at the time when David,
shortly after ascending the throne, invested, on a single day, no
less than ninety thousand functionaries with positions.

On that day a remarkable incident occurred. When the Ark was to
be brought up from Geba to Jerusalem, the priests who attempted
to take hold of it were raised up in the air and thrown violently to
the ground. In his despair the king turned for advice to Ahithophel,
who retorted mockingly: "Ask thy wise men whom thou hast but
now installed in office." It was only when David uttered a curse on
him who knows a remedy and withholds it from the sufferer, that
Ahithophel advised that a sacrifice should be offered at every step
taken by the priests. Although the measure proved efficacious, and
no further disaster occurred in connection with the Ark, yet
Ahithophel's words had been insincere. He knew the real reason of
the misadventure, and concealed it from the king. Instead of
following the law of having the Ark carried on the shoulders of
priests, David had had it put on a wagon, and so incurred the wrath
of God. (68)

Ahithophel's hostility toward David showed itself also on the
following occasion. When David was digging the foundations of
the Temple, a shard was found at a depth of fifteen hundred cubits.
David was about to lift it, when the shard exclaimed: "Thou canst
not do it." "Why not?" asked David. "Because I rest upon the
abyss." "Since when?" "Since the hour in which the voice of God
was heard to utter the words from Sinai, 'I am the Lord thy God,'
causing the earth to quake and sink into the abyss. I lie here to
cover up the abyss." Nevertheless David lifted the shard, and the
waters of the abyss rose and threatened to flood the earth.
Ahithophel was standing by, and he thought to himself: "Now
David will meet with his death, and I shall be king." Just then
David said: "Whoever knows how to stem the tide of waters, and
fails to do it, will one day throttle himself." (69) Thereupon
Ahithophel had the Name of God inscribed upon the shard, and the
shard thrown into the abyss. The waters at once commenced to
subside, but they sank to so great a depth that David feared the
earth might lose her moisture, and he began to sing the fifteen
"Songs of Ascents," to bring the waters up again. (70)

Nevertheless David's curse was realized. Ahithophel ended his
days by hanging himself. His last will contained the following
three rules of conduct: (71) 1. Refrain from doing aught against a
favorite of fortune. 2. Take heed not to rise up against the royal
house of David. 3. If the Feast of Pentecost falls on a sunny day,
then sow wheat. (72)

Posterity has been favored with the knowledge of but a small part
of Ahithophel's wisdom, and that little through two widely
different sources, through Socrates, (73) who was his disciple, and
through a fortune-book written by him. (74)

JOAB

Joab, the warrior, was a contrast to Ahithophel in every essential.
He was David's right hand. It was said, if Joab had not been there
to conduct his wars, David would not have had leisure to devote
himself to the study of the Torah. He was the model of a true
Jewish hero, distinguished at the same time for his learning, piety,
and goodness. His house stood wide open for all comers, and the
campaigns which he undertook redounded invariably to the benefit
of the people. They were indebted to him for luxuries even, (75)
and more than that, he took thought for the welfare of scholars, he
himself being the president of the Sanhedrin. (76)

It interested Joab to analyze the character of men and their
opinions. When he heard King David's words: "Like as a father
pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him," he
expressed his astonishment that the comparison should be made
with the love of a father for a child, and not with the love of a
mother; mother love as a rule is considered the stronger and the
more self-sacrificing. He made up his mind to keep his eyes open,
and observe whether David's idea was borne out by facts. On one
of his journeys he happened into the house of a poor old man who
had twelve children, all of whom the father supported, however
meagrely, with the toil of his own hands. Joab proposed that he
sell him one of the twelve children; he would thus be relieved of
the care of one, and the selling-price could be applied to the better
support of the rest. The good father rejected the proposition
brusquely. Then Joab approached the mother, offering her a
hundred gold denarii for one of the children. At first she resisted
the temptation, but finally she yielded. When the father returned in
the evening, he cut the bread, as was his wont, into fourteen
pieces, for himself, his wife, and his twelve children. In allotting
the portions he missed a child, and insisted upon being told its
fate. The mother confessed what had happened during his absence.
He neither ate nor drank, and next morning he set out, firmly
resolved to return the money to Joab and to slay him if he should
refuse to surrender the child. After much parleying, and after the
father had threatened him with death, Joab yielded the child to the
old man, with the exclamation: "Yes, David was right when he
compared God's love for men to a father's love for his child. This
poor fellow who has twelve children to support was prepared to
fight me to the death for one of them, which the mother, who
calmly stayed at home, had sold to me for a price."

Among all the heroic achievements of Joab, the most remarkable
is the taking of the Amalekite capital. For six months the flower of
the Israelitish army, twelve thousand in number, under the
leadership of Joab, had been besieging the capital city of the
Amalekites without result. The soldiers made representations to
their general, that it would be well for them to return home to their
wives and children. Joab urged that this not only would earn for
them contempt and derision, but also would invite new danger.
The heathen would be encouraged to unite against the Israelites.
He proposed that they hurl him into the city by means of a sling,
and then wait forty days. If at the end of this period they saw blood
flow from the gates of the fortress, it should be a sign to them that
he was still alive.

His plan was executed. Joab took with him one thousand pieces of
money and his sword. When he was cast from the sling, he fell into
the courtyard of a widow, whose daughter caught him up. In a little
while he regained consciousness. He pretended to be an Amalekite
taken prisoner by the Israelites, and thrown into the city by his
captors, who thus wished to inflict death. As he was provided with
money, which he dispensed lavishly among his entertainers, he
was received kindly, and was given the Amalekite garb. So
apparelled, he ventured, after ten days, on a tour of inspection
through the city, which he found to be of enormous size.

His first errand was to an armorer, to have him mend his sword,
which had been broken by his fall. When the artisan scanned
Joab's weapon, he started back--he had never seen a sword like it.
He forged a new one, which snapped in two almost at once when
Joab grasped it firmly. So it happened with a second sword, and
with a third. Finally he succeeded in fashioning one that was
acceptable. Joab asked the smith whom he would like him to slay
with the sword, and the reply was, "Joab, the general of the
Israelitish king." "I am he," said Joab, and when the smith in
astonishment turned to look at him, Joab ran him through so
skillfully that the victim had no realization of what was happening.
Thereupon he hewed down five hundred Amalekite warriors whom
he met on his way, and not one escaped to betray him. The rumor
arose that Asmodeus, the king of demons, was raging among the
inhabitants of the city, and slaying them in large numbers.

After another period of ten days, which he spent in retirement with
his hosts, Joab sallied forth a second time, and caused such
bloodshed among the Amalekites that his gory weapon clave to his
hand, and his right hand lost all power of independent motion, it
could be made to move only in a piece with his arm. He hastened
to his lodging place to apply hot water to his hand and free it from
the sword. On his way thither the woman who had caught him up
when he fell into the city called to him: "Thou eatest and drinkest
with us, yet thou slayest our warriors." Seeing himself betrayed, he
could not but kill the woman. Scarcely had his sword touched her,
when it was separated from his hand, and his hand could move
freely, for the dead woman had been with child, and the blood of
the unborn babe loosed the sword.

After Joab had slain thousands, the Israelites without, at the very
moment when they were beginning to mourn their general as dead,
saw blood issue from the city, and joyfully they cried out with one
accord: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One." Joab
mounted a high tower, and in stentorian tones shouted: "The Lord
will not forsake his people." Inspired with high and daring
courage, the Israelites demanded permission to assault the city and
capture it. As Joab turned to descend from the tower, he noticed
that six verses of a Psalm were inscribed on his foot, the first verse
running thus: "The Lord answers thee in the day of trouble, the
name of the God of Jacob is thy defense." Later David added three
verses and completed the Psalm. Thereupon the Israelites took the
Amalekite capital, destroyed the heathen temples in the city, and
slew all its inhabitants, except the king, whom, with his crown of
pure gold on his head, they brought before David. (77)

DAVID'S PIETY AND HIS SIN

Neither his great achievements in war nor his remarkable good
fortune moved David from his pious ways, or in aught changed his
mode of life. Even after he became king he sat at the feet of his
teachers, Ira the Jairite (78) and Mephibosheth. To the latter he
always submitted his decisions on religious questions, to make
sure that they were in accordance with law. (79) Whatever leisure
time his royal duties afforded him, he spent in study and prayer.
He contented himself with "sixty breaths" of sleep. (80) At
midnight the strings of his harp, (81) which were made of the gut
of the ram sacrificed by Abraham on Mount Moriah, (82) began to
vibrate. The sound they emitted awakened David, and he would
arise at once to devote himself to the study of the Torah. (83)

Besides study, the composition of psalms naturally claimed a
goodly portion of his time. Pride filled his heart when he had
completed the Psalter, and he exclaimed: "O Lord of the world, is
there another creature in the universe who like me proclaims thy
praise?" A frog came up to the king, and said: "Be not so proud; I
have composed more psalms than thou, and, besides, every psalm
my mouth has uttered I have accompanied with three thousand
parables." (84) And, truly, if David indulged in conceit, it was only
for a moment. As a rule he was the exemplar of modesty. The
coins which were stamped by him bore a shepherd's crook and
pouch on the obverse, and on the reverse the Tower of David. (85)
In other respects, too, his bearing was humble, as though he were
still the shepherd and not the king. (86)

His great piety invested his prayer with such efficacy that he could
bring things in heaven down to earth. (87) It is natural that so
godly a king should have used the first respite granted by his wars
to carry out his design of erecting a house of worship to God. But
in the very night in which David conceived the plan of building the
Temple, God said to Nathan the prophet: "Hasten to David. I know
him to be a man with whom execution follows fast upon the heels
of thought, and I should not like him to hire laborers for the
Temple work, and then, disappointed, complain of me. I
furthermore know him to be a man who obligates himself by vows
to do good deeds, and I desire to spare him the embarrassment of
having to apply to the Sanhedrin for absolution from his vow."
(88)

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27