Lecture 4, Part 2: The Story of David and the Varieties of Love

c. Absalom listens to the advice of Hushai, David's double agent, instead of the wise counsel of Achithophel.

            d. Absalom's delay in following his father allows David to triumph over his son. David's commander Joab kills Absalom on the field of battle.

            e. The story of Absalom's rebellion has captured the imagination of many writers. The 17th-century poet John Dryden wrote a famous poem            entitled “Absalom and Achithophel” that allegorizes political events of the reign of Charles the Second. The tale also inspired William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom!, a novel of suicide, fratricide, incest and the Civil War.  (See Below)

            f. Literarily, David's lament for Absalom is equalled in its elegance only by Lear's lament for his daughter Cordelia in Shakespeare's King Lear.  To quote Lear, "Thou wilt come no more ... never, never, never, never, never."

            g. In 2 Samuel 18 we see David's lament. You will note here two impor­tant literary devices often used in biblical narrative. First, the element of suspense. Second, the periphrasis, or a roundabout way of saying things, found in Cushi's reply to David in verse 32.

            h. From 2 Samuel 18:

            And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and beheld a man running alone.

            And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there are tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near.

            And the watchman saw another man running: and the watchman called unto the porter, and said, Behold another man running

            alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings.

            And the watchman said, Me thinketh the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings.

            And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, All is well. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said,                         Blessed be the LORD thy God, which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king.

            And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, and me thy             servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.

            And the king said unto him, Turn aside, and stand here. And he turned aside, and stood still.

            And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king: for the LORD hath avenged thee this day of all them that

            rose up against thee.

            And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all    that      rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is.

                                    And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, 0 my son                                     Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would God I had died for thee, 0 Absalom, my son, my son! (2 Samuel 18:24-33, KJV)

Summary:

We last see David lamenting the death of his beloved but rebellious son, Absalom; David's love for Absalom is akin to God's unconditional love for David, to whom and through whose sons he gives the kingship of Israel perpet­ually. The scene in which David receives the news of Absalom's death is bril­liantly designed for dramatic effect through the narrator's use of suspense, periphrasis, and repetition.

WILLIAM FAULKNER'S ABSALOM, ABSALOM

Absalom, Absalom! (1936) defies summary because of its epic sweep and nonlinear plot. Covering a century of Southern history and culture before and after the Civil War, the novel is structured as a series of interlocking stories told by multiple narrators. But within this thematic and stylistic complexity lies a comparatively simple core narrative, a tale of dynastic hopes and ruin. Faulkner himself described the novel as "the story of a man who wanted a son through pride, and got too many of them and they destroyed him." That man is Thomas Sutpen, who rises from poor Appalachian youth to wealthy plantation owner. Sutpen hopes to perpetuate his wealth and power by begetting a son and heir, but his couplings with a series of wives and mistresses white, black, and of mixed race produce only tragedy born of greed, slavery, and racism: Thomas Sutpen's only white son, Henry, kills his friend Charles Bon to prevent his marriage to Henry's sister, Judith, when he discovers Charles to be his mulatto half-brother.  Faulkner modeled his story of incest, fratricide, and defeated dynastic hopes on the story of King David and his rebellious yet beloved son Absalom in 2 Samuel 13-18. There Absalom kills his half-brother Amnon in revenge for the rape of Absalom's sister Tamar. This rape and killing are just the beginning of a chain of sorrowful events that include Absalom's war against his father and culminate in David's despairing lament over the dead Absalom, a lament that provided Faulker's title: "0 my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would God I had died for thee, 0 Absalom, my son, my son! (2 Samuel 18:32-33)  The Absalom story in 2 Samuel is a familial and political tragedy for David. In this tale Faulkner found inspiration for his own story of private and national ruin, with Thomas Sutpen in King David's role. Absalom, Absalom! focuses on the personalities of the Sutpens, yet it uses the family's story as a micro­cosm for the history of the American South.

Suggested Reading

Alter, Robert. The David Story: A Translation with Commentary of 1 and 2  Samuel. New York: Norton, 1999.

Damrosch, David. The Narrative Covenant: Transformations of Genre in the Growth of Biblical Literature. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1987.

Faulkner, William. Absalom. Absalom! New York: Vintage Books, 1991.

Kirsch, Jonathan. King David: The Real Life of the Man Who Ruled Israel. New York: Ballantine Books, Inc., 2000.

Websites to Visit

Jewish Virtual Library - Homepage. Contains maps and other his­torical information on Jerusalem including the temples built by Solomon.

The Israeli Government's Official Website, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Jerusalem Post is an  excellent resource for a multitude of articles about present day Jerusalem, including the temple of David's period.

THE STORY OF DAVID AND GOLIATH

The Biblical story of David and Goliath is told in 1 Samuel 17. The Philistines and Israelites were gathered for war. Goliath, the huge--over nine feet tall­-Philistine champion, taunted the Israelite army under Saul for forty days. Saul and the Israelites were terrified. David, a young shepherd, showed up at the battlefield at the right time, bringing food to his brothers. David rose to the occa­sion and volunteered to confront Goliath. Armed with only his staff, pouch, sling, and five smooth stones, David killed Goliath. David gave his god credit for the victory.

                        And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.

                        So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.

                        Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. (1 Samuel17: 49-51)