Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Robert Vining <rvining AT log.on.ca>]

Re: The Deuteronomic Expectation of the Kingship and the Solomonic
Reality

Compare,   Deut. 17:16-17,  "Even so, (1) he must not acquire many
horses for himself, or (2) return the people to Egypt in order to
acquire more horses, since the Lord has said to you,  "You must never
return that way again".  And (3) he must not acquire many wives for
himself, or (4) else his heart will turn away;  (5) also silver and gold
he must not acquire in great quantity for himself."

with portions of I Kings 10 &11-

(1) "Solomon built up a force of 1400 chariots and 12,000 cavalry
horses", 10:26

(2) "And there was the export of the horses that Solomon had from Egypt,
and the company of the King's  merchants would themselves take the horse
drove for a price", 10:28

(3) "Solomon married 700 princesses, and also had 300 concubines", 11:3

(4) "They made him turn away from God., and by the time he was old they
had led him into the worship of foreign gods.  He was not faithful to
the Lord his God', 11:3,4

(5) "Every year King Solomon received over 25 tons of gold", 10:14
"Everyone who came brought him a gift-articles of silver and
gold......this continued  year after year", 10:26

Did the royal narrator use the Deuteronomic material to help him
construct his life of Solomon?  It would appear that while the so-called
Court Historian of I  Kgs. 10 & 11 had access to Deut. 17:16,17, that
the Chronicler in his revisionism of the life of the wise king, had,
either, no knowledge of I Kgs. 11, or, chose to ignore it.

Robert Vining, Owen Sound, Ontario      rvining AT log.on.ca

*******

In response I was asked off  list, "What do you regard as Dtr. in I
Kings 10-11?"

RV: My suspicion is that the author used the Deuteronomic expectations
as the basis for drawing a Solomon who acted  antithetical in each case
to the specific God-given-through-Moses requirements.  George Athas
appears to suggest that this is to put it backwards, and rather, that
the Kings story  preceded and influenced the Dtr. material.

GA:The deuteronomic ban on kings trading horses (and wives!) seems a
very specific ban. It
might be the Deuteronomist who got it from Kings.

RV:  Likely, the literature describing the giving,  and the content of
the God given Commandments preceded, and were used, by those authors
who  penned  the accounts of the most notable breakers of these
Commandments.  Even more so than the Solomonic storyteller,      did the
enigmatic author(s) of David"s life,  with considerable literary
ingenuity and subtlety go about creating a narrative structured to some
extent on Commandment-breaking activity. David,  as scion of one of
literature's most dysfunctional families is very active  making love and
war, and breaking God's Commandments.  Caught up in the intrigue,
back-stabbing treachery of the Court machinations, David must uses his
wits for survival.  Little time is left for psalm-writing, an activity
of which there is no record in the  narrative,  I Sam. 16- I Kgs. 2.

If remains unclear how much the towering biblical David may be like the
elusive historical David, if there be such a person.  Same for Solomon
whose magnificent Temple has left not a trace.  Is it likely that  great
horse barns will be found?

Robert Vining, Owen Sound, Ontario   rvining AT log.on.ca