Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George F Somsel <gfsomsel AT juno.com>]

On Sat, 23 Apr 2005 18:00:45 +0100 Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>
writes:
> On 22/04/2005 14:30, George F Somsel wrote:
> 
> > ...
> >
> >>In 2Sam21, David did not recognize that Gibeonites have a right to 
> 
> >>punish
> >>Saul's children. Indeed, Gibeonites were not bound by Hebrew 
> >>commandments.
> >>David rather recognized the merits of their vengeance. Saul, of 
> >>course,
> >>committed idolatry by sparing the animals for sacrifice, thus 
> >>imagining that
> >>sacrifices, the material, are more important than obedience.
> >>
> >>Vadim Cherny
> >>
> >>_______________________________________________
> >>    
> >>
> >
> >Vadim,
> >
> >I think you misinterpret the passage.  It begins
> >
> >WaY:HiY Rf(fB B.iYM"Y DfWiD . . . WaY:BaQ."$ D.fWiD )eT_P.:N"Y 
> YHWH
> >
> >and concludes 
> >
> >W:H"M.f HuM:TW. B.iYM"Y QfCiYR B.fRi)$ONiYM T:XiL.aT Q:CiYR 
> #:(oRiYM
> >
> >This would serve to connect it to the judgment of God as well as 
> David's
> >recognition.
> >
> >  
> >
> God told David that he had to do something about the situation. But 
> that 
> doesn't mean that what David did was correct or that he was carrying 
> out 
> God's judgment. For God didn't tell him to kill anyone. As the 
> Gibeonites recognised (v.4), they had no right to demand the death 
> of 
> anyone, but David nevertheless responded to their request. And the 
> Gibeonites had already suggested silver or gold as an alternative. 
> Why 
> didn't David pay them off in that way? Well, we can't understand the 
> 
> politics in detail, but it seems to me that David was at that time 
> acting unrighteously, and using this as an excuse to get rid of his 
> 
> potential enemies. And there are rulers today, even in democratic 
> countries, who conveniently hand over to less scrupulous foreigners 
> 
> their potential enemies, such as terrorist "suspects" against whom 
> there 
> is no evidence.
> 
> -- 
> Peter Kirk
> peter AT qaya.org (personal)
> peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
> .qaya.org/
________________________

I tend to think that you're trying to sanitize the account from a modern
Christian perspective.  It would appear from the return to the them of
famine/plenty in the resolution of the famine through the harvest this
puts God's imprimitur upon it.

george
gfsomsel
___________