Solomon the Wise

As I read about Solomon, I must admit I didn't have any really great "ahah!" moments (well, maybe one) There were a few translation things I thought were interesting.  

Solomon's name in Hebrew is שׁלמה which is basically the same word as "Shalom" meaning peace.  The name given to him at birth by the prophet Nathan, is Jedidiah, יְדִידְיָה, which means "beloved of God." These are both fitting names for Solomon, because; 1. the reason Solomon was allowed to build the temple and David was not was because David had "shed much blood" in warfare during his reign. (1 Chronicals 22:7) 2. He was so beloved of God that God told him he could have any gift he asked. Of course, he asked for wisdom, or an understanding heart. (1 Kings 3:9)

So what is the meaning of the word translated in these verses as "An undertanding Heart?" (1 Kings 3-9)  In a different translation I read, they said "a discerning heart."  What the Hebrew says is לב שׁמע. The second word, שׁמע. means to "hear" or "head."  It is the first word in the Shema prayer "Hear, oh Israel, our god is one God."  (Deut 6:4)  So what Solomon is asking for is a heart, לב, which will heed, or "שׁמע" the Lord. It is interesting in the vast supply of ready knowledge that we have in the world today, the source of true wisdom is still obedience to God. 

I found it a little strange however, when the writer of 1 Kings says, "And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”  After reading this I thought, "wait, wait, wait, didn't David mess up big time by sleeping with Bathsheba, and having Uriah killed?  Why is the Lord holding David up as an example to Solomon, especially because he, Solomon, is the offspring of this illicit relationship?" How could the Lord consider David as a role model? The only thing I can come up with, is that even after David messed around with Bathsheba, he felt sorry and mourned his bad choice for the rest of his life.  Even though he faltered in his actions, his heart was always turned toward the Lord. 

David in the Book of Mormon

This week in 1 Samuel we read about the rise of King David. Many of my thoughts today come from the Come Follow Me Insights from Book of Mormon Central.  King David is the most revered king in the history of Ancient Israel.  He is tied to prophecies about the coming Messiah who is supposed to be the Son of King David (Matt 22:42).  He is mentioned over 1,100 times in the Old Testament. Yet he is barely mentioned in the Book of Mormon, and when he is mentioned, it is a negative reference to him having many wives (e.g. Jacob 2:23-24) It almost seems like he fell out of grace in the eyes of the Nephites because of his late-life poor decisions. He certainly isn't idealized in the Book of Mormon like he is in the Bible.

Even though David isn't mentioned as a great king in the Book of Mormon, there are hints and references to his life in several stories.  Tyler Griffith wrote a paper that found many parallels between David's slaying of Goliath and Nephi's slaying of Laban.  Here are a few of the most obvious.  Both David and Nephi were the youngest brothers who had the courage to do God's will when their brothers didn't.  Both Goliath and Laban had threatened to kill their opponents.  Both men were beheaded with their own swords.  In both cases, those swords were retained by the victors and became a symbol of leadership. 

There is also echoes of David's experience with Goliath in the story of Ammon. When Ammon met Lamoni, he was given the chance to marry Lamoni's daughter but agreed to be his servant instead. Saul offered to let anyone who killed Goliath marry his daughter, but David considered himself as unworthy.  Ammon instead served as a shepherd, like David, and like David, killed the leader of the King's enemy with a sword. 

These may just be coincidences, but maybe not.  David's experience with Goliath lead to him being the leader of the people, and Nephi's experience with Laban did the same.  Ammon, too, became the leader of the Anti-Nephi-Lehites through his encounters with those who wanted to scatter the flocks.  So it seems that there was a recognized path to righteous glory, and the editor of the Book of Mormon wanted to show how Nephi and Ammon followed that path.

One more thought: I have blogged before about how the New Testament writers consciously evoke stories from the Old Testament to confirm Jesus' legitimacy.  This week I was struck by the many ways they try to show Jesus as the "Son of David."  David's biological son who became his heir was Solomon, who was born of someone else's wife. Jesus was born with a different biological father than the man his mother was married to, and his mother probably endured judgement from her neighbors because of it. The one that really whacked me over the head was that David's best friend was Jonathan, and Jesus forerunner was John.  John and Johnathan share more in common than the similarity of their first names.  Jonathan was the son of the king and rightful heir, but acknowledged David as the rightful king. John was son of a high priest, and jobs like that were passed down father to son, but he acknowledged Jesus as the true high priest. John was killed for staying true to his beliefs, and so was Johnathan. Jesus mourned John's death as David mourned Jonathan's. 

Ruth

 After reading Judges, the book of Ruth is like a breath of fresh air.  We leave the warfare and political strife, and take a peak into the lives of normal people who are trying to do what is right. 

Why do we have the Book of Ruth?  

After the Babylonian captivity, Josiah was zealous to set temple and religious observance back on course.  Since they were in captivity for about 70 years, or two generations more or less, Josiah wanted a way to verify who were true Isrealites, and who were legally able to serve in the Temple. He, therefore, required people to produce geneologies that showed that each was:

     1. of Israel, and/or 

    2. eligible to serve in the Temple, i.e. Levite or Aaronic descendency. 

 The right to work as a priest was handed down father to son, but the identity of being a Israelite was determined through the mother.  So far in the Old Testament, all the stories where non-Hebrew women play a primary role are included because those women are ancestors of prominant Israeli leaders. This is the case here.  Ruth was the great grandmother of David, so we need a story to show how she, born a Moabite, was adopted into the house of Israel. 

Symbolism in Ruth. 

Some of the podcasts I listened to tried to see a lot of symbolism in the book of Ruth.  I must admit that their arguements are not as compelling as some of those in favor of symbolism elsewhere.  There is some symbolism in their names.  Naomi נﬠמי means "pleasant" and Ruth רוּת means friendship. After Naomi's husband and sons die, she wants people to call her "Mara" which means, "bitter".  beyond that  I really think this is just a sweet story about good people being kind to each other. 

Culture.

This book gives a lot of insight into how the Law of Moses was enacted in people's lives.  We see the rule from Leviticus 9:19 that farmers were to leave the grain in the corners of their fields for the poor. It also shows how an extended family unit was supposed to run.  There was a family chief who had the responsibility to take care of any woman who was widowed, or of anyone who was having financial problems. It was often the eldest son of the eldest son.  Later this role was called the Father of the Family, but here it is called "Near Kinsman." Below that person, there were leaders of smaller family units.  In this story Boaz was not the highest "kinsman" in charge of taking care of the widow, Naomi, but he was a second tier "kinsman," so that is why he had to check with the chief kinsman to see if it was OK to marry Ruth. This family structure is a reason why it would not be odd for a Jew to call Jesus both a father and a son.  He was the Son of God, but had the role of Father of the family, or the eldest brother who was in charge of redeming other family members. 

Story Line.

The story is about how Ruth becomes converted, but it is also a story about how Naomi leaves home, becomes bereft, returns to home, and is redemed.  It is also, I think, a romance.  Even though Boaz was older, he seems to have really fallen for Ruth as soon as he saw her.  It is cute when she proposes to him, that he is so pleased that a young beautiful woman would choose him over  a younger man.  But why not?  He was very nice to Ruth, and she knew she could trust him to treat her right.  When Boaz marries Ruth, Naomi's future is secured.  She takes up the role of nursemaid to her grandchildren, and is called blessed. 

Samson

 I am so grateful for perspectives I have gained this year reading through the Old Testament, especially concerning Judges.  In previous times I have read through Judges, I wondered why these characters were considered Bible heroes, when they were not really very righteous or even moral.  This time, through, I have come to realize that they are not supposed to be heroes, they are supposed to be examples of what happens when people don't keep their covenants.  My favorite podcast about this this week was Talking Scriptures with Mike Day and Bryce Dunford. Bryce points out that each of the "judges" were actually clan leaders who were called upon to save different houses of Israel when they were in captivity. Each of them were in some way non-standard, showing that Israel, though still God's covenant people, were not living up to their covenants.  Ehud was non-standard because he was a Benjaminite (Benjamin means son of the right hand) who was left-handed.  Deborah was non-standard because she was a woman leading an army in a male dominated society. Jephthah makes a rash vow, and ends of sacrificing his daughter.  The best example of being a righteous judge is Gideon, but even he inadvertantly starts a idolitrous cult in the end.  The worst example of a covenant keeping was Samson. 

So what are we to think of Samson?  He starts out like other great Israelite leaders, in that he has a miraculous birth foretold by an angel, and is designated a Nazarite from birth. When he becomes an adult he has super-human strength, but uses it for his own gain and systematically breaks all the Nazarite vows.  Nazarites are not supposed to touch anything that is dead, but Samson scoops honey from a dead lion's carcus and eats it.  Nazarites are not supposed to drink wine, but when Samson is to marry the daughter of a Philistine he throws a drinking party (Judges 14:10, the word is translated "feast" but suggests a drinking party). The last vow of a Nazarite is that he not cut his hair.  When he has an affair with Delilah he tells her about his hair and she cuts it while he sleeps.  This leads to his capture, blindness, and death. 

As with the stories of the Pentateuch, the most useful question to ask is not if they happened the way they were written, but why they were  written that way.  I believe the story of Samson is a commentary on the fall of the House of Israel. Like Samson, Israel is "born" miraculously by being lead through the Red Sea.  Like him, they make a covenant, the ten commandments, early on in their history. Then as they reach their maturity by crossing into the promised land, they begin to break each one of their covenants. They break the first three commandments by worshiping other Gods and forgetting the Lord.  As they do, bad things befall them.  They, too, fall into captivity, are blinded to the knowledge of the true god, and are often destroyed by their enemies. 

Yet there is a hopeful side to the story of Samson, too.  Even though Samson breaks all of his covenants, whenever he remembers to call on God for help, the Lord sends help.  That is the message of the whole book of Judges. Even though Israel has turned from God and broken their covenants, whenever they are in captivity and need help, God sends a deliverer, however imperfect, to help them.