13
votes
Accepted
Why did the Davidic dynasty need to come from questionable relations?
See the gemara in Yoma 22b.
This was orchestrated in order to ensure the longevity of his kingdom.
As Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak: One appoints a leader over the ...
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11
votes
Why didn't Shaul know who David was when David fought Goliath?
This is a question asked by many commentators, so your wife is in good company :)
I'll bring four of the above-mentioned commentators here:
Rashi (Samuel 1, 17, 55) (partial)
וכי לא היה מכירו ...
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11
votes
For those who hold that David sinned, how was he allowed to ever marry Bat Sheba?
The Gemara in Kesubos 9a asks that question and gives two answers 1) The woman only becomes forbidden (to her husband, and as a consequence also to the adulterer) if she willingly commits adultery. ...
- 7,322
10
votes
Source for how Agag had a child after being captured
Amalekites and magic:
The Amalekites' ability to change into animals is brought by Rashi on Shmuel 1:15:3 and the Rid on the same verse, and mentioned as a midrash in the Kitzur Ba'al Haturim's ...
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9
votes
Why did David choose to lay with a married woman when it seems so out of his character?
The Talmud (Avoda Zara 4b-5a) indeed acknowledges that the sin did not match his character and he was ensnared as a way to teach future generations a lesson about the power of repentance. (Similarly, ...
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9
votes
Accepted
Why does David refuse to kill Shimi b. Gera, but then later tell Shlomo to kill him?
Both Targums on Esther 2:5 identify The Shimei in Mordecai's lineage with Shimei Ben Gera. They state that David saw through a prophetic experience that Mordecai (and Esther according to the first ...
- 8,174
9
votes
Was it David's custom to go into battle without an armour?
I wrote an essay a couple of years ago that dealt, in part, with these questions.
The answer to your first question is: Yes and no. David's military uniform depended on which weapon he was using in ...
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8
votes
Why did King David request for Michal to be returned to him if she was remarried?
See Shabbos 13b with Rashi and Sanhedrin 19-20, Palti put a sword in their bed and never came close to her. He is praised more than Yosef and Boaz for his control.
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8
votes
David's sons were kohanim - Really?
Is there anywhere else in Tanach where "kohanim" does NOT mean priests?
1. Shoftim Ch. 17 - 18:
In the end of Shoftim the ben-Levi who served in Micha's place of worship is referred to as a Cohen ...
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8
votes
Accepted
Did King David Expose himself (nude) while dancing or was it just unfit for him in the eyes of Michal
The commentators (drawing on traditional sources) like Rashi and Metzudos, etc., explain that David put on a linen casual robe used by celebrants that would honor a religious event. He was covering ...
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8
votes
Difference between sins of Saul and sins of David?
David's sin was a personal matter, Saul's was national.
King Saul was personally commanded to eradicate Amalek. This was a national interest which was under his authority as king. When he sinned and ...
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8
votes
Why is Yiftach's sacrifice of his kin looked at so negatively, while Chana's "sacrifice" of kin so positively?
I admit that don't have a source for the following distinction.
But there's a logical distinction between the cases.
Shmuel was consecrated to Hashem.
Chana didn't abandon him, or "lock him up" ...
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7
votes
Accepted
Was Yoav considered a murderer regarding Uriah the Hittite?
Kiddushin 43a:
האומר לשלוחו צא הרוג את הנפש הוא חייב ושולחיו פטור שמאי הזקן אומר משום חגי הנביא שולחיו חייב שנא' (שמואל ב יב, ט) אותו הרגת בחרב בני עמון
One who says to his agent: "Go and ...
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7
votes
Accepted
Question about Shmuel 1:11:11 and Tehillim 83:8
The Radak makes your point in Divrei Hayamim to suggest that the Amonim are a different nation than the B'nei Amonim. In the story in Shmuel, they are referred to as Amonim throughout, not B'nei Amon, ...
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7
votes
Accepted
When was book of Shmuel written?
Abarbanel discusses this issue in his introduction to Sefer Yehoshua and concludes (my translation):
"And it seems that when Yirmiyahu wished to write Sefer Melachim, he clarified Sefer Shmuel ...
- 23.6k
6
votes
Accepted
How could King David do such a thing? he gave 7 of King Saul's descendants to be put to death? what was their sin?
Judaica Press on verse 6 cites Abravanel that these set of laws (which would forbid turning them over to be killed) only apply to human justice (and the court system). In this case, King David had ...
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6
votes
Accepted
Demon Possession in Judaism
Like many other beliefs, Judaism doesn't have a clear opinion on the matter, but individual Jews do. Rashi, for example, believed in demons and gives that explanation of ruah raah in Eruvin 45b s.v. ...
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6
votes
Did David held kashrut when invited to a meal?
I assume you're referring to this verse:
וּדְבַ֣שׁ וְחֶמְאָ֗ה וְצֹאן֙ וּשְׁפ֣וֹת בָּקָ֔ר הִגִּ֧ישׁוּ לְדָוִ֛ד וְלָעָ֥ם אֲשֶׁר-אִתּ֖וֹ לֶאֱכ֑וֹל כִּ֣י אָמְר֔וּ הָעָ֗ם רָעֵ֛ב וְעָיֵ֥ף וְצָמֵ֖א ...
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6
votes
Difference between sins of Saul and sins of David?
This question is addressed in the Responsa of the Sages of Provence # 71. Essentially the answer is that although David's sin was much more serious than Saul's, David immediately confessed when ...
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6
votes
Why did the Davidic dynasty need to come from questionable relations?
Good question.
(1) We each have two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, and the numbers keep growing exponentially in powers of two. So each one of us has A LOT of ancestors – ...
- 19.1k
6
votes
For those who claim that David didn't sin, why didn't he marry Bat Sheva right away?
Rabbeinu Tam seems to be the one who holds that a full, non-conditional, divorce was given before going out to war. Tosfos in Kesubos 9B explains that even so it was done in secret so that people ...
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6
votes
Accepted
How do we reconcile the 2 burial places of Rachel?
In Tosefta Sotah 11:7 the verses from Genesis and Samuel are discussed. It is concluded that the prophet Samuel meant that the group of prophets that Saul will meet are right now near the tomb of ...
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5
votes
Is David The eighth son or the seventh son?
Rashi in Divrei Hayamim 2:15 says that David was the seventh born and the count stopped at David and did not include his younger brother Elijah because David was the one anointed as king.
In Samuel ...
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5
votes
Which Abigail is this?
Yes. David also had a sister named Abigail/Avigayil (I Chronicles 2:15). That Abigail was Amasa's mother, making Amasa David's nephew.
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5
votes
How does an Orthodox Jew view Saul's suicide?
The Midrash Rabbah (Noach 34:13) says אך להביא את החונק עצמו, יכול כשאול, ת"ל אך--in other words, the prohibition of suicide does not apply in the case of King Saul. Although the Midrash does not ...
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5
votes
Were Prophets originally called "Seers"?
The earlier times discussed in the Passuk were the generation of Shemuel, not the days of the Torah. This is expressed clearly by Ri Kara here:
כשהוא אומר כי לנביא היום יקרא לפנים הרואה מה שהדור ...
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5
votes
How could Samuel sacrifice not in the central place with the Levites?
This episode took place after the destruction of Shiloh (as you mentioned in your question) but before the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem by King
Solomon. During this period, there was a ...
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5
votes
David's Idol: why did he have one?
The question is what does the word Terafim / תרפים mean and connote.
The Targum translates it as צלמניא or forms.
Rashi there writes:
את התרפים. עשויים בדמות גוף אדם
A manlike figure. Made ...
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5
votes
Accepted
How Could David Kill the Ger Amaleki Based on Halacha?
This exact question is asked by Malbim.
איך הרגו על פי הודאת עצמו ואין עדים והתראה
He provides three possible answers:
The fellow was not Jewish and just as other judicial conditions do not apply ...
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5
votes
Are there Answers for Objections to Saul's Reign Length?
You are correct that Seder Olam (the earliest work of Jewish chronology, presumed to date from the second century CE) does assign only two years to Saul's reign, and a number of later bible ...
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