The phrase "all the troubles of a man from a woman" is not an empty phrase … This concept has come into our life from the depths of centuries. And in this regard, it will be appropriate to recall the biblical story about Versavia and King David, who lived about three thousand years ago. Their legendary images formed the basis of Holy Scripture and many works of art, both chronicled and pictorial. What malicious sin did King David commit for the sake of his beloved and what did he pay for him until the end of his days further - in the review.
Bathsheba. Author: Karl Bryullov. / David playing the harp. Fragment. Author: N. P. Zagorsky.
Not a single person is written so much in the Old Testament, as many legends have been added and works of art have not been created - as about King David, the almighty ruler of Israel and Judah. During his long life, the Jewish king was whoever he was. Shepherd, hunted, fought. He composed poems and sang them to the accompaniment of a harp, and having become the anointed of God, ruled the united country for 33 years. The image of David is the image of the ideal ruler, from whose family, according to legend, the Messiah will come out.
David, XV century Author: Pedro Berruguete.
The best qualities of a brave warrior, a wise ruler, an ardent lover, a genius musician and poet on the one hand, and at the same time a cunning ruler, a criminal conspirator, an insidious tempter, on the other, attracted creators to his image in all eras.
David playing the harp.
It is worth noting that in the Old Testament David is described as a complex and powerful person endowed with contradictory features: “modest, but convinced of his great calling, gentle and cruel, shepherd and warrior, poet-psalmist and diplomat, harper and commander, subject to passions and a sinner and a deeply religious righteous person, devoted to God and sincerely repenting of his sins."
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How a young shepherd became a hero
David and Saul. (1878). Author: Ernst Josefson.
So David was the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse of Bethlehem. He got to the court of King Saul thanks to his heroic deed in the battle with Goliath, and even thanks to the talent of a musician and poet.
David and Goliath. (1888). Author: Osmar Schindler.
The legend describes the story of the battle of a very young David with a giant in this way. When the troops of Saul and the Philistines met on the battlefield, it was agreed to decide the fate of the battle in a duel. However, none of the Israelis dared to go into battle with Goliath, a warrior of enormous stature, dressed up to the teeth in metal armor. Only young David volunteered to take the fight. Without armor and a sword, with only one sling, he struck the giant with a stone right in the forehead, and then cut off his head with his own sword. The battle was decided, and the Philistines fled in disgrace.
David and the head of Goliath. Author: Caravaggio.
Feats and victories in battles with the Philistines brought David nationwide popularity, the post of military leader and the honor of becoming the king's son-in-law - the husband of his daughter. The young warrior was brave and courageous. In addition, he divinely played the harp, composed and sang songs, for which he won the popular love and respect of King Saul himself.
David playing the harp in front of Saul and Michal. Author: Plyusnin N. M.
However, over time, the king began to fear the young man, suspecting him of wanting to seize the throne, and after rumors reached him about the Prophet Samuel's dissatisfaction with his behavior and about the secret anointing of young David to the kingdom, he decided to get rid of him by any means.
Saul attacking David. Author: Giovanni Guercino.
Sending a brave warrior to the battlefields, he secretly hoped for his death. And once, with his own hand, he tried to pierce him with a spear, and then completely openly ordered his subordinates to kill his son-in-law. But here, too, luck was on the side of David, he managed to escape. By the way, the royal daughter of Michal, the wife of David, who at first disliked him for her simple origin, eventually began to idolize him and with all her heart fell in love with her young husband. She and Saul's eldest son Jonathan helped the daredevil who was sentenced to death to escape.
Escape of David through the window. Engraving. Author: Gustave Dore.
Saul's attempt to catch up with the fugitive forced him to seek refuge with his neighbors - Israel's enemies. David slyly and deftly maneuvered between the two warring parties. To the Philistine ruler, he promised raids on the Israelites with his detachment of 600 soldiers, but in reality he attacked only nomads hostile to the Israelites, leaving no witnesses. In addition, he bribed the elders of Judea with the captured booty in order to enlist their support in the future.
Saul, hearing about David's stay in Keilah, began a merciless pursuit of his opponent for many years. However, he again and again eluded him, while David twice had the opportunity to kill the king, the anointed of God, but he did not use it so as not to suffer punishment for this.
Death of Saul and his son. (1848). Author: Elie Marcuse.
Meanwhile, the Philistines begin a new war against the Israelites, they suffer one defeat after another, and in the battle at Gilboa, King Saul perishes along with his son Jonathan. And David and his followers went to Hebron, where he would be proclaimed king of Judah. He dreams of uniting all the tribes of Israel and creating a single state. However, this happened after eight years of his reign.
David dances in front of the Ark of the Covenant. Author: F. Leighton.
David brings to Jerusalem the Ark of the Covenant, the main Jewish shrine, thus making this city a symbol of the unity of the nation for millennia, its eternal capital.
How the anointed of God sinned and how he atoned for his guilt
On the way to the pinnacle of power, David had to endure a lot and endure both from King Saul and other enemies, but his heart did not harden and did not become embittered, since he placed all hope in God, and the Lord delivered him from all enemies. And if when he had to take sins on his soul, then he "repented of them to the depths of his heart, washed his bed with tears at night, and after that he became even better and loved God even more."
Bathsheba at the fountain. (circa 1635) Author: Peter Paul Rubens.
However, he happened to fall once into a great sin because of a woman, an unusually beautiful woman. In the prime of his powers, at the height of his power, he committed a grave sin - he “passionately desired” and seduced the wife of one of his military leaders, Uriah the Hatteyan.
Bathsheba. (1889) Author: Jean-Leon Gerome.
Once, walking on the roof of his palace, the king saw a young woman of divine beauty. And he could not stifle the sinful desire to possess her. He seduced the beautiful Bathsheba, and upon learning that she was married to his commander, he decided at any cost to get her as his wife. The unbridled passion of the king for a beautiful woman was so great. And the ruler gives a secret order so that Bathsheba's husband does not return home from the battlefield. Which was done unconditionally. And although at that time David already had a large harem, Bathsheba became his beloved wife until the end of his days.
Bathsheba. (1654). Author: V. Drost.
It was then that an event occurred that became a parable for centuries. At the command of the Lord, the prophet Nathan came to King David and began to tell the story of how “two people lived in one village: a rich and a poor. The rich man had a lot of small and large livestock, and the poor man had nothing but one sheep, which he bought a small one and raised it with his children; she ate, drank, slept with him and was like a daughter to him. But a wanderer came to a rich man. To treat the wanderer, the rich man took pity on his sheep and oxen, and took the lamb from the poor man and killed it for his guest …
And then David, angry, interrupted the interlocutor and exclaimed: “I swear to God! The person who did this is worthy of death, but for the lamb he must pay four times, for the fact that he did it and had no compassion."
Nathan accuses David of sin. Author: Angelica Kaufman.
To which Nathan replied to David: “This man is you. Thus says the Lord God: I anointed you to be king over Israel, I delivered you from the hand of Saul, why did you neglect the word of the Lord? You took the wife of Uriah, and you killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. For this the sword will not depart from your house. I will raise up evil on you from your house."
And then David realized that he had condemned himself to death, and said to Nathan: “I have sinned before the Lord,” and in response he heard: “The Lord has taken away your sin from you; you will not die, but the firstborn son born to you will die. And the prophet predicted severe trials by wars for the king, which, incidentally, happened in the near future.
Crushing David. Engraving. Author: Julius von Karolsfeld.
David had to pay with his son's life for his sin. Then another misfortune had to be experienced by David through the fault of Amnon's second son, who raped his half-sister Tamar. However, the king did not punish the rapist; his other beloved son, Absalom, did it for him. Outraged by the impunity of his brother, he kills him for the honor of his sister.
Death of Absalom. (1860) Engraving. Author: Julius von Karolsfeld.
By the way, Absalom would later raise a rebellion against his father. And his life will also end tragically. A handsome man with long blond curly hair, he will die during the battle, entangled in the branches of a tree. David grieved the death of this son too.
And another son of King David, Adonijah, almost betrayed his father, deciding to ascend the throne. However, the wise Bathsheba took from David a promise to anoint their son Solomon, who was intelligent, calm and faithful, for the kingdom. David made and kept his promise to Bathsheba, and Solomon became the third king of Israel and Judah.
King David hands over the scepter to Solomon. Author: Cornelis de Vos.
In art, the image of the great king was reflected in all the diversity of the contradictory character and actions of David. He has inspired many artists and sculptors from different eras.
