And King Saul's wife, Ahinoam, seduces David.
Yeah...
Any people of faith who viewed the first episode and expected an uplifting, biblical show should have known better. And all of us who continued watching to the second episode, you have no excuse. That includes me.
I was repulsed by the depiction of Ahinoam seducing David—not that it was graphic, in fact, nothing is shown at all, except them kissing and then it skips ahead to him walking out of the chamber tightening his belt. It is depicted through suggestion. —But the idea that David would sleep with King Saul's wife and queen was revolting, adulterous, and a defiance of Torah. (Not that those factors stopped King David from sleeping with Bathsheba later on...)
How could David, who is depicted in the bible as the loyal yet mistreated servant of Saul (even as Saul undergoes a manhunt for him to kill him), break faith with the king and do such a thing? Why is Hollywood so stupid?
Or are they?
As I did research, I found out that the idea of a relationship between David and Ahinoam, while not explicitly stated in the text, is a possibility of interpretation and further shows the writer's engagement with the text.
There are seven mentions of Ahinoam in the Tanak. These seven mentions either refer to one woman named Ahinoam or to two. Ahinoam is called the wife of Saul once and then all of the following six times she is called David's wife. Let us look at these instances.
The first mention of Ahinoam—and the only reference to her as Saul's wife—is in 1 Samuel 14:50 amidst a brief section on Saul's genealogy and family. It states, "And the name of the woman(wife) of Saul [was] Ahino'am daughter of Ahima'az" (וְשֵׁם אֵשֶׁת שָׁאוּל אֲחִינֹעַם בַּת־אֲחִימָעַץ). Here, Ahinoam is called the daughter of a certain Ahima'az and Saul's wife. There are no mentions of any other wives of Saul, so Ahinoam may have been his only wife. (He also had a concubine named Rizpah, whom we will at another time.)
The second mention of Ahinoam is in 1 Samuel 25:43, after the story of Nabal. Nabal, whose name means "fool," was being protected by David while he was hiding from Saul and undergoing guerilla raids of neighboring areas. David was a cross between an rebel insurgent and a guerilla vigilante—not that those are too different! David had protected Nabal's flocks from others and yet Nabal gives David no indication of respect or reward in return. So David sets out with his three hundred armed men to teach Nabal a lesson. En route, Nabal's wife, Abigail, goes out to David and offers him clothing and food. David relents from his plan and returns to his hiding place. Then the text mentions that Nabal died. Upon Nabal's death, David comes and swoops Abigail into his arms and makes her his wife. "And Abigail hasted and she rose and she rode upon the donkey—and five of her lasses who went with her. And she went after the messengers of David—and she was to him as a woman(wife)" (וַתְּמַהֵ֞ר וַתָּ֣קָם אֲבִיגַ֗יִל וַתִּרְכַּב֙ עַֽל־הַחֲמֹ֔ור וְחָמֵשׁ֙ נַעֲרֹתֶ֔יהָ הַהֹלְכֹ֖ות לְרַגְלָ֑הּ וַתֵּ֗לֶךְ אַֽחֲרֵי֙ מַלְאֲכֵ֣י דָוִ֔ד וַתְּהִי־לֹ֖ו לְאִשָּֽׁה׃). Abigail becomes David's second wife, the first who was Mikal.
The next verse says, "And Ahinoam David took from Jezreel—indeed, the two of them were to him as women(wives)" (וְאֶת־אֲחִינֹ֛עַם לָקַ֥ח דָּוִ֖ד מִֽיִּזְרְעֶ֑אל וַתִּהְיֶ֛יןָ גַּֽם־שְׁתֵּיהֶ֥ן לֹ֖ו לְנָשִֽׁים׃ ס). Here we learn that after Abigail, David "takes" Ahinoam as his wife from the city of Jezreel.
Interestingly, the next verse shows retaliatory action upon King Saul's part. Saul takes David's first wife, Mikal, and give her to another. "And Saul gave Miykal his daughter, the woman(wife) of David, to Palti, the son of Layish who [is] from Gallim [Springs]" (וְשָׁא֗וּל נָתַ֛ן אֶת־מִיכַ֥ל בִּתֹּ֖ו אֵ֣שֶׁת דָּוִ֑ד לְפַלְטִ֥י בֶן־לַ֖יִשׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר מִגַּלִּֽים׃). For whatever reason, Saul gives David's first wife Mikal to another man. What a jerk! I find it interesting that this event takes place immediately following David's taking of Ahinoam—whose name also happens to be the name of Saul's wife. Could it possibly be that David took Saul's wife as his own and so Saul, in retaliation, gave his daughter to another man?
Every following mention of Ahinoam in the bible is as David's wife. 1 Samuel 27:3 "And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, [even] David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's wife."
1 Samuel 30:5 "And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite." (David goes to rescue them, by the way.)
2 Samuel 2:2 "So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail Nabal's wife the Carmelite."
2 Samuel 3:2 "And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess..." - here, Ahinoam mothers David's son Amnon
And finally, 1 Chronicles 3:1, which is a retelling of all that happened in the books of Samuel and Kings: "Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron; the firstborn Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess"
Every mention Ahinoam as David's wife is in reference to the city of Jezreel, apparently where she was born. The King James translates this as "Jezreelitess," that is, a woman of Jezreel. It could be that the biblical writer was seeking to distinguish the two Ahinoams—Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz, Saul's wife, vs. Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, whom David took.
But is there any evidence that there was only one Ahinoam—Saul's queen, whom David took?
Yes.
While David is hiding from King Saul, Saul rages at his son Jonathan/Yonatan for supporting David. Saul yells at his son: "Son of a perverted, rebellious woman! Did not I know that you had chosen the son of Jesse to your shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness!" 1 Samuel 20:30 (בֶּֽן־נַעֲוַ֖ת הַמַּרְדּ֑וּת הֲלֹ֣וא יָדַ֗עְתִּי כִּֽי־בֹחֵ֤ר אַתָּה֙ לְבֶן־יִשַׁ֔י לְבָ֨שְׁתְּךָ֔ וּלְבֹ֖שֶׁת עֶרְוַ֥ת אִמֶּֽךָ׃). It is not perfectly clear what Saul is referring to, but it seems that some sexual sin is the point. The fact that he calls his wife "perverted" and the reference to his mother's "nakedness" (which is a euphemism for the pudenda, or female genitalia) seems to indicate that Ahinoam may have been promiscuous, which could refer to a liason between her and David. Saul is obviously angry that Yonatan is in league with the rogue David and that he "chose" him over his own father. Alternately, this verse could have Saul angry at his son for engaging in a potential homoerotic relationship with David (whether it actually happened or Saul thinks it did). The first line can read, "Son of perverted rebelliousness!" in the abstract, in which case Saul is calling Yonatan perverted for shamefully "choosing" David and thereby violating his mother's nakedness, that is, the means by which Yonatan entered the world. This verse can be read as a reference to Ahinoam's adultery, Yonatan's (alleged) homosexual relationship with David, or Yonatan's political support of David instead of his father. All three are possible interpretations.
Another point that may support David's taking Saul's wife is a statement that the prophet Nathan makes to the now-King David after he commits adultery with Bathsheba. Nathan tells King David that God has given King Saul's house and wives into his possession: "And I gave to you the house of your master and the women(wives) of your master into your bosom—and I gave to you the house of Yisra'el and Y'hudah. And if that [had been too] little, I [would have] added to you such and such things" (2 Samuel 12:8 וָאֶתְּנָ֨ה לְךָ֜ אֶת־בֵּ֣ית אֲדֹנֶ֗יךָ וְאֶת־נְשֵׁ֤י אֲדֹנֶ֨יךָ֙ בְּחֵיקֶ֔ךָ וָאֶתְּנָ֣ה לְךָ֔ אֶת־בֵּ֥ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וִֽיהוּדָ֑ה וְאִ֨ם־מְעָ֔ט וְאֹסִ֥פָה לְּךָ֖ כָּהֵ֥נָּה וְכָהֵֽנָּה׃). Nathan tells David that God gave David everything he wanted—the king's house, the king's harem, and the kingdoms of Yisra'el and Y'hudah, and if that wasn't enough, he would have provided more. It is interesting the reference to "thy master's wives" because, when David was enthroned after Saul's death, there is no mention of David taking Saul's harem. We are left with the possibility that David preemptively took Saul's wife before his death.
The Jewish Women's Archive states that David's taking of Queen Ahinoam was a political statement to the effect that Saul was in decline. "[The scholars] Levenson and Halpern argue that David’s marriage to Ahinoam constituted a claim to Saul’s throne (see Absalom’s actions in 2 Sam 16:22). Perhaps David, like other kings who appropriated the harems of their predecessors or rivals, strengthened his claim to the throne in this way." Since God had already spurned Saul and chose David, David's action may have been a symbolic enactment of that divine choice. Saul was on the way out, so this adultery can be justified.
But can it really? The sins recorded in the bible do not make God or the Bible sinful—the bible simply describes what people do. Adultery was still sinful, but David went ahead and committed it with Bathsheba, so it is not inconceivable that David took Queen Ahinoam.
But this is all speculation. What it shows, however, is that the makers of Of Kings and Prophets are thoughtfully engaging the biblical text, even if it, unfortunately, goes against our tastes and values.
Sources:
Levenson, John D., and Baruch Halpern. “The Political Import of David’s Marriages.” Journal of Biblical Literature 99 (1980): 507–18.
Schearing, Linda. "Ahinoam: Bible." Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. 1 March 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on March 24, 2016)
