 |
| Anonymous, David Takes the Spear and Water Jar from the Sleeping Saul and Announces the Theft From Old Testament Miniatures French (Paris), c. 1244 - 1254 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 638, fol. 34r |
“In those days, Saul went down to the desert
of Ziph
with three thousand picked men of Israel,
to search for David in the desert of Ziph.
So David and Abishai went among Saul’s
soldiers by night
and found Saul lying asleep within the barricade,
with his spear thrust into the ground at his
head
and Abner and his men sleeping around him.
Abishai whispered to David:
“God has delivered your enemy into your
grasp this day.
Let me nail him to the ground with one
thrust of the spear;
I will not need a second thrust!”
But David said to Abishai, “Do not harm him,
for who can lay hands on the LORD’s anointed
and remain unpunished?”
So David took the spear and the water jug
from their place at Saul’s head,
and they got away without anyone’s seeing or
knowing or awakening.
All remained asleep, because the LORD had
put them into a deep slumber.
Going across to an opposite slope,
David stood on a remote hilltop
at a great distance from Abner, son of Ner,
and the troops.
He said: “Here is the king’s spear.
Let an attendant come over to get it.
The LORD will reward each man for his
justice and faithfulness.
Today, though the LORD delivered you into my
grasp,
I would not harm the LORD’s anointed.”
(First
Reading for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year)
February 24,
2019
Among the
heroes of the Old Testament none are greater than David, who went from shepherd
boy to giant killer to king’s son-in-law to king through the favor of God. Furthermore, for the Christian David is one
of a handful of figures from the Old Testament who can be considered as
forerunners of Jesus (Matthew 21:9; Mark 11:10). And, finally, the New Testament holds David
to be a blood ancestor of Christ (Matthew 1:6).
Consequently, interest in the life of David has been constant throughout
the history of European Christian art.
 |
| Master of Simon of St. Albans and Workshop, Jesse Tree From the Capucin Bible French (Champagne), c. 1170-1180 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 16746, fol. 7v Here David can clearly be seen as a crowned, seated, white bearded king, just above the sleeping figure of his father, Jesse. Above him are his son, Solomon, and above him, his remote descendents, the Virgin Mary and her Son, Jesus. Other family members sit on side branches of the main tree stem. |
However, not
all the stories that the Old Testament tells about David have been treated
equally over the centuries. By far the
most popular images of David have been those which tell the story of David and
Goliath. Perhaps it is the drama of imagining
a young boy, a shepherd equipped with only a stone and a slingshot, being able
to bring down a hulking giant warrior that has insured the appeal.
 | |
This story is closely followed by others, such as David the musician, David dancing before the Ark, David lusting after Bathsheba or lamenting over the death of his rebellious son, Absalom. |
 |
| David Playing the Harp From the Luttrell Psalter English (Lincoln), c. 1350-1400 London, British Library MS Additional 42130, fol. 13 |
Occasionally, one sees a picture of some
other aspect of David’s life, under the first king of Israel, Saul. Most often images focus on the dramatic
moment when King Saul, having almost adopted David after the battle with
Goliath, suddenly becomes overwhelmed by jealousy of David’s youth and multiple
abilities, and tries to kill him with his spear (1 Samuel 18:10-12).
 |
| Guercino, Saul Attacking David Italian, 1646 Rome, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica |
Only a few
pictures that I have been able to find illustrate the passage used in today’s
readings, where David and one of his companions, Abishai, sneak into Saul’s
camp and penetrate to the king’s tent, where they find Saul and his officers
sound asleep. Instead of taking
advantage of the situation to kill Saul on the spot, David restrains Abishai
and, to illustrate what he could have done, removes Saul’s water jar and spear,
presumably the same one which Saul had used to try to kill him. In the morning,
David calls the attention of Saul’s army to his deed and to his mercy, “though the LORD delivered you into my grasp,
I would not harm the LORD’s anointed”.
 |
| Anonymous, David Takes the Spear and Water Jar from the Sleeping Saul and Announces the Theft From Psalter-Hours of Ghuiluys de Boisleux French (Arras), c. 1243-1260 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 730, fo1. 66v |
By contrast
to some of the other scenes from the life of David that have entered the
western tradition as paintings or as sculpture, the scenes of David’s raid on
Saul’s tent and his subsequent revelation of the spear and water jar, occur
primarily, if not solely, to the realm of Biblical illustration. Initially, it appears in the form of
manuscript illuminations.
 |
| Anonymous, David Takes the Spear and Water Jar from the Sleeping Saul and Announces the Theft From Histoires bibliques French (Saint-Quentin), 1350 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 1753, fol. 79 |
 |
| Anonymous, David Takes the Spear and Water Jar from the Sleeping Saul and Announces the Theft From Toison d'or by Guillaume Fillastre French (Paris), 15th-16th Century Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 138, fol. 79v |
 |
| Bible Masters of the First Generation, David Takes the Spear and Water Jar from the Sleeping Saul From a History Bible Dutch (Utrecht), c. 1430 The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek MS 78 D 381, fol. 174v |
 |
| Jean Colombe and Workshop, David Takes the Spear and Water Jar from the Sleeping Saul From Hours of Anne of France French, 1473 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 677, fol. 264r |
It also appeared in at least one instance of decorative wall painting, such as the cycle of scenes from the life of David in the Ricci-Sacchetti palace in Rome.
 |
| Cecchino del Salviati, Scene from the Story of David, David Takes the Spear and Water Jar from the Sleeping Saul Italian, c. 1552-1554_ Rome, Palazzo Ricci-Sacchetti, Sala dell'Udienza Invernale |
Then, as
printing became the primary way in which Bibles were disseminated, it appears in
prints or in preparatory drawings for prints.
 |
| After Ambrosius Francken I (Published by Gerard de Jode), David Takes the Spear and Water Jar Flemish, c. 1579 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum |
 |
| Jean Theodore de Bry, David Sparing Saul French, c. 1600 Magny-les-Hameaux, Musée de Port-Royal des Champs |
 |
| Ottavio Semino, David Taking the Spear and Water Jar from the Sleeping Saul Italian, c. 1590-1600 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
 |
| Caspar Luyken, David Takes the Spear and Water Jar from the Sleeping Saul Dutch, 1708 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum |
Only in the middle of the nineteenth
century was I able to find the first independent paintings on canvas.
 |
| Leon Job, David Spares the Sleeping Saul French, 1849 Paris, École nationale superieure des Beaux-Arts |
 |
| Richard Dadd, Mercy--David Spareth Saul's Life English, 1854 Los Angeles , J.Paul Getty Museum |
I find it
interesting that there seems to have been so little interest in this specific
passage. For it is this act, or rather
the deliberate refusal to commit the sin of murder, that set David apart from
the men of his age, demonstrates that he has been chosen by God as the next
king, and continues to fashion David’s future as king of Israel, founder of a
line of kings and, ultimately, ancestor of the Son of God. And that is of far greater interest and value
than the story of a shepherd boy who slays a giant with a slingshot and a
stone.
©
M. Duffy, 2019
Excerpts from the Lectionary
for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second
typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of
Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights
reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without
permission in writing from the copyright owner.
No comments:
Post a Comment