Thursday, February 14, 2013

Shaul's Three to David's Six


Shaul’s (Saul) army is always a number divisible by three (300,000 Israelites, 30,000 Judeans).  David’s is divisible by six (600 men.)  Shaul is listed as having one wife and three sons; David, upon his coronation, has two wives and six sons.  That David is always listed as having double what Shaul does seems to be a hint of David’s two-faceted monarchy, both military and spiritual, whereas Shaul’s was exclusively military.  The number three also appears repeatedly in Shoftim (the Book of Judges) hinting that Shaul was still connected to the anarchy of the past whereas David was able to make the break and become a divine monarch.

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