David's Helpers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When David was exiled to the stronghold to flee Saul, warriors from Israel's tribes gathered to him. 1 Chronicles 12:16-18 records his reception of men\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2016\/08\/davids-helpers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"David's Helpers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When David was exiled to the stronghold to flee Saul, warriors from Israel's tribes gathered to him. 1 Chronicles 12:16-18 records his reception of men\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2016\/08\/davids-helpers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Leithart\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Leithart\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-08-09T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Peter Leithart\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@PLeithart\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Peter Leithart\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2016\/08\/davids-helpers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2016\/08\/davids-helpers\/\",\"name\":\"David's Helpers\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-08-09T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-08-09T00:00:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/#\/schema\/person\/6bb7113e4dd45fe26045622aa56f891d\"},\"description\":\"When David was exiled to the stronghold to flee Saul, warriors from Israel's tribes gathered to him. 1 Chronicles 12:16-18 records his reception of men\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2016\/08\/davids-helpers\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2016\/08\/davids-helpers\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2016\/08\/davids-helpers\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"David’s Helpers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/\",\"name\":\"Leithart\",\"description\":\"My blog is a public notebook, featuring essays, notes, and explorations on Scripture, theology, literature, politics, culture.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/#\/schema\/person\/6bb7113e4dd45fe26045622aa56f891d\",\"name\":\"Peter Leithart\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1033df9cd7263d2e0408cf9ee92ee4d?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1033df9cd7263d2e0408cf9ee92ee4d?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Peter Leithart\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Leithart\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PLeithart\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/author\/pleithart\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"David's Helpers","description":"When David was exiled to the stronghold to flee Saul, warriors from Israel's tribes gathered to him. 1 Chronicles 12:16-18 records his reception of men","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2016\/08\/davids-helpers\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"David's Helpers","og_description":"When David was exiled to the stronghold to flee Saul, warriors from Israel's tribes gathered to him. 1 Chronicles 12:16-18 records his reception of men","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2016\/08\/davids-helpers\/","og_site_name":"Leithart","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Leithart\/","article_published_time":"2016-08-09T00:00:00+00:00","author":"Peter Leithart","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@PLeithart","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Peter Leithart","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2016\/08\/davids-helpers\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2016\/08\/davids-helpers\/","name":"David's Helpers","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-08-09T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2016-08-09T00:00:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/#\/schema\/person\/6bb7113e4dd45fe26045622aa56f891d"},"description":"When David was exiled to the stronghold to flee Saul, warriors from Israel's tribes gathered to him. 1 Chronicles 12:16-18 records his reception of men","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2016\/08\/davids-helpers\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2016\/08\/davids-helpers\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2016\/08\/davids-helpers\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"David’s Helpers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/","name":"Leithart","description":"My blog is a public notebook, featuring essays, notes, and explorations on Scripture, theology, literature, politics, culture.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/#\/schema\/person\/6bb7113e4dd45fe26045622aa56f891d","name":"Peter Leithart","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1033df9cd7263d2e0408cf9ee92ee4d?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1033df9cd7263d2e0408cf9ee92ee4d?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg","caption":"Peter Leithart"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Leithart\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/PLeithart"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/author\/pleithart\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3021"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18265\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":18265,"date":"2016-08-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-08-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leithart.level2d.com\/?p=43"},"modified":"2016-08-09T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-08-09T00:00:00","slug":"davids-helpers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2016\/08\/davids-helpers\/","title":{"rendered":"David’s Helpers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

W<\/span>hen David was exiled to the stronghold to flee Saul, warriors from Israel\u2019s tribes gathered to him. 1 Chronicles 12:16-18 records his reception of men from Judah and Benjamin. He greets with understandable suspicion; these are Saul\u2019s kinsman, after all. He asks if they have come in peace or to betray him. Clothed by the Spirit, Amasai assures David of their intentions.\n<\/p>\n

Verses 17-18 run in neat parallel:\n<\/p>\n

A. David<\/em> said:\n<\/p>\n

B. If you come in peace<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

C. to help<\/em>, my heart will be one with you.\n<\/p>\n

D. If you come to betray, God<\/em> judge between us.\n<\/p>\n

Amasai responds:\n<\/p>\n

A\u2019. We are yours, David<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n

B\u2019. Peace, peace, peace<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

C\u2019. to him who helps<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n

D\u2019. God helps<\/em> you!\n<\/p>\n

This answer seals the union. Since they come in peace, peace, peace to help, help, David\u2019s heart is knit to theirs. He is bone and flesh with Israel (11:1). Now, they are united not only in flesh but in heart.\n<\/p>\n

This scene exhibits what one scholar has called as \u201cpattern of camaraderie.\u201d Scott Hahn sums up the evidence (Kingdom of God as Liturgical Empire<\/a>, 48): \u201cAll that David accomplishes he does in consultation and cooperation with the people. The word used again and again is \u2018all\u2019 (kol<\/em>) \u2013 all Israel, all the assembly, all the people, all the rest of the people. Reference is made to the perfect sympathy of the people with David, their \u2018singleness of purpose\u2019 and \u2018single mind\u2019 (12:33, 38). . . . Longs lists are provided of the names of those who allied themselves with David. Joab is credited with the capture of Jerusalem; David\u2019s slaying of Goliath is overlooked while Elhanan\u2019s killing of Goliath\u2019s brother is mentioned (20:5). The people are not passive investors in David\u2019s fortunes; the kingdom is more than one man. The men around David are shown as making considered decisions of allegiance and self-sacrifice and impassioned oaths of loyalty; according to the Chronicler, they offer indispensable help to the king and his kingdom. The message to the Chronicler\u2019s audience is clear: their own zeal and devotion to rebuilding the kingdom will be remembered.\u201d Hahn points to the repeated use of \u2018etzer<\/em>, \u201chelp,\u201d which occurs seven times in 12:1-22 (12:1, 17, 18 (2x), 19, 21, 22; Japhet, I & II Chronicles<\/a>, 260).\n<\/p>\n

We can go further, guided by that flesh and bone reference, which alludes, as Hahn points out, to Genesis 2:23. David is not only the chief among a company of warriors. He functions as head of bride. The scene has nuptial as well as political and familial overtones (Hahn, 48). Hahn asks, \u201cCould the Chronicler be making a comparison between the union of Israel and its \u2018head\u2019? Do we see here an attempt to interpret the origins of the bridal imagery used by the prophets to describe Israel\u2019s relationship with God . . . ? Does David, as king, stand in the relationship of bridegroom to God\u2019s betrothed Israel?\u201d (49). Hahn\u2019s cautious Yes is the right answer, though too hedged. The nuptial dimension of kingship is already evident in the account of Saul\u2019s reign in 1 Samuel, and the use of etzer<\/em> itself points back to the need for Adam to have a helper.\n<\/p>\n

William Johnstone (1 & 2 Chronicles<\/a>, 150) notes the Chronicler\u2019s extensive use of chazaq<\/em>, \u201cto make strong.\u201d 15 of the 24 uses in the Hebrew Bible occur in Chronicles, usually to mean \u201cassume control, be confirmed, show resolve, grow in strength\u201d and usually used of kings (2 Chronicles 1:1; 12:13; etc.). In 11:10, though, a title verse that opens the roll of those who joined with David, the heads of the army \u201cassume control\u201d along with David. Kingship is a joint enterprise, David and his helpers, David and the helpers suitable to him.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"