It could have ended differently.
How Saul envied David. Admire him he certainly did, but the more he admired, the more he envied.
How can I give up the kingship and pass it on? It goes against nature.
In the end, Saul fell upon his own sword. Whoever does not let go in time — his own traits will turn against him.
Today, in Nahal Michmash, with the Tanakh open in hand, we saw the hidden arc of the Book of Samuel.
We saw the alternative that could have been. How the affair between Saul and David could have ended in a smooth — perhaps even joyful — transfer of the crown.
We saw that the entire Book of Samuel gives Saul and David escape hatches, chances to end their story in cooperation instead of war.
Let us begin — the hidden arc of the Book of Samuel:
Already at the battle of David and Goliath there was an option for an orderly transfer of kingship from Saul to David. Saul prepares David for battle, and for one brief moment is willing to hand David his royal garments. A kind of pleasant, graceful passing of the baton.
But it did not succeed, owing to Saul’s envy of David’s success.
Then comes another attempt:
Michal, Saul’s daughter, will marry David. The shared child of David and Michal would one day be the heir apparent — a joint scion of the house of Saul and the house of David together. That way everyone would be satisfied: Saul’s grandson would be the designated king!
But this too did not succeed.
Because Michal was given to another man, followed by a harsh, ugly quarrel between Michal and David, this possibility collapsed as well, and the distance between David and Michal led to their having no children.
And here enters the third option for union. Jonathan, Saul’s son, is meant to be the future king. But in an unprecedented move he steps aside and says to David: you shall reign, and “I will be second to you.” In other words: dear David, soon Father will die, and when that happens, instead of fighting you over the crown, I am giving it to you as a gift, and I will be your number two!
What strength of soul you have, Jonathan!
Had the plan succeeded, we would have had a kingdom of Saul’s descendants and David’s descendants together.
But Jonathan died in the battle on Mount Gilboa, and this option too fell away.
And now there is one final chance:
Mephibosheth.
Jonathan’s small, wise son, Saul’s grandson, becomes David’s good friend and his closest study partner. David honors him and gives him a place in the king’s house.
Here, once again, is a possibility for a good, benevolent transition between the two leaderships.
But after Absalom’s rebellion, David grows angry at Mephibosheth, who had done no wrong, and strips him of his partnership in the kingship.
That is the point at which all the options for union collapsed.
And so the Sages, who noticed this, said:
“At the moment David said to Mephibosheth: you and Ziba shall divide the field, a heavenly voice went forth and said: Rehoboam and Jeroboam shall divide the kingdom” (Yalkut Shimoni 156).
That is, the moment David grew angry at Mephibosheth and stripped him of the partnership, the last chance of union between the descendants of Saul and David — between Rachel and Leah, between Judah and Israel — was cut off. At that very moment it was decreed that David’s kingdom would split and would not manage to unite the tribes over time. So the Sages were in effect saying that the kingdom of Israel split even before it began…
