The Kings of Israel

In this season premiere, King David wages a fierce battle for Yerushalayim—Jerusalem, the Holy City—as he steadily extends his reign over all of Israel and receives a divine promise that his royal line will endure forever. The Kings of Israel, seen through the eyes of the tradition that remembers them.

In this episode, David rises towards the kingship over all Israel. But in that rise, he is faced with the saga of the last remaining son of King Shaul, Ish Boshes, who is set up by Avner Ben Ner, Shaul’s formidable general, as the heir to Shaul’s throne. The nobility of David at this time is awe-inspiring. The Kings of Israel, through the eyes of the tradition that remembers them.

In this episode, the epic and tragic struggle between David and Shaul Inside (Saul) for the kingship over Israel comes to its dramatic denouement, as does the bosom friendship between David and Yehonasan (Jonathan). It is in this very climax that the greatness of the old and new king come to the fore. The Kings of Israel, through the eyes of the tradition that remembers them.

In this episode, we witness the power of an evil tongue and a jealous heart of Shaul’s advisor Doeg, as David flees from Shaul first to the town of Nov, the city of the Cohanim, and then into the realm of the dreaded Plishtim (the Philistines) themselves, relying on Divine help to protect him from King Shaul. The Kings of Israel, through the eyes of the tradition that remembers them. contact us at: [email protected]

In this episode of the Kings of Israel, we see the Divine presence departing from King Shaul and causing him great pain while his envy and anger at David’s rising star increases, to the point of murder. And we see within his own family the power of his deep friendship with Shaul’s son Yonatan and the love of Shaul’s daughter Michal for her husband David. The drama deepens. 

In this episode we are introduced to one of the central figures of the Kings of Israel and indeed the progenitor of King Shlomo and all the Kings of Judah and from whose line as Moshe Rabbeinu prophesizes and as the Almighty promised David, rulership shall never depart.  We see David picked as an unlikely and unexpected choice among his many brothers.  And most dramatically, we see him in battle -- in one of the greatest wartime dramas of all time -- against the Philistine giant Golyat, who in a twist of Divine irony comes from a parallel line of Moabites as David himself through Ruth. The showdown between David and Golyat sets the stage for David's rapid rise in King Shaul's entourage, and the ultimate showdown between those two first Kings of Israel.  Write us at [email protected].  

In this episode we are introduced to one of the central figures of the Kings of Israel and indeed the progenitor of King Shlomo and all the Kings of Judah and from whose line as Moshe Rabbeinu prophesizes and as the Almighty promised David, rulership shall never depart.  We see David picked as an unlikely and unexpected choice among his many brothers.  And most dramatically, we see him in battle -- in one of the greatest wartime dramas of all time -- against the Philistine giant Golyat, who in a twist of Divine irony comes from a parallel line of Moabites as David himself through Ruth. The showdown between David and Golyat sets the stage for David's rapid rise in King Shaul's entourage, and the ultimate showdown between those two first Kings of Israel. The Kings of Israel, through the eyes of the tradition that remembers them. Write us at ⁠[email protected]⁠ and support us at thekingsofisraelpod.

This episode begins with the first King of Israel, King Shaul, in an existential fight against the coast-dwelling and sea-going Philistines (Plishtim). In engaging in this desperate and apparently hopeless battle, Shaul grapples with the proper way to relate to prophesy, in this case the prophesy of Shmuel. He also grapples with the proper way to respond to the people's will, the demos in Greek, a forerunner of the tension between leadership and the popular will. The Kings of Israel, through the eyes of the tradition that remembers them. Write us at [email protected] and support us at thekingsofisraelpod.