Living without Justice. Loren R. Fisher
his holy mountain. / Let me recite the decree of Yahweh. / He said to me, “You are my son . . .”’ Zion was our clue that we would be moving to Jerusalem and Mt. Zion. We did not think much about the fact that he claimed to be God’s son. After all, most of the heroes of old claimed to be part divine. In the covenant with the House of Saul that Sheva wrote for the second coronation, he mentioned again the decree and that David was God’s son, but he also spoke of the decree as being a conditional covenant by adding: ‘If your sons keep my covenant and my stipulations, they will sit upon your throne.’ This was also stated in great detail in Ahban’s psalm (Psalm 132), which was used when David brought the Ark of Yahweh to Jerusalem. Enough history. In David’s Last Words, he does not speak of a conditional covenant but rather an eternal covenant. Now we know that eternal covenants are not always eternal. In fact, Joab was given this land where we are now sitting in a royal land grant forever and forever. But that means nothing if Joab turns out to be a person of questionable behavior. Nevertheless, in David’s Last Words, the eternal covenant will be interpreted by his successors to be eternal regardless of their behavior.
“I have other complaints. David designates his words as an oracle. It seems to me that he has not only taken over the role of the prophet in that he claims that God speaks through him, but unlike the prophet who gives the oracle of Yahweh, he gives us the oracle of David. This is too much. He is also certain that if he is righteous and fears God, all will go well. He is repeating the false ideas found in The Story of the Ancient Job. The fact that Job II or The Rebel Job argued against these ideas is never even considered. Being righteous and fearing God does not mean that all will be well.”
Magon said, “The Last Words is a troublesome poem. He exalts himself and the kingship. I guess we can hope that his successor will not read it or rule according to it. It is one thing to be God’s shepherd and lead the people, but in this poem the king seems to act and speak as God, not for God but as God.”
“He sounds like a Pharaoh,” said Khety.
“Right,” said Sheva, “We will have to watch this with care, and especially when David gets close to the end of his reign.”
“I thought you all needed to know about this,” said father. “Now we should get back into our party mood, because I see that the lovers and friends have returned.”
9
The five younger children had a great afternoon. I do not know exactly what they did, but when it was time for our evening meal they were ready to sit and rest for a while.
Before we started eating, Khety stood up and said, “I want the children to know that I have a story for them. I will start the story at the end of our meal when we are served some of Pidray’s melon from Beth-shan. If I start it while we are eating the melon, the adults will be able to listen as well without having to admit they still like children’s stories.”
True to his word, Khety stood as the melon was served. He said, “This is a short story, but I am not going to tell it by memory. I will read it for two reasons: 1) the ending of this Egyptian story has been lost, and 2) I have a new translation of the Egyptian text into your language, and Naam, the translator, has written an ending for us. After you hear the story, you can, with Naam’s permission, suggest another ending. One other note: when Egyptian writers or storytellers mention an important person, place, or a God they follow the name with three words, ‘life, prosperity, health.’ As storytellers, we usually give you the first letter of each word. So, I will just say, ‘l.p.h.’ ”
I did not know that Khety was going to read this, but it sounded like fun. And Khety’s reading was always a treat. He had a different voice for every character. So he started:
The Enchanted Prince
Let it be known that there was once a king who did not have a son. After a while his Majesty, l.p.h., requested from the local gods a son for himself. They commanded that one should be born for him. During that night he slept with his wife, and yes, she became pregnant. After she completed her months for childbearing, a son was born, and the Hathors, those goddesses who determine the fate of newborns, came to appoint for him a fate. They said, “He will die by the crocodile, or the serpent, or even the dog.”
When the people who were with the child heard this, they repeated it to his Majesty, l.p.h. Then his Majesty, l.p.h., became very sad in his heart. So his Majesty, l.p.h., had a house of stone built for his son out in the desert, and he equipped it with people and with every good thing of the king’s palace, l.p.h. The child did not go outside anywhere.
After the child had grown older, he went up to the roof of his castle, and he saw a greyhound; it was following an old man who was walking on the road. He said to his servant, who was beside him, “What is that walking behind the old man who is coming on the road?”
He told him, “That is a greyhound.”
The child said to him, “Bring one just like it to me.”
Then the servant went to report it to his Majesty, l.p.h. His Majesty, l.p.h., said, “Bring for him a frisky puppy, because of the grieving of his heart.”
So they brought him the greyhound.
Now after many days had passed beyond this, the child was fully developed in all his body. He sent to his father saying, “For what purpose am I just sitting here? I am committed to the fate. So let me go. I will do according to my heart, and the God will do what is in his heart.”
Then they hitched up a chariot, equipped with many weapons. He was given his servant, and he was ferried across to the eastern land. He was told, “Go wherever your heart desires,” and his greyhound was with him. He went north into the desert, following his heart and living on the best of all the desert game.
Finally he reached the Prince of the land of Naharin. Now the Prince of the land of Naharin did not father any one except a daughter, an eligible wife, and he built a house for her; its window was far up, seventy cubits from the ground. Then he sent for all the sons of all the princes of the land of Khor, and he told them, “The one who reaches the window of my daughter, she shall be a wife for him.”
After many days had passed beyond this and the princes were doing their daily practice, the young man passed by them. They took the young man to their house. They bathed him; they gave feed to his team. They did everything for the young man: they anointed him, they bandaged his feet, they gave food to his servant, and they talked to him, planning to cause him to speak. “Where do you come from, you good-looking lad?”
He said to them, “I am the son of a chariot officer of the land of Egypt. My mother died, and my father took for himself another wife, a stepmother. She came to hate me, and I ran away, fleeing from her presence.” The princes embraced him, and they kissed his whole body.
After many days had passed beyond this, he said to the princes, “What is this that you are doing, O princes?”
They said to him, “For three months now, we have been here using this time to practice flying. For the one who reaches the window of the daughter of the Prince of the land of Naharin, he will give her to him for a wife.”
Then he said to them, “If I could enchant my feet, I would go flying with you.”
They went flying according to their daily practice, these princes.
Then the young man stood at a distance watching, and also the daughter of the Prince of the land of Naharin watched him.
Now after some time passed beyond this, the young man came to fly with the sons of the princes. He flew and he reached the window of the daughter of the Prince of the land of Naharin. She kissed him; she embraced his whole body.
Then someone went to take the good news to her father, and said to him, “Someone has reached the window of your daughter.”
So the Prince asked him saying, “A son of which of the princes?”
And one said to him, “He is a son of a chariot officer. He came fleeing from the land of Egypt and from the presence of his stepmother.”
Then