04-05-2025, 04:08 PM
We are pretty sure David studied the Torah on a regular basis. It's hard to imagine he would not have kept the law, in particular the passage in Deuteronomy 17:14-20.
We could be sure David carried out this command, by copying this section of the Torah in his own hand to read daily. Near as we can tell, this command did not refer to the whole Torah, as that would have taken a couple of years and a lot of scrolls for a non-scribe, but copying this passage is not so far fetched. It's fairly simple with four rules: No stable of horses (chariots), no tolerance for any talk of returning to Egypt, no harem, and avoid accumulating silver and gold. To keep it fresh, read it daily (procedural matter, not a rule).
It takes knowing the broader context to figure out where to draw actual limits on three of those rules. The issue with horses is actually tied to returning to Egypt, since up through the Conquest, the only place to get horses was Egypt. The real issue wasn't the king having a chariot, but of having commerce with Egypt so soon after the Exodus. It would be a trap.
There is actually no numerical cap on how many wives any Israeli man could marry, so that wasn't the real issue. The business of not accumulating wives had to do primarily with marrying foreign wives to form political alliances. This passage is not too far from where Moses also reminds the people not to marry outside the Covenant (Deuteronomy 7:3-4). Thus, the real problem was the risk of a foreign wife remaining pagan and tempting the king to idolatry.
The issue of precious metals is not about material wealth in itself, but the way silver and gold as a means of exchange provide the temptation for receiving bribes, internal or external. Kings would be expected to have their own agricultural enterprises, animal husbandry in particular. But when people exchange these things, it's quite open and obvious to everyone. Gold and silver could be exchanged in secret. It's the business of petty bribes that destroys justice. The prohibition is that the king should avoid seeking to build a private treasury; a royal treasury to fund government business was necessary.
Notice something: Solomon broke all of these rules. He began doing business with Egypt, started importing horses and chariots, and collected such a large harem that we can scarcely believe it today. And for sure, we are told his wives did sucker him into idolatry -- 1 Kings 11.
Quote:When you come to the land the LORD your God is giving you and take it over and live in it and then say, "I will select a king like all the nations surrounding me," you must select without fail a king whom the LORD your God chooses. From among your fellow citizens you must appoint a king -- you may not designate a foreigner who is not one of your fellow Israelites. Moreover, he must not accumulate horses for himself or allow the people to return to Egypt to do so, for the LORD has said you must never again return that way. Furthermore, he must not marry many wives lest his affections turn aside, and he must not accumulate much silver and gold. When he sits on his royal throne he must make a copy of this law on a scroll given to him by the Levitical priests. It must be with him constantly and he must read it as long as he lives, so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and observe all the words of this law and these statutes and carry them out. Then he will not exalt himself above his fellow citizens or turn from the commandments to the right or left, and he and his descendants will enjoy many years ruling over his kingdom in Israel.
We could be sure David carried out this command, by copying this section of the Torah in his own hand to read daily. Near as we can tell, this command did not refer to the whole Torah, as that would have taken a couple of years and a lot of scrolls for a non-scribe, but copying this passage is not so far fetched. It's fairly simple with four rules: No stable of horses (chariots), no tolerance for any talk of returning to Egypt, no harem, and avoid accumulating silver and gold. To keep it fresh, read it daily (procedural matter, not a rule).
It takes knowing the broader context to figure out where to draw actual limits on three of those rules. The issue with horses is actually tied to returning to Egypt, since up through the Conquest, the only place to get horses was Egypt. The real issue wasn't the king having a chariot, but of having commerce with Egypt so soon after the Exodus. It would be a trap.
There is actually no numerical cap on how many wives any Israeli man could marry, so that wasn't the real issue. The business of not accumulating wives had to do primarily with marrying foreign wives to form political alliances. This passage is not too far from where Moses also reminds the people not to marry outside the Covenant (Deuteronomy 7:3-4). Thus, the real problem was the risk of a foreign wife remaining pagan and tempting the king to idolatry.
The issue of precious metals is not about material wealth in itself, but the way silver and gold as a means of exchange provide the temptation for receiving bribes, internal or external. Kings would be expected to have their own agricultural enterprises, animal husbandry in particular. But when people exchange these things, it's quite open and obvious to everyone. Gold and silver could be exchanged in secret. It's the business of petty bribes that destroys justice. The prohibition is that the king should avoid seeking to build a private treasury; a royal treasury to fund government business was necessary.
Notice something: Solomon broke all of these rules. He began doing business with Egypt, started importing horses and chariots, and collected such a large harem that we can scarcely believe it today. And for sure, we are told his wives did sucker him into idolatry -- 1 Kings 11.