Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 71:1 (NA 2020)
Article: Making A First Impression The Characterisation Of David And His Opening Words In 1 Samuel 17:25–31
Author: Benjamin J. M. Johnson

TynBull 71:1 (2020) p. 75

Making A First Impression
The Characterisation Of David And
His Opening Words In 1 Samuel 17:25–31

Benjamin J. M. Johnson

([email protected])

Summary

David is perhaps the most complex character in all of Scripture. He has been understood in many and various ways, from a backstabbing, ruthless warlord to a pious and poetic shepherd-king. One place we ought to probe when asking the question of David’s character is his first speech. It has been noted that in the Hebrew Bible first words are particularly important moments of characterisation. In the case of David, his first words look initially to emphasise his scheming and ambition. However, the present essay will take a closer look at David’s first words and argue that they present a more complex character than may first appear.

1. Introduction: Making A First Impression

As the old adage goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. John Wayne’s dramatic rifle-slinging entrance in John Ford’s 1939 classic film Stagecoach is frequently cited as launching his career. Before, he was a B-list Western actor. Afterwards, having been introduced to mainstream audiences, he went on to become one of the most iconic actors in cinema history. In other words, first impressions matter.

With the character of David we have multiple first impressions.1 We could consider his anointing (1 Sam. 16:1–13); we could consider his

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arrival in Saul’s court (1 Sam. 16:14–23); we could consider his entrance into the public world in his battle with Goliath (1 Sam. 17).2 In chapter 16 David says and does nothing. He does not function as a character in his own right. The first time he says or does anything is in the episode with Goliath, the Philistine giant. So, in many ways, this is the place where we truly get a first impression of David as a character.

What we intend to explore in this essay is one specific aspect of the literary characterisation of David in our first impression, namely his first spoken words. David’s first words have been understood to characterise him in various ways, as we will see below. Through sustained literary attention to his first words we intend to shed some light on this enigmatic moment of this enigmatic character and see how, just as John Wayne’s entrance into film in Stagecoach set the stage for h...