“And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”
While King Saul increasingly feared and abhorred David, Saul’s son couldn’t have felt more differently toward David. Jonathan held David in deep esteem, a connection that led to an indelible bond/covenant between them. “The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David.” And Jonathan wasn’t the only one impressed by David. So were the king’s servants. “And David went out; whithersoever Saul sent him, he had good success; and Saul set him over the men of war; and it was good in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.” Abravanel points out an anomaly. Generally speaking, rivalry and jealousy mar a relationship between people who engage in the same profession or trade. So, while Saul’s staff should have resented Jesse’s son, seeing him as competition and unwelcomed intruder on their turf, they didn’t.
Abravanel elaborates on Jonathan’s admiration for David, sharing insights regarding different types of love people feel. To illustrate, sometimes youths become close friends. This type is, well, sophomoric, superficial. Other times, men form friendships in hopes of gaining something in return for camaraderie, say, hopes of climbing a corporate ladder and the like.
Not so was Jonathan’s love for David; it was altruistic. “Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.” What does it mean, Abravanel asks? There are two possibilities. One, Jonathan recognized something chiseled and noble about David’s essence, a powerhouse cut from a different cloth. Or maybe Jonathan felt a kinship with David, caring for David no differently than he cared for himself.
Jonathan understood that David, not he, was destined for kingship. “And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his apparel, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.” For Abravanel, Jonathan’s noblesse oblige served as an omen. In time, David would succeed King Saul and Jonathan sensed it intuitively.
As stated above, even King Saul’s top brass greatly respected David, as a gifted commander. Jonathan and Saul’s staff weren’t David’s only admirers. Ladies, too, took notice of David’s exploits, especially in defeating Goliath and the Philistines. Songs of praise and catchy tunes made the rounds – literally. “And the women sang one to another in their play, and said: Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” Predictably enough, all the attention lavished upon David vexed one man to no end. “And Saul was very wroth, and this saying displeased him; and he said: They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands; and all he lacks is the kingdom!”
Getting second billing to David was just too much for the king to handle. From that moment forward, David would be public enemy number one and the bane of the king’s existence. “And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.” The shepherd from Bethlehem, for Saul, became a marked man.