I Kings 2: The Godfather

To the best experience possible reading chapter 2, one needs to play Nino Rota’s famous score for The Godfather in the background. With all the transitions in leadership in Tanach, there are actually only a handful of discussions between successor leaders. Moshe to Joshua is one and David to Shlomo is another. There is no other king to successor speech recorded in Tanach for the rest of the books of kings. We can glean certain aspects of David’s character from his lessons to Shlomo. David’s message to Shlomo comes in two parts. The first is the holy message. David instructs Shlomo to love and follow God, to keep God’s commandments, and to always stay true to God. The second part of David’s message is the human message. This part is the Godfather part where David instructs Shlomo to take care of all the people who have harmed or helped David during his reign. The style of this messaging is the perfect example of David’s life. It encapsulates that two worlds that David lived in and was known by- the world of the book of Psalms and the world of death and destruction. The same man that helped compose one of history’s greatest works of poetry and prayer was also the man who spend most of his life on the run- escaping Shaul, Yoav, Avshalom, Sheba, even Adonijah on his death bed. David’s charge to Shlomo also reveals David’s true feelings and another struggle that he had to deal with during his life. In his lifetime he let Yoav run all over him, on is death bed he could finally charge someone to get rid of the man that helped and undermined him his entire reign. When David fled Jerusalem, Shimi cursed him on the way out. Faced with such humiliation, he urged his followers to be calm. But on his deathbed, he lashed out, and revealed what he wanted to do years before. He instructed Shlomo to keep his promise but set a standard that would be impossible for Shimi to uphold. In fact, the story fast forwards and tells us that Shimi ends up being killed for refusing to follow the strict rules. Shlomo takes these instruction one step further. He also takes out Adonijah his rival brother after Adonijah tricks Batsheva into requesting Avishag as a wife. Shlomo also dealt with competing priestly families and finally completes the curse that God made through Samuel made against the house of Eli the Kohen. Shlomo dismisses Evyatar, Eli’s descendant, from the priesthood, and transfers it over to Tzadok. With all of David’s loose ends tied up nicely, Shlomo can start his reign with a clean slate and in peace.