“The prosecution wishes to call David to the witness stand!” Yiftach announced ceremoniously.
“Arrogant, and a jerk…” Love whispered to herself.
“Did you say something?” Judge Kedem inquired.
“That’ll work!”
“What?”
“My thumb hurts by some quirk,” he waved his hand at her.
“Oh…” Kedem said, still looking confused.
While this dialogue was unfolding, the audience in the courtroom focused their eyes on the main door. A fine-looking man with red hair and beautiful eyes entered the hall. He walked towards the witness stand with a straight back and sure steps, as the audience followed his every move.
“My talented friend…” Doctor Kena whispered to Weissman, “this is becoming more interesting from one moment to the next and from one witness to the next. Well done!”
Yiftach approached the man who stood behind the witness stand like a tall, upright cypress tree. “Sir, could you please introduce yourself?”
“David,” he answered disdainfully, intentionally sparing words.
“David who?”
“Aah… David the King. King David,” his voice remained mocking.
“Sir, could you please expand on that? Tell us who you are.”
“Why expand? What’s to tell? Let’s begin so that we can also end this. I must rush back to my royal duties. I have a sinking feeling that we will be forced to fight the Philistines in the Valley of Rephaim.”
Weissman turned to Golan and whispered, “What year does he think he’s living in?”
“Around 1000 BC,” Golan answered and shook himself like amammoth shaking off a fly. Sabat felt a strong revulsion towards the impressive witness, which most likely stemmed from his feeling that David’s persona was overshadowing him. Now, in this very hall and within his innermost citadel, Sabat felt that he was no longer the sole ruler.
Yiftach began his questioning. “The unfortunate event, in regard to which you have been summoned to testify here today, begins with the action you took of sending your army, led by Yoav Ben Tzeruya, to conquer Ammon. As everyone knows, you decide that you yourself will not go into battle and you remain in Jerusalem.”
“Look here, young fellow, don’t you start with that too. Such criticism is nothing more than childish ignorance.” Despite his desire to display indifference, the king was focused and sharp.
“What criticism? I haven’t said anything yet…”
“Don’t play the innocent, young fellow. You are criticizing a king for not having joined his soldiers in battle.” The king remained aloof and authoritative, indifferent and imperial. “When you grow up, you will understand that life isn’t black and white, and that a king must make difficult, official decisions while, at the same time, exercising broad judgment.”
“How is that related to the matter at hand?”
“It’s related! There are advantages and disadvantages for a king to join his soldiers on the battlefield and he must find the delicate balance between the two. Think about it. The advantages, for instance, are that he provides important moral support to the soldiers and is able to make crucial decisions quickly and in real time, while serving as a role model for his people, and so on. On the other hand, a king who goes to battle leaves his kingdom and places its administration in the hands of others and, more importantly—if the king is wounded or killed in battle, it can lead to great chaos and an immediate defeat. Your Honors, I am a serious, rational man and, therefore,during my reign—and after having carefully weighed all the pros and cons as just mentioned—I formulated the following rule regarding the participation of rulers on the battlefield: In fateful battles, waged to remove an existential threat from the kingdom, the king must also join the battle and fight with his soldiers against the bitter enemy. On the other hand, in battles of less importance, it is better for the king to remain behind and deal with the day-to-day management of the kingdom. That is the meaning of sagacity. Do you understand that, young fellow?”
“Sounds reasonable,” Yiftach conceded, “and I understand that the battle described in the Book of Samuel II, Chapter 11 was a battle of no great significance?”
“What? What book? Speak clearly, young fellow!” Yiftach approached the king and handed him a bible. David carefully studied its contents. “Unbelievable, they really wrote everything down, they put in every single detail.”
“You haven’t answered my question, Your Highness. The battle in question, was it indeed of little importance?”
“Aah… no doubt about that. It was a battle that actually concluded a vital series of battles that had begun with my decision to send a powerful delegation to Ammon after the brazen Hanun, son of the Ammonite king, Nahash, had insulted my emissaries.”
“Okay, now let’s get back to the matter at hand and how events developed chronologically. Your soldiers were wounded in battle. Can you be more specific as to what you chose to do while your army was fighting a cruel enemy?”
“I’ve already answered that question—I was occupied in running the daily administrative matters of the kingdom.”
“Yes… only your answer isn’t consistent with what is written in Verse 2. Here it describes that you rose from your bed and then went for a stroll along the roof of the palace. I assume that you had taken an afternoon nap and, after waking up, you chose totake an evening stroll on the roof of your home, and all this while your people were fighting at the front.”
