Jessica Schwartz

Professor Mika Ahuvia

JSIS C 534

7 May 2016

Warriors Weakness

In our society, were taught that emotion is bad. Young girls are taught

that expressing their emotions characterizes them as crazy and that

portraying a calm, cool, collected exterior is the only way to be heard. Worse

yet, young boys are taught that expressing emotions is girly and doing so

makes them an inferior male. The environment that categorizes emotion as

inferior to reason and women as innately emotional is definitively

misogynistic. This is how our society characterizes emotion which is

damaging to young girls and boys and all the more so the adults they grow

to be.

This phenomenon is not unique or modern and can be traced back to

biblical times. 1 Samuel 16:21 states that Saul, Davids predecessor, loved

David greatly. Later on, Saul loses the kingship. Hayyim Angel describes, It

appears that Saul loved David but also envied him to the point where he lost

all balance. (43). David never explicitly reciprocates Sauls love and he is

not only given the kingship but is also promised an everlasting dynasty (2
Samuel 7:16). The emotional Saul is degraded and unfit for kingship while

the unloving warrior David is strong enough to hold the monarchy.

But Davids story gets more complex as it progresses. When David

sees Bathsheba bathing, he desires her. He does not love her. He summons

her, impregnates her, and then has her husband killed to cover up his

adulterous behavior. He disregards Bathshebas desires and her husbands

life. God becomes angry with David for what he did to Bathsheba and her

husband and David is punished. The rest of his rule is characterized by battle

(2 Samuel 11-12). Had David loved Bathsheba, perhaps he would have cared

for her desires and shown compassion to her husband. Because David had

no compassion for his subjects and their peace of mind, God does not let

David achieve national peace. Davids lack of love and emotion creates a

stain on his leadership.

Although Sauls love for David becomes a weakness, Davids story

culminates with a representation of his lack of love and compassion as a

major flaw. The warrior king is plagued by battle for he has no love and

empathy. Although the message that love is weakness has carried on,

unfortunately the idea that lack of compassion does not lead to success has

not fully taken root.

The story of David shows us that even the mightiest king is stronger

with compassion. The importance of this message is twofold: lack of emotion

does not equal strength, and both men and women must find the proper

balance. It is not healthy for a society to promote the suppression of emotion

as we so often do. We are taught that love only brings pain and that denying
our emotions will be better than embracing them and integrating them into

our being.
But the story of King David embodies the converse. Lack of emotion is

King Davids weakness and ultimate downfall. This message is notably

delivered through a king renowned for his military strength. It shows that

emotion and compassion are important even for those in the most

traditionally masculine roles. We learn from King David that not only is it bad

to be consumed by emotion as King Saul, but it is just as bad to be devoid of

it. Hopefully by reading this story and reclaiming the importance of

integrating emotion into our lives we can validate the emotions of males and

females, cease to view emotion as uniquely feminine and negative, and

create the gender equality that has evaded our society for so long.

Works Cited
Angel, Hayyim. When Love and Pollitics Mix: David and His Relationships
with Saul,
Jonathan, and Michal. Jewish Bible Quarterly 40.1 (2012). 41-51.