august 2024

JESSE OF BETHLEHEM

Written by: D. P. Curtin

Jesse is noted as the son or descendent of Obed of Bethlehem, although he is never directly named as such in the brief reference made to him. His parentage is granted by later chroniclers, although it may be collapsed for brevity as many biblical genealogies are in the period prior to the 11th century. As a matter of the historical record, nothing is known about him beyond the biblical text itself. Moreover, given his status, the political obscurity of the region, and limitation of surviving texts and scripts from the period, it is highly unlikely that any reference will be found of Jesse in the archaeological record. The biblical account itself is relatively terse in its presentation, offering passing elements of information regarding this 11th century BC Judahite Sheikh, all of which is attached to the reign of his famous son. His fame appears to be well established in later generations, as Isaiah builds metaphorical value to the family progenitor (Is. 11:10), which would have been unlikely if he had not been widely known at the time of his compositions. 

His father is perhaps Obed (Ru. 4:17; 1 Chr. 2:12), although this might be an abridged reading of an ancient genealogy. Since there is no patronymic naming succession in this period, it is hard to say. However, while little of Jesse’s own life is specified in the Hebrew scriptures, he evidently is known in the court of King Saul (1 Sam. 17:58), and his political loyalty appears to be with the establishment of the early Israelite kingdom. If the family’s prior political clout is to be taken at face value, it might be assumed that Jesse of Bethlehem held some distinction within the framework of the developing Israelite kingdom, perhaps as a tribal or military authority in the region. Moreover, in the generation to follow, one of Jesse’s sons, Elihu, (1 Chr. 27:18) is given authority over the tribe of Judah, under the sovereignty of his brother King David. This appointment would require Elihu, and by extension Jesse, to possess some familial right to the hegemony of the whole of the tribe of Judah, or at least some historic ties to established regional authority. 

Puzzlingly, his wife is not mentioned anywhere in any canonical text, although she is alluded to in a fleeting reference (1 Sam. 22:3-4). The reasons for her omission are not specified in rabbinical literature. This appears highly irregular as the ancient chroniclers often make it very clear who holds the office of the Queen-Mother, a significant political office in the later royal court. It is easy to make speculations ex nihilo because of this, and there is no shortage of claims regarding her identity and reasons for the biblical narrative’s silence about her. Later rabbis do offer the name Nitzevet, the daughter of Adael, as the mother of David (Bava Bathra, 91a). Alternatively, a later Syriac text says she is Habliar, the daughter of Abrias (Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan, XIII). These names cannot be reconciled with one another, as they share no phonological similarities. It might be assumed that they are both apocryphal and that the name of David’s mother is lost to history. Despite the fame of David, there are no allusions to her in later apocryphal literature. There are, however, three very tantalizing references made to her through the Psalms, which are traditionally attributed to David’s pen. The first alludes to David’s religious loyalty to the God of his mother (Ps. 86:16). This is an anomaly in Jewish hagiographical works which are almost always focused on the due loyalty to the paternal God of Israel. Psalm 69 also makes indirect reference to the mother of David, stating that “I am a stranger to my own mother’s children” (Ps. 69:8), going further to note the presence of hostility in his family. To this point the word rendered in the psalm as ‘stranger’ is (Hebrew: Mamzer, ממזר) which is also used to mean someone born of an illegitimate relationship. Giving it all proper consideration, this woman’s absence from the biblical narrative and this allusion in the psalms might suggest that there was a scandal associated with either the ethnic origins of David’s mother or the legal status of his parents’ relationship. This is particularly pertinent for later Levitial authorities, as illegitimacy requires anathematization under later Jewish law (Deut. 23:2). The third indirect reference to David’s mother in the Psalms comes when he states “in sin my mother conceived me” (Ps. 51:5), which further gives credence to the hypothesis that David may have been illegitimate at his birth. 

The fate of Jesse and his unnamed wife is unknown to history. His death is never reported in the Biblical narrative and there are no traditions that relate to his demise. That last reference made to them is by David, who entrusts them to the care of the King of Moab (1 Sam. 22:3-4) during a tumultuous period of his reign. Given David’s strong former political alliances with the Philistines, and the relationship he has forged through marriage, their exile in Moab seems strange, as David appears to have no known relationship to that country. There are generational connections made some time before (Ruth 1:1), but this might suggestion some level of intermarriage between the family of Jesse of Bethlehem and some prominent members of the Moabite court, perhaps even David’s mother herself. 

The Hebrew scriptures offer a conflicting report to the number of sons that Jesse allegedly has: eight in one episode (1 Sam. 17:12) and seven in another (1 Chr. 2:10-15). Their names, from oldest to youngest are: Eliab/Elihu, Abinadab, Shammah/Shimea, Nethanel, Raddai, Ozem, and David. David’s two sisters are also named: Abigail and Zuriah, as well as their children (1 Chr. 2: 16-17). However, Abigail appears to be the daughter of a man named Nahash (2 Sam. 17:25), and therefore is only David’s half-sister. This relationship might shed light on the absence of information about David’s mother. A certain “Nahash the Ammonite” is mentioned (1 Sam. 11:1, 12:2; 1 Chr. 19:1) as being a contemporary of David’s and one who is friendly towards him. Given the uncommon nature of the name, as well as the strong political ties that David appears to have with this Ammonite family (2 Sam. 10:2, 17:27; 1 Chr. 19:2) it is likely that they are relatives of his through his mother.If so, then her removal from the Biblical narrative can be explained by the moral concerns of a later xenophobic editor during the post-exilic period.  Abigail, daughter of Jesse, is noted as having wed Ithra the Israelite (2 Sam. 17:25), or perhaps Jether the Ishmaelite (1 Chr. 2:17). Despite the variant ethnic attributions, he is likely a Judahite from the clan of Caleb. Abigail became mother of the rebel general, Amasa, who supported Absalom in his revolt against his father David (2 Sam. 19:12-15). Jesse’s tomb allegedly still stands in the city of Hebron, where he is buried with other notable members of his clan.