House of David Season 1 Episode 7: Recap, Review, & Analysis
House of David Season 1 Episode 7 (David and Goliath - Pt 1) sets up the climactic battle between David and the Philistine giant (1 Samuel 17:1-20), while at the same time bringing the crisis in the House of Saul to a boiling point. We’re also finally given more details about David’s mother and his status as a supposed “bastard child.” Below I will recap what happens in Episode 7 of House of David (*SPOILERS*), review the episode, and analyze some of the key themes. Also be sure to check out my recap, review, and analysis of Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, and Episode 6.
What Happened in House of David Season 1 Episode 7 (David and Goliath - Pt. 1)
Episode 7 follows the events in three main locations. In Bethlehem, Jesse (Louis Ferreira) refuses to let his son, David (Michael Iskander), go to battle – until the arrival of the prophet Samuel (Stephen Lang) forces him to come to grips with the real reason for his resistance. In the Valley of Elah, as Achish (Alexander Uloom) and Goliath (Martyn Ford) challenge the armies of Israel, King Saul (Ali Suliman) is overtaken by another bout of darkness, leaving Prince Jonathan (Ethan Kai) to manage an increasingly fearful and disillusioned group of tribes. Finally, in Gibeah, Queen Ahinoam (Ayelet Zurer) is driven to despair by the news of the giant and of Saul’s relapse, while her daughters, Mychal (Indy Lewis) and Mirab (Yali Topol Margalith) seek to hold onto hope. Below I will unpack each of these storylines:
David and Jesse in House of David Episode 7
As Episode 7 opens, we learn that Saul has summoned every able-bodied man of Israel to join the battle against the Philistines. Nethanel, the cowardly fourth son of Jesse, who shares his father’s disdain for Saul, begs Jesse to not send him to fight for a king that he despises, but Jesse firmly insists that he must go fight beside his brothers, for God and for Israel. Although David offers to go in Nethanel’s place, Jesse refuses – leading David to question the real reason why his father keeps him at home, tending the sheep.
As the battles rages, David and Jesse go about their everyday life, until Samuel arrives suddenly. When David questions why Samuel isn’t at the battle, Samuel responds in kind. As he eats with David and Jesse, Jesse apologizes for their poor fare. Though claims he has sent his best to the King’s armies, Samuel questions whether that is in fact the case. Seizing the opportunity, David complains to Samuel about his father’s decision to not let him go to battle. In response, Samuel launches into a seeming non-sequitur about olive trees and how they serve a unique purpose in each season. Fed up with the riddles, Jesse asks why Samuel has come and learns that the prophet intends to atone for the sins of the house with a sacrifice.
That night, as David plays music for Samuel, he questions why they have to wait here when he is ready for the battle. Samuel draws David’s attention to the influence of his mother, who Samuel insists was a woman of deep purpose and love, just like his own mother Hannah, whose handmade robe he continues to carry in remembrance (see 1 Samuel 1-2:19). David tells Samuel about his visions of a mountain garden (identified by Samuel as Eden) and a warrior who stands on the boundary with a drawn sword (identified by Samuel as the captain of the Lord’s armies from Joshua 5:13-15). Samuel explains that the reason why the walls of Jericho fell down was because Joshua was willing to fall down in worship before the Commander, asking not “Is God with us?” but rather “Are we with God?” and “What do you call upon your servants to do?” When David questions why God is showing him visions, while he remains trapped at home, Samuel wisely points out that he’s speaking as if today was yesterday. Anticipating the words of Qoheleth, he explains that to everything there is a season and a time for every purpose” (Ecclesiastes 3).
Later, as Samuel offers a sacrifice with David and Jesse, he declares that Jesse’s sin is atoned for, for the sacrifice is worthy: chosen in accordance with the Law, from the best of the flock, without spot or blemish. Dismissing David to the fields, Samuel senses that Jesse’s heart is heavy with the lies that he has been telling. When he questions why Jesse has withheld David from the armies of Israel, at first Jesse claims that he is keeping David from himself. While Samuel acknowledges that Jesse is right to fear David’s heart, which is wild and restless, burning hot like the Lord’s, he knows that the real reason why Jesse is withholding David is something deeper. When Jesse pleads that God can ask anything else from him, Samuel insists that this is precisely the type of sacrifice that God requires of us – the best of the flock, what we love most. He warns that if Jesse tries to cling onto David, his fingers will break.
As David sleep, he has another vision of the Commander standing in the stream and now realizes that he needs to remove his sandals and bow down before him in worship. When he asks what the Lord would have him do, the Commander points his sword into the stream. Reaching down, David picks up a pebble, covered in blood, and wakes in a rush. Frustrated, he asks why God has chosen him for a task he will never do. As if in answer, Jesse calls to him from back home.
When David arrives, he finds his father loading a donkey with bundles of food. To David’s surprise, Jesse reveals that David is going to bring it to the battleline. But before he goes, Jesse needs to share some truths that he’s kept from David for so long. Jesse explains that his first wife, the mother of David’s brothers, was a prudent choice of an impeccable bloodline, intended to offset his own “tainted” blood, from his Moabite grandmother, Ruth (Ruth 4:18-22). David’s mother, Nitzevet, on the other hand, though warm in spirit, was a Gentile and their marriage was deemed unlawful. Nitzevet frequently had violent and terrifying visions about David. Although her final request to Jesse was for him to release David so that he could “rise” and fulfill those visions, Jesse admits that he has kept David in the fields, not because he’s ashamed of him, but rather because David is the last part of Nitzevet that remains. The two embrace as Jesse professes his love for his son and asks for forgiveness.
While David prepares to depart, Jesse once again blesses him with his love. As Samuel heads off in another direction, he also blesses David, reminding him that the Lord sees his heart, the heart of a roaring lion. As he watches his son depart, Jesse calls David to rise to meet his destiny.
Saul and Jonathan in House of David Episode 7
A massive Philistine force gathers in the Valley of Elah, while Goliaths and his giant brethren survey the valley and Achish boasts to his fellow lords of how he has finally unified the Philistine forces. Across the valley, Saul complains of how he’s fought and bled for the Israelites for 30 years but is gently rebuked by Abner, who urges him to focus on the battle ahead. As Saul questions who he is and why he was anointed, Abner assures him that he is a conqueror, a uniter of the tribes, who has lifted his people from fear and personally saved Abner and given him a purpose. Embracing as friends, they depart to face the Philistine force.
Outside, as Joab and Jonathan consider the massive Philistine force – over 150,000 men – Joab insists that they’ll kill ten Philistines for every Israelite (see: Leviticus 26:8, Joshua 23:10). Surveying the troops, Jonathan inspects the sword of a young Israelite boy, Eliezer, and encourages him not to fear, since God is with the Israelite host. But when the boy asks whether Samuel is coming to bless that battle, as he did in previous campaigns, Jonathan equivocates, preferring to leave the boy with false hope rather than no hope at all.
Passing through the troops, Saul encounters Adriel, the elder of Judah, who arrives with 25,000 men and publicly pledges support, while privately warning Saul that their altercation is not forgotten. Though Nethanel, David’s cowardly brother, newly arrived on the frontlines, cowers, most of the men cheer defiantly as Saul rides about proudly.
With vultures circling overhead, eagerly awaiting fresh carrion, Achish rides forth from the Philistine host and plants his flag, followed by representatives from Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Gaza – Ekron being notably absent. From across the field, Jonathan empathizes with how Achish seems to be driven by anger but Saul insists that, if the roles were reversed, Jonathan would lead with strategy, not emotion.
By now the Philistine host has swelled to 200,000 and the lords of the Philistines want to commence their attack, but Achish instead insists on taking Israel’s spirit first. To accomplish this, Goliath emerges from the Philistine battlelines, eliciting shock and terror from the Israelites like Joab, who sees him as a “god of earth.” Goliath calls out Saul, challenging him to call on his gods while they call on their gods and to see who wins. As Saul listens, he’s struck by a vision of Goliath drinking blood and holding his skull and falls off his horse, smashing the vial of Besai’s potion that he was using to keep his madness in check. Completely lost, he flees from the battleline, while promising to offer his daughter to anyone who can defeat the giant.
Over several days, Goliath continues to march out and challenge the Israelite to send a champion who can face him in a duel of champions to determine who will win, while Saul lies comatose. Discouraged by the absence of leadership, the tribe of Zebulun departs from the host of Israel. When Eliab calls them out for cowardice, they push back, questioning why he hasn’t gone and faced the giant yet. Adriel sympathizes with the Zebulanites and offers to lead the forces out in battle himself, while criticizing Jonathan for doing nothing but hiding in his father’s tent. Though Abner shuts Adriel up, Jonathan realizes he needs to do something and begins arming himself to face the giant, even though Abner warns that he will be torn apart.
Later, as Goliath continues to challenge Israel, Abner offers Jonathan an alternative. Just as Jonathan once led his servant in a daring raid against Philistine forces (1 Samuel 14), he can lead a band of Gentile mercenaries in nighttime raid into the Philistine camp and slay Goliath in his sleep.
Before heading out, Jonathan goes to bid his father farewell and finds Doeg waiting in Saul’s tent. Though Jonathan expresses contempt for the nihilistic Edomite, Doeg offers to help him if he is willing to reveal the name of the man Samuel anointed in Judah, insisting that Jonathan’s efforts against the Philistine are hopeless. Jonathan refuses and warns that, even if he does die, he’ll make sure Doeg dies first. Turning to his father, he reveals that he knows the truth about what happened between him and Samuel but still intends to stick by him to the end. As he departs, Saul, in his madness, is forced to revisit his vision of Jonathan’s death. Meanwhile, Jonathan meets the mercenaries and Abner, who arms him with a dagger and prays for God to be with him, while Goliath once again cries out, questioning whether Israel has no other champion.
Mychal and Mirab in House of David Episode 7
After Goliath is unveiled and Saul falls back into madness, word is brought to Ahinoam in Gibeah. The new drives Ahinoam to despair and she insists that there is nothing left to do. When Mychal suggests prayer to HaShem, Ahinoam bitterly forbids her from ever using the name in her presence ever again.
Undeterred by her mother’s despair, Mychal goes and retrieves a scroll from the Scriptorium and prepares to ride out to find her father. Finding her, Mirab pleads for her to stay, now that Eshbaal is gone and their mother appears to have given up. But when it becomes clear that Mychal is determined to set out, in spite of her ignorance of the way, Mirab offers to go with her, since she will have no one to entertain her if Mychal dies – and because she insists that, unlike their mother, she believes there is always hope.
As they ride, the sisters question whether Ahinoam has noticed their absence – and whether she even has any horsemen to send after them. Noticing how Mychal is humming the tune that David used to play, Mirab notes that he must be hard to forget, but Mychal insists that she doesn’t want to think of him, after how he abandoned their father.
Review of House of David Season 1 Episode 7
As Episode 7 begins to set up the climactic moment that we’ve been anticipating all season, it does a lot of things well:
The Lord of the Rings Echoes: I’ve already drawn attention to how past episodes intentionally seem to echo Dune and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Episode 7 really doubles down on this tendency. Jonathan’s encounter with Eliezer is a very clear allusion to Aragorn’s words to Haleth in The Two Towers film. Saul asking Abner, “Who am I?” as he is being armed for battle seems to be modeled on Theoden and Gamling in The Two Towers. And Saul’s efforts to rally the troops (before he falls into darkness) seems to be modeled on Theoden in The Return of the King. While some critics may poopoo the imitation, it actually serves several purposes. At the basest level, it’s an established way to evoke the specific feeling that the writers are going for – and a way to ping the nostalgia of fantasy fans. But I suspect Jon Erwin and co. intend to do more than that. Although The Lord of the Rings does not contain a lot of direct allusions to God and Christian theology, Tolkien famously said that it is “a fundamentally religious and Catholic work.” The intentional echoes between House of David and The Lord of the Rings films invite us to draw other connections between the two stories. The vision of courage and hope that fans of The Lord of the Rings find so beautiful is also present in House of David, but with a more explicit theological framework. Whereas Aragorn offers Haleth the vague encouragement that “there is always hope,” Jonathan gives Eliezer the more specific encouragement that “God is with us.” After Season 1 is complete, I’m going to look forward to taking more time to analyze the import of the connections between these two stories.
Biblical echoes: We get a new parallel between Jesse offering David and Abraham offering Isaac and the need to trust God with what we hold precious (see more in my analysis). I’ve also already drawn attention to the way House of David is connecting David with both Joseph and Joshua, and in Episode 7 we see these connections drawn together even more tightly. It turns out, David is, in fact, the favorite son of his father, just like Joseph. Moreover, we not only get an explicit commentary on Joshua’s encounter with the Commander of the Lord’s armies, we see David intentionally following Joshua’s example in order to receive the same empowerment. This intentional intertextuality is precisely the kind of thing that the biblical authors love to do. It’s also a way to invite us to see the applicability of the show to our own lives. Just as David is drawing wisdom and encouragement from the stories of Genesis, we too can draw wisdom and encouragement from his story. Sidenote: While David correctly follows the pattern of Joshua, Abner clearly misapplies the pattern of Jonathan’s past triumph, sending Jonathan out with godless mercenaries and not a faithful Israelite. This misapplication of Scripture is an interesting commentary on how we sometimes fixate on the wrong details when we try to replicate biblical patterns.
Solving biblical problems: One of the values of a show like House of David is that it can address potential discrepancies or questions that the biblical text doesn’t answer. Reading through the story of David and Goliath, one naturally wonders why Saul or Jonathan don’t face the giant themselves – that’s kind of the job of the King of Israel. Episode 7 provides a compelling explanation for why Goliath goes unchallenged for so long – while maintaining Jonathan’s honor and giving us a window into the crisis this moment would have possessed for the Israelites.
For everything there is a season: I think there’s a real wisdom in how the show portrays David’s time waiting at home with Jesse. It would be easy just to fixate on Jesse as an obstacle whose resistance needs to be overcome. Instead, Samuel invites David (and us) to see this delay as a part of God’s plan. Although there is a season that will come for David to fight, the season in which he’s forced to wait is also important, as it allows him to be both humbled (in submission to the Lord’s will) and blessed with the love of his father.
Abner shines in this episode as a friend who is willing to rebuke but also faithful when it counts – while at the same time lacking the wisdom to differentiate his plan from what Jonathan did in the past.
Having several perspectives on Goliath – from Adriel, Eliab, Jonathan, Nethanel, Zebulun, etc. – is really useful. It’s easy for an adaptation to oversimplify a moment like this, but I appreciate how we’re given a significant amount of time with the Israelite army and get to see conflicting perspectives.
Mirab has grown on me over the past few episodes. I appreciate the depiction of her friendship with Mychal, though it’s rather brief.
Stephen Lang’s depiction of Samuel gently but firmly drawing out Jesse’s secrets is the highlight performance for the episode, but in general the performances continue to be great.
I had one primary issue with Episode 7:
While I appreciate what they were trying to accomplish in the David storyline, I think they telegraphed Jesse’s revelation a little too much (both within this episode and earlier in the season). As a result, the climactic moment between David and Jesse wasn’t as cathartic or emotional as it might have been. David didn’t need to realize that his father had another hidden reason for holding him back – indeed, it would have been more powerful if David continued to struggle under the belief that his father hated him or was ashamed of him – and perhaps was even tempted to run away. By driving David to a lower, darker point, the show would have made Jesse’s revelation more meaningful. As it was, while it was a nice moment, I didn’t find myself moved to tears like I often am by similar father-son moments in other films.
Key Themes of House of David Season 1 Episode 7
For everything there is a season
David is understandably frustrated when his father refuses to let him go to battle and pursue the destiny that he feels called to. When Samuel arrives in Bethlehem, David expects the prophet to immediately take his side in the argument with Jesse. What Samuel actually does is more complex. While Samuel does work to convince Jesse to let David go, he also offers a gentle rebuke to David as well. Just as an olive tree can serve many different purposes, depending on the season, David needs to recognize that he too can serve different purposes in different seasons. A season will come in which fighting Israel’s enemies will be David’s purpose. But by focusing too much on that future purpose, David runs the risk of missing out on the purpose God has for this current season in Bethlehem. David needs to realize that today is not yesterday or tomorrow. With time comes change. Though God may offer a vision of a future purpose, that doesn’t mean he’s always going to bring it about immediately.
Is God with us or are we with God?
Samuel offers David another important lesson, drawing on the story of Joshua and the Commander of the Lord’s Armies (Joshua 5:13-15). As Samuel explains, when Joshua first approaches the Commander, he asks, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” and the Commander simply replies, “No; but I am the Commander of the Army of the Lord” (v. 14). Only then does Joshua realize that, instead of asking if God is with us, we need to ask if we are with God – that is, whether we are living in obedience and submission to his will. Because he ultimately does this, falling on his face in worship and asking, “What do you call upon your servant to do?” God empowers him to defeat his seemingly invincible enemy. Applying this lesson quite directly, David then approaches the Commander in his vision, falls on his face in worship, and asks what the Lord wants him to do (Sidenote: David falling down before the Commander in worship suggests that this is in fact a pre-incarnate theophany, since standard angels refuse to receive worship for themselves).
The lesson David is learning comes in stark contrast to how the House of Saul’s approach to God. Last episode, Saul arrogantly declared that they would defeat the Philistine army with God behind them – even though God has explicitly rejected Saul. Not only has Saul disobeyed God’s explicit commands, he’s also sought to persecute God’s messenger, Samuel, while his wife, Ahinoam, has brought pagan sorcery into the palace and forbidden the use of God’s name in her presence. In Episode 7 we see the result of the House of Saul’s folly. Far from empowering Saul, God allows him to fall even further into darkness and shame, exposing the weakness of the pagan powers that Saul has drawn upon. This is what happens when we presumptuously claim God is on our side, even while we are rebelling against his will.
Even Prince Jonathan ends up mistakenly claiming that “God is with us” in his efforts to encourage the boy, Eliezer. When Eliezer questions whether Samuel is coming to bless the battle, however, Jonathan’s error is exposed. Jonathan, having just met with Samuel, knows quite well that the prophet is not coming. And yet he equivocates, claiming he doesn’t know. Later, Joab calls him out for giving the boy false hope and Jonathan has to admit that this is indeed what he’s doing, although he points out that false hope is better than no hope.
At the end of the episode, just before Abner sends Jonathan off on a dangerous mission to assassinate Goliath at night, he blesses him, saying, “God be with you.” But Jonathan doesn’t seem to be asking what the Lord is calling him to do. Instead, he’s leading a band of godless mercenaries in an underhanded attack, because he doesn’t trust God to give him victory against the giant. Even if we didn’t know where the story is heading, we’d have good reason to believe that God will not in fact be with Jonathan in this venture.
What type of sacrifice does God require from us?
As Jesse feeds Samuel a meager meal, he insists that he has sent to the King’s armies the best of what he had. In the moment, Samuel only gently hints at the irony of Jesse’s words, but later he calls it out more explicitly: Jesse has not sent his best to the army, for he has withheld his most precious son – and the son he knows has been anointed by God. God does not want what we have left over or what we don’t want. He wants us to offer him what is most precious to us – trusting that he will preserve or resurrect whatever is lost (see Abraham and Isaac or Hannah and Samuel). By sending forth David, his precious reminder of his late wife, Nitzevah, Jesse is offering true worship – that is, he is showing that God is worthy of even his most precious possession.
Jesse’s willingness to release his most cherished possession comes in stark contrast to Saul’s unwillingness to relinquish his kingship. Ironically, by releasing David to God’s service, Jesse will ultimately receive him back again in an even more glorious way, whereas Saul, by clinging to his kingship in spite of God’s command, will have everything torn away from him, including his own precious son. We are essentially seeing an outworking of Jesus’ famous words, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39, ESV).
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