this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2026
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[–] Salem@hexbear.net 14 points 1 day ago

The Talmud discusses this, as that was the price of the dowry to Michal(?), to wed Saul's daughter. The foreskins have no value, but the caveat is that it has value as dog food. (The internet says it's in Tractate Sanhedrin 19b, although I don't know how reliable that is but I knew it was in there.)

It was indeed a way to get David killed, since Saul was losing his grip on his sanity because he was being tormented by a prophecy and an evil spirit that fed and exacerbated on his own internal weaknesses.

The character of David is meant to represent what being a warrior with bloodlust and desensitization to carnage would be like if they directed their energies towards service of God, which religious scholars & tradition contrast it to Esau, Jacob's firstborn, who also shared David's temperment but used it for evil & self indulgence.