If you’re one of my Newsies, you’ve already received September’s monthly update with Part I on “Who is Ahinoam.” You’ve already read about brave Ahinoam’s hometown and why I DON’T believe David’s wife is the same Ahinoam that Saul married. You also know where the Bible says that Ahinoam was David’s first wilderness wife.
If you haven’t yet read Part I and would like to, I’m giving access to the exclusive article in September’s newsletter (just this once) to non-subscribers so you won’t miss anything about this feisty heroine! I want you to be ready to really enjoy the October 1st release of Brave!
CLICK HERE TO READ Who Is Ahinoam? – PART 1
If you aren’t yet receiving monthly updates with my Newsies and would like to, CLICK HERE to be included in future emails!
As I mentioned in Part I, when I began imagining who Ahinoam might have been, I knew her character in my book must be tough.
What kind of woman would be willing to dash around the desert for almost seven years with a man hunted by King Saul? She needed to be fierce, yes, but more.
What Did David’s Heart NEED?
Let’s look at the condition of David’s heart when he might have first encountered Ahinoam of Jezreel.
- He was lowered from a window by Michal to save him from Saul’s assassins (1 Sam. 19:9-17).
- David sought protection from Samuel the prophet in his prophet’s school in Naioth. Saul sent his assassins there and eventually came himself to kill David, but Yahweh’s Spirit seized every assassin as well as Saul with the ability to prophesy–giving David time to escape (1 Sam. 19:18-24).
- Next David ran BACK to Gibeah to speak with his best friend Jonathan (Saul’s firstborn son, Israel’s crown prince). David tried to convince him that his father was trying to kill him, but Jonathan needed proof. After Saul threw a spear at Jonathan, the crown prince finally believed and sent David away with a covenant of peace between them to last generations (1 Sam. 20).
- David ran to the high priest at Nob to get food and a weapon–and lied about his circumstance. Did he lie to save himself or give the priest plausible deniability if Saul’s men came asking why he’d helped the runaway, David? We’ll never know (1 Sam. 21:1-9).
- David then goes to Gath, seeking asylum with the assumption that the enemy of his enemy would be his friend. Not so. The Philistines in Goliath’s hometown remembered David. So David pretended insanity to escape with his life (1 Sam. 21:10-15).
- From Gath, David returned to southwest Israel and hid in the cave of Addulam. His family heard of his woes and joined him. Another four hundred men had heard of his troubles by then and became his misfit army.
I believe Ahinoam and her (fictional) father were part of that band of misfits who joined David at Adullam and traveled to Moab with him (1 Sam. 22:1-4).
Interpreting David’s Heart
Part of the reason I love writing biblical novels is the fact that I MUST slow down to read familiar Bible stories. I was familiar with all six of those progressions in David’s story, but I’d never before slowed down to consider the depth of pain and betrayal he’d felt at each step. Nor had I considered how he might have felt about marriage after the trouble he’d experienced with Michal. Being human, I suspect David’s wounded heart would take a while to mend.
How long before David could even look at a woman and feel romantically attracted to her? How long before he could let his heart trust a woman again after hearing how Michal lied about him and how Saul had given her to another? And I suspect a man with David’s rended heart could spot a woman with any falsehood from a hundred miles away.
That’s why the fictional depiction of Ahinoam and David are alike in many ways:
- A heart wounded but courageous
- Skilled with their weapon of choice
- Betrayed by those closest, but ferociously loyal to those proven to love them now
Ahinoam, the Kenite
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Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing, CC BY-SA 3.0
At the end of Part I, I gave a little hint about the reason I’d given Ahinoam a Kenite heritage. To those who read Judges 4 to find out more about Jael, I hope you noticed that she, too, was a Kenite.
As I mentioned in Part I, I’d written a short story in 2021 about Ahinoam, thinking it was “cool” for her to throw daggers. After deeper research–and after writing almost 1/3 of the first draft–I discovered that “Kenite” meant “blacksmith!” It’s always exciting when the LORD confirms something I’ve “accidentally” done right! I also discovered Kenites had a long history of peace with Israel and lived mostly around the Tribe of Judah.
The final piece of research that affirmed the Lord’s approval of Ahinoam’s fictional characterization was the passage in 1 Sam. 15. Samuel had passed on God’s command to King Saul that he was to completely destroy the Amalekites. Saul’s failure to do so later cost him Israel’s throne, but there was something very interesting that Saul did before that battle started:
Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. Then he said to the Kenites, “Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites. 1 Samuel 15:5–6 (emphasis added)
As Jael–a Kenite woman–had helped Israel centuries before by killing a Canaanite general, so Saul now repaid kindness to the Kenites by warning them of his attack on the Amalekites before it began. It was at this point in Ahinoam’s backstory that she and her father escape to what becomes her hometown of Jezreel. Both she and her father are Yahweh worshipers, who are welcomed by townsfolk as descendants of Jael and because of their blacksmithing skills to provide daggers as protection against enemy raids.
Ready to Read Brave: The Story of Ahinoam?
You still have two weeks to take advantage of the special preorder pricing at Baker Book House. If you’re among the first 150 readers to order you’ll receive some extra goodies as well as 40% off the retail price! But hurry! Offer ends September 30th (the day before 10/1/24 release).
Want to Attend My Facebook BRAVE BASH?
1. the series: King David’s Brides.
2. book #1: BRAVE: The Story of Ahinoam.
3. my writing or research process.
