☦️ The Most Misunderstood Story IV

Josephus in his Antiquities mentions David taking heads, not foreskins, five times (Ant. 6.197, 6.203, 7.25)*. This doesn't have to be Josephus' hiding the truth. The Greeks (who he wrote for) were not moral puritans about this type of stuff, the Israelites were. There's three chapters going extensively over sexual purity laws in Leviticus (Lev. 18-20).

Some insist that Saul's request for foreskins was gruesome and gross precisely to scare David off. Yet again, this makes no sense considering David returned with 200. Then you might say this was the only way Philistines and Israelites could be differentiated, that's why foreskins had to be collected. But evidently, Philistines could be separated from Israelites (1 Sam. 17:26, 17:36). This argument also doesn't account for the fact it could be anyone's foreskin. Or that there was no separation of foreskin from the penis with Israelite circumcision. A foreskin also doesn't even imply a killing blow.

The last one, a bit less common, suggests that it was a sort of humiliation of the Philistines for not having the practice of circumcision. But if humiliation of the Philistines was the goal, why give such a glorious act to David?

Instead, the most logical and simple answer is that David was requested to bring back 100 heads. David, having no actual army, maybe a small group of supporters, were outnumbered. Saul hoped this would kill David. But David returned with 200 heads and embarrassed him.

Lastly, 1 Sam 29:4 is an oddity for those who follow the mainstream translation. The Philistines remark that David would take their heads to Saul to make up with him — why not mention the foreskins? Wouldn't it be notable enough to associate with David?

*Not a comprehensive citation

𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐰𝐧

1 Samuel 18:25 —

from NV { Dixit autem … habet necesse rex sponsalia … praeputia … tradere David in manibus … } with MT { ויאמר … אין חפץ למלך במהר … ערלות … להפיל את דוד ביד פלשׁתים׃ } with RHLXX { καὶ εἶπεν … ἀκροβυστίαις … } to { Et dixit … vult rex dotem … stipraeputia … ut caderet David manu … }: AOT: see 2 Samuel 3:14 for “stipraeputia”.

1 Samuel 18:26 —

from NV { … renuntiassent … verba, quae dixerat Saul, … sermo in oculis David, ut fieret gener regis. Et … impleti, } with MT { ויגדו … הדברים האלה … דוד להתחתן במלך … } with RHLXX { … ῥήματα ταῦτα … } with SP { … ܘܰܫܦܰܪ … ܚܰܬܢܳܐ ܠܡܰܠܟܳܐ. … } to { … nuntiarunt … haec verba, … David bene esse generum regis: et … impleti. }: AOPT.

1 Samuel 18:27 —

from NV { cum … abiit cum viris, qui sub eo erant, … attulit praeputia … gener eius. Dedit itaque … } with MT { ויקם … וילך הוא ואנשׁיו … ויבא דוד את ערלתיהם … להתחתן במלך … } with SP { ܘܩܳܡ … ܚܰܬܢܳܐ ܠܡܰܠܟܳܐ. ܘܝܰܗܒ ܠܶܗ … } to { Unde … et abiit, ipse et viri eius, … David attulit stipraeputia … gener regis. Et Saul dedit … }: AOPT: “unde” used to smooth between “et” and “cum” across the versions, see 2 Samuel 3:14 for “stipraeputia”.

2 Samuel 3:14 —

from NV { Misit autem … Saul … praeputiis … } with CV { … Saul, … } with RHLXX { καὶ … } to { Et misit … Saul, … stipraeputiis … }: AOPT:

Josephus Antiquitates Judaicae b6 { … [197] … ἂν ἑξακοσίας μοι κομίσῃ κεφαλὰς τῶν πολεμίων … [201] … Παλαιστίνων δὲ τιμωρίαν καὶ κεφαλὰς αὐτῶν ἑξακοσίας … [203] … Δαυΐδῃ, κτείνας πολλοὺς καὶ κεφαλὰς ἑξακοσίων ἀποτεμὼν ἧκε πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα … [210] … καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα κομίσαντα μὲν ὅσας ἐπετάχθη κεφαλὰς τῶν ἐχθρῶν … [374] … Παλαιστῖνοι τοὺς τῶν πολεμίων νεκροὺς ἐπιτυγχάνουσι τοῖς Σαούλου καὶ τῶν παίδων αὐτοῦ σώμασι καὶ σκυλεύσαντες ἀποτέμνουσιν αὐτῶν τὰς κεφαλάς … }, Josephus Antiquitates Judaicae b7 { … [25] τοῦ δὲ Δαυίδου ποιησαμένου τὰς ὁμολογίας, ἥσθη γὰρ ἐφ᾽ οἷς Ἀβεννῆρος διεπρεσβεύσατο πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ πρῶτον τεκμήριον παρασχεῖν τῶν συνθηκῶν ἀξιώσαντος ἀνασώσαντα πρὸς αὐτὸν Μελχάλην τὴν γυναῖκα μεγάλοις ὠνηθεῖσαν ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ κινδύνοις καὶ Παλαιστίνων κεφαλαῖς ἑξακοσίαις, ἃς ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς ἐκόμισε τῷ πατρὶ Σαούλῳ, … }:

Neologism “stipraeputia” (stipendium praeputia) coined to capture unique intended nuance of a conceptual tally. Stipraeputia allows a conceptual “tally / payment / dowry / scalp / head / counted military war-trophy / proof of victory” whilst preserving foreskin as a potential real countable object and real spoken words. With support from Josephus' parallel text; the passages reflect an idiom equivocal to the common idiom “collect 200 heads/ scalps” used: figuratively for required kills, or physically for cranial collection using foreskin as a colloquialism of targetted groups, or literally for foreskin collection.

Idiom Lost:

RE: Most Misunderstood Story (4 parts).

A common Old Testament contention is when king Saul demands a dowry of 100 Philistine foreskins and David delivers 200, to marry his daughter Michal.

Due to modern sensitivities, many are squeamish to the idea of anatomical collection, especially of the given appendage. However it's not an issue even if literal: collecting proof of kills that the enemy have and your people don't.

This however isn't quite what it seems. If we look at the parallel text Josephus Antiquities 6:197,203. 7:25 the Greek instead says "heads". Supporting this was understood as an idiom equivocal to the common idiom "collect 200 heads/ scalps" denoting a required count rather than collection (US literally paid to scalp Amerindians).

Given this, we are considering using stipraeputia (stipendium praeputia) to signal the intended semantic of a countable martial tally, whilst preserving the literal speech. Giving range for literal (foreskin), euphemistic (head) and figurative (tally).

Have Children:

RE: Please take the time to check previous great posts on the topic.
—What it means to be a Puritan
—Manifest Destiny
—Never lose sight
—Which way White man?
—Where's yours?
—Where are you?
—Work towards it
—Hope and Future
—Stop making excuses
—Tobit 4:12
—Ghost Beach
—Non TFR
—TFR Change
—5 Year Plan
—Be Fruitful and Multiply
—Demographics is Destiny
—Christian Fertility Success
—Replacement Fertility
—Consolidation Caveat
—You are the only obstacle
—Fertility Windows
—Conquer it Again
—Oriental TFR
—Lean into it
—Demography
—Race Suicide
—Roman Christian Success
—Hispanic TFR
—Population Forecast
—Six Generations
—Amish TFR
—Oriental Immigration
—Do Your Part
—Billion White Americans
—Japanese Open Borders
—Obedient Son
—14 Words
—Non TFR to Zero
—Net Fertility Rate

Not only is it a duty to our people, it fulfills and brings you joy.

Ancestral God:
Despite romanticisations of simple obscure localised mystified naturalist fables being the ideal for our ancestral faith and God; the Christian God has been that for all living memory. Experiencing unfathomable circumstances in this period.

Europeans have been Christian much before:
—Inca Empire
—Aztec Empire
—Maori New Zealand settlement
—Zulu South Africa migration
—Horses introduced to America
—English, German, Spanish and French (etc) languages (crafted from Christian influence)
—All modern European ethnicities
—Icelandic settlement
—Germanic settlement of British Isles
—North/ South American, African and Australian settlement
—White man landing on the moon

Through all of this, we worshipped our ancestral God: Jesus Christ.

Nisi Vobis? If Not You:
“If it is not us, it will be no-one.”

RE:
— Pope Urban II's ᴬᴰ1095 Council of Clermont Speech
— Which Way White Man?
— No One Is Coming To Save Us
— In Christ, the White Man Conquers
— Long Live The Empire
Read Disclaimer: Positive action can only be legal, peaceful and political. Change occurs by exercising power, not with destructive tantrums.

An old favourite Telegram VN with such a powerful message of self-resolve, that reminds me of Urban's speech each time I hear it. So I've paired them together for you.

Vegvisir: All Roads Lead To Christ:
The Origins of the Vegvisir found commonly in neo-paganism.

Name:

—comes from the Icelandic Grimoire “Galdrakver” in 1868ad Akureyri; never used prior.

Symbol:

—rendition of Solomon's Sigil, specifically from the Icelandic Grimoire “Huld manuscript” in 1860ad Akureyri; labelled Solomon's Sigil within the Grimoire and very similar to earlier English variations of Solomon's Sigil. Read more in image.

History of poor research, verification and allure to unsubstantiated memes, has over the past 40 years popularised and propagated the myth of this symbol as anything related to Viking (separated by over 850 years).

Interpretatio Romana:
An ancient Roman practice of identifying foreign deities with equivalent Roman gods; under the assumption that polytheistic cultures across Europe and the Mediterranean were fundamentally worshiping the same gods, just by different names.

First coined by Tacitus [Germania 43] who identified the German god to be Mercury [Germania 9] and Romans apply to Greek Hermes [Hyginus Fabulae 143]. Mercury would be used for Odin-equivalents until the 6th century.

This Interpretatio Romana tradition was also preserved in Acts, where the Greeks of Lystra identified Saint Paul to be Ἑρμῆν after he performed a miracle:

“And they called — Paul, Mercurius (Hermes)”

The Romans identified Mercury 🇮🇹 to be: Odin 🇳🇴 Wotan 🇩🇰 Wodan 🇩🇪 Lugus 🇫🇷 Thoth 🇪🇬 and Saint Paul ✝️; and all to be the same figure.

Paul is no god and only performed his miracle by the power of Jesus Christ; it is however an interesting thought that Saint Paul was the only archetype of Odin that actually historically existed.

$1 vs $100,000,000 Archetype of Wotan

the stars will be our paradise