02_Walton_179_200_179_200 29/07/15 11:00 Pagina 200 200 JONATHAN H. WALTON 200 derives his power from the gods and is compelled to care for and obey them, his position also allows him leverage to negotiate with them. Thus, when the king calls the gods out to battle, the gods comply. But a proper Israelite king does not attempt to manipulate Israel’s God. This is the significance of David returning the ark to Jerusalem. His first attempt to move the ark under his own initiative ends in disaster — specifically to make a point — but the move is resumed under the auspices of YHWH 89. Not only is David not content to ignore the ark and implicitly take its place, as Saul the ideal ancient Near Eastern king seems to have done, but he actually runs before it (2 Sam 6,14.16) taking the “assistant” position that the gods are supposed to take in the vanguard. Also noteworthy is the fact that David refuses to take the ark with his army into exile (15,25); instead he recognizes that if YHWH has done this to him. (2 Sam 15:25 and 2 Sam 6:11), the ark is not going to help, which is the opposite of how the elders think in 1 Sam 4,3. But the elders do not want an Israelite king; they want a “king like the nations”. Instead of asking why YHWH might not want to help them in battle, they look for a way to make him fight anyway, whether he wants to or not. The loss of the ark should have been a motive for repentance, but instead they insist, notwithstanding Samuel’s success- ful tenure as a makeshift palladium. The elders want a god they can manipulate, and they want a king to manipulate him. It is this kind of king, performing this role, that constitutes rejection of YHWH. 217 E Cripe Street Jonathan H. WALTON South Bend, IN 46637 U.S.A. SUMMARY Commentators on 1 Samuel 8 offer a variety of interpretations about what the requested king is expected to replace: judgeship, YHWH himself, or Is- rael’s covenant identity. This article demonstrates that none of these propos- als account for the Biblical text adequately. It is proposed instead that the king is intended to replace the Ark of the Covenant. The king will then ma- nipulate YHWH into leading in battle. This is what ancient Near Eastern kings were able to do with their gods, and what the ark failed to do in 1 Samuel 4. 89 CAMPBELL, Ark, 133, 163.