Short Story Module: The Story of David

Darcie Hammer

Azusa Pacific University

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Context: This module is designed for an intermediate adult ESL literacy class in the United States. I am not currently teaching but in the future I plan to teach ESL (at least in part) through a church setting, using the Bible. I am basing it off of a job I may have in the future. Horizon Church in Seattle, WA has an ESL program designed for Asian International Students (primarily Korean, Japanese, and Chinese) and their hope is that after the ESL program, students will continue on into their Ministry program. However, I have prepared this lesson in such a way that it could be taught in a secular context if allowed.

Theme and Rationale:

The purpose of this lesson is to teach English literacy through exploring the themes and applications of the story of David in the Bible. This lesson plan is based on the general assumptions Hedgecock & Ferris (2009) have about international students ( p. 51). Some of these assumptions are:

• Students are well educated and fully literate in their L1s.• Students have had traditional L2 education but limited opportunity for

extended reading and writing practice and even less opportunity for speaking and listening.

• Students are somewhat unfamiliar with the L2 culture and educational system.

Some students may be familiar with the Bible while others may not be. Regardless, the themes from the story of David are applicable to all people. The overarching themes I wish to examine are:

• A pure heart is better than an esteemed background• What things seem insignificant now are preparing you for greatness• Overcoming obstacles that seem impossible

This lesson will meet the needs of my students by providing opportunities to practice the four parts of language: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Gajdusek (1988) states that lessons in literature encourage talking, problem solving, and interactive group work (p. 229). In addition to this, it strengthens vocabulary and builds cultural awareness. Hedgcock & Ferris (2009) claim that students are more motivated when reading texts that are of interest to them. The story of David is ideal because it touches on real-life issues and will spark thought, reflection, and meaningful conversation that can apply to their personal life.

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I have built my lesson plan based on Linda Gajdusek’s four-level sequence model outlined in her article, Toward Wider Use of Literature in ESL: Why and How. I have chosen to use a modified version of the story of David to make it more manageable for my students. According to Hedgcock & Ferris (2009), “texts that are too daunting for the students’ reading experience and proficiency level” can be “overwhelming and discouraging” (p. 92). Therefore, rather than reading from the original Biblical text, I will be using an adapted story from: M. Logan (n.d.), The Wonder Book of Bible Stories retrieved from http://www.ebiblestories.com/stories/the_story_of_the_fight_with_the_giant.shtml.

I’m aiming to hit somewhere in the range of my students’ zone of proximal development discussed in the powerpoint presentation, Designing the Reading Course, slides 7-9. If the text is too easy, the students put out too little effort. If it is too difficult, it takes too much effort and students will likely give up. The middle area where text and concepts are just a step beyond their understanding keep the pace challenging but realistic at the same time. This is Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development.

The Story of David

Student Learning Outcomes:• SWBAT: Identify setting, characters, plot, and themes from the given short story• SWBAT: Critically analyze and discuss story characters and themes within groups• SWBAT: Evaluate the story, write possible implications for their life, and support their

reasoning. • SWBAT: Write and dramatize a skit pertaining to the story

Day 1 - Pre-reading - Who is David? Following Gajdusek’s (1988) four-level sequence model, I first want to introduce new vocabulary and activate my students schemata. I will also introduce them to the setting of the story and the culture during that time. The story of David is set in ancient Israel, therefore it will be necessary to introduce them to “life back then”. To do this, I will introduce vocabulary specific to this story (Gajdusek, 1988, p. 235). Following the advice of Hedgcock & Ferris, because these are low-frequency words and are introduced for the purpose of text comprehension, I will provide some pictures to help make their “learning burden” lighter (2009, pp. 287 & 305). After the vocabulary activity, I will pass out a short excerpt about the life of a shepherd. This is to introduce the students to cultural knowledge so that they understand the lifestyle of David. I will also use it to activate students schemata and to stimulate thinking by posing some questions to the

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class for speculation of what life was like for David as a young boy. Gajdusek (1988)stresses that we not only want to teach our students to read for information, but we also what to teach them “habits of inquiry and speculation, critical reasoning, and the conscious testing of inferences or hypotheses” (p. 233).

Hedgcock & Ferris (2009) mention how important teacher modeling is so during this first lesson, I want to model various reading strategies. To do this, students will read through the first section of the Story of David together as a class and I will model word-attack strategies and inferencing so that they can become more comfortable doing this on their own during the at-home reading that will be assigned. A major focus of this module is for students to identify the parts of a story as well as analyze themes. As suggested by Gajdusek (1988), because of time constraints, I will have my students read the bulk of the story at home. I will encourage them to read it two times - once for understanding, and the second time to search for information. This will allow them to put into practice what they have been learning in the pre-reading lesson and will also prepare them for the factual in-class work for the next class period.

Hook/Warm-up (5 minutes): • Ask students what they know about Israel. (Open class up for short discussion)

There is a lot going on in Israel right now but have you ever studied about ancient Israel? Today we are going to begin a study on one of Ancient Israel’s most famous kings. We will be reading and studying the story of David.

Introduce Vocabulary (10 minutes): • I will pass out the vocabulary sheet (Appendix A) and show the pictures through a

projector screen. I will go over the definitions with them as a class and then pass out a cloze-type activity for them to plug the correct word into the blank (Appendix B).

Cultural Knowledge & Activate Schemata (15 minutes):

• Have students read the short excerpt about the life of a shepherd. This will help them to see the context in which David came from and who he was before becoming a king. I will also use it to activate students schemata.

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The Duties of a Shepherd

In early morning he led the flock from the fold, to the spot where they were to be

pastured. Here he watched them all day, taking care that none of the sheep strayed and

wandered away from the rest, he would diligently seek the sheep until he found and

brought it back. In those lands, sheep require to be supplied regularly with water, and

the shepherd has to guide them either to some running stream or to wells dug in the

wilderness. At night, he brought the flock home, counting them as they passed through

the door to assure himself that none were missing. Nor did his labors always end with

sunset. Often he had to guard the fold through the dark hours from the attack of wild

beasts or the occasional thief.

-Adapted from WebBible Encyclopedia

• Students will form their own groups of 3 or 4 classmates and will be prompted with the following questions:

• Think for a minute of what it must have been like to be a shepherd. What feelings might you experience? Do you think this was a desirable job? Why or why not?

• David was the youngest of 8 brothers and was in charge of taking care of the sheep. What does that tell you about the job of a shepherd? Is anyone the youngest in here? How did your older siblings treat you? Do you think David might have had it rough living with 7 older brothers?

• After they have discussed in their groups, I will invite each group to share their thoughts and we will discuss them as a class.

Background Knowledge (5 minutes): • Hand out graphic organizer (Appendix C). I will explain to them that at this time,

Saul was the first king in Israel but God was not pleased with Saul’s reign. So God led the prophet, Samuel in a search to find a new king for Israel - one that would rule wisely and righteously. He told Samuel to go to Bethlehem and find the man named Jesse. It would be one of Jesse’s sons who would become the next king.

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Initial Reading (20 minutes):

• Have students read Part 1 of the Story of David (Appendix D) and underline any words they do not understand. The 1st time they will read for general understanding, underlining any words they don’t understand. After they have finished, I will ask them what words they found difficult to understand and write them on the board. Then we will go through word-attack and inferencing strategies as a class. I will model this using the steps listed in figure 8.2 of our text, Teaching Readers of English (Hedgcock & Ferris, 2009, p. 307).

For example, if students had trouble with the word “prowled” in the sentence:

David grew up strong and brave, not afraid of the wild beasts which prowled

around and tried to carry away his sheep.

• First, determine the word’s grammatical category. After we have determined it to be a verb, we will look for the subject (wild beasts). So wild beasts prowled around. What do you think prowled means? Then we can check the definition in a monolingual dictionary. Write definition of board.

• Read story again - out loud - and begin looking for information such as who, what happened, when, and where? (organize on their graphic organizer (Appendix C) and on board) Each student will read a section out-loud and after their turn, I will put the information on the board. After collecting the factual information, I will address the class with some questions:

• When Samuel first saw Eliab, he was sure that this was who God had chosen.

Why?

• What did God say in reply? What does it mean that “God looks at the heart?”

• Notice that David was not even there when Jesse presents his sons to Samuel.

Why do you think this is? What does that say about Jesse’s view of David?

How do you think his brothers reacted?

• What do you think is the theme of this portion of the story? What title would you give this section? Have them talk about this in their groups and then we will discuss as a class.

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Wrap up/Review (5 minutes): • This section was to introduce who David was. Now that we know a little about

David, we are going to take a look at David’s first obstacle on his way to becoming king. Before reading the story, take special note to the last paragraph of our reading today.

• Assign the reading - The Story of David Part II - for homework and and explain that they are to write down who, what happened, where, and when, etc. as they are reading. Hand out a new graphic organizer for them (Appendix C). Encourage them to read the story twice, once for general understanding, and the second time to look for the answers. Underline any unknown words and try to guess meaning, then look up words in dictionary to see if correct. Instruct them to write down any questions they have about the story or language usage. Have them write down who they think are the main characters in the story and then choose any four characters and complete the Character Map sheet (Appendix C). I also want them to think of a title for this section of the story.

Day 2 - Factual In-Class WorkIn Day 1 of this module, I have given the students a foundational understanding of the Story of David by supplying sufficient background information and modeling reading strategies. On Day 2, students should come to class prepared to talk about Part II of the Story of David. Gajdusek (1988) advises that teachers do not begin the factual in-class work by doing a line by line exegesis of the story. Instead, she states that it is helpful if students are given some fairly factual questions to answer on paper to help them take responsibility and organize the material. This is why I have sent them home with a graphic organizer to fill out and the Character Map. When they come to class, we will go over the facts of the story (who, what happened, where, when) as a class and then delve into further examination of the literary text.

Activation of Prior Learning (5 minutes): • Review what we have learned so far about the Story of David. Then students are

invited to ask questions they have written down from the assigned reading. Were they able to successfully use the strategies we learned in the previous lesson?

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Factual In-Class Work (35 minutes): • Point of view

• Have students quickly read over the story again and identify the point of view, pointing out that we can often find this by looking at the pronoun clues (Gajdusek, 1988, p. 239).

• Characters • By a show of hands, how many students thought there was only one main character?

Two? Three? As suggested by Gajdusek (1988), have the students discuss as a class who they thought the main characters were and why. This activity is highly communicative but there are no wrong answers. What is important is the way students support their position.

• Setting• Time-general/place-general - as part of the background information in Day 1, we

have already established the general time frame of the Story of David and the general place - Israel. So I will be having them look for time-specific events throughout the story.

• Time-specific - have students identify the different time markers throughout the story to see how much time passes.

• Place-specific - in reading through the story, how many scenes are there? I would do this by asking students how many sets they would need if they were making a movie about this story (Gajdusek, 1988).

• Action• Gajdusek (1988) states that this is a good time to check that everyone “shares the

same impression about what the facts of the story really are” (p. 244). In their same groups, have students compare their graphic organizers and the plot points that they pointed out and have them create a time-line with the eight most important points.

• Analysis• After the facts have been established, students can examine the deeper question of

why (Gajdusek, 1988). Gajdusek (1988) goes on to say that a good way to analyze the plot is by studying the conflict and climax of the story.

• On their graphic organizer they should have already written down the conflict. As a class, discuss what the conflict is and in their groups, identify which sentence contains the climax. Each group will share and give their reasoning why.

• In groups, students will share which characters they chose for their Character Map and what they wrote about them.

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• Theme• “A theme usually expresses an idea that is somehow universally true” (Gajdusek,

1988, p. 247). In Day 1, I elicited questions to help students discover the theme in Part I of the Story of David. Students should have come up with something along the lines of “a pure heart is better than an esteemed background”.

• Now, on Day 2, together as a class we will go over symbolism and how often, there is meaning behind the story that can apply to our life. “The goal is to have the students discover these relationships, but often the teacher must be the one to focus attention on significant images” (Gajdusek, 1988, p. 250). Therefore, I will begin this section by addressing Goliath and what he might stand for, asking questions to get them to think. After all, the story of David and Goliath is somewhat cultural knowledge as newspaper writers describe “goliath spiders” or a sports even was likened to David (the team that had no chance) and Goliath (the seemingly undefeatable team). I will do a search online and pull in some of these specific references and show them on the projector screen. What does Goliath represent?

• Students will analyze different parts of the text and suggest possible themes. For each group, I will hand out one of two questions for them to examine:

1. In one moment, David went from being a lowly shepherd boy to a mighty warrior. How did David’s past prepare him for what was ahead? What are some possible implications you can draw from this? What are some lessons we can learn from David?

2. The story tells how Saul tried to give David his armor but it was too big and heavy. David decided to fight the giant his own way -- without the armor. Can you think of a theme that can be taken from this part of the story?

• After they have discussed in their groups, groups with question one will share their thoughts with the class. Then groups with question 2 will share.

Extending ActivitiesGajdusek states that effective extending activities are those that require the students to have understood the story, characters, conflict, or values. The purpose is to get the students to explore the text even more but to also change the pace of the class and bring in an element of fun (1988, p. 251). I chose to have my students work together in their groups to write and act out a script for an interview session with one of the characters. This changes the pace and gives opportunity to make it fun -- and funny if they desire. Not every student is required to act, but all must participate in helping to write the script.

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They will have the rest of the class period (about 15-20 minutes) and then they will perform the following class period.

Extending Activity - Interview a Character (15 minutes)• In their groups, instruct students to pick a character from the story to interview.

They can take if off of their character map or pick anyone else. Ideas would include: a soldier from the Philistine army, a soldier from the Israelite army, David, Goliath, one of David’s brothers, an innocent bystander, etc.

• Students need to write both the interview questions and the responses. In the next class period, each group will share their skit.

Homework• Read Part III of the Story of David to see what happened and how he eventually

became King. This is a very short (and simplified) section but will offer closure on the story and how David went from being a shepherd boy to being a king. Give them one last graphic organizer.

• Choose one of the following questions and write a 100 word response in your journal:

3. Certainly we have all had “giants” in our lives that have seemed impossible to defeat. Fears, rejection, financial pressure or debt, mastering English, etc. And even our friends and family tell us that we cannot overcome. What are some of the giants you are facing right now in your life and how does the story of David and Goliath encourage you?

4. David’s time spent as a shepherd was probably some of the most difficult and lonely times of his life, but do you see how this prepared him for his destiny as a king? Examine how David was viewed before this fight and compare it to how he was viewed after the fight. What are some of the reasons for his success? Do you think he would have accomplished this had he not first been a shepherd?

5. Do you think David made a good king? Why or why not? Include characteristics you saw in David to support your answer.

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Day 3 - Extending Activities• Students will turn in their journals.• Allow students a few minutes to organize in their groups and review or finish

preparing their interview skit. Each group will present to the class.• As a class, go over the plot of Part III and discuss any questions about the reading.

What title would they give this section of the story?• Watch movie of “David and Goliath”

Module ConclusionI tried to design my lesson to allow students to explore the themes through discussion, group work, journaling, and role play in order to maximize the use of English in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. I also used a variety of activities to reach out to each student and their personal learning styles -- an important quality of any lesson plan, according to Hedgcock & Ferris (2009). I also hope that the chosen story offers students encouragement and stimulates interest. One of the great things about teaching with literature is that it “engages readers on emotional and intellectual levels” (Hedgcock & Ferris, 2009, p. 252). My hope is that my students will not only walk away with a better knowledge of reading in English, but a desire to continue reading outside of class because they had an enjoyable experience.

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References

Gajdusek, L. (1988). Toward a wider use of literature in ESL: Why and how. TESOL Quarterly, 22, 227-254.

Hedgcock, J. & Ferris, D. (2009). Teaching readers of English: Students, texts, and contexts. New York, NY: Routledge.

Manis, C. (n.d.) Daily Teaching Tools. Graphic Organizers. Retrieved from www.dailyteachingtools.com

M. Logan (n.d.), The wonder book of Bible stories. Retrieved from www.ebiblestories.com/stories/the_story_of_the_fight_with_the_giant.shtml

Dictionary.com, LLC (2014). Retrieved from www.dictionary.reference.com

Webbible encyclopedia (n.d.). Retrieved from http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/shepherd.html

Image Citations

Armor bearer. Retrieved May 4, 2013 from ubdavid.org

Rock sheepfold. Retrieved May 4, 2013 from endtimepilgrim.org

Shepherd and land. Retrieved May 4, 2013 from lacomunidad.elpais.com

Shepherd boy with sheep. Retrieved May 4, 2013 from www.thatthursdaything.org

Shepherd’s staff. Retrieved May 4, 2013 from www.istockphoto.com

Sling. Retrieved May 4, 2013 from tswilkinson.blogspot.com

Stick sheepfold. Retrieved May 4, 2013 from ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com

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Appendix A

Vocabulary Introduction

Shepherd -a person who takes care of, herds, and guards sheep.

Flock -a number of animals of one kind, especially sheep, goats, or birds, that keep or feed together or are herded together.

Fold (sheepfold) -an enclosed area for sheep.

Prophet -a person chosen to speak for God and to guide the people of Israel.

Anoint -to pour oil on someone in order to dedicate them to the service of God.

Sling -a device for throwing stones.

Shield bearer -an attendant who carries the shield of a warrior.

Shepherd’s staff -a stick, pole, or rod for aid in walking or climbing, for use as a weapon, etc.

Priest -a person whose job it is to perform religious rites, and especially to make sacrificial offerings.

Definitions taken from Dictionary.com, LLC.

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Appendix B

Vocabulary Cloze Exercise - words may be used more than once.

Late in the evening the ________________ leads his _______________

back to the ________________ where they will sleep. Shepherds often

carry a ______________ to help them walk, guide the sheep, and protect

them.

The people wanted to hear from God so they visited the ______________.

Normally a ________________ or a ___________________ would

_______________ people when they were chosen to serve God or were

dedicated for something great.

The only weapon he carried was his ________________ and a few rocks.

Warriors are more protected if they have a _________________ to help

guard them.

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Appendix D

The Story of David - Part I

Samuel went over the mountains southward from Ramah to Bethlehem, about ten miles, leading a cow. The rulers of the town were alarmed at his coming, for they feared that he had come to judge the people for some evil-doing. But Samuel said:

"I have come in peace to make an offering and to hold a feast to the Lord. Prepare yourselves and come to the sacrifice."

And he invited Jesse and his sons to the service. When they came, he looked at the sons of Jesse very closely. The oldest was named Eliab, and he was so tall and noble-looking that Samuel thought:

"Surely this young man must be the one whom God has chosen."

But the Lord said to Samuel:

"Do not look on his face, nor on the height of his body, for I have not chosen him. Man judges by the outward looks, but God looks at the heart."

Then Jesse's second son, named Abinadab, passed by. And the Lord said: "I have not chosen this one." Seven young men came and Samuel said:

"None of these is the man whom God has chosen. Are these all your children?"

"There is one more," said Jesse. "The youngest of all. He is a boy, in the field caring for the sheep."

And Samuel said:

"Send for him; for we will not sit down until he comes." So after a time the youngest son was brought in. His name was David, a word that means "darling," and he was a beautiful boy, perhaps fifteen years old, with fresh cheeks and bright eyes.

As soon as the young David came, the Lord said to Samuel:

"Arise, anoint him, for this is the one whom I have chosen."

Then Samuel poured oil on David's head, in the presence of all his brothers. But no one knew at that time the anointing to mean that David was to be the king. Perhaps they thought that David was chosen to be a prophet like Samuel.

From that time the Spirit of God came upon David, and he began to show signs of coming greatness. He went back to his sheep on the hillsides around Bethlehem, but God was with him.

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David grew up strong and brave, not afraid of the wild beasts which prowled around and tried to carry away his sheep. More than once he fought with lions, and bears, and killed them, when they seized the lambs of his flock. And David, alone all day, practiced throwing stones in a sling, until he could strike exactly the place for which he aimed. When he swung his sling, he knew that the stone would go to the very spot at which he was throwing it.

The Story of David - Part II

All through the reign of Saul, there was constant war with the Philistines, who lived upon the lowlands west of Israel. At one time, when David was still with his sheep, a few years after he had been anointed by Samuel, the camps of the Philistines and the Israelites were set against each other on opposite sides of the valley of Elah. In the army of Israel were the three oldest brothers of David.Every day a giant came out of the camp of the Philistines, and dared some one to come from the Israelites' camp and fight with him. The giant's name was Goliath. He was nine feet high; and he wore armor from head to foot, and carried a spear twice as long and as heavy as any other man could hold; and his shield bearer walked before him. He came every day and called out across the little valley:

"I am a Philistine, and you are servants of Saul. Now choose one of your men, and let him come out and fight with me. If I kill him; then you shall submit to us; and if he kills me, then we will serve you. Come, now, send out your man!"

But no man in the army, not even King Saul, dared to go out and fight with the giant. Forty days the camps stood against each other, and the Philistine giant continued his call.

One day, old Jesse, the father of David, sent David from Bethlehem to visit his three brothers in the army. David came, and spoke to his brothers; and while he was talking with them, Goliath the giant came out as before in front of the camp calling for someone to fight with him.

They said one to another:

"If any man will go out and kill this Philistine, the king will give him a great reward and a high rank; and the king's daughter shall be his wife."

And David said:

"Who is this man that speaks in this proud manner against the armies of the living God? Why does not some one go out and kill him?"

David's brother Eliab said to him:

"What are you doing here, leaving your sheep in the field? I know that you have come down just to see the battle."

But David did not care for his brother's words. He thought he saw a way to kill this boasting giant; and he said:

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"If no one else will go, I will go out and fight with this enemy of the Lord's people."

They brought David before King Saul.

Saul said to David:

"You cannot fight with this great giant. You are very young; and he is a man of war, trained from his youth."

And David answered King Saul:

"I am only a shepherd, but I have fought with lions and bears, when they have tried to steal my sheep. And I am not afraid to fight with this Philistine."

Then Saul put his own armor on David—a helmet on his head, and a coat of mail on his body, and a sword at his waist. But Saul was almost a giant, and his armor was far too large for David. David said:

"I am not used to fighting with such weapons as these. Let me fight in my own way."

So David took off Saul's armor. While everybody in the army had been looking on the giant with fear, David had been thinking out the best way for fighting him; and God had given to David a plan. It was to throw the giant off his guard, by appearing weak and helpless; and while so far away that the giant could not reach him with sword or spear, to strike him down with a weapon which the giant would not expect and would not be prepared for.

David took his shepherd's staff in his hand, as though that were to be his weapon. But out of sight, in a bag under his jacket, he had five smooth stones carefully chosen, and a sling,—the weapon that he knew how to use. Then he came out to meet the Philistine.

The giant looked down on the youth and despised him, and laughed.

"Am I a dog?" he said, "that this boy comes to me with a stick? I will give his body to the birds of the air, and the beasts of the field."

And the Philistine cursed David by the gods of his people. And David answered him:

"You come against me with a sword, and a spear, and a dart; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. This day will the Lord give you into my hand. I will strike you down, and take off your head, and the host of the Philistines shall be dead bodies, to be eaten by the birds and the beasts; so that all may know that there is a God in Israel, and that He can save in other ways besides with sword and spear."

And David ran toward the Philistine, as if to fight him with his shepherd's staff. But when he was just near enough for a good aim, he took out his sling, and hurled a stone aimed at the giant's forehead. David's aim was good; the stone struck the Philistine in his forehead. It stunned him, and he fell to the ground.

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While the two armies stood wondering, and scarcely knowing what had caused the giant to fall so suddenly, David ran forward, drew out the giant's own sword, and cut off his head. Then the Philistines knew that their great warrior in whom they trusted was dead. They turned to flee to their own land; and the Israelites followed after them, and killed them by the hundred and the thousand, even to the gates of their own city of Gath.

So in that day David won a great victory and stood before all the land as the one who had saved his people from their enemies.

The Story of David - Part III

Now Saul had a son, Jonathan, near David's own age. He and David became fast friends and loved one another as brothers. Saul the king became very jealous of David because the people praised him after his fight with Goliath. He even threatened to take David's life. He tried to catch him in his own house, but David's wife let him down from a window by a rope and he escaped. He met his friend Jonathan, who told him that he should flee. They renewed their promises of friendship, which they kept ever afterward.

From his meeting with Jonathan, David went forth to be a wanderer, having no home as long as Saul lived. He found a great cave, called the cave of Adullam, and hid in it. Soon people heard where he was, and from all parts of the land, especially from his own tribe of Judah, men who were not satisfied with the rule of King Saul gathered around David.

Saul soon heard that David, with a band of men, was hiding among the mountains of Judah, and that among those who aided him were certain priests.

This enraged King Saul, and he ordered his guards to kill all the priests. The guards would not obey him, for they felt that it was a wicked thing to lay hands upon the priests of the Lord.

But he found one man whose name was Doeg, an Edomite, who was willing to obey the king. And Doeg, the Edomite, killed eighty-five men who wore the priestly garments.

All through the land went the news of Saul's dreadful deed, and everywhere the people began to turn from Saul, and to look toward David as the only hope of the nation.

When Saul died he was followed by David, the shepherd boy, now grown to manhood and greatly loved by the people. He had many battles to fight with the Philistines and was nearly always victorious. He was a warrior king; but he was more than a warrior. He played on his harp and composed many beautiful hymns and songs, which are collected in the book of Psalms. He was a good king and tried to obey God's command. He had a long reign and his people were happy and prosperous. He had many sons and daughters and beautiful palaces for them to live in.

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