Lenny Goldberg Bible Classes

David stumbles in sin with Bat Sheva, and the plot thickens after that...

The war with Amon escalates into a two front war with Aram and Amon

David wants to repay a favor, but it quickly backfires...

Something deeper may be going on between King David, Mifeboshet and Tzvia

David wants to return the chesed that his friend Yonatan did for him, and to fulfill the oath they made together

After telling us that King David ruled his nation rightly and justly, scripture outlines his ministers and associates.

In these wars, David takes from the plunder of the enemy, collecting materials for the Holy Temple

King David expands his borders

Addressing the question - why does the Monarch have to be decided by heredity...

Upon hearing the prophesy that from him will emanate the monarchy, David offers a prayer of gratitude to Hashem

David is rejected from building the Temple. Did he do something wrong?

David thinks its time to move the arc from the tent, and build the Holy Temple

As David is dancing with great fervor as he escorts the arc, his wife Michal doesn't approve

David does the "tikun", and successfully brings the arc to the City of David.

After conquering Jerusalem, David tries to bring the arc there, but tragedy strikes. We take a deep dive into the importance of the arc in this class.

David fights two huge wars against the Philistines, and passes a huge test.

After conquering Jerusalem, David's kingdom expands and gains recognition among the nations. He takes additional wives and has more children.

As his first act as King of Israel, David conquers Jerusalem from the Yevusites

The tribes come to Hebron to crown David as their king

Raichav and Baana run to David with Ishboshet's head thinking it's good news, but it turns out to be bad new for them...

Two men from the tribe of Binyamin murder Ishboshet the son of Saul while he is sleeping.

After Yoav kills Avner, David mourns excessively to show the people he was not partner to the assassination

David lays a heavy curse upon Yoav for killing Avner.

While Avner leaves Hebron, Yoav calls him back, deceivingly engages him in conversation, and then murders an unsuspecting Avner. We examine many midrashim which elaborate on this event.

After their meeting to unite the kingdom, David sends Avner back, but Yoav shows up....

After lobbying for David amongst all the tribes, Avner pays a visit to David in Hebron to unite the kingdom under the Davidic dynasty.

Avner ben Nir agrees to bring the kingdom over to David and make a pact with him - but David has a condition....

When Ishboshet accuses Avner of being with Saul's concubine, Avner gets infuriated, and swears to bring the people over to Davi...

David settles in Hebron, and scripture relates who his wives and sons were. Why did so many of them go off the "derech"?

After Avner kills Asael, his brothers Yoav and Avishai want revenge

With Asael the son of Zruia chasing Avner ben Nir, Avner kills Asael with the butt end of his spear...

As Avner is making Ishboshet son of Saul King over Israel, Yoav and his men meet up with them at the pools of Givon

David and his men leave the underground and move to Hebron, the capital of the tribe of Judah, and David is anointed king by the elders of Yehuda

David's lamentation over Saul and Yonatan

After the Amalekite gives over his version of how Saul died, David grills him and kills him.

While in Ziklag, an Amalekite brings to David the bad tidings about the fall of Am Yisrael

The Philistines abuse King Saul's body, the residents of Yavesh Gilad heroically come to the rescue

In a battle on Mt. Gilboa, the Israelites flee the Philistines, as Saul and his sons fight to the death.

After defeating Amalek, David's fighters don't want to share the great plunder with the soldiers who stayed back.

David and his 600 men on a mad chase to overtake Amalek and save their families

The Amalekites burn down Ziklag and take the women and children captive.

What was David's plan when he was suited up for war in the Philistine army in their war against the Jews?

Saul recovers, eats, and goes on his way. The sages praise Saul for accepting his fate.

Jewish teachings regarding necromancy and other black magic. Is it real or a hoax?

The spirit of Samuel the Prophet reveals to King Saul that he and his sons will fall in war to the Philistines.

As the Philistines mobilize for war, King Saul is inquiring of the prophets to find out what he should do. He gets no answers.

While at Ziklag, David and his men raid the Negev, kill the inhabitants, and bring the spoil to Achish. Daivd misleads Achish, telling him that he's raiding Jewish areas.

David leaves the land of Israel for the land of the Philistines, and makes an arrangement with Achish the King of Gat.

David speaks to Saul from afar and rebukes him. Saul is remorseful, but David doesn't trust him.

After taking King Saul's spear and water and crossing to the other side, David rebukes Saul's Captian of the Host - Avner Ben Nir

While the entire camp is asleep, David and Avishai descend to the army camp and take Saul's spear and water vessel. Why?

David and Avishai make the daring move into King Saul's well-protected army camp

At the end of ch. 25, King Saul marries Michal off to Paltiel ben Lysh. Isn't Michal married to David? How does David take her back as a wife?

Avigail tells her husband Naval what happened, and Naval goes into a 10 day coma before dying. David then proposes to Avigail and marries her.

After Avigails's convincing speech, David agrees not to continue with his rampage against Naval.

Avigail intercepts David and tries to convince him not to go through with his plan to wipe out Naval's household

After getting word of what happened between Naval and David's men, Avigail springs into action to save the situation

After Naval harshly rejects David's messengers, David takes his 400 men to wipe out Naval and his household. 

While Naval is having a "chag HaGez" - a sheep shearing party, David takes the opportunity to send his men to get some food.

David lets Saul know he could have killed him, Saul admits his guilt, breaks down and cries...

After cutting the corner of his coat, Saul exists the cave to rebuke King Saul

David and his men are trapped in a cave in Ein Geddi, and then King Saul walks in alone. Now, Saul is the one who's trapped....

The Zifites inform as to David's whereabouts, and King Saul gives chase. David is trapped, and only a miracle can save him.

While in the Zif desert, Yonatan visits David, and the Zif residents squeal to King Saul on David's whereabouts.

The residents of the Jewish city Kiela need help from the looting Philistines.

King Saul rules that the priests in Nov collaborated with David, and puts them to death

After King Saul's speech, Doeg reveals what he saw in Nov between David and Achimelech

400 men of dubious character join David in the Judean desert

David departs Nov, and arrives in the Philistine city of Gat, ruled by King Achish

David seeks help from Achimelech, the priest at Nov, the city of priests

Following the purification of the Temple on the 25th of Kislev, the local heathens attacked the Jews throughout the land of Israel.

After getting scolded at the Rosh Chodesh table by his father, Yonatan warns David of the impending danger

David and Yonatan's plan goes into effect when David's vacant seat is noticed by King Saul on Rosh Chodesh

David and Yonatan work out the details of how they are going to communicate Saul's response at the Rosh Chodesh meal

David turns to Yonatan to help him find out where his father is holding.

With King Saul in pursuit, his daughter Michal helps David escape through the window. Saul continues the chase and ends up "prophesizing" on the floor.

Yonatan convinces his father that David should not be harmed, but it doesn't last...

King Saul offers David his daughter Michal, on the condition that he brings back 100 foreskins of the Philistines. David is happy to oblige

By chucking a spear at him, by sending him out to dangerous wars, by dangling his daughters as bait, King Saul tries to get David killed

David and Yonatan make a pact. Saul becomes the sworn enemy of David when he hears the Jewish women praise him. What were they singing, anyway?

King Saul suddenly doesn't seem to know who David is. What's going on?

David knocks out Goliath with a slingshot, in the first round. He then cuts off Goliath's head to finish off the job.

King Saul gives David the green light and dresses David in his armor. But David prefers doing it his way.

King Saul tries to convince David that he is forbidden by Jewish law to fight Goliath. David has the answers. In the meantime, David's older brother, Eliav, tries to take the air out of his sails...

David arrives to the battlefield and encounters Goliath for the first time.

Why didn't Yonatan step up to fight the blaspheming giant? We learn about David's father Jesse, and why David wasn't in Saul's army at the time. 

This iconic Bible episode opens up with a physical description of Goliath, and his proposal to the Jewish army. 

David is brought to the palace to soothe King Saul's evil spirit. 

David is anointed by the prophet Shmuel in Bethlehem. A spirit of G-d passes over him, and departs from King Saul

We review what made David an outcast in his family. What are his origins?

Shmuel arrives at the house of Jesse, prepared to anoint one of his sons.... they all pass before Shmuel, except one, whose tending the sheep

King Saul tries to save face, requests that Shmuel doesn't leave him... Shmuel proceeds to hack King Agag into pieces.

King Saul fails in his mission to wipe out Amalek. What was the "mercy" involved here? Why is Saul paralleled to what happened in the days of Elijah the prophet? Why is Samuel the prophet taking it so hard?

Saul is commanded by the prophet to wipe out Amalek, but is having problems with this particular mitzvah. 

Why didn't the Urim and Turim answer King Saul. Why did the lottery fall on Yonatan if he didn't eat intentionally?

While chasing the Philistines, Saul bounds the people by an oath that they will fast until the battle is over