Thousands and Myriads
I read an article on Shabbat which mentioned the famous phrase "והם רבבות אפרים והם אלפי מנשה" - "...These are the myriads of Ephraim, those are the thousands of Manasseh" ( Devarim 33:17 ) and it occurred to me that the same numbering pairing appears also in the song that the women sang after David vanquished the Plishtim: "הכה שאול באלפו ודוד ברבבותיו" - "...Saul has slain his thousands; David, his tens of thousands" ( Shmuel 1:18:7 ). It occurred to me that the phrase from Devarim might better explain why the song caused Shaul so much consternation. After all, it was just a commoners' song celebrating David's military prowess. David was obviously younger than Shaul and therefore logically more capable of defeating a larger number of goons in battle. Was Shaul's reaction simply basic jealousy? I don't think so. Consider the phrase from Devarim: It describes the younger brother, Ephraim, overtaking the older brother, Menashe, in...