Jesse must have been the envy of his Bethlehem neighbors whenever he assembled his family for a public gathering. He is so blessed. He has not one, but eight sons, all tall, handsome young men, and at least one daughter.

A 13th century artist has written a version of this in stained glass in the cathedral at Chartres. Jesse, at the bottom, has a tree of kings sprouting from his body which rises up to fill the window, until, at the top, we see the figure of Christ. When we speak in Advent of the root of Jesse, this is the image that
comes to mind.

Our Jesse inadvertently launches David on the road to fame when he sends the boy to a battlefield of Saul to bring food to three of the older boys who are in the army, and to bring back their wages.

David's errand brings him to a war that has ground to a standstill because there is no Israelite ready to do battle with the taunting Goliath. We know the rest of the tale. A lad's ingenuity with a slingshot propels David into fame and into Saul's jealousy.

Jesse almost disappears from the Bible except for a touching little anecdote in chapter 22. David is fleeing into the desert to begin life as an outlaw as he waits for Saul to live out his reign. None of Saul's actions is very rational and David fears retaliation against his parents. So he goes to the king of Moab
to ask him to shelter the couple until such time as it would be safe to return home.

Why Moab? We have to remember that Ruth, a Moabite, is Jesse's grandmother, and the family connection holds firm here.

Of David's mother, the one who birthed this large family, nothing is known. We have no name and not a single incident beyond this one mention of David's father and mother.

I'd like to meet her.

Bible references: 1 Sam. 17
                          1 Sam. 22: 3-5