A Seat at the King's Table.

Here's something you need to understand about the ancient world: when a new king took over, the first thing he usually did was wipe out everyone connected to the previous dynasty.✦ Every relative, every potential rival — gone. It was standard procedure. Everyone expected it.

So when David — now firmly established as king over all of — started asking questions about family, everyone in the room probably held their breath. But what David did next was the exact opposite of what any political advisor would have recommended. And it's a picture of so concrete you can almost touch it — which is exactly why it's still being told.