Author's Note: While I understand that Philip Pullman is antitheist and kills 'God' in his books, I have adopted his dæmon concept for the Bible, because I am curious what it will be like, and to explore the characters thereof hopefully in more depth.

Disclaimer: I do not own Philip Pullman's works nor the Bible and forfeit any claim of 'profit' (as if) from publishing on this site.

The Shepherd King of Israel

Chapter 01

The glorious dawn broke over the sleepy town of Bethlehem. Soon the stirrings of its inhabitants could be seen within their homes as they roused themselves and began to make breakfast and ready themselves for the new day.

Jesse yawned as he stretched in his bed, working the sleep from his limbs. As he shifted to get up, he saw his dæmon stirring at the base of the bed and his wife striding about the room, getting ready to go make breakfast for the whole family. Jesse smiled at her. He was so fortunate to have her as his wife; he felt a little guilty as he knew that he did not much show his love and appreciation of her. He was about to compliment her when she left the room. Sighing, he stood up and began to dress.

…

As the noisy affair that was breakfast drew to a close, Jesse smiled at his seven sons as he looked at each of them. They were special to him each in his own way; handsome Eliab; strong Abinadab; jovial Shammah; and so on down to the youngest, small, lively David, who was not present, as he was tending the flock in a distant pasture for several days. The breakfast was quickly finished and they stood up to leave for their various tasks of the day. Jesse made a short speech of encouragement -his pride was evident to all of them - and they went their separate ways.

…

Jesse looked up sharply. The panting messenger paused briefly to catch his breath, and said in a ragged voice, "Sir … the elders – the elders request that you join them immediately. And bring your sons."

The short, swarthy man was surprised. "Why?" he asked, shifting his chair away from the desk and nodding to his attendant, who turned at once and left the room.

The messenger was already departing and shouted one word in reply.

"Samuel!"

Jesse gave a start and looked at his dæmon. They had heard of the famous prophet and his incredible deeds. Jesse had no idea what Samuel wanted with him and his sons. After all, they were just a simple family living in a rural town, while Samuel spent his time in the company of kings and priests.

"We must get a move on," muttered his bear dæmon. Jesse nodded. They exited the house, met Jesse's assistant on the way out and asked him to accompany them, and made their way swiftly to the town gates where the council of elders held their meetings. The sons who had been working on the repairs of their house joined them when they heard the news. The others arrived at the gates soon after they did.

The first sight they caught of when they all arrived was an old man standing by a younger man who was holding a heifer. The old man seemed unremarkable, save for the hawk dæmon who perched on his shoulder. The dæmon's fierce glare swept over them as they came closer, and they shivered.

The chief elder nodded at Jesse, and then turned to the old man. He swallowed nervously and stammered, "Well, sir – Jesse is here with their sons. Er … is there anything you – that you need?"

The old man chuckled kindly.

"Yes, I do need Jesse and his sons to remain with me as witnesses. God has called me to do a great task. Prepare yourselves, Jesse and your sons, be consecrated, and join me in this holy matter."

Jesse was completely taken aback by this. As he looked around, he saw that he was not the only one; surprise and confusion were written on everyone's faces. For a moment everyone hesitated; then the town elders inclined their heads in acquiescence and promptly left the prophet Samuel and Jesse and his family alone.

Jesse said under his breath to his dæmon, "What on earth is happening? What is he going to do?"

His dæmon's gimlet eyes were focused on the old man. "Make no mistake," her rough voice said softly. "This is no small matter. If the Great Prophet is here, it is something of vital importance." She paused. "Something of great national importance, even."

"Perhaps," Jesse murmured. "However, if it is important for the nation of Israel, why is he here with us and not with the king?" They both began walking as they began their way out through the gates to the surrounding arid countryside, the famous prophet Samuel in the lead.

"Yes, this is the place," said the old man. His hawk dæmon had spotted it from the air and pointed it out to him, and they had all climbed the slope of the hill and descended again, into a small deserted valley. The valley was some distance off from the main road and as such only wild animals, lost travellers, bandits, the sheep flocks and their protectors passed through it. The old man directed his assistant to build an altar and everyone else was busy consecrating himself for the sacrifice.

Soon a fire was roaring some distance from the altar and someone had sharpened a knife in preparation. The old man cried out, "The sacrifice will be for later. Jesse and his sons, come forward!"

The short man felt his stomach flutter as he made his way up to the prophet, his sons behind him. He – he of all people! – was actually coming face to face with the most famous person in the country.

Samuel smiled, putting Jesse at ease. "Do not worry, my dear Jesse. I am going to call each of your sons forward, as I am going to anoint one of them as king, for El Shaddai, the great and mighty God, wills it to be so."

Jesse's mouth hung in mute astonishment and he stood for a moment, totally at a loss for words. The others, too, stood in disbelief. Then Jesse seemed to recover somewhat and turned about to the others. Ignoring the small seed of doubt nestled in his heart, Jesse waved his arm eagerly, gesturing his first son forward.

Samuel looked at Eliab and was impressed. The man had a well-structured, handsome face. Samuel had seen him with the others; he towered over them. "This is the one! God's anointed!" he thought.

A small voice seemed to echo through his mind.

Samuel, his looks and stature are unimportant. I have already rejected him; he is not the one. Man looks at the outside; I look into the heart.

Samuel's hawk dæmon dipped her head in brief acknowledgement for their Master's words. Samuel shook his head, and called out, "Next!"

Jesse smiled ("Not to worry! Not to worry," he thought to himself) and slapped Abinadab's back in encouragement as he brought him out of his brothers' ranks and made him walk back and forth past Samuel. The prophet watched for a moment, and then shook his head, saying, "This man isn't God's choice either."

Jesse nodded in reply and called out his next son. He squeezed his son's shoulder for a moment as they went back to the prophet. Jesse stood back as Shammah paraded before Samuel. The prophet seemed to consider longer this time. Jesse felt a faint hope rising for Shammah, which was quickly crushed by the prophet's negative shake of his head and his words, "Again, not God's choice."

The rest of Jesse's sons passed before Samuel, and he rejected each one. Jesse was beginning to feel seriously aggrieved now. What was the point of all this if not one was up to Samuel's liking?

The prophet did not look too happy himself. He looked at the group of Jesse's sons and said to their father, "Are all your sons here? Is there no more?"

Jesse's face brightened once more. "There is," he replied hurriedly. "Yes, there remains one more, but he is watching over the sheep."

The fierce eyes of Samuel's dæmon locked onto Jesse's. "Go fetch him. We are not finished here until he comes here."

Jesse bowed and then turned to his assistant, who nodded and ran back over the hill.

They all sat down under what shade they could find and spent the time conversing with one another while they waited.