Selections from classical Torah sources
which express the special relationship between
the People of Israel and Eretz Yisrael

NOV

When the Philistines destroyed Shiloh, the Mishkan Sanctuary was re-established in Nov where it remained during the more than a decade that the Prophet Shmuel led the Jewish People. Its destruction at the end of Shmuel's career came about through tragic circumstances described in the Book of Shmuel I (21-22). When David fled for his life from King Saul, who saw him as a threat to his sovereignty, David came to Nov where the kohanim provided him with food and the sword of Goliath. Although the kohanim were not aware of Saul's feud with David, who had once been his favorite, the king accused them of conspiring against him and they were put to death. This marked the end of the Sanctuary on this site, and it was transferred to Givon. The bitter aftermath of Saul's slaying of Nov's kohanim is described in Shmuel II (21). The Givonite converts, who lost their livelihood as woodchoppers and water carriers for those kohanim, and suffered three years of famine for what Saul had done to them, demanded the death of Saul's children as the price of their forgiving the Jewish People.