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Kelly
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May 03, 2013 12:33PM
I am working on a piece of fiction and here's my dillema. There is a young boy who is to be the next "prophet." He is a direct descendant of King David, but how can I prove this in a believable way? Ancient scrolls found? That's as good as it gets. There's got to be a better idea.
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A birth mark, in the shape of a symbol associated to King David? (The Magen David comes to mind, but there may be more obscure ones.)
A royal birthmark?:) How about an aunt or great grandfather who has a written geneology that she or he updates with each new birth and keeps in an old case in the attic? Better yet, in a safety deposit box. Or maybe a prophecy was made hundreds of years previously and he fits the description...I could do this all day, but I have other things to do. Have fun!
There is a mark on him (the boy) from the original book. But I am in the second book now and I want to figure out what document the evil uncle is going to use to prove he is to be the King since he is a descendant too.
The easy part will get you to Jesus through the Bible. The more difficult part will be go from there. There are numerous opinions of whether Mary had other children if they themselves had children - I would start there and look for parallel lineage. - good luck
Right now I'm playing with the idea of the uncle doing DNA to link him to the King and he will egomaniacally (sp) think it's him that is to be the descendant, not really knowing it's actually his nephew. So really, he thinks he has cracked the code and has rights to the kingdom because of his lineage, but really it's not his to claim.
The question would be how they will get David's DNA, since there isn't any physical proof of his existence, let alone a corpse, and the mosquito in amber idea has already been taken. I suppose someone could uncover an irrefutable grave...locks of hair, maybe?
My grandmother actually studied this (proving King David Lineage) It is known as the Davidic Dynasty. I'm not sure all that goes into it, but here is a website with more info. http://www.davidicdynasty.org/descend...
Hope this helps
Hope this helps
i agree with them. a mark would be a good way to go.
Something along the lines of bible wording, traits he got from him, some mark on him...
Even if there was a way to prove the boy is related to King David, that isn't necessarily anything special. David is supposed to have had at least 19 sons and at least one daughter by various wives and concubines. While not all survived, over 2800 years the ones who did could populate a small city with their 100+ generations of descendents. It would seem that in addition to blood relationship, there'd have to be something else special about the boy to mark him as a prophet.
Yeah, I'm starting to realize that the heritage proof is not all that important. I think I was putting too much into that and I am kind of going in a different direction. Thanks for all the thoughts guys. I appreciate the help!
I think there would have to be some organization that had been tasked, or had tasked itself, with secretly monitoring the line of David for some reason. That way the protagonist can discover the documentation of his rich history, and perhaps meet the people behind it.I don't think I'd go with a birth mark or anything like that, because genetics is too variable, especially over thousands of years. I'd not believe that a birth mark had been propagated through that many generations.
Do you think that his ancestry might be a revelation later on, rather than something that overtly drives him from the outset?
Neil, Those are some interesting ideas. I like the part about the organization secretly monitoring for years. I struggle with making it believable because it seems like it should be halfway accurate because there is a whole group Davidic Dynasty who studies this. I considered using it like a "legend" so that I could have some more leeway.
Neil's idea is great. If you're committed to the idea of a line of descent from David, I think that would be a wonderful way to go, rich with potential.That said, I'd like to put this out there: what if your character has certain features (he hears the voice of God? has healing abilities? prophetic visions?) that make him think he could be a prophet, but there's nothing whatsoever to make him or anyone else know for certain that this is true? Think about the self-doubt he would be prey to. He'd wonder: Am I crazy? If he's a religious man, might he wonder if it was God speaking to him, or perhaps someone more malignant pretending to be God? And then there'd be all of the folks around him, people who would either latch onto him too eagerly as a prophet, or folks who would be eager to call him a fraud, etc. If your protag is having doubts already, having those doubts echoed loudly by those around him wouldn't be much help.
I've always been a big fan of ambiguity in fiction, but I'm not sure whether this helps a project's commercial potential. It's great if your work stimulates lively discussion, but I suspect some readers want to know "the answer," and won't be a content with a "maybe he is, maybe he isn't" sort of conclusion.
The reason it was important that the "Golden Child" is a descendant of King David is because if he is then his uncle would be too. The uncle is the villain and he is using his heritage as a way to justify that he is to be the new king when in actuality his nephew is the chosen one and is already marked with a circular tatoo marking on his neck (the boy.)
C. wrote: "The easy part will get you to Jesus through the Bible. The more difficult part will be go from there. There are numerous opinions of whether Mary had other children if they themselves had childre..."I don't believe Jesus was a descendant of King David through Mary. The lineage from the House of David came by Joseph.
Kelly wrote: "The reason it was important that the "Golden Child" is a descendant of King David is because if he is then his uncle would be too. The uncle is the villain and he is using his heritage as a way to ..."If he was a descendant of the House of David and/or of the Priestly tribe (the Levites, the Kohanim ) it can be proven by DNA testing. Also, traditionally, Jews would not tattoo their bodies.
The way the tatoo demonstrated itself was more like a marking that he developed after an illness.
This sounds like the Da Vinci Code, but instead of Jesus, it's David? Am I right?Is this a supernatural story...I mean, could you have some kinda "Burning Bush"? I wouldn't go with a mark or tattoos or anything, I'd make the distinction between him and his rival uncle be something deeper. Like a "real" prophet, people would simply start choosing him to lead them, or w/e.
Just a thought.
The way Jesus demonstrated his "oneness" is described in Luke 2:41-52.At the age of twelve he remains behind in Jerusalem after his family leaves. Three days later his parents return looking for him and find him discussing religious matters knowledgeably with the "doctors" of the church.
His oblique yet meaningful answer to his mother's rebuke: "I must be about my Father's business."
Could the boy in your story have understanding or knowledge, or a predictive ability, beyond his years that sets him apart?
I am halfway through the manuscript now and he does do this. He is only five, but at times, his demeanor will change and he says something that is wise beyond his years. I must have known something about this prior to have been doing this already.
