Was David Really All That Old? Plus, Why Didn't David Merit a "Divine Kiss"?
Q. It says in the pasuk that Dovid was very old. Was 70 really that old?
A. Thanks for your question. I think 70 really was pretty old. Life expectancy in the 19th century was only 32 (worldwide average) and in 1950, it was only 48. We live in the 21st century and I know that I would have died at least twice without modern medicine. So I find it unlikely that there were all that many people older than 70 running around 3,000 years ago. In fact, David addresses this himself in Tehillim (90:10): "The days of our years are 70 years, and if one is particularly strong, 80 years...." We see that David considered 70 to be the average lifespan in his day, and 80 to be exceptional.
Nevertheless, the Radak does address the question that seventy doesn't really appear to be quite so "advanced in years." He explains that all his years of warfare had taken a toll on David's strength, making him feeble before his time. I hope this helps!
-------------------------------------
Q. Aaron and Moshe are said to have died “at the command of Hashem," but David, Miriam, and others are not. What is the difference? Is it the level of closeness to Hashem that they had during their lifetimes?
A. Thanks for your question. Rashi on Bemidbar 33:38 cites a gemara that "by the mouth of God" means that they died via a "Divine kiss." According to that gemara (Baba Basra 17a), this was because the angel of death had no power over Moshe, Aharon or Miriam. (The gemara explains how Miriam was included and why this isn't explicit in the text.) The only way these righteous people would die would be if God took them Himself, which He did.
So why not David? It might not be PC, but if I might be permitted to quote Woody Allen to illustrate a point:
Rabbi Raditz of Poland was a very short rabbi with a long beard, who was said to have inspired many pogroms with his sense of humor. One of his disciples asked, "Who did God like better, Moses or Abraham?"
"Abraham," the Zaddik said.
"But Moses led the Israelites to the Promised Land," said the disciple.
"All right, so Moses," the Zaddik answered.
The point is, the righteous people in Tanach were all individuals, and therefore different from one another. We can't expect them all to be identical, as if they were stamped out with a cookie cutter. Therefore, if some traits were unique to the Avos, or to our leaders in the Midbar, or to the righteous kings, I would think that's to be expected. Passing away through a “Divine kiss” might have been appropriate for Moshe, Aharon and Miriam given their unique circumstances, but that doesn’t mean it’s God’s course of action for every righteous person, nor should we use lack thereof as a barometer of righteousness for other Biblical personages.
Rabbi Jack's book Ask Rabbi Jack is available from Kodesh Press and on Amazon.com.