Anton Blok, a Dutch anthropologist, claims the Tanakh is full of horrific stories about murder, ‘protection rackets’, and terrorism.
In various texts, the leaders of the Jewish nation are compared to ‘outlaws’, ‘fugitives’, ‘bandit chiefs’, ‘gangsters’.
When David escaped from King Saul, he surrounded himself with a group of 400 people, described in 1 Samuel 22.2 as ‘all those who were in distress or in debt or discontented’, and became the leader of an organized crime group, a ‘goodfella’ in exile, and ‘Godfather’ after he accessed the throne. There are analogies between the Cosa Nostra and David’s criminal organization, with David as its leader, Joab as consigliere, and an army of caporegimes and ‘soldiers’ who were all rewarded for their loyalty to their boss.
Although David realized the importance of gaining the support of the local population, he did not acquire the status of a Robin Hood, despite his popularity after defeating the giant Goliath. In fact, the locals made several attempts to turn him over to King Saul. This hostile attitude may have been one of the reasons why David turned to violence, running ‘protection rackets’ and making ‘offers that one cannot refuse’. He needed to maintain his organization, and his soldiers had to eat. ‘Clients’ who dared to refuse to pay David, such as the wealthy Nabal, the husband of Abigail (who after his death became one of David’s wives), were severely punished. David also eliminated any witnesses to his criminal activities in the land of the Philistines to keep his racket a secret, which is reminiscent of the omerta principle of the mafia.