Saint David and the Jews

In his hagiography of the sixth century patron saint of Wales; Saint David – which is our principal source for the details of David’s life – Rhygyvarch writes as follows:

‘When these things were ended, the Patriarch addressed them and said, "Obey my voice, and attend to what I direct. The power of the Jews (says he) grows strong against the Christians. They alarm us, they reject the faith. Attend, therefore, and go preach daily that their vehemence, being confuted, may quiet down, knowing that the Christian faith is spread abroad to the limits of the west and sounded forth to the utmost parts of the earth." They obey his command. They preach, each of them, every day. Their preaching becomes acceptable. Many come together to the faith. Others they strengthen.’ (1)

The Patriarch in question is that of Jerusalem and the passage reflects his instructions to Saint David and explaining how the power of the jews is becoming stronger every day in addition to the fact that the jews deeply despise the Christians.

One might dismiss this as mere anti-jewish fantasy, but this is disproved by the fact that less than a half century later. The local jews rose up against their Christian neighbours and fought with the Persians to end Christian rule in Palestine in 614 AD. The local jews then proceeded to murder as many Christian men, women and children as they could possibly get their hands on at Mamilla pool just outside of the city. (2)

What is hagiographic in Rhygyvarch is how Saint David calmed and then converted the jews with his fervent preaching. The massacre at Mamilla Pool a few years later clearly indicates that he was unsuccessful, but it does provide evidence for the venomous hatred of the jews for Christians in Palestine in the late sixth and the early seventh century.

References

(1) Rhygyvarch, Life of David, 47 [A.W. Wade-Evans Translation]

(2) I have discussed this in a separate article: https://karlradl14.substack.com/p/antiochus-of-palestine-on-the-jews