General Design

Color

• I looked to the choshen (the High Priest's breastplate) for inspiration regarding colors. The gemstones on the Priestly Breastplate are debated with different midrashim and translations giving different gemstones. Certain gemstones are pretty agreed upon while others like Yehudah's are the subject of debate.

  • One version has the gemstones be: ruby (Reuven), topaz (Shimeon), emerald (Levi); carbuncle (Yehudah), sapphire (Yissachar), clear quartz (Zevulun); jacinth (Dan), agate (Naftali), amethyst (Gad); beryl (Asher), onyx (Yosef), and chalcedony (Binyamin) (Shemot Rabbah 38:8-9).

  • Another version claims that the gemstone color matched the tribe's banner color: ruby (Reuven), peridot (Shimeon), emerald (Levi); turquoise (Yehudah), sapphire (Yissachar), clear quartz (Zevulun); jacinth (Dan), agate (Gad), amethyst (Naftali), beryl (Asher), onyx (Yosef), and chalcedony (Binyamin) (Bamidbar Rabbah 2:7)

  • Rabbi Bachya ben Asher assigns the gemstones as thus: ruby (Reuven), prase (Simeon), carbuncle (Levi), emerald (Yehudah), sapphire (Yissachar), pearl (Zevulun), leshem (Dan), turquoise (Naftali), crystal (Gad), chrysolite (Asher), onyx (Yosef), jasper (Binyamin)

  • The Temple Institute (an Orthodox Jewish organization seeking to reinstate the Third Temple) describes the gemstones thusly: red ruby (Reuven); green jade (Shimeon); red, white, and black striped agate (Levi); bluish-green carbuncle (Yehudah); blue lapis lazuli (Yissachar); clear quartz crystal (Zevulun); blue turquoise (Dan); purple amethyst (Naftali); gray agate (Gad); blue-green aquamarine (Asher); black onyx (Yosef); rainbow opal (Binyamin)

  • Meschel's paper "The Gems in the High Priest's Breastplate: A Pragmatic Review" claims the following based on what was available during the time period and the practicality of engraving the gems: carnelian (Reuven), peridot (Shimeon), green feldspar (Levi); garnet/turquoise/malachite (Yehudah), lapis lazuli (Yissachar), onyx (Zevulun), hyacinth/agate (Dan), gray agate (Gad), amethyst or fluorite (Naftali), chrysolite/topaz (Asher), onyx/malachite/turquoise (Yosef), and jasper (Binyamin).

• My scheme for the gemstones goes as follows: carnelian (Reuven), peridot (Shimeon), emerald (Levi); turquoise (Yehudah), lapis lazuli (Yissachar), clear quartz (Zevulun); jacinth (ie yellow-red zircon; Dan), gray agate (Gad), wine-red fluorite (Naftali); blue topaz (Asher; color was unspecified; based on a ceramic replica), very dark malachite (Yosef), and red-brown jasper (Binyamin).

I then put this tribal color scheme in as many places as I can think of since all of Yisrael united in their desire for the king. It started with the king's armlet (Sh'muel Bet (Samuel II) 1:10) that I created before extending it to the robe's trim. Similar to how all the tribes contributed to the Mishkan and the welfare of the Kohenim (Vayakhel, Shemot (Exodus) 35:21, 36:5), I extended the principle to the first king and his family. The closer one was to power, the more gold one was bedecked in as seen from Yonatan's golden girdle. This is the girdle that he later gave to David (Sh'muel Aleph (Samuel I) 18:4) in my stuff. Although nothing in the text and associated text discussed the material of the girdle, I simply made my own extrapolations. I gave each of the princes a cap with the jewels of the kingdom. The heir got square gems to resemble his father, and the other princes getting round gems on the cap's band. The princesses could wear veil crowns and/or belts made of gold.

Once I determined the colors for the tribes, I then started designing characters. For characters that were grouped together, I wanted to make sure their colors wouldn't clash. For instance, I gave warm color palettes to Shaul's elder trio of sons with Yonatan given red-orange, Avinadav given orange-yellow, and Malchishua given pale yellow. These complement their father's palette as a mature king of red, blue, and gold.

Shaul's daughters and his youngest son Ishvi got cooler colors to complement their father's palette from when he was a young king and the tribe of Binyamin. Merav got a green-focused palette with red accents. In contrast, Michal got a thoroughly blue palette to match with David and recall her name's allusions to "brook/stream" (dubious) and the Song of the Sea. Yishvi was placed in purple since he was the only one of Shaul's children that became king despite a short reign.

I also put the children at various times of the day: Yonatan is in the peak morning based on his scene of warning David. Avinadav holds his spear in the sunny afternoon while Malchishua draws his knife while the sun sets. Merav explores the desert night just like her stepmother Ritzpah while Michal rises with the dawn. Meanwhile, Yishvi watches as the sun sets on B'nei Shaul since he is the last king from that house. I put Ritzpah's children in the evening as well because their only mention in Tanakh occurs when the Giveonites kill them.

Plants, Animals, and Natural Phenomena

The patriarch Ya'akov (Jacob) uses various types of imagery in his prophecies for the tribes of Yisrael. Since my stuff mainly focuses on the tribes of Binyamin ("a wolf"), Yosef ("a wild ass" or "a bough"), and Yehudah ("a lion's whelp"), I came up with certain designs based on those descriptions. Because Shaul is often equated to a wolf within the Rabbinic commentary, I based his design on the Arabian wolf native to the land of Yisrael from the face shape to the eye color. David described Avner and Amasa as "lions of Torah" (Tehillim 57:5; Rashi on Psalms 57:5:1; Bamidbar Rabbah 19:2; Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Chukkat 7:1), so I used the lion of Yehudah as inspiration for their designs. Doeg's name can mean fish if one letter were removed, so I based his design on a non-kosher fish native to Israel. I based Ester and Hadassah's (Shaul's mother) designs a lot on the myrtle tree since her name Hadassah comes from that and made her complexion strongly olive since some rabbis said she had a greenish complexion. Olive complexions can come across as greenish in some lights. Ritzpah's parent is named after a hawk, so I partially based her and her sons off birds of prey especially for Armoni's hair.

For portrait backgrounds, I wanted to convey specific moods with stormier skies suggesting worse omens. Because Shaul is associated with the morning in Ya'akov's prophecy, I also associated sunsets with scenes that are bad omens for him and/or his family.

Character-Specific Designs

Shaul HaMelech

The older Shaul was the first design I came up with. We do get some description from the Tanakh in that "he, from his shoulders and upward, taller than all the people" (Sh'muel Aleph (Samuel I) 9:2). Midrash also discussed how Shaul's neck represented Hashem's, and that he was stricken by his neck (Sotah 10a:10-12). We also know that he was much bigger than David was as a youth since David could not deal with Shaul's military garb or helmet (Sh'muel Aleph (Samuel I) 17:39) though in what direction was unclear. Since we already had an indicator regarding height, I decided to play heavily off height and made Shaul incredibly tall to emphasize length but not very wide to contrast Shimshon's (Samson) design. I see him as being more muscular than David but not overly so since his primary weapons are the spear, javelin, and sword. The length also shows up in his face and jawline to complement a couple of puns in English and Aramaic. In Aramaic, "arich anpin" (אריך אנפין; literally translating to "long face") is associated with Hashem's patience. In English however, a long face suggests melancholy. From there, I looked at pictures of Israeli wolves and modeled Shaul's face and eye color off one. I always saw him with dark hair since dark hair was considered common in Israel but also often the beauty standard. It also gives an air of continuous mourning since he had seen a lot of death in his life.

I sought to balance desirability and beauty with haggardness since Shaul is described in Tanakh as one whom multiple women fawned over, but he was also someone who struggled with his mental health. Mental health conditions often take a toll on one's appearance, and in the episode at Endor, Shaul had not eaten food that whole day or night. Manic episodes can see one's energy increase significantly, and I can see that resulting in weight loss and a gaunt look dependent on the events occurring. Since jaspers were often a reddish-brown, I used that as the base color for his kingly robes and sudra (a traditional Jewish headdress for men). Ironically, "David Playing the Harp" by Gerard van Honthorst partially served as a reference for the folds. The color is also based on a verse from David's eulogy that Shaul dressed women (according to the Mishnah's parallel to Rabbi Yishmael, specifically brides) in gold ornaments and scarlet cloth (an incredibly expensive dye) (Sh'muel Bet (Samuel II) 1:24; Mishnah Nedarim 9:10). I added fletch/grain-like embroidery motifs on the collar of the me'il since he has heavy associations with javelins, arrows, and grain. His victory over the Ammonites and his universal acceptance as king occurred during the wheat harvest (Sh'muel Aleph (Samuel I) 12:17). His sons and grandsons were killed at the start of the barley harvest (Sh'muel Bet (Samuel II) 21:9). Given that the reign of a Jewish king starts in Nissan, I presume that Shaul's reign started in Nissan as well to create the precedent.

For the younger version, I removed the facial hair, the graying, and the extensive wrinkles but not the dark under-eyes as that was a genetic trait. I wanted to reduce the haggard, gaunt appearance and so filled in the cheeks. My goal was a lanky and boyish figure like Yosef since Yosef and Binyamin come from the same matriarch Rachel. Shaul was known to be incredibly humble and shy especially as a youngster, and I wanted to capture that timidity in the pose. I also changed the headwear from a turban-like sudra to a more of a stocking-cap design based on the Black Obelisk depiction of King Yehu or Yehu's ambassador. I wanted to parallel the turban-style sudra with the traditional headcovering for married women because his state of innocence when crowned is paralleled to that of an ordained person and a bridegroom in how the dignity erases any mistakes (Jerusalem Talmud Bikkurim 3:3:16). Once he is crowned, he never shows his hair in the way of the stocking cap style of his youth again. Only in death did I expose the hair, the crown and helmet stolen away on that battlefield in Gilvoa.

For the color scheme, I still used the blue underlayer since sadness has been with him since the War Against Binyamin. However, I used a softer palette and more orange since those are more "common colors" compared to the crimson scarlet from the Kermes scarlet worm. The scarlet fits better for the older Shaul, but it looked too stark on the young Shaul, who tried and failed to avoid becoming king. I saw more of Shaul's looks coming from his mother Hadassah as that can tie back to the Rachel-Esther connection.

The middle-aged design was the hardest, but I blended the young and old designs to create it. The middle aged design sees some grays in his hair and a beard, but it is not nearly as long as it is in his last days. During mourning periods, non-priest Jews do not cut their head or facial hair (Moed Kattan 14b; Shulchan Aruch 390:4). This ties nicely to Shaul's periods of depression and mourning for various people and events in his life. As his mental illness worsened, the length of his beard grew.

Most of the time, Shaul's body is covered based on the heavy association between modesty and Shaul in Tanakh (Sh'muel I (Samuel I) 9:21; Sh'muel Aleph (Samuel I) 10:27), Talmud (Yoma 22b:20), and Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 4:20; Megillah 13b:1; Midrash Tanchuma Buber Vayikra 4:1). In battle however, some muscles in the arms and legs can be seen. To keep the emphasis on Shaul's height however, I designed his muscles to be less bulky than other muscular depictions more along the lines of trim rather than brawny.

I based the royal regalia on some Tanakh descriptions of a diadem/crown and an armlet (Sh'muel Bet (Samuel II) 1:10) combined with inspiration from the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) of Israel (Pekudei, Shemot 39:28-30). 

I dyed the initial robe seen in Shaul HaMelech Crowned by Lot and Shaul HaMelech Official Portrait (Young) a Tyrian purple since the Israelites were so eager for the king. I tried out a couple Tyrian purple variants (Thais haemastoma, hexaplex trunculus, and bolinus brandaris) as well as white and techelet blue before deciding on the bolinus brandaris shade (ie purple dye murex). Tyrian purple was an incredibly expensive dye and scraps of it have been dated to King David and Shlomo's reign in Israel. 

Achinoam

Achinoam's younger design was created first with the powerful imagery of girls dressed in white dancing in the vineyard on Tu B'av (Mishnah 4:8). I had a hard time with hairstyles until a braided hairstyle caught my eye in HeroForge. Because Shiloh is in Ephraim's territory and Ephraim becomes the Northern Kingdom of Israel's base, I gave the young Achinoam subtle hints of her Ephraimite heritage (in my stuff) on the neckline.

I gave Achinoam's design as queen a lot more thought. I modeled the ketonet pattern off golden horns, crescent moons, and pomegranates.

• Pomegranates: the negative space formed by the pattern can look like a pomegranate. The only mention of Achinoam by name occurs at the end of chapter 14. The chapter's beginning features Shaul staying under a pomegranate tree at Migron.

• Golden horns: Ephraim is represented by a bull, and there's some interesting commentary connecting Yosef to the Golden Calf. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was heavily associated with calf, bull, and idol worship. Shaul may have had a negative reputation in the written text because of his and his lineage's association with the northern kingdom even though Shaul never committed idolatry (Pikrei DeRabbi Eliezer 17:12).

• Crescent moon: Achinoam is mentioned in the Machar Rosh Chodesh Haftarah (when the start of the new Jewish month with a new moon occurs on a Sunday). The original (Sh'muel Aleph (Samuel I) 20:30) definitely mentions her once in that she'd be ashamed of Yonatan ("to the shame of your mother's nakedness") but there may have been an additional mention dependent on translation ("You, son of a perverse, rebellious woman!" - Jewish Publication Society translation; "You son of a straying woman deserving of punishment!" - Metsudah Tanakh series translation)

Her main colors I based off a line in David's elegy about the daughters of Israel (Sh'muel Bet (Samuel II) 1:24) and pomegranates.

Ritzpah

Like Achinoam, Ritzpah is mentioned very little in the original Tanakh. She is only mentioned twice: once when Avner (Shaul’s cousin) is said to have lain with her (what actually happened is unclear) and the second in reference to protecting her sons Armoni and Mephiboshet as well as her step-grandsons from one of Shaul’s daughters (Hebrew text says Michal and Adriel but Merav was the one who married Adriel; commentaries have two interpretations: 1) Michal raised her dead sister’s children (main; Jerusalem Talmud Sanhedrin 6:7:4; Sanhedrin 19b:13); 2) Adriel is another name for Paltiel/Palti, son of Laish who did marry Michal (minor; Tosefta Sotah 11:8).) What happened to her sons and her step-grandsons was quite violent and tragic, so I will mention it under collapsed content.

Since there’s not much mentioned about her, I had a lot of freedom to play with what she is like. Clearly, she is protective and determined of her family. I wanted to give her a different pose than Achinoam because I see Ritzpah as having a quiet determination. The name Ritzpah means “glowing stone/coal” or “pavement” or the root rasap (“to piece together”). In modern Hebrew, it just means pavement. 

Her parent is Ayah, which means a hawk/falcon/kite and comes from the root for “desire or long for” but the noun itself is feminine. Ayah is assumed to be her father but it could be her mother instead. Secret Book of Kings by Yochi Brandes greatly expanded Ritzpah’s character and made her come from Yavesh-Gilead (Jabesh-Gilead).

I wanted to give her a night time scene since both of the events in her Tanakh life took place at night, that is the alleged relation with Avner and her protection of Shaul’s descendants.

I also wanted to provide a contrast to Achinoam, who I associate more with the daytime and at night, with the new moon (given Achinoam’s mention at the Rosh Chodesh banquet).

Sh'muel the Prophet

Sh'muel had black and white views on halacha and listening to Hashem. For him, it was a yes or no and not a maybe, so from the beginning I wanted to put him in a primarily gray scale color scheme. I tried using a lot of angular shapes for the base of the design including the eyes to emphasize the jagged sharp approach towards the law. Because he came from the land of Ephraim at least, bulls were also used as inspiration for his design. Sh'muel's lineage is disputed however because the book of Sh'muel claims that his father Elkanah was an Ephraimite (tribal status comes from the father), but Divrei HayYamim (Chronicles) claims Sh'muel's father was a Levite in the land of Ephraim (Divrei HayYamim Aleph (Chronicles I 6:18-33), specifically from Korach's lineage

I planned on making Sh’muel shorter than Shaul since Shaul is said to be “taller from the shoulders up” than everyone else. It emphasizes Sh’muel’s power and influence if he is shorter. His hair length and beard length however is long. 

Because Chana (Sh'muel's mother) pledged him as a lifelong Nazirite (one who abstains from grape products, corpses or graves, and hair cuts), it gave me a lot of hair to work with. The Mishneh Torah and Rambam LeAm expands on how Sh'muel kept his long hair long, combed, and attractive allowing him to enter the Sanctuary at Shiloh (Mishneh Torah Admission into the Sanctuary 1:17). I based Sh'muel's hairstyle on the seven lock style of Shimshon, another lifelong Nazirite from nearly the same era. Instead of seven locks, I gave Sh'muel three: one for each of his sons and surrogate sons (Aviyah, Yoel, and Shaul). 

Jewish life came as naturally as breathing for Sh'muel, so I wanted to emphasize simplicity and linear motifs in his design looking to the tallit gadol for inspiration. For Sh'muel, the path forward is simple: a straight path of halacha (literally translated as "the way") and veering off was going off the derech (literally "the path/way"). It also foreshadows the split in a robe between Sh'muel and Shaul that occurs later.

The red sash came from the painting "Saul and the Witch of Endor" by James Jacques Joseph Tissot and followers. It also complemented nicely with the Levite flag color scheme listed in Bamidbar Rabbah of white, black, and red.

After Agag, there's a midrash claiming that Hashem aged Sh'muel to solve a dilemma: he couldn't kill Shaul because Sh'muel wouldn't allow it, he couldn't kill Sh'muel as he is because the people would talk negatively about Sh'muel, and he couldn't spare both Sh'muel and Shaul because the time for David's kingship had come. Therefore Hashem made Sh'muel look very old (Taanit 5b:3-6), so I gave Sh'muel an aged appearance with a torn robe corner after Agag.

Avner

Avner's design proved to be difficult to create. I knew that his build would be tall since there are records of him being a giant (Kohelet Rabbah 9:11:1; Legend of the Jews 4:4:24). Since Shaul was taller from the neck up than everybody, I wanted to make Avner tall but bulkier, heavier, and more muscular than Shaul. Unlike Shaul, whose emphasis I put on height and neck, Avner's emphasis came from strength and weight in addition to height. His lineage comes from Kish's brother Ner, and according to the oral tradition, the Witch of Endor (Pikrei deRabbi Eliezer 33:10; Legends of the Jews 4:4:37), who may be named Zephaniah ("the hidden one") or married to Zephaniah. Other names for Avner's mother include Tzedek'la (צדק לא, "unrighteous") (Philo) or Toval (טָֽבְאַֽל; "Hashem is good/wise/act as a physician" or "good for nothing" or  "not good in the eyes of Hashem") (Rashi on Isaiah 7:6:3; Legend of the Jews, Samuel 4:3:31; footnote 74). I have my own version of events that I detailed in my entry for the Witch of Endor. The skin tone, primary clothing, and head covering for Avner were also hard to figure out, but eventually I decided on a bluer and lighter red for the main color using Kish and Shaul as references. He takes more after Kish's side of the family than his mother while Shaul takes more after his mother's looks. I also gave Avner a golden bracelet of jaspers only to represent his status as the head of Binyamin since Shaul is king now. Essentially he's the second in command, the lieutenant and in the case of Yishvi, the kingmaker.

Avner could be considered a study of contrasts. Avner is noted as strong (Kiddushin 49b:3) and reasonable regarding David's status as a Jew (Yevamot 76b:15). He was known for enjoying sport of single competitions between young men (which is one reason why he died according to Jerusalem Talmud Sotah 1:8:10) but also for being a "lion of the law and learning" (Midrash Tehillim 7:5; Bereshit Rabbah 82:4; Jerusalem Talmud Peah 1:1:46). Therefore, I based his shapes on lions and wolves. It also reflects his shifted alliances from the House of Shaul to the House of David (Sh'muel Bet (Samuel II) 3:12). 

I had these contrasts further reflected in his parents. His father's name Ner means "lamp" or "light" while his mother Anah became a necromancer and far more associated with the dark and the dead. Avner took after Ner more in looks, but he has his mother's eye shape.

David ben Yishai

Deciding on hair color was easy: red just like his distant uncle Esav. The color was simple: turquoise for Yehudah. I also wanted to allude to the most common Jewish colors today (white and blue) since a lot of Yehudah's domiannce today comes from David and his lineage. The complexion was also easy: ruddy. I wanted to provide parallels with Doeg, his shepherd rival from the same tribe of Yehudah. I sought to give David a softer and squarer look than Doeg using a lion as a reference (Yehudah's symbol is the Judean lion). However, if you look closely, David has the ambition in his eyes. 

I plan for his build to be wiry and scrappy as a contrast to Shaul's description since Shaul's armor was either too heavy and/or too big for David to use against Goliat (Goliath). I see him as a mobile light infantry fighter since he uses the sling and the sword.

For an older design, I added a beard to David but no sudra because Haftarah Shemini takes place when David exposes himself thoroughly (though how much is a matter of debate). He has some wrinkles, but overall, he aged better than Shaul since he has no guilt laying on him yet.