Love at first sight? David, Jonathan, and the biblical politics of gender
View / Open Files
Authors
Peleg, Y
Publication Date
2005-12Journal Title
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
ISSN
0309-0892
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Volume
30
Issue
2
Pages
171-189
Type
Article
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Peleg, Y. (2005). Love at first sight? David, Jonathan, and the biblical politics of gender. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 30 (2), 171-189. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309089205060606
Abstract
<jats:p> This article presents an alternative queer reading of the relationship between David and Jonathan in 1 and 2 Samuel, and suggests looking at the relationship between the two men not as homosexual but as heterosexual, as the attraction and love between David, who performs the role of a man, and Jonathan, who performs the role of a woman. This study argues that the text seeks to justify David’s rise to power not only by discrediting Saul on political and religious grounds, but also by undermining the eligibility of Jonathan as the king’s successor through a subtle manipulation of gender roles. This article shows how, in order to justify the termination of the Kish dynasty, the text sexualizes the relations between Jonathan and David, and then destabilizes these relations until it finally reverses them to portray Jonathan as David’s ‘female bride’. The article concludes that by describing him as passive and effeminate the text does not suggest that Jonathan is ‘homosexual’ but rather that he is a ‘woman’, and, as such, unqualified for kingship according to the ancient, Israelite tradition. </jats:p>
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0309089205060606
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/286094
Rights
Licence:
http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved
Statistics
Total file downloads (since January 2020). For more information on metrics see the
IRUS guide.