Casting Aspersions, Writing a Kingdom: Sexual Slander and Political Rhetoric in 2 Sam 3:6-11, 2 Sam 6:16; 20-23, and 1 Kgs 2:13-25
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In the story of King David found in 1 Sam 16-1 Kgs 2, several episodes recount a sexual(ized) allegation made against a significant character: Ishbosheth accuses Abner of having relations with his father Saul’s consort in 2 Sam 3:6-11; Michal disparages David for flaunting himself during the cultic procession of the ark in 2 Sam 6:16; 20-23; and Solomon executes his half-brother Adonijah for requesting marriage to David’s former ‘attendant’ Abishag in 1 Kgs 2:13-25. This paper will argue that 2 Sam 3:6-11, 2 Sam 6:16; 20-23, and 1 Kgs 2:13-25 function as historiographic slander and serve the strategic literary purposes of the David narrative by providing explanations for political fallout between particular characters while simultaneously defending the moral stature of the kings David and Solomon.
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15
Solvang, A Woman’s Place, 103. Cf. Westbrook, And He Will Take Your Daughters, 90-91.
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23
See Bienkowski, “Dance,” 88; Kilmer, “Music and Dance,” 2610; Stefano de Martino, “Music, Dance, and Processions in Hittite Anatolia,” 2666-2667; Patricia Spencer, “Dance in Ancient Egypt,” 116; Uri Gabbay, “Dance in Textual Sources,” 104; Avraham Biran, “The Dancer from Dan, the Empty Tomb and the Altar Room,” iej 36 (1986): 168-87, pl. 19.A, fig. 2.1; idem, “The Dancer from Dan,” nea 66 (2003): 128-132. Elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible dancing is also related to ritual, as seen in the examples of the golden calf episode (Exod 32:19), the festival at Shiloh (Judg 21:21), and the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Ba‘al (1 Kgs 18:26).
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32
Solvang, A Woman’s Place, 100; 150-51; Westbrook, ‘And He Will Take Your Daughters’, 192-93.
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Casting Aspersions, Writing a Kingdom: Sexual Slander and Political Rhetoric in 2 Sam 3:6-11, 2 Sam 6:16; 20-23, and 1 Kgs 2:13-25
In: Vetus TestamentumSearch for other papers by Erin E. Fleming in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
In the story of King David found in 1 Sam 16-1 Kgs 2, several episodes recount a sexual(ized) allegation made against a significant character: Ishbosheth accuses Abner of having relations with his father Saul’s consort in 2 Sam 3:6-11; Michal disparages David for flaunting himself during the cultic procession of the ark in 2 Sam 6:16; 20-23; and Solomon executes his half-brother Adonijah for requesting marriage to David’s former ‘attendant’ Abishag in 1 Kgs 2:13-25. This paper will argue that 2 Sam 3:6-11, 2 Sam 6:16; 20-23, and 1 Kgs 2:13-25 function as historiographic slander and serve the strategic literary purposes of the David narrative by providing explanations for political fallout between particular characters while simultaneously defending the moral stature of the kings David and Solomon.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 332 | 39 | 6 |
| Full Text Views | 288 | 11 | 5 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 139 | 22 | 8 |