Samuel’s Mister Israel Pageant

David has been held up as an ideal(ized) man, one against whom other men are to be defined: a hegemonic male. His hegemonic masculinity is clearly visible in 2 Samuel 10–12, which takes place during the Ammonite wars. But hegemony is a social construct, and it gets expressed in social relationships. David’s relationships with three other characters in this pericope – Joab, Bathsheba and Uriah – illustrate how a hegemonic man maintains his hegemony through the trifecta of violence, sex, and race. Ultimately, David’s actions in 2 Samuel 10–12 vis-à-vis these three show the limitations and perils of hegemonic masculinity. Rather than glorifying hegemonic masculinity, this text ends up undermining it, exposing cracks in this image of masculinity.

Saul, Benjamin and the Emergence of Monarchy in Israel AIL 40, 2020

For a copy of this article, please contact me only VIA EMAIL. Full citation: 16. Sergi, O. 2020. Saul, David and the Formation of the Israelite Monarchy: Revisiting the Historical and Literary Context of 1 Samuel 9–2 Samuel 5. In: Krause, J., Sergi, O. and Weingart, K. eds. Saul, Benjamin and the Emergence of Monarchy in Israel (Ancient Israel and its Literature 40). Atlanta (SBL Press): 57–91.

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.

Authorizing Marriage? Canon, Tradition, and Critique in the Blessing of Same-Sex Unions, 2006

PRINCETO^IáND OXFORD 2oeç ó ¡¿¡n.r D. IoRDAN year in and year out) no matter how many other topics advance and retreat through the public debates.

Vetus Testamentum, 2009

It is well-known that there are no detailed descriptions of the physical beauty of specific characters in the Bible. Despite this "disclaimer", we seek to treat descriptions of such beauty in the books of Samuel and Kings in this article as they are manifested in stories of male (Saul, Eliab, David, Absalom, and Adonijah) and female figures (Abigail, Bathsheba, Tamar, and Abishag the Shunammite). We shall attempt to answer the following questions: What are the opinions of the authors of Samuel and Kings on physical appearance? Is a distinction drawn between masculine and feminine beauty? What are the purposes of pointing out a specific character's physical beauty? An analysis of the Biblical convocations is conducted according to the literary approach. The article focuses on methods used to cast the characters and on analogies between the various stories, and tries to draw conclusions regarding trends in the books of Samuel and Kings, as well as on the homogeneity of Deuteronomistic history.

Teleioteti, 2019

Though many studies have probed the significance of the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam 7:1-17) within the biblical canon, few have endeavoured to explore its significance within the narrative of Samuel. This thesis argues that by weaving references to God's promises made to David (collectively known as the Davidic Covenant) throughout his narrative, that author of Samuel reveals God's will to strip away all human pretension by bringing His promises to fulfillment through the lowly David, whose acension to kingship and endurance therein is owing all to God. In this way, the author fulfills his purpose to demonstrate God's sovereign working in history to establish His kingdom on earth through His chosen priest-king, a descendant of David, in fulfillment of the promises He made beforehand. Engaging in a literary close-reading of the text of Samuel, the author shows how the narrative of Samuel is shaped towards this end. In the present environment of high interest in the Book of Samuel, this contribution by James Rutherford is most welcome. Rutherford is well versed in current scholarship on Samuel, but his work moves well beyond this scholarship to contribute fresh insights, not least in respect of the priestly character of King David. And concerning its structure, Rutherford argues that the Book of Samuel as a whole is arranged and narrated so as to draw attention to the centrality of the Davidic Covenant of 2 Samuel 7. Having myself studied 1 and 2 Samuel for decades now, I was nevertheless benefitted at numerous points from Rutherford’s creative interpretive suggestions. His is a work well conceived, well written, and worthy of a serious read." V. Philips Long, Professor of Old Testament, Regent College This thesis argues that by weaving references to God’s promises made to King David throughout his narrative, the author of Samuel reveals God’s will to strip away all human pretension by bringing his promises to fulfillment through a lowly man whose ascension to kingship and endurance therein is entirely owing to God. In this way, the Samuel author fulfils his purpose of demonstrating God’s sovereign working in history to establish his kingdom on earth through his chosen priest-king, a descendant of David. The thesis represents an excellent piece of work that does a great job of bringing together into one coherent argument, focused on the Davidic covenant, much of the best recent narrative-critical research on 1-2 Samuel, and from this point of view represents a distinctive contribution to the field of Samuel studies." Iain Provan, Marshall Sheppard Professor of Biblical Studies, Regent College

Bible Review, 1996

This article argues that the narrator of 1 Samuel presents Saul as a sacrificial victim. As the first king, he becomes the object of divine wrath that arises from Israel's request for a king. His suffering and death redirect divine wrath away from the nation, thus allowing it to survive.