Homoeroticism in the bushes. Or, snakes in the grass

David and Jonathan

A story of sexual politics?

Yet for the sake of discussion, let's assume sexual tension exists in the story and was intended by the author.

We might argue, then, that the relationship between the two men is interrupted by political concerns; hence, sexual politics.

The "evidence"

If we look at closely, the story of David and Jonathan is full of imagery that could be interpreted on a sexual-political level.

• On one hand, it was uncommon for the soldiers in the ancient world to be intimately involved with their shield bearers or even other soldiers (note the Greeks, for instance).
• But was that a practice with which ancient Judeans/Israelites were familiar?

• On the other hand, the story of David and Jonathan never gets explicitly sexual, so there is a risk of reading too much into the story.