Language:
English
Year of publication:
2020
Titel der Quelle:
Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages
Angaben zur Quelle:
46,1 (2020) 1-20
Keywords:
David,
;
Bible. Criticism, interpretation, etc.
;
Speeches, addresses, etc., Hebrew
;
Bears
Abstract:
In 1 Samuel 17, David offers to defend Israel’s army against the Philistine champion, Goliath. In response, King Saul questions whether or not David is prepared to fight the Philistine’s man of war. David responds by claiming, “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be as one of them because he has reproached the armies of the living God”. Commentators have puzzled over this response and offered explanations from textual emendations to theological solutions. At the root of many of these suggestions lies the presence of the bear in this passage. What does it add to the speech that the lion does not? This paper attempts to answer this question by examining bears in ancient Near Eastern iconography to discern the possible socio-cultural place of bears throughout the Near East. It ends by offering interpretive suggestions for David’s speech that consider the bear as an integral part of his speech.
DOI:
10.10520/EJC-20a3d4d2b9
URL:
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