I heard this while listening to a YouTube video, and it made my ears perk up. It's a voice Q&A with Dr. Michael Heiser, author of The Unseen Realm and scholar-in-residence at the company that makes Logos Bible Software. The overall dicussion is about the story in Genesis about Noah's nakedness, Ham's sin, and the curse on Canaan.
But in discussing it, he brings up the ancient Near-Eastern practice of a new king taking the previous king's wives and concubines and having sex with them in order to solidify his own claim to the throne.
Here's the link to the video at the point Dr. Heiser starts discussing David:
Here's a transcript of that portion:
"But the even better examples are when you get to the monarchy, 'cause then you have a real issue of succession. So in II Samuel 12:8, we have an account where David, to legitimize his position, he took Saul's wives and concubines. God (this is right after the Bathsheba thing)... I'll just go back to verse 7 where Nathan is scolding David, after his little parable about the ewe lamb. Nathan said to David in verse 7, 'You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, I delivered you out of the hand of Saul, I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more.' He's given it to David here. Basically saying, look, God's saying, through the prophet, I made you king, I made you king, and this was part, in the culture, this was part of the culture, this was how you solidify your dynasty. You have sexual relations with the competitor's, with their wives and concubines. This is what you do. And this was done to David, later on, by Absalom. There's an infamous scene in II Samuel 16, in verses 20-23, this is a notorious scene in the Old Testament where Absalom publicly does this to David's wives and concubines."...
Anyways, I thought of you guys and thought I would post it. Because here's a fairly well known and respected theologian blithely stating, with no hesitation, that David had sexual relations with Saul's wives and concubines, and that God is saying he gave those wives to David for that purpose, or with knowledge that that was what David would do.
Since it's so often denied, "oh, David didn't sleep with them, he just, you know, took care of them," I thought you'd think this was interesting. It's also interesting to see how it fits in to a pattern of attempted or successful usurpation/succession of authority and leadership - he also mentions Reuben's attempt to seize control by sleeping with Jacob's concubine Bilhah.
Jerem320
But in discussing it, he brings up the ancient Near-Eastern practice of a new king taking the previous king's wives and concubines and having sex with them in order to solidify his own claim to the throne.
Here's the link to the video at the point Dr. Heiser starts discussing David:
Here's a transcript of that portion:
"But the even better examples are when you get to the monarchy, 'cause then you have a real issue of succession. So in II Samuel 12:8, we have an account where David, to legitimize his position, he took Saul's wives and concubines. God (this is right after the Bathsheba thing)... I'll just go back to verse 7 where Nathan is scolding David, after his little parable about the ewe lamb. Nathan said to David in verse 7, 'You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, I delivered you out of the hand of Saul, I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more.' He's given it to David here. Basically saying, look, God's saying, through the prophet, I made you king, I made you king, and this was part, in the culture, this was part of the culture, this was how you solidify your dynasty. You have sexual relations with the competitor's, with their wives and concubines. This is what you do. And this was done to David, later on, by Absalom. There's an infamous scene in II Samuel 16, in verses 20-23, this is a notorious scene in the Old Testament where Absalom publicly does this to David's wives and concubines."...
Anyways, I thought of you guys and thought I would post it. Because here's a fairly well known and respected theologian blithely stating, with no hesitation, that David had sexual relations with Saul's wives and concubines, and that God is saying he gave those wives to David for that purpose, or with knowledge that that was what David would do.
Since it's so often denied, "oh, David didn't sleep with them, he just, you know, took care of them," I thought you'd think this was interesting. It's also interesting to see how it fits in to a pattern of attempted or successful usurpation/succession of authority and leadership - he also mentions Reuben's attempt to seize control by sleeping with Jacob's concubine Bilhah.
Jerem320
