Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 37:2 (Spring 2023)
Article: Absalom, David, And Tamar: God’s Heart Through Loss, Not Misogyny
Author: Kate Danahy

PP 37:2 (Spring 2023) p. 8

Absalom, David, And Tamar: God’s Heart Through Loss, Not Misogyny

Kate Danahy

Kate Danahy is an independent scholar and educator. She has a degree in English Language and Literature from Gordon College, near Boston, Massachusetts, where she first encountered reading the Bible as literature. She has taught a variety of high school subjects, including literature, theology, philosophy, and history, for students in multiple North American and Asian countries.

Christian interpretations of David typically stem from and return to the idea that David is “a man after God’s own heart.” Scripture itself says so, in both testaments (1 Sam 13:14, Acts 13:22). What does that mean exactly?

If you ask someone this question, they may tell you, “David trusted God enough to slay a giant. David trusted God to make him king. Yes, there are actions of David that were not godly, but through repentance he provides us with an inspirational example of forgiveness.” Seldom heard from pulpits, however, is David’s cry of “Oh Absalom, Absalom, my son!” as a chief example of his heart being aligned with God’s (2 Sam 19:4; cf. 2 Sam 18:33). When David’s lament is discussed, it is too often a brief addendum that David was being ungrateful and foolish in weeping for Absalom.

Reading the stories of David with the assumption that his victories, as opposed to his grief, reveal God’s heart is a triumphalist view. It surely has its appeal, for it is easy to believe God wants us to defeat giants. It is less easy to accept that God wants us to spare our enemies even when their continued lives would be a threat to our own power, perhaps even our lives.

The ultimate son of David, Jesus, subverted messianic expectations by not being a heroic revolutionary overthrowing Roman oppression. He was instead a non-violent teacher who spoke about leaving the flock to seek the one sheep who was lost (Luke 15:3–7). Jesus’s invitation to his followers was not to conquer, but to take up our crosses, to weep with those who weep, and to welcome home the son who wished us dead (see Luke 15:12).

The story of David and Absalom is as skilled in its use of tragic irony as any Shakespearean tragedy. Even when read in translation, every detail weaves into the rich tapestry of the chapters that convey the literary climax of David’s life as told in the books of 1–2 Samuel and 1 Kings. If readers understand this story as a climactic moment for ...