Abstract
This essay engages with several aspects of the story of Jonathan’s relationship with David in the books of Samuel, esp. 1 Sam 16–20 and 2 Sam 1:19–27. The evidence of the Old Greek and of the manuscripts from Qumran shows that this story must have developed through several iterations of the Hebrew text. It is part of a larger narrative of the downfall of Saul and the rise of David, which exemplifies Hebrew narrative art at its height. Yet although this is a sophisticated literary work, portraying profound personal emotions and relationships, comparison with recently rediscovered Hittite and Assyrian texts demonstrates that the narrative has a significant political dimension as well. There are also strong similarities to the portrayal of heroic friendships and bonds between warriors in Greek literature. Such is the emotional and aesthetic power of the narrative that it has also inspired a rich history of reception, beginning within the manuscript tradition itself and in ancient rewritings of the narrative, such as the Judean Antiquities of Josephus and the Biblical Antiquities of Pseudo-Philo.