'David's Women': A critical comparison of Michal, Bathsheba and Tamar in 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel

Hogan, Julia Michelle (2014). 'David's Women': A critical comparison of Michal, Bathsheba and Tamar in 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel. University of Birmingham. M.Res.

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Abstract

In this thesis I shall look at the narratives of three women in 1 and 2 Samuel: Michal, Bathsheba and Tamar. I will argue how these women each endure incredible experiences of suffering that are brought about primarily through the actions of both King David and the narrator. These women suffer at the hands of the narrator due to the narratives neglect in recording their experiences in any detail in the text. Instead, it will be my argument that these women are simply used as a means of continuing and explaining the events that happen in the plot of 1 and 2 Samuel and the ‘David story’. It will be my aim then to attempt to bring these women’s experiences to the forefront of the text and uncover their lost voices. I shall do this through evaluating each narrative through a ‘feminist lens’ which will ultimately enable me
to draw upon three common ‘themes’ that each woman’s narrative shares with the other. The realising of these themes will allow me to demonstrate how it is that although these women stand alone, neglected within the biblical text, they are in fact united together under their combined suffering as one of ‘David’s Women’.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Masters by Research > M.Res.)

Award Type:

Masters by Research > M.Res.

Supervisor(s):