David, Jether, and Child Soldiers

David’s enthusiasm for killing ‘this uncircumcised Philistine’ (1 Sam. 17.26, 36) contrasts with Jether’s refusal to kill Zebah and Zalmunah (Judg. 8.20). David’s victory over Goliath lives in cultural memory as a famous victory of youth over experience and weakness over strength. Jether’s reluctanc...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Bosworth, David A. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage 2011
In: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Year: 2011, Volume: 36, Issue: 2, Pages: 185-197
Further subjects:B Killing
B Child soldiers
B Jether
B Goliath
B David
B Warfare
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Parallel Edition:Electronic
Description
Summary:David’s enthusiasm for killing ‘this uncircumcised Philistine’ (1 Sam. 17.26, 36) contrasts with Jether’s refusal to kill Zebah and Zalmunah (Judg. 8.20). David’s victory over Goliath lives in cultural memory as a famous victory of youth over experience and weakness over strength. Jether’s reluctance to kill is almost entirely forgotten. The widespread celebration of the youthful David’s heroics overlooks aspects of the text that characterize David negatively, implicitly denigrates Jether, and tacitly endorses child soldiering. This article contrasts David and Jether and correlates their narratives with information about child soldiers in ancient Israel and the modern world.
ISSN:1476-6728
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0309089211423715