A QUESTION
As we read about the profound and deep affection between David and Jonathan, let’s consider a proverbial elephant in the room. All of this talk from David about Jonathan’s love for him being ‘more wonderful than that of women’ has led some to suggest that theirs was a homosexual relationship. But the text doesn’t imply that at all. The Hebrew word used for ‘love’ here is not primarily sexual. And David was thoroughly, and at times over-enthusiastically heterosexual, as his affair with Bathsheba tragically demonstrates. Both David and Jonathan were married and had children. While debates continue to rage in the church about the Christian attitude towards homosexuality, (and too many thoughtless words have been penned about this issue, causing much hurt and pain) the tenor of the rest of the Old Testament would certainly mitigate against the interpretation that David and Jonathan were involved in a sexual relationship. Commentators note that the reference to ‘the love of women’ includes the love between mothers and sons as well as between husbands and wives.