Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- 1 Breaking Down Parables: Introductory Issues
- 2 Devouring Parables: Jotham's Parabolic Curse in Judges 9
- 3 Overallegorizing and Other Davidic Misinterpretations in 2 Samuel 11–12
- 4 Changing Face and Saving Face: Parabolic Petitions in 2 Samuel 14
- 5 Grasping the Conflict: Ahab's Negotiation of Conflicts and Parables in 1 Kings 20
- 6 Intellectual Weapons: The Parable's Function in 2 Kings 14 and 2 Chronicles 25
- 7 Conclusions and Implications for the Study of Hebrew Bible Parables
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Scriptural and Extra-Biblical Texts Index
- General Index
4 - Changing Face and Saving Face: Parabolic Petitions in 2 Samuel 14
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- 1 Breaking Down Parables: Introductory Issues
- 2 Devouring Parables: Jotham's Parabolic Curse in Judges 9
- 3 Overallegorizing and Other Davidic Misinterpretations in 2 Samuel 11–12
- 4 Changing Face and Saving Face: Parabolic Petitions in 2 Samuel 14
- 5 Grasping the Conflict: Ahab's Negotiation of Conflicts and Parables in 1 Kings 20
- 6 Intellectual Weapons: The Parable's Function in 2 Kings 14 and 2 Chronicles 25
- 7 Conclusions and Implications for the Study of Hebrew Bible Parables
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Scriptural and Extra-Biblical Texts Index
- General Index
Summary
“But by chapter 14 all clarity has dissolved, not only for the king but for us also. … We think Joab will speak to the king, but instead he sends a woman. We are told she is wise, but she does not play the part. We are led to think she will convince the king, but she does not. She prepares to accuse the king, but her accusation floats away in the flotsam and jetsam of unconnected words, and she ends up blessing him.”
–Patricia K. Willey, “The Importunate Woman of Tekoa and How She Got Her Way”“[I]t is unclear that the Tekoite really gives any clear guidance to David in making his decision; in reality her ‘instructions’ in vv. 13–14 essentially represent a second mashal that forces David to make a decision, but fails to clarify which one he ought to make.”
–Larry L. Lyke, King David with the Wise Woman of TekoaAs the epigrams above suggest, scholars have puzzled over the encounter between the unnamed wise woman of Tekoa and David in 2 Samuel 14. According to v. 2, Joab sends her to the king with instructions regarding how to dress and what to say. During her encounter with David, she tells him a story that becomes a parable. This parable applies to David's son Absalom's current situation (see 2 Samuel 13).
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- Chapter
- Information
- Parables and Conflict in the Hebrew Bible , pp. 57 - 73Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009