Ruth Mazo Karras’ Thou Art the Man: The Masculinity of David in the Christian and Jewish Middle Ages is a welcome addition to the growing literature on constructions of masculinities in Biblical literature and the history of Christianity, as well as the reception of the Bible in post-Biblical history. Karras traces the reception history of the biblical figure of David in medieval sources (the term “Middle Ages” seems to be used relatively loosely in the book), concluding that in the Middle Ages, more than one David existed. David was perceived differently in Jewish and Christian tradition, but also within these traditions, there was plenty of diversity, even if the topics that commentators were concerned with can be clustered thematically, as the structure of the book shows.
The book begins with an introduction that outlines the theoretical frameworks of (critical) masculinities studies and reception history. It also provides an overview of the sources, indicating that some topics are so rich that they deserve a monograph of their own, such as the relationship between David and Jonathan (21). The work consists of five main chapters, each examining a different aspect of David's masculinity as it was perceived by and discussed by medieval authors engaging with the narratives concerning him, followed by a general conclusion.
The first chapter, “David His Tens of Thousands: Prowess and Piety,” addresses an important conundrum in medieval constructions of masculinities, especially for military men: balancing piety with the demands of the battlefield. The figure of David posed a challenge to medieval thinkers, as he was not (as expected) a manly warrior and his successes depended not on his own prowess, but rather on God’s favor. The chapter shows, in the end, how for Jewish interpreters, ideal typical masculinity was to be characterized by a balance between piety and prowess, with the king focusing more on piety and his subordinates more on prowess. For Christian commentators, prowess and piety als cohered in ideal typical royal masculinities, but in their case, the king performed prowess himself, while his piety enable him to do so.
The next chapter, “Surpassing the Love of Women: Love, Friendship, Loyalty Between Men,” discusses the special bond of friendship between David and Jonathan. This topic, fraught with potential implications of a sexual relationship, proved productive in both Jewish and Christian sources. Karras concludes that “David’s friendship with Jonathan validates him as a medieval man; he is able to form deep bonds with the kind of person who matters” (100).
Chapter 3, entitled “I Have Sinned Against the Lord: Sex and Penitence,” discusses David’s escapade with the wife of Uriah the Hittite, Bathsheba, one of his many extramarital sexual relationships. Clearly, David’s behavior is in tension with dominant ecclesial ideals regarding sexuality in the Middle Ages. This is negotiated in various ways—through allegory, through appeals to the prerogatives of kings, through blaming women (e.g., Bathseba), and through stressing David’s role as a penitent (especially in the context of the Bathsheba episode). This chapter also engages Islamic receptions of David, enriching and diversifying the monograph.
Chapter 4, “With Sacred Music upon the Harp: Creativity and Ecstasy,” contends with (yet) another challenging dimension of David’s masculinity: his musicianship and incidental dancing. The very fact that this was a topic in need of explanation is itself telling. A convincing argument is presented that, although David make music and danced and despite the fact that both activities could well be regarded as feminizing according to medieal gender norms, this was not so in his case. The reason for this is that David’s musicianship really sees him engaging in composing prayers (when viewing the Psalms as his main lyrical output), while his dancing is a performative form of worship (and as the narrative emphasizes: those who fail to see it thus are struck dead by the Most High himself).
The final chapter, “O My Son Absalom: Establishing a Dynasty,” examines David’s struggle with fatherhood and family control. Both were essential to David’s kingship, given the importance of producing heirs for medieval masculinity. At the same time, this topic spoke to a key concern in medieval society: the preservation of social stability through ensuring dynastic continuity. Many wars were occasioned by contested continuations of dynasties, hence David’s struggles with his sons, Absalom in particular, provided reason for reflection on this topic.
In sum, Thou Art the Man is a rich volume that is a pleasure to read. Its only real drawback is that it is not a series of monographs, given the depth of its analysis of masculinity and the rewarding comparative perspective of Christian and Jewish (and some Islamic) sources. This book is not only valuable for scholars but also suitable for (postgraduate) classroom use, especially when paired with a selection of the sources discussed.
Peter-Ben Smit is professor of contextual biblical interpretation (Dom Hélder Câmara Chair) at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Peter-Ben Smit
Date Of Review:
December 29, 2023
