David as Reader: 2 Samuel 12:1-15 and the Poetics of Fatherhood
Starting from David's response to Nathan's parable in 2 Sam
12, this book employs an original synthesis of literary, linguistic
and psychoanalytic theory to explore the impact of the biblical
text on its readers. It draws parallels between the relationships
of speaker to utterance, texts to reader and father to son in
arguing for an underlying "anxiety of utterance" as the
source of textual power.
Biblical scholars will find stimulating readings of many
problematic narratives as well as a detailed investigation of the
poetics of the biblical oath. The theoretical account of the role
of characters in mediating the interaction between text and reader
will be of interest to all students of literature. Its provocative
insights into the relationship between God, language, masculinity
and authority raise important questions for theology and gender
studies.
'"This book is valuable not only because of its logical and methodical style but also because it addresses questions which are crucial both within and outwith its scope."' Sarah Nicholson, "Biblical Interpretation", 2000.
Hugh S. Pyper, Ph.D. (1993) in Biblical Studies, University of Glasgow, is Lecturer in Biblical Studies at the University of Leeds, England. He has published on intertextuality in the Hebrew Bible, the hermeneutics of Kierkegaard, and on literary treatments of biblical narratives.
