{"id":60347,"date":"2019-07-31T10:46:05","date_gmt":"2019-07-31T07:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=60347"},"modified":"2023-02-23T12:45:48","modified_gmt":"2023-02-23T10:45:48","slug":"but-who-is-the-sheep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/but-who-is-the-sheep\/","title":{"rendered":"But Who Is The Sheep?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nathan\u2019s parable of the poor man\u2019s sheep is well-known as an example of subtlety and even pastoral wisdom. Through his allegory, Nathan illuminates to David the error of his actions in seducing Bathsheba and having Uriah killed. But Nathan\u2019s tale is not itself unproblematic.<\/span><\/p>\n

In casting David as a rich man and Uriah as poor, Nathan starkly captures the difference in power between the two men. Though it is true that David is, as the king, genuinely wealthier than Uriah, there is no evidence that Uriah is destitute. The economic status of the men in the story is a metaphor that conveys the ability of David, like a rich man living near a poor man, to act with impunity towards his less powerful neighbors and suffer no automatic consequence.<\/span><\/p>\n

But who is the sheep here? Of course, the ovine character in the story is a stand-in for Bathsheba. Unlike the two men in the parable, though, the sheep of course takes no actions. The rich man steals the sheep, which the poor man has lavished with care and attention. The sheep has no agency. Bathsheba\u2019s comparison to this sheep casts her as sheeplike: in this narrative, she too has made no choices, but only been subjected to the whims of men.<\/span><\/p>\n

The silence and lack of agency of Nathan\u2019s imaginary sheep is disappointingly echoed by the rest of the Biblical narrative itself. Bathsheba barely speaks, and her wants and motivations are opaque. Does she, too, desire the affair with David, or is it entirely coercive? How does she feel about marrying him immediately after the mourning period for Uriah has ended? About these and other questions we can only speculate.<\/span><\/p>\n

The text of the Bible, as pointed out by centuries of commentators, is always sparse. We must turn to imagination and interpretation to attempt to understand the internal lives of the characters who animate the pages of the sacred text. In doing so, it is critical to ask: Which characters do we know even less about than we ought to? Who is unheard but important? Asking\u00a0 these questions about the Tanach can train us to ask them in the rest of our lives as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":60348,"id":60348,"title":"2sam12-lamb","filename":"2sam12-lamb.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam12-lamb.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/but-who-is-the-sheep\/2sam12-lamb\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2sam12-lamb","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":60347,"date":"2019-07-31 07:45:53","modified":"2019-07-31 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