{"id":60682,"date":"2019-08-06T13:31:31","date_gmt":"2019-08-06T10:31:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=60682"},"modified":"2023-03-01T07:21:38","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T05:21:38","slug":"sexual-violence-and-political-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/sexual-violence-and-political-power\/","title":{"rendered":"Sexual Violence And Political Power"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[914,457,574,543],"acf":{"old_id":"60682","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":39842,"related_cahpter":"279","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Acts of violence are perpetrated by individuals, but also within systems","content":"

At the end of Chapter 16, we meet a nameless group of women. David\u2019s concubines are mentioned only over two verses, a short section that holds a deep well of pain and violence. In a deeply disturbing attempt at reifying his power, Absalom sleeps with — it would seem, rapes, as the women have no option to opt out — his father\u2019s concubines. The women have been left behind as others have fled, \u201cleft to mind the palace\u201d (16:21). The reader gets the impression that they are viewed as almost an accoutrement to the palace, an accessory that accompanies the building rather than members of the royal household.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The apex of Absalom\u2019s rebellion is this act of sexual violence. This is, per the advice of Ahithophel, the moment that will solidify his power, his complete replacement of his father. By having sex with the women his father has sex with, he will himself become the king. But, unlike many other women in the Prophetic books, these several concubines are silent. If they spoke \u2014 or screamed, or protested \u2014 the text does not report it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Absalom\u2019s rape of his father\u2019s concubines is shocking in its scale and implied violence. But it is not new. The event takes place on the palace roof; this is the same palace roof from which his father King David observed Bathsheba bathing and demanded her attentions. Acts of violence, in particular sexual violence, often take place embedded in a context that has created a situation in which they will be overlooked or downplayed. Absalom\u2019s assault is not even the first act of sexual aggression in the book to take place in that exact location!<\/span><\/p>\n

Acts of violence are perpetrated by individuals, but also within systems. Absalom does not act alone; he is encouraged by Ahithophel, and he acts in a context where women are already being treated as objects, left with the royal palace rather than taken to safety away from Absalom. To combat such violence takes more than individual condemnations; palace roofs must cease to be places where men feel they can do whatever they want.<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: Absalom\u2019s Sin, by <\/span>Richard McBee<\/span><\/a>, courtesy of the artist<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":60683,"id":60683,"title":"2sam16-McBee-Absaloms Sin","filename":"2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/sexual-violence-and-political-power\/2sam16-mcbee-absaloms-sin\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2sam16-mcbee-absaloms-sin","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":60682,"date":"2019-08-06 10:31:16","modified":"2019-08-06 10:31:27","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":402,"height":500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin-241x300.jpg","medium-width":241,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin.jpg","medium_large-width":402,"medium_large-height":500,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin.jpg","large-width":402,"large-height":500,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin.jpg","1536x1536-width":402,"1536x1536-height":500,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin.jpg","2048x2048-width":402,"2048x2048-height":500,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin.jpg","post_full_size-width":402,"post_full_size-height":500,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin-338x420.jpg","home_baner-width":338,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Sexual Violence And Political Power","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"Acts of violence are perpetrated by individuals, but also within systems","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":{"ID":60683,"id":60683,"title":"2sam16-McBee-Absaloms Sin","filename":"2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/sexual-violence-and-political-power\/2sam16-mcbee-absaloms-sin\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2sam16-mcbee-absaloms-sin","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":60682,"date":"2019-08-06 10:31:16","modified":"2019-08-06 10:31:27","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":402,"height":500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin-241x300.jpg","medium-width":241,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin.jpg","medium_large-width":402,"medium_large-height":500,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin.jpg","large-width":402,"large-height":500,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin.jpg","1536x1536-width":402,"1536x1536-height":500,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin.jpg","2048x2048-width":402,"2048x2048-height":500,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin.jpg","post_full_size-width":402,"post_full_size-height":500,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam16-McBee-Absaloms-Sin-338x420.jpg","home_baner-width":338,"home_baner-height":420}},"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":false},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":""},"links":false,"send_noty":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60682"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60682"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113173,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60682\/revisions\/113173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}