Divine Masculinity in the Books of Samuel

How the Deity Acts the Man

Divine Masculinity in the Books of Samuel cover

Divine Masculinity in the Books of Samuel

How the Deity Acts the Man

Quantity
Pre-order. Available Feb 10 2026
$120.92 RRP $151.15 Website price saving $30.23 (20%)

Get 40% on two or more titles from T&T Clark

Payment for this pre-order will be taken when the item becomes available

Description

Barbara Thiede presents an exploration of Yhwh as a complex character who models biblical masculinity by forming intimate relationships with his people Israel in the service of establishing his power and authority. Divine Masculinity in the Books of Samuel reveals that the Israelite deity's relationships with Israel, the prophet Samuel, King Saul, and King David feature a wide-ranging emotional palette. Yhwh's intense bonds with his men produce shifting and unstable male alliances and networks, which are homoerotic and often triangular. As Israel's über-man, his character demonstrates that biblical masculinity is assertive, forceful, jealous, vulnerable, and controlling.

Thiede illustrates how emotion is made to serve divine agenda and divine might is established and maintained through emotions and emotional display in the Books of Samuel. Yhwh is womanless, but the men he chooses to serve him may be brought to the height of ecstasy, emotionally abused, and sexually humiliated. The book demonstrates that Yhwh's emotional and sexual life revolves around his relationships with other male characters, exposing the uncompromising hegemonic masculinity that undergirds the biblical world.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction: Yhwh: What's A Man to Do?
1. Yhwh and his Men: The Language of Heart and Love in Samuel
2. Yhwh and his Women: Master and Monster
3. Yhwh, the Prophet Samuel, and Israel: Feeling All the Feels
4. Failed Love: The Tumultuous Triangular Affair of Yhwh, Samuel, and Saul
5. Testy Love: Yhwh and David
Conclusion: Yhwh: What's a Man to Be?
Bibliography
Index

Product details

Published Feb 10 2026
Format Ebook (PDF)
Edition 1st
Extent 224
ISBN 9780567709592
Imprint T&T Clark
Series The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Related Titles

Environment: Staging