New JSIJ article

JEWISH STUDIES, AN INTERNET JOURNAL has posted a new article:

Gilad Sasson, "The Story of David’s Captivity in the Hands of Yishbi Be-Nov in Tractate Sanhedrin of the Babylonian Talmud – Sources, Editing, Structure and Plot in the Service of an Ideological Message" (in Hebrew)

Abstract

In the expansion of the Biblical story of David’s captivity in the hands of Yishbi Be-Nov, which appears in Tractate Sanhedrin of the Babylonian Talmud, God offers David two options: captivity or the destruction of his descendants. David chooses the first option and is captured and led to Yishbi. At the same time, God takes measures, through Avishai, to thwart the execution of His own edict by causing David to change his decision. The plot describes David’s transition from passive to active after he changes his mind.

This story has attracted the attention of scholars of folklore, who have found parallel versions in extra-rabbinic sources. This article wishes to add two new directions to that of existing research: (a) clarification of the formation of the story in light of parallel versions in rabbinic literature; (b) literary analysis of the story. Integration of these three research approaches exposes the creative method of the narrator, who combines motifs from the literature of the Sages and from other sources and adapts them, using literary devices. He thus develops the plot towards a surprising message: God’s love for David overrides the strict letter of the law.

The full article is downloadable as a pdf or Word file here.