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Power and sexual violence: Focused on 2 Sam. 13:1-22

LeeEunAe 1

1이화여자대학교

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ABSTRACT

The story of Tamar in Chapter 13 of 2 Samuel was understood as an incident in the literary context of the struggle for power of the sons who surrounded the throne in the court of the powerful King David. But this paper defines the horrific incident that happened to Tamar as a power-related rape under the protection of the royal system and patriarchal family relations, and reveals that it serves as a pessimistic allusion to the tragic history of the David monarchy and the negative fate of the kingdom as the judgment of God (2 Sam 12:10-13). The deuteronomistic history books criticize theological the kingdom and monarchy of Israel in relation to the God of Israel, Jahwe. The formation of a powerful kingdom in Israel has led to the defense of aggression externally or an advantageous position in diplomatic relations, and internally the order of the state has become stable and prosperous. On the other hand, the kingdom based on a centralized and powerful royal authority was built on a paternal patriarchal system that prioritized the authority of fathers, men and elders, resulting in the emergence of new social classes, such as political royalty and nobility, and the resulting various conflicts. Amnon, David's eldest son, made beautiful sister Tamar the object of sexual desire. For Amnon, Tamar was not one person as an equal, independent entity or his own sister, something that he wanted to have and do with her. It was not important what she thought or wanted. The idea that had sickened Amnon was already the beginning of violence and rape, and the men around him, including Jonathab and David, were facilitators in the rape. Tamar refuses clearly to Amnon, who is trying to rape, and offers the possibility of a solution in wise words, but in the end, her wisdom is rejected and Amnon forces her to fulfill his desires and rape his sister. After the incident, Amnon again rejects Tamar's words of wisdom warning him, and drives her out the door. Although Tamar exposed the sexual assault outside, the men around her remained silent about the incident and forced her to remain silent. The tragic incident that happened to Tamar should be interpreted around the rape victim, not just the premise of a succession battle between the two princes. The horrific and brutal sexual assault, which took place in the non-visible power structure of father-son-centered family relations, is, after all, an indication of the violence of power and the consequent failure of the monarchy within the powerful kingdom of David, and ultimately, the collapse of the kingdom.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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