Saul’s Heroic Bones

Abstract

Chapter 6 follows a tradition of comparative studies linking Saul with Greek heroic themes and takes up a detailed analysis of Saul’s bone-transferral narratives (1 Samuel 31; 2 Samuel 21) in light of what is known about heroic bone relics and the politics of hero cults in the Iron Age Western Mediterranean. Saul’s status as an Israelite hero is a hitherto underexplored lens through which to investigate the meaning and power of his dead body, and here it is argued that by comparing the biblical account of the transferral of Saul’s bones with classical Greek texts of heroic bone transfer, we are able to see the political import of David’s actions in the Bible more clearly as a “body manipulator” and thus better understand the dynamics of bodily power in this text.