Did David Have a Gay Lover?

In 2 Samuel 1:26, it states: “I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was more wonderful than the love of women," (2 Samuel 1:26 NASB1995). This passage may seem to indicate that David had a male, romantic partner; however, this is a misunderstanding of the text.

As the Pulpit Commentary elaborates: "Never was there a purer friendship than that of Jonathan for David ... But here the lives of the two friends could not combine in one happy fusion of mutual union. Their hearts were bound together, but a hard fate, of which they were fully aware, made the ruin of the one the certain result of the happiness of the other. Nevertheless, Jonathan, with everything to lose, and David with everything to gain, remained true and loyal friends".

Barnes also writes: "True friendship, founded on sincere love, so rare, so difficult to be found, ... one of the richest of Heaven's blessings to man, and when enjoyed, should be regarded as more than a compensation for all of show, and splendor, and flattery that wealth can obtain". David and Jonathan were not a couple; rather, the passage indicates their friendship was great due to the hardships they suffered.

References:

Barnes' Notes on the New Testament. United Kingdom, Kregel Publications, 1962

Image by Mateus Campos Felipe on Unsplash

The Pulpit Commentary, Volume 6. United States, Delmarva Publications, Inc., 2015.