MEASURE FOR MEASURE IN THE DAVID STORIES*

Abstract

This article briefly surveys the direct and indirect ways in which the principal of measure for measure is manifested in biblical narrative. It proceeds to examine how it is applied in the David cycle, where it is particularly prominent. David, more than any other human character in the Bible, refers to this principle both in his words and his deeds. His motives are both theological and political. He rewards and punishes measure for measure, but is himself punished according to the same principle. The article examines the different levels on which “measure for measure” works in the David stories: the human plane (David and the human characters around him), the divine plane (between David and the Lord), and the interaction between these two.