Does the Bible indicate that David and Jonathan shared a homosexual relationship?
Many advocates for the homosexual lifestyle have suggested that the strong love between David and Jonathan indicated a homosexual relationship. They cite the following passage as proof of their claim:
“I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.” — 2 Samuel 1:26
There is no question that Jonathan and David’s love and loyalty ran deep (1 Samuel 18:1-3; 20:17), even though the friendship between these two men was an unlikely one. God rejected Saul (Jonathan’s father) as king and promised the throne to David and his descendants (1 Samuel 13:14; 15:23, 16:1-13). In spite of all this, Jonathan showed David a level of selfless support we rarely see. Even though he was in the position to be Israel’s next king, he graciously set aside his personal aspirations and never once questioned David as God’s choice to succeed his father as king.
David paid tribute to this unselfish, caring quality when he said that Jonathan’s love for him was “more wonderful than that of women.” David wasn’t implying a sexual relationship. He didn’t say that Jonathan’s love was greater than his love for women. He said it was greater than the love of women. He was simply stating that Jonathon’s love was so remarkable that it exceeded the kind of sacrificial love women are known to display towards their families.
There is no biblical account that shows even a hint of David and Jonathan sharing a homosexual relationship. Both men were married and had children. In fact, David was married to Jonathan’s sister, Michael (1 Samuel 18:20-27). Some have simply inserted a homosexual relationship into 2 Samuel 1:26 that did not exist. They have also made the false assumption that love equals sex.
The relationship between David and Jonathon demonstrates that two men can form deep bonds of love even though eroticism is the farthest thing from their minds.
