Were Jonathon and David -gay? No.
Some see the David and Jonathan story and the Ruth and Naomi story as positive examples of homosexual love within Scripture. 1. David and Jonathan . Some of the incidents in the David and Jonathan narrative might lead one to believe that the two were homosexual lovers. For instance, David and Jonathan embrace, weep together and kiss each other (1 Sam 20:41-42), they make a covenant of friendship (1 Sam 18:1; 20:8, 16-17, 42; 23:18) and express their love for each other in strong terms (1 Sam 18:3; 19:1; 20:17). At Jonathan’s death, David writes a passionate lament for Saul and Jonathan in which he articulates his love for Jonathan: “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 Sam 1:26). While the relationship between David and Jonathan could be construed to be homosexual, there are factors that suggest otherwise. Embracing, weeping together and kissing were (and still are) standard customs a...