Bodies of Interpretation: David, Abishag, and the Collection of Exegetical Knowledge in Syriac Christianity

Abstract This article examines the Syriac reception of 1 Kings 1:1–4, in which the young woman Abishag is taken to attend to the old and cold king David. The article focuses on three bodies of literature: the Scholion of the East Syriac author Theodore bar Koni, the commentary of the East Syriac biblical interpreter Ishoʿdad of Merv, and the “Collection of Simeon” as preserved in ms. Vat. Sir. 103, a Syriac Orthodox compilation of biblical interpretations that includes a marginal note going back to the Psalm Commentary of Daniel of Ṣalaḥ. It is shown that the cause of David’s coldness, left unexplained in the biblical narrative, became a focal point for Syriac interpreters. The article argues that East and West Syriac authors, despite their differences, presented the story in a physiological and medical light and portrayed David as an example of repentance.