Rizpah: Grieving the Ungrievable (2 Sam. 21:1–14)

The brief story of Rizpah in 2 Samuel 21 has attracted little scholarly interest but carries important commentary on the exercise of David’s reign. Enlisting a conceptual framework from Judith Butler’s Precarious Life , I argue that Rizpah enacts the grieving of lives hitherto designated ungrievable and draws them to public attention. This paper compares the execution and exposure of the seven to other accounts of the handling of the dead, both enemy and ally, most notably kings’ sons, in the book of Samuel. Rizpah’s mourning tableau stops the derealization of loss, forces the return of their intact remains, gathering them into their relational place, and re-inscribing them as members of the people of Israel. The conclusion draws comparisons with traditions from Deuteronomy, supporting the conclusion of Walter Brueggemann that the Rizpah story, seen as part of an editorial appendix, provides a subversive critique of Judahite kingship.