The Facts on File Dictionary of Allusions - Green Valley High School

Daughter of Zion See zion.
daughters of Eve See eve.
daughters of men Women. <strong>The</strong> phrase is biblical
in origin, appearing in Genesis 6:1–4 in the
course of a passage describing how men or possibly
angels began to couple with any woman they
chose: “When men began to multiply on the face
of the earth . . . the sons of God saw the daughters
of men that they were fair; and they took
them wives of all which they chose . . . and they
bare children to them, the same became mighty
men which were of old, men of renown.” “She
might have been—except for that something
radiant in her that marked her apart from all the
other daughters of men” (Joseph Conrad, <strong>The</strong>
Arrow of Gold, 1919).
David (dayvid) A person noted for his wisdom,
courage, chastity, or skill as a musician. In the
Bible David was a hero, born the son of Jesse, who
slew the giant Goliath and eventually became king
of Judah and Israel. According to the Gospel of
Luke, he was also an ancestor of Christ. His skill as
a harpist brought him the favor of Saul, who found
solace in his musicianship, as related in 1 Samuel
16:23: “. . . when the evil spirit from God was
upon Saul, that David took an harp and played
with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well,
and the evil spirit departed from him.” <strong>The</strong> link
between David and chastity alludes to the story of
the aged David sharing his bed with a young
woman named Abishag so that she might chastely
warm his body with hers: “<strong>The</strong> damsel was very
fair and cherished the king, and ministered to him:
but the king knew her not” (1 Kings 1:4). “You
make me feel as I have not felt these twelve
months. If Saul could have had you for his David,
David and Jonathan
the evil spirit would have been exorcised without
the aid of the harp” (Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre,
1847). See also david and bathsheba; david and
goliath; david and jonathan; ewe lamb.
David and Bathsheba (dayvid, bathsheebb) A
guilty or treacherous love affair. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to
the biblical episode of 2 Samuel 11, 12, in which
King David falls in love with the beautiful Bathsheba
and arranges to have her husband, Uriah,
sent into the heat of battle to be killed, leaving
David free to claim Bathsheba as his wife. <strong>The</strong> couple
later have a child who dies. Psalm 51 rec ords
David’s repentance. <strong>The</strong>y looked as guilty as David
and Bathsheba, and it was not diffi cult to guess what
had been going on.
David and Goliath (dayvid, golibth) A contest in
which the two sides are unequally matched. <strong>The</strong>
allusion is to the biblical story of David, a humble
but devout shepherd boy, who alone faces and
defeats the Philistine giant goliath by killing him
with a slingshot: “[David] smote the Philistine in
his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead;
and he fell upon his face to the earth” (1 Samuel
17:49). “It is David and Goliath; the man in overalls
against the suits in Brussels; UK sovereignty
versus burgeoning Eu ro pe an power” (Guardian,
April 10, 2001).
David and Jonathan (dayvid, jonbthbn) <strong>The</strong> epitome
of close friendship between two members of
the same sex. <strong>The</strong> biblical hero David, Saul’s heir,
and Jonathan, the son of Saul, are described as
inseparable companions: “It came to pass . . . that
the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of
David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul” (1
Samuel 18:1). When Saul subsequently became
jealous of David, Jonathan attempted to mend
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