Regarding David and Jonathan, if you go back and read the book of Ruth, it states quite clearly that giving someone your clothing/mantle is as good as a marriage vow. Boaz spread his cloak over Ruth, which was a formal act of espousal. Given that this took place not long before David's life (Ruth was his great-grandmother), it can be assumed that the tradition held the same value.

The thing that amuses me is when people argue that, no, they didn't have sex because Jonathan was the only one to take off his clothes. (Even funnier is when they say he left on his underwear, since that wasn't mentioned. What underwear?) They seem to be neglecting the fact that Jonathan didn't then streak the military camp until he found some new ones.

Samuel I and II are two books I dearly want to read in Aramaic. Genesis is so much more powerful in Hebrew it's not funny; I can only imagine how strong David and Jonathan are in the original language.

*romps off to read canon Bible porn*