The Bible recounts the story of Jonathan and David, two young princes who, instead of battling for the throne of Israel, chose to form a deep and intimate bond. Many see this as one of the earliest depictions of same-sex love in history. As told in the Books of Samuel, Jonathan, the son of the king, met David, who had been anointed as the future king despite not being part of the royal family. After David’s victory over Goliath, Jonathan greeted him by stripping off his own armor and dressing David with it, a symbolic act of love and unity. The Bible describes, “The soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”
I definitely think this story is homoerotic. As part of David’s obedience to his father Saul, he is told to get the foreskins of 100 Philistines. David gets 200.
I’ve cut and pasted this from Wikipedia: David’s praise in 2 Samuel 1:26 for Jonathan’s love (for him) over the love of women has been read as evidence for same-sex attraction, along with Saul’s exclamation to his son at the dinner table, “I know you have chosen the son of Jesse – which is a disgrace to yourself and the nakedness of your mother!”