© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���5 | doi �0.��63/�5685330-� �34��83 Vetus Testamentum 65 (�0 �5) 9�-��3 brill.com/vt Vetus Testamentum Secret Talk and Eavesdropping Scenes: Its Literary Effects and Significance in Biblical Narrative Matthew Michael Stellenbosch University, South Africa etsk, Nigeria rabbimikhail@yahoo.com Abstract Eavesdropping scenes are common features of ancient and modern literary creations. However, in spite of the contemporary interest in the literary and artistic character of biblical narratives, eavesdropping scenes in biblical narratives have received little schol- arly treatment. This paper engages the presence, use and functions of eavesdropping scenes in biblical narrative. In particular, eavesdropping scenes aid characterization, trigger the plots of stories, introduce turning points, and increase the mimetic qualities of the story. On the other hand, eavesdropping scenes breach the borderlines between the private and public spaces by taking readers into the private world of biblical charac- ters. On this discourse level, the reader also becomes an eavesdropper by overhearing/ reading the conversations situated in these eavesdropping scenes. In the same way, the narrator also shares the posture of the eavesdropper in the hearing/retelling of the story to the intended readers. Keywords eavesdropping – overhearing – secret talk – literary effect – characterization … Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say. ecclesiastes 10:20, niv