Review of Walter Dietrich, The Early Monarchy in Israel: The Tenth Century B.C.E. (trans. Joachim Vette; SBLBibEnc 3; Atlanta: SBL, 2007). (original) (raw)
Related papers
Memories of the Early Israelite Monarchy in the Books of Samuel and Kings
WRITING, REWRITING, AND OVERWRITING IN THE BOOKS OF DEUTERONOMY AND THE FORMER PROPHETS ESSAYS IN HONOUR OF CYNTHIA EDENBURG, 2019
FOR A COPY OF THIS PAPER PLEASE CONTACT ME VIA EMAIL Full citation: Sergi, O., Lipschits, O. and Koch, I. 2019. Memories of the Early Israelite Monarchy in the Books of Samuel and Kings. In: Koch, I., Römer, T. and Sergi, O. 2019. Writing, Rewriting, and Overwriting in the Books of Deuteronomy and the Former Prophets: Collected Essays in Honor of Cynthia Edenburg (BETL 304). Leuven: Peeters: 173–194.
The Philistines serve as an important literary device in the tales of the emergence of monarchy in Israel: they are the Other against whom the plot is constructed. According to the grand narrative in 1 Sam 4–2 Sam 8, the Philistines are the fierce warriors who threatened the highland tribes who, in response, united and established kingship. Decades of struggle culminated in the coronation of Saul, his heroic deeds, his downfall, and the rise of David, who ultimately vanquished the Philistines. From the moment of their defeat onward, this Other appears only sporadically in the stories of the monarchy in Israel (e.g., 1 Kgs 15:15, 27) and Judah (e.g., 2 Kgs 18:8). For many years this sequence of the formative days of the emergence of monarchy in Israel dominated historical reconstructions and was synchronized with ancient written sources and material remains. But the assumingly perfect accord of biblical texts, Egyptology, and archaeology suffers from major flaws that preclude accepting the historicity of the grand narrative. Instead, an alternative interpretation of the material remains involved is presented and a framework for reconstructing several genuine memories of the Philistines in the stories of the early monarchy is proposed.
The biblical accounts in 1Kgs 11:26-40 and 12:1-20 are in all likelihood no historical portrayal of the foundation of the kingdom of Israel. But when and to what end were the kingdom’s origins presented this way? Based on the reconstruction of a pre-deuteronomistic base layer, the paper focuses on the textual pragmatics and historical settings of 1Kgs 11-12. It shows that not only Jeroboam was originally introduced in a favourable light, but the separation of the Israelite tribes from Judah was also presented as a justified and consequent step prompted by Rehoboam’s pretension and bad governance. At the same time, the depiction of Jeroboam which models him as a second David reveals a high degree of veneration for David. The latter is in keeping with the manner the origins of the Northern kingdom are described – not as a glorious founding myth but rather with an legitimatory and almost apologetic tone. The narrative profile, literary stratigraphy, and textual pragmatics of the texts point to a Northern Israelite setting and a date before the end of the Northern kingdom in 720 BCE. Insights into the pragmatics and literary history of the texts also shed light on the development of the peculiar addition within 1Kgs 11:26-40 which implies that ten tribes for Jeroboam and one tribe for Rehoboam resemble twelve pieces of Ahijah’s garment.
Story and History: The Kings of Israel and Judah in Context, 2019
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Saul, Benjamin and the Emergence of Monarchy in Israel AIL 40, 2020
For a copy of this article, please contact me only VIA EMAIL. Full citation: 16. Sergi, O. 2020. Saul, David and the Formation of the Israelite Monarchy: Revisiting the Historical and Literary Context of 1 Samuel 9–2 Samuel 5. In: Krause, J., Sergi, O. and Weingart, K. eds. Saul, Benjamin and the Emergence of Monarchy in Israel (Ancient Israel and its Literature 40). Atlanta (SBL Press): 57–91.