The Book of Samuel First Pages (original) (raw)
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Teleioteti, 2019
Though many studies have probed the significance of the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam 7:1-17) within the biblical canon, few have endeavoured to explore its significance within the narrative of Samuel. This thesis argues that by weaving references to God's promises made to David (collectively known as the Davidic Covenant) throughout his narrative, that author of Samuel reveals God's will to strip away all human pretension by bringing His promises to fulfillment through the lowly David, whose acension to kingship and endurance therein is owing all to God. In this way, the author fulfills his purpose to demonstrate God's sovereign working in history to establish His kingdom on earth through His chosen priest-king, a descendant of David, in fulfillment of the promises He made beforehand. Engaging in a literary close-reading of the text of Samuel, the author shows how the narrative of Samuel is shaped towards this end. In the present environment of high interest in the Book of Samuel, this contribution by James Rutherford is most welcome. Rutherford is well versed in current scholarship on Samuel, but his work moves well beyond this scholarship to contribute fresh insights, not least in respect of the priestly character of King David. And concerning its structure, Rutherford argues that the Book of Samuel as a whole is arranged and narrated so as to draw attention to the centrality of the Davidic Covenant of 2 Samuel 7. Having myself studied 1 and 2 Samuel for decades now, I was nevertheless benefitted at numerous points from Rutherford’s creative interpretive suggestions. His is a work well conceived, well written, and worthy of a serious read." V. Philips Long, Professor of Old Testament, Regent College This thesis argues that by weaving references to God’s promises made to King David throughout his narrative, the author of Samuel reveals God’s will to strip away all human pretension by bringing his promises to fulfillment through a lowly man whose ascension to kingship and endurance therein is entirely owing to God. In this way, the Samuel author fulfils his purpose of demonstrating God’s sovereign working in history to establish his kingdom on earth through his chosen priest-king, a descendant of David. The thesis represents an excellent piece of work that does a great job of bringing together into one coherent argument, focused on the Davidic covenant, much of the best recent narrative-critical research on 1-2 Samuel, and from this point of view represents a distinctive contribution to the field of Samuel studies." Iain Provan, Marshall Sheppard Professor of Biblical Studies, Regent College
"Introduction to 1 Samuel." (pre-publication version.)
Pages 415–460 in Steven L. McKenzie, et al., eds. Introduction and annotation revisions to The SBL Study Bible, Updated Edition. New York: HarperCollins, 2023.
First and Second Samuel recount the rise of monarchy in Israel and the stories of its first two kings, Saul and David. The story begins with Samuel, the prophet and final "judge" or leader of Israel prior to the advent of monarchy. Samuel's story is central to chs. 1-8, and he eventually dies in 1 Sam 25:1. First and Second Samuel are therefore named for this first, key figure to appear in the narrative, despite the fact that Saul and David soon take over as the central characters. Samuel remains an important background figure as the balance to monarchic power throughout 1 Samuel, anointing first Saul (1 Sam 10:1) and then David (1 Sam 16:13) as kings of Israel. The books of Samuel were originally one book. It was divided into two books in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures written in the third century BCE (referred to as the LXX). The Septuagint separated both Samuel and Kings from two into four books and grouped them together as 1-4 Reigns or 1-4 Kingdoms. This division became standard in the Christian canon of the Old Testament as 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings. Under the influence of the Latin Vulgate (translated by Jerome from the Hebrew and Aramaic between 382-405 CE), the division was eventually introduced into the Jewish canon of the Hebrew Scriptures in the fifteenth century. In the Jewish canon, the books of Samuel follow the book of Judges as part of the "Former Prophets" (Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings). The narrative arc therefore 2 moves from the local leaders or "judges" that comprise the book of Judges into the story of Samuel as Israel's last official "judge" in 1 Samuel, prior to the introduction of monarchy. In the Christian canon, 1-2 Samuel form part of the "Historical Books" and follow the book of Ruth, a story that purportedly takes place during the period of the judges (Ruth 1:1) and ends with the genealogy of King David (Ruth 4:18-22). Ruth therefore bridges between the judges into monarchy, as does 1 Samuel.
The Literary Structure of the Books of Samuel: Setting the Stage for a Coherent Reading
Currents in Biblical Research, 2017
The attempt to identify the structure of the books of Samuel is one of the most vexing topics in past and present research. The problem is common to both synchronic and diachronic methods. Diachronic methods usually divide the books into smaller blocks assuming different levels of redaction. Synchronic methods assume that the books of Samuel is a work of art, unified in its content, messages and characterization. Common to these methods is the great diversity of opinions with regard to its structure. This article provides both a survey and a critique of modern commentaries on Samuel, as well as specific studies dealing with the structure of Samuel. It surveys the matter from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present.
A Sure House: Studies on the Dynastic Promise to David in the Books of Samuel and Kings
This book is a study of the texts referring or alluding to the dynastic promise to David in the books of Samuel and Kings (and the "Law of the King" in Deut 17,14-20). Attention is paid to the textual problems of some of the studied passages, especially 2 Sam 7 which has different meanings in the most important textual witnesses (MT, LXXB, LXXL, 1 Chr 17MT, 1 Chr 17LXX). Although the most ancient retrievable text of 2 Sam 7 is not to be identified with MT, this text form corresponds to the original basic meaning of the chapter. Special attention is given to the value of 1 Chr 17 for the reconstruction of the oldest text of 2 Sam 7. There are many "synonymous" differences between 2 Sam 7 and 1 Chr 17, which cannot be explained as resulting from "mistakes" or "tendentious" (e.g. ideologically motivated) changes in one of the two traditions. A statistic study of the patterns of agreements among the witnesses leads to the conclusion that evaluating these differences "case by case" would lead to arbitrary decisions; the great majority of these differences are a result of the Chronicler's relatively free approach to his source. The emergence of 2 Sam 7,1-17 may be construed in two historical contexts. In the "exilic" period, the purpose of the dynastic promise being linked to the polemic against the traditional significance of the temple in royal ideology might be to preserve-or to establish-the validity of the promise after the fall of the temple. Alternatively, 2 Sam 7,1-17 might have been written at the time after Zerubbabel (at the end of the 6th / beginning of the 5th c.?), during the period when the temple of Jerusalem was restored, but the Davidides could not derive their legitimacy from it, since the cult and the temple were understood as the domain of priests under the auspices of Persian rule. The author of 2 Sam 7,1-17 may also be thought to be responsible for 1 Sam 10,8 + 13,7b-15a and 1 Sam 25, the texts that primarily emphasize, in accordance with 2 Sam 7,14-15, the unconditional nature of the dynastic promise once it is given. In the books of Kings, 1 Kgs 2,24.33.45; 1 Kgs 11,29-38*; 15,4; 2 Kgs 8,19 could be ascribed to this hand as well. All these texts could have been written in both the Neo-Babylonian and Persian period, similarly to 2 Sam 7,1-17. However, some other references to the dynastic promise in Samuel (1 Sam 2,27-36; 2 Sam 7,18-29; 22,51; 23,1-7) cannot be dated to the Neo-Babylonian period (or even the very beginning of the Persian period). Theoretically, these texts could belong to the same redactional layer as 2 Sam 7,1-17, but only in case we adopt the later one of the two suggested dates of its origin. In contrast, if the earlier date is accepted for the first group of texts, the second group must have been added later (in one or several stages). At any rate, whereas all these texts may be regarded as a defense of actual political interests of the ex-royal family in the exilic and/or post-exilic period, this does not hold for 1 Kgs 2,4; 8,25; 9,4-5 where the power of the Davidic kings is explicitly conditional upon the eternal loyalty of David's descendants to Yhwh. These passages cannot be ascribed to the same author(s) as the other references to the dynastic promise in Samuel-Kings; on the other hand, this redaction in Kings was perhaps not driven by actual anti-Davidic political interests, representing rather an attempt to explain the unfulfillment of the dynastic promise. Following W. Oswald (and building on the work of S. McKenzie), we ascribe the oracles against the founders of the dynasties (or, in the case of Ahab, the dynasty's other "prominent" member) ruling in northern Israel and the related fulfillment notices (