Was Samuel Meant to Be a Nazirite? The First Chapter of Samuel and the Paradigm Shift in Textual Study of the Hebrew Bible (original) (raw)
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“The Textual History of the Song of Hannah: 1 Samuel II 1-10,” Vetus Testamentum 44 (1994) 18-46
The thanksgiving hymn found in 1 Sam. ii 1-10 has a timeless character. Most scholars assert that it had an independent life apart from its present context. The hymn was applied to Hannah's fortunes at a later point in time most likely because of the mention of the birth of children. Later still, the hymn was used as the principal model for the Magnificat (Luke i 46-55).' An apocalyptic Jewish community took the text in yet another direction to describe the eschaton.2 This article seeks to provide a textual base for exegetes of this hymn. Sadly, many exegetes have failed to recognize the revolution which has taken place in textual criticism, and continue to rely on the MT as a Hebraica veritas3 seeking out the LXX, or for that matter any other version, only when the MT is unintelligible.4 Modern text critics share part of the blame when exegetes ignore textual criticism or fail to take it seriously. Most text-critical articles are rendered useless to the exegete by their complexity or narrow scope. Rarely does one come across an article devoted to the textual 1 The assessment "principal model" is J.A. Fitzmyer's. See his treatment of the Magnificat in The Gospel According to Luke (New York, 1981), pp. 356-71. Fitz-myer also includes an extensive bibliography on the Magnificat. 2 D.
2018
This dissertation is a text-critical study of the Hebrew text of 1 Sam 1 – 2 Sam 9 in the Hebrew Bible. The entire Hebrew text of Samuel is known today only in its Masoretic text form, which is itself the result of a standardization process that began around the onset of the Common Era. Before this standardization process, the Hebrew text was evidently fluid, and several different textual editions of the Book of Samuel would have existed. This is evidenced by the manuscripts of Samuel found at Qumran (2nd – 1st c. BCE) and the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint (translated 2nd c. BCE). The purpose of this dissertation is to study how these three main witnesses—the Masoretic text, the Qumran manuscripts and the Hebrew source text of the Septuagint—differ from and are related to one another. Such a study entails an investigation of what kinds of changes took place in each textual tradition and what were the possible motivations behind the changes. These results are ...
The divergence between the MT and LXX in Hannah’s response to Eli’s accusation ofdrunkenness (1 Sam 1:15) has long puzzled scholars. The Greek phrase, “I am a woman who has a hard day (σκληρὰ ἡμέρα)”, is an improbable rendering of the Hebrew קשת רוח (“hard of spirit”). This is commonly explained by way of a hypothetical Vorlage, קשת יום (lit., “hard of day”), which consequently becomes the preferred reading over against the MT. The central argument is that קשה would mean “obstinate” or “stubborn”, which is not fitting for Hannah’s speech. This brief study problematizes this prevailing view, arguing instead that the MT appropriately characterizes a misfortune perceived by Hannah to be the result of God’s action.
It may be said that the entire theological framework of 1 and 2 Samuel is indelibly contained and poetically predicted in the songs which begin and end it. Said differently, the songs of Hannah and David, which form a kind of collaborative prologue and epilogue, contain the primary theological motifs of 1 and 2 Samuel in hymnic form. This phenomenon is made clear not only in the narrative of Hannah’s own experience in the early chapters of 1 Samuel, but also in the many subsequent chapters of the one story, in which are worked out the key themes of kingship, the Davidic covenant, and the reversal of fortunes in the humiliation of the prideful and the exaltation of the humble. The significance of these songs should not be understated, as they provide a coherent structure, as well as a prophetic foreshadowing and interpretation of the events of the book. Indeed, V. Philips Long affirms: “the story [and song] of Hannah provides essential orientation to the dynamics of the book of Samuel as a whole.” Likewise, William J. Dumbrell, in “The Content and Significance of Books of Samuel” agrees, stating: “the song [of Hannah] in substance presents the program to which the books of Samuel will be devoted.” While scholars have historically debated whether the Song of Hannah is her own composition, or a psalm later compiled in the post-exilic period and inserted into the text anachronistically, the content of the song clearly and undoubtedly functions in an organic way to serve the whole by establishing a narratival and theological lens through which the rise and fall of Israel’s monarchy, and the significant characters involved, may be understood. Therefore, it follows: if we desire to better understand the plot, theme, and theology 1 and 2 Samuel, we would do well to understand the content and significance of Hannah and David’s songs. The significance of songs that are full of theological import and reflect on the events of Biblical history should come as no surprise to the careful reader of Scripture. The people of the LORD have always been a people of song. In key moments of redemptive-historical significance, God’s people have verbally and poetically recounted the wondrous works of YHWH, solidifying in their memory the particular events associated with them. The power of song and of poetry is particularly the capability to compress significant theological and narratival data into relatively brief stanzas. And this is precisely how Hannah and David’s songs function; capturing the broader theological landscape of 1 and 2 Samuel in a combined total of 60 verses. Thus, it is the scope and purpose of this paper to provide an exegetical examination of the hymnic theology of Hannah’s Song in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 in comparison with David’s Song in 2 Samuel 22:2-51, to demonstrate that these psalms provide the theological framework or grid through which the whole of 1 and 2 Samuel may be understood, and therefore provide the key to understanding not only how the monarchy of Israel comes to be established, but also how and why it will ultimately fail and fall. This examination will inevitably lead us to consider the redemptive-historical significance of Israel’s search for a true king who can fulfill the perfect, personal, and perpetual requirements of obedience to the covenant of God and lead the people of God into the promised land of perfect peace and rest. Thus, our study will ultimately conclude with a brief examination of one final song—that of another divinely favored woman, Mary, in Luke 1:46-55; which song forms the biblical-theological bridge to the content and theology of 1 and 2 Samuel, demonstrating convincingly that it is God’s prerogative to take what is lowly, abased, and weak in the eyes of the world, and by it shame the strong, self-righteous, and prideful (1 Cor. 1:26-31), for truly God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (1 Pet. 5:5-6; James 4:6-7). Finally, through our examination of Mary’s Magnificat, we will seek to show the fulfillment of these theological motifs in the person and work of Jesus Christ, whose advent, life, ministry, and death, is the penultimate model of humiliation unto exaltation.
The Masoretic version of the book of Samuel is notoriously difficult from a textcritical perspective. Scholars have long suspected that this situation reflects a particularly corrupt scribal tradition. Comparison with ancient textual witnesses, especially the Greek and the relevant Hebrew manuscripts among the Dead Sea Scrolls (particularly 4Q51), has generally served to reinforce this view. Several global explanations for differences between the various textual witnesses to Samuel have been proposed. These general approaches, highlighting either accidental or tendentious changes, can illuminate the development of difficult passages. However, many problem passages are given to more than one possible solution. For this reason and others, difficult sections in the text must be dealt with individually, on a case-by-case basis. The present article offers a detailed treatment of attempts to uncover the primary reading of an oft-discussed crux in 1 Sam 1:23, ultimately explaining and arguing for the superiority of the Masoretic testimony while accounting for the interpretive and ideological factors that may have led to the alternative renditions.
2021
The narrative in 1 Sam 1–2 is unique in its depiction of an identified woman (Hannah) engaging in cult-related activities within a sanctuary. Scholars have commented on Hannah’s religious words and deeds, including her uttering a prayer, making a Nazirite vow for her son, deriving a blessing from the priest Eli, and dedicating her son, as well as participating in a sacrificial ritual. This study investigates Hannah’s agency and its implications within a hierarchical socioreligious domain controlled by a hereditary priesthood (and its male surrogates) that bolsters its power and status by exclusion. Adapting some theoretical insights from Saul Olyan’s Rites and Rank, I explore how Hannah’s words and actions challenge the boundaries that marginalize women and preclude their cultic participation. As a consequence of her agency, not only does her personal situation improve, but Hannah redefines restrictive boundaries, empowering herself to be an active participant and enabling her son Samuel, a nonpriestly outsider, to be inserted into a corrupt cultic establishment, catalyzing its change. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.15699/jbl.1402.2021.3