The »Samuel the Judge« Narrative in 1Sam 1–7 (original) (raw)
Related papers
"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.
In recent research on the literary history of the Former Prophets several scholars argue for a first deuteronomistic history-book consisting of I Sam – II Reg. While the argument for a Dtr history book relating to the kingdoms of Israel and Judah seems sound, the assessment that the bulk of I–II Sam (and I Reg 1–2) was an integral part of this work presents several difficulties. C. Westermann puts emphasis on the different genres: While I–II Sam above all includes stories, I–II Reg consists mainly of historical accounts. In addition to this observation, the important theological divergences between the two books should also be taken into consideration. Certain tendencies of the stories of Samuel – the positive interest for various cultplaces (i.e. Shilo, Rama, Bethel, Gilgal, Nob, Hebron), the drawing of a very ambiguous image of David – are in a strong tension to the main principles of the authors of I–II Reg: essential for their judging of Israelite and Judean kings is the strict observance of the command of cult centralization and the imitation of a king David who in I–II Reg is seen in an entirely positive way. The purpose of the present article is to lay out the evidence for several discrepancies between I–II Sam and I–II Reg as well as to reassess the literary-historical relationship between the two unities.
Samuel as the Paradigm of the Judges
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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.