Books of Samuel Research Papers (original) (raw)

This article argues that the narrator of 1 Samuel presents Saul as a sacrificial victim. As the first king, he becomes the object of divine wrath that arises from Israel's request for a king. His suffering and death redirect divine wrath... more

Biblica 98/3 2017, 339-362

- by Nili Wazana
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- Hebrew Bible, Books of Samuel, King David, Book of Joshua
- by Andy Warren-Rothlin
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- Liturgy, Qumranic Studies, Books of Samuel, Old Testament Textual Criticism

This article draws upon a reader-response and canonical-hermeneutical perspective in order to analyze the manner in which 2 Sam 22 and Ps 18 are embedded in their respective literary contexts. Psalm 18’s superscription functions both to guide the interpretation of the following psalm as well as evoke its “Doppelgänger” in 2 Sam 22 (and “behind” it the Song of Moses in Deut 32,1-43). It not only contains a prayer articulated in a situation of distress, as a song of thanksgiving it also retrospectively witnesses to divine acts of salvation that have an abiding validity. This analysis demonstrates that the intertextual reading of biblical texts as a significant moment of the “canon” is not a secondary imposition upon these texts from the outside.

- by Beat Weber
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- Literary Canon, History Of The Bible/Biblical Canon, Intertextuality, Books of Samuel
- by Joseph Lam
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- Theology, Biblical Studies, Deuteronomistic History, Books of Samuel
- by Hendrik Koorevaar
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- Deuteronomistic History, Books of Samuel, Book of Genesis, Torah/Pentateuch

A Commentary on 2 Samuel Written in Korean.

- by Koowon Kim
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- Books of Samuel, King David

This paper examines the literary characteristics of 1 Sam 28 to determine what Saul actually saw: Samuel or a demonic spirit.

- by Norm Althausen
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- Books of Samuel

This paper discusses the dual nature of historical narrative, some alleged anachronisms, the linguistic background of the names of Samuel and David, and the position of Benjamin as part of the house of Joseph, and other ethnicity issues... more

- by Michael Avioz
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- Books of Samuel, King David, Flavius Josephus

Cooking and the male gaze: Tamar as viewed by Lucius (II Samuel 13 and Apuleus' Golden Ass 2:7). A comparison of two texts from the Ancient World that refer to a similar cooking activity by a woman in the context of male erotic reaction to it. The texts are not related to each other as a literary tradition; however, the similarities in the everyday activity portrayed in both allow them to illuminate each other to the modern reader.

- by Naama Zahavi-Ely
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- Women in the ancient world, Violence Against Women, Apuleius, Books of Samuel

The reception history of the woman Bathsheba shows a great variety of different traditions, aspects and motifs. In most cases, you will come across the attempt to conceive the character Bathsheba as “victim” or “intriguer” usually by means of the divisive attribution. This examination pursues the question of why such a disparate interpretation is prevailing and provides the biblical depiction of the character Bathsheba as one reason. Typical of the biblical narratives relating to Bathsheba (first of all 2Sam 11, but also 2Sam 12,24 et seq. and 1Kings 1–2 ) is an open-ness in her character description that is implemented in a variety of ways while reading the texts, or else in later receptions. In a second step, Bathsheba’s depiction as femme fatale appearing in drama texts from around the turn of the century (Alberti, 1904; Lehmann, 1920) is picked out as an example from the diverse reception history of this character. The (very common) dicho-tomy of Bathsheba as “victim” or “intriguer” proves inadequate here. This form of description of Bathsheba may only be fully grasped by including the historical context, namely the concepts of womanhood around 1900.

- by Amos Frisch
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- War Studies, Books of Samuel, Literary study of the Bible, King David

The examination of the final chapters of the books of Samuel offered here proceeds initially from an unease about the frequent pejorative appraisal of them as an unsuitable, late addition that is out of place in its context. Taking a cue from the recent interest in initial and concluding texts in the context of literary and "Canonical" methods, the work attempts to describe this text complex, with its six chiastically arranged units, in terms of its literary function as a concluding text in relation to the rest of the preceding book. Following remarks of W. Brueggemann and J. Flanagan, the ring structure is further compared with other groups of texts in the Samuel corpus. The specific, overarching macrostructure which is thus perceived is structured not according to linear-chronological principles but according to patterns of parallelism and chiasmus. This observation of a concept of order that is distinct from modem western convention is understood, following Emma Brunner-Traut, as deriving from an "aspectival" perception of reality. By means of this kind of reading, many inner relationships open up, binding the closing chapters to the other parts of the book in such a way that it is shown to be a unified literary work. The two poetic texts are shown to stand in a complex relationship with the four other songs of the books of Samuel. The allusion to the prophet Gad belongs in a series of six encounters between David and prophets, arranged as a set of three pairs. The two lists of soldiers are interpreted by analogy with the double lists of the sons and ministers of David. The final contrast, in the closing chapter, between the two kings, Saul and David, and the polarity - expressed in the tension between centre and periphery - between rule of Yahweh and sin of the kings, both mirror and finally draw together the main themes of the book. These relationships suggest that the appraisal of the closing chapters as a late addition is in need of revision. It will be argued that they should be interpreted in close connection with the rest of the book.

- by Herbert Klement
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- Books of Samuel, Literary reading

New: Accounts for each plus through the end of MT 1 Sam 18. Results: (1) Recovers a complete and independent second story of "David, Saul, and the Philistine" that concludes with David marrying Saul's daughter as the reward promised. (2) Identifies and explains all harmonizing additions. (3) Categorizes an unusual set of unnecessary interpolations made to enrich the story. General implications: (1) parallel stories did exist and circulate in written form outside "biblical" scrolls, (2) scribes did meticulously splice written sources to incorporate perceived parallels, and (3) scribes did insert material to enrich plot-lines, apart from solving narrative problems.

- by Simeon Chavel and +1
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- Textual Criticism, Books of Samuel, Source Criticism, Biblical Narrative

Festschrift edited by T. M. Lemos, Jordan Rosenblum, Karen Stern, and Debra Ballentine. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2021.

- by T. M. Lemos (Tracy Maria Lemos) and +1
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- Archaeology of Ancient Israel, Hebrew Bible, Violence in the Bible, Rabbinics

This article is an intertextual study focusing on the allusions made in the Book of Samuel to Nathan’s Oracle (2 Samuel 7). The presence of words, themes, and motifs common to Nathan’s oracle and other passages in the Book of Samuel is examined here in an attempt to understand their interrelationship and role.
Allusions to Nathan’s Oracle are identified in the stories of Saul (1 Samuel 13; 15), Jonathan (1 Samuel 20), and Abigail (1 Samuel 25). There are also links between Nathan’s Oracle and the affair of David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12) as well as between Nathan’s Oracle and David’s Last Words (2 Samuel 23:1-7). In these passages, Nathan’s Oracle has several roles, depending on the framework into which it is integrated:
1. Highlighting the legitimacy of David to rule while criticizing Saul (1 Samuel 13; 1 Samuel 15; 1 Samuel 25).
2. As a foreshadowing of Nathan’s Oracle (1 Samuel 20; 1 Samuel 25).
3. As a critique of David, and the question of whether Nathan’s Oracle will be realized in light of the Bathsheba affair (2 Samuel 11-12).
4. Suggesting a program for future kings from the House of David, while
emphasizing the divine election of David and his descendants, and explicitly presenting it as a conditional covenant.
Another conclusion that can be drawn from the links between Nathan’s Oracle and other passages in the Book of Samuel is that the Book of Samuel is a consciously-planned composition whose parts are integrally linked to each other by means of such principles as the pattern of prophecy and its fulfillment, prolepsis, foreshadowing, contrasts, and parallels.

- by Michael Avioz
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- Books of Samuel

The parable of the poor man’s ewe (2 Sam. 12.1-4) is best interpreted along two separate axes as a commentary upon the David and Bathsheba narrative in 2 Samuel 11. In one, the parable is an allegory for the sin of adultery with Bathsheba. In the other, the parable is an allegory for the sin of the murder of Uriah. This double interpretation of the parable matches Nathan’s censure of David in 12.9-12, where the prophet twice uses the formulaic opening, “thus says the Lord”, introducing two separate censures, one that focuses exclusively on the sin of adultery, and one on the sin of murder.

- by Joshua Berman
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- Hebrew Bible, Biblical Studies, Old Testament, Books of Samuel

The article tries to show that 2 Sam 7 is a complete reinterpretation of Judean royal ideology for the needs of the exilic situation of the Davidic royal house. A more ancient form of the ideology is attested in Ps 132 (even if the psalm itself, at least in its present form with the conditioning of the dynastic promise , can hardly be pre-exilic). In the same way as many other texts from the ancient Near East, Ps 132 exhibits a close relationship between the temple and the kingship: David receives the dynastic promise as a reward for his care of Yhwh's sanctuary (vv. 1-6.10), and the eternity of the dynasty is guaranteed by Yhwh's eternal presence on Zion (vv. 12–14). Contrary to that, 2 Sam 7 rejects both the concept of the gift of the dynasty in reward of the merits for the sanctuary (5b + 11bβ), and the idea of the temple as God's dwelling place and guarantee of the dynasty (5b + 13a). The purpose of the dynastic promise being linked to the polemic against the traditional significance of the temple in royal ideology is to preserve – or to establish – the validity of the promise after the fall of the temple. The Dtr author of 2 Sam 7 struggles hard to deny the traditional connection between the temple and the dynasty so as to render the hope feasible that the dynasty would not share the fate of the temple.

- by Jan Rückl
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- Books of Samuel

So much has been written about David, King of Judah and Israel, but there was one question I needed to have answered:
How could such a murderous, loathsome, hated, adulterous, tyrant represent the Messianic ruler of God’s eternal Kingdom?
David had been a powerful warlord leading a Habiru-like gang of bandits who lived outside the law as extortionists, wife-stealers, and more. I was personally very distressed as I uncovered David as he murdered, stole wives, fathered many children with many wives and concubines. This was not the image I had of him before I conducted my research.
How was it possible that this person, who fought against the King of Israel, even taking that king’s wife as his own, how could he be the same David who is revered and became so intimately associated with the promised Messiah? How could this transformation have taken place? What took place that enabled this most amazing transformation?
This Study is not an inquiry into David. This is about the people who achieved David’s transformation. I wanted to know if it were possible to trace the processes that brought about this most amazing transformation, this stunning change of image. At the start we have a murdering tyrant and at the finish we have the messianic king. What made this possible?

- by Doug Mason
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- Historiography, Deuteronomistic History, Books of Samuel, Book of Chronicles

THE TENDENCY TO CONSIDER the Books of Samuel as didactic literature, propaganda, ideology, or apology has had unfortunate consequences for the reputation of King David. David has long been a controversial figure, and the interpretive tradition has generally been admiring. Modern scholarship, however, has taken a critical turn. The Enlightenment philosopher Pierre Bayle's article on David in Dictionnaire historique et critique (1697) concentrated on David's moral failures and challenged the traditional interpretation of David as a hero. In recent forms of this modern trend, David has been presented as a bloodthirsty tyrant or terrorist.

- by David Bosworth
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- Theology, Leadership, Hebrew Bible, Biblical Studies
- by Harry Hoffner
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- Theology, Hittitology, Biblical Studies, Hittite
- by George Nicol
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- Hebrew Bible, Books of Samuel, Book of Kings

Annotations intended for students of biblical Hebrew (intermediate level)

- by Mark Hassler
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- Translation Studies, Learning and Teaching, Hebrew Bible, Translation theory
- by Talia Sutskover
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- Books of Samuel, Biblical Interpretation

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.

- by Omer Sergi
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- Biblical Archaeology, Books of Samuel, The archaeology of state formation, Benjamin

Fact: Between them, the books of Ruth and 1 Samuel contain a genealogy and two (longish) ancestral chains. Hypothesis: The two ancestral chains in question (both of which are found in 1 Samuel) suggest the existence of a custom where individuals are standardly defined/introduced as the descendants of four particular ancestors--i.e., as ‘A the son of B, the son of C, the son of D, the son of E’--, and that custom, I submit, is able to explain the nature of the genealogy in question (which is found at the end of Ruth).

- by James Bejon
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- Genealogy, Hebrew Bible, Biblical Studies, Books of Samuel

Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 28 (2003): 73-88 tragic work with a setting in Athens. The Great Dionysiac, during which the trilogy was first produced in 458 B.C.E., blended civic and religious celebration. The tragic competition presented during the second day constituted a vital component of the festival and stimulated the public discourse considered essential fro the development and maintenance of democratic society. For discussions of the connection between Greek tragedy, the Great Dionysiac, and the life of the polis see Simon Goldhill, -The Great Dionysia,‖ in Nothing to Do With Dionysos:

- by Daniel Hawk
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- Comparative Literature, Hebrew Literature, Greek Tragedy, Biblical Studies

It is common to view the story of David, at least the first part of the story in 1 Samuel 16-2 Samuel 5 (give or take), as an ancient Near Eastern apology defending David's ascension to the throne. However, it is also not uncommon to read the text as it stands and see in the David story at least a complex portrayal of Israel's founding monarch, if not a completely negative one. The present essay will argue that both of these perspectives have a basis in the text of Samuel. The thesis of this essay is that the story of David in its 'current literary form' is not purely critical of David nor purely defensive of him. Instead, what we have in the David story could be described as an unapologetic apology that, on the one hand, defends David and retains him as the hero of the story, while, on the other hand, being fairly critical of him. This complex portrayal allows the David story to be of continued value as it is not simply propagandistic literature but a sophisticated reflection on the character who founded and represented the monarchy, and is thus a sophisticated reflection on the nature of human monarchy as an institution.

Summary: In the present note, I seek to trace the story of Benjamin as it unfolds on the pages of Scripture—a story of grace, preservation, and redemption.

Keywords: Benjamin, Saul, Gibeah, Judges, Samuel, narrative. Date: Dec. 2019.

- by James Bejon
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- Narrative, Books of Samuel, Benjamin, Book of Esther

makes it plain that, in his opinion, Bathsheba plays a completely passive role in the episode. Given that her feelings are never described and that her voice is hardly heard until her conception of the king's child, Bar-Efrat is of the view that Bathsheba does not assume any importance in her own right. 1 In A Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, Bathsheba is portrayed as "a lovely pawn in this tragic masculine game of lust and power". 2 Berlin goes so far as to state that Bathsheba is "a complete non-person. She is not even a minor character, but simply part of the plot". 3 These interpretations are disregarded in this thesis because of the way they reduce the woman's character.

- by Lisa Hui
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- Books of Samuel, Bathsheba (Hebrew Bible / Old Testament)

An edited volume (eds. J. Krause, O. Sergi and K. Weingart). The essays collected in this volume reflect on many aspects of the early Israelite monarchy: state formation, local and collective identities,
southern Canaan in the Iron I–IIA, the composition and redaction
of the literary traditions about Saul and David, and the historical value
of these traditions.

- by Omer Sergi and +1
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- Biblical Archaeology, Books of Samuel, Jerusalem, Early Iron Age

Yıllar önce, hem dinsizlerden, hem koyu dindarlardan (meselâ, bir kısım radikal müslümanlardan), Tevrat ve İncil‘e çok ve haksız eleştirilerin geldiğini görmüş idim. Bu eleştirilerin ortak rengi, bu asırda yaşayan insanların fazlaca... more

- by Bahaeddin Saglam
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- Books of Samuel, Torah, Torah Study, Yaratılış

In his “Structure et théologie de Luc I-II” from 1957, René Laurentin advanced the view that the figure of Mary is to be interpreted as a new Ark of the Covenant in the scene of the Visitation (Luke 1:39-56). This interpretation is based primarily on an intertextual reference to 2 Sam 6:1-11. Still, Laurentin’s thesis did not resonate with New Testament scholars. In the present paper, it is shown that recent observations according to which the embryo in Mary’s womb is to be identified as YHWH Himself offer new evidence for Laurentin’s thesis.

- by Jan M Kozlowski
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- Intertextuality, Septuagint, Infancy Narratives, Books of Samuel