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SAMUEL, BOOKS OF

First and Second Samuel, included in the Former Prophets of the Hebrew canon, which is regarded as part of the Deuteronomistic history. In the Hebrew Bible Samuel was one book, but in the LXX it was divided into two books and appears as part of a four-volume collection in the historical books entitled 1-4 Kings, corresponding to 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings. The name of the book probably derives from the first key character, Samuel, who appears as priest (1 Sam. 3), judge/charismatic leader (ch. 7), and prophet (chs. 8-28). Samuel does not appear in 2 Samuel.

Contents and Plot

1-2 Samuel concerns the close of the period of the judges (1 Sam. 1–7) and the rise of the Monarchy in Israel (chs. 8–12). It details the reigns of Saul (1 Sam. 13–31) and David (2 Sam. 1–24). 1 Samuel can be divided into the following subsections: Hannah’s miraculous delivery, her Song, Eli’s priesthood, and Samuel’s life at Shiloh (chs. 1–3); the Ark narrative, where the Philistines defeat Israel, capture the ark of the covenant, place it in the temple of Dagan, and then return it (chs. 4–6); Samuel as judge (ch. 7); three different versions of the establishment of the monarchy, with Saul as Israel’s first king (chs. 8–11); Samuel’s “Farewell Speech,” bringing to a close the period of the judges (ch. 12); Jonathan’s victory over the Philistines and Saul’s rejection as king (chs. 13-15); the secret anointing of David, his induction into Saul’s court as harpist, and slaying of Goliath (chs. 16–17); David and Saul as adversaries and David’s life as renegade, marauder, and Philistine vassal (chs. 18–30); the death of Saul and his sons in battle (ch. 31). 2 Samuel records alternative reports on the death of Saul and David’s elegy over Saul and Jonathan (ch. 1); the aborted reign of Ishbosheth, David’s anointing as king of Judah and Israel, and his establishment of Jerusalem as his capital (chs. 2–5); the end of the Ark narrative, placement of the ark in Jerusalem, and David’s conflict with Michal (ch. 6); promise of dynastic succession for the Davidic line (ch. 7); David’s foreign wars and his administrative structure (ch. 8); David’s bringing Mephibosheth to Jerusalem (ch. 9); the Ammonite wars and accounts of David and Bathsheba, Nathan’s parable, and the birth of Solomon (chs. 10–12); the rape of Tamar, banishment and redemption of Absalom (chs. 13–14); Absalom’s revolt (chs. 15–18); restoration of David after a second revolt (chs. 19–20); David’s appeasement of the Gibeonites (ch. 21); the Prayer of David (ch. 22); the Song of David and list of his warriors (ch. 23); and David’s census and the subsequent divine punishment (ch. 24).

Text

The books are fraught with text critical problems, in that the MT appears to have many scribal errors and the LXX version is longer and was considered more reliable (contrary to the usual text critical rule that the shorter and more difficult text is the more original). Since many difficulties in the Hebrew text stem from words and phrases appearing to have dropped out in transmission, the Greek is not viewed as expansionistic. With the discoveries at Qumran, the possibilities of different Hebrew texts of Samuel have called into question some of the earlier assessments while confirming others.

Authorship

Because of the many text critical problems, source critical work on authorship was not fully developed until the early 20th century. One marked feature of the book is the several duplicate narratives, such as the rise of Saul to kingship (1 Sam. 8; 9:1–10:16; 10:17-27; 11); the rejection of Saul as king (chs. 13, 15); David’s arrival at the court of Saul (16:14-23; 18); David and Goliath (ch. 17); David and Jonathan’s discussion of Saul’s attempts to kill David (chs. 19, 20); David’s sparing Saul’s life (chs. 24, 26); the death of Saul (1 Sam. 31; 2 Sam. 1); and lists of David’s officials (2 Sam. 8:15-18; 20:23-26). The position of these duplicate narratives in the book underscores their disagreements. For instance, in 1 Sam. 19 Jonathan tells David about Saul’s plot to kill him, while in ch. 20, when David reports the plot Jonathan is ignorant of it. Had the chapters been reversed, the plot line would be smoother and the duplication less problematic.

The earliest source critical studies therefore attempted to trace the pentateuchal sources J and E into Samuel, along with some recognition of Deuteronomic materials as a way of explaining the duplication. Others attempted to identify pro- and antimonarchic sources. However, unlike in the Pentateuch the differences in the duplicate accounts lack sufficient continuity to argue for continuous sources. Still others suggest a prophetic source to account for the duplicates.

Succession Narrative

In 1976 Leonhard Rost suggested a Succession narrative, arguing for an old source encompassing 1 Sam. 9–20 and 1 Kgs. 1–2 that was intended to answer the question raised in 1 Kgs. 1, , “Who will sit on the throne of David?” Rost contended this material was written by an eyewitness familiar with the inner workings of the court in an attempt to glorify Solomon, who although not first in line did succeed David. Rost also posited two other independent collections, the Ark narrative (1 Sam. 4:1–7:1; 2 Sam. 6:1-16) and the Ammonite war narratives (2 Sam. 10:1–11:1; 12:26-31), as historical documents written close to the events.

Since the 1960s scholars have chipped away at Rost’s theory of a Succession narrative. R. A. Carlson argues that 2 Samuel was heavily influenced by Deuteronomic retributive theology and divides thematically into David under the blessing (chs. 1–10) and David under the curse (chs. 13–24), with the David-Bathsheba-Nathan complex as the turning point. R. N. Whybray, followed by Carole Fontaine, identifies wisdom influence on the work. James Flanagan suggests a court history in 2 Sam. 15–20, separate and apart from the Succession document which was later added to it. Charles Conroy argues for a strong difference in language between 2 Sam. 9–12 and 13–20. Ernst Würthwein contends that the work is political propaganda. John Van Seters proposes that the Succession narratives were late, postexilic additions. Randall C. Bailey argues that the complex in 2 Sam. 10–12 is a Deuteronomic construction, revealing the hands of the First and Second Deuteronomists, and that the David-Bathsheba marriage was a political marriage on the order of those with Michal and Abigail. He further maintains that the events took place after Absalom’s revolt, but were placed in their present location to create the Deuteronomic retributive justice theology.

Historical Reliability and Genre

The historicity of the materials in Samuel is buttressed by the work of Albrecht Alt, who sees behind the battle narratives and lists of officials and conquest accounts historically reliable materials. According to Martin Noth and his followers, one cannot speak of a “History of Israel” until the Monarchy, so the Samuel materials are the major source for historical reconstruction. Other arguments for large blocks of material in Samuel come from Artur Weiser, who identifies 1 Sam. 16–2 Sam. 5 as the “History of the Rise of David,” intentionally pro-Davidic.

Evidence of Rost’s strong influence is seen in Noth’s 1943 Überlieferungsgeschichtlichte Studien, in which he argues for the existence of a Deuteronomistic historian writing in Judah during the exilic period and using older sources. Noth accepts Rost’s designations of blocks of materials and sees little Deuteronomic editing in Samuel, except for the Farewell Address of Samuel in 1 Sam. 12 and a reworking of the dynastic promise in 2 Sam. 7. In essence, Noth contends the Deuteronomic work was one of setting the pre-existent blocks of materials in their current arrangement, with minor editing. Noth’s work all but puts an end to the argument for pentateuchal sources in Samuel. Interestingly, those who follow Noth’s theory of a Deuteronomic historian, and those who follow Frank M. Cross on a double redaction theory, base their position on books other than Samuel. However, some German scholars who maintain prophetic or nomistic (legal) Deuteronomic strands (Rudolf Smend, Timo Veijola) base their positions on Samuel.

Gerhard von Rad goes even further, claiming that the Succession narrative was the earliest example of history writing in the ancient world, noting that the books contain only three notices of divine intention or intervention and pointing to heavy emphasis on behind the scenes work, an almost “secular” notion that when one reads the book of Samuel one has struck “pay dirt” in terms of historically reliable materials in the Bible. These studies are reinforced by Walter Brueggemann’s work on the books’ theology in the presentation of David as monarch.

New Literary Criticism

Moving beyond historical questions, new literary critics began reclaiming the whole book of Samuel and moved back to studies in 1 Samuel as well as 2 Samuel. More interested in questions of plot and characterization, David M. Gunn maintains that Saul was a tragic hero in the Greek sense, who is fated not to succeed. He also argues for viewing the whole of 2 Samuel as a novel about David, rather than breaking up the units into smaller genres. Gunn identifies subplots with the cycles of good and evil directing the narrative. Naomi Sternberg argues for the role of ambiguity in the narrative as key to the portrayal of character and plot in 2 Samuel; in this regard she is followed by Gail Yee. I. P. Fokkelman suggests multiple dualistic categories repeated throughout the David materials. Peter D. Miscall focuses on complication of characters and plot, with attention to characters and especially to deconstruction of older readings which essentialize. David Jobling maintains that the subject of heredity is key to the book of Samuel, which revolves around the question of kingship. Robert Polzin proposes reading Samuel as a message to the exiles in which kingship is called into question. Most particularly he concentrates on characterization, taking issue with Gunn’s sympathetic reading of Saul, viewing him instead as an overly superstitious character who brings the house down on himself. Polzin sees Saul as a negative character, calling into question the older “pro-prophetic readings.” David is a shadowy figure whose true self is not revealed until 2 Samuel. Bailey furthers Polzin’s message to the exiles, arguing that not only the monarchy but also the priesthood and prophetic institutions were called into question. Along with these literary critical approaches, Flanagan addresses social world issues associated with David.

Canonical Shaping

Brevard S. Childs addresses the book’s canonical shaping, arguing that the Songs of Hannah and David (1 Sam. 2; 2 Sam. 23) framed the book, such that the account ends where it begins. Brueggemann maintains that this framing was intended to depict the history of Israel, not as blood and guts but rather as the story of Yahweh’s salvation. According to Bailey, this framing characterizes Yahweh as God of reversal and savior, in contrast to the portrayal of the deity in the remainder of the book.

Post-Colonial Interpretation: Feminist,
Racialist, Sexual Orientation Criticism

Feminist interpretation of the book of Samuel has called into question the basic presupposition of all the above research, namely that Samuel (1 Sam. 1–12), Saul (1 Sam. 13–31), and David (2 Samuel) are the key characters in all the narratives and that the other characters are only present as foils. Adele Berlin concentrates on the wives of David and their characterizations in the narrative. J. Cheryl Exum confronts patriarchal ideology in the narrative, especially in the depiction of Michal. Alice Bach moves away from patriarchal readings, arguing that Abigail is the central character who directs the action in 1 Sam. 25 and not a foil to David. JoAnn Hackett notes that Samuel revolves around the three main males, but then questions this long-held strategy of reading and details the roles of women in the work.

Race and sexual orientation issues have come to the fore in Samuel studies. C. B. Copher notes the long history of racialist interpretations, most markedly in the treatment of the Cushite in 2 Sam. 18. G. D. Comstock identifies a homosexual relationship between David and Jonathan in the elegy of 2 Sam. 1.

Message

As reader response criticism has shown, the message of the book depends in large part on the reading strategy of the reader. God’s faithfulness to Hannah meets us at the very beginning, as does Hannah’s faith and faithfulness to God. The warnings to clergy like Eli loom large.

The different readings of Samuel, from paragon of virtue, to sacred prophet, to self-absorbed individual; the different readings of Saul, from victim to disobedient one; the different readings of David, from “one after God’s own heart” to scoundrel; the different readings of God, from Almighty to elusive presence, are all possible readings of this book. The richness for nurture and questioning abounds on each page. The intrigue of the political dealings and the theological manipulations shout out for clarification.

Is Samuel only a priest because his mother dedicated him (1 Sam. 1)? What would this say for a theology of call? Is Saul’s visitation by the “evil spirit from God” a paradigm of psychological distress (1 Sam. 16)? If so, how do we come to understand the nature of mental illness? Is David the original “Teflon king” (1 Sam. 21–22)? If so, is the ethic today of “just don’t get caught” germane? Does God really repay adultery with rape (2 Sam. 11–13)? If so, how do we trust divine justice?

The messages are as varied as the interpreters.

Bibliography. R. C. Bailey, David in Love and War: The Pursuit of Power in 2 Samuel 10–12. JSOTSup 75 (Sheffield, 1990); B. Birch, The Rise of the Israelite Monarchy: The Growth and Development of 1 Samuel 7–15. SBLDS 27 (Missoula, 1976); W. Brueggemann, David’s Truth in Israel’s Imagination and Memory (Philadelphia, 1985); D. M. Gunn, The Fate of King Saul. JSOTSup 14 (Sheffield, 1980); The Story of King David. JSOTSup 6 (Sheffield, 1978); P. K. McCarter, Jr., I Samuel. AB 8 (Garden City, 1980); II Samuel. AB 9 (Garden City, 1984); L. Rost, The Succession to the Throne of David (Sheffield, 1982).

Randall C. Bailey

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SAMUEL, BOOKS OF

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)