The posts in the Books of Samuel Series explore the inconsistencies and complexities of the Books of Samuel.

Preview of this post

This is the first of two posts introducing a review of the stories in the Books of Samuel

 Introduction

The Books of Samuel

The Books of Samuel, covering the period from the end of Judges to the Fall of the First Temple, have defied scholarship regarding authorship as well as continuity and unity. The stories in these books have often been viewed as a patchwork within a patchwork. That is, some stories do not conform with the plots or points of other stories and, indeed, some stories seem to be inconsistent within themselves. Some stores seem to be directed to the succession of kings, yet have a great deal of theology in them, so it becomes a question of what is the story about: historical record of succession or theology? Some stories seem to vacillate between events which might better be found in the Book of Judges and events which are better located in the Books of Samuel.

Some scholars (such as Leonherd Rost) have tried to make sense of these books by dividing the books into two narratives: an Ark narrative (theological in tenor) and a succession narrative (historical in tenor). However, none of these efforts have been totally successful, principally because the authors of the Bible are simply too competent to write such a disjointed narrative.

Therefore, another approach is required. This approach was suggested by Robert Polzin (see Samuel and the Deuteronomist^[1] and David and the Deuteronomist^[2]). Polzin suggested that the historical narrative presented in the books of Samuel was provided with minor framing and minor transitional material by Deuteronomist^[3] editors. The Deuteronomist editors viewed Israel’s history through the lens of a covenant between God and the people with events being controlled according to whether the people remained faithful to that covenant and to God. This approach is an excellent beginning, but it falls short because it does not account for the magnitude of the incongruities that appear within many passages. These incongruities are more than minimal editorial framing and adding minor transitional passages. In some cases, the incongruities render the passage baffling at best as to what point is being made.

A better way to view these books is as a complete theocentric historical record which was initially written in the manner of the rest of the Bible, but which has been amended, edited, corrected and expanded by subsequent editors. That is, congruity and continuity can be found in the Books of Samuel if they are viewed in the same manner as one views a passage found in Wikipedea. If the  Books of Samuel are viewed in the manner of Wikipedea (“Biblicalpedea?”), much of the annotation and insertions make sense and can be accepted in the same manner we accept insertions and annotations in Wikipedea. A later editor, a Deuteronomist, took the existing text, with its history and biblical approach, and edited, amended, expanded and added passages to shape the text – without deleting content – to follow the Deuteronimistic view. The resulting text would look very much like a Wikipedea entry and, look very much like the texts of the Books of Samuel as they appear: part history with parts of the story added or altered to emphasize the Deuteronomistic view.

Preview of the next post

The next post, 2 of 2, discusses how the stories in the Books of Samuel can be viewed as a continuation of the theocentric history of the Books of Genesis and Exodus.

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[1]  Indiana University Press; 1st Indiana University Press Ed edition (October 22, 1993)

[2] Indiana University Press (November 22, 1993)

[3] The Deuteronomistic view envisions a covenant between the people and their god which requires the people to live according to their god’s law. Under that covenant, God has promised the land of Canaan to the people so long as they remain faithful to their god. The Deuteronomistic history explains Israel’s successes and failures as the result of faithfulness, which brings success, or disobedience, which brings failure; the destruction of Israel by the Assyrians (721 B.C.E.) and Judah by the Babylonians (586 B.C.E.) are God’s punishment for continued sinfulness.