The Books of Samuel

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 second of two posts introducing a review of the stories in the Books of Samuel and 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.

 Introduction – Continued

Taking this approach, the Books of Samuel can be understood as being the middle part of an overall historical era which begins with the people’s entrance into Canaan (the Book of Joshua), continuing with their initial contacts with the indigenous population of the land (the Book of Judges) and then ends with the Books of Kings when the first temple is destroyed. Joshua/Judges and Kings bookend the Books of Samuel.

Taking this view a step further, it might be concluded that these books are a continuation of the story begun in Genesis. That is, all of these books, taken as a unity, are a theocentric history of the people, their god and their land. Therefore, just as many of the stories in Genesis and Exodus feature characters who have no foundation in historical fact, and place them in situations which have no foundation in historical fact, in order to make a point or teach a lesson relevant to the theocentric history, the Books of Samuel can concern characters and situations for which no sound historical basis can be found. The Deuteronomist narrowed the focus to fit the Deuteronimistic view, but the approach is the same as the broader context of theocentric history.

For example, the story of David can be viewed as David being an allegory for the nation of Israel as it rises from a minor state comprised of many independent clans who are a mix of pagans and Yawhasts (as represented in the Book of Judges) which grows to be led by amateurs (as represented by Eli), and passes through initial growing pains (as represented by Saul and Samuel) to be a great nation on the world stage (as represented by David). The nation is comprised of real human beings and thus the stories, like those in Genesis, feature real human beings, who have all the traits of real human beings. That is, the people who are used to represent the nation are greedy, scheming, faithful, loyal, political, passionate, impulsive, careful, abusive of those less powerful, etc….just like real human beings. The nation thus is represented as being greedy, scheming, faithful, loyal, political, passionate, impulsive, careful, abusive of those less powerful, and the like.

Perhaps this is why the character of David is so beloved by Jews: he is them, he was their nation. He had faults, just like the nation; he was powerful, just like the nation; he loved his God, just like the nation; he strayed from the precepts of God, just like the nation; he repented and returned to God, just like the nation; he abused his power, just like the nation; he collaborated with his enemies, just like the nation; engages in adultery, just like the nation when it accepts idols, is sometimes noble and sometimes vindictive, just like the nation, and interested in his legacy, just like the nation; and so forth. David is an allegory for the nation of Israel as it rose from a minor player on the world stage to a powerful leader of nations on the world stage and then fell back and ultimately lost that power and prestige, and eventually died a withered and beaten man, just like the nation when the first temple was destroyed. Furthermore, the religious leaders of the time, Eli through Samuel and beyond, are representative of the religious leadership of Israel: implacable, irascible, self-interested, self-serving, proud, but at the base, men who, while imperfect and quite human, viewed their mission as being directed by and for God.

Having said all of the above about the allegorical nature of the stories in the Books of Samuel and the Wikipedea-like structure, at base, the stories in the Books of Samuel, just like the stories in the rest of the Bible, are just brilliantly conceived to entertain, interest and fascinate while teaching lessons relevant to the theocentric history being related[1].

[1] For example, the character of Saul might be considered as being a classical tragic hero. That is, Saul was in a special position where his actions affected the populace in general. However, he committed the error of apparently disregarding his duty to God and to God’s intermediary, Samuel, where he stepped over a line from mere action to transgression (with the story line  helping define that line which divides permitted actions and evil in a way that will touch the audience and cause it to react). This error led to his downfall and destruction which occurred at a climactic moment that evokes emotions of pity, fear and empathy (“there but for the grace of God go I”) in the audience. The error was a result of both an internal character trait (he was unsure of himself and his position) and external social, cultural and political forces (he had many enemies, both internal and external) acting within and upon him where he made a choice that was  influenced by his own morality but which was subject to external influences. The error in Saul’s action was caused by a combination of internal and external forces.

The story is written to involve the audience’s emotions in the Saul’s emotions and learn the same lessons that Saul learns. The stories in the Books of Samuel, specifically, the stories of Saul and David try to teach the audience members the difference between leadership and tyranny.