2' Introduction to Samuel

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2. Introduction to Samuel

• BOT694 Exegesis of 1 2 Samuel

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1. Introduction

• 1.1 "Eusebius and Jerome reported that the
  material had been originally transmitted in the
  Hebrew Bible as only one book. However, the
  influence of the Septuagint's dividing of the
  books of Samuel and Kings into four parts under
  the title 'Books of Kingdoms' affected the Hebrew
  Bible and the division of Samuel into two books
  was adopted in the in the printed editions from
  the Bomberg Bible of 1517 onwards." Childs,
  Introduction to the OT as Scripture, 266

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1. Introduction

• 1.2 "In the Babylonian Talmud (Baba Bathra 14b)
  Samuel himself is said to have been the author of
  I and II Samuel, but there is not foundation to
  the note the prophet dies and his death is
  described twice (1 Sam 25.1 28.3)... What we
  have here, therefore, resembles what we have seen
  in the case of Joshua Samuel is the protagonist
  of the first book (not the second), but certainly
  not its author, and his role is sufficient
  explanation of the book's title." Soggin,
  Introduction to the OT, 209

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2. Manuscripts

• 2.1 MT
• 2.2 LXX
• 2.3 4QSama, b, c
• 2.4 1 Sam 10.27b-11.1 (4QSama Josephus)

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3. Historical Setting

• 3.1 "In the 'former prophets' Samuel precedes
  Kings and follows Judges Ruth belongs with the
  Writings. It is perhaps possible to connect Judg
  17-21 with the beginning of Samuel, to which it
  might form an introduction intended to explain
  why it became necessary to introduce the monarchy
  in Israel." Soggin, Introduction to the OT, 210

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3. Historical Setting

• 3.2 "First and Second Samuel are of immense
  importance as an accredited historical source for
  the early period of the monarchy. They marked the
  transition from the chaos of the Judges era to
  the more settled conditions of the kingdom, and
  showed the part Samuel played in establishing the
  social and political foundations of an
  institution that, in the time of Solomon, was
  without equal in the ANE. But while Samuel was of
  importance as the dominant religious figure in
  the transition from the tribal confederation to
  centralized monarchy, hw was of equal
  significance for the way in which he replaced the
  priestly hierarchy of Shiloh with an ecstatic
  prophetism." Harrison, Introduction to the OT,
  709-710

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3. Historical Setting

• 3.3 "The greatest and most spectacular age of
  Israel was just before and after 1000 B.C. These
  were the days of those colorful and interesting
  figures, Saul, David, and Solomon, who brought
  the Israelites state into being and in an
  incredibly short time made it a nation of no
  small importance in the contemporary world."
  Wright, Biblical Archaeology, 121

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4. History of Interpretation

• 4.1 Anti- verse Pro- Monarchial sentiment
• Pro- 1 Sam 9.1-10.16 11.1-15 13-14
• Anti- 1 Sam 7 8 10.17-27 12
• If Aanti- and Bpro- then the pattern is
  B8.1-22 A9.1-10.16 B10.17-27 A11.1-15
  B12.1-25.
• "The establishment of the kingdom-even though
  arising out of disobedience- is not to be viewed
  as a purely secular act. Although the
  establishment of a monarchy was not according to
  the original divine plan, God is till deeply
  involved. When Samuel anoints Saul, the divine
  plane, God is still deeply involved. When Samuel

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4. History of Interpretation

• anoints Saul, the divine blessing is given and
  the Spirit of God brings him the victory. Chapter
  12 functions to summarize the perspective of the
  combined accounts. The basic issue of Israel's
  faith has not been determined by the change of
  the political structure. Israel, along with its
  new king, must still decide for or against God.
  If you still do wickedly, you shall be swept
  away, both you and your king!' (12.25). The
  canonical shaping provides a theological solution
  to the difficulty of the two traditions by
  relativizing the importance of the historical
  change." Childs, 278

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4. History of Interpretation

• 4.2 Collections of independent stories
  subsequently joined into a continuous narrative.
  This view especially found in Rost's "Succession
  Narratives.
• 4.3 David under the Blessing and the Curse
  Carlson, David, the Chosen King. A
  Traditio-Historical Approach to the Second Book
  of Samuel, 2 Sam 2-5 as David under Blessing
  while 2 Sam 9-24 views David under the Curse.

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5. Literary Analysis

• 5.1 The Reversal-of-Fortune Motif
• "The major narrative tool used throughout 1 and 2
  Samuel is the reversal-of-fortune motif. In this
  motif persons who were normally thought of as
  unimportant became important, and ones who were
  considered important became unimportant."
  Martin, "The Literary Quality of 1 and 2
  Samuel," BS, (April-June, 1984), 133-134
• Movement of reversals through Samuel
• 1 Sam 1-3 Eli's line verses Samuel
• 1 Sam 4.1-7.1 Phistines verses the Ark
• 1 Sam 7.2-15.35 Samuel verses Saul

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5. Literary Analysis

• 1 Sam 16-2 Sam 1 Saul and Jonathan verses David
• 2 Sam 2-8 Saul's kingdom verses David's the Ark
  
• 2 Sam 9-20 David, Ammon, Absalom verses Solomon
• 2 Sam 21-24 Enemies of God verse David and his
  men

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6. Structure

• 6.1 Framework
• "...in each of the first six sections of the
  book, a sharp contrast exists between the rival
  forces of obedience and disobedience. The
  contrast between the characters is one of the
  major literary techniques used in presenting a
  theological understanding of this portion of
  Israel's history." Martin, "The Structure of 1
  and 2 Samuel," 31

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6. Structure

• The Eli and Samuel Narrative 1 Sam 1-3
• The reversal from barrenness to fertility 1 Sam
  1.1-2.10
• The contrast between Samuel and the sons of Eli
  1 Sam 2.11-36
• "1. The Lord responds to the faith of the
  innocent and the downtrodden. There was a total
  reversal of natural expectations. The poor,
  barren woman would become the mother of the most
  powerful man in Israel at that time. 2. The
  blesses the righteous (under the covenant) with
  fertility, whereas the wicked are cut off. 3. The
  birth of Samuel was God's means of dealing with
  His chosen people. The rest of the narrative
  deals with a similar theme. The righteous ones
  who are chosen by God will prosper while the ones
  who are chosen by the people and oppose God's
  rule will be cut off. This is true even if those
  who

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6. Structure

• oppose God's rule (i.e., Eli and his sons) are a
  part of the covenant community. 4. God irrupts
  into the history of Israel at His own sovereign
  pleasure but only when faith is evident in His
  people. Because of Samuel the work of the Lord
  continued at Shiloh." Martin, "The Struture of 1
  and 2 Samuel," 33

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6. Structure

• The Ark Narrative 1 Sam 4-7.1
• The ark taken away 1 Sam 4
• Pagan fertility foiled by God 1 Sam 5
• The ark miraculously brought back to Israel 1
  Sam 6.1-7.1
• "1. The ark of the Lord symbolized God's presence
  in the nation. This became important later when
  David brought the ark into the nation's new
  capital. 2. Israel was treating the ark of the
  Lord as if it were some magical tool of warfare.
  Their attitude showed that they did not
  understand the true significance of Yahweh
  worship at that time. 3. Some people knew that
  God's presence within Israel was essential to the
  life of the nation

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6. Structure

• (Eli and Phinehas' wife). 4. A correct response
  to the presence of God is to rejoice and offer
  sacrifice. An incorrect response is to refuse to
  rejoice and this brings judgment from God. Later
  this truth became evident when Michal refused to
  rejoice in the presence of God and was judged
  with infertility. 5. In spite of the
  faithlessness of the nation, God sovereignty
  directed the ark to be returned to the land of
  his covenant people so that the true significance
  of Yahweh worship could be rediscovered by a
  coming king." Martin, "The Structure of 1 and 2
  Samuel," 33-34

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6. Structure

• The Samuel and Saul Narrative 1 Sam 7.2-15.35
• Samuel's ministry as judge 1 Sam 7.2-17
• The kingship given to Saul 1 Sam 8-11
• The kingship taken away from Saul 1 Sam 12-15
• "Saul was an impetuous person who wanted to take
  matters into his own hands rather than trusting
  the Lord. He had the opposite of the proper
  covenant mentality. His sins was so serious that
  there could be no atonement for it. This is
  similar to Eli's sons, for whose sins no
  atonement was available. Their sin resulted in a
  change of order, from Eli to Samuel. In Saul's
  case the change in order was from Saul to David."
  Martin, 35

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6. Structure

• The Saul and David Narrative 1 Sam 16-2 Sam 1
• David's ascendancy as the new anointed one 1 Sam
  16-18.5
• David driven out 1 Sam 18.6-20.42
• David in exile 1 Sam 21-29
• The Kingdom changed hands 1 Sam 30-2 Sam 1
• "1. The importance of the anointed one appears
  again and again. To be righteous and prosper, one
  must respond in a proper way to the Lord's
  anointed one. This, of course, has great
  ramifications for NT theology as the Messiah, in
  the line of David, is God's Anointed One. 2.
  David, as the anointed king,

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6. Structure

• was to lead Israel in fighting its battles.
  Young David in battle took a shepherd's
  implements rather than the weapons of a warrior.
  The symbolism is obvious - David was to be the
  ideal leader who would shepherd the nation. 3.
  Even the royal family (Jonathan, Michal, and at
  times, Saul) recognized that David was the man on
  whom God's hand rested. 4. David, like the ark
  before him, went into the exile in the land of
  the Philistines only to be sent back because he
  was a hindrance rather than help." Martin, "The
  Structure of 1 and 2 Samuel," 36-37

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6. Structure

• The King David Narrative 2 Sam 2-8
• The beginning of the kingdom 2 Sam 2.1-3.5
• The unification of the kingdom 2 Sam 3.6-5.16
• The firm establishment of the kingdom 2 Sam
  5.17-8.18
• The Succession Narrative 2 Sam 9-20 1 Kgs 1-2
• Appendices The Greatness of David Narrative 2
  Sam 21-24
• The seven sons of Saul 2 Sam 21.1-14
• The giant-killers 2 Sam 21.15-22
• David's song of thanksgiving 2 Sam 22/Ps 18

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6. Structure

• David's last words 2 Sam 23.1-7
• David's mighty men 2 Sam 23.8-39
• The census and the site of the temple 2 Sam 24

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7. Theology

• 1. The "center" of Samuel's Theology
• "Certainly in Samuel's theology the covenant
  forms the basis of all theological thought. The
  Mosaic Covenant is never mentioned by name in 1
  and 2 Samuel, but it permeates them." Martin,
  "The Theology of Samuel," 306
• "The center of the theology of the books of
  Samuel hinges on this fertility principle and can
  be stated as follows the well-being of the
  people of God (Israel) depended on their response
  to His choosing them as His instruments and
  saving them the righteous ones, those chosen by
  God, prosper while those who oppose God's
  instruments of rulership are cut off." Martin,
  "The Theology of Samuel," 306

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7. Theology

• 2. The Theology of God
• 2.1 The Character of God
• "God is Compassionate. The character of God is
  seen in 1 and 2 Samuel through His actions and
  attitudes on behalf of His covenant people. In
  these books the Lord is seen as a God of
  compassion who cares for the people who are
  oppressed and in a lamentable state." Martin,
  "The Theology of Samuel," 307
• "God is a communicating God. Also permeating 1
  and 2 Samuel is the emphasis that God was
  constantly communicating with His people in
  various ways." Martin, "The Theology of Samuel,"
  307

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7. Theology

• 2. The Theology of God
• 2.1 The Character of God
• "God is spiritual and unique. The uniqueness of
  God is perhaps best seen in 1 Samuel 4-6 in which
  God and the gods' were in conflict." Martin,
  308
• "God demands obedience. Through the Samuel
  narratives are many examples of people who obey
  God and of people who do not. Invariably... those
  who refuse to obey were judged by God." Martin,
  308
• "God is worthy of worship. The nation Israel had
  fallen into pagan practices in its worship (1 Sam
  1-3), but the Lord was worthy of worship. The
  great king David recognized this." Martin, 309

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7. Theology

• 2. The Theology of God
• 2.2 The Acts of God
• "God sovereignly chooses. Perhaps God's major
  act...is His electing or choosing. This is both
  corporate and individual." Martin, "The Theology
  of Samuel," 309
• "God is forgiving. God expected obedience but in
  many instances the people of God failed to live
  according to His revelation to them and they fell
  into sin." Martin, 310
• "God fights for His people. A major theme...is
  the fact that the Lord fights for the covenant
  nation. Each time a new ruler was appointed, that
  ruler fought and won for the nation in God's
  name." Martin, "The Theology of Samuel," 310

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7. Theology

• 3. The Theology of Man
• Pagans Apart from the Covenant "The pagan
  Philistines, though not powerless before
  disobedient Israel (1 Sam 4), were powerless
  before obedient Israel (1 Sam 7). They apparently
  had some knowledge of God's past dealings with
  His covenant nation (1 Sam 4.5-8)." Martin, 311
• Disobedient Israelites "The fate of the
  disobedient is predictable.... Those who did not
  obey the covenant were cursed and died. The
  earliest example is the sons of Eli, for who it
  is said that there was no atonement (1 Sam
  3.12-14). The lengthiest example is Saul, who
  began by being sovereignly chosen by God and
  acting as God wanted him to act." Martin, 311

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7. Theology

• 3. The Theology of Man
• The Israelite Community "God made the Mosaic
  Covenant with the nation as a whole, not with
  each individual in the nation. The fertility
  motif, however, had individual and national
  ramifications. Occasionally the fertility motif
  became extremely personal and private.... But at
  other times the whole nation suffered because of
  the sinful actions of one of its leaders."
  Martin, "The Theology of Samuel," 312
• "One of the fundamental theological problems
  which appears right through the work is that of
  the election and the rejection of particular
  people." Soggin, Introduction to the OT, 219