Herbert M. Wolf - Commentary on 1-2 Samuel: From The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary

Herbert M. Wolf
revised by Robert D. Holmstedt

Introduction

The books of 1 and 2 Samuel are named after the prophet Samuel, who served as the last judge of Israel and who anointed both Saul and David to be kings of Israel. The books thus provide a transition between Judges, with its underlying argument for the unifying nature of a monarch, and 1 and 2 Kings, which tell the story of the Israelite monarchy. Originally 1 and 2 Samuel were one book, a unity attested by the earliest existing copy, the larger Samuel scroll among the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QSam a ), which partially preserves the text from what we know as 1 Samuel 1:11 to 2 Samuel 24:20. Jewish tradition continued to treat the books as one until the fifteenth century; this is most easily seen in the Masoretic marginal notes, which mark 1 Samuel 28:24 as half of the book by verses. At the same time, the division between 1 and 2 Samuel is natural enough, since 1 Samuel ends with the death of Israels first king, Saul, leaving 2 Samuel to focus on the reign of David. The division into two books occurred already in antiquity, likely due to space concerns; it was first divided by the translators of the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), who referred to the two as the books of First and Second Kingdoms. The Latin Bible (Vulgate) called these books First and Second Kings and the books that followed, Third and Fourth Kings.

It is worth noting that the story of David does not end in 2 Samuel 24, but continues through 1 Kings 1, and his death is not mentioned until 1 Kings 2:1011. Thus, not only is the division between 1 and 2 Samuel artificial, but the entirety of JoshuaJudgesSamuelKings reads, in their final forms at least, as a single, four-volume work that tells the story of the Israelite history in Canaan, from entrance to exile. Moreover, all four contain themes and explicit textual links to the book that apparently gave the historian of the final work his focus: Deuteronomy. It is thus important that as sensitive readers we bear in mind that with 12 Samuel we are stepping into the middle of an ongoing story. So, while Samuel, Saul, and David take center stage in this work, the central characters of the larger story are the Lord and Israel.

The Argument of 12 Samuel

In asking what 12 Samuel is about, we must remember that history-writing, whether ancient or modern, is never simply about recording the facts. Instead, a historian chooses which facts to include, orders them, and sometimes even dresses them up. This is done in order to make an argument about some person, event, or period in historythat is, to explain why something happened or to explain a person or events larger significance (see Frykenberg). The challenge with the biblical history writings is that it is often difficult to reconstruct enough of the historians settings to be able to identify accurately the specific underlying arguments in their books. Even so, it is helpful to ask oneself as one reads a book like 12 Samuel, Why is this event included? or, Why is it told this way?