1 Samuel: A Narrative Commentary
Keith Bodner
Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2008-06-30 - 340 pages
"This
substantial commentary presents 1 Samuel as a sophisticated work of
literature, where the reader is challenged with a narrative that is
fraught with interpretative possibilities. In his distinctive literary
reading Bodner lays special emphasis on the intriguing array of
characters that populate the narrative, and on the plot, in its design
and its configurations." "Thus, a host of intriguing episodes and
personalities are passed in review: from the symbolically charged closed
womb of Hannah to the backwards fall and the broken neck of Eli, to the
strange tour of the Ark of God through the menacing Philistine
pentapolis, wreaking havoc. Then there is the complex portrayal of
Samuel the prophet, the emergence of the fugitive David as a leader, and
the eventual decline, madness, and necromancy of King Saul." "Only
through a literary study of its many ironies and ambiguities, Bodner
amply shows, can the richness of this classic royal drama be fully
appreciated."
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This
work argues that 2 Sam 8:15--20:26 is a literary unit designed to show
how David and his house failed to establish "justice and righteousness"
during David's reign over all Israel. After an introductory chapter and a
chapter on critical methodology the rest of the work is a close reading
of 2 Sam 8:15--20:26 that pays special attention to narrative ethics.
Chapter 3 makes a case for reading 2 Sam 8:15--20:26 as a coherent
literary unit reflecting an ethical world-view grounded in kindness and
having as its main theme "the failure of justice and righteousness to be
established during David's reign." Chapter 4 presents a case for
reading 2 Sam 8:15--10:19 as an account of the beginnings of justice and
righteousness during David's reign in which David's kindness towards
Mephibosheth is presented as analogous to a Mesopotamian royal
declaration and was performed as an inaugural act of charity upon
David's ascent to the throne.