The Biblical Saga of King David
John Van Seters
The biblical story of King David has been interpreted in many different ways, arising from the variety of methods used in and the intended objectives of the studies: Does the narrative contain insight into and information about the early history of the Judean monarchy, or is it merely a legendary tale about a distant past? Can we identify the story’s literary genre, it sociohistorical setting, and the intention of its author(s)? Is an appreciation for the wonderful literary qualities of the story compatible with a literary-critical investigation of the narrative’s compositional and text-critical history? Van Seters reviews past scholarship on the David story and in the course of doing so unravels the history of these questions and then presents an extended appraisal of the debate about the social and historical context of the biblical story. From this critical foundation, Van Seters proceeds to offering a detailed literary analysis of the story of David from his rise to power under Saul to his ultimate succession by Solomon.
- Description
- Table of Contents
1. Introduction
The Scope of the Study
The History of Scholarship on David
The Literary-Critical Analysis: Julius Wellhausen
Form-Criticism: Gunkel and Gressmann
The Thematic Analysis of Leonhard Rost: The Succession Narratve
The David Story as the Beginnings of History Writing: Von Rad
The Succession Narrative and Wisdom: Whybray
The History of David’s Rise
The New Redaction-Critical Approach: Veijola
The Prophetic History of David
The Literary – Final Form Approach
Redaction-Critical Disintegration of the Old Consensus: Dietrich
A Different Approach to the David Story: Van Seters
The Genre Debate
Summary
2. The David Saga within its Social and Historical Setting: Part 1
Historical Documents from the David-Solomon Era
The David Tradition and the Biblical Archaeology Debate
The Socio-Archaeological Approach and its Advocates: the Biblical Archaeology Debate
Comparison between the Amarna Age and David’s Reign: la longue durée
Summary
3. The David Saga within its Social and Historical Setting: Part 2
The Search for Historical Sources within the David Story
The Lists of David’s Officials, His Sons, and His Military Officers
David’s Wars
David the Mercenary and the Use of Mercenaries in Greece and the Near East
The Assyrian period
The Saite period
The Rise of Mercenaries in the Greek World
The Persian period
Mercenaries in the story of David
David and his Band of Mercenaries
The Use of Mercenaries in King David’s Army
Conclusion
4. David and Saul: the Problem of Multiple Accounts
The Beginning of the Story of David
The Story of David and Goliath
The Problem of the Textual Differences in Hebrew and Old Greek
The Story of David and Goliath within its Literary Context
5. David’s Life in Saul’s Court and David as an Outlaw
David as a Member of Saul’s Court
David and Jonathan
David and Michal
David’s Flight from Saul
David and Abiathar
David Spares Saul’s Life Twice
David and Abigail
David among the Philistines: Observations on 1 Sam 27-31
Competing Ideologies in the Story of David and Saul
6. David Becomes King of Israel: the Dtr’s View
The Death of Saul in Dtr and in the David Saga
David’s Accession to the Throne: Competing Accounts
David and his Wars (2 Sam 5:6-12, 17- 25; 8:1-14; 10:15-19)
David’s Capture of Jerusalem (2 Sam 5:6-12)
The Philistine Wars (2 Sam 5:17-25; 8:1)
Wars against Moab, Edom, the Arameans and the Ammonites
Literary Observations on the Wars of David
David and the Ark (2 Sam 6)
The Divine Promise to David (2 Sam 7): A Retrospective Survey
2 Sam 7 within the David Story and the Larger DtrH
David’s Final Admonition to Solomon and the Succession
Summary
7. A Portrayal of Life in the Court of David: The David Saga
David’s Conflict with Ishbosheth for Control of Israel
David and the Return of the Ark
David’s Conflict with Ishbosheth for Control of Israel
David and Mephibosheth
The Bathsheba Affair
Rape and Murder in the Court of David
The Revolt of Absalom
David’s Victory and the Death of Absalom
The Sheba Revolt
The Final Struggle for Succession to the Throne
Summary
Conclusion
Understanding Dtr’s David within His Larger History of Israel
David’s Rise to Power within the David Saga
The David Saga as a Radical Revision of Dtr’s View of the State
The Significance of Genre
The Royal Ideology of the David Saga and DtrH Compared
Final Remarks
Appendix: The Division of Sources (Dtr and the David Saga)
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