Samuel Background Information; Theories of Authorship, Date

¶ … Samuel

Background information; theories of authorship, date of writing, other relevant background information related to location, other cultures, religious, political, social, etc.

and 2 Samuel was originally one book in the Hebrew Bible and is set in the 11th Century BC, roughly from 1050-970. It begins with the destruction of Shiloh about 1050 BC and in its present form has 55 chapters, although the authors remain anonymous. In the Greek Septuagint there were four "Books of Reigns" (or Kingdoms) while Jerome named them the "Books of Kings" -- with the first dealing mainly with Saul and the second with David (Gordon, 1999, p. 19).

Parts of these books, such as the History of the Throne Succession were very likely written during the time of David and Solomon or shortly afterward. Many stories about these kings were "of ancient origin and in fixed form by the mid-tenth century," and probably based on official annals and court records (Bright, 2000, p. 184). Other 'early' books include the Ark narrative in 1 Sam 4-6 and the History of David's Rise in 1 Sam 16 to 2 Sam 5.

Samuel is almost certainly not the real writer of these books, since he is already described as an old man at the beginning and dies in 1 Sam 25:1, early in David's reign. Therefore he can hardly have known much about the events for most of David's rule (Brueggemann, 1990, p. 10). After anointing David in 1 Sam 16: 1-13 he plays very little part in the rest of the narrative (Gordon, p. 19).

Some scholars maintain that the story of the plagues of the Philistines was written in the 8th Century BC, during the period when Assyrian "religious beliefs and practices had swept into the northern kingdom of Israel," and this was a warning of Yahweh's punishment of idolatry (Gordon, p. 26).

Samuel was also edited by the Deuteronomists in the 6th Century BC, who placed a special emphasis on divine punishment of the nation for its sins, but also held out the possibility of repentance and redemption, for "Yahweh has not necessarily cast off his people forever" (Gordon, p. 21).

1 Sam 12: 1-15, for example, has a "substantial Deuteronomist presence," especially in its warnings against the king and people who transgress the Law (Gordon, p. 34).

One word description of each book: 1 Samuel could be called the book of "Saul" and 2 Samuel the book of "David."

Main themes of each book

At the start of 1 Samuel, Israel is threatened by the Philistines and other invaders, as well as internal chaos, anarchy, brutality and "undisciplined religion." It requires a king to take charge and organize military defense against the enemy as well as establishing internal order and stability (Brueggemann, p. 10). Saul comes to power because he is a popular and charismatic military leader.

David does not appear until 1 Sam16, but "the first fifteen chapters are a preparation for him" in which Yahweh participates in both open and hidden ways (Brueggemann, p. 1).

1 Sam 13:1-15:35 actually concern the reign of Saul, his fear and jealousy or David and eventual death in battle at the hands of the Philistines. This section of the book emphasizes that David has found God's favor and that "Yahweh has torn the kingdom from Saul" (Gordon, p. 35).

In general, Samuel portrays Saul in an extremely negative light, while Yahweh instructs Samuel to travel to Bethlehem and anoint the new king -- the boy-hero David. Contrary to this traditional patriarchal society, Yahweh often passes over the first-born sons in favor of younger brothers, and this was the case with David.

A key turning point in the narrative is the David's movement of the Ark from Shiloh to Jerusalem in 2 Sam 6, symbolizing the centralization of royal authority in the new capital city (Gordon, p. 21).

Saul's followers and relatives did not accept the rule of David and regarded him as a usurper. In 2 Sam 16:7 they claim that the rebellion and death of Absolom are divine punishment for David's rebellion against Saul.

At the end of Samuel is an appendix or epilogue on David's reign, which includes plagues (2 Sam 24: 1-15) and famine 2 Sam 21:1-14, as well as an oracle or prophesy in 2 Sam 23: 1-7) in which David is cursed for his sins and the entire nation subjected to the wrath of Yahweh. At the same time, though, it also links "David's successes with the benign patronage of Yahweh" (Gordon, p. 41).