Overview – Sefer Shemuel/0

Overview – Sefer Shemuel

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General Themes

Structure

Shemuel can easily be divided in half, at the point of Shaul's death, where the Septuagint split it into two books. The first half can be titled "The precursors to the Davidic Kingdom", and the second half "The rule of King David". Each of these sub-books can be further subdivided in three. The first book is made up of Shemuel's Administration (Chapters 1–8), Shaul's Coronation and Early Battles (Chapters 9–15), and David and Shaul (Chapters 16–31). The second book consists of David's Consolidation of Power (Chapters 1–12), David's Troubles (Chapters 13–21), and Appendices (Chapters 22–24). For further analysis, see Structure – Sefer Shemuel.

Chronology

While in general the internal chronology of Sefer Shemuel is fairly clear, there are a number of episodes which require further clarification:

• Shemuel I 13:1 – How long was Shaul's reign? Was he king for only two years, or for a longer period?
• Shemuel I 16–17 – When was David anointed? Was it before or after he slew Goliyat? When did Shaul first meet him?
• Shemuel II 2–5 – How long was David king in Hevron? How long did it take him to overcome the last of Shaul's supporters?
• Shemuel II 22–24 – When did the various appendices occur?

Context

In Jewish tradition, Shemuel is a separate book, between Shofetim and Melakhim. In contrast, the Septuagint views both Shemuel and Melakhim as part of the single Book of Reigns. This begs the question of the relationship between the Shemuel period and of the preceding and following periods. Should one view the reign of Shaul and David as the same as the kings who follow them, or perhaps they are closer to the model of the judges who precede them? Is the book some sort of transition?¹

Other Motifs

• Authorship – Divrei HaYamim I 29:29 mentions that the prophets Shemuel, Natan, and Gad wrote a history of David's life. How does this relate to Sefer Shemuel?
• Monarchy – The book portrays the early stages of Israelite monarchy. As such, one finds conflicting views on the subject: Shemuel argues at length against appointing a king (Shemuel I 8), but in the end Hashem approves of appointing both Shaul, and, later, David.
• Unified nation – While in Sefer Shofetim the nation is clearly divided into tribes, and in Sefer Melakhim the nation fractures into two kingdoms, Sefer Shemuel generally portrays the nation as unified under a single leader.
• Songs – Sefer Shemuel is framed with songs. It begins with Channah's Thanksgiving Prayer (Shemuel I 2:1–10), the midpoint is marked with David's Lamentation for Shaul and Yonatan (Shemuel II 1:17–27), and the book ends with David's Song (Shemuel II 22). For more, see Channah's Prayer and David's Song.

Individual Issues

Chapters 1–3: Shemuel's Birth and Childhood

• Pilgrimage – Was Elkanah's pilgrimage a regular עליה לרגל or something special?
• Prayer – What was special about Channah's original prayer? Why was Eli confused?
• Channah's Song – What is the meaning of Channah's Song? What is it referring to?
• Eli's sons – What was the sin that Eli's sons committed?
• The prophet – Who was the prophet who appeared to Eli? What did his prophecy refer to?

¹ Among the judges, almost no attempt is made at creating a dynasty. Melakhim begins with the first successful dynasty beginning, the coronation of Shelomo. In the middle one finds the book of Shemuel, where all four leaders (Eli, Shemuel, Shaul, and David) attempt to create a dynasty, and non are successful.