Monographs by Stephen Germany
Journal Articles by Stephen Germany
Theologische Zeitschrift, 2024
This article offers some exploratory thoughts on the exegetical potential of comparing the books ... more This article offers some exploratory thoughts on the exegetical potential of comparing the books of Samuel with classical literature. The first part offers a brief sketch of the history of research on the comparison of the Hebrew Bible in general, and of the books of Samuel in particular, from the 19th century up to the present. Following this, two case studies from II Sam 2 and II Sam 20 are used to consider how a comparison of the biblical texts with classical literature might lead to a better understanding of the books of Samuel and how to integrate such a comparison with other historical-critical methods in the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible.
Theologische Zeitschrift, 2023
This article examines the representation of wars conducted by Judah and Israel in the books of Ch... more This article examines the representation of wars conducted by Judah and Israel in the books of Chronicles. The first part of the study deals with the representation of wars between Judah and neighboring nations, while the second part deals with the representation of internal wars between Judah and Israel. Regarding Judah’s external wars, the author(s) of Chronicles develop a principle of historical causation by which the kings of Judah are victorious when they rely on Yahweh but are defeated when they act on their own accord. Regarding the internal wars between Judah and Israel, two key narrative units in 2 Chr 10-13 and in 2 Chr 28 form a frame around Chronicles’ depiction of the period of the divided monarchy, first reinforcing the lack of legitimacy of the northern kingdom through Abijah’s victory over Jeroboam (2 Chr 13:2b-20) and then using the northern kingdom as an instrument of divine punishment against the sins of Ahaz and of Judah (2 Chr 28:5-14).
Vetus Testamentum, 2023
This study makes the case that within the books of Samuel-Kings as a whole, the book of Samuel pr... more This study makes the case that within the books of Samuel-Kings as a whole, the book of Samuel presents two nested iterations of paradigmatic history, each of which anticipates the subsequent monarchic history with a distinct thematic focus. The more detailed of these two iterations – the story of Saul's and David's reigns in 1 Sam 9–2 Sam 24 – typologically anticipates the subsequent history of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah as narrated in 1 Kgs 12–2 Kgs 25. This paradigmatic "preview" of the fates of Israel and Judah is further condensed in the stories about Eli and Samuel in 1 Sam 1–8, which anticipate elements from 1 Sam 9–2 Sam 24, the book of Kings, and beyond.
Religions, 2023
The book of Chronicles is a well‑known example of how theological developments in Judah during th... more The book of Chronicles is a well‑known example of how theological developments in Judah during the Persian and Hellenistic periods played a role in reshaping the received literary traditions of the Hebrew Bible. This study focuses specifically on Chronicles’ narratives of violent conflicts between Israel/Judah and the Philistines and Arameans and their relationship to the portrayal of the Philistines and Arameans in Samuel–Kings. It discusses five case studies pertaining to violent encounters between Israelite/Judahite kings and the Philistines (Saul in 1 Chr 10; Jehoshaphat in 2 Chr 17; Jehoram in 2 Chr 21; Uzziah in 2 Chr 26; Ahaz in 2 Chr 28) and five pertaining to the Arameans (Asa in 2 Chr 16; Jehoshaphat in 2 Chr 18–19; Ahaziah in 2 Chr 22; Joash in 2 Chr 24; Ahaz in 2 Chr 28). Among other new findings, the study highlights how Chronicles repeatedly depicts the Philistine threat in tandem with conflicts with the Edomites (a phenomenon not found in Samuel–Kings) and, furthermore, casts the Arameans as an instrument of divine punishment not only against northern Israelite kings but also against Judahite kings.
Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins, 2021
Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel, 2021
Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 2019
Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel, 2019
Book-Seams in the Hexateuch I: The Literary Transitions between the Books of Genesis/Exodus and Joshua/Judges, 2018
Currents in Biblical Research, 2018
This article traces the development of the concept of the Hexateuch in five major stages: (1) its... more This article traces the development of the concept of the Hexateuch in five major stages: (1) its beginnings in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, (2) its floruit in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, (3) the challenge to the Hexateuch hypothesis by the Deuteronomistic History hypothesis, (4) the partial decline of the Hexateuch hypothesis during the second half of the twentieth century, and (5) its recent revival and reinterpretation, particularly since the turn of the millennium. Within the current discussion, the most decisive question is whether one should conceive of the Hexateuch as an early (i.e., pre-Priestly and/or pre-Dtr) narrative work, as a late redactional construct, or both.
Book Chapters by Stephen Germany
Depictions of the Prophet Elijah, 2025
In the Hebrew Bible, the prophet Elijah is depicted as a critic of some of Israel’s most sinful k... more In the Hebrew Bible, the prophet Elijah is depicted as a critic of some of Israel’s most sinful kings as well as a wonder worker and one who will return prior to the “day of Yahweh.” This essay traces the development of the Elijah traditions in the Hebrew Bible, in late Second-Temple period Jewish literature, and in the New Testament.
Israel, Judah, and Neighboring Groups in the Books of Samuel: Historical and Textual Approaches, 2025
Zwischen Fiktion und Fakten/Between Fiction and Facts: Geschichte und Religion in den Samuelbüchern/Historicity and Religiosity in the Books of Samuel, 2024
Transjordan and the Southern Levant: New Approaches Regarding the Iron Age and the Persian Period from Hebrew Bible Studies and Archaeology, 2024
Collective Violence and Memory in the Ancient Mediterranean, 2024
This essay proposes that, within the biblical books of Samuel and Chronicles, there are two disti... more This essay proposes that, within the biblical books of Samuel and Chronicles, there are two distinct narrative modes of memorializing the leadership of Israel's first king, Saul, in war. Whereas 1 Sam 31 and 2 Sam 21 negotiate the remembrance of Saul through their depiction of geographical space, 2 Sam 1 depicts a textualized memorialization of Saul's heroism performed by David. These two modes, one spatial and one verbal, can be regarded as two different types of sites of memory that are expressed in narrative form in the biblical text. They also serve distinct rhetorical functions. The spatial mode participates in a broader discourse on Israelite identity – specifically, the status of Transjordan and the identification of its population as insiders or outsiders – while the poetic-performative mode contributes to an idealized depiction of another king of Israel: David.
Von Elephantine bis Ugarit. Festschrift für Hanna Jenni, 2023
In 1 Samuel, like in other biblical texts, the term “Hebrew / Hebrews” ( עברי/עברים ) was long in... more In 1 Samuel, like in other biblical texts, the term “Hebrew / Hebrews” ( עברי/עברים ) was long interpreted as a reflection of social conditions in the southern Levant prior to the rise of kingship in Israel and was often connected to the term ḫabiru that is attested in various Late Bronze Age sources. Although this connection was called into question already decades ago, it continues to have a strong influence on the interpretation of the relevant biblical texts. This contribution seeks to show, however, that the occurrences of the term עברים in 1 Samuel most likely stem from the post-monarchic period. They belong to relatively late compositional layers in the Saul-David narrative and reflect at least two main concerns: (1) They serve to depict the Philistines as an “Egypt redivivus” and, by extension, the beginning of kingship under Saul as a decisive time of liberation from another paradigmatic Israelite oppressor. (2) Even later occurrences suggest an underlying concern with the question of loyalty of the “Hebrews” toward their own culture and possibly reflect a Ptolemaic-period context, grappling with issues of identity and “culture wars” during the Hellenistic period.
Book-Seams in the Hexateuch II: The Book of Deuteronomy and its Literary Transitions, 2023
Book-Seams in the Hexateuch II: The Book of Deuteronomy and its Literary Transitions, 2023
Book-Seams in the Hexateuch II: The Book of Deuteronomy and its Literary Transitions, 2023
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Monographs by Stephen Germany
Journal Articles by Stephen Germany
Book Chapters by Stephen Germany