The Rise and Fall of King Saul

Characters and Characterization in the Book of Samuel, 2020

The best stories feature characters who change in significant ways and the book of Samuel is no exception. Saul is one of the great characters in the story, who initially makes us empathize with him due to his amiable qualities: his good looks (9:2) and unassuming disposition, his evident humility (9:21), reluctance to brag (10:16), and hesitation to seize power (10:22). But Saul’s character develops significantly as the narrative progresses. This paper focuses on the transformation of his character from the timid personality of chapter 9, to the quick-acting leader of chapter 11. From the forgiving leader (11:13), to the vengeful monarch. From the humble man who hid in the baggage (10:22) to the king who erected a monument for himself (15:12). From the man who did not seek to be king, to the man who stubbornly holds on to his regency no matter what the cost.

Many recent studies of Saul have understood him as a tragic figure whose story was shaped by Dtr in a way that emphasizes his failures in order to provide a backdrop for David's rise. This paper examines select elements related to Saul's character and transformation within 1 Samuel 9:1-10:16. It seeks to make the case that, even after having reshaped his sources, Dtr did not eliminate the affirmative dimensions of Saul's character, but retained them in 1 Samuel in its current form.

Saul, Benjamin and the Emergence of Monarchy in Israel AIL 40, 2020

For a copy of this article, please contact me only VIA EMAIL. Full citation: 16. Sergi, O. 2020. Saul, David and the Formation of the Israelite Monarchy: Revisiting the Historical and Literary Context of 1 Samuel 9–2 Samuel 5. In: Krause, J., Sergi, O. and Weingart, K. eds. Saul, Benjamin and the Emergence of Monarchy in Israel (Ancient Israel and its Literature 40). Atlanta (SBL Press): 57–91.

It may be said that the entire theological framework of 1 and 2 Samuel is indelibly contained and poetically predicted in the songs which begin and end it. Said differently, the songs of Hannah and David, which form a kind of collaborative prologue and epilogue, contain the primary theological motifs of 1 and 2 Samuel in hymnic form. This phenomenon is made clear not only in the narrative of Hannah’s own experience in the early chapters of 1 Samuel, but also in the many subsequent chapters of the one story, in which are worked out the key themes of kingship, the Davidic covenant, and the reversal of fortunes in the humiliation of the prideful and the exaltation of the humble. The significance of these songs should not be understated, as they provide a coherent structure, as well as a prophetic foreshadowing and interpretation of the events of the book. Indeed, V. Philips Long affirms: “the story [and song] of Hannah provides essential orientation to the dynamics of the book of Samuel as a whole.” Likewise, William J. Dumbrell, in “The Content and Significance of Books of Samuel” agrees, stating: “the song [of Hannah] in substance presents the program to which the books of Samuel will be devoted.” While scholars have historically debated whether the Song of Hannah is her own composition, or a psalm later compiled in the post-exilic period and inserted into the text anachronistically, the content of the song clearly and undoubtedly functions in an organic way to serve the whole by establishing a narratival and theological lens through which the rise and fall of Israel’s monarchy, and the significant characters involved, may be understood. Therefore, it follows: if we desire to better understand the plot, theme, and theology 1 and 2 Samuel, we would do well to understand the content and significance of Hannah and David’s songs. The significance of songs that are full of theological import and reflect on the events of Biblical history should come as no surprise to the careful reader of Scripture. The people of the LORD have always been a people of song. In key moments of redemptive-historical significance, God’s people have verbally and poetically recounted the wondrous works of YHWH, solidifying in their memory the particular events associated with them. The power of song and of poetry is particularly the capability to compress significant theological and narratival data into relatively brief stanzas. And this is precisely how Hannah and David’s songs function; capturing the broader theological landscape of 1 and 2 Samuel in a combined total of 60 verses. Thus, it is the scope and purpose of this paper to provide an exegetical examination of the hymnic theology of Hannah’s Song in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 in comparison with David’s Song in 2 Samuel 22:2-51, to demonstrate that these psalms provide the theological framework or grid through which the whole of 1 and 2 Samuel may be understood, and therefore provide the key to understanding not only how the monarchy of Israel comes to be established, but also how and why it will ultimately fail and fall. This examination will inevitably lead us to consider the redemptive-historical significance of Israel’s search for a true king who can fulfill the perfect, personal, and perpetual requirements of obedience to the covenant of God and lead the people of God into the promised land of perfect peace and rest. Thus, our study will ultimately conclude with a brief examination of one final song—that of another divinely favored woman, Mary, in Luke 1:46-55; which song forms the biblical-theological bridge to the content and theology of 1 and 2 Samuel, demonstrating convincingly that it is God’s prerogative to take what is lowly, abased, and weak in the eyes of the world, and by it shame the strong, self-righteous, and prideful (1 Cor. 1:26-31), for truly God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (1 Pet. 5:5-6; James 4:6-7). Finally, through our examination of Mary’s Magnificat, we will seek to show the fulfillment of these theological motifs in the person and work of Jesus Christ, whose advent, life, ministry, and death, is the penultimate model of humiliation unto exaltation.

Teleioteti, 2019

Though many studies have probed the significance of the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam 7:1-17) within the biblical canon, few have endeavoured to explore its significance within the narrative of Samuel. This thesis argues that by weaving references to God's promises made to David (collectively known as the Davidic Covenant) throughout his narrative, that author of Samuel reveals God's will to strip away all human pretension by bringing His promises to fulfillment through the lowly David, whose acension to kingship and endurance therein is owing all to God. In this way, the author fulfills his purpose to demonstrate God's sovereign working in history to establish His kingdom on earth through His chosen priest-king, a descendant of David, in fulfillment of the promises He made beforehand. Engaging in a literary close-reading of the text of Samuel, the author shows how the narrative of Samuel is shaped towards this end. In the present environment of high interest in the Book of Samuel, this contribution by James Rutherford is most welcome. Rutherford is well versed in current scholarship on Samuel, but his work moves well beyond this scholarship to contribute fresh insights, not least in respect of the priestly character of King David. And concerning its structure, Rutherford argues that the Book of Samuel as a whole is arranged and narrated so as to draw attention to the centrality of the Davidic Covenant of 2 Samuel 7. Having myself studied 1 and 2 Samuel for decades now, I was nevertheless benefitted at numerous points from Rutherford’s creative interpretive suggestions. His is a work well conceived, well written, and worthy of a serious read." V. Philips Long, Professor of Old Testament, Regent College This thesis argues that by weaving references to God’s promises made to King David throughout his narrative, the author of Samuel reveals God’s will to strip away all human pretension by bringing his promises to fulfillment through a lowly man whose ascension to kingship and endurance therein is entirely owing to God. In this way, the Samuel author fulfils his purpose of demonstrating God’s sovereign working in history to establish his kingdom on earth through his chosen priest-king, a descendant of David. The thesis represents an excellent piece of work that does a great job of bringing together into one coherent argument, focused on the Davidic covenant, much of the best recent narrative-critical research on 1-2 Samuel, and from this point of view represents a distinctive contribution to the field of Samuel studies." Iain Provan, Marshall Sheppard Professor of Biblical Studies, Regent College

Westminster Theological Journal, 2019

Significant Pentateuchal themes serve a major leitmotif in 1 Samuel that narratologically shape Saul’s demise (as well as David’s rise) in the language of Gen 3:15, 4:5b–8, and 25:19−34 (as well as 27:37−41). David is predictably portrayed as the “Seed of the Woman,” but the reader is increasingly shocked by the gradual typecasting of Saul as a manifestation of the “Seed of the Serpent” (Gen 3:15) and “another nation” (Gen 25:23), first appearing like Cain and then Esau. Moreover, thematic links between Gen 3:17 and Deut 18:9–22 find redemptive-historical development in 1 Samuel as Saul, like Adam, does not hear/obey the voice of the Lord. The entire David-Saul struggle, therefore, is read against the backdrop of Genesis as a whole and Deut 18. This reading provides theological depth to the characterization of Saul and further elucidates the contribution of 1 Samuel to redemptive history.

Vetus Testamentum, 2023

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.