FIRST AND SECOND SAMUEL. By
Walter Brueggeman. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and
Preaching. Louisville: John Knox, 1990. Cloth, $24.95. (review in:
Hebrew Studies Journal)
The choice of author for this particular volume in the Interpretation series of commentaries by John Knox Press is a happy one. The series, which is intended to meet a wide range of needs among students, teachers, ministers, and priests for contemporary exposition, attempts to integrate the results of historical and theological work with the biblical text. Brueggemann is unusually well fitted for this task. Moreover, he has achieved his objective in what may well prove to be the most significant of his many published works in recent years. This particular reviewer was deeply impressed with the author's earlier contribution to the same commentary series on the book of Genesis. The present volume is even more impressive. This book is destined to take its place as one of the most useful tools currently available for interpreting, teaching, and preaching on 1 and 2 Samuel.
The choice of author for this particular volume in the Interpretation series of commentaries by John Knox Press is a happy one. The series, which is intended to meet a wide range of needs among students, teachers, ministers, and priests for contemporary exposition, attempts to integrate the results of historical and theological work with the biblical text. Brueggemann is unusually well fitted for this task. Moreover, he has achieved his objective in what may well prove to be the most significant of his many published works in recent years. This particular reviewer was deeply impressed with the author's earlier contribution to the same commentary series on the book of Genesis. The present volume is even more impressive. This book is destined to take its place as one of the most useful tools currently available for interpreting, teaching, and preaching on 1 and 2 Samuel.
Walter Brueggemann's long and
fruitful dialogue with the figure of David in the biblical text has produced
some remarkable contributions to scholarly discourse. As early as 1968, his
study of the paradigmatic role of David for
Israel ("David and His Theologian," CBQ 30
[1968]: 156-181) pointed in new directions. His popular study, David's Truth in
Israel's Imagination and Memory (Fortress, 1985), carried the dialogue into
somewhat turbulent waters in his attempt to combine the divergent approaches of
sociological analysis and literary criticism. His more recent study, Power,
Providence and Personality: Biblical Insight Into Life and Ministry (Louisville:
Westminster/John Knox, 1990), grows directly out of his long preoccupation with
the story of David and the writing of this particular commentary, which marks
the culmination of a most significant journey--one that has profound
implications for both the academic world of biblical scholarship and the
community of faith in general.
As one would expect, Brueggemann focuses his attention throughout this work on radical social change and drastic reconfigurations of social power in ancient Israel in terms of what this means in contemporary society. The hooks of Samuel occupy the transition from the amorphous social order of tribal life, reflected in the book of Judges, to that of centralized power in 1 Kings. The books of Samuel narrate how the deep shift "from barbaric social practice to oppressive social relations" came about and what it portended for Israel then and for us today.
Brueggemann isolates three distinct factors at work in this social transformation around which his exposition unfolds: political power; the personality of David; and the providence of Yahweh, the God of Israel. "The strategic requirements of the Samuel literature is to find a way of speaking about the tension, overlap, juxtaposition, and convergence of these three forces: the realism of historical-technological-social factors, the powerful person of David, and irresistible sovereignty of Yahweh" (p. 2). In his attempt to balance these three factors, Brueggemann self-consciously attempts to bridge the very different approaches to this literature on the part of the scholarly community and "the pious temptation of the church" (p. 3). He adamantly refuses to play the academic game, which he describes as "a rationalistic elimination of the 'Yahweh factor.'" Historical questions have their place, but "Excessive attention to flat historical questions violates the intent of the text" (p. 4). For the work of teachers and preachers it is an artistic rendering of life which is the urgent responsibility in the task of interpreting the biblical text. To this end, Brueggemann focuses his attention on what some would describe as a "close reading" of the text itself. He is well aware of historical problems and issues, but that is not his primary concern. As he puts it, "We have more important work to do. The next generation of teachers and interpreters may be weaned away from 'facticity' and 'truth' to a more dangerous conversation" (p. 6).
The important question is not "Who killed Goliath?" In fact, Brueggemann passes over the curious reference to Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim as the one who "slew Goliath the Gittite" (2 Sam 21:19) without comment (pp. 338-339). His concern is with contours of the narrative itself, primarily in terms of an artistic reading, one which "lets us he open to the surprises, ambiguities, incongruities, surpluses, and gifts present in Israel's life, wrought by God, through which humaneness sometimes emerges and where holiness is strangely present" (p. 5).
One of the great strengths of Brueggeman's reading of the Samuel narrative is his ability to relate the text to parallel passages in the NT, both in terms of section headings for each of the six parts of the commentary and at numerous points of detail throughout the work. The comparison of the literary structure of 1 Samuel 4-6 with the "humiliation and exaltation" of Jesus in Phil 2:5-11 is an instructive example (pp. 44-45). The striking "humiliation" of Yahweh at the hands of the Philistine god Dagan is powerfully and inscrutably inverted in a manner similar to that utilized by the apostle Paul in reference to Christ. His subsequent discussion of parallels between the narrative in 1 Sam 5:4 and the church community who went "early in the next morning" to find an empty tomb is powerful. As Brueggeman puts it, "The rejoicing of Easter is like the joy of the fields of Beth-shemesh (6:13). All flesh sees the newness. The community does not speculate or explain, it simply notices and tells and dances and risks the newness. That is what the Philistines found the next morning: 'He is not here.' Only his ark remains in captivity" (p. 47).
The relationship between the text of Samuel and the central chapters of Deuteronomy on matters of leadership (Deuteronomy 16-18) raises still further questions about the "canonical direction" Brueggemann has selected for his reading of the biblical text. Though he is clearly aware of the significance of historical issues and the possibility that the abuse of public power described in 1 Sam 8:10-18 may be taken as a critique of Solomonic abuses, he quickly turns his attention to more important questions. In the spirit of the law of the king (Deut 17:14-20), monarchy is not approved--it is merely permitted (pp. 63-69). I would like to have seen Brueggemann explore the canonical dimension of the text at this particular point more deeply. The case can be argued that much of the narrative content of the so-called "Deuteronomistic History" (Joshua through 2 Kings) can be interpreted as a "midrash of sorts" on the law of the king and the law of the prophet in Deut 17:14-18:22.
With some reluctance, I take this opportunity to describe in some detail one surprising oversight in Brueggemann's close reading of the biblical text. I do not do this with any attempt to suggest that the quality of his reading is lacking in any way. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised and indeed moved to reflection on specific sermons I might preach at almost every point throughout his stimulating presentation. I merely note the fact that a work of literary art as magnificent as that of 1 and 2 Samuel will never reveal all its secrets to any one interpreter, however gifted. One of my graduate students helped me see an important point which Brueggeman has missed in the familiar story of David and Goliath.
When David is summoned by Abner to appear before Saul in 1 Sam 17:57-58, Saul does indeed inquire about David's identity, as Brueggemann has noted (pp. 133-134). But the situation is more complex and the specific language used is of greater interest theologically than he has seen. Saul addresses David with a specific question: "Whose son are you?" Brueggemann's comparison with the earlier narrative in 16:18-19 is apropos. But of greater interest is what is set in motion in terms of narrative development for what follows. David's response to Saul's question is the expected: "I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite."
The attentive reader is struck by the peculiar nature of Saul's question in 17:58 in light of the preceding narrative about David in Saul's court. The question is both surprising and puzzling. Moreover, David's immediate response is not an adequate answer to that question; for David is much more than the mere son of Jesse, as will be shown in the narrative to follow. The very next chapter focuses attention on the person of Jonathan. If one did not already know that Jonathan is the son of Saul from the earlier story of the battle of Michmash (chaps. 13-14), one would be unable to identify Jonathan in chap. 18 in relation to Saul. Not once is he called the "son of Saul" until we reach chap. 19. At that point the narrative once again focuses attention on Jonathan as Saul's son (19:1-4). In chap. 20, the dialogue between David and Jonathan repeatedly draws attention to "my father" and "your father" in reference to Saul. It is not until 24:11, however, when David confronts Saul outside the cave at Engedi, that the point becomes clear. David addresses Saul with the words "my father"! And Saul responds with the words: "Is this your voice, my son David' (24:16)? The repetition of the scene, when David spares Saul at Ziph in chap. 26, drives the point home with force. "Is this your voice, my son David (26:17)? Saul goes one step further this time: "Return, my son David ... I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly (26:21)." In one sense, then, David is indeed the son of Jesse, but David is also the son of Saul-by God's choice. He is the one God has chosen to succeed Saul as king in Israel.
When I first saw this point in an M.A. thesis defense at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, I was moved to write a sermon which I have preached on a number of occasions under the title "Kingship Mediated Through Sonship." Obviously, that particular sermon moves beyond the story of David in the Samuel narrative to another "Son of David" who mediates "kingship" on yet another level to those who enter his family as his "sons and daughters." What my student saw on that particular occasion in her interpretation of this remarkable narrative is a beautiful illustration of the kind of surprises that welcome the reader on virtually every page of Brueggemann's delightful reading of the Hebrew text of 1 and 2 Samuel.
As one would expect, Brueggemann focuses his attention throughout this work on radical social change and drastic reconfigurations of social power in ancient Israel in terms of what this means in contemporary society. The hooks of Samuel occupy the transition from the amorphous social order of tribal life, reflected in the book of Judges, to that of centralized power in 1 Kings. The books of Samuel narrate how the deep shift "from barbaric social practice to oppressive social relations" came about and what it portended for Israel then and for us today.
Brueggemann isolates three distinct factors at work in this social transformation around which his exposition unfolds: political power; the personality of David; and the providence of Yahweh, the God of Israel. "The strategic requirements of the Samuel literature is to find a way of speaking about the tension, overlap, juxtaposition, and convergence of these three forces: the realism of historical-technological-social factors, the powerful person of David, and irresistible sovereignty of Yahweh" (p. 2). In his attempt to balance these three factors, Brueggemann self-consciously attempts to bridge the very different approaches to this literature on the part of the scholarly community and "the pious temptation of the church" (p. 3). He adamantly refuses to play the academic game, which he describes as "a rationalistic elimination of the 'Yahweh factor.'" Historical questions have their place, but "Excessive attention to flat historical questions violates the intent of the text" (p. 4). For the work of teachers and preachers it is an artistic rendering of life which is the urgent responsibility in the task of interpreting the biblical text. To this end, Brueggemann focuses his attention on what some would describe as a "close reading" of the text itself. He is well aware of historical problems and issues, but that is not his primary concern. As he puts it, "We have more important work to do. The next generation of teachers and interpreters may be weaned away from 'facticity' and 'truth' to a more dangerous conversation" (p. 6).
The important question is not "Who killed Goliath?" In fact, Brueggemann passes over the curious reference to Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim as the one who "slew Goliath the Gittite" (2 Sam 21:19) without comment (pp. 338-339). His concern is with contours of the narrative itself, primarily in terms of an artistic reading, one which "lets us he open to the surprises, ambiguities, incongruities, surpluses, and gifts present in Israel's life, wrought by God, through which humaneness sometimes emerges and where holiness is strangely present" (p. 5).
One of the great strengths of Brueggeman's reading of the Samuel narrative is his ability to relate the text to parallel passages in the NT, both in terms of section headings for each of the six parts of the commentary and at numerous points of detail throughout the work. The comparison of the literary structure of 1 Samuel 4-6 with the "humiliation and exaltation" of Jesus in Phil 2:5-11 is an instructive example (pp. 44-45). The striking "humiliation" of Yahweh at the hands of the Philistine god Dagan is powerfully and inscrutably inverted in a manner similar to that utilized by the apostle Paul in reference to Christ. His subsequent discussion of parallels between the narrative in 1 Sam 5:4 and the church community who went "early in the next morning" to find an empty tomb is powerful. As Brueggeman puts it, "The rejoicing of Easter is like the joy of the fields of Beth-shemesh (6:13). All flesh sees the newness. The community does not speculate or explain, it simply notices and tells and dances and risks the newness. That is what the Philistines found the next morning: 'He is not here.' Only his ark remains in captivity" (p. 47).
The relationship between the text of Samuel and the central chapters of Deuteronomy on matters of leadership (Deuteronomy 16-18) raises still further questions about the "canonical direction" Brueggemann has selected for his reading of the biblical text. Though he is clearly aware of the significance of historical issues and the possibility that the abuse of public power described in 1 Sam 8:10-18 may be taken as a critique of Solomonic abuses, he quickly turns his attention to more important questions. In the spirit of the law of the king (Deut 17:14-20), monarchy is not approved--it is merely permitted (pp. 63-69). I would like to have seen Brueggemann explore the canonical dimension of the text at this particular point more deeply. The case can be argued that much of the narrative content of the so-called "Deuteronomistic History" (Joshua through 2 Kings) can be interpreted as a "midrash of sorts" on the law of the king and the law of the prophet in Deut 17:14-18:22.
With some reluctance, I take this opportunity to describe in some detail one surprising oversight in Brueggemann's close reading of the biblical text. I do not do this with any attempt to suggest that the quality of his reading is lacking in any way. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised and indeed moved to reflection on specific sermons I might preach at almost every point throughout his stimulating presentation. I merely note the fact that a work of literary art as magnificent as that of 1 and 2 Samuel will never reveal all its secrets to any one interpreter, however gifted. One of my graduate students helped me see an important point which Brueggeman has missed in the familiar story of David and Goliath.
When David is summoned by Abner to appear before Saul in 1 Sam 17:57-58, Saul does indeed inquire about David's identity, as Brueggemann has noted (pp. 133-134). But the situation is more complex and the specific language used is of greater interest theologically than he has seen. Saul addresses David with a specific question: "Whose son are you?" Brueggemann's comparison with the earlier narrative in 16:18-19 is apropos. But of greater interest is what is set in motion in terms of narrative development for what follows. David's response to Saul's question is the expected: "I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite."
The attentive reader is struck by the peculiar nature of Saul's question in 17:58 in light of the preceding narrative about David in Saul's court. The question is both surprising and puzzling. Moreover, David's immediate response is not an adequate answer to that question; for David is much more than the mere son of Jesse, as will be shown in the narrative to follow. The very next chapter focuses attention on the person of Jonathan. If one did not already know that Jonathan is the son of Saul from the earlier story of the battle of Michmash (chaps. 13-14), one would be unable to identify Jonathan in chap. 18 in relation to Saul. Not once is he called the "son of Saul" until we reach chap. 19. At that point the narrative once again focuses attention on Jonathan as Saul's son (19:1-4). In chap. 20, the dialogue between David and Jonathan repeatedly draws attention to "my father" and "your father" in reference to Saul. It is not until 24:11, however, when David confronts Saul outside the cave at Engedi, that the point becomes clear. David addresses Saul with the words "my father"! And Saul responds with the words: "Is this your voice, my son David' (24:16)? The repetition of the scene, when David spares Saul at Ziph in chap. 26, drives the point home with force. "Is this your voice, my son David (26:17)? Saul goes one step further this time: "Return, my son David ... I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly (26:21)." In one sense, then, David is indeed the son of Jesse, but David is also the son of Saul-by God's choice. He is the one God has chosen to succeed Saul as king in Israel.
When I first saw this point in an M.A. thesis defense at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, I was moved to write a sermon which I have preached on a number of occasions under the title "Kingship Mediated Through Sonship." Obviously, that particular sermon moves beyond the story of David in the Samuel narrative to another "Son of David" who mediates "kingship" on yet another level to those who enter his family as his "sons and daughters." What my student saw on that particular occasion in her interpretation of this remarkable narrative is a beautiful illustration of the kind of surprises that welcome the reader on virtually every page of Brueggemann's delightful reading of the Hebrew text of 1 and 2 Samuel.
Duane
L. Christensen
Christian Witness Theological Seminary
Berkeley, CA 94707
Christian Witness Theological Seminary
Berkeley, CA 94707
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