The Question of the Beginning and the Ending of the So-Called History of David’s Rise by Sung-Hee Yoon

Author:Sung-Hee Yoon [Yoon, Sung-Hee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: De Gruyter
Published: 2014-08-22T00:00:00+00:00

2.2.2 1Sam 16:1–13

According to Noth, 1Sam 16:1–13 is an even later addition than chapter 15 to the old Saul tradition, but it was still pre-deuteronomistic.523 Weiser also regards the passage as pre-deuteronomistic, and submits more specifically that it was added to the older traditions about David’s rise by the author of the HDR. The passage functions as the introduction to the whole narrative, and this is inferred from the fact that the theme and the Tendenz of the whole HDR are wonderfully compressed there.524 Grønbaek holds a similar view, but thinks that the passage was rather created by the author of the HDR who wanted to provide not only a negative introduction to the HDR (chapter 15), but also a positive one. By providing a picture of David’s anointing that is similar to Saul’s anointing in 1Sam 9:1–10:16, the author contrasted David with Saul, and showed that David rightly replaced Saul.525 Mettinger also ascribes 16:1–13 to the author of the HDR, but he connects it with 1Sam 10:17–27a rather than with 9:1–10:16.526 This is taken up by McCarter, but as he is convinced that both 10:17–27a and 16:13 reflect prophetic reaction to the older tradition of Saul’s election, he concludes that David’s anointing here is “yet another major chapter in the prophetic reworking of the older materials about the early history of the monarchy”.527 Campbell also assigns the passage to the pre-deuteronomistic prophetic circle, although he sees the similarities rather with the anointing of Jehu, and argues that 16:1–13 is “the creation of the prophetic circles claiming their mandate to establish and dismiss kings”.528

Veijola, however, on the basis of the silence about David’s secret anointing in other parts of the HDR, and of other deuteronomistic characters, suspects that 16:1–13 was post-DtrG,529 and Dietrich more boldly assigns most of the verses to the DtrP. Dietrich’s view is mainly based on his observation that the passage shows clear connections with the deuteronomistic verses (DtrP) in chapter 15. In particular, he draws attention to the use of and , which he regards as the “central concept of the deuteronomistic thought”. He also points to the typically DtrP pattern found in the passage, according to which God’s word is sent first to a prophet, made known to other people, and then fulfilled. All the verses that link 16:1–13 with chapter 15 can be attributed to the DtrP, and the older story simply narrates: God commands Samuel to anoint David in Bethlehem, and when Samuel comes to Bethlehem, the elders ask anxiously whether his visit means something bad. Samuel calms them down, saying that he came for sacrifice, and tells them to prepare themselves. He himself looks after the sanctification of Jesse and his sons, and when he comes to know about David, requires him to be brought. Samuel recognizes how handsome he looks, and anoints him in the midst of his brothers, and returns to Rama.530

We may not be able to identify the different layers in this passage as precisely as Dietrich attempts to. Nevertheless, it is reasonable to assume that the passage as we have it is not pre-deuteronomistic.

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