1 Samuel

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Sep 2004 by Reed, Stephen A

1 Samuel. By Antony F. Campbell. FOTL 7. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003, xviii 350 pp., $55.00.

Antony F. Campbell's 1 Samuel is the fourteenth volume in the FOTL series to appear. Campbell will also be producing the commentary on 2 Samuel. The author has studied the books of Samuel for many years and has written extensively upon them. The present commentary is full of insights from his previous and continuing reflections on these books.

The form-critical approach discusses four topics for each text: structure, genre, setting, and intention. Each volume begins with an analysis of the entire book and then addresses the major units of the book. A bibliography appears for each textual unit, and a glossary includes descriptions of the genres and formulas found in each book

Changes have taken place in this series over time. As editors Marvin Sweeney and Rolf Knierim note in their forward (p. xiii), increasing attention has been given to longer explanations of the structure of each text. Thus, in Campbell's commentary, the "structure" section is labeled "discussion" and is the largest part of the analysis of each text. Campbell also re-labels the "intention" section as "meaning" so it is clear it is the text's meaning and not the author's intention that is being discussed.

In Campbell's introduction, he explains his understanding of the form-critical method. The structure of a text shows how the details of a text fit together to comprise the whole. Identification of the genre of a text refers to the type of the text and how such a genre would be understood. The setting in life refers to the "institutional setting within the life of a community" (p. 6) that generated such a text. The intention of the text refers to the "meaning that we can make today of the text as we best understand it in its own time" (p. 6).

In chapter 1, Campbell gives a structural outline of 1-2 Samuel since they make up one story. He understands the two books as "The Beginnings of Stable Monarchy in Ancient Israel" and sees the three major parts as "Preparations for David's emergence as king-to-be" (1 Sam 1:1-16:13), "Political moves to establish David as king" (1 Sam 16:14-2 Sam 8:18), and "Stories of David's Middle Years: internal security threatened" (2 Samuel 11-20). Two appendices that focus on 2 Samuel 9-10 and 21-24 follow the last two sections.

This period of time was pivotal because it involved a transition from the tribal era to the centralized government of the monarchy. Campbell argues the books of Samuel contain several different interpretations of this period that come from various periods of history. Central to these interpretations is the religious understanding of these events, including the role of God. Campbell summarizes: "All in all, then, the books of Samuel can be unified around the interpretation of Israel's experience of monarchy: its preparation, its political realization, and inner aspects of its early functioning. Samuel is the figure used to put the religious stamp on the interpretation of this most significant change for Israel. David is the figure on whom the interpretation is focused" (p. 31).

Chapters 2-9 deal with consecutive structural units of 1 Samuel. The major units of these sections are analyzed with treatments of structure, textual issues, discussion, genre, setting, and meaning. Even though smaller text units are analyzed here the author reminds the reader how these units fit within the larger structure of 1-2 Samuel.

Campbell explains his understanding of these texts' historical development in his final chapter, "Diachronie Dimension: From Past Texts to Present Text." He admits we really do not know "with certainty who wrote, read, or kept the books of Samuel" (p. 296). We also do not know for certain about any earlier stages of the books. He provides a tentative exploration of six identifiable building blocks: Ark Narrative, Story of David's Rise, Stories of David's Middle Years, Prophetic Record, Josianic Deuteronomistic History, and Revised Deuteronomistic History.

Campbell rarely finds the genre of history accurate for describing 1-2 Samuel as a whole or the particular texts that make up the two books. He often identifies the texts as stories or narratives and not as history. He thinks the primary purpose of such texts is not to record details about past events but to interpret the meaning of these events. Because the texts show how God was working in these events, these texts are much more theological than historical. Campbell says, "The task of form-critical interpretation, in recognizing a story, is to focus on how the story is told so as to squeeze from the text its meaning-the light with which the story illuminates human experience" (p. 5).

The relationship of biblical texts to historical reality is complex and much scholarly disagreement exists about this. Some evangelicals are likely to be troubled by the identification of these materials as story and not history. Some might argue texts can be both historical and also teach lessons for later generations. Others might want to defend the historicity of these texts.