Reading Samuel as Folklore: 1 Samuel 23.19-24.22 and 26.1-25, a Case Study

Studies of the oral background to the Hebrew Bible have long been preoccupied with the search for an ancient Hebrew epic. But the fact that many stories are written in narrative prose means they resist attempts to make them conform to expectations of poetic and formulaic composition. The present stu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Main Author: Wearne, Gareth J. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage [2017]
In: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Bible. Samuel 1. 23,19-24,22 / Bible. Samuel 1. 26 / Intertextuality / Rise of / Oral tradition
IxTheo Classification:HB Old Testament
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Studies of the oral background to the Hebrew Bible have long been preoccupied with the search for an ancient Hebrew epic. But the fact that many stories are written in narrative prose means they resist attempts to make them conform to expectations of poetic and formulaic composition. The present study takes a different point of departure. Adapting Lauri Honko's cognitive and performative theories of ‘mental texts’, it argues for the existence of cycles of oral folk-narratives in ancient Israel. The parallel stories in which David spares the life of Saul in 1 Sam. 23.19-24.22 and 26.1-25 are used as a case study to test the explanatory power of the model.
ISSN:1476-6728
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0309089216661167