RT Article
T1 On Patterning in the Book of Samuel: ‘News of Death’ and the Kingship of David
JF Journal for the study of the Old Testament
VO 35
IS 4
SP 463
OP 481
A1 Berger, Yitzhak
LA English
YR 2011
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1777014654
AB Recent scholarship on Samuel has acknowledged a pattern of instances where a central figure receives ‘news of death’. This article proposes a new version of this pattern, which takes into account an additional, pivotal case—the messenger’s report of the death of Uriah—and suggests that the pattern traces the central question of the future of Davidic kingship. David’s reaction to Uriah’s death marks a shift in attitude that calls into question the fate of his royal family, an attitude that is reversed in his response to the death of Bathsheba’s infant son. The events that follow, however, continue to threaten Davidic kingship in ways underscored by the ‘news of death’ scenes relating to the fall of Amnon and Absalom.
K1 Absalom
K1 Amnon
K1 Uriah
K1 David
K1 Eli
K1 Death
K1 Samuel
K1 Patterning
DO 10.1177/0309089210385654