This course is no longer offered
10228 The Rise of the Israelite Kingdom (Samuel I) 1
Credits: 3 intermediate credits in Bible or in Ancient History of the Jewish People
Prerequisites: none
The course is designed to acquaint students with the historical period and its problems through the Bible and archealogical findings and to familiarize them with the texts of Samuel I and its literary and ideational aspects.
Topics: Introduction to the Book of Samuel: The writing and editing of the Book of Samuel and the historical background prior to the rise of the kingdom (the period of the Judges); The period of Eli and Samuel (Samuel I, 1-7): The Israel-Philistine wars in the period of Eli and Samuel - historical analysis and review of research; “Give us a king to judge us…” (Samuel I, 8-12): The transition from a tribal society to a monarchy; Samuel’s speech concerning the “king’s law”; the problem of Saul’s crowning; “…He hath rejected thee from being king” (Samuel I, 13-15): The battle in Michmash between Israel and the Philistines. Strategic and tactical analysis; the storyteller’s description of the battle; the war of Amalek and the rift between the king and the prophet; “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (Samuel I, 16-21): The Elah valley battle, the emergence and rise of David - the evidence concerning the appearance of David in Saul’s court. A historic and literary analysis of the Elah valley war; David’s wanderings (Samuel I, 22-26): David’s escape to Nov, Judea desert and the land of the Philistines, the killing of the Nov priests by Saul and the story of Nabal and Abigail; The decline of Saul’s kingdom (Samuel I, 27-31): The course of the campaign in the Gilboa and its consequences; summary of the course through literary interpretation of chapters 27-31; discussion of the reasons behind the weakness of Saul’s kingdom and the question of whether the first king failed.
1The course is undergoing revision. Units of the new version will be integrated into the course gradually.