Overview

Much of the drama, theological paradox, and interpretive interest in the Book of Samuel derives from instances of God's violence in the story. The beginnings of Israel's monarchy are interwoven with God's violent rejection of the houses of Eli and of Saul, deaths connected to the Ark of the Covenant, and the outworking of divine retribution after David's violent appropriation of Bathsheba as his wife. Whilst divine violence may act as a deterrent for violent transgression, it can also be used as a model or justification for human violence, whether in the early monarchic rule of Ancient Israel, or in crises of our contemporary age. In Divine Violence in the Book of Samuel, Rachelle Gilmour explores these narratives of divine violence from ethical, literary, and political perspectives, in dialogue with the thought of Immanuel Kant, Martha Nussbaum and Walter Benjamin. She addresses such questions as: Is the God of Samuel a capricious God with a troubling dark side? Is punishment for sin the only justifiable violence in these narratives? Why does God continue to punish those already declared forgiven? What is the role of God's emotions in acts of divine violence? In what political contexts might narratives of divine violence against God's own kings, and God's own people have arisen? The result is a fresh commentary on the dynamics of transgression, punishment, and their upheavals in the book of Samuel. Gilmour offers a sensitive portrayal of God's literary characterization, with a focus on divine emotion and its effects. By identifying possible political contexts in which the narratives arose, God's violence is further illumined through its relation to human violence, northern and southern monarchic ideology, and Judah's experience of the Babylonian exile.

Full Product Details

Author:   Rachelle Gilmour (Bromby Senior Lecturer in Old Testament, Bromby Senior Lecturer in Old Testament, Trinity College, University of Divinity)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint:   Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 21.80cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 15.70cm
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9780190938079

ISBN 10:   0190938072
Pages:   240
Publication Date:   03 May 2022
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

The Lord Kills and Brings to Life: Introduction Part 1: He Shall Repay the Lamb Fourfold: Retribution and Curse Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Retributive and Consequential Violence in 2 Sam 11-20 Chapter 3: The Characterisation of God and the Retributive Punishment of David Chapter 4: Reading Retribution in the David Story Politically Chapter 5: Retribution and 1 Sam 12 Chapter 6: Retribution and 2 Sam 21 Part 2: God has Become your Enemy: Upheavals in Divine Retribution Chapter 7: Introduction Chapter 8: Saul's Rejection in the Book of Samuel Chapter 9: The Ethics and Characterisation of God and the Rejection of Saul Chapter 10: Reading the Rejection of Saul Politically Chapter 11: The House of Eli and God's Delight Part 3: Who is Able to Stand before the Lord, this Holy God?: The Irruption of Divine Violence Chapter 12: Introduction Chapter 13: The Violence of the Ark Chapter 14: The Characterisation of God in the Stories of the Ark Chapter 15: Reading the Ark in Beth-Shemesh and Perez-Uzzah Politically The Lord will Exalt the Power of his Anointed: Conclusion

Reviews

The greatest strength of Gilmour's monograph lies in its compelling account of the coherence of God's actions in 1-2 Samuel. Gilmour makes innovative contributions to longstanding debates about the portrayal of God by masterfully integrating detailed literary analysis, plausible historical contexts, and sophisticated theoretical frameworks. * Diana Abernethy, Huntingdon College, The Society of Biblical Literature *

Author Information

Rachelle Gilmour is a Bromby Senior Lecturer in Old Testament at Trinity College, University of Divinity in Melbourne, Australia. She is also the author of Juxtaposition and the Elisha Cycle and Representing the Past: A Literary Analysis of Narrative Historiography in the Book of Samuel.

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