The Epic and the Prophetic: A Reading of the Primeval History against 1 Samuel 15–16 and 2 Samuel 7

Abstract

This article argues that a ‘prophetic’ redaction of Yhwh's successive dealings with Saul and David in 1 Samuel 15–16 and 2 Samuel 7 provides a meaningful structural parallel with the ‘epic’ (or non-P) portion of the Primeval History, and that this sequence of material from 1–2 Samuel provides a more compelling frame of reference for the epic portion of the Primeval History than the election of Abraham and his line immediately following. More specifically, this article proposes that the epic portion of the Primeval History reformulates Yhwh's perpetual acceptance of the line of David as a cosmic reconciliation between divinity and humankind. This argument is supported through a combination of literary analysis and review of various accounts of the composition-history of these texts.