Three Faces Of Saul

A fascinating intertextual study of the classic biblical tragedy of Saul, the first king of Israel, as first narrated in biblical narrative and later reworked in Lamartine's drama Saul: Tragédie and Thomas Hardy's novel The Mayor of Casterbridge. Plot and characterization are each explored in detail in this study, and in each of the narrations the hero's tragic fate emerges both as the result of a character flaw and also as a consequence of the ambivalent role of the deity, showing a double theme underlying not only the biblical vision but also its two very different retellings nearer to our own times.

A fascinating intertextual study of the classic biblical tragedy of Saul, the first king of Israel, as first narrated in biblical narrative and later reworked in Lamartine's drama Saul: Tragédie and Thomas Hardy's novel The Mayor of Casterbridge. Plot and characterization are each explored in detail in this study, and in each of the narrations the hero's tragic fate emerges both as the result of a character flaw and also as a consequence of the ambivalent role of the deity, showing a double theme underlying not only the biblical vision but also its two very different retellings nearer to our own times.

This narrative critical study offers a bold and comprehensive analysis of the relationship between David and Saul's heirs. Tushima inquires into whether Saulides' tragedies were due to continuing divine retribution, pure happenstance, or David orchestration. Focusing on the story of David and its interconnections with the fate of the Saulides, and employing the criterion of justice, the author presents the other side of King David, who is generally depicted as hero. Tushima argues that David was, most often, unjust and calculating in his dealings with the vanquished house of Saule. Thematic and motific threads arising from this study are considered within their contexts in Israel's traditions for their biblical-theological and redemptive-historical import.

This work examines some of the stories in 1 Sam. 16-25 with the particular focus placed on Saul, Doeg, Nabal and the "son of Jesse." It seeks to discover new meaning in the structure as well as in the characters' functions in the narratives by studying the stories synchronically and diachronically. One of the mysterious characters in 1 Samuel that has puzzled many a scholar is Nabal the Calebite. This study scrutinizes the elements of his characterization in 1 Sam. 25 and considers his abuses of the "son of Jesse", the contextual role of the geographic setting and political environment during King Saul's reign. Similarly, this volume studies the function of the character of Doeg the Edomite in 1 Sam. 21 and 22 regarding his Edomite origin, his particular business in Nob and his official status in Saul's court. The phrase the "son of Jesse" is quite important in 1 Samuel and serves a particular purpose in the thematic development in the second half of the book. Viewed against the background of the Saul/David relationship, it underscores the superiority of the Davidic person in advancing the divine plan for the nation of Israel. The determination of the book's historical context is the key to understanding the multilayered messages. The roles of history and ideology in making these stories are also considered with the proposal that the making of the book(s) of Samuel after the Exile (5th c. B.C.) might have been instigated by the writer's desire to create the context needed for further development of the messianic ideas.

The character of Saul and his place within the history, theology, and ideology of ancient Israel have fascinated interpreters for centuries. This book surveys the field of Saul studies. It includes in the first instance essays detailing Saul's place within the biblical narrative and its constituent parts (such as the Deuteronomistic History and the Chronicler's work). The possibility of identifying a Saulide period in the archaeological record is also discussed. A number of essays look at more specific themes and passages within the Saul cycle, such as his heroic nature, kingship, war, and literary balance. The final section of the book looks at the place of Saul within the post-biblical interpretative traditions, with essays devoted to Saul in the works of Josephus, in midrashic literature, in the Qur'an, in selected European literary texts, in the western artistic tradition, and in Handel's oratorio Saul. Contents: Carl S. Ehrlich: Introduction Avraham Faust: Settlement Patterns and State Formation in Southern Samaria and the Archaeology of (a) Saul Siegfried Kreuzer: Saul - not always - at War. A New Perspective on the Rise of Kingship in Israel Steven L. McKenzie: Saul in the Deuteronomistic History Yairah Amit: The Delicate Balance in the Image of Saul and Its Place in the Deuteronomistic History Gregory Mobley: Glimpses of the Heroic Saul Christophe Nihan: Saul among the Prophets (1 Sam 10:10-12 and 19:18-24). The Reworking of Saul's Figure in the Context of the Debate on Charismatic Prophecy in the Persian Era Mark W. Hamilton: The Creation of Saul's Royal Body. Reflections on 1 Samuel 8-10 Marsha C. White: Saul and Jonathan in 1 Samuel 1 and 14 Samuel A. Meier: The Sword. From Saul to David C. Mark McCormick: From Box to Throne. The Development of the Ark in DtrH and P Gary N. Knoppers: Israel's First King and the Kingdom of YHWH in the hands of the sons of David. The Place of the Saulide Monarchy in the Chronicler's Historiography Louis H. Feldman: Josephus' View of Saul Hanna Liss: The Innocent King. Saul in Rabbinic Exegesis Walid A. Saleh: What if you refuse, when ordered to fight? King Saul (Talut) in the Qur'an and Post-Quranic Literature Rudiger Bartelmus: Handel and Jennens' Oratorio Saul. A Late Musical and Dramatic Rehabilitation of the Figure of Saul, Misrepresented in theOld Testament as the Diametrical Opposite of David Sarah Nicholson: Catching the Poetic Eye. Saul Reconceived in Modern Literature Marc Michael Epstein: Seeing Saul

This three-volume set presents fundamental information about the most important events in world religious history as well as substantive discussions of their significance and impact. This work offers readers a broad and thorough look at the greatest events in world religious history, covering a wide range of religions, time periods, and areas around the globe. The entries present authoritative information and informed viewpoints written by expert contributors that enable readers to easily learn about the chief events in religious history, help them to better understand the course of world history, and promote a greater respect for culturally diverse religious traditions. The first of the three volumes covers religion from the preliterary world through around AD 600; the second, the post-classical era from 600 to 1450; and the third, the modern era from 1450 to the present. Each volume begins with a substantive introduction that discusses the history of world religions during the period covered by the volume. The chronologically ordered entries overview each event, place it in historical context, and identify the reasons for its enduring significance.

Combining the insights of present-day biblical studies with those of Handelian studies, this book examines the libretti of ten of Handel's Israelite oratorios and evaluates the relationship between each libretto and the biblical story on which it is based.

Authors from the ancient world rarely used great detail to describe the physical features of characters in their works. When they did mention bodies, they did so with very specific goals in mind. In particular, the bodies of "heroic" figures, such as warriors, kings, and other leaders became loaded sites of meaning for encoding cultural, religious, and political values on a number of fronts. Brian Doak analyzes the way biblical authors described the bodies of some of their most iconic male figures, such as Jacob, the Judges, Saul, and David. These bodies represent not mere individuals-they communicate as national bodies, signaling the ambiguity of Israel's murky pre-history, the division during the period of settlement in the land, and the contest of leading bodies fought between Saul and David. Heroic Bodies in Ancient Israel examines the heroic world of ancient Israel within the Hebrew Bible, and shows that ancient Israelite literature operated within and against a world of heroic ideals in its ancient context. The heroic body tells a story of Israel's remembered history in the eventual making of the monarchy, marking a new kind of individual power. Not merely a textual study of the Hebrew Bible in isolation, this book also considers iconography and compares Israelite literature with other ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern materials, illustrating Israel's place among a wider construction of heroic bodies.