Ark-Eology: Shifting Emphases in ‘Ark Narrative ’ Scholarship

A central character in 1 Samuel 4–6 is the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark is captured in battle, and subsequently wreaks havoc throughout the land of the Philistines until its subsequent return to the borders of Israel. Commonly referred to as the ‘Ark Narrative ’ in scholarly litera-ture, 1 Samuel 4–6 has often been viewed as a separate unit within the larger Deuteronomistic History. Although the Ark Narrative has been the subject of considerable scholarly interest, the methodological foci of such studies appear to have undergone a shift in more recent times. While earlier studies espoused a host of different critical approaches, such as tradition-historical, form-critical and redactional methodolo-gies, it would seem that more recent studies have exhibited greater interest in literary appraisal and narrative criticism. This article pre