Between History, Ideology and Theology. Pro-David Reading of the Saul Traditions in 1 Chronicles

The main purpose of the big part of 1 Chronicles was to convince theJews in the Second Temple Period that David was the legal ruler of Israel,chosen by YHWH, the whole population, and even by the house of Saul.Reading the text about the next stages of Saul and David’s political career in1 Chronicles 10:1˗9:30 one may get the impression that the narration is veryselective (cf. 1 Sam 9:1˗31:13), that many events are omitted and only thosewhich emphasize the glory of Jesse’s son are presented. Analysing thoseMIĘDZY HISTORIĄ, IDEOLOGIĄ I TEOLOGIĄ– 89 –texts one may arrive at the conclusion that David was the opposite of hispredecessor in each field, and only he was able to guarantee a permanentpolitical and military futurity for Israel. For ideological and theological reasonsthe Chronicler has castigated Saul and glorified David. In the historypresented by him, YHWH always sides with Jesse’s son and not with Saul.This point of view justifies the ideological argumentations of the Chroniclerwhose main purpose was to show the political transformations in Israel infavour of David, although these resulted in the bloody overthrow of Saul’sdynasty (2 Sam 2:1˗4:12; 21:1-14). Unlike the deuteronomistic history, hisvision of the history of the monarchy is completely theological. Historicalevents and politics were for him a background pointing to the presence ofGod and His dominant influence on Israel’s first two kings. The establishmentof the monarchy was for the Chronicler one of the most importantmilestones in the history of Israel. However, unlike the earlier historians, hedid not stress its political, social and military significance, but he evaluatedit only from the perspective of God’s plan of salvation