Saul and David, Israel and Judah: The Book of Samuel as Paradigmatic History

This study makes the case that within the books of Samuel-Kings as a whole, the book of Samuel presents two nested iterations of paradigmatic history, each of which anticipates the subsequent monarchic history with a distinct thematic focus. The more detailed of these two iterations-the story of Saul's and David's reigns in 1 Sam 9-2 Sam 24-typologically anticipates the subsequent history of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah as narrated in 1 Kgs 12-2 Kgs 25. This paradigmatic "preview" of the fates of Israel and Judah is further condensed in the stories about Eli and Samuel in 1 Sam 1-8, which anticipate elements from 1 Sam 9-2 Sam 24, the book of Kings, and beyond