David and the Deuteronomist ― A Literary Study of the Deuteronomic History, Part 3 : 2 Samuel

This reading of 2 Samuel continues the analysis of the books of Samuel begun in Samuel and the Deuteronomist. The figure of David drawn in 2 Samuel both dominates the story and provides a major challenge to readers who would view the larger narrative as a unified historiography composed by sophisticated authors and editors. The fates of Saul and David in 1-2 Samuel seem to cohere only with great difficulty, and David's own story appears to many to be a pastiche of earlier sources. Polzin's provocative new reading of 2 Samuel makes a strong case for a complex yet coherent picture of the monarchy within Israelite theology. Using the insights of Mikhail Bakhtin and other modern scholars, Polzin argues that the composition of the Deuteronomic History was a major step in the development of an important genre in world literature, and that the books of Samuel are an excellent example of the genius of ancient Israelite narrative.

Robert Polzin is Director of the School of Comparative Literary Studies and Professor of Religion at Carleton University.