After reading Robert Alter's work on the Pentateuch, "The Five Books of Moses," I noted at the time that for someone wishing to take up the Scriptures for the first time, it would be wise to do so under the literary and scholarly guidance of such a man of letters. This advice is equally true for "The David Story," the title Alter gives to his translation of the two books of Samuel.
The novice reader will find the Samuel narrative a virtual seamless garment, predating Aristotle's "Poetics" but adhering to its principles of unity of motion and catharsis. Looking at the entire Judaeo-Christian canon of Biblical literature, one can make the argument that the Samuel books, plus the opening chapters of 1 Kings which follow, comprise the most tightly knit and psychologically gripping narrative of the Bible.
Theologically speaking, the original author was probably of the Deuternomic school of Israel's history, a conservative outlook on Israel's history whose writings [including Deuteronomy itself] appeared much later than the events they covered, perhaps around 600 BCE when the Jewish monarchy had wandered far afield from the ideals of Sinai and terrifying consequences were massing just beyond the horizon.
The Samuel narratives succeed the Book of Judges, itself a summary of the two-hundred year era of uncertain Israelite governance whose leaders or "judges" juggled identities as prophets, military leaders, and community cultic organizers. 1 Samuel begins with the remarkable birth of the book's namesake, Samuel, who judged Israel throughout his life and was successful in recovering the pilfered Ark of the Covenant from the Philistines. In 1 Samuel 8 the old judge/prophet attempted a dynastic arrangement by establishing his sons in succession as judges, but the elders demanded a king. Neither Samuel [nor evidently the Lord Himself] thought this a wise move, though the hand of the Almighty is clearly in the selection and job description of young King Saul, Israel's first monarch.
1 Samuel introduces us to Saul, Israel's first true king and the Bible's first true Peter Principle personality: deeply insecure, probably mentally ill, and unnerved by a young up-and-coming fighter in his ranks who slew the notorious Goliath with a shrewd military ploy that obviously advanced his standing among the fighting men. David's rise in stature corresponds to Saul's increasing paranoia; that his own son Jonathan loved David as a brother certainly complicated matters. But almost in spite of himself Saul came to love David, too, in the kind of relationship that could only mean death for one or the other. The exiled and hunted David rallies his fortunes with the strength of God that Samuel's premature anointing had assured, and he returns from a foreign land with a savagely recruited army and eventually takes Saul's throne--though the denouement of Saul is Greek tragedy as much as Jewish history.
The Deuternomic author is respectful of David the king though it is important to note that some of David's finest hours were getting to the throne. In 2 Samuel, which cover's David's reign exclusively, the King enjoys a communion with the Lord that is unique among all the kings of Israel. That said, his personal life is hardly saintly: he laments that the Lord has no proper housing but proceeds to build his own residence instead. Far worse, he commits adultery and murder in the Uriah/Bathsheba episode, and though he does take rebuke and mortal retribution through the intervention of the prophet Nathan, Alter sees the Bathsheba/Uriah events as the beginning of David's moral and political deterioration. As David approached death his power was so precarious that succession of Solomon to the throne was no sure thing. The story of that "royal succession," such as it was, is contained herein with considerable detail. Modern readers will probably see David's farewell advice to Solomon as "taking care of family business" akin to Vito Corleone's final counsel to his son, Michael.
Alter fully appreciates the literary gem that is the Samuel narrative; his translation is sterling. But it is his commentary that draws special attention. A lesser scholar might have obstructed the text with too much technicality or worse, obscured the artwork with too much commentary. Alter always seems to find the right balance, as he does in his commentary on the Pentateuch. His own treatment draws the reader to those subtle points of the text or the narrative that make the story compelling. His footnote on 1 Kings 1:11 for example [366], contrasts Bathsheba's courtly role in David's prime with her new and rather ambiguous position in David's old age--a critical piece of the puzzle in her son Solomon's ascension to the throne.
Alter is a masterful commentator but he is equally successful in his restraint: he does not preach, he does not draw premature conclusions, and he does not tell his reader the "correct spin." He is that rarest of Biblical scholars, one who understands that God's revelation comes in the form of history and art. In that respect he would never intrude upon the reader's initial visceral reaction to this compelling drama, for the emotional or affective power is precisely the content of the Revelation. Not for nothing did the psalmist speak of "fear of the Lord" rather than "comprehension of the plan."
As a Roman Catholic reader I am aware that as late as a century ago my tradition was guilty of "proof-texting." Perhaps in reaction to this methodology Catholic theology, particularly pastoral writing, has become guilty of excessive "theme texting" through the twentieth century. Alter subtly makes the case for Biblical experience, pure and simple, as the gateway to a wisdom that does justice.
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