1 Samuel 27–2 Samuel 8

The books of Samuel are not only an important source on the history of Israel, they also set important ethical and theological standards, and they rank among the great literary works of the world. They have been reinterpreted from antiquity to the present - in the entire history of Judaism and Christianity, as well as in the history of art, literature and music, and especially in the more recent research history. This commentary gives an impression of all of this, and it certainly develops its own positions on it. The texts laid out here deal with David's rise from the leader of a militia to the ruler of a dual monarchy: a process that has often been doubted recently, but in essence it is not implausible. However, the sources only partially go back to the 10th century; only around 700 BC Chr.

The "Biblical Commentary" offers an opportunity to explore all these aspects. It is based on the tried-and-tested scheme of the series: all available special literature is listed for each pericope. Under "Text" there is a separate translation that stays close to the original text and is extensively substantiated with textual criticism. Under "Form" the formal design of the text, its construction, its structure, the linguistic arts used (e.g. key words and chiasms), the characterization of the narrative characters, etc. come into view. The "Location" section examines the locations mentioned, but also the literary-historical location of the text or its layers, as well as the historical location of its statements. Under "Word" the individual sections, sentences and words are interpreted and conspicuous details - such as linguistic, factual, historical, of a theological nature – discussed. Finally, under “goal”, the question, often with recourse to the history of reception, is what is particularly striking and lasting about the respective text.