Hebrew Studies 34 (1993) 177 Reviews mainstream of redactional analysis of DtrH: no one-with the exception of Smend himself, following Noth-asks whether sporadic "additions" in more or less random locations do not invalidate any theory of systematic "redaction," nomistic or otherwise. But it should by now be clear that redaction-criticism continues only by the indulgence and collusion of practitioners in the field. Lacking all comprehensive philology, all agreement in matters of literary intent, Biblicists continue to "stratify" layers without shared standards of evidence and without any obvious hope of achieving them. Winning a view of the history of our literature is clearly important to winning a history of the culture. But the nature of "redaction-criticism" has been conducive to reliance on archaeological and other extrinsic data for those whose interest in ancient Israel and environs is truly historical. Back in the nineteenth century, it was a commonplace for scholars to write the history of Israel, and of Israelite religion, on the basis of source- and redaction-analyses of biblical texts. Today, not one real historian in ten would dream of undertaking a similar method. Put simply, the whole enterprise of biblical redaction-criticism, as healthy as it is in the journals, is entirely moot from the historical perspective . O'Brien participates in the enterprise, responsibly. But it will take a major breakthrough, in attitude and in method, before the gap between literary history and real history can be closed. Baruch Halpern Pennsylvania State University University Park. PA 16802 SAMUEL AND THE DEUTERONOMIST: A LITERARY STUDY OF THE DEUTERONOMIC HISTORY, I SAMUEL. By Robert Polzin. Pp. 296. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989. Cloth, $38.95. Lamenting "a profound lack of attention to what the entire text might mean in its final shape" (p. 2), Robert Polzin begins his study of 1 Samuel with a polemical critique of historical criticism. The recipients of his criticism are the practitioners of a "scholarly tradition, that by dint of effort and direction, denigrates the Bible in many of its esthetic, historiographic, Hebrew Studies 34 (1993) 178 Reviews and ideological dimensions, however loudly and often scholars claim the contrary" (p. 3). Having paid critical homage to his scholarly predecessors, Polzin defines and defends his own literary critical approach. Identifying his methodological approach as poetic rather than genetic, Polzin states that his analysis will "rarely ... distinguish authorial from redactional, or original from secondary" (p. 6). Unlike historical critical approaches, his literary approach "presumes the text of 1 Samuel makes sense, however workedover the text is scribally and hermeneutically, and however deficient it is text-critically" (p. 17). Acknowledging that "this sympathetic attitude will gloss over or exclude a number of textual warts or obvious genetic defects ," he defends his methodological assumptions on the grounds that "such mistakes are ... a fair price to pay for trying to redress a lamentable neglect of an ancient treasure" (p. 17). Although a more explicit and extensive discussion of method would have been helpful at this juncture, Polzin foregoes such a prefatory review and moves directly into his analysis of the narrative, presenting methodological concepts through specific examples rather than as theoretical abstractions. In presenting this analysis, Polzin buttresses his positions with detailed arguments, arguments often so intricate that frequent summaries would have been helpful in following his thought. Although rigor is certainly one of the strengths of this study, his analyses are so complex that they defy easy summary. As a result, in this review I can only suggest the general lines of his argument and present some of his conclusions. The introductory stories of 1 Samuel 1-7 indirectly establish the themes of the book. As such, the narrative strategy employed by the Deuteronomist is similar to the technique used by Nathan when confronting David about the murder of Uriah-a parable. In this parabolic (perhaps allegoric is a more appropriate designation) formulation. Hannah represents Israel; her request for a son, Israel's request for a king; her son, the first king of Israel; the house of Eli, the monarchy which would ultimately fall because of its failure to honor God; and so on. Presented through these stories then is "an opening mediation on the main ideological...
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Sep 1, 2013
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