Samuel
Edited by
Rachelle Gilmour [+–]
Trinity College, University of Divinity (Melbourne)
Rachelle Gilmour is Bromby Associate Professor of Old Testament at Trinity College, University of Divinity (Melbourne). Her most recent books are Divine Violence in the Book of Samuel (Oxford University Press, 2021) and an edited volume with B.J.M. Johnson, Explorations in the Interpretation of Samuel: Intertextuality and Reception (De Gruyter, 2024). She is currently preparing a commentary on 1 Samuel 1-15 for the IECOT/IEKAT series (Kohlhammer).
Mahri Leonard-Fleckman [+–]
College of the Holy Cross
Mahri Leonard-Fleckman is an Associate Professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Religious Studies and the Department of Classics at the College of the Holy Cross. Her interests include scribal practices, methods of history writing, and the dynamics of empire, including responses to empire across different cultural groups. Her most recent book project is Scribal Representations and Social Landscapes of the Iron Age Shephelah (Oxford University Press, 2025)
The Book of Samuel narrates with compelling drama the institution of monarchy in Ancient Israel and the early development of the house of David, a polity that will rule the southern kingdom of Judah over the centuries that follow. Poetry and lists are integrated into this historiographical masterpiece with its cast of charismatic characters, its plot of political intrigue, and its literary artistry. For contemporary scholars and readers, Samuel has offered a wealth of material for historical analysis, political philosophy, and insights into ancient storytelling techniques. However, composed over several centuries of Israel’s history, this inquiry is far from straight forward: Samuel reflects theological and ideological interests from a range of historical contexts before, during, and after the Babylonian exile, and many of its literary features invite both diachronic and synchronic explanations.
This volume introduces students and readers to the narrative, theological, and political complexity of the Book of Samuel. In “Preliminary Considerations,” traditional approaches to biblical study are applied to Samuel, including concerns with structure, themes, theology, history, and composition. In “Issues in Exegesis,” the essays work sequentially through the Book of Samuel, bringing the text into dialogue with a range of critical methodologies that push our discipline forward and invite emerging scholars to see the full richness of this book, including archaeology, memory, history, gender, interspecies, reception history, and political readings. Each of these essays will illuminate the book with close exegetical detail while simultaneously providing students with an overview of the field of Biblical Studies at its interdisciplinary forefront.
This volume will be first published online and then as a print book.
