The fourfold recurrence of the root śkl in 1 Samuel 18 to describe David (vv. 5, 14, 15, 30) calls for an explanation. While David’s characterization as maśkîl would seem to refer, above all, to his success in battle, a broader analysis of śkl in wisdom-related contexts, as well as elsewhere in the Deuteronomistic History, demonstrates that maśkîl functions as an epithet, bestowing upon the holder a wider sense of “success” that is intimately linked with Divine patronage. Thus, David’s characterization as maśkîl in 1 Samuel 18 promotes a more comprehensive definition of the ideal king, in contrast to the more restricted prerequisite of military skill associated with Saul. While it is most likely that the story in 1 Samuel 18 is composed solely from pre-Deuteronomistic strands, the intensity with which the root śkl is employed with relation to David corresponds with the Deuteronomistic agenda of portraying David as the ideal king.
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D. M. Gunn and D. N. Fewell, “The Lure of Language: Reading between Words and Stories: The House of David”, Narrative in the Hebrew Bible (Oxford, 1993), pp. 165-73 (esp. 147).
Weinfeld, Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic School, p. 346, views this expression as being rooted in wisdom literature. lĕmaʿan taśkîlû expresses the call to internalize the acts of God as a basis for observing the covenant (Deut 29:8; cf. Ps 64:10). See D. L. Christensen, Deuteronomy 21:10-34:12 (wbc; Waco, 2002), pp. 710-12.
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The fourfold recurrence of the root śkl in 1 Samuel 18 to describe David (vv. 5, 14, 15, 30) calls for an explanation. While David’s characterization as maśkîl would seem to refer, above all, to his success in battle, a broader analysis of śkl in wisdom-related contexts, as well as elsewhere in the Deuteronomistic History, demonstrates that maśkîl functions as an epithet, bestowing upon the holder a wider sense of “success” that is intimately linked with Divine patronage. Thus, David’s characterization as maśkîl in 1 Samuel 18 promotes a more comprehensive definition of the ideal king, in contrast to the more restricted prerequisite of military skill associated with Saul. While it is most likely that the story in 1 Samuel 18 is composed solely from pre-Deuteronomistic strands, the intensity with which the root śkl is employed with relation to David corresponds with the Deuteronomistic agenda of portraying David as the ideal king.
All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 193 | 39 | 2 |
Full Text Views | 206 | 2 | 0 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 54 | 6 | 0 |