Biblical Interpretation Series Editors-in-Chief Paul Anderson (George Fox University) Jennifer L. Koosed (Albright College, Reading) Editorial Board A.K.M. Adam (University of Oxford) Colleen M. Conway (Seton Hall University) Nijay Gupta (Portland Seminary) Amy Kalmanofsky (Jewish Theological Seminary) Vernon Robbins (Emory University) Annette Schellenberg (Universität Wien) Johanna Stiebert (University of Leeds) Duane Watson (Malone University) Christine Roy Yoder (Columbia Theological Seminary) Ruben Zimmermann (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) !"#$%& '() The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bins A King and a Fool? The Succession Narrative as a Satire By Virginia Miller #&*+&, | -"./", Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Miller, Virginia (Research Fellow), author. Title: A king and a fool? : the succession narrative as a satire / by Virginia Miller. Description: Boston : Brill, 1234. | Series: Biblical interpretation series, 2415-2673 ; volume 364 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identi89ers: #::, 123421;6<= (print) | #::, 123421;6<< (ebook) | *.-, 465422==3363< (hardback) | *.-, 465422==33611 (ebook) Subjects: #:.>: Bible. Samuel, 1nd, ?–??—Criticism, interpretation, etc. | Bible. Kings, 3st, *–**—Criticism, interpretation, etc. | Satire in the Bible. Classi89cation: #:: -.371<.<1 .%<=7 1234 (print) | #:: -.371<.<1 (ebook) | ++: 111/.==2;—dc17 #: record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/123421;6<= #: ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/123421;6<< Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface. *.., @)AB-@(C' DEFG )(B-)@-@H-H''('-I (hardback) DEFG )(B-)@-@H-H''(A-A (e-book) Copyright 2019 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. 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I dedicate this book to Douglas Colin Muecke (1919–2015) and Jay Harold Ellens (1932–2018) ∵ Power [is] always sincerely, conscientiously de tres foi [in very good faith] and believes itself right. Power always thinks it has a great soul, and vast views, beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God’s service, when it is violating all his laws. LMNG OPQRE in a letter to Thomas JeJferson (1816)S ∵ T John Adams to Thomas JeJferson, February 2, 1816, in The Adams Je!ferson Letters, ed. Leston J. Cappon (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1988), 482, amended by Reinhold Niebuhr, Irony in American History (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2008), 21. Original date of publication 1952. Contents Acknowledgments DV Abbreviations V Introduction 1 "#$% & Historical Context and Methodology 1 The Genre Debate and Satire 15 1.1 The Genre Debate 16 1.2 The Succession Narrative as Satire? 22 2 Methodology and Irony 29 2.1 Irony 29 2.2 Methodology 32 2.3 Verbal Irony and the Succession Narrative 39 "#$% ' Evidence 3 David’s Sins and Punishments 43 3.1 2 Samuel 9:1–13 44 3.2 2 Samuel 10:1–19 49 3.3 2 Samuel 11:1–27 50 3.4 2 Samuel 11:27b–12:31 70 4 Amnon’s Sin and Absalom’s Revenge 88 4.1 2 Samuel 13:1–39 88 5 The Deception of the Wise Woman of Tekoa 111 5.1 2 Samuel 14:1–33 111 6 Absalom’s Revolt 135 6.1 2 Samuel 15–18 135 6.2 2 Samuel 16:1–23 158 WDDD :MGXYGXE 6.3 2 Samuel 17 172 6.4 2 Samuel 18:1–18:33/19:1 177 7 The Kingdom Is Restored to David 189 7.1 2 Samuel 19:1–20:26 189 7.2 2 Samuel 20:1–26 198 8 Solomon Rises to the Throne 200 8.1 ( Kings 1:1–53 200 8.2 ( Kings 2:1–46 207 9 The Non-essential Elements of Satire 215 9.1 Introduction 215 9.2 Conclusion 220 "#$% ) Conclusions 10 The Genre Debate: 100 Years of the Succession Narrative 223 10.1 Satire 223 10.2 Conclusion 233 11 Findings 235 11.1 Verbal Irony 235 11.2 Characterisations from a Consideration of the Text in Terms of Verbal Irony 247 12 Conclusion 263 Bibliography 267 Index of Modern Authors 277 Index of Biblical Citations 280 Index of Subjects 290 Acknowledgments There are numerous people who I would like to acknowledge for their contri- bution to this book. I am most grateful to Suzanne Boorer who supervised my doctoral dissertation which was reworked into this text. I would also like to thank the members of the Department of Theology at Murdoch University for their support including, Jim Trotter, Alexander Jensen, William Loader, Rowan Strong, Nancy Ault, and Jeremy Hultin. Furthermore, I would like to extend my thanks to John Greene, Jan Fokkelman, David Marcus, and Stephen Pickard. I would also like to thank Seumas Miller, my mother and David, my father and George, Jason and Aaron and families. Abbreviations BEThL Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium Bib Biblica BibInt Biblical Interpretation BibIntS Biblical Interpretation series "#$ Catholic Biblical Quarterly "$% Church Quarterly Review Int Interpretation &#$ Jewish Bible Quarterly &$% Jewish Quarterly Review &#' Journal of Biblical Literature &()* Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society JHScr Journal of Hebrew Scriptures &*+) Journal for the Study of the Old Testament ,O. New American Standard Bible ,ZL New King James Version ,L- New Jerusalem Bible RB Revue biblique *,#" Smyth & Helwyns Bible Commentary VT Vetus Testamentum VTSup Supplements to Vetus Testamentum -#" Word Biblical Commentary -:& before the Common Era *.-# International Congress of the Society of Biblical Literature OT Old Testament PhD Doctor of Philosophy [.! Revised Standard Version .O/ Speech Act Theory SN Succession Narrative Gen Genesis Exod Exodus Lev Leviticus Num Numbers Deut Deuteronomy Judg Judges Sam Samuel Kgs Kings Ps Psalms Isa Isaiah Jer Jeremiah Ezek Ezekiel Introduction The question of genre has dominated scholarship focused on the narrative of King David in the Second Book of Samuel and the First Book of Kings. This nar- rative has variously been called, the Succession Narrative,6 the Court History,7 and the David Saga.8 In this book, A King and a Fool? The Succession Narrative as a Satire, I o9fer a new perspective on the genre of, what I will hereafter refer to as, the Succession Narrative (SN). In this book I argue that the SN is in fact a satire. Among biblical scholars, there are a number of competing views regarding the genre of the SN. Albeit, the picture has been complicated by the over-lap between the genres; however, some distinct groupings of genre have emerged. The main groupings of these views of the genre of the SN are as follows: na- tional epic,: propaganda,; wisdom literature,< theological ‘history’ writing,= and literary art.> I argue that the SN is not a national epic as David is presented ? Leonhard Rost, The Succession to the Throne of David, ed. J. W. Rogerson, trans. Michael D. Rutter and David M. Gunn (She9@Aeld: The Almond Press, 1982), 84. German original, Leonhard Rost, Die Überlieferung von der Thronnachfolge Davids (Stuttgart, Verlag von W. Kohlhammer, 1926). B James W. Flanagan, “Court History or Succession Document? A Study of 2 Samuel 9–20 and 1 Kings 1–2,” !"#, 91, 2, (Jun. 72), 172–181. C John Van Seters, The Biblical Saga of King David (Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 2009). D Scholars of note include: Edmond Jacob, Histoire et historiens dans l’ancien testament (Paris: Delachaux & Niestlé, 1957), 29; William McKane, I & II Samuel: Introduction and Commentary (London: EFG Press, 1963), 19 and Christopher R. North, The Old Testament Interpretation of History (London: The Epworth Press, 1953), 34. Robert H. Pfei9fer, Introduction to the Old Testament (London: Adam and Charles Black Limited, 1952), 358. H Scholars of note include: Timothy C. G. Thornton, “Solomonic apologetic in Samuel and Kings,” $%&, 169 [371] (1968), 159–166; P. Kyle McCarter Jr., “Plots, True and False. The Succession Narrative as Court Apology,” Int 35 4 (1981), 355–367; Martin Noth, The History of Israel (London: Adam and Charles Black, 1960); Andrew Knapp, Royal Apologetic in the Ancient Near East. (Atlanta: EIJ Press, 2015); Keith W. Whitelam, and “The Defence of David,” !'(), 29 (1984), 61–87, 62. K Roger Whybray, The Succession Narrative. A Study of II Sam. 9–20 and I Kgs 1 and 2 (London: EFG Press, 1968). L Scholars of note include: Gerhard von Rad, “The Beginnings of Historical Writing in Ancient Israel,” in From Genesis to Chronicles. Explorations in Old Testament Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005); Walter Brueggemann, “On Trust and Freedom: A Study of Faith in the Succession Narrative,” Int, 26 (1972), 3–19; and Steven McKenzie, King David. A Biography (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000). M Scholars of note include: Otto Eissfeldt, The Old Testament. An Introduction (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1966), David M. Gunn, The Story of King David. Genre and Interpretation, (She9@Aeld: She9@Aeld Academic Press, 1978); Van Seters, The Biblical Saga of King David; and © "#$%$"&%'"( )*%&& $+, &(%,($, -./0 | ,#%:/..//12/0340..55//3--_..- - N$O*#,PQO%#$ as a complex character, who is not heroic. The SN is critical of David and could therefore @At into a broad category of propaganda. However, in the light of Keys research,R I argue that the SN is too ambiguous to @At neatly into the genre of propaganda.