Walter Dietrich, „Samuel. Teilband 1: 1 Sam 1–12 „(Biblischer Kommentar Altes Testament VIII/1), Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 2011.

Abstract

Walter Dietrich is well known for his long-standing scholarship on the Books of Samuel. This commentary tackles the first twelve chapters of 1 Samuel, on 567 pages (including an index. a map and several images). It proposes a twofold approach to the book, – a diachronic and a synchronic reading, which complete each other in a successful manner. The synchronic analysis, informed by narratology, pursues the account of the early period of the monarchy, focusing on the narrative arc and structure of the story, the (sketchy) picturing of the characters, the perspective of the narrative under its spatial, temporal and character-related aspects, the stylistic devices, and on another level, – quite originally – the various images of God, in different narratives.