The Turn of the Cycle

The monograph produces a new interpretation of the opening chapter of 1 Samuel by combining several hermeneutical models, including the theory of chaotic (dynamically unstable) systems and the most recent, essentially post-modern, form criticism, to produce a new interpretation of the opening chapters of 1 Samuel. It argues that 1 Samuel 1-8 is an integral literary unit whose stance on such pivotal issues as monarchy and cultic centralization poorly agrees with that of the balance of Deuteronomy - Kings. In the diachronic perspective, this unit can be construed as a post-Deuteronomistic redactional interpolation polemically directed against several planks of the Deuteronomic/Deuteronomistic agenda. In the synchronic perspective, the pattern of relationship between 1 Samuel 1-8 and the balance of Genesis - Kings calls for a non-linear, multi-dimensional reading of the corpus. Both interpretational trajectories lead to the conclusion that the thrust of the Former Prophets in its final form is controlled to a considerable extent by non-Deuteronomistic elements.

Revised and expanded Ph.D. thesis, Claremont Graduate University, Calif., 2002, under the supervision of Prof. Marvin A. Sweeney. Serge Frolov now holds the Nate and Ann Levine Endowed Chair in Jewish Studies at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, USA.

"Frolov´s study is exemplary [...]."
Bill T. Arnold in: Journal of Biblical Literature 3/2005

"This is a stimulating study that I highly recommend to synchronic and diachronic readers alike, to those interested in Samuel, and to those interested in the formation fo the Enneateuch."
Diana Edelman in: Catholic Biblical Quarterly 67/2005

"Insgesamt diskutiert die Monographie viele Fragen zum Textbereich und leistet einen anregenden Beitrag zur Klärung der Struktur und Entstehung von 1Sam 1-8."
Klaus-Peter Adam in: Theologische Literaturzeitung 1/2006