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Book Review: The Hand of the Lord: A Reassessment of the “Ark Narrative” of I Samuel

T H E ARK NARRATIVE OF First Samuel has demanded its fair share of scholarly attention in the last several years. The authors of this monograph protest, nevertheless, that still another contribution to the dialogue is in order. The development of their argument demonstrates the point to be well taken. Schicklberger's reconstruction of an early Katastrophenerzählung depends upon a wooden application of literary and form-critical methods. And Campbell's exegetical explorations do little justice to the content of the narrative. To meet these problems and advance the dialogue yet another step, the authors explore two topics: (1) All too briefly they examine the comparative material relative to the Ark Narrative, showing in the process that it is not beyond the realm of imagination to suggest that the Philistines might have wanted to return the ark to its natural habitation. (2) They explore in greater detail the exegetical problems associated with the "Ark Narrative" text. Employing the tools of literary and form criticism with perceptive skill, they ask first about the limits of the story, then examine each structural part in detail. A final chapter sets out the results of the analysis. "To define these chapters as the Ark Narrative (s) . . . is to detheologize them and to miss their point at a most elemental level. The subject of the narrative is Yahweh, and not the ark. The issue is not what happens to the ark, but what Yahweh is doing among his people." The story grows out of the sin against Yahweh described in First Samuel. I t involves the incredible catastrophe of chapter 4. But its high point is the victory of Yahweh over Dagon, exemplified in the dismembering of the Dagon image. The story thus contains an early theodicy. It depicts Yahweh's position in relationship to his enemies. The authors maintain that the "Ark Narrative" could not have grown out of I I Samuel 6. There would have been little point in describing the restoration of the ark on the heels of an account that depicts David's decisive defeat of the Philistines. The narrative must have arisen, then, in the period of religious crisis between the defeat at Ebenezer and the victories of David. It reveals theological reflection, probably on a return of the ark to Israelite territory, perhaps even to territory nominally under the control of the Philistines. It did not arise in its present form immediately after the return. It must have grown in response to the storyteller's art, but also in response to the doubt of the faithful. The book is a welcome addition to a growing number of monographs that present the fruits of form-critical and historical investigations into the biblical text. As a contribution to a dialogue already in process, it wins its place of distinction without major objection.