Untamable Texts

Greger Andersson is Assistant Professor and Lecturer in Comparative Literature at Örebro University in Sweden and Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Örebro Theological Seminary.

"Andersson critically examines self-styled literary or narrative readings of the Old Testament historical books, mainly the books of Samuel. He identifies theoretical issues or groups of theoretical problems that emerge in a trialogue between the biblical texts, their interpreters, and theories of literature and narrative assumed to be guiding the readings. The framework for his analysis is a series of suggested interpretations, where he finds the matters under discussion most visible. He covers poetics and interpretation, the sense-governing intent of biblical narrative, storytelling sense and reference, and narrators and perspective as two nodes." -Eithne O'Leyne, BOOK NEWS, Inc.

• AcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsI.    Introduction Chapter 1POETICS AND INTERPRETATION1.1     A Literary Study of the Biblical Narratives1.1.1. A Literary and Synchronic Approach1.1.2. Biblical Literary Criticism and the Historical Method1.1.3. A Literary Approach and the "Character" of the Biblical Narratives1.1.4. Poetics and Interpretation1.1.5. Spcific and General Poetics1.2    A Close Reading of Three Interpretations1.2.1. The Story about Hannah1.2.2. Robert Polzin's Method1.2.2.1. Polzin's Method1.2.2.2. A Narrative about the Birth of Kingship1.2.2.3. Polzin's Reading: A Non-literary Suggestion1.2.3. Walter Brueggemann's Interpretation of 2 Samuel 211.2.3.1. 2 Samuel 21: An Ironic Text1.2.3.2. Brueggemann's Reasons for an Ironic Reading of 2 Samuel 211.2.3.3. A Suspicious Reading of 2 Samuel 211.2.3.4. Brueggemann's Reading: A Non-literary Suggestion1.2.4. J.P. Fokkelman's Interpretation of 2 Kings 41.2.4.1. Fokkelman's Method1.2.4.2. A Story about a Heroic Mother1.2.4.3. A Literary and Narrative Reading of 2 Kings 41.2.5.     "New" Readings of Ancient Texts1.3    Poetics, Narratology, Criticism, and Interpretation1.3.1.    Narratology1.3.2.    Classical Narratology and Postclassical Narratologies: Object, Methods, and Aims1.3.3.    Discourse Narratology1.3.4.    Gerard Genette's Analysis of ProustChapter 2THE SENSE-GOVERNING INTENT OF BIBLICAL NARRATIVES2.1 The Character of a Narrative - A Salient Issue2.2 An Outline of the Present Chapter2.3 The Books of Samuel and the "Succession History of David"2.3.1. The Composition of the Books of Samuel2.3.2. The Present Form of the Books of Samuel2.3.3. The "Succession History of David"2.3.4. David and Bathsheba2.3.5. History, Apologetics, Ideology, or Literature2.3.6. 2 Samuel 52.4 The Distinction between Different Kinds of Narratives2.4.1. 2 Samuel 1 and 122.4.1.1. The Amalekite messenger's Narrative2.4.1.2. Nathan's Narrative2.4.1.3. The Extradiegetical Narratives about the Amalekite and about Nathan2.5 Story and History2.5.1. Narratology and the Distinction between History and Fiction2.5.2. History and Literature in the Old Testament2.6 SummaryChapter 3STORYTELLING: SENSE AND REFERENCE3.1. Three Notions of the Reading of Narratives3.1.1. The Narratives of the Books of Samuel: "Windows" or "Paintings"?3.1.1.1. A Window to a World3.1.1.2. A Painting3.1.2. Disquieting Interpretations3.1.3. Joel Rosenberg's Literary Guide to the Books of Samuel3.1.3.1. Rosenberg's Method: Saul and David3.1.3.2. A Litearary Interpretation According to Rosenberg3.2    Gap-Filling and the Drawing of Implications3.2.1. Disquieting Interpretations and Silly Questions3.2.2. Gapping: Fiction and Nonfiction3.2.3. Bar-Efrat on Time Gaps in the Story of David and Absalom3.3     Literary or Historical Interpretations: A Series of Examples3.3.1. To Take the Internal Perspective3.3.2. Gap-Filling, the Drawing of Implications, and the Reading Process3.3.2.1. Adele Berlin on Genesis 373.3.2.2. Yairah Amit on David and Nabal3.3.2.3. J.P. Fokkelman on Gideon3.3.3. Gap-Filling, Theories about Reading, and Suggested Reinterpretation3.3.3.1. Yairah Amit on David3.3.3.2. Yairah Amit on 1 Samuel 133.3.3.3. J.P. Fokkelman on 1 Samuel 8-103.4    The Amalekite Messenger: 2 Samuel 13.4.1. Is the Amalekite Lying?3.4.2. Arguments Supporting the Suggestion that the Amalekite Lies3.4.3. A Reconstruction of the Events on Mount Gilboa3.4.4. What Was David Thinking?3.4.5. Robert Polzin on 2 Samuel 1: A Deeper Understanding or a Reinterpretation3.5    Some Concluding RemarksChapter 4TWO NODES: NARRATORS AND PERSPECTIVE4.1    The Teller of the Biblical Narratives4.1.1. Anonymity, Omniscience, and Historiography4.1.2. Authors, Implied Authors, and Narrators4.1.3. The Author and the Narrator4.1.4. The Narrator and the Implied Author4.1.5. The Implied Author and the Narrator in Biblical Literary Criticism4.1.6. The Narrator and the Ideological Perspective of the Text4.1.7. Narrative Techniques or Unintended Features?4.1.7.1. An Ironic Text4.1.7.2. A Dialogic Narrative4.1.7.3. An Unreliable Narrator4.1.7.4. Storytelling, the Implied Author, and the Narrator4.1.8. Storytelling and the Teller4.2    Perspective, Point of View, Focalization4.2.1. Focalization and Restriction of Field4.2.2. An Unavoidable Bias4.2.3. Perspective on the Micro Level4.2.4. Perspective and Knowledge4.2.5. Perspective: An Elusive Concept4.2