COVENANT RENEWAL
AT GILGAL
A Study of I Samuel 11:14-12:25
J. ROBERT VANNOY
MACK PUBLISHING COMPANY
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Digitized by Ted Hildebrandt in appreciation to author, who, as my former
professor, opened my understanding to the Old Testament.
For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory
for ever. Amen. Romans 11:36
To my mother
Margaret B. Vannoy
In memory of my father
Wesley G. Vannoy
February 28, 1900—September 3, 1976
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGM NTS xi
INTRODUCTION 1
PART I
TRANSLATION WITH EXEGESIS OF I SAMUEL 11:14-12:25
WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON
JURIDICAL AND COVENANT TERMINOLOGY AND CONCEPTS
I. TRANSLATION AND EXEGESIS OF I SAMUEL 12:1-25 9
II. TRANSLATION AND EXEGESIS OF I SAMUEL 11:14-15 61
PART II
LITERARY CRITICAL AND GENRE-HISTORICAL
ANALYSIS OF I SAMUEL 11:14-12:25
III. I SAMUEL 11: 4-12:25 AS A COMPOSITE UNIT 95
Section 1. A Survey of the Literary Criticism of I Samuel
11:14-12:2 95
A. I Samuel 12:1-25 96
1. I Samuel 12 as an original unity 98
a. I Samuel 12 as a reliable historical record 98
1) Representatives of "conservative biblical
scholarship" 98
2) E. Robertson 99
b. Samuel 12 as the composition of a "deutero-
omistic historian" 100
1) J. Wellhausen 100
2) H. P. Smith 100
3) M. Noth (H. J. Boecker) 101
4) R. H. Pfeiffer 102
c. Samuel 12 as an independent tradition unit 103
1) H. Gressman 103
2) A. Weiser 103
2. I Samuel 12 as an original unit modified by
redactional reworking 104
a. K. Budde 104
b. S. R. Driver 105
c. O. Eissfeldt 106
d. G. B. Caird 106
e. M. Buber 106
f. G. Wallis 108
g. B. C. Birch 109
h. N. Gottwald 110
i. H. J. Stoebe 111
3. I Samuel 12 as a composite of disparate material 112
a. I. Hylander 112
vi Table of Contents
b. H. Seebass 113
4. Provisional conclusion 114
B. I SAMUEL 11:14-15 114
1. I Samuel 11:14 as a redactional introduction to I
Samuel 11:14 115
a. Entirety of I Samuel 11:12-14 as redactional 115
1) J. Welihausen 115
2) H. P. Smith 115
3) H. Gressman 116
4) H. Wildberger 117
5) G. Wallis 118
b. The phrase ''renew the kingdom" (v. 14) as
redactional 119
1) S. R. Driver 119
2) R. Press 119
3) K. Möhlenbrink 119
4) M. Noth 120
5) A. Weiser 120
6) H. W. Hertzberg 121
2. I Samuel 11:12-14 (15) as a part of an originally
separate tradition 121
a. Th. C. Vriezim 121
b. H. Seebass 122
c N. Gottwald 123
d. H. J. Stoebe 124
e. E. Robertson 125
3. Provisional conclusion 126
Section 2. The Structure of I Samuel 11:14-12:25 127
A. The Relationship of I Samuel 11:14-15 to I Samuel
12:1-25 127
B. Structural Elements of I Samuel 12:1-25 131
IV. THE COVENANT FORM IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AND
I SAMUEL 11:14-12:25 132
Section 1. The Covenant Form in the Old Testament 132
A. The Covenant-Treaty Analogy 132
B. Characteristic Features of the Old Testament
Covenant Form 138
C. Extent and Variety of Utilization of the Old
Testament Covenant Form 142
D. Sitz im Leben of the Old Testament Covenant
Form; Historical Implications of Its Presence 144
1. The nature of the covenant form and its
origin—cultic or historical? 146
2. The evolution of the treaty form and its
implications for the date of the book of
Deuteronomy 150
Table of Contents vii
a. The vassal treaties of Esarhaddon compared
with the Hittite suzerainty treaties 151
1) Absence of a historical prologue 151
2) Absence of a Grundsatzerklarung 152
3) Absence of blessings 153
4) Conclusion 153
b. The Aramaic treaties from Sefire compared
with the vassal treaties of Esarhaddon and
with the Hittite suzerainty treaties 154
1) Similarities of the Sefire treaties to the
Assyrian treaties 154
2) Similarities of the Sefire treaties to the
Hittite treaties 155
3) Conclusion 156
c. Implications of the treaty-covenant analogy 156
for the date of Deuteronomy
Section 2. The Covenant Form in I Samuel 11:14-12:25
A. Characteristic Features of the Covenant Form in
I Samuel 11:14-12:25 160
1. Appeal to antecedent history (I Sam. 12:6-12) 161
2. The challenge to the basic covenantal obligation
of undivided allegiance to Yahweh introduced by
the transitional "and now" (I Sam. 12:13a, 14a,
15a, 20-21, 24) 164
3. Blessing and curse sanctions (I Sam. 12:14b, 15b,
25) 167
4. Theophanic sign (I Sam. 12:16-18a) 168
B. Implications of the Covenant Form in I Samuel
11:1 -12:25 for its Interpretation and Unity 169
1. Implications for its Interpretation 169
a. Elucidation of the covenantal character and
purposes of the Gilgal assembly 170
b. Elucidation of the covenantal background for
various statements and terms occurring in
I Samuel 11:14-12:25 179
1) "Renew the kingdom" (I Sam. 11:14) 179
2) Israel's wickedness in asking for a king
(I Sam. 12:17, 20) 179
3) "Peace offerings" (I Sam. 11:15);
"righteous acts of Yahweh" (I Sam. 12:7);
"good and right way" (I Sam. 12:23) 182
2. Implications of the covenant form of I Samuel
11:14-12:25 for its unity 184
a. Clarification of the relationship between
I Sam. 11:14-15 and I Sam. 12:1-15 184
b. The covenant form and the structural integrity
of I Samuel 12 185
viii Table of Contents
1) Implications of the covenant form for
viewing I Samuel 12 as an original unity
modified by redactional reworking 185
2) Implications of the covenant form for
viewing I Samuel 12 as a composite of
disparate material 188
3) Implications of the covenant form for
viewing I Samuel 12 as an independent
tradition unit 188
4) Implications of the covenant form for
viewing I Samuel 12 as the composition of
a "deuteronomistic historian" 189
APPENDIX 192
V. THE LITERARY CRITICISM OF I SAMUEL 8-12 IN THE
LIGHT OF THE COVENANTAL CHARACTER OF
I SAMUEL 11:14-12:25 197
Section 1. A Survey of the History of Criticism of I Samuel
8-12 198
A. The Documentary-Source Approach 198
1. J. Wellhausen 198
2. K. Budde 199
3. H. P. Smith 200
4. S. R. Driver 201
5. O. Eissfeldt 201
B. The Fragmentary Approach 203
1. H. Gressmann 203
2. M. Noth 205
3. H. J. Boecker 207
C. The Tradition-History Approach 209
1. W. Caspari 209
2. Th. C. Vriezen 210
3. A. Weiser 211
4. B. C. Birch 216
5. H. J. Stoebe 217
6. D. J. McCarthy 219
D. The Approach of "Conservative Biblical Scholarship" 223
Section 2. An Assessment of the Criticism of I Samuel 8-12
in the Light of the Covenantal Character of I Samuel
11:14-12:25 225
A. The Ambivalent Attitude Toward Kingship in the
Narratives of I Samuel 8-12 in the Light of the
Covenantal Character of I Samuel 11:14-12:25 227
B. The Narrative Sequence of I Samuel 8-12 in the Light
of the Covenantal Character of I Samuel 11:14-12:25 232
Table of Contents ix
C. "Deuteronomic Influence" in the Narratives of
I Samuel 8-12 in the Light of the Covenantal
Character of I Samuel 11:14-12:25 235
D. Concluding Remarks 239
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ABBREVIATIONS 241
BIBLIOGRAPHY 245
SUMMARY 259
TRANSLATIONS 262
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It is with praise to God for his enablement and thanks to
many individuals for their encouragement and assistance that
this study is published.
The writer is particularly grateful to Prof. Dr. Nic. H.
Ridderbos for his example of careful scholarship, and the
readiness with which he gave generously of his time and
expertise in the supervision of the writing of this dissertation.
This writer has benefited in more ways than can be enumer-
ated here from the tutelage of Prof. Ridderbos. I also express
my appreciation to Dr. Allan A. MacRae, President and Prof.
of Old Testament at Biblical School of Theology, Hatfield,
Pa., for the inspiration and encouragement which he has been
to me in biblical studies, initially as one of his students and in
more recent years as a colleague and friend.
Thanks is also extended to the trustees of Biblical School
of Theology whose grant of a sabbatical leave during the
1973-1974 school year enabled significant progress to be
made in the research and writing of this work. Particular
acknowledgment is due Prof. Thomas V. Taylor of Biblical
School of Theology for his cheerful assumption of additional
teaching responsibilities during my absence.
Many others have helped with this effort in a variety of
ways contributing significantly to its completion. Thanks are
extended to Mrs. William Taylor, typing; Dr. Perry Phillips,
proof reading, checking citations; Mrs. James Pakala, proof
reading; Mrs. Blair Ribeca, proof reading; my wife, Kathe,
proof reading.
Finally, I express appreciation to my family for their
encouragement, patience, and assistance during the time of
the preparation of this study. It is not possible to convey in a
xi
xii Acknowledgments
few words the deep debt which I owe to my parents for their
support through many years of educational pursuits and for
their godly life and example. To my wife, Kathe, and our
children, Anna, Robert, Mark, and Jonathan, I express my
appreciation for their patience during the many hours that
this study took from other activities in which they could also
be actively involved.
I Chronicles 29:11-13
INTRODUCTION
There are few sections in the Old Testament which have been
the object of more literary critical assessment than the narra-
tives which decribe the rise of the monarchy in Israel con-
tained in I Samuel 8-12. During the first half of the 20th
century these chapters were often pointed to by advocates of
the documentary approach to the Old Testament as a show-
case example for the combination of two contradictory
sources (one considered to be early and pro-monarchial, and
the other considered to be late and anti-monarchial) into a
composite and historically dubious narrative sequence. The
result of this approach was the obscuration of the historical
setting for the rise of kingship which in turn contributed to
the creation of many difficulties in evaluating the role of
kingship in ancient Israel and especially its theological signifi-
cance. It is inevitably the case that the question of origin has
implications for understanding the nature of a given phe-
nomenon as well as for assessing the course of its develop-
ment. This is especially true with regard to kingship in Israel.
When one considers the prominence which the notion of
kingship assumes in connection with the Messianic theme in
the Old Testament, it is certainly of great importance to
understand the circumstances and conceptual considerations
which were associated with the origin of the institution. Was
kingship an aberration from the legitimate form of rule for
the theocracy according to the Sinai covenant? Is kingship as
conceived under David properly understood as a rejection of
the covenant-kingship of Yahweh and in fundamental anti-
thesis with it? Questions such as these with their many
implications are inseparably related to the matter of how one
understands I Samuel 8-12 which describes the events asso-
ciated with the establishment of the monarchy. For this
2 Introduction
reason the interpretation of these chapters is of great impor-
tance for understanding one of the central themes of the Old
Testament.
It has generally been the case that I Samuel 11:14-12:25
has been granted little or no place in attempts by critical
scholars to assess the historical situation in which Israelite
kingship was established. This is largely due to the fact that
I Samuel 11:14-12:25 has generally been regarded as a late
and historically untrustworthy appendage to the preceding
narratives of I Samuel 8-12. Even from the standpoint of
conservative biblical scholarship, which has recognized the
historical trustworthiness of I Samuel 12, it has generally been
treated merely as Samuel's farewell address at the time of
Saul's inauguration to be king and little further of signifi-
cance has been attached to the events described in the chap-
ter. It is our contention, however, that neither of these
approaches do justice to the content and importance of this
passage, and that instead of a relatively insignificant appen-
dage to the preceding narratives, one here encounters the
climax to the narrative sequence of I Samuel 8-12 in which
the key to the interpretation of this section of I Samuel is
found. It is also here that a perspective is found in which the
pro and anti monarchial tension which has so often been
pointed to in these chapters is to be understood. I Samuel
11:14-12:25 is thus to be regarded as a vitally important
passage which is of great significance for understanding the
concept of kingship in Israel at the time of its establishment
and also for delineating the relationship which existed be-
tween human kingship and Yahweh's kingship.
In the discussion which follows it is our purpose to
demonstrate by exegetical, literary critical, and form critical
analysis that many features of I Samuel 11:14-12:25 strong-
ly indicate that the assembly which is here described is
properly understood as a covenant renewal ceremony, and
that there is good reason to view this ceremony as an his-
torically appropriate if not necessary event at this particular
Introduction 3
juncture in Israel's national existence. In our view the re-
newal of the covenant here described served a dual purpose.
First, it served to restore the covenant relationship between
Yahweh and his people after the people had abrogated the
covenant by their sin in asking for a king "as the nations."
And secondly, it provided a means for instituting the era of
the monarchy in Israel in a manner which demonstrated that
the suzerainty of Yahweh was in no way diminished by the
establishment of kingship. It was Samuel's purpose, there-
fore, in calling for the assembly to provide for covenant
continuity through a period of major restructuring of the
theocracy.
In our study of I Samuel 11:14-12:25, Chapters I and II
will be given to the translation and exegesis of I Samuel 12
and I Samuel 11:14-15 in that order. Chapter III will assess