Josephus’ Interpretation of the Books of Samuel 9780567665218, 9780567608802, 9780567458575

Citation preview

LIBRARY OF SECOND TEMPLE STUDIES

86 Formerly Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Supplement Series

Editor Lester L. Grabbe

Editorial Board Randall D. Chesnutt, Philip R. Davies, Jan Willem van Henten, Judith M. Lieu, Steven Mason, James R. Mueller, Loren T. Stuckenbruck, James C. VanderKam

Founding Editor James H. Charlesworth

JOSEPHUS’ INTERPRETATION OF THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL

Michael Avioz

Bloomsbury T&T Clark An Imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

LON DON • OX F O R D • N E W YO R K • N E W D E L H I • SY DN EY

Bloomsbury T&T Clark An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Imprint previously known as T&T Clark 50 Bedford Square London WC1B 3DP UK

1385 Broadway New York NY 10018 USA

www.bloomsbury.com BLOOMSBURY, T&T CLARK and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published 2015 Paperback edition first published 2016 © Michael Avioz, 2015 Michael Avioz has asserted his rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identi¿ed as Author of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury Academic or the author. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN:

HB: PB: ePDF:

978-0-56760-880-2 978-0-56767-207-0 978-0-56745-857-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Avioz, Michael, 1967 Josephus’ interpretation of the Book of Samuel / by Michael Avioz. pages cm. – (The library of second temple studies ; 86) Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN 978-0-567-60880-2 (hardback) – ISBN 978-0-567-45857-5 (ePDF) 1. Jews–History–1200-953 B.C. 2. Josephus, Flavius. Antiquitates Judaicae. Selections. 3. Bible. Samuel–History of Biblical events–Early works to 1800. 4. Bible. Samuel–Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title. DS121.55.A95 2015 933'.02—dc23 2014032037 Series: Library of Second Temple Studies, Volume 86 Typeset by Forthcoming Publications Ltd (www.forthpub.com) Printed and bound in Great Britain

CONTENTS Preface Acknowlegments Abbreviations

xi xiii xv Part I PRELIMINARY MATTERS

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1. Why Samuel? 2. What Bible? 3. Apologetic versus Exegetical Motives 4. Earlier Research 5. Assumptions and Methodology 6. The Plan of the Present Book 7. Note on Translations and Editions 8. Conclusion

3 4 4 5 8 10 12 12 13

Chapter 2 THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL IN JOSEPHUS: AN OVERVIEW 1. The Authorship of the Books of Samuel 2. Narrative Beginnings in the Book of Samuel 3. Conclusion

14 15 16 20

Part II JOSEPHUS’ TREATMENT OF THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL Chapter 3 THE SAUL NARRATIVE IN JOSEPHUS’ ANTIQUITIES 1. Saul’s Anointing 2. Saul’s Election 3. Saul as a Prophet 4. Samuel’s Speech 5. Saul’s Supporters and Opponents 1

23 24 28 29 29 30

Contents

vi

6. 7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

Saul the Wise? Saul as a Military Hero a. Saul’s Wars b. The Battle against the Ammonites (1 Samuel 11) c. Saul’s War against the Philistines (1 Samuel 13–14) d. ConÀict between Samuel and Saul e. Was Saul an Observant King? f. The Battle against Amalek (1 Samuel 15) g. Why Did Saul Spare Agag? Saul, the Unjust King a. 1 Samuel 14 and 1 Samuel 22: Saul as Anti-Judge b. The Massacre of the Priests of Nob in 1 Samuel 22 Saul and Jonathan a. Jonathan’s Name and Appellations b. Jonathan, Son of Saul c. Jonathan’s Image as an Exemplary Military Leader d. The Relationship between Saul and Jonathan e. Saul’s Anger at Jonathan f. Saul’s Oath and Jonathan’s Rescue g. The Casting of the Lots h. Jonathan’s Trial Saul’s End a. Saul and the Witch of Endor b. The Encomium c. The Cause of Saul’s Downfall d. Josephus’ Conclusion of the Saul Narrative (Antiquities 6.378) Conclusions

Chapter 4 THE DAVID NARRATIVES IN JOSEPHUS’ ANTIQUITIES 1. The David Narrative a. David’s Royal Anointment (1 Samuel 16) b. The Story of David and Goliath 2. The Relations between David and Jonathan a. ÈÉŦÅÇÀ¸, David and Jonathan b. Clari¿cation of Problematic Issues and Settling Contradictions 3. David and Michal a. Michal’s Name and Her Appellations b. The First Encounter between David and Michal 1

30 31 32 32 33 35 36 37 39 39 41 42 44 44 45 45 47 47 48 49 49 50 50 54 55 55 56

57 57 58 63 66 69 69 70 70 72

Contents

vii

Saul and David’s Dialogue about Michal The Teraphim Michal Saves David Michal’s Lie and the Lies of Other Women in Josephus’ Writings g. Michal’s Barrenness h. Returning Michal to David i. Bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem (Antiquities 7.87) Saul’s Persecution of David The Geography of the Persecution Stories David and Abigail a. Nabal’s Name and Place b. The Negotiations between Nabal and David c. Abigail d. Abigail’s Speech e. The Dialogue between Nabal and Abigail f. Nabal’s Death g. Abigail’s Marriage to David h. David’s Marriage to Ahinoam i. The Purpose of the Narrative David’s Lament of Saul and Jonathan (2 Samuel 1.17-27) David and Abner (2 Samuel 2–3) a. Where Was Abner During the Battle against the Philistines at Gilboa? David’s Establishment as King of Judah Abner Establishes Ishbosheth as King a. The Combat between Saul’s Men and David’s Men b. The Confrontation between Abner and Ishbosheth c. Abner Kills Asahel The Motive for Abner’s Murder a. The Combat between Saul’s Men and David’s Men The Murder of Ishbosheth (2 Samuel 4) David’s Reign in Hebron and Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5) a. The Anointing of David as King of All Israel b. The Capture of Jerusalem c. The Blind and the Lame d. Hiram and David e. The Battles against the Philistines The Transfer of the Ark to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6)

72 73 75

c. d. e. f.

4. 5. 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.

11. 12. 13.

14.

1

76 76 78 79 80 81 83 83 84 86 88 90 91 91 92 92 93 93 94 95 95 95 96 96 97 98 99 101 101 102 103 104 104 105

viii

15.

16. 17. 18. 19.

20.

1

Contents

Nathan’s Oracle (2 Samuel 7) a. The Exposition b. David’s Disquali¿cation from Building the Temple c. The Dynastic Oracle d. The Conditionality of the Davidic Covenant The List of David’s Wars (2 Samuel 8) David and Mephibosheth David’s Wars against Ammon and Aram (2 Samuel 10.1-19) David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11–12) a. The Exposition (v. 1) b. The First Scene (vv. 2-5) c. The Second Scene (vv. 6-13) d. The Third Scene (vv. 14-25) e. Nathan’s Parable and Its Implementation (2 Samuel 12.1-15) f. David Petitions God for the Life of the Child and the Death of the Child (vv. 16-23) g. The Birth of Jedidiah-Solomon (vv. 24-25) h. The Capture of Rabbath-Ammon (vv. 26-31) The Absalom Narrative a. The Rape of Tamar b. Appellations c. Tamar d. The Scheme to Seduce Tamar e. Tamar and Amnon Alone f. Tamar’s Second Exchange with Amnon g. Absalom’s Dialogue with Tamar h. David’s Silence and Tamar’s Actions after the Rape i. The Motives for Absalom’s Acts in Response to the Rape j. Absalom’s Revenge and Flight k. Joab and the Wise Woman of Tekoa l. The Rebellion of Absalom m. Absalom’s Beauty n. The Preparations for the Revolt o. David’s Faith in God p. Josephus Justi¿es Hushai’s Advice q. Ahitophel’s Suicide r. Absalom’s End

107 108 109 110 111 112 113 116 118 118 119 121 121 122 124 125 125 126 126 127 128 128 129 130 130 131 132 132 134 135 135 135 136 137 137 138

Contents

s. t. u. v.

21. 22.

23.

24.

The Battle Absalom’s Monument David’s Grief over Absalom David’s Return to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 19.10-41 [9-40]) The Revolt of Sheba ben Bichri The Appendices (2 Samuel 21–24) a. David and the Saulides (2 Samuel 21.1-14) b. David’s Warriors c. David’s Songs (2 Samuel 22.1-51 and 23.1-7) d. Another List of David’s Elite Warriors e. David’s Census (2 Samuel 24) The Struggle between Adonijah and Solomon a. The Exposition b. Adonijah’s Preparations for His Enthronement c. David’s Orders to Anoint Solomon as King d. Additions from the Books of Chronicles e. David’s Testament f. The Encomium Conclusion

ix

139 141 141 142 145 148 148 151 153 154 156 158 158 158 160 162 162 162 164

Part III ANALYSIS OF JOSEPHUS’ TECHNIQUES AND OVERARCHING ISSUES Chapter 5 JOSEPHUS’ TREATMENT OF DOUBLE NARRATIVES IN THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL 1. What Is a Doublet? 2. Doublets in Josephus’ Retelling of the Former Prophets 3. Doublets in the Book of Samuel a. 1 Samuel 9–11 b. 1 Samuel 13 and 15 c. Is Saul among the Prophets? d. Who Killed Goliath? e. 1 Samuel 21/27 f. 1 Samuel 24 and 26 g. Three Versions of Saul’s Death 4. Other Repetitions 5. Josephus in Comparison with Greek and Latin Authors 6. The Rhetorical Function of the Doublets in Josephus’ Antiquities 1

167 167 168 169 169 169 169 169 170 170 172 173 173 175

Contents

x

7.

8. 9. 10.

11.

12.

Josephus and the Books of Chronicles a. A Comparison of the David Narrative in Samuel and Chronicles The Attitude towards Monarchy in Josephus’ Works a. Josephus and Monarchy The Question of Messianism Josephus’ Intended Audience a. The Case for a Gentile Audience b. The Case for Jewish Audience c. The Case for a Mixed Audience Josephus’ Vorlage a. Josephus’ Reliance upon the LXX— 1 Samuel 9.25-26 as an Example b. Josephus’ Reliance upon the MT c. Josephus’ Disregard of Both the MT and LXX d. Josephus ConÀates MT and LXX Conclusion

175 176 183 185 188 191 192 193 193 195 196 197 198 199 200

Chapter 6 CONCLUSION

202

Bibliography Index of References Index of Authors

208 237 251

1

PREFACE The present book is the outcome of my inquiry into Josephus’ interpretation of the books of Samuel in recent years. Earlier versions of some of the chapters in this book were originally published in somewhat different forms elsewhere: ‘Josephus’ Retelling of Nathan’s Oracle (2 Sam 7)’, SJOT 20 (2006): 9-17; ‘Saul as a Just Judge in Josephus Antiquities of the Jews’, Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 8 (2008): 1-9; ‘Josephus’ Rewriting of 1 Samuel 25’, JJS 59 (2008): 73-85; ‘Josephus Portrait of Michal’, JSQ 18 (2011): 1-18; ‘Josephus’ Retelling of the Jonathan Narratives’, JSP 22 (2012): 68-86. These studies were revised and adapted for book form and in several cases, additional materials were added. However, the majority of the book is an original study of Josephus’ retelling of the books of Samuel, presented here for the ¿rst time. I am grateful to the following editors and publishers for granting me permission to republish these papers: Taylor and Francis (http://www. tandfonline.com); Professor Ehud Ben Zvi; SAGE Publications; Mohr Siebeck; and Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies.

1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies at Yarnton Manor for hosting me during the beginning of 2013, where I bene¿ted greatly from the feedback, assistance and guidance of Professor Martin Goodman and Professor Tessa Rajak, as well as other members and colleagues. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Beit Shalom fund in Japan for partly funding this project. Special thanks go to the editorial staff of Bloomsbury T&T Clark. I wish to thank Dr. Duncan Burns for his ¿ne preparation of this book for publication. Professor Elie Assis, the dean of Jewish Studies faculty at Bar-Ilan University, has supported me throughout the preparation of the book, and I owe him much gratitude. I would like to thank Mrs. Sara Daniel for editing the English translation of this book. Last but not least, I would like to thank my dear wife, Chagit, for all the help and support she has given me all these years.

1

ABBREVIATIONS Note: The LCL translations of Josephus’ writings are cited using the relevant translator’s surname (e.g. Begg, Feldman, Thackeray, Whiston). Full publication information for the LCL volumes is supplied in the bibliography. AB AGJU AnBib AUSS BAR BBR BETL Bib BHS BIS BZAW BZNW CAH CBQ CBQMS CQ CR:BS DDD DJD EI EM EncJud EstBíb ETL FAT FOTL HALOT

HDR HTR

Anchor Bible Arbeiten zur Geschichte des antiken Judentums und des Urchristentums Analecta Biblica Andrews University Seminary Studies Biblical Archeological Review Bulletin for Biblical Research Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium Biblica Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Biblical Interpretation Series Beihefte zur ZAW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft The Cambridge Ancient History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2nd edn, 1970–2005) Catholic Biblical Quarterly Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series Classical Quarterly Currents in Research: Biblical Studies K. van der Toorn et al. (eds.), Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2nd edn, 1999) Discoveries in the Judaean Desert Eretz Israel Emerita: Revista de linguistica y ¿lologia clasica F. Skolnik and M. Berenbaum (eds.), Encyclopaedia Judaica (22 vols.; Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2nd edn). Estudios biblicos Ephemerides theologicae lovanienses Forschungen zum Alten Testament Forms of the Old Testament Literature L. Koehler, W. Baumgartner, and J. J. Stamm (eds.), The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (trans. M. E. J. Richardson; 5 vols.; Leiden: Brill, 1994–2000) Harvard Dissertations in Religion Harvard Theological Review

xvi HTS HUCA IEJ IOS JAAR JANES JAOS JBL JETS JGRChJ JHS JJS JQR JSJ JSJSup JSIJ JSJ JSJSup JPS JQR JSOT JSOTSup JSP JSQ JTS KAT KJV

LCL LHBOTS LNTS LXX

NAC NCB NEB

NICOT NIDOTTE NIV NJPS

NovT NRSV

NTS OBO OTE OTL 1

Abbreviations Hervormde Teologiese Studies Hebrew Union College Annual Israel Exploration Journal Israel Oriental Studies Journal of the American Academy of Religion Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society (of Columbia University) Journal of the American Oriental Society Journal of Biblical Literature Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism Journal of Hebrew Scriptures Journal of Jewish Studies Jewish Quarterly Review Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Period Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism Jewish Studies, an Internet Journal (http://www.biu.ac.il/JS/JSIJ/jsij1. html) Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Periods Journal for the Study of Judaism Supplement The Jewish Publication Society Jewish Quarterly Review Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Supplements Series Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Jewish Studies Quarterly Journal of Theological Studies Kommentar zum Alten Testament King James Version Loeb Classical Library Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies Library of New Testament Studies Septuagint New American Commentary New Century Bible New English Bible New International Commentary on the Old Testament W. A. VanGemeren (ed.), New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis (5 vols., Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997) New International Version New Jewish Publication Society Version Novum Testamentum New Revised Standard Version New Testament Studies Orbis biblicus et orientalis Old Testament Essays Old Testament Library Commentary Series

Abbreviations PEQ RB RSV

SAIS SBL SBLDS SCI Sef SJOT STDJ TANZ TDNT

TDOT TSAJ TynBul TZ VC VT VTSup WBC WUNT ZAW

1

xvii

Palestine Exploration Quarterly Revue biblique Revised Standard Version Studies in the Aramaic Interpretation of Scriptures Society of Biblical Literature SBL Dissertation Series Scripta Classica Israelica Sefarad Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah Texte und Arbeiten zum Neutestestamentlichen Zeitalter G. Kittel and G. Friedrich (eds.), Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (trans. G. W. Bromiley; 9 vols.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964–74) G. J. Botterweck and H. Ringgren (eds.), The Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (15 vols.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977–2006) Texte und Studien zum Antiken Judentum Tyndale Bulletin Theologische Zeitschrift Vigilae Christianae Vetus Testamentum Vetus Testamentum Supplements Series Word Biblical Commentary Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft

Part I

PRELIMINARY MATTERS

1

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Flavius Josephus is one of the most fascinating ¿gures of the Second Temple period (37–100 CE). He composed thirty books which documented the war between the Romans and the Jews, retold the Hebrew Bible, recorded his autobiography, and defended Judaism against its attackers. His importance has been long acknowledged; in the words of Schreckenberg and Schubert: ‘With the exception of the Bible no other ancient text is as important for the history of Judaism and Christianity as the works of Josephus’.1 This book will focus upon one of these compositions, namely, the Antiquities of the Jews. When I ¿rst began my inquiry into Josephus’ writings, it struck me that since the 1970s only one monograph had been devoted to an analysis of Josephus’ rewriting of an entire biblical book.2 The current work attempts to ¿ll this gap by focusing on Josephus’ interpretation of the books of Samuel, as retold in his Antiquities of the Jews. In the past, scholars were mainly interested in Josephus’ writing as a historical source;3 over the last two decades, however, there has been a paradigm shift and many studies focus on Josephus as a biblical interpreter, labeling his work ‘rewritten Bible’.4 My research continues these recent trends, seeking to reveal the exegetical strategies that Josephus used in order to make the biblical material comprehensible and 1. Schreckenberg and Schubert 1992: 7. 2. Franxman 1979. 3. See, for example, Shaye Cohen, who lists Josephus among Jewish historical works, owing ‘more to Herodotus, Thucydides, and Hellenistic historiography than to Kings and Chronicles’. See S. Cohen 2006: 186. Rajak (2002b [original 1983]) and Goodman (2007a) also treat Josephus as a historian. 4. P. Alexander 1988: 114. See further below. For viewing Josephus as an exegete, see Attridge 1976; Basser 1987; Pearce 1995; Feldman 1998a, 1998b; Niehoff 2005. In his many studies on Josephus, Begg does not use speci¿cally the terms ‘exegete’ or ‘interpreter’ but rather ‘rewriting techniques’ Basser is exaggerating when he labels Josephus as ‘an exegete’ and not as ‘an historian’.

4

Josephus’ Interpretation of the Books of Samuel

clear for his potential readers, whose mother-tongue was Greek. Towards this end he added, changed, and omitted certain details of the Hebrew Bible. The reshaping of the Hebrew Bible also served his apologetic needs on both personal and national levels. While others relate many of Josephus’ amendments of the biblical text to his personal agenda, we shall see that this is not always the case. 1. Why Samuel? The books of Samuel are among the most—perhaps even the most— fascinating books in the Hebrew Bible.5 Its narratives are wrought with love, hate, jealousy, sex, lies, treason, murder, and, of course, divine retribution. Relating rhetoric and poetry, countless tales of men and women, prophets, priests and kings, wars and covenants, this omni-genre work is the most comprehensive testing ground of Josephus’ interpretive strategies. The books of Samuel relate one of the most signi¿cant transitions in Israelite history, namely from the leadership of the Judges to the establishment of monarchy. In his proem to Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus writes that his book will ‘encompass our entire ancient history and constitution of the state’ (Ant. Proem, 5). Thus, the books of Samuel ¿t well into Josephus’ overall plan.6 2. What Bible? George Brooke views the terms ‘Bible’ and ‘biblical’ as anachronistic in regard to the period in which the Qumran scrolls were written. The canon was neither ¿xed nor authoritative. Moreover, ‘the authoritative works in the Qumran library were never books in the strict sense of being codices all bound together’.7 Some scholars, anxious that modern readers recognize that this ancient material does not ¿t the modern de¿nition of ‘books’, refer to these authoritative writings as ‘Scripture’ or ‘Scriptures’.8

5. Tsumura 2007: 1; Watts 1992: 28. 6. Some scholars label the books of Samuel ‘historiography’. See most recently Gilmour 2011: 7-33. 7. Brooke 2006: 288. See also J. Campbell 2014. 8. Crawford 2008, 2012. 1

1. Introduction

5

This discussion has bearing on Josephus as well. What was Josephus’ ‘Bible’ or Scripture like? Ulrich surmises that ‘Josephus probably used scrolls of the scriptures that were copied in the ¿rst two-thirds of the ¿rst century of our era or perhaps even somewhat earlier’.9 From Against Apion 1.37–44 we know that Josephus’ ‘Bible’ included 22 books. Though the exact form of Josephus’ canon is disputed, the books of Samuel were de¿nitely among these books.10 A further question is, of course, was Josephus’ ‘Bible’ identical to the MT or to the LXX? This question will be dealt with in the third part of this book. 3. Apologetic versus Exegetical Motives In the following chapters of the book, I shall distinguish between apologetic and exegetical motives in the rewriting of Josephus. This distinction is common also in the study of Midrash and Jewish Medieval interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. I shall now focus on de¿ning both.11 By apologetic motive, I mean to say that the author of a rewritten text does not attempt to solve problems that arise from the text, but rather makes changes to the text for the sake of a certain audience, real or imagined. Barclay has suggested the following de¿nition: ‘defense that is (a) directly formulated against explicit accusations (legal charges or nonlegal slurs), and (b) directed towards observers (rather than “insiders”), at least at the level of the rhetoric’.12 Feldman writes that ‘The apologetic aim of Josephus may often be seen in the hellenization of his narrative, both in language and in ideas, so as to appeal to his Greek-educated readers’.13

9. Ulrich 1989: 81. 10. See further Mason 1996; J. Campbell 2012. 11. It is quite surprising that Feldman, who wrote extensively on apologetic in Josephus, never de¿ned this term. 12. Barclay 2007a: xxxv. He dismisses the de¿nition of Sterling (1992: 17) as being too broad. For other de¿nitions, see Kasher 1996; L. Alexander 1999. Note that Josephus does not use the term ‘apologia’. The Greek term is ÒÅÌţÉɾÊÀË. Regarding this term, see Goodrich 1995: 41-56. Feldman lists dozens of changes that Josephus makes to the biblical text that can be explained as apologetic changes. See Feldman 1998b: 543-70. 13. Feldman 1998b: 171. Feldman (2006b: 4) de¿nes ‘Hellenism’ as follows: ‘the process of acculturation by which behavior, manners, culture (literature, philosophy, art), religious belief, ethical, social, political, economic, and material norms, etc., of a person or a group might be affected by the kind of Greek culture that spread in the lands that came under the rule of Alexander the Great’. 1

6

Josephus’ Interpretation of the Books of Samuel

Vermes distinguishes between two kinds of exegeses: ‘pure exegesis’ and ‘applied exegesis’. Pure exegesis tries to solve dif¿culties in scriptural passages, ¿lling in missing details or solving contradictions with other biblical texts. In pure exegesis the goal of the interpreter is to make the text intelligible, coherent and acceptable.14 Philip Alexander15 has offered characteristics of texts labeled as ‘Rewritten Bible’: narratives that follow a sequential and chronological order; freestanding works that follow the form of the biblical texts on which they are based; works not intended to replace the Bible; their authors typically rewrite a signi¿cant portion of Scripture while making use of additional legendary material, integrating it within the biblical narrative; texts which follow the general order of biblical accounts but are selective in what they include; texts whose intention is to produce an interpretative reading of Scripture by offering ‘a fuller, smoother and doctrinally more advanced form of the sacred narrative’; texts whose narrative form only allows them to reÀect a single interpretation of the original; whose narrative form also renders it implausible for the writers to offer their exegetical reasoning; texts which use extra-biblical tradition and non-biblical sources (oral and written), and utilize legendary material by fusing it with the biblical narrative, thereby creating a synthesis of the whole tradition (biblical and non-biblical). Moshe Bernstein16 de¿nes the same approach as ‘simple sense exegesis’ (&