ABSTRACT
Invited to reflect on my writing on David over the past two decades, I find myself reading what I have not read in years. The Story of King David 1 grew out of several pieces I had written on oral tradition and the books of Samuel, together with a literary critical essay which Robert Culley invited me to write for one of the first issues of Semeia 2 and which was spurred on by some essays on David coming from Walter Bruggemann. 3 A critique of consensus views, especially since Leonhard Rost's influential work, 4 of the genre, purpose and boundaries of the so-called 'Succession Narrative' or 'Court History' (2 Samuel 9-20 and 1 Kings 1-2) and a detailed source-critical argument for including in its extent at least 2 Samuel 2-4 (with 5. 1-3 and parts of ch. 6) rounded out the book. This was a literary-critical enterprise built squarely on an historical-critical base. I have never attempted (or wanted) to undertake such a project again. Let me expand that comment a little.
