
Bede: On First Samuel
Liverpool University Press
Published on 26. August 2019
Book
Paperback/Softback
584 pages
978-1-78962-122-8 (ISBN)
Description
The Old Testament
book 1 Samuel (known as 1 Kings in modern Bibles) contains one of the most
dramatic stories in the Old Testament, with its tense narrative about Israel's
first attempts to govern itself by kingship, and a cast of famous characters who
drive the story - the priest and prophet Samuel, the tragic figure of King
Saul, and chiefly David himself, the youngest son of Jesse, who slays the
Philistine's champion, Goliath, and gains God's favour in replacement for Saul.
The Venerable Bede (672-735 AD),
Anglo-Saxon England's foremost interpreter of the Bible, wrote many
commentaries on the Old Testament, but his treatment of 1 Samuel stands out in
particular: it is one of his longest
commentaries, one of his first sustained attempts to deal with the Old
Testament without support from an earlier commentary, and one of the few
commentaries he wrote that can be dated precisely. Bede sets out to read the story of 1 Samuel as
full of details which demonstrate the prophetic nature of Old Testament
history, an attempt that is boldly experimental in its application of the
allegorical method of interpretation.
Historically, the commentary is of special interest for its detailed reference to the departure of Abbot Ceolfrith from Wearmouth-Jarrow in June 716 AD, which has allowed scholarship to firmly date the work and explore some potential links to the turbulent political scene in Northumbria that marked that decade. This English translation is the first rendering of the Latin into another language. The translation is preceded by a substantial introduction that places the work in the context of Bede's oeuvre, discusses his sources and exegetical methods, and offers a reading of the work's contemporary context in the light of current scholarly debate.
book 1 Samuel (known as 1 Kings in modern Bibles) contains one of the most
dramatic stories in the Old Testament, with its tense narrative about Israel's
first attempts to govern itself by kingship, and a cast of famous characters who
drive the story - the priest and prophet Samuel, the tragic figure of King
Saul, and chiefly David himself, the youngest son of Jesse, who slays the
Philistine's champion, Goliath, and gains God's favour in replacement for Saul.
The Venerable Bede (672-735 AD),
Anglo-Saxon England's foremost interpreter of the Bible, wrote many
commentaries on the Old Testament, but his treatment of 1 Samuel stands out in
particular: it is one of his longest
commentaries, one of his first sustained attempts to deal with the Old
Testament without support from an earlier commentary, and one of the few
commentaries he wrote that can be dated precisely. Bede sets out to read the story of 1 Samuel as
full of details which demonstrate the prophetic nature of Old Testament
history, an attempt that is boldly experimental in its application of the
allegorical method of interpretation.
Historically, the commentary is of special interest for its detailed reference to the departure of Abbot Ceolfrith from Wearmouth-Jarrow in June 716 AD, which has allowed scholarship to firmly date the work and explore some potential links to the turbulent political scene in Northumbria that marked that decade. This English translation is the first rendering of the Latin into another language. The translation is preceded by a substantial introduction that places the work in the context of Bede's oeuvre, discusses his sources and exegetical methods, and offers a reading of the work's contemporary context in the light of current scholarly debate.
Reviews / Votes
'DeGregorio and Love have produced a valuable contribution to Bede studies and studies of early medieval religion more generally, making accessible and comprehensible a work that has much to say but which would otherwise invite too few readers.'James T. Palmer, Speculum 'On First Samuel is a very welcome contribution to the Translated Texts for Historian series and to Bedan scholarship more generally. The commentary's value as a historical source is made explicit in the authors' outstanding introduction, and this book will appeal to a broad audience with diverse interests in early English culture, intellectual history, and historical theology.'Meredith Cutrer, Comitatus 52
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Liverpool
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 147 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-78962-122-8 (9781789621228)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Scott DeGregorio is Professor of English and College-Wide Programs at the University of Michigan -Dearborn. His previous publications include: Cambridge Companion to Bede, ed. (2010); Innovation and Tradition in the Writings of the Venerable Bede, ed. (2006) and Bede: On Ezra and Nehemiah, in the Translated Texts for Historians series (2006). Rosalind Love is Reader in Insular Latin in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Robinson College. Her previous publications include 'The Library of the Venerable Bede', in The History of the Book in Britain, vol. 1, ed. Richard Gameson (2011) and Goscelin of Saint-Bertin. The Hagiography of the Female Saints of Ely, Oxford Medieval Texts (2004).
Content
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction
Date and Context in Bede's Oeuvre
1 Samuel: Canonical Context and Narrative Content
Patristic Sources and Biblical Versions
Exegetical Method
The Historical Context for the Composition
Acca of Hexham and 1 Samuel
Themes in On First Samuel
Bede's Latin Prose Style in On First Samuel
Editions of On First Samuel and the Present Translation
On First Samuel
Chapter Headings
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 4
Appendix 1: Notes on Textual Emendations
Appendix 2: Interpolations in Book 4
Bibliography
Index of Sources
General Index
Abbreviations
Introduction
Date and Context in Bede's Oeuvre
1 Samuel: Canonical Context and Narrative Content
Patristic Sources and Biblical Versions
Exegetical Method
The Historical Context for the Composition
Acca of Hexham and 1 Samuel
Themes in On First Samuel
Bede's Latin Prose Style in On First Samuel
Editions of On First Samuel and the Present Translation
On First Samuel
Chapter Headings
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 4
Appendix 1: Notes on Textual Emendations
Appendix 2: Interpolations in Book 4
Bibliography
Index of Sources
General Index