A central character in 1 Samuel 4-6 is the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark is captured in battle, and subsequently wreaks havoc throughout the land of the Philistines until its subsequent return to the borders of Israel. Commonly referred to as the ‘Ark Narrative’ in scholarly literature, 1 Samuel 4-6 has often been viewed as a separate unit within the larger Deuteronomistic History. Although the Ark Narrative has been the subject of considerable scholarly interest, the methodological foci of such studies appear to have undergone a shift in more recent times. While earlier studies espoused a host of different critical approaches, such as tradition-historical, form-critical and redactional methodologies, it would seem that more recent studies have exhibited greater interest in literary appraisal and narrative criticism. This article presents a summary of recent research on the Ark Narrative of 1 Samuel 4-6 by 12 scholars: Robert Gordon, Lyle Eslinger, Peter Miscall, Walter Brueggemann, Yehoshua Gitay, Robert Polzin, J.P. Fokkelman, Bruce Birch, E.M.M. Eynikel, Graeme Auld, Barbara Green and Antony F. Campbell, SJ.
Archaeological Excavations at Kiriath-jearim and the Ark Narrative in the Books of Samuel
