SUCCESSIONS IN SAMUEL-KINGS

                                                    Successions (2007, 2' x 4')      

One of my largest, and most technically challenging, collages, shown above, pictures two major successions in the Old Testament. One is that from King Saul to King David, marked by violence. The other is the peaceful transition of spiritual power from Elijah to Elisha. It echoes the overall literary organization of the combined books of Samuel and Kings (Figure 1) in which the chapters describing the successful reign of King Solomon act as a dividing point between the two symmetrical sections describing these two quite different successions. In this picture, events in David's life are shown on the left half of the canvas with those of the prophets portrayed on the right.

And the overall flow of these books can be seen by comparing the two capping sections beginning with a sort of theocracy under the guidance of the prophet Samuel (IA) and ending (IC) with the chaos resulting after the split between the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. This last tumultuous of successions in Israel's history is marked by internal fighting between the two realms, attacks from neighboring countries, bloody coups, assassinations, and betrayals. So in a way, this whole period of Israelite history echoes the earlier steady downward fall which characterized so clearly the time of the Judges.

Figure 1: The Structure of Samuel-Kings

IA. Samuel (I Sam. 1-7)

IIA. Saul's Reign (I Sam. 8:1-21:9)

IIIA. David Hides from Saul (I Sam. 21:10-II Sam. 1:27)

IVA. David the King (II Sam. 2-12)

IIIB. David Hides from Absalom (II Sam. 13-20)

IIB. Echoes of Saul's Reign (II Sam. 21-24)

IB. Solomon (I Kings 1-11)

IIC. Minor Kings (I Kings 12:1-16:28)

IIIC. Elijah and Ahab (I Kings 16:29-22:53)

IVB. Elisha Inherits the Mantle (II Kings 1-2)

IIID. Elisha and Ahab's Family (II Kings 3-10)

IID. Minor Kings (II Kings 11-17)

IC. Last Kings (II Kings 18-25)

Just to demonstrate the many correspondences between the lives of the two prophets Elijah and Elisha that justify the parallel placement of IIIC and IIID above, consider the following:

Figure 2: Elijah-Elisha Parallels

Elijah (I Kings)                                                     Elisha (II Kings)

no rain but God provides (17:1-7)                        no water until God provides (3:9-20)

stays with widow (17:8-16)                                  stays with woman (4:8-17)

son healed (17:17-24)                                           son healed (4:18-37)

oil helps solve a financial crisis (17:17-24)         oil helps solve a financial crisis (4:1-7)

ger as people displaced by famine (17:20)          ger as people displaced by famine (8:1)

prophets saved (18:3-4)                                        prophets saved (4:38-44)

Jezebel's evil deeds (18:4)                                    Jezebel dies (9:30-37)

closet believer in a king's house is                       closet believer in a king's house is

    reassured (18:7-16)                                              reassured (5:18-19)

miracle at Mt. Carmel (18:17-43)                        healing of Naaman (5:1-14)

runs before chariot (18:44-46)                             goes in spirit with man from chariot (5:20-27)

comforting vision from God (19:18)                    comforting vision of God's army (6:16-17)

Benhadad's siege (20:1-34)                                  Benhadad's siege (6:24-7:20)

prophet's eyes bandaged (20:35-43)                     prophet blinds soldiers (6:18-23)

prophecy of Ahab and Jezebel's                           Jezebel and sons of Ahab are killed (9:30-10:11)               deaths (21:17-29)

“him who pisses against the wall” (21:21)          “him who pisses against the wall” (9:8)

joint war against Syria (ch. 22)                            joint war against Syria (8:25-29)

By the way, if you are curious regarding the unusual phrase found in I Kings 21:21 and II Kings 9:8 above, it is simply a Hebrew idiom distinguishing males from females, chosen for obvious reasons.