An Invincible Army?: Reading 1 Samuel 4-6 and 2 Samuel 6 as a Deuteronomistic Corrective to Exilic Misconceptions of the Ark

Abstract

The surprising nature of the events which surround the ark in 1 Samuel 4-6 and 2 Samuel 6 raises significant questions about the conflicting concepts of this central Israelite object. This study will consider these narratives in light of their wider contexts, silhouetting the presentation of the ark in these chapters against the understanding of the ark in the Deuteronomistic History and of divine statues in the ancient Near East. It will argue that the Deuteronomistic author used the events within these narratives are a means of dispelling and correcting the views surrounding the ark and the temple which were held by both the people of Israel and their enemies during the time of the Babylonian exile. The narratives of the ark offer a microcosm of the exile, providing both an explanation for Israel’s fate and a hope for their return.