Role and Significance of Ancestors in the Books of Samuel

Abstract

Several texts of the books of Samuel hint at the importance of ancestors in ancient Israelite society. Certain motifs like family sacrifices (זבח משׁפחה, 1Sam 20,6.29) and necromancy (1Sam 28:3-25) have attracted the attention of scholars interested in this question (cf. E. Bloch-Smith, K. van der Toorn; R. Hallote ). Besides these two themes there are other motifs related to ancestors that are scattered through the two books: Burials in domestic houses (living area, cf. 1Sam 25,1; 1Kgs 2,34), “Teraphim”-figurines (1Sam 19,13-16), the invocation of the name of a diseased patriarch by his relatives (2Sam 18,18), the record of long genealogical chains (1Sam 1,1; 9,1) and personal names such as possible source of information on ancestor cult. The present contribution aims to summarize the evidence found in the various texts and to describe the role ancestors played in the society of Ancient Israel as it is reflected in 1-2Sam. What was the attitude of the Israelites towards the ancestors? Were they only respected or also consulted and even venerated? The evidence from the texts will be compared with known practices from ancient Israel’s neighboring civilizations