Bloody, Brutal and Barbaric? Ep.7 1 Samuel 15 and Hyperbole

Summary

In a slightly short episode, we talk about 1 Samuel 15, and some of the ways in which it seems, at first glance, to be a challenge to Webb and Oeste’s suggestion that hyperbole is an extensive part of how war instructions are given and carried out in Israel. What becomes apparent is that hyperbole is most definitely in use in that text, also, and we consider what that means, and what the author of Samuel intends for the readers to hear.

And since the subject and tone of this episode was less intense, we left in a few of our funnier flubs. This might be an intense and weighty book, but we have a great time together.

Notes

1) We briefly mention the Battle of Qarqar in this episode, the largest battle to that point in the ancient world, which happened during the reign of (and was participated in by) the Israelite King Ahab. Interestingly, this massive battle is not mentioned in the Bible. Listeners who would like to go further down the rabbit hole on this battle’s conspicuous absence from scripture may be interested in this blogpost from the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence:

https://www.csbvbristol.org.uk/2020/11/23/what-the-biblical-authors-skipped/


2) Our thanks and appreciation to our partners:

A production of the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence.
https://www.csbvbristol.org.uk/


Podcast cover art by Studio of Broken Things
https://www.facebook.com/ISA4048


Intro music "Br1ghter" by Tape Machines (feat. Le June & Nbhd Nick)