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The Meaning of the Spirit of Yahweh and the Spirit of God in the Book of Samuel

Han, Samuel 1

1한세대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to complement the problems of previous researches on rûaḥ (x:Wr/spirit) in the book of Samuel. Previous studies on rûaḥ in the Old Testament have regarded the two different expressions, the Spirit of Yahweh (hw"hy>-x:Wr) and the Spirit of God (~yhil{a/x:Wr), as synonymous. However, this is a misunderstanding due to the fact that the scholars have disregarded out the situation of the early monarchy of Israel. This paper does not focus on the lexical meaning of rûaḥ but rather on the role of the concept rûaḥ at a specific time, namely, the early monarchy of Israel. The alternation between the Spirit of Yahweh (hw"hy>- x:Wr) and the Spirit of God (~yhil{a/ x:Wr) must be understood in the light of the rivalry of the two early kingships. David’s followers emphasized that the Spirit had departed from King Saul in order to crush the spiritual base of Saul’s kingship. And they created the new concept that the Spirit came upon David in order to show the superiority of David’s kingship over Saul’s. This study points out a lack in previous interpretations of rûaḥ in the book of Samuel and proposes a new interpretation as an alternative. According to this study, the alternation between the Spirit of Yahweh and the Spirit of God is political propaganda used to justify David’s kingship. This new interpretation is possible if the political situation of the early monarchy of Israel is considered.

Citation status

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