Analysis Paper
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
ANALYSIS PAPER: 1 SAMUEL 17:1-58
A PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR. DONALD HOLDRIDGE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE OBST 591
BY SUNDAY DECEMBER 11, 2011
Literary Analysis The story of David and Goliath is a story most people would remember from Sunday school. The way that a young man could defeat a giant and someday become a King always fascinated the children. However, this story contains a deep theological message within it. The David and Goliath story is replete with life lessons and narrator techniques that enhance and deepens the storyline. Furthermore, this paper will attempt to revisit and point out some of the most clear seen aspects of the epic narrative between David, the shepherd boy, and Goliath, the giant of war. As much as the story is an epic battle that has always represented God’s ability to empower people to overcome any obstacle, it is a complex literary work of comparison, contrast, parallels, and proportions, repetition and point of view concepts, as he develops the characters in this story. The story reveals God’s provincial plan for the nation of Israel, the qualities of Godly leadership and how impossible tasks are accomplished when we submit to God’s authority. There are three main characters of this story; David, Goliath, Saul, and Eliab. David is the anointed king who is rising in power. Saul is the rejected King who is declining and Goliath is the agent of David’s introduction onto the political scene of Israel. In addition, some of the words the characters in this narrative use are of no small significance. The
ANALYSIS PAPER: 1 SAMUEL 17:1-58
A PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR. DONALD HOLDRIDGE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE OBST 591
BY SUNDAY DECEMBER 11, 2011
Literary Analysis The story of David and Goliath is a story most people would remember from Sunday school. The way that a young man could defeat a giant and someday become a King always fascinated the children. However, this story contains a deep theological message within it. The David and Goliath story is replete with life lessons and narrator techniques that enhance and deepens the storyline. Furthermore, this paper will attempt to revisit and point out some of the most clear seen aspects of the epic narrative between David, the shepherd boy, and Goliath, the giant of war. As much as the story is an epic battle that has always represented God’s ability to empower people to overcome any obstacle, it is a complex literary work of comparison, contrast, parallels, and proportions, repetition and point of view concepts, as he develops the characters in this story. The story reveals God’s provincial plan for the nation of Israel, the qualities of Godly leadership and how impossible tasks are accomplished when we submit to God’s authority. There are three main characters of this story; David, Goliath, Saul, and Eliab. David is the anointed king who is rising in power. Saul is the rejected King who is declining and Goliath is the agent of David’s introduction onto the political scene of Israel. In addition, some of the words the characters in this narrative use are of no small significance. The