Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This book examines animals in 1 and 2 Samuel. It argues that these animals are caught up in the power dynamics narrated, and that their treatment intersects in complex ways with the treatment of marginalized humans. It draws on scholars of animal studies, of power, and of intersectionality, to ground the book in the latest theory and to establish an analytic framework, before proceeding to detailed case studies. It shows how animals are utilized by certain humans in their power-play as their deaths are ritualized through sacrificial killing, killings that have pivotal significance in the shifts of power between Eli, Samuel, and Saul. It explores how animals are subordinated alongside certain humans, as both groups are taken by kings vying for power: animals and humans are plundered, taxed, and stolen by kings like David as they develop, consolidate, and abuse their sovereignty. The book further considers how animals can become images to represent certain humans; specifically, they become implicated in the construction and delegitimization of the masculinities of Goliath, Absalom, and Mephibosheth. Finally, it examines how animals interact with certain humans in specific times and places, and thereby might express their own agency and power (though they may be ultimately brought back under human control). In these and other ways, the book robustly demonstrates the role of animals in the intersectional power dynamics of Samuel. pistartAQ AQ: To NEWGEN PM: The element &lt;&lt;Subtitle&gt;&gt; is missing from the metadata pulled from SCOUT. This field is marked as a mandatory metadata content. Hence, please update the database with the corresponding data in time for the next pull.piendpistartAQ AQ: OUP has confirmed that this book has no subtitle.piend</jats:p>