The contributors to this volume investigate the portrayal of Israel's and Judah's relations with neighboring groups in the books of Samuel (including the Philistines, Amalekites, Edomites, Arameans, and Gibeonites) from both literary and historical perspectives. In doing so, they bring together multiple methodological approaches to the topic, including analyses of the structure, ideological content, and compositional development of the narrative depictions of Israel's and Judah's neighbors in the books of Samuel as well as syntheses of the current archaeological and historical data relevant to the interpretation of the biblical texts under investigation.
