As the Old Testament narrative transitions out of the Pentateuchal era and shifts into the age of kings, one is confronted with a seismic shift in narrative tone and structure. This is particularly seen in the overall lack of editorial commentary accompanying each recorded pericope in the chronicles of 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings. “The books of Samuel,” writes B. T. Arnold, “narrate some of the most compelling and theologically significant episodes of the Bible, usually without interrupting the flow of the narrative to explain overtly the significance of the events.”