A Single Combat Type-Scene in the Hebrew Bible?

The David-Goliath and Hezekiah-Sennacherib narratives (respectively, 1 Samuel 17 and 2 Kings 18–19//Isaiah 36–37) contain a series of similarities, but they have only been noted briefly in scholarship. This article is the first detailed consideration of the issue. It suggests that Robert Alter’s conception of the “type-scene” might be the most appropriate frame for understanding these similarities. Moreover, comparison with other biblical narratives suggests that the type-scene underlying the David-Goliath and Hezekiah-Sennacherib stories is one of single combat, even though Hezekiah and Sennacherib do not engage in physical fighting. The article also considers the implications of the typescene analysis for the traditional identification of sources in these passages, as well as possible reasons why the author of the Hezekiah-Sennacherib narrative might have employed this type-scene.