The Books of Samuel recount a specific section of the history of Israel and thus represent historiography & admittedly of a very special kind. They do this in an aesthetically highly sophisticated way and thus represent a literary work of art & also of a very special kind. The studies presented here explore both of these aspects: initially using an approach involving specialist exegesis and historical and scholarly methods, and then in thematic longitudinal sections and in portraits of individual narrative figures. The results reveal a very specific relationship between factuality and fictionality, a highly sensitive narrative art and very forceful images of man and God.