_Sometimes_ the interpreters are. Dorothy Sayers gives a good example of this
from a response to one of her own novels in _The Mind of the Maker_.
But issue is not "symbolism" of the freshman English variety. The Chronicler
isn't making David, the Levites, the Temple &c "represent" or "stand for" psychological
truths or anything like that. The whole history of Israel is used to convey a message
about the ultimate kingdom of God - & that isn't an arbitrary equation because of the
belief that God was working toward that kingdom through Israel's history. To use
Tillich's distinction, David &c are not arbitrary "signs" of the kinggdom of God but are
"symbols" which participate in the reality of what they point to.
& what are you doing reading Mark Twain? Most of what he wrote wasn't
historically accurate!
gmurphy@raex.com
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/