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The original Hebrew Bible contained 1 and 2 Samuel as one book—not two.[1] However, because these scrolls were so massive and cumbersome, the books were later separated into two books.[2]
Authorship
According to the Babylonian Talmud, “Samuel wrote the book that bears his name” (Baba Bathra 14b). The book itself states that Samuel did some writing that was preserved—though this doesn’t mean that he wrote all of 1 Samuel. At one point, we read, “Then Samuel told the people the ordinances of the kingdom, and wrote them in the book and placed it before the Lord” (1 Sam. 10:25). After all, Samuel dies in 1 Samuel 25:1. The Talmud notes this, but it states that Nathan and Gad finished the work (Baba Bathra 14b, 15a). 1 Chronicles 29:29 states, “Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the chronicles of Samuel the seer, in the chronicles of Nathan the prophet and in the chronicles of Gad the seer.” It could be, however, that these were just the names of the books—not the authors.
Ronald Youngblood,[3] Robert Bergen,[4] Eugene Merrill,[5] Joyce Baldwin,[6] and David Tsumura[7] state that the author is simply anonymous. However, according to Bergen, the author was concerned with (1) the “absolute authority of the Torah’s teachings,” (2) a “high estimation of the value of genuine prophetic activity,” (3) the importance of the “Levites in the history of Israel” and the “Zadokite priesthood,” and (4) “the divine right of the descendants of David to rule over Israel.”[8]
The NT authors cite from this book and assume the historical veracity of it often. They cite David (54x), Samuel (3x), Saul (once), Uriah (once), and Abiathar (once). Paul summarizes a large swath of its history in Acts 13:21-22. Likewise, Peter affirmed Samuel’s propheticity: “All the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days” (Acts 3:24 NASB). Furthermore, the author of Hebrews affirms the historical events in these books (Heb. 11:32-34). Bergen adds, “The phrase ‘son of David’ is employed sixteen times in the New Testament, mostly in reference to Jesus; it has meaning, however, only in light of 2 Samuel 7.”[9]
Date
The internal evidence dates these books sometime between 930 and 722 BC:
- The text states that Ziklag “belonged to the kings of Judah to this day” (1 Sam. 27:6). This implies that the nation of Israel was divided at the time of the writing.
- The text doesn’t mention the death of David, but it is strongly implied by the end of the book, because it contains David’s “last words” (2 Sam. 23:1).
- The text doesn’t mention the fall of Samaria, which would date the book sometime before 722 BC.[10]
Consequently, Archer[11] and Youngblood[12] date 1 and 2 Samuel sometime between 930 and 722 BC. David Tsumura dates the book “no later than the late 10th century BC.”[13]
Major Themes in 1 and 2 Samuel
First, it shows the arrival of the kings in Israel. The book of Judges ends with the statement, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25) The savage and deplorable events of Judges set up Israel’s need for a king, and Ruth is a short story in the time of the Judges that looks forward to the kingship.
1 Samuel records how Israel instituted their first king: Saul. This was a period of relative silence from God (1 Sam. 3:1). He was waiting to punctuate this period of history with visions and miracles, so he was allowing a long period of inactivity during the time of the judges. Similarly, for hundreds of years before Christ, there was no prophetic activity in Israel. Once Christ came, miraculous activity was obviously frequent.
Second, it shows the importance of prophets in Israel. 1 Samuel records Samuel’s birth and ministry, as well as how he instituted the prophets in Israel. Samuel plays a major role, anointing both Saul and David as kings. Later, when David falls into sin, Nathan—the prophet—exposes him and David finds repentance (2 Sam. 11). This shows the integration (and yet separation) of “church and state” in Israel. The kings and prophets held two separate offices.
Third, it shows the arrival of King David. David is a major player in the Bible. He is a type of Christ, and he represents the ideal king in Israel until Christ arrives.
Commentary on 1 and 2 Samuel
1 Samuel 1-3: From Eli to Samuel
1 Samuel 4-7: The Battle over the Ark
1 Samuel 8-10: The People want a King
1 Samuel 11-16: The Rise and Fall of Saul
1 Samuel 17: David and Goliath
1 Samuel 18-20: David and Jonathan’s Friendship
1 Samuel 21-26: David runs from Saul
1 Samuel 27-31: The Demise of Saul
2 Samuel 1-4: The Rise of David
2 Samuel 5-6: David take Jerusalem and the Ark
2 Samuel 7: The Davidic Covenant
2 Samuel 8-9: Mephibosheth: A Lesson in God’s Grace
2 Samuel 11-12: David and Bathsheba
2 Samuel 13-18: The Rise and Fall of Absalom
2 Samuel 19-22: David restores the Nation
2 Samuel 23-24: David’s Mighty Men
How to use this commentary well
For personal use. We wrote this material to build up people in their knowledge of the Bible. As the reader, we hope you enjoy reading through the commentary to grow in your interpretation of the text, understand the historical backdrop, gain insight into the original languages, and reflect on our comments to challenge your thinking. As a result, we hope this will give you a deeper love for the word of God.
Teaching preparation. We read through several commentaries in order to study this book, and condensed their scholarship into an easy-to-read format. We hope that this will help those giving public Bible teachings to have a deep grasp of the book as they prepare to teach. As one person has said, “All good public speaking is based on good private thinking.”[14] We couldn’t agree more. Nothing can replace sound study before you get up to teach, and we hope this will help you in that goal. And before you complain about our work, don’t forget that the price is right: FREE!
Questions for Reflection. Each section or chapter is outfitted with numerous Questions for Reflection or questions for reflection. We think these questions would work best in a small men’s or women’s group—or for personal reading. In general, these questions are designed to prompt participants to explore the text or to stimulate application.
Discussing Bible difficulties. We highlight Bible difficulties with hyperlinks to articles on those subjects. All of these questions could make for dynamic discussion in a small group setting. As a Bible teacher, you could raise the difficulty, allow the small group to wrestle with it, and then give your own perspective.
As a teacher, you might give some key cross references, insights from the Greek, or other relevant tools to help aid the study. This gives students the tools that they need to answer the difficulty. Then, you could ask, “How do these points help answer the difficulty?”
Reading Bible difficulties. Some Bible difficulties are highly complex. For the sake of time, it might simply be better to read the article and ask, “What do you think of this explanation? What are the most persuasive points? Do you have a better explanation than the one being offered?”
Think critically. We would encourage Bible teachers to not allow people to simply read this commentary without exercising discernment and testing the commentary with sound hermeneutics (i.e. interpretation). God gave the church “teachers… to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12). We would do well to learn from them. Yet, we also need to read their books with critical thinking, and judge what we’re reading (1 Cor. 14:29; 1 Thess. 5:21). This, of course, applies to our written commentary as well as any others!
In my small men’s Bible study, I am frequently challenged, corrected, and sharpened in my ability to interpret the word of God. I frequently benefit from even the youngest Christians in the room. I write this with complete honesty—not pseudo-humility. We all have a role in challenging each other as we learn God’s word together. We would do well to learn from Bible teachers, and Bible teachers would do well to learn from their students!
At the same time, we shouldn’t disagree simply for the sake of being disagreeable. This leads to rabbit trails that can actually frustrate discussion. For this reason, we should follow the motto, “The best idea wins.” If people come to different conclusions on unimportant issues, it’s often best to simply acknowledge each other’s different perspectives and simply move on.
Consulted Commentaries
We consulted many commentaries for individual passages, but we read these specific commentaries exhaustively. In our estimation, Robert Bergen offers the best commentary on Exodus that we’ve read.
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992).
Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988).
Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996).
[1] Cave Four of Qumran shows that 1 and 2 Samuel were originally one book (4QSama). This manuscript contains “fragments from forty-three of the fifty-five chapters of 1, 2 Samuel.” Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), p.18 (see footnote). It wasn’t until the later Greek editions that the books were split into two. Bergen states that this was likely because the scrolls were simply two large to fit one book on one scroll.
[2] Youngblood writes, “Like Kings and Chronicles, each of which is slightly longer than Samuel, the scroll of Samuel was too unwieldy to be handled with ease and so was divided into two parts in early MSS of the LXX. Not until the fifteenth century a.d. was the Hebrew text of Samuel separated into two books, and the first printed Hebrew Bible to exhibit the division is the Bomberg edition published in Venice in 1516/17.” Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 553.
[3] Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 554.
[4] Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 19.
[5] Eugene H. Merrill, Mark F. Rooker, and Michael A. Grisanti, The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2011), 307.
[6] Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 36.
[7] David Tsumura, The First Book of Samuel, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2007), 11.
[8] Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 23-24.
[9] Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 54.
[10] Gleason Archer Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 3rd. ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1994), 313.
[11] Gleason Archer Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 3rd. ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1994), 313.
[12] Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 554.
[13] Tsumura holds that multiple historical accounts were pieced together by an author at this time. David Tsumura, The First Book of Samuel, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2007), 11.
[14] Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker (Cambridge: O’Reilly Media, 2009), 57.