1 and 2 Samuel

Ronald F. Youngblood, Tremper Longman III, David E. Garland

• Publisher: Zondervan Academic
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9780310531791
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

Continuing a Gold Medallion Award-winning legacy, the completely revised Expositor's Bible Commentary puts world-class biblical scholarship in your hands.

A staple for students, teachers, and pastors worldwide, The Expositor's Bible Commentary (EBC) offers comprehensive yet succinct commentary from scholars committed to the authority of the Holy Scriptures. The EBC uses the New International Version of the Bible, but the contributors work from the original Hebrew and Greek languages and refer to other translations when useful.

Each section of the commentary includes:

• An introduction: background information, a short bibliography, and an outline
• An overview of Scripture to illuminate the big picture
• The complete NIV text
• Extensive commentary
• Notes on textual questions, key words, and concepts
• Reflections to give expanded thoughts on important issues

The series features 56 contributors, who:

• Believe in the divine inspiration, complete trustworthiness, and full authority of the Bible
• Have demonstrated proficiency in the biblical book that is their specialty
• Are committed to the church and the pastoral dimension of biblical interpretation
• Represent geographical and denominational diversity
• Use a balanced and respectful approach toward marked differences of opinion
• Write from an evangelical viewpoint

For insightful exposition, thoughtful discussion, and ease of use—look no further than The Expositor's Bible Commentary.

1, 2 SAMUEL

RONALD F. YOUNGBLOOD

Introduction

1. Title

2. Authorship and Date

3. Historical Context

4. Literary Context and Unity

5. Purpose

6. Literary Form

7. Canonicity and Text

8. Theological Values

9. Bibliography

10. Outline

1. TITLE

In the Jewish canon the two books of Samuel were originally one. There is no break in the Masoretic text (MT) between 1 and 2 Samuel; the Masoretic notes at the end of 2 Samuel give a total of 1,506 verses for the entire corpus and point to 1 Samuel 28:24 as the middle verse of the “book” (spr, singular). 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 manuscripts of the Septuagint (LXX). Not until the fifteenth century AD 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.

It is understandable that the ancient Hebrew title of the book was š^emû ʾēl since the prophet Samuel is the dominant figure in the early chapters. A major theme of the work, however, led the LXX translators to group Samuel together with m^elākîm (“Kings”) and to refer to them collectively as Bibloi Basileiōn (“Books of Kingdoms”). Jerome modified the title slightly to Librī Rēgum (“Books of Kings”) so that Samuel and Kings, each divided into two parts, became known as 1, 2, 3, and 4 Kings respectively. To this day Catholic commentators and translators often refer to 1 and 2 Samuel as “1 and 2 Kings” (cf. the version by Ronald Knox), a practice that has caused no end of confusion, even if only temporary, to non-Catholic users of their works. Protestants have uniformly reverted to labeling the books after their ancient Hebrew name.

2. AUTHORSHIP AND DATE

According to the Babylonian Talmud, “Samuel wrote the book that bears his name” (b. B. Bat. 14b). The same Talmud also asserts that the first twenty-four chapters of 1 Samuel were written by Samuel himself (chs. 25 and beyond being excluded, since 1Sa 25:1 reports his death) and that the rest of the Samuel corpus was the work of Nathan and Gad (b. B. Bat. 15a). First Chronicles 29:29 is doubtless the source of the latter rabbinic assessment: “As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer.” Samuel, Nathan, and Gad may not have been the authors of the “records” that bear their names, however; and, in any event, 1 Chronicles 29:29 appears to be listing sources used by the Chronicler and therefore should not be understood as having anything to say about the authorship of the canonical books of Samuel. Although the priests Ahimaaz (cf. 2Sa 15:27, 36; 17:17, 20; 18:19, 22–23, 27–29) and Zabud (cf. 1Ki 4:5), among others, have been proposed as possible candidates, arguments in their favor fail to convince. In sum, we must remain content to leave the authorship of Samuel—and, for that matter, of other OT books such as Joshua, Judges, Kings, and Chronicles—in the realm of anonymity. Ultimately, of course, the Holy Spirit is the Author who prompted the inspired narrator and gave his work the “omniscient” quality often remarked upon.1

Although the statement that “Ziklag . . . has belonged to the kings [plural] of Judah ever since” (1Sa 27:6) implies that Samuel was not written until after the division of the kingdom of Israel following the death of Solomon in 931 BC, the possibility of a modest number of later editorial updatings and/or modernizations of the original work cannot be ruled out. In any case, “one imagines the writer of Samuel or the Chronicler as authors, not redactors, rather much as one might assume that any anonymous text, whatever its history might have been, implies an ‘author’ and a ‘reader’ whose narrative strategies and response may be inferred from the ‘work.’”2 With respect to the date of the books of Samuel, all that can be said for certain is that since they report “the last words of David” (2Sa 23:1), they could not have been written earlier than the second quarter of the tenth century BC (David having died ca. 970). On the basis of historical and archaeological data as well as literary analysis, Baruch Halpern concludes that “the composition of Samuel cannot be placed later than the 9th century, and probably should be dated in the 10th century, shortly after David’s death,”3 “in Solomon’s day.”4

3. HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Because of its setting during the period of the judges, the book of Ruth was inserted between Judges and Samuel at least as early as the translation of the LXX and continues to occupy that position in most versions to the present time. In the Jewish canon, however, Ruth is one of the five festal “scrolls” (m^egillôt) and therefore appears closer to the end of the Hebrew Bible in a section called k^etûbîm (“Writings”). When Ruth is thus displaced, Samuel follows immediately upon Judges.

After the conquest of Canaan by Joshua, the people of Israel experienced the normal range of problems that face colonizers of newly occupied territory. Exacerbating their situation, however, was not only the resilience of the conquered but also the failures—moral and spiritual, as well as military—of the conquerors. Their rebellion against the covenant that God had established with them at Sinai brought divine retribution, and the restoration that resulted from their repentance lasted only until they rebelled again (cf. Jdg 2:10–19; Ne 9:24–29). The dreary cycle of rebellion–retribution–repentance–restoration–rebellion is repeated over and over again throughout the book of Judges, which in many respects rehearses the darkest days of Israel’s long history.

By the end of Judges the situation in the land had become intolerable. Israel was in extremis and anarchy reigned: “Everyone did as he saw fit” (Jdg 17:6; 21:25). A series of judges, upon whom the Spirit of the Lord “came” (3:10; 6:34; 11:29) with energizing “power” (14:6, 19; 15:14), provided little more than a holding action against Israel’s enemies within and without, who were both numerous and varied. More than three centuries of settlement (cf. 11:26) did not materially improve Israel’s position, and thoughtful people must have begun crying out for change.

If theocracy implemented through divine charisma was the hallmark of the period of the judges (cf. Jdg 8:28–29), theocracy mediated through divinely sanctioned monarchy would characterize the next phase in the history of the Israelites. In the days of the judges “Israel had no king” (17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25), and it was becoming apparent to many that she desperately needed one. Judgeship did not end with Samson, however. The priest Eli and the prophet Samuel both served as judges (cf. 1Sa 4:18; 7:6, 15, 17). Not until the accession of Saul did the people have a king in the truest sense of the word—and even then they expected him to “judge” them (cf. 8:5–6, 20).

Edwin R. Thiele has succeeded in establishing 931/30 BC as the year when the division of the monarchy took place following Solomon’s death.5 If we interpret the biblical figures literally, Solomon reigned from 970 to 931 (forty years, 1Ki 11:42), David from 1010 to 970 (forty years and six months, 2Sa 5:5), and Saul from 1052 to 1010 (forty-two years, 1Sa 13:1). Assuming that Samuel was about thirty years old when he anointed Saul as king of Israel, we arrive at the approximate dates of 1080 (the birth of Samuel) to 970 BC (the death of David) as the time span covered in the books of Samuel.

4. LITERARY CONTEXT AND UNITY

Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings constitute the first half of n^ebî ʾîm (“Prophets”), the middle section of the Jewish canon. As the so-called Former Prophets, these four books present a carefully selected series of narratives that summarize the history of God’s people during a period spanning well over eight centuries: from the beginning of the conquest of Canaan (ca. 1405 BC) to the end of the monarchy and beyond (ca. 561 BC, “the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah” [2Ki 25:27]). Told from a prophetic viewpoint (cf. 2Ki 18:13, 17–37; 19:1–20:19 = Isa 36:1–38:8; 39:1–8; cf. 2Ki 25:27–30 = Jer 52:31–34), the story proclaims the central truth that Israel could anticipate the Lord’s blessing only so long as she remained faithful to the stipulations of the Sinaitic covenant and to the laws and decrees that expli...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Contributors
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• 1, 2 Samuel
• Introduction
• I. PRELUDE TO MONARCHY IN ISRAEL (1:1–7:17)
• II. ADVENT OF MONARCHY IN ISRAEL (8:1–15:35)
• III. ESTABLISHMENT OF MONARCHY IN ISRAEL (16:1–31:13)
• I. CONSOLIDATION OF MONARCHY IN ISRAEL (1:1–20:26)
• II. EPILOGUE (21:1–24:25)