The Bare Facts --
Overviews and Outlines --
Bible Studies: Whole Book -- Part of Book --
Sermons -- Bibliographies
Whose book is this? The first few chapters of this book, bearing Samuel's name, suggest that this is a book centered on this great prophet, the last of the Judges. But soon we discover that the book centers more on the first king of Israel than on the last judge, as the attention shifts to Saul. And almost as soon as Saul takes the stage, we are also introduced to the youngest son of Jesse, the man whom we realize will one day supplant Saul as the king. In the end, like the book following, 1 Samuel is David's book, describing the world into which he steps and the obstacles that he faces as he attempts to live righteously.
Left: "The anointing of David by Samuel" from the breviary of Martin d'Aragon, 14th century.
The Bare Facts
Who: The Talmud holds that Samuel wrote the book bearing his
name, yet he dies in chapter 25. The placement of the book among the
"Former Prophets" in the Tanakh suggests a prophetic author. Some have
suggested a combined effort by Samuel, Gad, and Nathan.
Where: Although no geographical clues dictate a place, the
author's knowledge of matters among the powerful suggest him as one with access
at court.
When: Although adherents to the Deuteronomistic History school
would date the book far later, evangelical scholars would tend to place it at
some point from the late reign of David to the early days of the divided
kingdom.
What: After the bleak years of the Judges, God gives the people
a king. This book, however, warns them not to trust in their own strength
or that of their king. The exploits of Saul (and later David) are
constantly paralleled with the men's failings.
Memorable Passages
2:1-10
Hannah's prayer of thanksgiving
17:1-58
David and Goliath
Overviews and Outlines
- An Introduction to the
Book of First Samuel
- An outlined overview by David Malick.
- An Argument of the
Book of First Samuel
- One of David Malick's rhetorical outlines.
-
First and Second Book of Samuel
- A brief overview by Arend Remmers.
- Bible Basics
- A very brief list of facts, but it includes a wav file pronouncing the
book's title.
- Easton Bible Dictionary:
Books of Samuel
- The article from M.G. Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary.
- Catholic
Encyclopedia: First and Second Books of Kings (Samuel)
- The appropriate entry from the public domain edition of this venerable
reference work. The Catholic Bible names the Samuels and Kings as 1st through 4th Kings.
-
Columbia Encyclopedia:
Samuel
- A brief article from the 2001 edition of this reference work.
- Bible Explained
- This is a commentary by an energetic fellow named Ted Wade. He
provides brief notes on each chapter and most verses for the entire Bible.
-
Luther Productions
- A very brief overview including key verses.
- The Blue
Letter Bible
- An excellent source for text, cross-references, concordance, language
helps, commentaries, and more.
- JPS Bible
- The JPS 1917 Bible text and another Jewish version. There are links
that supposedly go to two Hebrew and one Aramaic text but they don't seem to
work.
Bible Studies: Whole Book
- 1 & 2 Samuel: First
and Second Books of Monarchy
- A lengthy, verse-level commentary and set of notes by David Griffiths, a
native of Wales who has ministered for many years in the United States through
the Assemblies of God.
-
Israel Gets a King
- A one-stop study from Bob Deffinbaugh's 28-lesson series From Creation
to the Cross.
- Series on 1st
Samuel
- A 29-lesson study by Bob Deffinbaugh, complete with a translation into
Thai.
- Love the Lord
Bible Studies: 1 Samuel
- A 34-lesson study with questions from an Arkansas-based ministry.
They seem orthodox enough, although the statement of faith makes me wonder if
they're not into prosperity gospel teachings.
- Geneva Notes
- In 1599, English Puritans, working in Geneva, published the first study
Bible. These are the notes from that edition.
- Coffman's
Commentary
- A verse-by-verse commentary by Dr. James Burton Coffman, a leading Church
of Christ scholar.
- Matthew Henry's
Commentary
- The chapter-by-chapter 1712 commentary by
the great English Puritan writer..
-
John Wesley Notes
- Over his career, the
founder of Methodism maintained notes on the entire
Bible.
-
JFB Commentary
- The comments of Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown from
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871).
- Clarke's
Commentary
- The first chapter for this book from
Adam Clarke's nineteenth-century
commentary.
- John Gill's Exposition of the
Entire Bible
- The commentary of the
17th century Baptist theologian and preacher.
-
Class Notes on Sacred History
- An 1893 commentary by
J.W. McGarvey.
- Scofield
Reference Notes
- The notes from the 1917 edition of the great study Bible. From a
dispensationalist viewpoint.
-
Old Testament Life and Literature
- Gerald Larue's 1968 overview of the Old Testament is, oddly enough, hosted
at an atheist website. Larue's approach is decidedly liberal.
- Treasury
of Scripture Knowledge
- A combination brief commentary and thorough cross-reference.
Developed by
R.A. Torrey.
- David Guzik's Commentaries on the Bible
- David Guzik, a former senior pastor at Clavary Chapel Simi Valley in
California, provides a verse-by-verse commentary. Currently Guzik directs the
Calvary Chapel Bible College in Siegen, Germany.
- Foundational Study: The
Two Books of Samuel
- A short article by Chuck Missler.
- Exploring the Word of God:
Samuel
- A 9-part study from the Worldwide Church of God, a denomination with a
checkered past but an exciting present.
-
Comments on the First Book of Samuel
- A lengthy commentary by L.M. Grant from Family Hour.
- The Jerome Bible
Commentary
- A commentary by a Catholic doctor, Jerome Dominguez, M.D. Is English
isn't perfect, but you have to admire his energy. Although Catholic in
orientation, this source has some good material for study.
Bible Studies: Part of Book
-
Morning and Evening (1:27)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
A Woman's Supplication
Brings Blessing to a Nation (ch. 1-2)
- A study by Hampton Keathley III focused on the prayer of Hannah.
-
Prayer for Increase--Hannah (ch. 1-2)
- A study by Frank Wallace.
-
Childless Chic (1:4-20;2:1-10)
- An article from Homiletics Online.
- In
Praise and Thanksgiving (1:4-20;2:1-10)
- An article by Patrick Miller from Theology Today.
-
On Attending the Church Service (2:17)
- A sermon by
John Wesley.
-
Lectionary Notes (2:18-26)
- A set of notes from Howard Wallace.
-
Concerning the Birth of Samuel (ch. 3)
- Book V, Chapter 10 from Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews.
- A Word
and a Calling (3:1-20)
- An article, originally published in Christian Century, by Susan B.W.
Johnson.
- The Call of
Samuel (3:3-10)
- A Catholic commentary by Larry Broding.
- Confused
Language as a Deliberate Literary Device (9:12-13)
- An article from Journal of Hebrew Scriptures by Gary A. Rendsburg.
-
From Faith to Faith
- An online book, originally published in print in 1955, by B. Davie Napier.
The third chapter deals with 1 Samuel 12 to the end.
- Confused
Language as a Deliberate Literary Device (14:21)
- An article from Journal of Hebrew Scriptures by Gary A. Rendsburg.
-
Morning and Evening (7:12)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Morning and Evening (13:20)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
On
1 Samuel 15
- A four-sermon series, one of which is missing.
-
Morning and Evening (15:22)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
- A
Cinderella Story (16:1-13)
- A sermon by Dan Baumgartner. Presbyterian.
- David Becomes
Israel's King (1 Sam. 16-2 Sam. 10)
- A lesson from Bob Deffinbaugh's 28-lesson series From Creation to the
Cross.
-
The Dirt on David (17:1-23)
- An article from Homiletics Online.
- A Tale of
Two Giants (17)
- A sermon by Dan Baumgartner. Presbyterian.
- Confused
Language as a Deliberate Literary Device (17:38)
- An article from Journal of Hebrew Scriptures by Gary A. Rendsburg.
-
Morning and Evening (18:17)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
- Sanctuaries
and Sinners (21)
- A sermon by Dan Baumgartner. Presbyterian.
-
Morning and Evening (27:1)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
-
Necromancy and Cleromancy in 1 and 2 Samuel (28:3-19)
- An article by Bill T. Arnold from The Catholic Biblical Quarterly.
-
Morning and Evening (30:13)
- One of
C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Topics
- Regal/Messianic Hope
in 1 Samuel
- A thematic study by Greg Herrick.
- The Life
and Times of Samuel the Prophet
- A book-length study by C. Knapp.
- Hero and
Heroine Narratives in the Old Testament
- A character study by Larry R. Helyer from the Southern Baptist Journal of
Theology. Part of the article covers the career of David.
- David
- A page from Jewish Heritage Online Magazine leading to a cluster of
various comments, poems, pictures, etc. all centered on David.
- King
David: A Biography
- An article from Biblical Interpretation by Steven McKenzie.
-
Honor and Shame in the David Narratives
- An article from Semeia by Gary Stansell.
-
David the Man: The Construction of Masculinity in the Hebrew Bible
- A paper by David J.A. Clines. This appears to have been optically
read and has many difficult spots for reading.
Sermons
- 1 Samuel: The
Death of the Flesh
- The appropriate sermon from
Ray C. Stedman's Adventuring through the Bible series.
- David: Up
Close and Personal
- A sermon series by Larry Osborne. Eight sermons, 3 from 1 Samuel.
- Fred
Salerno
- An 11-sermon series from a Saskatchewan church.
-
Robert Rayburn
- Links to 40 sermons on 1 Samuel from a Tacoma church.
- Ken
Horton--Lessons from a Shepherd's Heart
- Seven sermons on 1 Samuel 16-2 Samuel 1.
-
Ray Pritchard--Journey to the Throne
- Thirteen sermons on 1 Samuel 16-2 Samuel 1.
- C.H. Spurgeon
- A listing of sermons, some of which are available online, by the
great British Baptist.
- Sermon
Outlines
- Links to sermon outlines from
SermonLinks.
Bibliographies
-
Listening to the Text
- A Walter Brueggemann review of Robert Alter's book, The David Story.
- Selected Bibliography
of the Books of Samuel
- A list of sources, without annotations, by David Malick.
-
Two-Age Bibliography
- A list of recommended sources, mostly scholarly in nature, provided by a
website devoted to the "Redemptive Historical" school of theology.
-
Oxford Bibliography
- A brief list of sources from the Theology School at Oxford University.
-
Anonymity and Character in the Books of Samuel
- An article by Adele Reinhartz from Semeia.
- The
Conquest of Power: Analysis of David and Solomon's Accession Histories
- An article from the Journal of Hebrew Scripture by Caetano Minette
de Tillesse.
Memorable Passages