Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• God's provision and Abraham and Sarah's response 21:1-7
  The emphasis in this brief section is on the faithfulness and power of God in keeping His promise and providing an heir miraculously through Sarah (17:16; 18:14). Note the threefold repetition of "as He had said,""as He had p...
• Directions for the Passover 12:1-14
  The Jews called their first month Abib (v. 2). After the Babylonian captivity they renamed it Nisan (Neh. 2:1; Esth. 3:7). It corresponds to our March-April. Abib means "ear-month"referring to the month when the grain was in ...
• The rebellion of Korah and his followers ch. 16
  "As the laws increase and the constraints grow, the people seem less willing or less capable of following them. At this point in the narrative we see that the whole order of the priesthood is thrown open to direct confrontati...
• Moses' last campaign ch. 31
  The writer now recorded the fulfillment of God's instructions to Moses that Israel should destroy the Midianites (25:16-18). In this account, the aftermath of the battle receives more attention than the battle itself. Evident...
• Gideon's compromise 8:22-28
  The supernatural victory God had given His people elevated Gideon into national recognition. Some of the men of Israel invited Gideon to be their king and to begin a dynasty of rulers (v. 22). Perhaps they were from the north...
• The revelations of the Angel 13:8-23
  God sent His Angel to revisit Manoah and his wife because they voiced questions in prayer about how they should rear Samson (v. 8), his way of life (v. 12), and his vocation (v. 12). Their desire to bring their son up accordi...
• The immorality of the Gibeans 19:22-26
  Only a group of "worthless fellows"("sons of Beliel,"i.e., ungodly men, AV, RV) surrounded the stranger's house (v. 22). However the men of Gibeah as a whole defended the actions of this group. Furthermore the whole tribe of ...
• Date and Writer
  Statements in the Book of Samuel imply that someone who had witnessed at least some of the events recorded wrote it. However the original writer must have written most of it after Samuel's death (i.e., -1 Sam. 25-2 Sam. 24) a...
• Outline
  I. Eli and Samuel chs. 1-3A. The change from barrenness to fertility 1:1-2:101. Hannah's condition 1:1-82. Hannah's vow 1:9-183. Hannah's obedience 1:19-284. Hannah's song 2:1-10B. The contrast between Samuel and Eli's sons 2...
• 1. Hannah's deliverance ch. 1
  "I Samuel 1 is presented as a conventional birth narrative which moves from barrenness to birth. Laid over that plot is a second rhetorical strategy which moves from complaint to thanksgiving. With the use of this second stra...
• The beginning of Samuel's worship 1:28b
  "The future of the story now to be told in I and II Samuel concerns not only the newly born son, but the rule of Yahweh to whom laments are addressed and thanksgiving uttered. No wonder the narrative ends with yielding, grate...
• B. The Contrast between Samuel and Eli's Sons 2:11-36
  Samuel's innocence and the godlessness of Eli's sons contrast strongly in this pericope (section). Samuel would succeed and become a channel of God's blessing. Eli's sons would fail, would become a source of frustration to El...
• 1. Eli's sons' wickedness 2:11-17
  Eli's sons were not only evil in their personal lives, but they flagrantly disregarded the will of God even as they served as leaders of Israel's worship of Yahweh. They neither knew the Lord (in the sense of paying attention...
• 2. Hannah's godly influence on Samuel and its effect 2:18-21
  In the previous paragraphs two statements about the main characters described them and framed the paragraph: they did not regard the Lord, and they despised the Lord's offerings (vv. 12, 17). Likewise in this one the writer d...
• 3. Eli's lack of influence on his sons and its effect 2:22-26
  The sons of Eli followed the example of Canaanite worship rather than the instruction of the Mosaic Law. Ritual prostitution was part of Canaanite worship, and Eli's sons seem to have adopted this custom. Even when their fath...
• 4. The oracle against Eli's house 2:27-36
  The rest of the chapter explains why God would put Eli's sons to death (v. 25). The specific criticism that the man of God (a prophet, cf. 9:9-10) directed against Eli and his sons was two-fold. They had not appreciated God's...
• 1. Samuel's call 3:1-18
  The Hebrew word used to describe Samuel in verse 1 (naar) elsewhere refers to a young teenager (cf. 17:33). Consequently we should probably think of a boy in his early teens as we read this section. At this time in Israel's h...
• 2. Samuel's ministry 3:19-4:1a
  These verses summarize Samuel's continuing ministry as a prophet in Israel. Samuel qualified for this privilege by his faithful obedience to God's will as he knew it. God sovereignly chose Samuel for this ministry, but his di...
• 1. The battle of Aphek 4:1b-11
  The Philistines, as we have already seen in Judges, were Israel's primary enemy to the west at this time. Samson, too, fought the Philistines (Judg. 13-16).52There are about 150 references to the Philistines in 1 and 2 Samuel...
• B. Pagan Fertility Foiled by God ch. 5
  The primary purpose of this chapter, I believe, is to demonstrate the superiority of Yahweh over Dagon, the fertility god of the Philistines.655:1-5 Having captured the ark the Philistines brought it from Ebenezer to their ma...
• David's concern for his own safety 20:1-11
  David was wondering if he had done something wrong that had provoked Saul's hatred (v. 1). Walking with God is sometimes confusing. We need to learn, as David did, that when we try to follow God faithfully some people will op...
• Saul's slaughter of the priests 22:6-23
  The writer's attention focused next on Saul's activities. He used the literary device of focusing on David, then on Saul, then on David, etc. He used the same technique in chapters 1-3 with Samuel and Eli's sons to contrast S...
• Bibliography
  Ackroyd, Peter R. The First Book of Samuel. Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible series. Cambridge, Eng.: University Press, 1971._____. "The Verb Love--'Aheb in the David-Jonathan Narratives--A Footnote."Vetus ...
• The second move 6:12-23
  David also observed that the ark's presence in Obed-edom's house resulted in blessing for its host. This made him more eager than ever to install the ark in Jerusalem.Verse 13 probably means after the priests had taken six st...
• Jeremiah's Temple Sermon 7:1-15
  This message demonstrates a structure that is quite typical of many others in the Book of Jeremiah (cf. 11:1-17; 17:19-27; 34:8-22). First there is an explanation of Yahweh's will (word, law; vv. 1-7), then a description of I...
• II. The birth and childhood of Jesus 1:5--2:52
  This section contains material unique in Luke. The only repeated statement occurs in Luke 2:39 and Matthew 2:23. Other unique features are Luke's alternating the reader's attention between John and Jesus, and the joy that sev...
• 3. The preparation of John 1:80
  Luke's comment on John's personal development shows his interest in human beings, which characterizes this Gospel (cf. 2:40, 52). John's spirit here corresponds roughly to his character and personality (cf. 1 Sam. 2:21).There...
• 7. Jesus' continuing growth 2:51-52
  Jesus' obedience to His heavenly Father included obedience to His earthly parents (Exod. 20:12; cf. Col. 3:20). Luke balanced the former revelation of Jesus' deity with this indication of His humanity. His second reference to...
• III. Women in Old Testament Times Until the Time of Jesus
  A. Women served in the doorway of the Tabernacle (Exod. 38:8; 1 Sam. 2:22).The same word (saba) is used of their work as that of the Levites. These women were probably widows who devoted themselves to the service of God.B. Mi...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• The Child Prophet
  1 Samuel 3:1-14The opening words of this passage are substantially repeated from 1 Samuel 2:11-18. They come as a kind of refrain, contrasting the quiet, continuous growth and holy service of the child Samuel with the black n...