Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 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...
• Scope
  The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
• 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...
• IV. SAUL AND DAVID 1 Sam. 16--31
  The basic theme in Samuel, that blessing, and in particular fertility of all kinds, follows from faithful commitment to God's revealed will, continues in this section. However another major motif now becomes more prominent. W...
• C. David in Exile chs. 21-30
  In chapters 21-30 we see David's forces growing stronger and stronger while Saul's forces get weaker and weaker. This is a further demonstration of the fertility theme. However these chapters also develop the motif of the pro...
• 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...
• 3. David's goodness to two fools ch. 24-26
  ". . . chapters 24-26 form a discrete literary unit within 1 Samuel. Chapters 24 and 26 are virtually mirror images of each other, beginning with Saul's receiving a report about David's latest hiding place (24:1; 26:1), focus...
• David's sparing of Nabal's life ch. 25
  "Chapter 25 is the central panel in the triptych that comprises chapters 24-26. As such it not only anchors the literary unit but also facilitates the fact that chapters 24 and 26 mirror each other."244This central chapter al...
• The death of Samuel 25:1
  Samuel's years of being a blessing to all Israel ended at this time. David took his place as God's major channel of blessing to the nation. It is appropriate that the notice of Samuel's death occurs here since Saul had just a...
• David's request of Nabal 25:2-8
  Both Maon and Carmel (meaning "Garden Spot") stood about 14 miles west of Engedi and about 7 miles south-southeast of Hebron. The reference to Nabal's 3,000 sheep may be an allusion to Saul's 3,000 soldiers (24:2). As the sto...
• Nabal's foolish response to David 25:9-13
  Nabal was a political loyalist who regarded David simply as a rebel. Perhaps he felt that David was running a protection racket to finance his outlaw way of life. More probably, I think, miserly Nabal simply did not want to p...
• A servant's appeal to Abigail 25:14-17
  Nabal's servant appealed to Abigail to reverse Nabal's orders. He testified that God had blessed Nabal's shepherds greatly through David. David's soldiers had been a wall of protection for them (v. 16). One of the characteris...
• Abigail's appeal to David 25:23-31
  Abigail's approach to David was a model of tact and courage. Visualize this solitary woman riding a donkey approaching 400 armed men who were riding horses and were bent on slaughtering her household. It took immense courage ...
• David's marriage to Abigail 25:39-43
  David thanked God for vindicating him and for preventing him from doing evil. Abigail had been the instrument that God had used to do this (v. 39). It was proper for David to give thanks since he had left Nabal in the Lord's ...
• David's raids to the south 27:8-12
  David used his opportunity to defeat and to annihilate the common enemies of Israel and the Philistines that lived to Israel's southwest. David did not leave any survivors, as the Lord had commanded (Deut. 3:18-20; Josh. 1:13...
• David's kindness to the Egyptian servant 30:11-15
  David and his men were undoubtedly very angry and ready to kill anyone who proved to have had a hand in kidnapping their family members. To his credit David did not kill this Egyptian, as he planned to kill Nabal earlier. Ins...
• Sharing spoil with David's followers 30:21-25
  The rest of the chapter describes the distribution of plunder from this battle. The amount of space the writer devoted to this revelation shows that he intended to stress it.David returned to his 200 exhausted followers at th...
• Sharing spoil with the Judahites 30:26-31
  David also distributed some of the war plunder to the elders of Judah.293He evidently did so because he viewed the booty as coming from the enemies of all Judah, even the enemies of the Lord (v. 26). He may have also done thi...
• The aftermath of the battle 31:7-13
  The other Israelite soldiers retreated when they heard that Saul and his sons had died. This left towns in the region open for Philistine seizure. Instead of driving the native inhabitants out of the land Saul had made it pos...
• 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 ...
• David's lament for Saul and Jonathan 1:17-27
  Students of David's lament over Saul and Jonathan's deaths have called it the Song of the Bow (cf. v. 22).10Many people in Judah learned and sang it (v. 18). The Book of Jasher (v. 18) is no longer extant (cf. Josh. 10:13)."H...
• VI. DAVID'S TROUBLES chs. 9--20
  Chapters 9-20 contrast with chapters 2-8 in that this later section is negative whereas the earlier one was positive. It records failure; the former records success. Compare the similar narrative of Saul's triumphs (1 Sam. 7-...
• 3. A prediction of punishment 64:7-10
  64:7-8a David's enemies had assailed him with words that they used as deadly arrows, but God would shoot them with His arrow of judgment. With it God would make them fall in battle. The NASB is a bit misleading in verse 8. Th...
• 3. A reason for consolation 94:16-23
  94:16-19 After looking everywhere for some consolation during the temporary ascendancy of the wicked, the psalmist found it only in God. If God had not strengthened him he would have died, slipped in his walk with God, and be...
• The characteristics of these prophets 13:1-7
  13:1-3 The Lord gave Ezekiel a message for the prophets who were devising messages for the Jews from their own hearts and calling them prophecies from Yahweh. He was using the word "prophet"ironically; these were not true pro...
• Love for all 12:14-21
  12:14 Paul repeated Jesus' instruction here (Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:27-28). To persecute means to pursue. Blessing involves both wishing God's best on people and praying for them."The principle of nonretaliation for personal inju...