Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• The oil 27:20-21
  These instructions concern the clear olive oil that the priests were to prepare for and use in the tabernacle lamps. They form a transition from an emphasis on the tabernacle furnishings to the priests' ministry that follows....
• 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...
• 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...
• 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...
• David's qualifications to fight Goliath 17:31-40
  When David volunteered to be Israel's champion, Saul scoffed at him because he evaluated David's chances for success solely in physical terms, as usual. The Hebrew word na'artranslated "youth"(v. 33) describes an older teenag...
• 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 ...
• B. Four Giant Killers 21:15-22
  This record emphasizes the supernatural character of the victories David was able to enjoy because God fought for him by using various men in his army."The lists of heroes and heroic exploits that frame the poetic centre-piec...
• C. Instructive Contrasts chs. 28-29
  Most of the proverbs in this section are couplets, and most of them set forth a truth by means of a contrast.28:2 When wickedness abounds in a land there is usually a high rate of turnover in the leadership (v. 2a). The North...
• 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...
• A. Israel's spiritual renewal and deliverance 2:28-32
  2:28-29 After this, namely, after the deliverance from the northern invader just described, God promised to pour out His Spirit on all mankind without gender, age, class, or position distinction.29In Old Testament times God g...
• The silence of Yahweh 8:11-14
  The few remaining Israelites would be silent as they disposed of the corpses of their fellows (v. 3), but God would also be silent in that day of judgment.8:11 As part of His judgment, God would withhold His words from His pe...
• A. The Introduction to the Oracle v. 1
  This verse contains the title of the book, the shortest title of any Old Testament prophetical book, as well as a summary of the Lord's decree against Edom. This revelation came as a vision (Heb. hazon; cf. 1 Sam. 3:1; Isa. 1...
• 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...
• Saul's calling from the Lord 9:10-19a
  9:10-12 Evidently Ananias was not a refugee from Jerusalem (22:12) but a resident of Damascus. He, too, received a vision of the Lord Jesus (v. 17) to whom he submitted willingly (cf. 1 Sam. 3:4, 10). Jesus gave Ananias speci...

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...
• Faithlessness And Defeat
  1 Samuel 4:1-18The first words of verse 1 are closely connected with the end of chapter 3.,and complete the account of Samuel's inauguration. The word of the Lord' came to Samuel, and the word of Samuel came to all Israel.' T...