Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• The establishment of idolatry at Dan 18:27-31
  The Danites' defeat of the inhabitants of Laish appears cruel and unjustified (cf. 9:45-49). The town that seemed so desirable to the spies was really vulnerable and isolated. Its advantages proved to be weaknesses. Since God...
• B. The Immorality of Gibeah and the Benjamites chs. 19-21
  Chapter 19 records an event that provoked civil war in Israel. The account of that war follows in chapter 20. Then the consequences of the war unfold in chapter 21. This section of the book is the climactic and supreme demons...
• Attempt at a peaceful settlement 20:12-19
  The 11 tribes wisely tried to settle this problem with the Benjamites peacefully (v. 12; cf. Josh. 22:13-20). Unfortunately the Benjamites decided to support the residents of Gibeah who were their kinsmen. They should have si...
• 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...
• I. ELI AND SAMUEL chs. 1--3
  First Samuel first contrasts Israel's last two judges (Eli, a failure, and Samuel, a success) and then Israel's first two kings (Saul, a failure, and David, a success).11The first major section of Samuel sharply contrasts obe...
• 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...
• 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...
• 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...
• II. THE HISTORY OF THE ARK OF THE COVENANT 4:1b--7:1
  Most serious students of 1 Samuel have noted the writer's emphasis on the ark of the covenant beginning here in the text. Critical scholars have long argued that 4:1b-7:1 and 2 Samuel 6 are the only remaining fragments of an ...
• A. The Capture of the Ark 4:1b-22
  A new subject comes to the forefront in this section and continues to be a significant motif throughout the rest of Samuel. It is the ark of the covenant. The writer drew attention to the ark in this chapter by mentioning it ...
• 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...
• 2. The response of Eli 4:12-18
  The deaths of Hophni and Phinehas, who accompanied the soldiers into battle, were the sign God promised Eli that He would remove the priestly privilege from Eli's descendants eventually (2:34). The writer carefully recorded t...
• 3. The response of Phinehas' wife 4:19-22
  Likewise the news of the loss of the ark is what distressed Phinehas' wife more than the news of the deaths of her husband, father-in-law, and brother-in-law (vv. 21-22)."With the surrender of the earthly throne of His glory,...
• 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...
• 3. The removal of the ark to Kiriath-jearim 6:19-7:1
  Not all the people who later assembled to see the ark were as careful as those from Bethshemesh, however. The Mosaic Law specified that no one was to look into the ark or that person would die (Num. 4:5, 20; cf. 2 Sam. 6:6-7)...
• 2. National repentance and deliverance 7:5-14
  Mizpah (lit. watchtower, signifying an elevated site) was about two miles northwest of Samuel's hometown, Ramah, on the central Benjamin plateau. Pouring out water symbolized the people's feeling of total inability to make an...
• 1. Saul's disobedience at Gilgal 13:1-15
  The writer introduced the history of Saul's reign by referring to the king's age and possibly the length of his reign. Verse one contains a textual corruption in the Hebrew text.132There the verse reads, "Saul was . . . years...
• Jonathan's success at Michmash 14:1-23
  Armed with trust in God and courage Jonathan ventured out to destroy Israel's enemy in obedience to God's command to drive out the inhabitants of Canaan (cf. 9:16). He would have made a good king of Israel. Saul remained in G...
• The results of David's victory 17:50-58
  God used a humble weapon to give His people a great victory in response to one person's faith. This is another instance of God bringing blessing to and through a person who committed himself to simply believing and obeying Go...
• The battle of Mt Gilboa 31:1-6
  God had announced that Saul would deliver His people from the hand of the Philistines (9:16). However, Saul frustrated God's purpose by not following the Lord faithfully. Consequently the Philistines got the better of Saul an...
• 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 ...
• An Amalekite's account of Saul and Jonathan's deaths 1:1-16
  The young Amalekite must have been a mercenary soldier who had joined Saul's army. It seems more likely that this man's account of Saul's death was not accurate rather than that he had had some hand in killing Saul in view of...
• David's flight from Jerusalem 15:13-37
  The people of Israel had formerly given the kingdom to David as a gift (5:1-3), but now they took that gift from him (v. 13).237David knew that Absalom was popular with the people. Evidently he fled Jerusalem to save his own ...
• Solomon's prayer of dedication 8:22-53
  This great prayer centers on the Mosaic Covenant. That is its heart. Solomon introduced seven petitions with a backward look emphasizing God's faithfulness (vv. 23-26). He concluded with a forward look stressing God's mercy (...
• 3. The record of God's goodness and Israel's unfaithfulness 78:12-72
  78:12-20 In his historical review Asaph began with the plagues in Egypt (v. 12). He drew broad strokes on his verbal canvas tracing God's faithfulness to the generation that left Egypt in the Exodus (vv. 12-16). Each verse in...
• 2. The character of God 89:5-18
  89:5-14 These verses exalt the uniqueness of Yahweh. Ethan praised Him for His attributes (vv. 5-8) and works (vv. 9-14). Outstanding among His attributes are His faithfulness and His might. The "holy ones"(v. 7) are the ange...
• The sign of Immanuel 7:10-17
  Isaiah next tried to move Ahaz to faith (vv. 10-12), then denounced the king for his failure to trust Yahweh (vv. 13-15), and finally forecast a calamity worse than the division of Israel's united kingdom (vv. 16-17).7:10 Evi...
• The God of redemption 45:14-46:13
  This section develops the ideas that preceded by unfolding the characteristics of Yahweh that His people needed to appreciate in view of the shocking news that their new Moses would be Cyrus. It opens with an emphasis on God ...
• 1. The promise of divine enablement 1:4-10
  1:4 The prophet now began speaking to his readers and telling them what the Lord had said to him. Throughout this book, an indication that the Lord had told Jeremiah something is often the sign of a new pericope, as here (cf....
• 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...
• 1. Conflict with the people ch. 26
  This section consists of four parts: a summary of Jeremiah's Temple Sermon (vv. 2-6), the prophet's arrest and trial (vv. 7-16), the elders' plea for his life (vv. 17-19, 24), and the incident involving Uriah and his executio...
• The living beings 1:4-14
  1:4 Ezekiel saw within the opened heavens a great cloud blown toward him by the north wind with lightning flashing from it almost constantly (cf. 1 Kings 19:11-13; Job 38:1; 40:6; Ps. 29:3-5). Israel's enemies had invaded fro...
• God's preparations to depart from the temple 10:9-22
  "God would not share His dwelling place with other gods,' and the sanctuary had been polluted with idolatry. God's worship center at Shiloh was removed shortly after His glory had departed from it (1 Sam. 4:1-4, 10-11, 19-23;...
• The prostitution of Jerusalem 16:15-34
  16:15 However, Jerusalem became self-centered and unfaithful to the Lord; she forgot Him when she became preoccupied with His blessings (cf. Deut. 6:10-12; 8). She went after every people that passed by rather than remaining ...
• The sign of the death of Ezekiel's wife 24:15-24
  24:15-16 The Lord told Ezekiel that He was about to take the life of his beloved wife. The English word "blow"(v. 16) implies a sudden, unexpected death. The Hebrew word, magephoh, does not demand a sudden death, but it somet...
• 4. Judgment on Philistia 25:15-17
  25:15-16 The Philistines to Judah's west had also scorned the Israelites and had sought to destroy them (cf. Judg. 13-16; 1 Sam. 4; 13; 31; 2 Sam. 5; 2 Kings 18:8; 2 Chron. 21:16-17; 28:18). Therefore the Lord would stretch o...
• C. Jonah's failure to fear his sovereign God 1:7-10
  The sailors interrogated Jonah about his reasons for travelling on their ship, but it was his failure to live consistently with his convictions that amazed them.1:7 It appears to have been common among the heathen to cast lot...
• D. Micah's lament over his decadent society 7:1-7
  This section is an individual lament similar to many of the psalms (cf. 1:8-16).7:1 Micah bewailed his own disappointment with Israel's situation. He compared himself to Israel's fruit pickers and grape gatherers who felt gre...
• 2. The ministry of the two witnesses 11:3-6
  Even though believing Jews will suffer persecution at this time, God will still get His message out. Two witnesses will be especially significant at this time. Valid testimony required two witnesses under the Old Covenant (De...
• Laments over this judgment by those affected 18:9-19
  Three groups of people mourn Babylon's destruction in these verses: kings (vv. 9-10; cf. Ezek. 26:15-18), merchants (vv. 11-13, 15-17a; cf. Ezek. 27:36), and sea people (vv. 17b-19; cf. Ezek. 27:29-36).18:9 World government l...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• 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...