{"id":4079,"date":"2011-12-14T01:00:11","date_gmt":"2011-12-14T09:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/?p=4079"},"modified":"2012-11-28T04:43:16","modified_gmt":"2012-11-28T12:43:16","slug":"bob-1-2-samuel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/2011\/12\/14\/bob-1-2-samuel\/","title":{"rendered":"BOB &#8211; 1 &#038; 2 Samuel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/files\/2012\/02\/BOB_header.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4550\" title=\"BOB_header\" src=\"http:\/\/www.lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/files\/2012\/02\/BOB_header-300x193.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"193\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/files\/2012\/02\/BOB_header-300x193.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/files\/2012\/02\/BOB_header.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>by Stephen Rodgers<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>1 &amp; 2 SAMUEL IN\u00a010\u00a0WORDS\u00a0OR\u00a0LESS<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1 Samuel:<\/strong> &#8220;Israel&#8217;s twelve tribes unite under a king.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><strong>2 Samuel:<\/strong> &#8220;David becomes Israel&#8217;s greatest king &#8211; but with major flaws.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>TITLE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In the early Hebrew manuscripts, 1 and 2 Samuel were considered a single book. They were divided into separate books by the translators of the Greek version, the Septuagint (LXX), which was later copied by the Latin Vulgate (Vg.), English translations, and modern Hebrew Bibles. The LXX designated 1 and 2 Samuel as &#8220;The First Book of the Kingdoms&#8221; (with our 1 and 2 Kings as &#8220;The Second Book of the Kingdoms), whereas the Vg. labeled them &#8220;First and Second Kings&#8221; (with our 1 and 2 Kings as &#8220;Third and Fourth Kings&#8221;).<\/p>\n<p>In any event, the earliest Hebrew manuscripts entitled the book &#8220;Samuel&#8221; after the prophet God used to establish the kingship in Israel.<\/p>\n<p><strong>AUTHOR\u00a0&amp;\u00a0AUDIENCE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Jewish tradition ascribes the authorship of the book of Samuel to Samuel himself, or to some combination of Samuel, Nathan, and Gad. Other scholars have also suggested Abiathar the priest.<\/p>\n<p>While it is certainly possible (even likely) that the writing of 1 and 2 Samuel were based on manuscripts left by these prophets and priests, attributing authorship to them individually or collectively is problematic. Samuel was not alive during the events of David&#8217;s reign (2 Samuel), and Nathan\/Gad were not alive during the events of 1 Samuel. Ultimately the author of these books is unknown.<\/p>\n<p>In some form, the original audience would have been the Israelits who lived during the reigns of David and Solomon, as well as their successive generations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DATE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The books of Samuel contain no clear indication as to the date of composition. However, there are some indicators that can be noted in passing:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The author\/editor wrote after the division of the kingdoms is 931 BC (1 Sa 11:8; 17:52; 18:16; 2 Sa 5:5; 11:11; 12:8; 19:42-43; 24:1,9).<\/li>\n<li>The statement concerning Ziklag&#8217;s belonging &#8220;to the kings of Judah to this day&#8221; (1 Sa 27:6) clearly indicated post-Solomonic composition.<\/li>\n<li>While this is helpful in marking an &#8220;earliest possible&#8221; date of composition, it is more difficult to locate a similar &#8220;latest possible&#8221; date. If the Former Prophets (see notes on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/?p=3513\">OT Canon<\/a>) were composed as a unit, then Samuel would have been written during the Babylonian captivity,(ca. 560-540 BC) since 2 Kings concludes during the exile (2 Ki 25:27-30).<\/li>\n<li>However, even this cannot be determined with certainty since Samuel has a different literary style than Kings, which could indicate i t was penned prior to the Exile sometime during the period of the divided kingdom (ca. 971-722 BC).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>BACKGROUND\u00a0&amp;\u00a0SETTING<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In terms of <em>geography<\/em>, the book of Samuel is situated around the central highlands of Israel, an area that encompasses approximately 2,000 square miles. (That&#8217;s actually a relatively small area, about 90 miles long and 15-35 miles wide. For a Southern Californian reference, you can think of it as the area between I-15 and the coast (east to west) between Anaheim and San Diego (north to south).<\/p>\n<p>In terms of <em>chronology<\/em>, the book of Samuel begins with the birth of Samuel (1 Sa 1:1-28) and ends with the last words of David (2 Sa 23:1-7), approximately a 135 year period.<\/p>\n<p>In terms of <em>focus<\/em>, the book of Samuel follows the lives of Samuel, Saul, and David.<\/p>\n<p><strong>HISTORICAL\u00a0&amp;\u00a0THEOLOGICAL\u00a0THEMES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While there are a number of themes throughout Samuel, there are three in particular that stand out:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Kingship.<\/strong> A monarchy in Israel held both great hope and great danger. Ultimately, the\u00a0contrasting\u00a0kingships are not between Saul and David, but between the human and the divine. God is the sovereign King who makes no errors in judgment and retains His throne, unlike any earthly ruler.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The consequences of sin.<\/strong>\u00a0Both Saul and David serve as profound illustrations of the terrible consequences of sin. In particular, David&#8217;s status as a &#8220;man after God&#8217;s own heart&#8221; was not enough to protect him from the consequences of his sin, which had irreversible consequences despite his genuine\u00a0repentance\u00a0and God&#8217;s immediate forgiveness.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Davidic Covenant.<\/strong> The entire book of Samuel is bracketed by two references to the &#8220;anointed&#8221; king in the prayer of Hannah (1 Sa 2:10) and the song of David (2 Sa 22:51). These are references to the Messiah, who God promised would one day come through the line of David and establish David&#8217;s throne forever.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>INTERPRETIVE\u00a0CHALLENGES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Quite apart from the textual issues of Samuel (see OBJECTIONS) there are a number of issues that are raised within the text itself. \u00a0A few that are often mentioned are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Samuel&#8217;s attitude towards the establishment of human kingship.<\/strong>\u00a0Some scholars have suggested that the author(s) of Samuel present an ambivalent or\u00a0inconsistent\u00a0view of the monarchy in Israel. For example, 1 Samuel 9-11 presents a positive view, while chapters 8 and 12 present a negative view. This is easily resolved by understanding that the author wished the reader to understand that the <em>desire<\/em> for a king was acceptable (Deut 17:15), the <em>motivation<\/em> was not.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The behavior of the prophets.<\/strong>\u00a0It has been suggested that the portrayals of the prophets in 1 Samuel 10:5 and 19:23-24 are\u00a0consistent\u00a0with other ANE prophets who exhibited ecstatic behavior. To put it mildly, this is an overstatement.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The ministry of the Holy Spirit prior to Pentecost.<\/strong>\u00a0The role of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament is the subject of much discussion, but in general it can be understood as empowering for service rather than salvific in the New Testament sense.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The identity of the &#8220;distressing spirit.&#8221;<\/strong>\u00a0Two major interpretations of 1 Samuel 16:14 exist: either the spirit is <em>impersonal<\/em> (a spirit of discontent, see Judges (9:23), or it is <em>personal<\/em> (a demon). Opinions among commentators are divided, but the majority view seems to hold to the latter interpretation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The appearance of the &#8220;ghost&#8221; of Samuel.<\/strong>\u00a0This passage in 1 Samuel 28 has sparked more heated debates among seminarians on internet messages boards than I can count. Suffice to say that two major interpretations exist: either the &#8220;ghost&#8221; is actually Samuel, or it is a demon impersonating Samuel. Despite the popularity of the subject matter, it ultimately is inconsequential, although the former interpretation is both simpler and would seem to present less difficulty.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>LITERARY\u00a0FEATURES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The genre of Samuel is first and foremost a <em>hero story,<\/em>\u00a0focusing primarily on the three characters previously identified: Samuel, Saul, and David. Minor story arcs can be identified for Hannah, Eli, and Jonathan as well.<\/p>\n<p>In particular, the stories of Saul and David are particularly set against each other, with the decline of Saul mirroring the ascension of David. In a similar way, the stories of Samuel and Eli foreshadow this greater construction, with the decline of Eli mirroring the ascension of Samuel.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, while remaining within the genre of the hero story, the arc of Saul is the only fully developed and undisputed literary <em>tragedy<\/em> in the entire Bible. To a lesser extent, the arc of David reflects this. \u00a0While not a tragedy <em>en toto<\/em>, his arc does incorporate tragic elements in that his decline (although not his ultimate downfall, which would be a hallmark of a full-blown tragedy), can be traced to a single tragic decision.<\/p>\n<p><strong>OBJECTIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With the possible exception of Jeremiah, the book of Samuel has the dubious distinction of being the book of the Bible considered to have the most textual difficulties, variants, and possible transmission errors (in particular numerical discrepancies). There are numerous differences between the Masoretic text and the LXX, and it is likely that many of the spelling issues are a result of a scribe writing a name phonetically rather than in &#8220;standard&#8221; Hebrew.<\/p>\n<p>The ESV Study Bible summarizes it this way:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>The Hebrew Masoretic text (MT) of 1\u20132 Samuel is notorious for its difficulties. Furthermore, Samuel and Jeremiah are the two OT books where the ancient Greek translations and the Hebrew are notably different in many places. Many scholars and translations too readily reject the MT in favor of the Greek, saying that the Greek text makes more sense and reflects the more original Hebrew text. They hold that the MT must have been corrupted into its present form through a series of scribal errors, and they try to \u201ccorrect\u201d these \u201ccorrupted\u201d texts on the basis of the Greek texts. In fact, the Hebrew texts of Samuel from about 50 to 25 b.c. found among the Dead Sea Scrolls give support for some readings in the Greek text tradition. But the alleged similarity between the Greek texts and the Dead Sea Scrolls has been overemphasized.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The book of Samuel can be summarized this way: when compared with other OT books, the issues related to textual transmission are numerous and surprisingly poor. \u00a0However, when compared with other ANE documents of the period, the issues related to textual transmission are surprisingly minimal. Serious students will note that while Samuel unquestionably has its issues, they cannot be said to be insurmountable. While the MT has been poorly preserved, and in some cases the exact reading of the original autograph cannot be determined, these issues are nonetheless <em>identifiable<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NOTABLE\u00a0QUOTABLES<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1 Samuel 8:7<\/li>\n<li>I Samuel 15:22<\/li>\n<li>1 Samuel 16:7<\/li>\n<li>1 Samuel 17:45<\/li>\n<li>2 Samuel 1:25<\/li>\n<li>2 Samuel 7:18<\/li>\n<li>2 Samuel 18:33<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>DID\u00a0YOU\u00a0KNOW?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Opposing armies sometimes decided on a winner via a proxy battle between champions (as in David and Goliath). This was based on the belief that each champion represented their respective deity, who actually determined the outcome (1 Sa 17:4).<\/li>\n<li>Grasping the hem of a garment symbolized loyalty, but cutting off a piece of it symbolized disloyalty (1 Sa 24:4-5).<\/li>\n<li>New kings inherited the harem of the previous king (2 Sa 3:7)<\/li>\n<li>Disability was viewed as a sign of sin or God&#8217;s disfavor (2 Sa 4:4). (Note: Christ Himself later explicitly repudiated this view in John 9:3).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Other Works Referenced<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Apologetics Study\u00a0Bible<\/em>, <a href=\"http:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=p3dT6ZPr_mkC&amp;lpg=PA1&amp;dq=apologetics%20study%20bible&amp;pg=PA405#v=onepage&amp;q=apologetics%20study%20bible&amp;f=false\" class=\"broken_link\">&#8220;1 Samuel Introduction&#8221;<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=p3dT6ZPr_mkC&amp;lpg=PA1&amp;dq=apologetics%20study%20bible&amp;pg=PA455#v=onepage&amp;q=apologetics%20study%20bible&amp;f=false\" class=\"broken_link\">&#8220;2 Samuel Introduction&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><em>Archaeological Study\u00a0Bible<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>ESV\u00a0Study Bible<\/em>,\u00a0\u201cIntroduction to\u00a01 &amp; 2 Samuel\u201d<\/li>\n<li><em>MacArthur Study\u00a0Bible, <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gty.org\/resources\/bible-introductions\/MSB09\/1-samuel\" class=\"broken_link\">&#8220;First Samuel&#8221;<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gty.org\/resources\/bible-introductions\/MSB10\/2-samuel\" class=\"broken_link\">&#8220;2 Samuel&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><em>NET Bible<\/em>, <a href=\"http:\/\/net.bible.org\/#!bible\/1+Samuel+1\" class=\"broken_link\">1 Samuel<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/net.bible.org\/#!bible\/2+Samuel+1\" class=\"broken_link\">2 Samuel<\/a><\/li>\n<li><em>NIV\u00a0Study\u00a0Bible,<\/em>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblica.com\/niv\/study-bible\/1-samuel\/\" class=\"broken_link\">&#8220;1 Samuel&#8221;<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblica.com\/niv\/study-bible\/2-samuel\/\" class=\"broken_link\">&#8220;2 Samuel&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><em>Reformation Study\u00a0Bible<\/em>, &#8220;The First Book of Samuel&#8221; and &#8220;The Second Book of Samuel&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><em>Know Your\u00a0Bible<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Driscoll,\u00a0<em>A\u00a0Book You\u2019ll Actually Read On the Old Testament<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Knight,\u00a0<em>The Layman\u2019s Bible Handbook<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Stephen Rodgers 1 &amp; 2 SAMUEL IN\u00a010\u00a0WORDS\u00a0OR\u00a0LESS 1 Samuel: &#8220;Israel&#8217;s twelve tribes unite under a king.&#8221; 2 Samuel: &#8220;David becomes Israel&#8217;s greatest king &#8211; but with major flaws.&#8221; TITLE In the early Hebrew manuscripts, 1 and 2 Samuel were considered a single book. They were divided into separate books by the translators of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":469,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[109],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books-of-the-bible"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/469"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4079"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6748,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4079\/revisions\/6748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}