BOB – 1 & 2 Samuel

by Stephen Rodgers

1 & 2 SAMUEL IN 10 WORDS OR LESS

  • 1 Samuel: “Israel’s twelve tribes unite under a king.”
  • 2 Samuel: “David becomes Israel’s greatest king – but with major flaws.”

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 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 “The First Book of the Kingdoms” (with our 1 and 2 Kings as “The Second Book of the Kingdoms), whereas the Vg. labeled them “First and Second Kings” (with our 1 and 2 Kings as “Third and Fourth Kings”).

In any event, the earliest Hebrew manuscripts entitled the book “Samuel” after the prophet God used to establish the kingship in Israel.

AUTHOR & AUDIENCE

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.

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’s reign (2 Samuel), and Nathan/Gad were not alive during the events of 1 Samuel. Ultimately the author of these books is unknown.

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.

DATE

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:

  • 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).
  • The statement concerning Ziklag’s belonging “to the kings of Judah to this day” (1 Sa 27:6) clearly indicated post-Solomonic composition.
  • While this is helpful in marking an “earliest possible” date of composition, it is more difficult to locate a similar “latest possible” date. If the Former Prophets (see notes on the OT Canon) 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).
  • 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).

BACKGROUND & SETTING

In terms of geography, the book of Samuel is situated around the central highlands of Israel, an area that encompasses approximately 2,000 square miles. (That’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).

In terms of chronology, 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.

In terms of focus, the book of Samuel follows the lives of Samuel, Saul, and David.

HISTORICAL & THEOLOGICAL THEMES

While there are a number of themes throughout Samuel, there are three in particular that stand out:

  • Kingship. A monarchy in Israel held both great hope and great danger. Ultimately, the contrasting kingships 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.
  • The consequences of sin. Both Saul and David serve as profound illustrations of the terrible consequences of sin. In particular, David’s status as a “man after God’s own heart” was not enough to protect him from the consequences of his sin, which had irreversible consequences despite his genuine repentance and God’s immediate forgiveness.
  • The Davidic Covenant. The entire book of Samuel is bracketed by two references to the “anointed” 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’s throne forever.

INTERPRETIVE CHALLENGES

Quite apart from the textual issues of Samuel (see OBJECTIONS) there are a number of issues that are raised within the text itself.  A few that are often mentioned are:

  • Samuel’s attitude towards the establishment of human kingship. Some scholars have suggested that the author(s) of Samuel present an ambivalent or inconsistent view 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 desire for a king was acceptable (Deut 17:15), the motivation was not.
  • The behavior of the prophets. It has been suggested that the portrayals of the prophets in 1 Samuel 10:5 and 19:23-24 are consistent with other ANE prophets who exhibited ecstatic behavior. To put it mildly, this is an overstatement.
  • The ministry of the Holy Spirit prior to Pentecost. The 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.
  • The identity of the “distressing spirit.” Two major interpretations of 1 Samuel 16:14 exist: either the spirit is impersonal (a spirit of discontent, see Judges (9:23), or it is personal (a demon). Opinions among commentators are divided, but the majority view seems to hold to the latter interpretation.
  • The appearance of the “ghost” of Samuel. This 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 “ghost” 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.

LITERARY FEATURES

The genre of Samuel is first and foremost a hero story, focusing primarily on the three characters previously identified: Samuel, Saul, and David. Minor story arcs can be identified for Hannah, Eli, and Jonathan as well.

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.

Finally, while remaining within the genre of the hero story, the arc of Saul is the only fully developed and undisputed literary tragedy in the entire Bible. To a lesser extent, the arc of David reflects this.  While not a tragedy en toto, 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.

OBJECTIONS

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 “standard” Hebrew.

The ESV Study Bible summarizes it this way:

The Hebrew Masoretic text (MT) of 1–2 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 “correct” these “corrupted” 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.

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.  However, 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 identifiable.

NOTABLE QUOTABLES

  • 1 Samuel 8:7
  • I Samuel 15:22
  • 1 Samuel 16:7
  • 1 Samuel 17:45
  • 2 Samuel 1:25
  • 2 Samuel 7:18
  • 2 Samuel 18:33

DID YOU KNOW?

  • 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).
  • Grasping the hem of a garment symbolized loyalty, but cutting off a piece of it symbolized disloyalty (1 Sa 24:4-5).
  • New kings inherited the harem of the previous king (2 Sa 3:7)
  • Disability was viewed as a sign of sin or God’s disfavor (2 Sa 4:4). (Note: Christ Himself later explicitly repudiated this view in John 9:3).

Other Works Referenced