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...
• David's introduction to the royal court 16:14-23
  "In addition to being the middle chapter of 1 Samuel, chapter 16 is pivotal in another way as well: Its first half (vv. 1-13), ending with a statement concerning David's reception of the Spirit of God, describes David's anoin...
• 3. The results of God's selection of David 18:1-19:17
  Earlier the writer narrated Saul's anointing, military success, and the popular reaction to him (chs. 10-11). Now he followed the same pattern by recording David's anointing, military success, and the popular reaction to him ...
• Jonathan's love for David 18:1-5
  We have already seen that Jonathan was a man of faith and courage (14:1-15). Jonathan found a soul brother in David, a man who committed himself to trusting and obeying God as he did. This common purpose on the deepest level ...
• David's popularity with the people 18:6-9
  These verses show how David had captured the affection of many Israelites by his victory over Goliath. Successful military heroes still do so today. Notwithstanding David's popularity, not everyone was ready to join David's f...
• Saul's first direct attempt to kill David 18:10-16
  The evil spirit from the Lord (cf. 16:4, whatever it was) afflicted Saul the very next day. David and Saul each had something in their hand. David held a harp with which he sought to help the king by playing soothing music. S...
• Saul's indirect attempts to kill David 18:17-30
  Since he had been unsuccessful in murdering David himself, Saul also tried to get other people to kill him (cf. 2 Sam. 11:15). Saul had promised his daughter in marriage to Goliath's victor (17:25). Nevertheless now Saul adde...
• Jonathan's attempt to protect David 19:1-7
  Saul now abandoned pretense (18:22) and ordered Jonathan and his servants to put David to death (cf. v. 11). He "went public"with his attacks against David feeling driven, like Pharaoh, to more desperate measures. This create...
• David's continuing success and Saul's renewed jealousy 19:8-10
  This section records Saul's fourth attempt to kill David. The writer set his account of these attempts in chiastic form.ASaul directly tried to kill David. 18:10-16BSaul indirectly tried using the Philistines. 18:17-20B'Saul ...
• Michal's attempt to protect David 19:11-17
  God's preservation of His anointed servant David stands out in this section as it does in the first one in this chapter (vv. 1-7). In both cases it was one of Saul's own children that came to David's rescue. Jonathan protecte...
• David's concern for his own safety 20:1-11
  David was wondering if he had done something wrong that had provoked Saul's hatred (v. 1). Walking with God is sometimes confusing. We need to learn, as David did, that when we try to follow God faithfully some people will op...
• Jonathan and David's long-range covenant 20:12-17
  Jonathan appealed to the Lord in an oath indicating the seriousness of the situation (vv. 12, 13). He prayed that God would be with David as he had been with Saul, namely, as Israel's king (v. 13). These verses indicate clear...
• Saul's anger over David's absence 20:24-34
  Saul concluded at first that David had not come to the new moon sacrificial meal because he was unclean (cf. Lev. 7:20-21; 15:16). His continued absence required an explanation, which Saul looked to David's friend to provide....
• Jonathan's encouragement of David 23:15-18
  The town of Ziph was 12 miles southeast of Keilah, and the wilderness of Ziph was near the town. Ziph lay in the wilderness area of Judah whereas Keilah was in the more hospitable Shephelah. The sites of Horesh (v. 15) and Ha...
• David's verbal defense to Saul 24:8-15
  The object lesson that David presented to Saul had a double application. David proved that he was not trying to kill Saul because Saul was the Lord's anointed. Furthermore he showed that it was inappropriate for Saul to seek ...
• Abishai's offer to kill Saul 26:6-12
  Ahimelech the Hittite may have been a foreign mercenary (cf. Uriah the Hittite, 2 Sam. 11:3). The writer may have mentioned him to show the extent of David's appeal. Abishai was David's nephew, one of the sons of his sister Z...
• David's relocation to Ziklag 27:1-7
  Was it God's will for David to leave Israel and move to Philistia? The text does not say, but there are indications that lead me to believe that he should not have done this even though he must have felt almost forced to do 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 ...
• 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-...
• 2. David's justice and mercy 21:7-9
  David showed himself to be a true son of Yahweh by keeping his covenant with Jonathan and by sparing Mephibosheth (cf. v. 2; 1 Sam. 18:3; 20:8, 16). However, he followed God's Law and executed seven of Saul's descendants incl...
• Haman's recommendation 6:4-10
  "Here the early bird is gotten by the worm."85Haman's pride preceded his fall (v. 6; cf. Prov. 16:18). He wanted to appear as much like the king himself as possible in the honors he recommended for the person he thought would...
• The parable of the workers in the vineyard 20:1-16
  This parable explains why the last will become first. It begins with a well known scene but then introduces surprising elements to make a powerful point."Jesus deliberately and cleverly led the listeners along by degrees unti...
• The dragon's hostility toward the male child 12:1-6
  This pericope furnishes the plot for the drama that unfolds in the rest of the chapter.12:1 John saw a "sign,"something that signified or represented something else (cf. v. 3; 13:13-14; 15:1; 16:14; 19:29). Usually John used ...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• A Soul's Tragedy
  1 Samuel 18:5-161 Samuel 18:5 anticipates 1 Samuel 18:13-16. It is the last verse of a section which interrupts the even flow of the story, and which is absent from the Septuagint. Verse 6 follows immediately on 1 Samuel 17:5...
• II. The Second Stage Was The Attempt On David's Life.
  1 Samuel 18:10-11, which record it, are not in the Septuagint, and the narrative does run more smoothly without them. But if they are retained, they show how the moody suspicion with which Saul eyed David' came to a swift, mu...