Contents Preface
vii
Read this first
ix
1 Help of the helpless: The story of Hannah (1 Samuel 1:1–28; 2:11)
1
2 Hannah’s song (1 Samuel 2:1–10)
12
3 Samuel’s rise and Eli’s demise (1 Samuel 2:12–4:1a)
20
4 The story of the ark (1 Samuel 4:1b–7:17)
29
5 The transition to monarchy (1 Samuel 8:1–22)
45
6 The appointment and confirmation of Saul as king (1 Samuel 9:1–11:13)
52
7 Kingship and covenant (1 Samuel 11:14–12:25)
67
8 The reign of Saul as king (1 Samuel 13:1–14:52)
74
9 The rejection of Saul as king (1 Samuel 15:1– 35)
82
10 The anointing of David (1 Samuel 16:1–23)
90
11 David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17:1–18:5)
96
12 Saul’s alienation (1 Samuel 18:6–19:24)
104
13 Covenants, fugitives, and strange bedfellows (1 Samuel 20:1–22:23)
111
14 Encounters in the life of a fugitive anointee (1 Samuel 23:1–26:25)
124
15 David in Philistia (1 Samuel 27:1–30:31)
135
16 Learning of and lamenting the deaths of Saul and Jonathan (2 Samuel 1:1–27)
149
17 The transition from Saul (2 Samuel 2:1–5:5)
158
18 Success and prosperity in the city of David (2 Samuel 5:1–6:23)
168
19 A house for David (2 Samuel 7:1–8:18)
179
20 Remembering Jonathan (2 Samuel 9:1–13)
192
v
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21 When kings go off to war ... not! (2 Samuel 10:1–12:31)
197
22 Eating sour grapes (2 Samuel 13:1–14:38)
211
23 Power and presence in weakness (2 Samuel 15:1–19:18a)
221
24 Return and rebellion again (2 Samuel 19:8b–20:25) 231 25 The blessings of Israel’s kings? (2 Samuel 21:1–22; 23:8–24:25)
239
26 Reflections on the life of David, God’s king (2 Samuel 22:1–23:7)
251
Appendix
262
The shape of Samuel
266
vi
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Hope for the helpless
1
Help of the helpless: The story of Hannah (1 Samuel 1:1–28; 2:11)
Beginnings, endings, and poems My earliest childhood memories are of turquoise seas, coral, beautiful fish, and skimming across the water to magical islands with my family in outrigger canoes. For me, Papua New Guinea was paradise and I could not imagine a more idyllic place to grow up. One of its principal blessings, which I only realised much later, was the total absence of television and this in turn had another blessing—being introduced into the world of novels. My mother loved books and could never stay away from libraries with the result that my childhood was spent going to the Port Moresby library and plundering its shelves for the latest book to devour. I’m not sure when I discovered Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, but in it my childhood, personality and love of novels came together in a wonderful synchronicity. The novel is based around the story of an elderly man who fishes on his own, catches the fish of his life, and then loses it to sharks as he attempts to bring it home. Even today, all I have to do in order to recall the whole story in my mind is to pick up my battered copy from the shelf and turn to the first sentence of the book followed by the last four or five pages. The books of Samuel contain some of the most engaging of all stories in Scripture. However, they are not simply 1
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1 & 2 Samuel stories designed to entertain. They are also books containing in-depth theological reflection on God, humanity, and God’s purposes among his people and in his world. As I have studied these books over the past twenty years or more, I have become increasingly convinced that I can do much the same with these books as I can do with The Old Man and the Sea. If you can understand the first chapter or two and the last four or so chapters, along with one or two other pivotal moments, then you will have a very good grasp on the events and theology of the books of Samuel. And in case you miss the point, the author has captured some of his key ideas in poems throughout the books. In this chapter and the next we are going to look at the story of Hannah and her song. We will spend more time and space doing this than other parts of the book because the energy spent here will set us on a good trajectory for understanding the whole of 1 and 2 Samuel. The shape of the story The books of Samuel are carefully thought out and often intricately structured. This is true even of the first chapter and a half. So, before we look at the opening chapters in more detail, it is helpful to get a big picture of how they are structured and hang together: A 1:1–3 The family of Elkanah at Ramah (Hannah childless) B 1:4–18 The family at Shiloh (i) 1:4–8 The problem introduced: Hannah without child (ii) 1:9–11 Hannah acts on her own and proposes a solution: ‘You give me a son’ ‘I will give him to you’ (iii) 1:12–18 Hannah and Eli: Opposition and resolution (iv) 1:19a Worship A 1:19b–20 Return to Ramah (Hannah with child; resolution 1) 2
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Hope for the helpless B 1:21–2:10 The family at Shiloh
(i)
1:21–23 The problem introduced: Hannah does not give child
(ii)
1:24 Hannah acts on her own and takes her son with sacrifices and gifts
(iii)
1:25–28a Hannah and Eli: Hannah gives child (resolution)
(iv)
1:28b
(v)
2:1–10 Hannah’s song of exaltation and reversals
Worship
A 2:11 The family of Elkanah at Ramah (Hannah without child; God has child) As you can see, the story of Hannah is structured around two principal locations. The beginning, middle and end of the story happen in Ramah. Sandwiched between these episodes in Ramah are two visits to Shiloh. You will also note that there are some repeating patterns within the two Shiloh visits: • • • •
A problem is raised. An action is initiated solely by Hannah. Hannah is alone with Eli. There is a response of worship before returning to Ramah.
The problem raised on the first visit to Shiloh is Hannah’s childlessness and whether or not God will answer her prayer. The problem raised on the second visit is that the child has not yet been given to God and whether Hannah will fulfil her vow. These two problems are linked together in verse 11 where Hannah makes a vow and asks God to give her a son. Using the same word, she then promises that if he does, she will give the child to him. As the story goes on we see the first problem resolved when God gives Hannah a son upon the family’s return to Ramah in the middle section. The second problem is resolved when 3
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1 & 2 Samuel she fulfils her vow and dedicates Samuel to God before returning to Ramah without the child (that is, leaving the child with God). The second visit to Shiloh is also marked by Hannah’s song of exaltation. The family of Elkanah at Ramah (1 Samuel 1:1–3) Setting (1 Samuel 1:1a) The first verse of the book both sets the book in a larger historical context and prepares us for what is to come. The words ‘there was a certain man’ occur in only one other place in Scripture and that is at the beginning of the narrative about Samson in the book of Judges (Judges 13:2). By using these words the author reminds us of that time when there was no king over Israel and everyone did what was right in their own eyes (Judges 17:6; 21:25). However the words used by the author here also look forward in expectation. After all, the story in Judges that began with these words was one in which God gave a childless woman the gift of a son, Samson. He was a judge over Israel and had particular success against the Philistines, a nation which will prove particularly worrisome to Israel in the first half of the books of Samuel. So we find ourselves wondering if God might be about to do something like this again. Biographical data (1 Samuel 1:1b–3) The ‘certain man’ is Elkanah from Ramathaim. Ramathaim is almost certainly identical to the Ramah mentioned throughout this story (1:19; 2:11) and which is later identified as Samuel’s home town (7:17) and is closely associated with him (for example, 8:4; 15:34; 16:13). ‘Zuphite’ or ‘Zophim’ could refer to either a tribal grouping or the region settled by Samuel’s ancestor, Zuph (1:1; 9:5). The phrase introducing Elkanah’s wives is probably better translated as ‘the name of the first was Hannah and the name of the second was Peninnah’. This may imply that Hannah was his first wife or that she was his ‘number one’ wife. Be this as it may, the way in which the sentence 4
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Hope for the helpless is structured (technically known as a chiastic or crossover arrangement) leads us into the centre of the story as it is about to unfold:
The name of the first was Hannah
and the name of the second was Peninnah
and Peninnah had children
But Hannah had no children
However, before we move on to this story there are a three more things to note in verse 3. First, we are told that Elkanah is a devout worshipper who makes an annual visit with his family to Shiloh ‘to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty’ in fulfilment of the law of Moses (Deuteronomy 16:16; also note 1 Samuel 9:12 and 20:6, 29 which refer to similar family or even clan events). Shiloh is where the ark of the covenant has finally come to rest after the wilderness wanderings (3:3). Second, for the first time in Scripture we are introduced to the title ‘Lord Almighty’. The term is literally ‘Yahweh of Hosts’. The ‘hosts’ can refer to armies that are either physical (for example, the ‘hosts’ of Hazor in 12:9), spiritual (the Lord’s ‘hosts’ in Joshua 5:14), or even celestial (for example, Psalm 148:2). The title ‘Yahweh of Hosts’ or ‘Lord Almighty’ therefore appears to be a title that emphasises God as one who has immense powers at his disposal, which he uses on behalf of his people. Third, there is mention of the sons of Eli: Hophni and Phinehas. The sins of Eli’s sons will be a prominent focus of the later story where the as yet non-existent son of Hannah will be the instrument of their demise. The family at Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:4–19a) The problem introduced: A childless woman under stress (1 Samuel 1:4–8) The problem of Hannah’s childlessness now moves to centre stage, as does the impact that it causes her personally. By Hebrew storytelling standards, the 5
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