I & II Samuel: A Commentary

710 Pages·2012·4.715 MB·English

by  A. Graeme Auld

The Old Testament library I
The Old Testament Library
&
. . . provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament
study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of
I
international standing. The editorial board consists of William P. Brown, Professor I

of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary in decatur, Georgia; Carol A. S
Newsom, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Old Testament, Candler School of A
Theology at emory university in Atlanta, Georgia; and Brent A. Strawn, Associate
m
Professor of Old Testament, Candler School of Theology at emory university in
Atlanta, Georgia. u
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I & II Samuel
In this new addition to the Old Testament Library series, Graeme Auld opens with
the statement, “This book is about david.” The author demonstrates how all the
A A
other personalities in 1 and 2 Samuel—including Samuel, for whom the books were .
C
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named—are present so that we may see and know david better. These fascinating o
r m
stories detail the lives of david, his predecessors, and their families. Auld contends A
e m
that though we read these books from beginning to end, we need to understand that m e
n
they were composed from end to beginning. “The story of david is pregnant with e t
a
the whole succeeding story of monarchy in Israel and Jerusalem.” By reconstructing A r
u y
what must have gone before, the story of david establishes and explains that story. L b
d y
A. GrAeme Auld is Professor emeritus of Hebrew Bible at the university of
edinburgh, Scotland.
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A Commentary by A. GrAeme AuLd
ISBN-13: 978-0-664-23971-8
www.wjkbooks.com
i & ii samuel
THe OlD TesTameNT liBRaRY
Editorial advisory Board
William P. Brown
Carol A. Newsom
David L. Petersen
Commentary SerieS
geNesis. Revised edition. by gerhard eCClesiasTes. by james l. crenshaw
von rad sONg Of sONgs. by j. cheryl exum
THe BOOk Of exODus. by brevard s. isaiaH. by brevard s. childs
childs
isaiaH 1–12. second edition. by otto kaiser
leViTiCus. by erhard s. gerstenberger
isaiaH 13–39. by otto kaiser
NumBeRs. by martin noth
isaiaH 40–66. by claus westermann
DeuTeRONOmY. by richard d. nelson
jeRemiaH. by leslie c. allen
DeuTeRONOmY. by gerhard von rad
lameNTaTiONs. by adele berlin
jOsHua. by richard d. nelson
ezekiel. by walther eichrodt
juDges. by susan niditch
DaNiel. by norman w. porteous
juDges. by j. alberto soggin
HOsea. by james l. mays
RuTH. by kirsten nielsen
jOel aND OBaDiaH. by john barton
i & ii samuel. by a. graeme auld
amOs. by james l. mays
i & ii samuel. by hans wilhelm
THe BOOk Of amOs. by jörg jeremias
hertzberg
jONaH. by james limburg
i & ii kiNgs. by marvin a. sweeney
miCaH. by james l. mays
i & ii CHRONiCles. by sara japhet
NaHum, HaBakkuk, aND zepHaNiaH.
ezRa-NeHemiaH. by joseph blenkinsopp
by j. j. m. roberts
esTHeR. by jon d. levenson
Haggai aND zeCHaRiaH 1–8.
THe BOOk Of jOB. by norman c. habel by david l. petersen
THe psalms. by artur weiser zeCHaRiaH 9–14 aND malaCHi.
pROVeRBs. by richard j. clifford by david l. petersen
General StudieS
exile aND ResTORaTiON: a sTuDY Of jewisH wisDOm iN THe HelleNisTiC
HeBRew THOugHT Of THe sixTH age. by john j. collins
CeNTuRY B.C. by peter r. ackroyd OlD TesTameNT THeOlOgY, Volumes
a HisTORY Of isRaeliTe ReligiON i and ii. by horst dietrich preuss
iN THe OlD TesTameNT peRiOD, OlD TesTameNT THeOlOgY, Volumes
Volumes i and ii. by rainer albertz i and ii. by gerhard von rad
iNTRODuCTiON TO THe OlD TesTameNT. THeOlOgY Of THe OlD TesTameNT,
Third edition. by j. alberto soggin Volumes i and ii. by walther eichrodt
a. graeme auld
a Commentary
© 2011 A. Graeme Auld
2012 paperback edition
Originally published in hardback in the United States
by Westminster John Knox Press in 2011
Louisville, Kentucky
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21—10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
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information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information, address Westminster John Knox Press, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louis-
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Scripture is the author’s translation unless otherwise indicated. Scripture quotations from
the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible are copyright © 1989 by the Division of
Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. and are
used by permission. Scripture quotations from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible
are copyright © 1946, 1952, 1971, and 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of
the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.
Book design by Jennifer K. Cox
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Auld, A. Graeme.
I & II Samuel : a commentary / A. Graeme Auld.—1st ed.
p. cm.—(The Old Testament library)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
ISBN: 978-0-664-22105-8 (alk. paper)
1. Bible. O.T. Samuel—Commentaries. I. Title. II. Title: I and II Samuel.
III. Title: First & Second Samuel.
BS1325.53.A95 2011
222'.4077—dc23
2011023669
ISBN: 978-0-664-23971-8 (paperback)
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements
of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence
of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
for Sylvia:
best friend, wife,
and fellow lover
of Jerusalem
Auld-Book.indb 5 10/10/11 4:07 PM
The habit of perusing periodical works may be properly
added to averroës’ catalogue of anti-mnemonics, or
weakeners of the memory.
—Coleridge
Never use epigraphs—they kill the mystery in the work!
—adli
(with apologies to Orhan Pamuk)
Auld-Book.indb 6 10/10/11 4:07 PM
CONTeNTS
Acknowledgments xi
Abbreviations xiii
Bibliography xvii
Introduction 1
The Book of David 1
Reading Samuel from Beginning to end 3
Samuel in Two main Forms? 4
more on the ancient Texts of Samuel 5
Translating and Presenting the Books of Samuel 7
Writing Samuel: From end to Beginning 9
Samuel in the Bible: Two Canonical Contexts 14
Samuel as Part of a larger History of Israel’s Origins 15
COMMENTARY
1 Samuel 1–8 A Fresh Introduction 19
1:1–2:10 Hannah’s Story 20
2:11–3:10 Samuel between eli and Yahweh 39
3:11–18 Samuel Speaks Yahweh’s Word to eli 56
3:19–21 Samuel’s Reputation 60
4:1–22 The ark lost and eli Dead 62
5:1–8:22 Yahweh’s Power Displayed; Israel’s Rejection 69
Excursus 1: afterword on 1 Samuel 1–8 95
1 Samuel 9–16 Two Kings Anointed by Samuel 96
9:1–10:16 Saul anointed by Samuel 97
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viii Contents
10:17–24 Saul Chosen by lot before Samuel 114
10:25–13:14 From acclamation by the People
to Rejection by Yahweh 116
13:15–14:16 Saul, Jonathan, and the Philistines 143
14:17–35 Saul’s Curse 150
14:36–16:23 Saul Rejected, David anointed 159
Excursus 2: afterword on 1 Samuel 9–16 191
1 Samuel 17–24 Saul Rejected, David in Waiting 193
17:1–18:16 David, Goliath, and Saul 193
18:17–24 David and Saul’s Daughters 217
18:25–24:22 David in Flight from His Father-in-law 220
1 Samuel 25–2 Samuel 3 End of Saul, Response of David 281
25:1–28:2 David Separates from Saul 283
Excursus 3: Retrospect on 1 Samuel 24–26 311
28:3–30:25 Saul Prostrate; David legislating 320
Excursus 4: Patterns near the end of 1 Samuel 343
30:26–3:5 David at Hebron and the Death of Saul 344
3:6–30 David, abner, and Joab 374
3:31–39 David laments abner 381
Excursus 5: Retrospect on 2 Samuel 3 384
2 Samuel 4–9 David Secures His Throne 386
4:1–5:16 Ishbosheth Killed; David King of Israel
in Jerusalem 387
5:17–25 King David and the Philistines 401
6:1–9:13 Consolidation in Jerusalem 405
2 Samuel 10:1–13:33 Disloyalty and Disaster 439
10:1–19 Joab Defeats ammon and aram 439
11:1–27 David, Bathsheba, and uriah 447
12:1–25 Nathan Rebukes David 460
12:26–31 ammon Despoiled, enslaved 470
13:1–22 absalom, Tamar, and amnon 473
13:23–33 absalom’s Revenge on amnon 481
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Contents ix
2 Samuel 13:34–20:19 David and Absalom 486
13:34–14:7 absalom Flees 486
14:8–17 an astute Woman Seizes Her Chance 490
14:18–15:6 Joab and absalom 494
15:7–17:13 absalom in Revolt 502
17:14–20:19 absalom Outfoxed, David Restored 522
2 Samuel 20:20–24:25 Concluding Perspectives 565
20:20–21:22 Swallowing up and Destroying 566
22–24 David’s legacy 579
Excursus 6: afterword on 2 Samuel 24 620
Excursus 7: Prospect to 1 Kings 1–2 621
Excursus 8: Themes and Growth
of the Book of Samuel 622
Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Sources 631
Index of Subjects and Authors 663
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