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THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY is for the minister or Bible student who wants to understand and expound the Scriptures. Notable features include:* commentary based on THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION;* the NIV text printed in the body of the commentary;* sound scholarly methodology that reflects capable research in the original languages;* interpretation that emphasizes the theological unity of each book and of Scripture as a whole;* readable and applicable exposition.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 9, 2022
Very helpful commentary! For reference, I don't have any theological degrees, nor do I know Hebrew. I felt Bergen presented meaty enough information to be beyond a basic commentary but not difficult to read. I would recommend this for any bible study teacher desiring to teach the class in a verse-by-verse manner.
April 12, 2018
Bergen's Samuels commentary is frequently rated at the top in a number of different reviews (#1 at Best Commentaries with an aggregate of 82.9; 4.5 stars w/ 19 reviews at Amazon, etc). It does not deserve such praise, and even Longman's 3-star review in his commentary survey seems overly generous. I finished reading it hoping that it would get better. It didn't.
Bergen does a competent job with some literary aspects of the text, and his connections between the narrative and the legal material are passing. However, problems arise once you move past the superficial. Bergen never saw a text of David that he couldn't spin the best way possible: the census of 2 Sam 24? The human sacrifices of 2 Sam 21? The treatment of Amnon and Tamar in 2 Sam 13? The treatment of Mephibosheth in 2 Sam 19? et al. David never made a mistake! Instead, he perfectly follows the law in every possible instance. There does not exist a passage in Samuel wherein David acts horribly that Bergen cannot create an apologia for, excepting the single (!) instance of Bathsheba-Uriah in 2 Sam 11. This whitewashing is inexcusable and renders violence to the text while he attempts to "fix it."
Beyond even these atrocious and indefensible readings, Bergen is woefully ignorant of ANE texts and seems to know little about (or, at least, cares little about connecting) historical or archaeological concerns and how such might influence our reading of this text. He also does virtually no meta-analysis, restricting himself to a sort of episodic commentary.
In sum, although seeking to defend the inspiration of 1-2 Samuel, Bergen ends up treating it quite the opposite as he ignores what the text often says or implies in favor of cleaning up David. Although many often see Chronicles as a political whitewashing for David's reign, they would surely see such in Bergen.
Bergen does a competent job with some literary aspects of the text, and his connections between the narrative and the legal material are passing. However, problems arise once you move past the superficial. Bergen never saw a text of David that he couldn't spin the best way possible: the census of 2 Sam 24? The human sacrifices of 2 Sam 21? The treatment of Amnon and Tamar in 2 Sam 13? The treatment of Mephibosheth in 2 Sam 19? et al. David never made a mistake! Instead, he perfectly follows the law in every possible instance. There does not exist a passage in Samuel wherein David acts horribly that Bergen cannot create an apologia for, excepting the single (!) instance of Bathsheba-Uriah in 2 Sam 11. This whitewashing is inexcusable and renders violence to the text while he attempts to "fix it."
Beyond even these atrocious and indefensible readings, Bergen is woefully ignorant of ANE texts and seems to know little about (or, at least, cares little about connecting) historical or archaeological concerns and how such might influence our reading of this text. He also does virtually no meta-analysis, restricting himself to a sort of episodic commentary.
In sum, although seeking to defend the inspiration of 1-2 Samuel, Bergen ends up treating it quite the opposite as he ignores what the text often says or implies in favor of cleaning up David. Although many often see Chronicles as a political whitewashing for David's reign, they would surely see such in Bergen.
August 7, 2018
Decent commentary. Conservative, mostly, but you can tell that Academia has her ghoulish claws in there as well. I would recommend using this one for Bergen's cross references in the text. Those were very helpful.
January 2, 2025
So good!
January 14, 2016
Excellent commentary on 1 & 2 Samuel. Dr. Bergen's analysis of the book is thorough, well-reasoned and researched and clearly explained. One of my "go-to" resources as a pastor on these great books of the Bible!
August 28, 2011
Very solid commentary on 1 Samuel. (I cannot comment on the second half of the book.) Faithful to the text and quite helpful to read alongside the book. Not an academic or technical commentary.
August 9, 2014
Excellent. Don't preach 1-2 Samuel without it. Bergen knows his material and presents it well. Judicious exegesis and readable prose. Solid Christian scholarship. Thankful I read it.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews