1 Samuel: A Narrative Commentary

by Keith Bodner

This substantial commentary presents 1 Samuel as a sophisticated work of literature, where the reader is challenged with a narrative that is fraught with interpretative possibilities. In his distinctive literary reading Bodner lays special emphasis on the intriguing array of characters that populate the narrative, and on the plot, in its design and its configurations. Thus, a host of intriguing episodes and personalities are passed in from the symbolically charged closed womb of Hannah to the backwards fall and the broken neck of Eli, to the strange tour of the Ark of God through the menacing Philistine pentapolis, wreaking havoc. Then there is the complex portrayal of Samuel the prophet, the emergence of the fugitive David as a leader, and the eventual decline, madness, and necromancy of King Saul. Only through a literary study of its many ironies and ambiguities, Bodner amply shows, can the richness of this classic royal drama be fully appreciated.

Genres: Theology

352 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2008

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keith gives a thorough analysis of the book of Samuel. He also supplies a large amount of humor to go along with this. For example, when Samuel anoints Saul with a vial (like Jehu who is a crazy guy in in 2 Kings 9) he says Samuel is giving Saul, "The Vial treatment." When Samuel is returning to Remah after Saul becoming king, Bodner says that the reader assumes Samuel is being, "put out to pasture." Those are just a couple of his many jokes. Bodner shows the pattern of Hebrew verbs and the play on words in almost every chapter which gives great insight into what the author is pointing out as a focus.

[Clayton Tune · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anything by this guy is worth having and reading.

[Randy Mccracken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful exposition interspersed with humor and wit.