1 & 2 Samuel

NIV Application Commentary, Old Testament #7

by Bill T. Arnold

1, 2 Samuel which is part of the NIV Application Commentary Series is a commentary on 2 books that have much to say to the 21st century concept of sin, repentance, forgiveness, and life under the lord

Genres: Reference, Theology, Nonfiction, Biblical Studies, Religion, Old Testament, Christian

688 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2003

About the author

Bill T. Arnold (PhD, Hebrew Union College) is Paul S. Amos Professor of Old Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including Encountering the Book of Genesis, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax, and a commentary on 1 and 2 Samuel. He is also the coauthor (with Bryan E. Beyer) of Encountering the Old Testament.

Reviews

[Victoria Glaze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Offers in depth study of 1st and 2nd Samuel which clarifies some confusing, seemly contradictory stories in the Bible. Heavy emphasis on cross-reference scriptures, author's established themes, and draws attention to repeating words. Utilizes Hebrew translations to further clarify original author's intensions. I personally would have liked more ancient Israel cultural context, and less focus on repeating words.

[Ryan Rench · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always loved the layout of this series, with the exposition of the text and then the applications sections that follow. I used this for my 1 Samuel series so I did not finish the whole book, but it was my second favorite behind Dale Davis, the greatest commentator of all time. :)

[Bob Wolniak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume had a solid balance of bringing to awareness critical exegetical issues and structure combined with practical application themes to draw out in my sermons. Extremely helpful.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on most of 1 Sam 1 - 2 Sam 10. Helpful, but I found myself using it less and less as the study progressed. It has very helpful observations about the storyline, but seems a bit selective in what it chooses to focus on - probably to save space.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Used only for 1 Samuel. Hit and miss - definitely not the best in this series (of the ones I have used). As often happens, the application was prone to go off into a completely different direction than where I was headed. I still find the structure of this series (Original Meaning, Bridging Contexts, and Contemporary Meaning) to be very helpful.