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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.