1 & 2 Samuel

The books of Samuel are superb narratives full of intrigue and suspense. The recent appreciation of the narrative artistry of the Hebrew Bible has been a boon for the study of these books. In this regard, Jobling‘s commentary is an absolutely excellent and careful study of 1 Samuel. I highly recommend it (he’s also a fellow Canadian). Alter is also excellent in this regard, as is Brueggemann and Cartledge. Anderson and Klein offer solid scholarship in their WBC volumes. McCarter provides a detailed text-critical analysis of Samuel, though not all will agree with his analysis. I also included Driver‘s excellent, albeit dated, work.

The more popular offerings of Arnold, Baldwin, Chafin, and Evans are all very good, though Baldwin is a bit dated. I would probably consider Arnold’s volume the best of the more popular options.

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