Customer Reviews

The First Book of Samuel (New International Commentary on the Old Testament)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an important evangelical commentary. David Tsumura shows that many of the alleged textual corruptions in 1 Samuel are actually Hebraic uses of repetition, brachyology, and narrative art. Tsumura does a lot of discourse analysis in the book, showing which verses highlight the setting and the event and the conclusion (terminus).

He divides the book as follows: The story of Samuel (with the ark narrative included) in chapters 1-7, a transitional chapter 8, the story of Saul in chapters 9-15, and the story of the rise of David and the fall of Saul in chapters 16-31. He believes that these narratives were compiled together at some later point in time.

Tsumura believes that the theology of 1 Samuel emphasizes the sovereignty and holiness of God and the importance of obeying and respecting Him. He observes that even the Philistine god Dagon is under the sovereign control and power of God (1 Samuel 6-7).

Tsumura provides a very literal translation. When Hannah says to Eli "Do not take me for a worthless woman" in chapter one, he translates it as "Do not take me for a daughter of Belial."

He notes that the righteous Samuel and his mother are contrasted sharply with the lax Eli and his wicked sons.

Tsumura shows that the book of 1 Samuel gives an accurate portrait of the Philistine people and culture.

In 1 Samuel 13, Tsumura correctly states that Saul's sin was not making the burnt offering in and of itself (because he makes an offering in the next chapter, and kings sometimes do make offerings (David in 2 Samuel 24). The sin was in deliberately disobeying the word of the Lord to wait until Samuel arrived.

Some have suggested that there is an exegetical conundrum in 1 Samuel 16-17. How can King Saul know who David is in chapter 16, and then say "Who is this guy" after he kills Goliath in chapter 17? But Tsumura explains this very plausibly. He observes that Saul did not say "Who is this man?" He asked "Whose son is that young man?" He was asking about David's father.

I was disappointed that Tsumura did not say more about how David's faith in God's promises to deliver Israel from their enemies was the catalyst that gave him the faith to confront Goliath.

Many scholars have suggested that 1 Samuel 20 makes no sense. Why would David be expected to eat at the king's table after Saul tried to kill him twice? Tsumura suggests that the evil spirit that afflicted Saul came and went, and that this may have been a calmer period in between outbursts.

The foolish and angry Nabal and his death by the Lord's hand in 1 Samuel 25 prepares the reader for Saul's death at the Lord's hand in 1 Samuel 31.

To be honest, I think that this commentary is more helpful for the seminary student writing a term paper than it is for the busy pastor. It gets bogged down in linguistics issues and in defending the textual art of the writer(s). It is extremely valuable for its evangelical counter arguments to Kyle Mccarter.

Here and there, Tsumura gives some meaty expositional and theological reflections. But in my opinion, the pastor is better served by getting Robert Bergen's NAC contribution.

Having used a number of different commentaries over the years when preaching through Samuel I have found this commentary in a league of its own. The author seriously engages with the text itself rather than overly dwelling on the textual issues which though of some importance become very frustrating when they dominate in a commentary. He brings insight and conveys the sense that he genuinely likes the first book of Samuel. I unreservedly recommend it and look forward to his second volume.

At last a conservative, semi-technical commentary on 1 Samuel (2 Samuel to follow)! Tsumura unravels the difficult Hebrew text, paying attention to the Canaanite and Philistine cultures which serves as the backdrop to this enigmatic book. His knowledge of ancient Semitic languages, Hebrew poetry, and discourse analysis are brought to bear in this tour-de-force.

Previously, he has authored The Earth & the Waters in Genesis 1 & 2 (Journal for the Study of the Old Testament), Creation And Destruction: A Reappraisal of the Chaoskampf Theory in the Old Testament; a study which upholds the biblical concept of creation ex nihilo (from nothing) rather than an earth formed from primeval chaos, and co-edited "I Studied Inscriptions from Before the Flood": Ancient Near Eastern, Literary, and Linguistic Approaches to Genesis 1-11 (Sources for Biblical and Theological Study Old Testament Series).

The NICOT series is outstanding in its scholasticism and extremely useful in its format. It provides the reader with the option of studying at a variety of levels depending on the chosen combination of straight commentary and excurses on special points of interest or literary significance. This particular volume on I Samuel is no exception. Solid, conservative and trustworthy. The scholarship speaks for itself, not an overriding agenda that bends the work into a particular trajectory or focus.

Others have praised the good qualities of this book, and I agree with quite a lot of what they say. However, one feature that has been praised is actually a serious flaw. Tsumura tries to comment solely on the received Hebrew, the Masoretic Text, and almost entirely ignores the overwhelming evidence that in I Samuel in particular, this text has many corruptions. This evidence was laid out brilliantly by Samuel Rolles Driver well over 100 years ago in "Notes on the Hebrew Text of the Book of Samuel" (1889, 2nd ed 1913), and the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls served to confirm many of his conclusions. People who want to know what Samuel really meant do themselves no favour if they ignore this. True, some scholars have gone too far in emending the text, and it is hard to defend all the alterations made by say P. Kyle McCarter in the Anchor Bible (1980). However, Tsumura goes to the opposite extreme. While this book is quite useful to those studying Samuel, it is important to use it along with a commentary that considers the corruptions, such as that by Ralph Klein (2nd ed 2008).

Tsumura has set the benchmark for scholarship within the supposed 'Deuteronomist tradition'. Finally an evangelical has broken through the shackles of the vestiges of 18th-19th Century Romanticism! I hope this trend continues within academia for other affected sections of the OT. Tsumura's understanding of Hebrew is brilliant and he offers some excellent innovative ideas to begin explaining some of the more difficult texts strewn throughout 1 Samuel. I just feel sorry for those who have had the task of writing commentaries on this book in the next 10 to 15 years. Woodhouse and Murphy have delivered some decent work since this publication but neither, as good as they are, come close to this outstanding effort! Well worth the shelf space and if you can have only one commentary on 1 Samuel this is the one to get your hands on!