Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 1 Samuel
First Samuel carries Israel from the disorder of the Judges to a throne. It follows Samuel the prophet, Saul the first king who is rejected for disobedience, and the shepherd boy David whom God chooses as a man after His own heart. It all begins with a praying woman. This commentary walks through it verse by verse.
About This Commentary
First and Second Samuel were originally a single book. Together they tell how God gave Israel a king. First Samuel opens with the birth of Samuel, moves through the people's demand for a king like the nations, the reign and rejection of Saul, and the long story of David's rise, from his anointing as a boy, to Goliath, to years of flight from a jealous king. Underneath it all runs one theme: God is the true King, and He looks on the heart.
This commentary covers 1 Samuel verse by verse, with the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, verified background, and an Apostolic reading. David, the shepherd-king anointed and yet long rejected before he reigns, foreshadows the greater Son of David, Jesus. References are given at the foot of each chapter.
This commentary on First Samuel is complete, all thirty-one chapters covered verse by verse, from Hannah's prayer to the death of Saul on Gilboa.
Author
Composite; Jewish tradition credits Samuel, Nathan, and Gad (1 Chronicles 29:29).
Setting
From Shiloh to the kingdom, at the transition from judges to kings.
Key People
Samuel the prophet, Saul the first king, and David God's chosen.
Theme
God is the true King and looks on the heart, not the outward appearance.
Translation
King James Version (KJV) throughout.
The Chapters
1 Samuel Commentary
The chapters below are available now. The rest are being written and will open here as they are finished and verified.
1 Samuel 1:1-28
Hannah's Prayer
A barren, grieving Hannah pours out her soul before the LORD and vows to give back any son He grants. God remembers her, and Samuel, the prophet who will anoint kings, is born and lent to the LORD.
Read Chapter 1 →1 Samuel 2:1-36
There Is None Holy as the LORD
Hannah's song exalts the one holy God who lifts the lowly and casts down the proud, and names the LORD's "anointed," the first note of the Messiah. Against it stands the corruption of Eli's sons, and God's word of judgment with the promise of a faithful priest to come.
Read Chapter 2 →1 Samuel 3:1-21
Speak, LORD; For Thy Servant Heareth
In a day when the word of the LORD was rare, God calls the boy Samuel by name. Taught by Eli, he answers, "Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth," receives a hard first word against Eli's house, and is established as a prophet whose words never fall to the ground.
Read Chapter 3 →1 Samuel 4:1-22
Ichabod, The Glory Is Departed
Israel carries the ark into battle as a talisman and is routed, the ark captured and Eli's sons slain. The old priest falls dead at the news, and a dying mother names her son Ichabod, "the glory is departed from Israel," the peril of trusting the symbol instead of the LORD.
Read Chapter 4 →1 Samuel 5:1-12
Dagon Fallen Before the Ark
The captured ark is set beside the idol Dagon, who is found fallen, then broken, before the LORD. The heavy hand of God falls on city after city until the Philistines beg to send the ark home. The captured God proves Himself Lord of all.
Read Chapter 5 →1 Samuel 6:1-21
Who Is Able to Stand Before This Holy LORD God?
The Philistines return the ark with a trespass offering, and two nursing cows carry it straight to Bethshemesh against all nature. But joy turns to dread when men look irreverently into the ark, and Israel asks, "Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God?"
Read Chapter 6 →1 Samuel 7:1-17
Hitherto Hath the LORD Helped Us
Israel returns to the LORD, puts away its idols, and repents at Mizpeh. When the Philistines attack, Samuel offers a lamb and cries out, and the LORD thunders on the enemy. Samuel raises the stone Ebenezer, "Hitherto hath the LORD helped us," and Israel has peace.
Read Chapter 7 →1 Samuel 8:1-22
Make Us a King Like All the Nations
With Samuel old and his sons corrupt, Israel demands a king "like all the nations." God reveals the true heart of it, "they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them," and warns of all a king will take, yet the people insist, and God grants their demand.
Read Chapter 8 →1 Samuel 9:1-27
Behold the Man
Saul, a tall and handsome young Benjamite, goes out to find his father's lost donkeys and is led by providence to Samuel. God had prepared the seer the day before: "Behold the man whom I spake to thee of; this same shall reign over my people."
Read Chapter 9 →1 Samuel 10:1-27
God Gave Him Another Heart
Samuel anoints Saul with oil, and confirming signs unfold as the Spirit of the LORD comes upon him and he is "turned into another man." Chosen publicly by lot at Mizpeh, the reluctant king is presented, and the people shout, "God save the king."
Read Chapter 10 →1 Samuel 11:1-15
The LORD Hath Wrought Salvation in Israel
Nahash the Ammonite threatens Jabesh-gilead, and the Spirit of God comes upon Saul, who rallies Israel and routs the enemy. In victory he refuses vengeance and gives God the glory, and the kingdom is joyfully renewed at Gilgal.
Read Chapter 11 →1 Samuel 12:1-25
God Forbid That I Should Cease to Pray for You
Samuel's farewell as judge: he clears his name, rehearses God's faithful acts, calls people and king to fear and obey the LORD, confirms it with thunder in harvest, and vows never to cease praying, for God will not forsake His people for His great name's sake.
Read Chapter 12 →1 Samuel 13:1-23
A Man After His Own Heart
With the Philistines massing and his army melting away, Saul cannot wait for Samuel and offers the sacrifice himself, "I forced myself." The disobedience costs him his dynasty: "the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart."
Read Chapter 13 →1 Samuel 14:1-52
No Restraint to the LORD to Save
Jonathan and his armourbearer climb a cliff against the Philistine garrison, trusting that "there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few." God routs the enemy, but Saul's rash oath troubles the land and nearly costs Jonathan his life.
Read Chapter 14 →1 Samuel 15:1-35
To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice
Commanded to destroy Amalek utterly, Saul spares King Agag and the best of the spoil, then claims he obeyed. Samuel's verdict cuts deep, "to obey is better than sacrifice," "rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft," and Saul is rejected as king.
Read Chapter 15 →1 Samuel 16:1-23
The LORD Looketh on the Heart
Samuel anoints David at Bethlehem, passing over the impressive elder brothers, for "the LORD looketh on the heart." The Spirit rushes on the shepherd boy, while it departs from Saul, whom David is brought to soothe with the harp.
Read Chapter 16 →1 Samuel 17:1-58
The Battle Is the LORD's
David and Goliath: a giant defies the armies of the living God, and a shepherd boy answers with faith, "the battle is the LORD's." One stone fells the champion, and the shepherd of Bethlehem wins the victory his trembling people could not, a picture of Christ our Champion.
Read Chapter 17 →1 Samuel 18:1-30
The LORD Was With David
Jonathan loves David as his own soul and gives him his royal robe, while Saul, jealous of the women's song, hurls a javelin and sets marriage snares to destroy him. But every scheme fails, for "the LORD was with David."
Read Chapter 18 →1 Samuel 19:1-24
Slay David Without a Cause
Saul's jealousy turns to open murder. Jonathan pleads for the innocent David, but Saul breaks his oath, hurls the javelin, and hunts him. God protects His anointed at every turn, even overpowering Saul's assassins, and Saul himself, with His Spirit.
Read Chapter 19 →1 Samuel 20:1-42
The LORD Be Between Thee and Me For Ever
David is "but a step" from death, and Jonathan binds himself and his house to David in "the kindness of the LORD," freely yielding the throne. When Saul's rage at the feast confirms the danger, the two friends part in tears, held by the covenant of the LORD.
Read Chapter 20 →1 Samuel 21:1-15
The Fugitive King
The hunted David is given the holy shewbread at Nob, an act Jesus cited to teach mercy over ritual, and takes Goliath's sword. Then, gripped by fear, he flees to enemy Gath and escapes only by feigning madness, from which valley he wrote Psalms 34 and 56.
Read Chapter 21 →1 Samuel 22:1-23
The Cave of Adullam
David gathers a band of the distressed, indebted, and discontented at the cave of Adullam, a picture of Christ receiving the weary. Meanwhile Saul, in jealous rage, slaughters the priests of Nob by the hand of Doeg the Edomite, and Abiathar alone escapes to David.
Read Chapter 22 →1 Samuel 23:1-29
He Strengthened His Hand in God
Enquiring of the LORD, David saves Keilah, only to learn its people would betray him. Jonathan comes one last time and strengthens his hand in God, and when Saul nearly traps him at Maon, a Philistine invasion turns the king away at the Rock of Escape.
Read Chapter 23 →1 Samuel 24:1-22
Mine Hand Shall Not Be Upon Thee
Saul walks into the very cave where David hides, and David spares him, refusing to touch the LORD's anointed. He cuts only the skirt of Saul's robe, appeals to God as judge, and Saul weeps and confesses, 'Thou art more righteous than I.'
Read Chapter 24 →1 Samuel 25:1-44
Kept From Avenging Myself
Samuel dies, and the fool Nabal repays David's kindness with scorn, provoking David to arm for slaughter. Wise Abigail rides out, takes the blame on herself, and keeps David from shedding blood; then the LORD Himself strikes Nabal, and David takes Abigail to wife.
Read Chapter 25 →1 Samuel 26:1-25
Who Can Stretch Forth His Hand Against the LORD's Anointed?
A second time God delivers the sleeping Saul into David's power, and a second time David refuses to strike the LORD's anointed, taking only the spear and cruse. He leaves vengeance and reward with God, and the two part for the last time.
Read Chapter 26 →1 Samuel 27:1-12
David Said in His Heart
Gripped by fear, David reasons he will perish by Saul's hand and flees to Achish of Gath, settling at Ziklag. A step taken in fear leads to sixteen months of exile, raiding, and deception, the low ebb of David's faith.
Read Chapter 27 →1 Samuel 28:1-25
The LORD Answered Him Not
On the eve of battle, Saul enquires of the LORD and hears only silence, so he creeps to the medium at Endor. There God permits the dead Samuel to pronounce the doom Saul has earned: tomorrow he and his sons will die.
Read Chapter 28 →1 Samuel 29:1-11
The Lords Favour Thee Not
David's compromise has carried him to the brink of fighting against his own people, but God works through the suspicion of the Philistine princes to send him home in peace, rescuing him from a snare his own unbelief had made.
Read Chapter 29 →1 Samuel 30:1-31
David Encouraged Himself in the LORD
David returns to find Ziklag burned and his family taken, and his own men speak of stoning him. At the lowest hour he encourages himself in the LORD, enquires, pursues, and recovers all, then decrees that all share alike in the spoil.
Read Chapter 30 →1 Samuel 31:1-13
So Saul Died
On Mount Gilboa the word of God is fulfilled: Israel is routed, Jonathan and his brothers fall, and the wounded Saul takes his own life. The men of Jabesh-gilead honor his body, and the way is cleared for David. The final chapter of First Samuel.
Read Chapter 31 →