Joyce Baldwin on 1 and 2 Samuel

Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Nottingham: IVP, 2008).

IVP have been slowly reissuing the Tyndale commentaries (Old and New Testament) in a new format. IVP USA make available the Introduction to the volume on 1 and 2 Samuel, written by Joyce Baldwin (first published in 1988).

The blurb on the UK website reads:

‘The stories of Samuel, Saul and David are among the most memorable in the Old Testament. Yet the lives of these individuals are bound up in the larger story of God’s purpose for his people. Looking beyond the well-known surface of these stories, Joyce Baldwin explores the meaning of the biblical history of Israel’s vital transition from a confederation of tribes to nationhood under a king. This commentary provides an excellent introduction to the critical issues of authorship, date, composition and structure of Samuel, as well as an able discussion of its theological themes.’

When it comes to the theology of the books, Baldwin notes three chapters which stand out as ‘markers’, characterised by their interpretation of historical changes taking place in the structure of Israel’s leadership structure – 1 Samuel 7, 1 Samuel 12, and 2 Samuel 7 – chapters in which a prophet expounds the divine word for each stage of the crisis through which the people of God are passing.

1 Samuel 7
‘The day came when Samuel, in his capacity as the Lord’s spokesman, intervened by calling for an acknowledgment of apostasy. Samuel’s order of priorities was first that the Israelites should put matters right between themselves and the Lord by serving only the one covenant God’ (37).

1 Samuel 12
‘In view of the repeated demand for a monarchy in Israel, a king had been appointed and proclaimed (1 Sam. 9–11). Samuel’s role must therefore change, and in a public declaration he clarifies the situation’ (38).

2 Samuel 7
‘This important chapter lays the foundation for the Davidic dynasty’ (39).