First and Second Samuel: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching

By Walter Brueggemann

Book Overview

With critical scholarship and theological sensitivity, Walter Brueggemann traces the people of God through the books of Samuel as they shift from marginalized tribalism to oppressive monarchy. He carefully opens the literature of the books, sketching a narrative filled with historical realism but also bursting with an awareness that more than human action is being presented.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0664238688
• ISBN13: 9780664238681
• Release Date: September 2012
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
• Length: 374 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Bruggemann Knows His Business!

This is an excellent book for the biblical scholar and students as well. Bruggemann will not put you to sleep as his writing is comprehensive; yet, easy to understand.

Very helpful, but limited

This commentary fulfills the goals of the series for the most part. Brueggemann is an excellent writer with keen sensitivities for the text. His attention to narrative issues is especially welcome when applied to perhaps the finest narrative in the Hebrew Bible. Thea aim of the Interpretation series is to provide insights for teaching and preaching, and these abound in this commentary. On the other hand, this is a commentary on both books of Samuel which is less than 400 pages in length. What that means is that not every verse receives attention. The focus is on the larger (more important?) stories. In addition there is little attention to issues of history, text, grammar, and translation. If you want a commentary that provides discussion of every verse, then you will have to look elsewhere, and you will not find a single volume that treats both books of Samuel. If you are looking for good, intelligent teaching material on major texts from these books, then this is the commentary to use. One other factor to consider is that this commentary is getting a bit old, and I and II Samuel have been the target of intense literary interest over the past two decades. Much has happened in the discussion of these books since this commentary was written with which it can obviously not interact.