Baldwin, J. G. 1 and 2 Samuel. TOTC. InterVarsity, 1988, repr. 1999 (299 pp.). Informative treatment. Provides a brief review of the state of Samuel studies from Wellhausen to the present, from source-critical studies to canonical and literary analysis. Well-organized with additional notes interspersed throughout verse-by-verse commentary. Individual page headers specify verses treated–an especially useful feature for quick-reference. Baldwin gracefully navigates between the larger program of God’s plan for Israel and the smaller episodes of his ways with them as these are brought together and worked out in the books of Samuel. More thorough treatments are available (e.g. Klein and Anderson), but the purpose of the commentary is well-served: to present a readable study from careful reflection.

Birch, B. C. “The First and Second Books of Samuel.” NIB, 2. Abingdon, 1998 (1388 pp.; 947-1383). A solid contribution to a multivolume commentary (12 large ones in all) by an eclectic “who’s who” in contemporary biblical scholarship. Includes standard introductory discussion, with noteworthy comments on the text and composition of Samuel, and section-by-section (not verse-by-verse) exposition that includes introductory overview, textual commentary, and expository reflections. Preachers and teachers will find Birch’s treatment generally readable and especially helpful in grasping the significance of Samuel for the church’s life and faith.

Brueggemann, W. First and Second Samuel.  Interpretation. John Knox, 1990 (362 pp.). The hallmark of the Interpretation series is its intentional expository and theological orientation, an integrated passage-by-passage (not verse-by-verse) “interpretation which is both faithful to the text and useful to the church . . . written for those who teach, preach, and study the Bible in the community of faith” (Preface). Readers who engage Brueggemann’s ever provocative, often eloquent, and sometimes brilliant work will be the better for the engagement, even if they do not see eye to eye on this point or that.

Evans, M. J. 1 and 2 Samuel.  NIBC. Hendrickson, 2000 (267 pp.). A less technical treatment even than Baldwin, almost without critical discussion. A well-rounded (but brief) introduction includes a look at ‘politics’, ‘people’, and ‘power’ in Samuel, along with the usual ‘authorship’, ‘sources’, etc. Concerned with unity between the books, despite the absence of Samuel in the second. In this way Evans follows Baldwin in her concern to understand individual narrated events within a larger context. At times the additional notes at the end of each section might have been included in the commentary, though the format remains readable. However, many of the notes are purely conjectural, which may detract from the cohesiveness of the message in the (unified) books which Evans declares is her goal.

Klein, R. W. 1 Samuel.  WBC. Word, 1983 (307 pp.). As the companion to Anderson’s volume (above), Klein offers a similarly structured treatment of the first book of Samuel. All of the same categories apply, but where Anderson’s contribution to the textual discussion is strong, Klein’s is more concise (and perhaps more restricted as a result; relying heavily on LXX). A particular strength of Klein’s commentary, however, is his more theologically oriented explanation section. The more detailed commentary sections, which precede the explanations in WBC, also appear to serve their corresponding explanation sections by pursuing the theological significance of the details mediated in the story. Consistent effort to bring the theological to the fore has produced a useful and balanced companion for intermediate Samuel study.