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For more great commentaries on 2 Samuel, be sure to check:
Commentaries on the Whole Old Testament
& Whole Bible Commentaries
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Order of Contents 22+
Best 6
Commentaries 9+
Early Church 6
Harmony of 1
Christ in
Bible Characters:
Joab
Mephibosheth
Absalom
Ahithophel
Shimei
Barzillai
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The Best Commentaries on 2 Samuel
Practical & Devotional
De Graaf, S.G. – ‘David’ in Promise & Deliverance, vol. 2: The Failure of Israel’s Theocracy (1977), pp. 147-192
De Graff is a Dutch Reformed author who focuses on the unfolding of the Covenant through history. He writes in an easy to read, but insightful style.
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Intermediate
Reformers
ed. Cooper, Derek & Martin Lohrmann – Reformation Commentary on Scripture: 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles Buy
Calvin, John – Sermons on Second Samuel: Chapters 1-13 Buy
These sermons are different from his commentary.
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Puritan
Willet, Andrew – A Harmony upon the 2nd Book of Samuel (1614)
Willet (1562–1621)
*** – ‘The work continues the Hexapla to which we have referred… It is unusually brief for the age of its composition, and full of variety. Under every verse, and often clause of a verse, the learned author proposes a question, and proceeds to answer it. These are such as the following: ‘What a daughter of Belial is?’ ‘Whether any may be said to sin with the will of God?’ ‘What doors of the house of Jehovah Samuel opened?’ ‘What is to be thought of Eli’s state before God?” – Spurgeon
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1800’s
Blaikie, William – The Second Book of Samuel (1898)
Blaikie (1820-1899) was of the Free Church of Scotland.
“Few writers have bequeathed to posterity such a legacy of devout expoition and reverent scholarship as William Garden Blaikie. Towards the end of the nineteenth centtury, when Sir. William Robertson Nicoll began work on The Expositor’s Bible, he wisely invited Dr. Blaikie to contribute commentaries on the Book of Joshua and the Books of First and Second Samuel. Blaikie’s studies of these portions of the Old Testament rank among the finest ever produced.” – Cyril J. Barber
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Advanced
Keil & Delitzsch – 2 Samuel in Clark’s Foreign Theological Library
** – ‘Like most of Clark’s series, Keil’s works are valuable helps towards obtaining the meaning of the text; but for spiritual reflections and fruitful hints we must look elsewhere.’
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Commentaries
Practical & Devotional
Cumming, John – Sabbath Morning Readings on the Old Testament: the First & Second Books of Samuel (1859) The part on 2 Sam. is 144 pp.
Blackwood, Andrew – Pt. 3, ‘The Man who Leads in Rebuilding’ ToC in Preaching from Samuel Buy (Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1946), pp. 187-243
‘A series of sermons showing how the pastor may introduce variety into his preaching and still expound the text.’ – Cyril J. Barber
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Intermediate
Puritan
Guild, William – 2 Samuel †1657
Guild (1586–1657) was a moderate Scottish covenanter.
** – ‘The manuscript of this rare book was sent to Dr. John Owen by the widow of the author, with a letter of her own, informing him that her dying husband desired it to be so forwarded. Dr. Owen says, that he found the treatise ‘written with perspicuity and clearness, handling a subject of great and delightful variety, with a choice mixture of spiritual, moral, and political observations, tempered by a good and sound judgment unto common capacities.’ We do not presume to criticize where Owen commends, but we should not have originated such a commendation.’ – Spurgeon
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1800’s
Allen, John – A Spiritual Exposition of the Old Testament: from Joshua to the end of the Psalms (1816)
‘Spiritual reflections after the high Calvinistic school. Some preachers cannot see Christ where He is, but Allen finds Him where He is not. There is in these reflections much godly savor, but very little exposition.’ – Spurgeon
This Allen was not the one that translated Calvin’s Institutes. James Darling said that Allen was an Antinomian (one who believes that Christians are not bound by moral injunctions). Antinomians, not believing that moral injunctions should be derived from God’s Word, often replaced this large aspect of Scripture’s teaching with finding Christ everywhere in the Bible, especially the Old Testament.
Bush, George – Scripture Questions Designed Principally for Adult Bible Classes: Deut.-Esther
Bush was a Biblical scholar, a professor of oriental literature in New York City University, and initially a presbyterian minister.
Lindsay, Henry – Practical Lectures on the Historical Books of the Old Testament, vols. 1, 2 (1828) On 1 &2 Samuel only
* “Practical sermons on a few of the more prominent events.” – Spurgeon
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1900’s
Fleming, John D. – Israel’s Golden Age: The Story of the United Kingdom (1907) 160 pp. in Handbooks for Bible Classes, ed. Dods & Whyte
Fleming has some liberal tndencies and his exposition is not spiritual.
Davis, John – chs. 9-12 ToC in The Birth of a Kingdom: Studies in 1 & 2 Samuel & 1 & 2 Kings Buy (1970), pp. 111-69
‘Illuminates the historical record of the Books of Samuel and Kings, draws information from the comparative literature of the Ancient Near East on social and political conditions prevailing at the time, and highlights the Biblical text with material from archaeological investigations. A valuable book.’ – Cyril J. Barber
Barber, Cyril J. – The Books of Samuel: The Sovereignty of God Illustrated in the Lives of Samuel, Saul & David, vol. 1, 2 Buy (1998) Reprinted by Klock & Klock
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Advanced
Driver, Samuel R. – Notes on the Hebrew Text & the Typography of the Books of Samuel, with an Introduction on Hebrew Palaeography & the Ancient Versions & Fascimiles of Inscriptions (1890) 405 pp.
‘Liberal. Marred by Driver’s theological position, but indispensable for the study of the original text.’ – Cyril J. Barber
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The Early Church
ed. Franke, John – 2 Samuel in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel Buy (InterVarsity Press, 2005), pp. 331-402 ToC
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A Harmony of the Kings
Crockett, William Day – The Books of the Kings of Judah & Israel: A Harmony of the Books of Samuel, Kings & Chronicles (1897) 350 pp.
‘An attempt to reconcile and correlate the history of the Books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles into chronological sequence.’ – Cyril J. Barber
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Christ in 2 Samuel
Browne, Robert – Christ in the Prophets: Samuel (1873)
* “Of the High Church order, and praised by the Saturday Review. What worse need be said? Yet will we add that the savor of Christ in these books saves them from unqualified condemnation.” – Spurgeon
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Joab 2 Sam. 2-3, 10
Whyte, Alexander – Joab in Bible Characters, vol. 1 (d. 1921)
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Mephibosheth 2 Sam. 9
Whyte, Alexander – Mephibosheth in Bible Characters, vol. 1 d. 1921
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Absalom 2 Sam. 13-19
Whyte, Alexander – Absalom in Bible Characters, vol. 1 d. 1921
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Ahithophel 2 Sam. 15-17
Whyte, Alexander – Ahithophel in Bible Characters, vol. 1 d. 1921
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Shimei 2 Sam. 16, 19
Whyte, Alexander – Shimei in Bible Characters, vol. 1 d. 1921
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Barzillai 2 Sam. 19
Whyte, Alexander – Barzillai in Bible Characters, vol. 1 d. 1921
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