Chapter 1

1:1-2, 20 - Was Samuel an Ephraimite or a Levite

* 1 Chronicles 6:16-30 indicates that Samuel is a Levite and descended from Elkanah.  In 1 Samuel 1, Elkanah is called an Ephraimite because his family lived in a Levitical city in the boundaries of Ephraim.

1:2 - "He [Samuel's father] had two wives." Once again, by its silence, the Bible endorses polygamy.

* The Bible doesn't endorse polygamy.  Furthermore, many parts of the Bible record historical events.  Simply recording something that happened doesn't mean that it was right.

* In Genesis and beyond, God gives clear instructions for one man to marry one woman.

1:5 - "The Lord had shut up her [Hannah's] womb." Why? The Bible doesn't say. Maybe God had nothing better to do.

* Either God did this or let it happen so that He would be glorified with this miraculous birth.  There are surely other reasons, too.

1:11 - Hannah vows to give her son to the Lord and, as a sign of his holiness, to never cut his hair. But long hair on men is condemned in 1 Cor.11:14.

* 1 Samuel 1:11 was referring to a different culture than the one Paul addressed in 1 Corinthians 11:14.  What was acceptable and right in one culture was an abomination in another.

1:19-20 - "And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her [he probably said something like, "Oh yeah, she's the one whose womb I shut up."]. And Hannah conceived and "bare a son [Oh boy, another boy!], and called his name Samuel."

* This Hebrew word for "remembered" can also be translated "be mindful."  The text simply indicates that God chose to bless her at this time.  Even though God knows all things and is omnipresent, Bible writers often tried to humanize the actions of God in order to relate to Him and understand Him better.

Chapter 2

2:1 - After god "opened her womb" Hannah exclaims, "my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies." Sounds kinky to me.

* This is simply an idiom for smiling and rejoicing.

2:6, 25 - "The Lord killeth ..." -- every chance he gets.

* The Creator is the rightful giver and taker of life.

2:8 - In Job (26:7) it is said that the earth sets upon nothing, but this verse says it sets upon pillars.

* This language is used to indicate that God is in control of the foundation of the Earth.  It doesn't mean that there are literal pillars that hold the Earth.

2:10 - "The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them." If God doesn't like you, he'll send a thunderstorm your way to break your body into little pieces.

* This verse clearly indicates that "the adversaries" (or the people who fight the Lord) will lose.

2:21 - "And the Lord visited Hannah [again], so that she conceived." Did he get her pregnant in the usual way?

* God aided Hannah in conceiving more children.

2:22 - The sons of Eli had sex with women "at the door of the tabernacle."

* Eli's wicked sons had sex with women that worked by the door of the tabernacle.  They didn't necessarily have sex at this location.

2:31-34 - If you're not careful God will cut off your arm, consume your eyes, grieve your heart, and kill your sons and grandfathers.

* The phrase "cut off your arm" is figurative and refers to the removal of power and influence.

Chapter 5

5:6, 9, 12 - God smites the people of Ashdod with hemorrhoids "in their secret parts."

* This Hebrew word for their affliction is "emerod" in the KJV.  It can mean a variety of things, including a "plague" or "tumor."  This was their judgment for taking the Ark of the Covenant.

Chapter 6

6:4-5, 11, 17 - After striking the Philistines with hemorrhoids "in their secret parts," he demands that they send him five golden hemorrhoids as a "trespass offering."

* They realized their wicked ways and repented.

6:5 - How many gods are there?

* There is one, uncreated God.  However, there are many "gods" and "idols."

* See "Special Questions" for more on this.

6:6 - "... as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts." But the Pharaoh didn't harden his heart; God did. (The Pharaoh must have had an especially soft heart because God had to harden it ten times.)

* This verse is correct.  Pharaoh hardened his heart (and God hardened his heart, also).

6:19 - God kills 50,070 men for looking into the ark. "And the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter." Yet God is supposed to be merciful.

* The perfect Creator holds the right to judge people for their sins.  He can judge 70, 5000,  or 50,000.  Only a just judge and Creator would punish someone for their sins and God is a just judge and Creator.

Chapter 7

7:1-2 - How long was the ark of the covenant at Abinadab's house?

* According to 1 Samuel 7:1 and 2, the Ark had been at Abinadab's house for 20 years.  In these verses (and in this chapter), there is no mention of the Ark being moved, who moved the Ark, where it was moved, etc.  We can safely conclude that it wasn't moved.  It remained there for at least 20 more years.

7:7-9 - Must sacrifices be made by Levites near the tabernacle?

* The Levites were commanded to offer the sacrifices to God.  They were set apart for this reason.

* In 1 Samuel 7:9, Samuel offers the sacrifices because the Ark and the Tabernacle were not present.  Incidentally, it is possible that Samuel ordered Eleazar the Priest to perform the sacrifice and the scriptures simply indicate Samuel did it because it was by his decree.

Chapter 8

8:2 - Was Samuel's firstborn son Joel as this verse says or Vahni as is said in 1 Chr.6:28?

* 1 Samuel 8:2 indicates that Joel was Samuel's firstborn son.  This is also indicated by 1 Chronicles 6:33.  In 1 Chronicles 6:28, we likely see another name that Joel was called: Vashni.  Incidentally, the Syriac and Arabic translations (along with NKJV, TLB, ASV, NIV, etc.) have "Joel" instead of Vashni.

* Some translators believe that the Hebrew word "veshni" means "second" and was accidentally translated into a proper name.  At any rate, Joel was the firstborn son of Samuel.

Chapter 9

9:1 - Who was the father of Kish?

* Kish was Saul's father.  Ner was Kish's father.  Abiel was their Ner's father.

* In 1 Samuel 9:1, when we read that "Kish was the son of Abiel," this Hebrew word for "son" doesn't indicate a father-son relationship.  It is widely used to represent a descendant and it has a wide variety of meanings.  In this instance, it is referring to a grandson.  There is no ancient Hebrew word that specifically and only means "grandson," therefore some of the genealogies can appear confusing or misleading.

Chapter 10

10:11-12 - There are two stories (see 1 Sam.19:24) for the origin of the famous proverb: "Is Saul also among the prophets?" Both cannot be true.

* These are complementary stories.  They both indicate Saul and how he began prophesying among the prophets.  Each account simply gives some additional details, but nothing contradicts.

Chapter 11

11:2 - "I make a covenant with your, that I may thrust out all your right eyes." Deals like this can only be found in the Bible.

* These pagan people wanted to remove or puncture the right eye of each Israelite.  This would make them ineffective in battle and the slaves of the Ammonites.

11:6-7 - "And the spirit of God came upon Saul ... and he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coast of Israel [just as the Levite did to his concubine in Jg.19:22-30]". People do the darnedest things when the spirit of God comes upon them!

* Saul was angry because these pagans were threatening to seriously injure the Israelites and take them as captives.

11:11 - "Saul ... slew the Ammorites unto the heat of the day." Then he probably took a little break. After all, killing is hard work.

* Over 300,000 Israelites responded to the dead oxen that Saul sent and they gathered and destroyed these, wicked Ammonites.

Chapter 12

12:14 - Should we fear God?

* Yes, we should fear God.

* 2 Timothy 2:17 states that God hasn't given us the spirit to fear other humans.

* 1 John 4:18 simply indicates that there is "no fear in love . . . he who fears has not been made perfect in love."  This is also referring to fearing other humans.

Chapter 14

14:12-14 - God delivers the Philistines into Johathan's hand. And his very "first slaughter ... was about twenty men." Not bad for a first slaughter.

* God judged these unrepentant pagans with death.

14:20 - Under God's influence, the Philistines killed each other.

* This verse doesn't necessarily indicate that God caused the Philistines to kill each other.  However, there was some sort of insurrection and they did.

14:36 - But later, Saul and his army kill all of those who had not already been killed.

* God's judgment against these, wicked Philistines was death.

Chapter 15

15:2-3 - God orders Saul to kill all of the Amalekites: men, women, infants, sucklings, ox, sheep, camels, and asses. Why? Because God remembers what Amalek did hundreds of years ago. What did this have to do with the present situation? Nothing. God just wanted to some more innocent people killed. Yet God is supposed to be merciful.

* There were many reasons why these people were judged with death.  The scriptures don't indicate all of them, though.  Their wickedness and idolatry were certainly two reasons.

* God is merciful.  He generally allows people to sin countless times without judging them with death.  However, the Creator holds the right to judge His creation that turned sinful.  Only a poor or wicked judge would abstain from making righteous judgments.

15:7-26 - Saul killed everyone but Agag (the king) and the best of the animals. But still God was furious with Saul for not killing everything as he had been told to do. He said, "it repenteth me that I have se Saul up to be king."

* In this situation, God specifically commanded Saul to avoid taking the Amalekites' animals and things.  Therefore, He was very angry that Saul allowed the Israelites to disobey Him.

15:10-11, 35 - These verses say that God repented of making Saul king. But just a few verses later (15:29) it says that God never repents.

* In this verse, the Hebrew word for "repent" also means "greatly regret."  God greatly regretted making Saul king.

15:29 - Does God repent or lie?

* God cannot repent from a sin because He cannot be tempted and cannot sin.

* This Hebrew word for "repenting" is also translated "relenting."  Sometimes God "relented" from the judgment He was going to give.  He didn't "repent" from a sin, though.

15:32-34 - To please God, Samuel hacks Agag in pieces "before the Lord" [I bet God enjoyed that!] -- after Agag pleads with him saying, "surely the bitterness of death has past."

* God decided that Agag deserved the death penalty for his wickedness.  The first part of 1 Samuel 15:33 reads, "But Samuel said, 'As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.'"

Chapter 16

16:10-11 - This passage says that Jesse had eight sons, but 1 Chr.2:13-15 says he had only seven.

* In 1 Samuel 16:10, this Hebrew word for "sons" can refer to grandchildren, too.  Therefore, it appears that Jesse showed seven children and one grandchild to Samuel.  It is also possible that he had another son that died.  This could explain why he was counted in the earlier historical accounts and omitted from some later ones.

16:13 - After God rejects Saul for refusing to kill indiscriminately, he sends Samuel to find another king. David is chosen and anointed by Samuel, and "the spirit of the Lord came upon him from that day forward."

* Saul was no longer the best king for Israel (and whether he ever was is a topic of debate).  God had chosen a much better king.

16:14-16, 23 - "But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul [since he was not murderous enough for God], and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him." but if God is good, then how could he have an evil spirit?

* God would allow this "distressing spirit" to afflict Saul.  All spirits are under God's control.  He made all of them.  However, some of them disobeyed God and fell to Earth in rebellion.  These evil spirits can be made to enforce God's judgment and further His plans.

16:21-22 - From these verses it is clear that Saul knows David well. Yet later, in the next chapter (17:55-58), Saul can't even recognize David.

* Saul was famous and powerful.  Simply because he was once told about David's father and had him play the harp for him, it doesn't mean he remembered who his father was.

* After David slays Goliath and cuts off his head, Saul is clearly dumbstruck and in awe.  Therefore, he asks some questions about David and wants to know him better.  Incidentally, the scriptures don't indicate how much time passes between 1 Samuel 16 and 1 Samuel 17.  There is obviously an interval of time, though.

16:23 - David plays his harp and makes Saul's "evil spirit from the Lord" go away.

* This is correct.  David's music that glorified the Lord made the distressing spirit go away from Saul.

Chapter 17

17:4 - Goliath was ten feet tall ("six cubits and a span").

* Goliath was a very tall man.  There are many possible reasons why he was this tall.  We see in Genesis 6 and after the flood that there were some demonically impregnated people that grew to be giants.  Goliath and his siblings were likely of this variety.

17:49-51 - How did David kill Goliath? With a sling ( verse 50) or a sword (verse 51)? Or did he kill him twice?

* According to the scriptures, David "smote" or "wounded" the Philistine with a stone.  He apparently knocked him unconscious.  Afterwards, he grabbed a sword and killed him with it.

17:50 - Here it says that David killed Goliath, but 2 Sam.21:19 says that Elhanan killed him. (The words "the brother of" were inserted into the text of the King James version to avoid the obvious contradiction, which is shown by the italics used.)

* In the KJV and NJKV, 2 Samuel 21:19 corresponds with 1 Samuel 17:50.  There is consistency.  Some manuscripts or translations may not indicate "the brother of," but even in those, the meaning is surely implied and known.

17:51, 54 - David kills Goliath with his sling, beheads him, and carries the head back to Jerusalem.

* David knocks Goliath down with the stone, then he beheads him and carries the head to Jerusalem.

17:55-58 - In this passage Saul can't even recognize David, yet according to 16:21-22 Saul knows David very well indeed.

* Saul was famous and powerful.  Simply because he was once told about David's father and had David play the harp for him, it doesn't mean he remembered who they were.

* After David slays Goliath and cuts off his head, Saul is clearly dumbstruck and in awe.  Therefore, he asks some questions about David and wants to know him better.  Incidentally, the scriptures don't indicate how much time passes between 1 Samuel 16 and 1 Samuel 17.  There is obviously an interval of time, though.

Chapter 18

18:1-4 - "The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul ... And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments ... and his girdle."

* David and Jonathan were very close friends.  There is no mention or implication of homosexuality.

18:6-7 - David and Saul have a contest to see who can kill the most people for God, and the women act as cheerleaders saying, "Saul has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands."

* Tens of thousands of people had opposed David and fought against him.  Thousands had opposed Saul.  Therefore, the people are indicating that David was the stronger fighter and better leader.  He had overcome larger odds.

18:10 - "The evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied."

* This evil spirit that God allowed to oppress (and possibly come inside) Saul helped him utter false prophecies and even caused him to try and kill David.

18:16 - "All Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them."

* The phrase "he went out and came in before them" can also be translated "he was one of them."  David related to the people and loved them.  Therefore, they loved him, too.

18:25-27 - David kills 200 Philistines and brings their foreskins to Saul to buy his first wife (Saul's daughter Michal). Saul had only asked for 100 foreskins, but David was feeling generous.

* The Philistines were their wicked, pagan enemies.  Therefore, Saul wanted David to kill some of them before he gave him his daughter in marriage.  God was still judging these pagans for their sins and the Israelites were His sword.

Chapter 19

19:2 - "Jonathan ... delighted much in David."

* Jonathan and David were close friends.  Nothing more is mentioned or implied.

19:8 - "David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter."

* The Philistines were their wicked, pagan enemies.  God was still judging these pagans for their sins and the Israelites were His sword.

19:9 - And the evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul." Poor guy, he just can't keep God's evil spirit off of himself.

* God continued to allow this evil spirit to afflict Saul.

19:24 - Saul gets a bit carried away with his prophesying "and he stripped off his clothes ... and lay down naked all that day and night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?" (But see 1 Sam.10:11-12 for another story explaining the origin of this famous proverb.)

* These are complementary stories.  They both indicate Saul and how he began prophesying among the prophets.  Each account simply gives some additional details, but nothing contradicts.

Chapter 20

20:30 - Saul is angered by his son's homosexual affair with David and says, "do not I know that thou has chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion of thy mother's nakedness?"

* There is no mention of a homosexual affair.  This assertion is ludicrous.

* Saul is angry at his son because he is David's friend and submitting to God by allowing him to be the next king.  Saul would prefer that Jonathan be the next king and is angry that he isn't forcing his will.

20:41 - David and Jonathan "kissed one another, and wept with one another" when they parted for the last time.

* People in many cultures give a kiss on the cheek as a welcome and as a departing custom.  Nothing obscene is mentioned or implied.

Chapter 21

21:1 - When David fled from Saul and came to Nob the name of the high priest was Ahimelech. But in Mk.2:26, Jesus said his name was Abiathar. Another interesting question is: Was David alone when he came to Nob?

* Jesus specifically said it was, "in the time of Abiathar the high priest."  Jesus never said Abiathar was the high priest.  Abiathar is mentioned in 1 Samuel 22.  Therefore, the preceding chapter could be considered, "in the time of Abiathar the high priest."

* David was getting the bread to feed him and some men.  These men are mentioned in 1 Samuel 21:5 and in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  However, when he was in front of the priest, he was alone.  This is why the priest identifies him as alone, but inquires about the men.  This is also why the gospel writers indicate the bread was for David and his men that were with him.  They were with him, but in this scene, they were not in the same room.

21:4-5 - The priest tells David that he and his men can eat the "hallowed" bread if "they have kept themselves at least from women." David assures the priest that they have and that "the vessels of the young men are holy." So it'd be OK for them to eat the holy bread.

* David's men were very hungry.  Therefore, they were allowed to eat some of the holy bread.  The priest wanted to make sure they hadn't been defiled and they hadn't been.

21:12 - David acts like he's crazy, scribbles on the gates of Gath, and lets spit run down his beard. All this he did in front of Israel's enemies in the hopes that they would take him in and protect him from Saul.

* David either had some epileptic symptoms because he feared for his life or he simply acted.  Either way, his life was spared.

Chapter 22

22:18-19 - Saul kills 85 priests of Nob and all men, women, children, and animals in the city of Nob.

* Doeg was actually killing the priests by Saul's request.  This was a wicked thing to do and there is no evidence that God approved.

22:20 - This verse (and 23:6) says Abiathar was the son of Ahimelech. But several other verses say that Abiathar was Ahimelech's father.

* According to 1 Samuel 22:20-23 and 1 Samuel 23:6,  Ahimelech was the father of Abiathar. 

* According to 2 Samuel 8:17, 1 Chronicles 18:16, and 1 Chronicles 24:6, Abiathar (the son of Ahimelech) was the father of a child he named Ahimelech.

Chapter 23

23:2 - "David inquires of the Lord, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the Lord said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines ... So David smote them with a great slaughter."

* The Philistines were unrepentant, wicked pagans.  Therefore, God chose to judge them with death.

Chapter 25

25:22, 34 - David vows to will kill "any that pisseth against the wall."

* This phrase in the KJV that reads "pisseth against the wall" is an idiom for the male gender.

25:38 - "And it came to pass about ten days after, that the Lord smote Nabal, that he died." This was convenient for David who then stole his property and his wife, Abigail.

* This verse simply indicates that Nabal died (likely from a heart attack).  David married Abigail the widow and inherited his things.

25:41-44 - So David takes his second wife (Abigail) after God killed he husband (Nabal). He also, at the same time, took another wife (#3), Abinam. In the meantime, Saul gave Michal (his daughter and David's first wife) to another man.

* David married Abigail and Ahinoam and Saul gave Michal to another man.

Chapter 27

27:8-11 - "And David smote the land and left neither man nor woman alive." (No wonder God liked David so much!) Among those that David exterminated were the Amalekites. But there couldn't have been any Amalekites to kill since Saul killed them all (1 Sam.15:7-8) just a little while before.

* In between 1 Samuel 15 and 1 Samuel 27, several years pass.  This was enough time for more people to inhabit the land of the Amalekites.  These were the people that David conquered.

* 1 Samuel 15:7 indicated a certain location where Saul conquered the Amalekites.  There were surely some of them that lived in a different location.  Incidentally, 1 Samuel 28:18 tells us that Saul did not execute God's wrath on Amalek.  We can assume he didn't kill them all.

Chapter 28

28:6 - "And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not." But if so, then why does it say in 1 Chr.10:13-14 that "Saul ... inquired not of the Lord?"

* In 1 Samuel 28:6, this Hebrew word for "inquire" can be translated "demand."  When Saul sought the Lord in this way, He did not hear him.

* In 1 Chronicles 10:13 and 14, this different Hebrew word for "inquire" means "worship," "seek," "search," "follow" and "ask."  Saul did not do this and this is part of the reason why God judged Him by taking his life.

28:8-19 - Saul visits a woman with a "familiar spirit" and she brings Samuel back from the dead. Samuel once again explains that God is angry at Saul for not killing all of the Amelekites. He says God is going to deliver all of Israel into the hands of the Philistines. (Since Saul refused to slaughter innocent people, God will slaughter the Israelites. Fair is fair.)

* God was angry at Saul for several reasons.  Therefore, Saul is told about his upcoming death.

28:13 - Samuel's witch sees gods coming out of the earth. Really? Well just how many gods are there anyway?

* There is one, uncreated God and man "gods" and "idols."  In this verse, this Hebrew word for "gods" is likely referring to "spirits."  It has a wide variety of usages.

Chapter 30

30:1 - The Amalekites are a tough tribe. Twice they were "utterly destroyed": first by Saul (1 Sam.15:7-8) and then by David (1 Sam.27:9-11). Yet here they are, just a few years later, fighting the Israelites again!

* These Amalekites were surely a traveling horde and they burned Ziklag and took captives.  Therefore, the Israelites fought them, again.

30:5 - David just keeps getting more wives. God doesn't seem to mind a bit.

* This verse doesn't tell us that David got more wives.  In fact, it simply tells us that his, two wives were captured by the Amalekites.

30:7 - Abiathar was Ahimelech's son -- or was he his father?

* According to 1 Samuel 22:20-23 and 1 Samuel 23:6,  Ahimelech was the father of Abiathar. 

* According to 2 Samuel 8:17, 1 Chronicles 18:16, and 1 Chronicles 24:6, Abiathar (the son of Ahimelech) was the father of a child he named Ahimelech.

30:17 - David spends the day killing more of those pesky Amalekites. They are completely wiped out again. (See 1 Sam.15:7-8, 20 and 27:8-9 for the last two times that they were exterminated.)

* The other passages don't indicate that the Amalekites were exterminated.  They only indicate that the Amalekites that were in certain regions and battles were eliminated.  Furthermore, this verse indicates that 400 of the young, male Amalekites escaped from this battle.

Chapter 31

31:4-6 - This verse claims that Saul committed suicide, but 2 Sam.1:8-10 says he was killed by an Amalekite, and 2 Sam.21:12 says that he was killed by the Philistines.

* Saul was hit by a Philistine arrow (1 Samuel 31:3).  Next, Saul laid on his armor bearer's sword (1 Samuel 31:4).  While he was dying, an Amalekite came by and killed him (2 Samuel 1:6-10).