Reading for February 22nd

Read 1 Samuel 8.1-22
In 8.1-22: Israel demands a king.
In verses 1-3: Beer-sheba was the southernmost city in Judah far outside of Samuel's jurisdiction in 7.15-17.
It became an administrative center during the period of the monarchy of Judah.
These facts suggest 8.1-3 may have been written against the practice of hereditary leadership.
Like Eli's sons, Samuel's sons are evil.
In verses 4-9: Both Samuel and the Lord are displeased by the people's request for a king.
This does not necessarily mean that monarchy itself is bad but only that the people's request demonstrates a lack of trust in the Lord.
In verse 8: The review of Israel's history as one of forsaking the Lord is indicative of the deuteronomistic narrator's view.
In verse 10: Asking is a play on the name "Saul."
In verses 11-17: These verses preview the social consequences of monarchy by detailing the ways of the king.
The Hebrew word translated ways means "custom" or "judgment."
Ironically, the king to whom the people look for justice will follow the typical Near Eastern practices of taxation and conscription of workers for his service.
The items in this list appear to be based on Solomon's reign.
In verse 18: The language of this verse is characteristic of the deuteronomistic narrator and resembles that of the framework of the book of judges.
In verse 20: Govern, or "judge."
In verse 22: The Lord permits the people to have a king even though he does not approve of their demand.
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Reading for February 21st

Read 1 Samuel 7.2-17
In 7.2-17: Samuel judges Israel.
Samuel is described as a transitional figure between the era of the judges and the monarchy.
he embodies the roles of priest, prophet, and now judge.
In verse 2: Twenty years is a way of designating half a generation.
The phrase fits Samuel into the structure of the book of judges in which a period of foreign oppression precedes Israel's repentance.
In verses 3-4: The call for returning to the Lord with all your heart from the sin of idolatry marks these verses as an addition by the deuteronomistic editor.
Baal and Astarte were the leading male and female fertility gods of Canaan.
In verse 5: Mizpah became the administrative and religious capital after Jerusalem's destruction in 586 BCE.
The setting of this story in Mizpah may indicate a late date of composition.
In verse 6: The libations and fasting described here are part of a community purification ritual, perhaps in preparation for war.
In verses 8-9: The first part of this verse is parenthetical; Yahweh's answer is the thunder.
In verse 12: An etiology for the name Ebenezer, whose original meaning was religious and military: "stone of the helper/warrior."
In verses 13-14: The typical deuteronomistic formulas for the judges are applied to Samuel (compare Jud 3.30; 8.28; 11.33).
In verse 15-17: The book of judges describes two types of judges: military leader and legal figure.
This chapter ascribes both roles to Samuel.
The towns of Bethel, Gilgal, Mizpah and Ramah were all within the territories of the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin.
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Reading for February 20th

Read 1 Samuel 6.1-7.1
In 6.1-7.1: The return of the ark.
Suspecting that the ark is the source of their problems, the Philistines decide to send it back to Israel.
They include with it a guilt offering (v. 3), which should probably be understood as compensation for having taken the ark and in the hopes of appeasing the Lord and avoiding further punishment from him.
There is one gold tumor and one gold mouse for each of the five Philistine cities (vv. 4, 17-18).
In verse 7: The cart is new and therefore ritually pure.
The two cows have never been yoked and are therefore fit to be sacrificed (compare Num 19.2; Deut 21.3).
They are also milch cows, meaning that they have young calves.
This is part of the test described in v. 9.
In verse 9: Unaccustomed to pulling a cart, these two cows would be expected to wander aimlessly in search of their calves.
If, contrary to this expectation, the cows headed straight for Israelite territory, the Philistines would know that their sufferings had indeed been sent by the Lord.
In verse 12: The cows take the most direct route into Israelite territory.
In verse 15: This verse is likely a later addition by a scribe concerned to have the Levities, the priestly tribe, handle the ark.
In verse 20: Who is able to stand before the Lord is apparently a technical expression for priestly service.
The people are asking whether there is a priest who can handle the ark.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 19th

Read 1 Samuel 5.1-12
In 5.1-12: The Lord's triumph.
In the ancient Near East, wars between nations were interpreted as contests between their respective gods.
This story explains that even though the Philistines defeated Israel, the Lord was superior to Dagon, a Philistine god.
In verse 1: Ashdod was one of the five principal Philistine cities.
The other four were Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza.
In verse 2: Besides Dagon means beside the idol or statue of Dagon in his temple or house.
Dagon was a Canaanite fertility god adopted by the Philistines.
In verse 3: After the first night the Philistines find the idol of Dagon bowing prostrate before the ark.
In verses 4-5: This is an etiology for the practice of jumping over thresholds in order to avoid offending the spirit of a particular building or space (compare Zeph 1.9).
In verses 6-12: The tumors and mice (in the next chapter) have led to the identification of this outbreak as bubonic plague, which was common in coastal areas.
According to the story, however, the plague is the Lord's doing.
In verse 8: The lords of the Philistines are the rulers of the five Philistine cities.
The word for lord here ("seren") is Philistine and cognate with the Greek word "tyrannos," or tyrant.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 18th

Read 1 Samuel 4.1b-22
In 4.1b-22: The capture of the ark.
Many scholars believe that 4.1-71 and possibly 2 Sam 6 are based on an old "ark narrative" which described the capture and return of the ark.
In verse 1b: The Philistines came from the northwestern Mediterranean area (especially the island of Crete) and entered Palestine (which is derived from Philistine) in approximately 1200 BCE, about the same time the Israelites were emerging in the central highlands.
In this period they were Israel's traditional enemy.
In verse 4: Cherubim were mythical griffin-like creatures with body parts from different creatures, often including wings and human heads.
They were commonly depicted in palaces and temples.
the ark is described as the throne of "the Lord of host who sits enthroned on the cherubim," and the Israelites believe that the lord is therefore present with them in battle.
In verse 6: Hebrews is a term commonly used in the Bible by foreigners speaking about the Israelites.
It may designate a socioeconomic group rather than an ethnic or family unit.
In verses 7-8 God: The Philistines assume that the Israelites, like themselves, are polytheists.
In verse 18: Forty years in the Bible is a round number for a single generation.
In verses 21-22: Ichabod probably means "Where is the glory?"
Phinehas' wife gives her son this name in lamentation for the capture of the ark, which represents the Lord's presence or glory.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 17th

Read 1 Samuel 3.1-4.1a
In 3.1-4.1a: Samuel's call.
In verse 1; Word of the Lord ... visions are means of prophetic revelation.
In verse 3; The lamp in the temple was to burn at night (Ex 27.21).
Since the lamp of God had not yet gone out, it must have been just before dawn.
Samuel's bed was in the temple near the inner sanctuary where the ark of God was kept.
In verse 7: Samuel did not yet know the Lord: Samuel's role as prophet had not yet been established since the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
That he would "know" the Lord provides a further contrast to Eli's sons, who did not regard or "know" the Lord (2.12).
In verse 14: Eli's sons are guilty of profaning the sacrifices that might otherwise have atoned for their sins.
In verse 17: May God do so to you and more also is a typical oath formula.
Eli adjures Samuel, forcing him to reveal his conversation with the Lord.
In verses 19-21: All of Samuel's prophecies come true (none fall to the ground), and this is known from Dan to Beer-sheba, the traditional northern and southern boundaries of Israel.
All Israel recognizes Samuel as a reliable prophet of the Lord.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 16th

Read 1 Samuel 2.27-36
In 2.27-36: The oracle against Eli.
This was probably written by the deuteronomistic editor.
In verse 27: Your ancestor may allude to Moses, to who Eli's family traced their ancestry, rather than the tribe of Levi.
The names of Eli's sons, Hophni, and Phinehas (1.3; 2.34), are actually Egyptian, which consistent with the phrase in Egypt.
In verse 28: To go up to my altar, to offer incense, to wear an ephod refer to three principal duties of priests.
Going up to the altar refers to making animal sacrifices.
In verses 31-33: The cutting off of Eli's household refers not to the death of Eli and his sons in 1 Sam 4 but to Saul's annihilation of the priests of Nob in 1 Sam 22.
Abiathar is the one spared.
In verses 35-36: The faithful priest is Zadok, who came to prominence when Abiathar was banished by Solomon (1 Kings 1-2).
The Zadokites were Aaron's descendants, and this passage may reflect a rivalry between the descendants of Moses and Aaron for the priesthood.
Comments or Questions..