Series PrefaceAuthor's PrefaceAbbreviationsIntroductionSeries One: Grace and Nature (1 Samuel 1-3)Series Two: The Carnival of the Ark (1 Samuel 4-7)Series Three: Charismatic Kingship (1 Samuel 8-12)Series Four: Downfall (1 Samuel 13-15)Series Five: Memory and History (1 Samuel 16-20)Series Six: Wisdom and Fools (1 Samuel 21-27)Series Seven: The Death of the Brother (1 Samuel 28-31)BibliographySubject IndexScripture Index

The Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible enlists leading theologians to read and interpret scripture creedally for the twenty-first century, just as the church fathers, the Reformers, and other orthodox Christians did for their times and places. 1 Samuel, like each commentary in the series, is designed to serve the church--providing a rich resource for preachers, teachers, students, and study groups--and demonstrate the continuing intellectual and practical viability of theological interpretation of the Bible.Praise for 1 Samuel in the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible"Francesca Murphy is at her perceptive and witty best in 1 Samuel. Her truly remarkable breadth of reading, awareness of the ambiguity of both power and vision, love of scripture, and sense of what the church is about today make this a powerful and relevant contribution to the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible. I thoroughly recommend her volume."--Iain Torrance, Princeton Theological Seminary"The preaching of any scripture requires that we read it in the midst of the one long theological conversation that is the church. Francesca Aran Murphy does this for us with her commentary on 1 Samuel. She pays fastidious attention to the theological readings passed down to us throughout the centuries, from Origen to von Balthasar. She does not discard the modern hermeneutic; rather, she uses it in the service of doing faithful theology for our time. By tracing the 'many little dramas' of 1 Samuel, Murphy unfurls the story of God's drama with Israel in a way that illumines what today we might rightly call 'the political.' As a result, the ancient riches of 1 Samuel are opened up in profound new ways for the challenge of being the church that we face today."--David Fitch, Northern SeminaryGeneral editor: R. R. Reno (Creighton University)Series editors: Robert W. Jenson (Center of Theological Inquiry)Robert Louis Wilken (University of Virginia)Ephraim Radner (Wycliffe College, University of Toronto)Michael Root (Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary)George Sumner (Wycliffe College, University of Toronto)