Samuel 1 & 2

Readings:

• 1 Samuel 1:1 – 8:22

Discussion Questions:

1. How ought one to approach a sacred work of Scripture in an academic setting? How should we read the text? (How) can one treat it as a coherent whole?
2. This book that is largely about men opens with the prayer of a woman. What is the significance of Hannah’s prayer? What do we learn about God and prayer from this episode?
3. What is prophecy, and how would one know that one has encountered a prophet? How would one know oneself if one were hearing the voice of God?
4. From the Bible’s point of view, what are the benefits and limits of priestly rule?
5. How does one establish oneself as a prophet? Does the Bible give any indication of the requirements, moral or intellectual, of a human being through whom God chooses to speak?
6. What do you make of the Philistines’ “testing” of the ark?

Recommended Readings:

• Burns & Pangle, The Key Texts of Political Philosophy, Ch. 4 (pp. 135 to end)
• Wyllie and Knepper, “Between Hannah’s Prayer and Samuel’s Warning”

Readings:

• 1 Samuel 9:1 – 15:35

Discussion Questions:

1. How does one become an altogether new prince, from the Bible’s point of view?
2. Why do the Hebrew people want a King? What is God’s view of Kingship? Samuel’s? Are they the same?
3. What are Saul’s virtues as a ruler, and what are his shortcomings? What qualities or virtues—moral, physical, or intellectual—does Saul possess such that he is worthy of being anointed? Or is the anointment determined entirely by God apart from any qualities Saul possesses or lacks?
4. What is the role of anointment in establishing kingship?
5. Why is Saul elected as leader three times? How do they compare with one another? Does each serve a distinct purpose, and are those purposes in accord or tension with one another?
6. Who ought to rule, the prophet or the king? Does divine anointment offer a solution to the political problem of who ought to rule, or does it just add fuel to the fire?

Readings:

• 1 Samuel 16:1 – 22:23

Discussion Questions:

1. Paying close attention to all the details, how does David defeat Goliath? Make a list of alternative explanations. Why does David even want to go fight Goliath in the first place—does the text give us any indication? Imagine you’re in the army at some distance away, and you witness the fight. What did you just see happen?
2. Who kills Goliath?
3. Is it at all relevant that David is musically talented?
4. What happens when there are two men anointed King by God?
5. Compare David and Saul prior to their respective anointments. Without the benefit of hindsight, who would make a better king? What quality or qualities do we look for in rulers, and why?
6. Michal loves David. Is this the only time in the Hebrew Bible that a woman is said to love a man? If so, what is the significance of that fact? What does this say of the Bible’s view of love?

Recommended Readings:

• Machiavelli, The Prince, Ch. 13
• Wyllie, “Giant Slayer”

Readings:

• 1 Samuel 23:1 – 2 Samuel 5:5

Discussion Questions:

1. Why does David spare Saul’s life (twice)? Think out all alternative motivations. Assuming the text is coherent, why does the Bible recount two such similar events?
2. How would you describe David’s actions when he is apart from Israel? How would you describe his group of associates—what kinds of things do they do?
3. Describe the interaction between Abigail and her husband in chapter 25.
4. Elsewhere in the Bible, in Deuteronomy and Leviticus, necromancy is strictly forbidden by the Law. Does this passage (Ch. 28) give us any indication as to why it is forbidden, or why the King of Israel would practice it? What is the Bible’s view of the possibility and goodness of necromancy, and what does this tell us about the world as the Bible understands it?
5. Trace the details of Saul’s death closely; note the part David’s plays in it.

Readings:

• 2 Samuel 5:6 – 2 Samuel 15:37

Discussion Questions:

1. What steps does David take to consolidate his rule? Is there a practical principle guiding his steps? Does David exhibit a prudence that Saul lacked?
2. For this and the next session, pay particular attention to Joab. What is his role? What is the Bible’s teaching regarding men like him? Is he necessary for David’s success, or does he inhibit his rule in some way? Is Joab just? What is the role of a king’s principal advisor? Does David employ him wisely or does Joab act of his own volition? What political lessons are we to draw from such a person and the role he plays?
3. What are we to make of David’s relationship with his sons Absolom and Amnon? What are we to make of David’s handling of the rape of his daughter Tamar by his son Amnon?
4. How many wives does the Bible record for David?
5. What does the entire episode with Bathsheba teach us of David—his virtues and vices, and his capacity for rule? Why is it important to the book of Samuel that this remain? Why not censor a story that portrays David in such a negative light?
6. Women seem to come to the fore in these chapters. What does Samuel teach us about women in the Bible? Perhaps compare Bathsheba with Tamar and Abigail, and even Michal and Hannah.
7. Consider Nathan’s rebuke of David. Evaluate his mode of rebuke. Could anyone else have rebuked David? Why or why not? What protects him?

Readings:

• 2 Samuel 16:1 – 24:25; 1 Kings 1:1 – 2:12

Discussion Questions:

1. Who is the legitimate heir to David’s crown?
2. What are we to make of the role Bathsheba plays at the end of David’s life?
3. How do David’s final years, his final words even, color his legacy?
4. Was David a good king? By what standard(s) does the Bible want us to judge him? Was David just? Pious? Did the people flourish under his rule? Did he bring honor to his people, to his God?
5. What is the Bible’s view of Kingship?
6. Why does the Bible say David is a man “after God’s own heart”?