Archive for the ‘1 Samuel’ Category

  • 1 Samuel 23:7 – 24:22: Two noble opponents

    Sep 13, 15 • 1 SamuelComments Off on 1 Samuel 23:7 – 24:22: Two noble opponents
    1 Samuel 23:7 – 24:22: Two noble opponents

    Many Old Testament stories in the history books seem to have no message but that human-beings are broken and need mending, are sinful and therefore keep spoiling God’s lovely world and hurting each other! Then along comes this story to remind us of another truth… 1 Samuel 24  is set amid political jostling and attempted [&hellip...

  • Free Bible software and seeing in 1 Sam 16

    Jul 16, 15 • 1 SamuelComments Off on Free Bible software and seeing in 1 Sam 16
    Free Bible software and seeing in 1 Sam 16

    Here’s a short screencast to show how STEP Bible can help you see how the word “see” steps us through 1 Samuel ...

  • Genres of Poetry in Scripture

    Sep 25, 13 • 1 Samuel, Deuteronomy, Ecclesiastes/Qohelet, Genesis, Genre, Isaiah, Job, Judges, Numbers, Prophets, ProverbsComments Off on Genres of Poetry in Scripture
    Genres of Poetry in Scripture

    This podcast may benefit from a set of notes, either as an alternative to the audio/screencast or as a reminder (since has a high information content). It is also longer and less fun than most, so if you like miss it out unless later in the series you need to come back to it for [&hellip...

  • Direct speech in biblical narratives

    Feb 15, 13 • 1 Samuel, Jonah, Narrative, RuthComments Off on Direct speech in biblical narratives
    Direct speech in biblical narratives

    There are many ways in which the story-tellers of the Bible ensure that their tellings are lively and engaging. One is through the way they report speech. There is usually more “direct speech” (where the words of a character are “quoted”) then “indirect speech” (where the teller tells us the gist of what the character [&hellip...

  • Minority Report: Kingship in Samuel

    Sep 20, 12 • (ana)baptist reading, 1 SamuelComments Off on Minority Report: Kingship in Samuel
    Minority Report: Kingship in Samuel

    To complete my little trilogy of ‘casts I turn to suggest a richer approach to “kingship” in Samuel than the simple messianism my previous ‘cast suggested. With the help of Oscar Wilde’s poems: Libertatis Sacra Fames (text and comment), and Sonnet to Liberty I suggest we listen to both “majority view” and the “minority report” [&hellip...

  • Humour in the Bible 9: 1 Samuel: Introducing Saul

    May 15, 11 • 1 Samuel, characterisation, Cliché, HumourComments Off on Humour in the Bible 9: 1 Samuel: Introducing Saul
    Humour in the Bible 9: 1 Samuel: Introducing Saul

    For 1 Samuel I am going to cheat again, I just don’t think I can beat the hilarious introduction the first king, Saul, receives. In these two podcasts (again repeated) (( Introducing Saul Still Introducing Saul ))  I’ll point up some of the fun in the tale of Saul and the donkeys 🙂 So, here [&hellip...

  • E100-34: 1 Samuel 23:7 – 24:22: Two noble opponents

    Jun 3, 10 • 1 Samuel, E100Comments Off on E100-34: 1 Samuel 23:7 – 24:22: Two noble opponents
    E100-34: 1 Samuel 23:7 – 24:22: Two noble opponents

    Just when you begin to wonder if any Bible story is really suitable for simple Sunday School reading, and have begun to suspect that the Bible has no message but: Humans are broken and need mending, humans are sinful and therefore they keep spoiling God’s lovely world and hurting each other. Along comes a story [&hellip...

  • E100-33: 1 Samuel 16:1 – 18:16: Slain in the Spirit

    Jun 2, 10 • 1 Samuel, E100, Matthew3 Comments
    E100-33: 1 Samuel 16:1 – 18:16: Slain in the Spirit

    Yes, like some of the Bible writers, I just can’t resist a pun, especially if it really does help carry the message 🙂 And in this case I think it does, more specifically after we have noticed quickly some of the good stuff in the famous David and Goliath story of David and Goliath. For [&hellip...

  • E100-32: 1 Samuel 8:1 – 10:27: Plus ça change ;(

    Jun 1, 10 • 1 Samuel, E100Comments Off on E100-32: 1 Samuel 8:1 – 10:27: Plus ça change ;(
    E100-32: 1 Samuel 8:1 – 10:27: Plus ça change ;(

    This is the story in which we hear the interface between Judges, “Everyone did as they saw fit, for there was no king in Israel”, and the story of the Hebrew kingdoms. In these few chapters there is loads of good stuff to notice (for a start try): Humour in the Bible: Part 1: Introducing [&hellip...

  • E100-31: 1 Samuel 1:1 – 3:21: On not missing the voice in the darkness

    May 31, 10 • 1 Samuel, E100Comments Off on E100-31: 1 Samuel 1:1 – 3:21: On not missing the voice in the darkness
    E100-31: 1 Samuel 1:1 – 3:21: On not missing the voice in the darkness

    Three great chapters, full of well crafted narrative, with a stirring  song thrown in! There is too much detail to notice in the way these stories are told, you’ll have to watch for the fun yourselves. In this ‘cast I’ll focus more on the song, and not so much on its detail as overall how [&hellip...