Volume 3 of the Expositor’s Bible Commentary (EBC revised) covers the books of Samuel and Kings. In this case, the original commentators were given the opportunity to update their material. I had used the original editions extensively on these four books of the Bible, and I’m glad to see their usefulness extended by this revision. Just think, you get over 950 quality pages on Samuel and Kings!

The books of Samuel were handled by the respected scholar Ronald Youngblood. His work on Samuel was one of the highest rated volumes in the original set, and it appears he will be able to keep that designation. His introduction is not extensively revised, but is well done.

In the introduction, he covers the title of the book, authorship and date, historical context, literary context and unity, purpose, literary form, canonicity and text, and theological values. His conclusions are wonderfully conservative, particularly on dating. He feels that Edwin Thiele is quite accurate in the chronology he developed. The bibliography is extensively updated.

The commentary is outstanding. In every section, he gives an overview, a translation, commentary on the verses, and exegetical notes. It is truly one of the better commentaries on Samuel that we have available today.

The commentary on Kings is a joint effort by Richard Patterson and Hermann Austel. It was never rated quite is highly as the work on Samuel, and was somewhat briefer, but I always found it a solid help. I always checked it when I was working in Kings. In any event, it did receive more of a revision in the commentary section.

As was the case with Samuel, the introduction is not extensively revised either. It covers historical background, unity, authorship, and date, origin, occasion, and purpose, literary form, theological values, canonicity, text, and chronology. You will notice several conservatives quoted in the introduction, and though no one really knows who the author of Kings is, you find some pretty conservative conclusions here.

The commentary section mirrors the style found in Samuel. It’s really good at drawing out the details of the story itself. You can glean much from its pages.

I grow ever more impressed with the EBC series. Here’s another outstanding, economical value for the pastor or Bible student. It would not be wise to be without it.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.