John Goldingay’s aim in this commentary, as in the ones he has already written for this series on the Old Testament books, is to help Christians read the Old Testament more than they do. (He prefers to call it the ‘First’, rather than the ‘Old’, Testament, lest we see ‘Old’ as implying antiquated or out of date). The commentary is intellectually stimulating and theologically well informed, as you would expect from a Professor of Old Testament. One way he makes his learning accessible to the reader is to use a helpful anecdote or illustration – often drawn from the experience of friends or family – at the beginning of each section. He certainly breathes life into these ancient stories of Samuel, Saul and David. I found the glossary at the end helpful, as the author makes his own translation, claiming to stick “closer to the Hebrew than modern translations often do”. This makes for some surprises, such as “Yahweh Armies” rather than “LORD of hosts” and “Masters” rather than “Baals”.