The Books of Samuel (Hebrew: Sefer Sh'muel ספר שמואל) in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, (Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings - the sequence of books in the Old Testament is identical, with the addition of Ruth), a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah (God's law for Israel) under the guidance of the prophets.[1]
Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by Yahweh, the god of the Israelites, at his birth. The story of the Ark which follows tells of Israel's oppression by the Philistines, which brings about Samuel's anointing of Saul as Israel's first king. But Saul proves unworthy and God's choice turns instead to David, who defeats Israel's enemies and brings the Ark to Jerusalem. God then promises David and his successors an eternal dynasty.[2]
According to Jewish tradition the author was Samuel himself, but this idea is no longer regarded as tenable.[3] Modern scholarly thinking is that it originated by combining a number of independent units, of various ages, when the larger Deuteronomistic history (the Former Prophets plus Deuteronomy) was being composed in the period c.630-540 BCE.[4][5]
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See Book of Samuel at Bible Gateway
The childless Hannah vows to Yahweh that if she has a son, he will be dedicated to Yahweh. Eli, the priest of Shiloh (where the ark of the covenant is located), blesses her, and a child named Samuel is born. Eli's sons prove unworthy of the priesthood and are destroyed by God, but the child Samuel grows up "in the presence of the Lord."
The Philistines capture the Ark of the Covenant from Shiloh and take it to the temple of their god Dagon, who recognises the supremacy of Yahweh. The Philistines are afflicted with plagues and return the ark to the Israelites, but to the territory of the tribe of Benjamin rather than to Shiloh. The Philistines attack the Israelites gathered at Mizpah in Benjamin. Samuel appeals to Yahweh, the Philistines are decisively beaten, and the Israelites reclaim their lost territory.
In Samuel's old age, he appoints his sons as judges, but they are unworthy, and so the people clamour for a king. God reluctantly accedes and gives them Saul of the tribe of Benjamin. Saul defeats the enemies of the Israelites, but commits sins against Yahweh.
Yahweh tells Samuel to anoint David of Bethlehem as king, and David enters Saul's court as his armour-bearer and harpist. Saul's son and heir Jonathan befriends David and recognises him as rightful king. Saul plots David's death, but David flees into the wilderness, where he becomes a champion of the Hebrews. David joins the Philistines, but continues secretly to champion his own people, until Saul and Jonathan are killed in battle.
The elders of Judah anoint David as king, but in the north Saul's son Ishbaal rules over the northern tribes. After a long war Ishbaal is murdered hoping for reward from David, but David has them killed for killing God's anointed. David is then anointed King of all Israel. David captures Jerusalem and brings the Ark there. David wishes to build a temple, but Nathan tells him that one of David's sons will be the one to build the temple. David defeats the enemies of Israel, slaughtering Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, Syrians and Arameans.
David commits adultery with Bathsheba and plots the death of her husband; for this God punishes him, saying that the sword shall never depart from his house. For the remainder of his reign there are problems: one of his sons rapes one of his daughters, another son kills the first, his favourite son rebels and is killed, until finally only two contenders for the succession remain, one of them Bathsheba's son Solomon. As David lies dying Bathsheba and Solomon plot Solomon's elevation to the throne.
1 and 2 Samuel were originally a single book, but the first Greek translation, produced in the centuries immediately before Christ, divided it into two; this was adopted by the Latin translation used in the early Christian church of the West, and finally introduced into Jewish bibles around the early 16th century CE.[6] The modern Hebrew text (called the Masoretic text) differs considerably from the Greek, and scholars are still working at finding the best solutions to the many problems this presents.[7]
Although details remain disputed, the vast majority of recent studies agree with Martin Noth's thesis, published in 1943, that the book of Samuel was composed as part of the Deuteronomistic history, the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings.[8] Noth thought the History was composed by a single individual, but this idea has been more or less given up and modern scholars argue for multiple authors active over a considerable period, culminating in the mid-6th century.[9] Further editing was apparently done even after that - the silver quarter-shekel which Saul's servant offers to Samuel in 1 Samuel 9 almost certainly fixes the date of this story in the Persian or Hellenistic periods.[10]
The 6th century authors/editors drew on earlier sources, including (but not limited to) an "ark narrative" (1 Samuel 4:1-7:1 and part of 2 Samuel 6), a "Saul cycle" (parts of 1 Samuel 9-11 and 13-14), the "history of David's rise" (1 Samuel 16:14-2 Samuel 5:10), and the "succession narrative" (2 Samuel 9-20 and 1 Kings 1-2).[11] The sources used to construct 1 & 2 Samuel are:[12]
The Hebrew text of Samuel is widely recognised to be heavily corrupted with errors (meaning that scribes, over the centuries, have introduced many mistakes while copying the original version), while in addition the Greek and Hebrew versions differ considerably; modern scholars are still working at finding the best solutions to the many problems this presents.
The Book of Samuel is a theological evaluation of kingship in general and of dynastic kingship and David in particular.[17] The main themes of the book are introduced in the opening poem (the "Song of Hannah"): (1), the sovereignty of Yahweh, the God of Israel; (2), the reversal of human fortunes; and (3), kingship.[18] These themes are played out in the stories of the three main characters, Samuel, Saul and David.
Samuel answers the description of the "prophet like Moses" predicted in Deuteronomy 18:15-22: like Moses, he has direct contact with Yahweh, the god of the Israelites, acts as a judge, and is a perfect leader who never makes mistakes.[19] Samuel's successful defence of the Israelites against their enemies demonstrates that they have no need for a king (who will, moreover, introduce inequality), yet despite this the people demand a king. But the king they are given is Yahweh's gift, and Samuel explains that kingship can be a blessing rather than a curse if they remain faithful to their god. On the other hand, total destruction of both king and people will result if they turn to wickedness.[20]
Saul is the chosen one, a king appointed by Yahweh the god of Israel and anointed by Samuel, Yahweh's prophet, and yet he is ultimately rejected.[21] Saul loses the chance to establish his dynasty and even to continue to reign through two faults: he carries out a sacrifice in place of Samuel (1 Samuel 13:8-14), and he fails to carry out genocide against the Amalekites as God has ordered (1 Samuel 15).[22] The Deuteronomist's negative view of Saul and desire to show David as the first real king of Israel has obscured Saul's real achievements.[23]
One of the main units within Samuel is the "History of David's Rise", the purpose of which is to justify David as the legitimate successor to Saul.[24] The narrative stresses that he gained the throne lawfully, always respecting "the Lord's anointed" (i.e. Saul) and never taking any of his numerous chances to seize the throne by violence.[25] As God's chosen king over Israel David is also the son of God ("I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me..." - 2 Samuel 7:14).[26] God enters into an eternal covenant (treaty) with David and his line, promising divine protection of the dynasty and of Jerusalem through all time.[27] The story can be compared to that of a 13th century Hittite king who was forced to take the throne after a lifetime of loyalty when his life was in danger: like David, he was assisted by his god, whose divine will decided the course of events.[28]
| First Prophets |
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| 1. Joshua |
| 2. Judges |
| 3. Samuel |
| 4. Kings |
| Later Prophets |
| 5. Isaiah |
| 6. Jeremiah |
| 7. Ezekiel |
| 8. 12 minor prophets |
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Books of Samuel
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| Preceded by Judges |
Hebrew Bible | Succeeded by Kings |
| Preceded by Ruth |
Christian Old Testament |
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