After the transitional book of Ruth, we now continue the history of Israel with the rise of a new monarchy that would replace the judges or chieftains, and this narrative is spread over two books divided into four parts (Samuel 1 & 2 and Kings 1 & 2). In total, the spread of history covered by these four sections and 102 chapters is around 400 years, starting around 1200-1000 BC. Before we get to the kings though, this first book starts with Samuel's birth, in a relatively calm and peaceful time for the nation of Israel, despite the threat of growing Philistine power.
With Ruth in Bethlehem, the action starts in Shiloh (which in Hebrew means "place of peace"). In the earlier book of Deuteronomy, it had been predicted that a "prophet like Moses" would arise, and Samuel comes to occupy that father of a nation role, as priest, prophet and judge. Samuel is born to Hannah, one of two wives to Elkanah, who is at first "barren" but later becomes pregnant thanks to God's intercession, like the great Biblical figures of Sarah and Rebecca before her. In return, we're told that Hannah "lends" Samuel to the Lord (1:28); like Ruth, she's a devoted servant of God. Her son will come to replace the priest Eli and his corrupt sons – in fact, when Eli and Hannah meet, Eli assumes she must be drunk because of the way her lips move and no words come out.
At the opening of chapter 2 (verses 1-10), Hannah then sings a prophetic song, which predicts that the mighty will be brought back down to earth and the weak lifted up, referencing the "pillars of the earth". At 2:30-31, God almost sounds weary now of the sinning ways of his people, and reveals his intention to wipe out the house of Eli and start again with Samuel. Mirroring Hannah's transition from infertile to pregnant, we also see the lowly Samuel come to replace the mighty Eli. Very quickly, Samuel comes to be a prophet recognised in all of Israel; in a memorable phrase in the KJV, it's said that his words won't "fall to the ground" (3:20), which means his promises to God won't be broken.
Chapter 4 outlines the ignominious end for Eli and his sons (4:17-18), and also reinforces both the military power of the ark and its talismanic effect on the people of Israel. One of the first major incidents under Samuel's rule is the theft of this ark by the Philistines, which leads to a convoluted and humorous adventure for the ark, involving non-Israelites not knowing how to respond to it (Dagon keeps bowing) and parts falling off. The ark is then sent off a-wandering by the Philistines with "milch kine" (in other words, tied down to two cows) and those in Bethshemesh who dare to peer into it are struck down by God. The ark ends up in Kirjath-jearim, and remains there for 20 years.
In chapter 7, we're told that Samuel – like Joshua before him – managed to unite the nation of Israel in these troubling times, warning them against worship of false idols like Ashtaroth (7:3) and setting up a witness-stone called Eben-ezer (7:12) to mark his victories in battle. God tells Samuel to listen to the people, specifically their request for a king to govern them like other nations (8:5-7), though we're led to understand that Samuel's sons are unworthy of the role: "And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment" (8:3). One of Samuel's arguments against kings is the greed that comes about from the practice of tithing, or taking 10% of all human and non-human capital (8:15-17).
Here enters Saul. His credentials will seem superficial to modern readers, with the focus on his height as proof of kingly status (9:2). Like Gideon, who was also not wealthy or powerful, Saul is initially a reluctant leader and, when the process of drawing lots to anoint a new king occurs, Saul is found hiding "among the stuff" (10:22). Saul then gathers confidence in military victory; in chapter 11, his foe is Nahash the Ammonite, who wants to blind everyone in the right eye before making a covenant with the nation of Israel. Saul sets out to defeat him and is crowned king after victory in Gilgal. At 12:18, Samuel reminds the Israelites of how God has delivered his people from slavery, and then commands thunder and rain as a sign of his divine power and Saul's majesty.
However, not long after Saul is made king, trouble starts to brew when he makes the mistake of sparing the defeated king Agag, causing God to "repent" of making him king and leading Samuel to declare that he won't see Saul again "until the day of his death" (15:35). This declaration is preceded by the very eventful chapter 14, which involves Jonathan going over to the Philistine camp without telling his father Saul. This will be the first of several acts of subterfuge by the son. Saul's crimes are laid out at 15:23 and, in chapter 16, God declares that, although Saul eventually killed king Agag, he must still be replaced as king (16:7). We're then introduced to the "ruddy" David, the youngest of Jesse's sons, who exorcises the evil spirit from Saul by playing the harp, giving the initial impression of a very charismatic figure who is both a shepherd and a musician.
Then begins one of the most famous passages in the Bible, David & Goliath. We're told that the giant Goliath's height was "six cubits and a span" (17:4), which means he was over 9ft tall. Nevertheless, David bravely puts himself forward as Goliath's nemesis, rejecting the armour offered by Saul and heading into battle with just a sling and five stones (17:42). Everyone knows what happen's next, but I don't remember the bit about decapitation (17:51) from being told the story at Sunday school. David goes on to make a covenant with Saul's son, Jonathan – who loved David "as his own soul" (18:3) – and to marry Saul's daughter, Michal. A song sung by the people about David's courageous exploits in battle also causes Saul's envy, and Michal has to trick her father by putting an image of David in their bed so that he can avoid capture.
In chapter 20, there's a very elaborate secret plan between Jonathan and David, involving three arrows, a young lad and a new moon. This reveals Saul's intention to kill David, who in chapter 21 picks up the sword of Goliath from Ahimelech the priest and then flees to Achish, where he pretends to be a mad man to avoid capture. David then flees again to a cave in Adullam, and builds an army of 400 men. Chapter 22 details how Saul sets out with his army to find David and, when they encounter Ahimelech, Saul's footmen refuse his orders to kill the priest (22:17), so Doeg the Edomite does it instead and Ahimelech's son Abiathar escapes, to inform David about what's happened. David offers Abiathar safeguarding with the line: "Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life" (22:23).
In chapter 23, David saves the inhabitants of Keilah from the Philistines, but is then besieged by Saul and his army. Again, David is saved by Jonathan, and it is amazing to see the lengths to which Jonathan goes in order to undermine his father and renew his covenant with David (23:16-18). In chapter 24, Saul raises an army of 3,000 men to fight David in the wilderness of En-gedi but, by the will of God, Saul is delivered to David in a cave, though not killed as a sign of David's mercy. This event leads Saul to accept that David will be king of Israel, and causes him to seek assurances from David that his "seed" won't be killed (24:20).
In chapter 25, Samuel dies, which causes much lamenting among the Israelites. Meanwhile, David gets into a dispute with a rich Judean landowner called Nabal, and swears to wipe him and his people out, including those who "pisseth against the wall" (25:22) – a reference to vulgar men of low character. Nabal's handmaid Abigail intercedes and this causes David to refrain from action, leaving God to punish Nabal, who is "smote". David takes Abigail as his wife (polygamy features several times in the book of Samuel) and, after Nabal's death, David is said to have faith that the Lord will smite Saul too, if it be his will (26:10). Saul promises to no more intend harm on David, and calls him "my son" (26:21), but David distrusts him and decides to dwells in the land of the Philistines for a year and four months.
At 28:6, we discover that God is no longer answering Saul's enquiries, "neither by dreams, nor by Urim [a Hebrew object used for divination], nor by prophets". This leads Saul to seek a woman with a "familiar spirit", in other words a witch, whom he visits in disguise. The witch summons up the spirit of Samuel from the earth, who provides a dread prophecy (28:15).
All these dramatic events set the scene for a further battle with the Philistines, before which David encounters an Egyptian, abandoned by his army. The man had embarked with his army to fight a battle against the Philistines in the land of Judah, but was left behind while his fellow soldiers were enjoying their spoils of war. David kills alls the Egyptians, save for 400 men that escape on their camels. The final chapter of the first book of Samuel sees Israel (without David) defeated in battle by the Philistines. Jonathan and Saul's two other sons are killed before Saul then commits suicide with a sword, after serious injury from arrows fired by archers. The Philistines decapitate Saul and then fasten his body to the wall of the city of Beth-shan.
With Ruth in Bethlehem, the action starts in Shiloh (which in Hebrew means "place of peace"). In the earlier book of Deuteronomy, it had been predicted that a "prophet like Moses" would arise, and Samuel comes to occupy that father of a nation role, as priest, prophet and judge. Samuel is born to Hannah, one of two wives to Elkanah, who is at first "barren" but later becomes pregnant thanks to God's intercession, like the great Biblical figures of Sarah and Rebecca before her. In return, we're told that Hannah "lends" Samuel to the Lord (1:28); like Ruth, she's a devoted servant of God. Her son will come to replace the priest Eli and his corrupt sons – in fact, when Eli and Hannah meet, Eli assumes she must be drunk because of the way her lips move and no words come out.
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| Infant Samuel brought to Eli |
At the opening of chapter 2 (verses 1-10), Hannah then sings a prophetic song, which predicts that the mighty will be brought back down to earth and the weak lifted up, referencing the "pillars of the earth". At 2:30-31, God almost sounds weary now of the sinning ways of his people, and reveals his intention to wipe out the house of Eli and start again with Samuel. Mirroring Hannah's transition from infertile to pregnant, we also see the lowly Samuel come to replace the mighty Eli. Very quickly, Samuel comes to be a prophet recognised in all of Israel; in a memorable phrase in the KJV, it's said that his words won't "fall to the ground" (3:20), which means his promises to God won't be broken.
Chapter 4 outlines the ignominious end for Eli and his sons (4:17-18), and also reinforces both the military power of the ark and its talismanic effect on the people of Israel. One of the first major incidents under Samuel's rule is the theft of this ark by the Philistines, which leads to a convoluted and humorous adventure for the ark, involving non-Israelites not knowing how to respond to it (Dagon keeps bowing) and parts falling off. The ark is then sent off a-wandering by the Philistines with "milch kine" (in other words, tied down to two cows) and those in Bethshemesh who dare to peer into it are struck down by God. The ark ends up in Kirjath-jearim, and remains there for 20 years.
In chapter 7, we're told that Samuel – like Joshua before him – managed to unite the nation of Israel in these troubling times, warning them against worship of false idols like Ashtaroth (7:3) and setting up a witness-stone called Eben-ezer (7:12) to mark his victories in battle. God tells Samuel to listen to the people, specifically their request for a king to govern them like other nations (8:5-7), though we're led to understand that Samuel's sons are unworthy of the role: "And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment" (8:3). One of Samuel's arguments against kings is the greed that comes about from the practice of tithing, or taking 10% of all human and non-human capital (8:15-17).
Here enters Saul. His credentials will seem superficial to modern readers, with the focus on his height as proof of kingly status (9:2). Like Gideon, who was also not wealthy or powerful, Saul is initially a reluctant leader and, when the process of drawing lots to anoint a new king occurs, Saul is found hiding "among the stuff" (10:22). Saul then gathers confidence in military victory; in chapter 11, his foe is Nahash the Ammonite, who wants to blind everyone in the right eye before making a covenant with the nation of Israel. Saul sets out to defeat him and is crowned king after victory in Gilgal. At 12:18, Samuel reminds the Israelites of how God has delivered his people from slavery, and then commands thunder and rain as a sign of his divine power and Saul's majesty.
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| Saul is soon rejected as king |
However, not long after Saul is made king, trouble starts to brew when he makes the mistake of sparing the defeated king Agag, causing God to "repent" of making him king and leading Samuel to declare that he won't see Saul again "until the day of his death" (15:35). This declaration is preceded by the very eventful chapter 14, which involves Jonathan going over to the Philistine camp without telling his father Saul. This will be the first of several acts of subterfuge by the son. Saul's crimes are laid out at 15:23 and, in chapter 16, God declares that, although Saul eventually killed king Agag, he must still be replaced as king (16:7). We're then introduced to the "ruddy" David, the youngest of Jesse's sons, who exorcises the evil spirit from Saul by playing the harp, giving the initial impression of a very charismatic figure who is both a shepherd and a musician.
Then begins one of the most famous passages in the Bible, David & Goliath. We're told that the giant Goliath's height was "six cubits and a span" (17:4), which means he was over 9ft tall. Nevertheless, David bravely puts himself forward as Goliath's nemesis, rejecting the armour offered by Saul and heading into battle with just a sling and five stones (17:42). Everyone knows what happen's next, but I don't remember the bit about decapitation (17:51) from being told the story at Sunday school. David goes on to make a covenant with Saul's son, Jonathan – who loved David "as his own soul" (18:3) – and to marry Saul's daughter, Michal. A song sung by the people about David's courageous exploits in battle also causes Saul's envy, and Michal has to trick her father by putting an image of David in their bed so that he can avoid capture.
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| David and Goliath |
In chapter 20, there's a very elaborate secret plan between Jonathan and David, involving three arrows, a young lad and a new moon. This reveals Saul's intention to kill David, who in chapter 21 picks up the sword of Goliath from Ahimelech the priest and then flees to Achish, where he pretends to be a mad man to avoid capture. David then flees again to a cave in Adullam, and builds an army of 400 men. Chapter 22 details how Saul sets out with his army to find David and, when they encounter Ahimelech, Saul's footmen refuse his orders to kill the priest (22:17), so Doeg the Edomite does it instead and Ahimelech's son Abiathar escapes, to inform David about what's happened. David offers Abiathar safeguarding with the line: "Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life" (22:23).
In chapter 23, David saves the inhabitants of Keilah from the Philistines, but is then besieged by Saul and his army. Again, David is saved by Jonathan, and it is amazing to see the lengths to which Jonathan goes in order to undermine his father and renew his covenant with David (23:16-18). In chapter 24, Saul raises an army of 3,000 men to fight David in the wilderness of En-gedi but, by the will of God, Saul is delivered to David in a cave, though not killed as a sign of David's mercy. This event leads Saul to accept that David will be king of Israel, and causes him to seek assurances from David that his "seed" won't be killed (24:20).
In chapter 25, Samuel dies, which causes much lamenting among the Israelites. Meanwhile, David gets into a dispute with a rich Judean landowner called Nabal, and swears to wipe him and his people out, including those who "pisseth against the wall" (25:22) – a reference to vulgar men of low character. Nabal's handmaid Abigail intercedes and this causes David to refrain from action, leaving God to punish Nabal, who is "smote". David takes Abigail as his wife (polygamy features several times in the book of Samuel) and, after Nabal's death, David is said to have faith that the Lord will smite Saul too, if it be his will (26:10). Saul promises to no more intend harm on David, and calls him "my son" (26:21), but David distrusts him and decides to dwells in the land of the Philistines for a year and four months.
At 28:6, we discover that God is no longer answering Saul's enquiries, "neither by dreams, nor by Urim [a Hebrew object used for divination], nor by prophets". This leads Saul to seek a woman with a "familiar spirit", in other words a witch, whom he visits in disguise. The witch summons up the spirit of Samuel from the earth, who provides a dread prophecy (28:15).
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| Saul and the witch |
All these dramatic events set the scene for a further battle with the Philistines, before which David encounters an Egyptian, abandoned by his army. The man had embarked with his army to fight a battle against the Philistines in the land of Judah, but was left behind while his fellow soldiers were enjoying their spoils of war. David kills alls the Egyptians, save for 400 men that escape on their camels. The final chapter of the first book of Samuel sees Israel (without David) defeated in battle by the Philistines. Jonathan and Saul's two other sons are killed before Saul then commits suicide with a sword, after serious injury from arrows fired by archers. The Philistines decapitate Saul and then fasten his body to the wall of the city of Beth-shan.
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