Samuel biography bible

Biblical prophet and seer

This article is about the seer described in the Books of Samuel. For regarding persons named Samuel, see Samuel (name). For pander to uses, see Samuel (disambiguation).

Not to be confused hostile to Samael.

Samuel^[a] is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key separate in the transition from the biblical judges statement of intent the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, most recent again in the monarchy's transition from Saul communication David. He is venerated as a prophet confine Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In addition to culminate role in the Bible, Samuel is mentioned pulsate Jewish rabbinical literature, in the Christian New Demonstration, and in the second chapter of the Quran (although the text does not mention him emergency name). He is also treated in the onefifth through seventh books of Antiquities of the Jews, written by the Jewish scholar Josephus in righteousness first century. He is first called "the Seer" in 1 Samuel

Biblical account

Family

Samuel's mother was Hannah and his father was Elkanah. Elkanah lived go off Ramathaim in the district of Zuph.^[4][5] His tribe is also found in a pedigree of ethics Kohathites (1 Chronicles –15) and in that hostilities Heman the Ezrahite, apparently his grandson (1 Records –33).

According to the genealogical tables in Papers, Elkanah was a Levite—a fact not mentioned unveil the books of Samuel. The fact that Elkanah, a Levite, was denominated an Ephraimite^[6] is corresponding to the designation of a Levite belonging launch an attack Judah (Judges , for example).^[7]

According to 1 Prophet –28, Elkanah had two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah had children; Hannah did not. Nonetheless, Elkanah favored Hannah. Jealous, Peninnah reproached Hannah for sit on lack of children, causing Hannah much heartache. Elkanah was a devout man and would periodically application his family on pilgrimage to the holy meaning of Shiloh.^[8]

The birth-narrative of the prophet Samuel report found at 1 Samuel It describes how Samuel's mother Hannah requests a son from Yahweh, beam dedicates the child to God at the inclose of Shiloh. The passage makes extensive play be infatuated with the root-elements of Saul's name, and ends account the phrase hu sa'ul le-Yahweh, "he is dutiful to Yahweh." Hannah names the resulting son Prophet, giving as her explanation, "because from God Uncontrolled requested him." Samuel's name, however, can mean "name of God," (or "Heard of God" or "Told of God") and the etymology and multiple references to the root of the name seems grasp fit Saul instead. The majority explanation for high-mindedness discrepancy is that the narrative originally described prestige birth of Saul, and was given to Prophet to enhance the position of David and Prophet at the former king's expense.^[9]

On one occasion, Hannah went to the sanctuary and prayed for out child. In tears, she vowed that if she were granted a child, she would dedicate him to God as a nazirite.^[8]Eli, who was period at the foot of the doorpost in loftiness sanctuary at Shiloh, saw her apparently mumbling lay aside herself and thought she was drunk, but was soon assured of both her motivation and abstention. Eli was the priest of Shiloh, and figure out of the last Israelite Judges before the plan of kings in ancient Israel. He had usurped the leadership after Samson's death.^[10] Eli blessed composite and she returned home. Subsequently, Hannah became heavy with child, later giving birth to Samuel, and praised Immortal for his mercy and faithfulness.

After the minor was weaned, she left him in Eli's care,^[4] and from time to time she would use to visit her son.^[10]

Name

According to 1 Samuel ,^[11] Hannah named Samuel to commemorate her prayer add up to God for a child. " [She] called diadem name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord" (KJV). From its appearance, righteousness name Samuel (Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל Šəmūʾēl, Tiberian:Šămūʾēl) appears concurrence be constructed from the Hebrew Śāmū (שָׂמוּ)^[12] + ʾĒl,^[13] meaning "God has set" or "God has placed". This meaning relating to the idea honor God setting/placing a child in the womb, conjoin Hannah dedicating Samuel as a Nazirite to Divinity. The Hebrew śāmū is also related to rank Akkadian šâmū (𒊮𒈬), which shares the same meaning.^[14] From the explanation given in 1 Samuel , however, it would seem to come from cool contraction of the Hebrew שְׁאִלְתִּיו מֵאֵל (Modern:Šəʾīltīv mēʾĒl,Tiberian:Šĭʾīltīw mēʾĒl), meaning "I have asked/borrowed him from God".^[15][16] Further shortened to שָׁאוּל מֵאֵל (Šāʾūl mēʾĒl, "asked/borrowed from God"),^[17] then finally contracted to שְׁמוּאֵל (Šəmūʾēl/Šămūʾēl). This meaning also relating to Hannah dedicating Prophet as a Nazirite to God as well.^[18]

Calling

Samuel contrived under Eli in the service of the enshrine at Shiloh. One night, Samuel heard a receipt calling his name. According to the first-century Mortal historian Josephus, Samuel was 12 years old.^[19] Prophet initially assumed it was coming from Eli courier went to Eli to ask what he loved. Eli, however, sent Samuel back to sleep. Afterward this happened three times, Eli realised that leadership voice was the Lord's, and instructed Samuel speedy how to answer:

If He calls you, escalate you must say, "Speak, Lord, for Your domestic servant hears".^[20]

Once Samuel responded, the Lord told him ditch the wickedness of the sons of Eli challenging resulted in their dynasty being condemned to destruction.^[4] In the morning, Samuel was hesitant about dissemination the message to Eli, but Eli asked him to honestly recount to him what he difficult been told by the Lord. Upon receiving influence communication, Eli merely said that the Lord be compelled do what seems right unto him.

Samuel grew up and "all Israel from Dan to Beersheba" came to know that Samuel was a confident prophet of the Lord.^[21] Anglican theologian Donald Spence Jones comments that "the minds of all depiction people were thus gradually prepared when the good moment came to acknowledge Samuel as a God-sent chieftain".^[22]

Leader

During Samuel's youth at Shiloh, the Philistines inflicted a decisive defeat against the Israelites at Eben-Ezer, placed the land under Philistine control, and took the sanctuary's Ark for themselves. Upon hearing justness news of the capture of the Ark rivalry the Covenant, and the death of his spawn, Eli collapsed and died. When the Philistines abstruse been in possession of the Ark for vii months and had been visited with calamities added misfortunes, they decided to return the Ark clutch the Israelites.^[10]

According to Bruce C. Birch, Samuel was a key figure in keeping the Israelites' churchgoing heritage and identity alive during Israel's defeat extra occupation by the Philistines. "[I]t may have back number possible and necessary for Samuel to exercise potency in roles that would normally not converge briefing a single individual (priest, prophet, judge)."^[23]

After 20 duration of oppression, Samuel, who had gained national pre-eminence as a prophet (1 Samuel ), summoned high-mindedness people to the hill of Mizpah, and unbolt them against the Philistines. The Philistines, having marched to Mizpah to attack the newly amassed Asian army, were soundly defeated and fled in dread. The retreating Philistines were slaughtered by the Israelites. The text then states that Samuel erected far-out large stone at the battle site as calligraphic memorial, and there ensued a long period get on to peace thereafter.

King-Maker

Samuel initially appointed his two analysis Joel and Abijah as his successors; however, reasonable like Eli's sons, Samuel's proved unworthy for they accepted bribes and perverted judgement. The Israelites excluded them. Because of the external threat from on tribes, such as the Philistines, the tribal terrific decided that there was a need for clever more unified, central government,^[24] and demanded Samuel fix a king so that they could be choose other nations. Samuel interpreted this as a wildcat rejection, and at first was reluctant to help, until reassured by a divine revelation.^[23] He warned the people of the potential negative consequences returns such a decision. When Saul and his menial were searching for his father's lost donkeys, picture servant suggested consulting the nearby Samuel. Samuel stiff Saul as the future king.

Just before sovereignty retirement, Samuel gathered the people to an company at Gilgal, and delivered a farewell speech^[25] burrow coronation speech^[26] in which he emphasised how psychic and judges were more important than kings, saunter kings should be held to account, and dump the people should not fall into idol love, or worship of Asherah or of Baal. Prophet promised that God would subject the people play-act foreign invaders should they disobey. 1 Kings , 33,^[27] and 2 Kings ^[28] note that authority Israelites fell into Asherah worship later on.^[29]

Critic censure Saul

When Saul was preparing to fight the Philistines, Samuel denounced him for proceeding with the pre-battle sacrifice without waiting for the overdue Samuel endure arrive. He prophesied that Saul's rule would affection no dynastic succession.

Samuel also directed Saul put in plain words "utterly destroy" the Amalekites in fulfilment of primacy commandment in Deuteronomy –^[30]

When the Lord your Genius has given you rest from your enemies compartment around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as ending inheritance, you will blot out the remembrance decelerate Amalek from under heaven.

During the campaign against description Amalekites, King Saul spared Agag, the king spectacle the Amalekites, and the best of their farm animals. Saul told Samuel that he had spared leadership choicest of the Amalekites' sheep and oxen, intending to sacrifice the livestock to the Lord. That was in violation of the Lord's command, bring in pronounced by Samuel, to " utterly destroy completion that they have, and spare them not; however slay both man and woman, infant and fledgling babe, ox and sheep, camel and ass" (1 Prophet , KJV). Samuel confronted Saul for his insubordination and told him that God made him tedious, and God can unmake him king. Samuel confirmation proceeded to execute Agag. Saul never saw Prophet alive again after this.^[31]

Samuel then proceeded to Town and secretly anointed David as king. He would later provide sanctuary for David, when the resentful Saul first tried to have him killed.

Death

Samuel is described in the biblical narrative as core buried in Ramah.^[32] According to tradition, this interment place has been identified with Samuel's tomb expose the West Bank village of Nabi Samwil.^[33][34]

Some sicken after his death, Saul had the Witch be taken in by Endor conjure Samuel's spirit from Sheol in tidy-up to predict the result of an upcoming combat (1 Samuel –24). Samuel was angered by crown recalling, and told Saul that the Lord challenging left him.

Rabbinical literature

While the Witch of Endor remains anonymous in the Biblical account, the pastoral Midrash maintains that she was Zephaniah, the of Abner (Yalḳ, Sam. , from Pirḳe Prominence. El.). That a supernatural appearance is here averred is inferred from the repeated emphasis laid knife attack the statement that Samuel had died and difficult been buried (I Sam. xxv. 1, xxviii. 3), by which the assumption that Samuel was break off living when summoned, is discredited (Tosef., Soṭah, xi. 5). Still he was invoked during the premier twelve months after his death, when, according close the Rabbis, the spirit still hovers near justness body (Shab. b). In connection with the incidents of the story the Rabbis have developed high-mindedness theory that the necromancer sees the spirit however is unable to hear his speech, while picture person at whose instance the spirit is cryed hears the voice but fails to see; bystanders neither hear nor see (Yalḳ., l.c.; Redaḳ unthinkable RaLBaG's commentaries). The outcry of the woman kismet the sight of Samuel was due to rule rising in an unusual way—upright, not, as she expected, in a horizontal position (comp. LXX. ὄρθιον in verse 14).^[35]

Documentary hypothesis

See also: Documentary hypothesis

National augur, local seer

Some authors see the biblical Samuel hoot combining descriptions of two distinct roles:

• A seer, based at Ramah, and seemingly known scarcely out of range the immediate neighbourhood of Ramah (Saul, for condition, not having heard of him, with his retainer informing him of his existence instead). In that role, Samuel is associated with the bands do admin musical ecstatic roaming prophets (Nevi'im) at Gibeah, Bethel, and Gilgal, and some traditional scholars have argued that Samuel was the founder of these associations. At Ramah, Samuel secretly anointed Saul, after accepting met him for the first time, while King was looking for his father's lost donkeys, final treated him to a meal.
• A prophet, based rot Shiloh, who went throughout the land, from internal to place, with unwearied zeal, reproving, rebuking, jaunt exhorting the people to repentance. In this segregate, Samuel acted as a (biblical) judge, publicly recommending the nation, and also giving private advice indicate individuals. Eventually Samuel delegated this role to sovereign sons, based at Beersheba, but they behaved corruptedly and so the people, facing invasion from greatness Ammonites, persuaded Samuel to appoint a king. Prophet reluctantly did so, and anointed Saul in forward movement of the entire nation, who had gathered stain see him.

Source-critical scholarship suggests that these two roles come from different sources, which later were joined together to form the Book(s) of Samuel. Birth oldest is considered to be that marking Prophet as the local seer of Ramah, who eagerly anointed Saul as king in secret, while nobility latter presents Samuel as a national figure, begrudgingly anointing Saul as king in front of uncomplicated national assembly. This later source is generally important as the Republican source, since it denigrates nobility monarchy (particularly the actions of Saul) and favours religious figures, in contrast to the other carry on source—the Monarchial source—which treats it favourably. The Monarchical source would have Saul appointed king by lever acclamation, due to his military victories, and not quite by Samuel's cleromancy. Another difference between the multiplicity is that the Republican source treats the thrilled prophets as somewhat independent from Samuel (1 Prophet ff) rather than having been led by him.^[36]

The passage in which Samuel is described as securing exercised the functions of a (biblical) judge, all along an annual circuit from Ramah to Bethel philosopher Gilgal (the Gilgal between Ebal and Gerizim) harm Mizpah and back to Ramah (1 Samuel ), is foreshadowed by Deborah, who used to delivery judgments from a place beneath a palm amidst Ramah and Bethel.^[37] Source-critical scholarship often considers breach to be a redaction aimed at harmonizing interpretation two portrayals of Samuel.^[38]

The Book(s) of Samuel multifariously describe Samuel as having carried out sacrifices battle sanctuaries, and having constructed and sanctified altars. According to the Priestly Code/Deuteronomic Code only Aaronic priests/Levites (depending on the underlying tradition) were permitted sort out perform these actions, and simply being a nazarite or prophet was insufficient. The books of Prophet and Kings offer numerous examples where this preside over is not followed by kings and prophets, nevertheless some critical scholars look elsewhere seeking a balance of the issues. In the Book of Annals, Samuel is described as a Levite, rectifying that situation; however critical scholarship widely sees the Volume of Chronicles as an attempt to redact nobility Book(s) of Samuel and of Kings to meditate to later religious sensibilities. Since many of rank Biblical law codes themselves are thought to metachronism the Book(s) of Samuel (according to the Docudrama Hypothesis), this would suggest Chronicles is making spoil claim based on religious motivations. According to ascendant modern scholarship, the Levitical genealogy of 1 Annals 4^[39] is not historical.^[38]

Deuteronomistic Samuel

According to the infotainment hypothesis of Biblical source criticism, which postulates divagate "Deuteronomistic historians" redacted the Former Prophets (Joshua, Book, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings), the Deuteronomists idealized Samuel as a form larger than life, like Joshua. For example, Samuel's father Elkanah is described as having originated outsider Zuph, specifically Ramathaim-Zophim, which was part of goodness tribal lands of Ephraim, while 1 Chronicles states that he was a Levite.^[40] Samuel is pictured as a judge who leads the military, on account of the judges in the Book of Judges, increase in intensity also who exercises judicial functions. In 1 Sam –17, a speech of Samuel that portrays him as the judge sent by God to set aside Israel may have been composed by the Deuteronomists.^[41] In 1 Samuel –20, Samuel is seen renovation a local "seer". According to documentary scholarship, glory Deuteronomistic historians preserved this view of Samuel from the past contributing him as "the first of prophets compel to articulate the failure of Israel to live exaggerate to its covenant with God."^[41] For the Deuteronomistic historians, Samuel would have been an extension be keen on Moses and continuing Moses' function as a forecaster, judge, and priest, which makes the nature allround the historical Samuel uncertain.^[41]

Perspectives on Samuel

Judaism

According to prestige Book of Jeremiah^[42] and one of the Psalms,^[43] Samuel had a high devotion to God. Exemplary Rabbinical literature adds that he was more outstrip an equal to Moses, God speaking directly abide by Samuel, rather than Samuel having to attend excellence tabernacle to hear God.^[44] Samuel is also affirmed by the Rabbis as having been extremely intelligent; he argued that it was legitimate for laymen to slaughter sacrifices, since the Halakha only insisted that the priests bring the blood,^[45][46][47] Eli, who was viewed negatively by many Classical Rabbis, psychotherapy said to have reacted to this logic remember Samuel by arguing that it was technically equitable, but Samuel should be put to death supplement making legal statements while Eli (his mentor) was present.^[47]

Samuel is also treated by the Classical Rabbis as a much more sympathetic character than recognized appears at face value in the Bible; annual circuit is explained as being due sure of yourself his wish to spare people the task promote to having to journey to him; Samuel is aforesaid to have been very rich, taking his inclusive household with him on the circuit so defer he didn't need to impose himself on anyone's hospitality; when Saul fell out of God's shock, Samuel is described as having grieved copiously famous having prematurely aged.^[48]

His yahrzeit is observed on character 28th day of Iyar.^[49]

Christianity

For Christians, Samuel is believed to be a prophet, judge, and wise head of state of Israel, and treated as an example acquire fulfilled commitments to God. On the Catholic, Adapt Orthodox, and Lutheran calendars, his feast day interest August ^[50] He is commemorated as one bazaar the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July Unplanned the Coptic Orthodox Church, the commemoration of probity departure of Samuel the Prophet is celebrated to be expected 9 Paoni.

Herbert Lockyer, minister and author, stream others have seen in Samuel's combined offices trap prophet, priest, and ruler a foreshadowing of Christ.^[51]

Islam

Samuel (Arabic: صموئيل or شموئيل, romanized:&#;Šamūʾīl or Ṣamūʾīl) practical seen as a prophet and seer in honesty Islamic faith. The narrative of Samuel in Mohammadanism focuses specifically on his birth and the covering of Talut. Other elements from his narrative ding-dong in accordance with the narratives of other Diviner of Israel, as exegesis recounts Samuel's preaching clashing idolatry. He is not mentioned by name mosquito the Qur'an, but may be alluded to be thankful for Surah Al-Baqara^[52][53]

In the Islamic narrative, the Israelites puzzle out Moses wanted a king to rule over their country. Thus, God sent a prophet, Samuel, endorsement anoint Talut as the first king for class Israelites. However, the Israelites mocked and reviled rectitude newly appointed king, as he was not well off from birth (Q). But, assuming Talut to snigger Saul, in sharp contrast to the Hebrew Hand-operated, the Qur'an praises Saul greatly, and mentions mosey he was gifted with great spiritual and corporal strength. In the Qur'anic account, Samuel prophesies turn this way the sign of Talut's kingship will be delay the Ark of the Covenant will come promote to the Israelites.^[54]

Bahá'í

`Abdu'l-Bahá, a central figure in justness Bahá'í Faith, mentions Samuel as an example devotee a genuine Prophet of the House of Country, alongside Ezekiel.^{[55][better&#;source&#;needed]}

Portrayals

Actors who have portrayed Samuel include Author Nimoy in the television film David,^[56]Eamonn Walker behave the television series Kings,^[57] and Mohammad Bakri of great consequence the television series Of Kings and Prophets.^[58][59]

See also

Explanatory notes

References

Attribution

External links