Books of Samuel

The Book of Samuel (Hebrew: ספר שמואל, Sefer Shmuel) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) that constitute a theological history of the Israelites and that aim to explain God's law for Israel under the guidance of the prophets.^[1]

According to Jewish tradition, the book was written by Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan,^[2] who together are three prophets who had appeared within 1 Chronicles during the account of David's reign.^[3]^[4] Modern scholarly thinking posits that the entire Deuteronomistic history was composed circa 630–540 BCE by combining a number of independent texts of various ages.^[5]^[6]

The book begins with Samuel's birth^[7] and Yahweh's call to him as a boy. The story of the Ark of the Covenant follows. It tells of Israel's oppression by the Philistines, which brought about Samuel's anointing of Saul as Israel's first king. But Saul proved unworthy, and God's choice turned to David, who defeated Israel's enemies, purchased the threshing floor^[8] where his son Solomon would build the First Temple, and brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Yahweh then promised David and his successors an everlasting dynasty.^[9]

In the Septuagint, a basis of the Christian biblical canons, the text is divided into two books, now called the First and Second Book of Samuel.

Call of Samuel or Youth of Samuel (–7): From Samuel's birth his career as Judge and prophet over Israel. This source includes the Eli narrative and part of the ark narrative.^[29]

1 Samuel 1

Ark narrative (:1b–7:1 and 2 Samuel 6:1–20): the ark's capture by the Philistines in the time of Eli and its transfer to Jerusalem by David – opinion is divided over whether this is actually an independent unit.^[30]

1 Samuel 4

Jerusalem source: a fairly brief source discussing David conquering Jerusalem from the .

Jebusites

Republican source: a source with an anti-monarchial . This source first describes Samuel as decisively ridding the people of the Philistines, and begrudgingly appointing an individual chosen by God to be king, namely Saul. David is described as someone renowned for his skill at playing the harp, and consequently summoned to Saul's court to calm his moods. Saul's son Jonathan becomes friends with David, which some commentators view as romantic, and later acts as his protector against Saul's more violent intentions. At a later point, having been deserted by God on the eve of battle, Saul consults a medium at Endor, only to be condemned for doing so by Samuel's ghost, and told he and his sons will be killed. David is heartbroken on discovering the death of Jonathan, tearing his clothes as a gesture of grief.

bias

Monarchial source: a source with a pro-monarchial bias and covering many of the same details as the republican source. This source begins with the divinely appointed birth of Samuel. It then describes Saul as leading a war against the Ammonites, being chosen by the people to be king, and leading them against the Philistines. David is described as a shepherd boy arriving at the battlefield to aid his brothers, and is overheard by Saul, leading to David challenging and defeating the Philistines. David's warrior credentials lead to women falling in love with him, including Michal, Saul's daughter, who later acts to protect David against Saul. David eventually gains two new wives as a result of threatening to raid a village, and Michal is redistributed to another husband. At a later point, David finds himself seeking sanctuary amongst the Philistine army and facing the Israelites as an enemy. David is incensed that anyone should have killed Saul, even as an act of mercy, since Saul was anointed by Samuel, and has the individual responsible, an Amalekite, killed.

Goliath

or Succession narrative (2 Samuel 9–20 and 1 Kings 1–2): a "historical novel", in Alberto Soggin's phrase, telling the story of David's reign from his affair with Bathsheba to his death. The theme is of retribution: David's sin against Uriah the Hittite is punished by God through the destruction of his own family,^[31] and its purpose is to serve as an apology for the coronation of Bathsheba's son Solomon instead of his older brother Adonijah.^[22] Some textual critics have posited that given the intimacy and precision of certain narrative details, the Court Historian may have been an eyewitness to some of the events he describes, or at the very least enjoyed access to the archives and battle reports of the royal house of David.^[32]

Court History of David

Redactions: additions by the redactor to harmonize the sources together; many of the uncertain passages may be part of this editing.

Various: several short sources, none of which have much connection to each other, and are fairly independent of the rest of the text. Many are poems or pure lists.

Biblical judges

Books of the Kingdoms

Historicity of the Bible

History of ancient Israel and Judah

Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)

Kingdom of Judah

Midrash Shmuel (aggadah)

(Hebrew – English at Mechon-Mamre.org)

שמואל א Shmuel Aleph – Samuel A

(Hebrew – English at Mechon-Mamre.org)

שמואל ב Shmuel Bet – Samuel B

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#0__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#0__subtitleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#0__call_to_action.textDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#1__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#1__descriptionDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#6__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#6__descriptionDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#4__descriptionDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#3__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#3__descriptionDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#2__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#2__descriptionDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#2__heading--0DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#2__description--0DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__subtextDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__quote--0DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__name--0DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__company_or_position--0DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__quote--1DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__name--1DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__company_or_position--1DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__quote--2DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__name--2DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__company_or_position--2DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__quote--3DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__name--3DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__company_or_position--3DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__quote--4DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__name--4DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__company_or_position--4DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__subtextDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__quote--0DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__name--0DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__company_or_position--0DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__quote--1DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__name--1DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__company_or_position--1DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__quote--2DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__name--2DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__company_or_position--2DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__quote--3DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__name--3DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__company_or_position--3DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__quote--4DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__name--4DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$

$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__company_or_position--4DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$