Samuel

Samuel or Shmu'el (Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל) was an important leader of history of ancient Israel and Judah. The last of the Hebrew judges, we was also a seer, prophet, warrior, national unifier, and kingmaker. His story is recounted in the Book(s) of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible

The literal translation of Hebrew Samuel (Shemu'el in Hebrew) is Name of God (from Shem, meaning name and El an ancient Israelite name for God. However, in some contexts Shem can also mean son, and hence Samuel would mean son of El or son of God. While son of El (or Name of God) could imply that Samuel is a cipher for Yahweh (considered by biblical scholars to have been a son of El, in the Canaanite pantheon), the term son of God was simply a generic term for someone who was seen as particularly holy (in particular a senior priest), and hence may only have been a description not his name.

In rabbinical tradition, Samuel is viewed as the last of the Hebrew Judges and the first of the major Istraelite prophets after Moses.

Birth and early years

Samuel's mother was Hannah, the wife of Elkanah. Like several women in the Hebrew Bible, she had been barren before the birth of her providential son. Though much beloved by her husband, she was persecuted by his second wife and prayed desperately that her childlessness would be taken from her. In the narrative, Hannah makes a pilgrimage to Shiloh, the village which housed the sacred Ark of the Lord, to worship. There, she earnestly prayed to God that she might become the mother of a son. In return she promised to dedicate the child as a Nazarite, an ascetic who refrained from alcohol and never cut his hair. The Tabernacle priest, Eli, at first mistook her fervent prayers for drunkenness, but soon recognized heer true intent and blessed her. Remaining overnight and worshiping "before Yahweh" in the morning, she then returned home, slept with Elkanah, and became pregnant. After she gave birth to Samuel and weaned him, Hannah did as she had promised, dedicating him to God and leaving him in the care of Eli at Shiloh. In all these acts she is portrayed as having the sull support of her husband, Elkahnah. The text describes the parents as visiting the boy each year and offering sacrifice. Eli asked God to the bless them with more children, and Hannah gave birth to three more sons and two daughters as a result.

There, the child was raised by the community at the sanctuary; his material wants and needs being attended to by the women who served in the Tabernacle, while Eli cared for his religious education.

(From the point of view of most modern textual scholars this is actually the story of Saul's nativity.)

Eli's own sons, Hophni and Phinehas, however, were corrupt and abused their priestly offices for personal gain. As a result, a prophet came to Eli and predicted both that the priesthood would be transferred to another lineage and that both Hophni and Phenehas would die on the same day.

Meanwhile, before reaching full manhood, Samuel began to hear a voice during the night. He initially assumed it was coming from Eli, and so Samuel asked Eli what he wished to say. Eli, however, sent Samuel back to sleep. This went on a few times, until Eli told Samuel that the voice was that of God, and instructed Samuel on how to respond. Samuel was told by God that the wickedness of the Eli's sons had resulted in their dynasty being condemned to destruction (despite having been previously promised by God that it would last forever). Eli asked Samuel to honestly recount to him what he had been told, and upon receiving the communication merely said that Yahweh should do what seems right.

The text summarizes Samuel's adolescence and young adulthood in the following manner:

The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word. And Samuel's word came to all Israel.(1 Sam. 3:19-4:1)

Military Leader

According to the text, during Samuel's youth at Shiloh, the Philistines had inflicted a heavy defeat against the Israelites at Eben-Ezer (1 Sam. 4:1, 2), and taken the sanctuary's Ark for themselves. As a result, the entire land of Israel fell under the oppression of the Philistines.

After about 20 years of such oppression, Samuel, who had gained national prominence as a prophet, summoned the people to Mizpah (one of the highest hills in the land), where he organised them into an army and lead them against the Philistines. Having marched to Mizpah to attack the newly amassed Israelite army, the Philistines were utterly defeated, fleeing in terror. The routed Philistines were slaughtered by the Israelites as they retreated. The text goes on to state that Samuel erected a large stone at the battle site, named Eben-Ezer, as a memorial, and there was a long period of peace thereafter.

Samuel's retirement and death

At 1 Samuel 12, just before his retirement, Samuel gathers the people to an assembly at Gilgal, and gives them a farewell speech, in which he emphasises how prophets and judges were more important than kings, how kings should be held to account, and how the people should not fall into idol worship, or worship of Asherah or of Baal; Samuel threatens that God would subject the people to foreign invaders should they disobey. This, however, is seen by textual scholars as a deuteronomic redaction; archaeologically it is clear that Asherah was still worshipped in Israelite households well into the 6th century, which was obviously likely to have been a concern in regard to the deuteronomist's view of correct religion

Samuel then went into retirement, though he reappears briefly in the two accounts of why Saul's dynasty lost divine favour (parts of 1 Samuel 13, and 15), essentially acting, according to textual scholars, as the narrator's mouthpiece. Apart from being the individual who anoints David as king, a role Samuel is abruptly summoned to take, he does not appear any further in the text until his own death at Ramah (1 Samuel 25:1), where he is buried (cf. 2 Kings 21:18, 2 Chronicles 33:20, and John 19:41). According to classical rabbinical sources, this was at the age of fifty-two.

Samuel's death, however, is not completely the end of his appearance in the narrative. In the passage concerning Saul's visit to the Witch of Endor, ascribed by textual scholars to the republican source, Samuel is temporarily raised from the dead so that he can tell Saul his future. Although Christian interpretations of this event portray the Witch and Saul as having been frightened by his appearance, and Samuel as having been composed, classical rabbinical sources argue that Samuel was terrified by the ordeal, having expected to be appearing to face God's judgement, and had therefore brought Moses with him (to the land of the living) as a witness to his adherence to the mitzvot

Perspectives on Samuel

According to the Book of Jeremiah, and one of the Psalms (Psalm 99), Samuel had a high devotion to God, which was mutual. Classical Rabbinical literature adds that he was more than an equal to Moses, God speaking directly to Samuel, rather than Samuel having to attend the tabernacle to hear God . Samuel is also described by the Rabbis as having been highly intelligent; he argued that it was technically legitimate for laymen to offer sacrifices, since the Mitzvot only insisted that the priests bring the blood (cf Leviticus 1:5, Zebediah 32a). Eli, who was viewed negatively by many Classical Rabbis, is said to have reacted to this logic of Samuel by arguing that it was technically true, but Samuel should be put to death for making legal statements while Eli (his mentor) was present.

Samuel is also treated by the Classical Rabbis as a much more sympathetic character than he appears at face value in the Bible; his annual circuit is explained as being due to his wish to spare people the task of having to journey to him; Samuel is said to have been rich, taking his entire household with him on the circuit so that he didn't need to impose himself on anyone's hospitality; when Saul fell out of God's favour, Samuel is described as having grieved copiously and having prematurely aged .

However, according to textual scholars, this latter battle (1 Samuel 7:2b-16), in which Samuel lead the Israelites to victory, is actually a redaction dating from the 7th century. It was probably added by the Deuteronomist, to confirm to a theocratical worldview in which religious figures have greater prominence, and Israel only loses to its enemies when it is being punished by God; the passage essentially acting as a counterbalance to the earlier Israelite defeat. In reality it is considered more likely that, if there is any historical basis for the Israelite victory, it was one of those due to military leadership by Saul .

National Prophet, Local Seer

Samuel is described as taking two distinct roles:

• A seer, based at Ramah, and seemingly known scarcely beyond the immediate neighbourhood of Ramah (Saul, for example, not having heard of him, with his servant informing him of his existence instead). In this role, Samuel is associated with the bands of musical ecstatic roaming prophets (aka shouters - neb'im) at Gibeah, Bethel, and Gilgal, and some traditional scholars have argued that Samuel was the founder of these groups. At Ramah, Samuel secretly anoints Saul, after having met him for the first time, while Saul was looking for his father's flock, and treated him to a meal.
• A prophet, based at Shiloh, who went throughout the land, from place to place, with unwearied zeal, reproving, rebuking, and exhorting the people to repentance. In this role, Samuel acted as a (biblical) judge, publicly advising the nation, and also giving private advice to individuals. Eventually Samuel delegates this role to his sons, based at Beersheba, but they behave corruptly and so the people, facing invasion from the Ammonites, pursuade Samuel to appoint a king. Samuel reluctantly does so, and anoints Saul in front of the entire nation, who had gathered to see him.

Textual scholars believe that these two roles each comes from a different source, which later were spliced together to form the Book(s) of Samuel. The oldest is considered to be that which marks Samuel as the local seer of Ramah, who willingly anoints Saul as King in secret, while the later is that which presents Samuel as a national figure, who begrudgingly anoints Saul as King in front of a national assembly. This later source is generally known as the republican source, since here, and elsewhere, it denegrates the actions and role of the monarchy (particularly those of Saul) and favours religious figures, in contrast to the other main source - the monarchial source - which treats the monarchy favourably. In the monarchial source, Saul is appointed king by public acclamation, due to his military victories, and not by cleromancy involving Samuel. Another difference between the sources is that the republican source treats the shouters as somewhat independent from Samuel (1 Samuel 9:1+) rather than having been lead by him (1 Samuel 19:18+). The passage (1 Samuel 7:15-16) in which Samuel is described as having exercised the functions of a (biblical) judge, during an annual circuit from Ramah to Bethel to Gilgal (the Gilgal between Ebal and Gerizim) to Mizpah and back to Ramah, is thought by textual scholars to be a redaction aimed at harmonising the two portrayals of Samuel.

Samuel is variously described by the Book(s) of Samuel as having carried out sacrifices at sanctuaries, and having constructed and sanctified altars. Nevertheless, according to the Mitzvot only Aaronid priests and/or Levites (depending on the Mitzvah) were permitted to perform these actions, and simply being a nazarite or prophet was insufficient. In the Book of Chronicles, Samuel is described as a Levite, rectifying this situation; however textual scholars widely see the Book of Chronicles as an attempt to redact the Book(s) of Samuel and of Kings to conform to later religious sensibilities. Since many of the Mitzvot themselves are thought to postdate the Book(s) of Samuel (according to the documentary hypothesis), there is therefore no reason to assume that Chronicles is making its claim on any basis other than religious bias. The Levitical genealogy of 1 Chronicles 4 is not historical, according to modern scholarship.

See also

• Books of Samuel
• Book of Samuel the Seer
• List of names referring to El
• Biblical judges

References and Notes

Preceded by: Eli

(Last) Judge of Israel

Succeeded by: King Saul of the Kingdom of Israel

This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.

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