Samuel is commonly divided into two volumes in the English Bible, even in many translations of Jewish origin. The division of the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles comes from the early book making techniques that forced them to be split into two volumes.
The book of Samuel opens with the story of Samuel's birth. Samuel is the child of faith as much as he is the product of his parents. Samuel's parents came to Shiloh to make sacrifices and Hannah, Samuel's mother, would go off by herself and pray. So deep and fervent were her prayers that on one occasion Eli, the priest, thought that she was drunk. After Samuel is born he is dedicated to the service of the L-ord and lives at Shiloh with Eli.
Samuel is contrasted with Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli. They are not ministering faithfully and indeed are extorting extra payment from the people who come to worship. Samuel experiences a direct call from G-d and essentially replaces the sons of Eli as the faithful minister of the L-rd.
In the books of Samuela the monarchy is established. Samuel is actually the last of the Judges or perhaps he is the first of the prophets—after the fashion of the Latter Prophets. He delivers the words of G-d to the people and especially the King. When the people call for a king it is so they will be like the nations that surround them. The mission of Israel is actually to be a nation of priests, an example to other nations. (We should also recall that Israel is not mentioned in the table of the nations of men in Genesis 10. Israel is supposed to be different.) The notion that Israel should be different is not totally lost but in a political sense at least one can see the desire for a stronger central government. Samuel resists the notion of a king, but G-d tells him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king (I Samuel 8.7)."
Saul, the first king is the sort of person that the people would pick if it were to came to a vote. He was the tallest man in the nation and he was the most hansom. Saul, however, is a tragic character. He starts out reluctant and becomes proud and vain. Early on he is numbered among the prophets as he gets caught up with a band of prophets but later he consults a medium so that he can consult Samuel who has died. (This sort of divination is forbidden in the Torah.) Saul is contrasted with David, the next king, who is humble and though he has his moments he does not forget who G-d is.
David is often thought of as the first king as under his reign the boundaries of the nation of Israel approximated the boundaries of the land grant given to Abraham. The transfer of power from Saul to David was not smooth and indeed the houses of Saul and David fought a long war.
David understood kindness, however, and in a day when a any new king would have totally destroyed the family of the former king, he showed kindness to Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, son of Saul, the last remaining member of the house of Saul. David restored all of Saul's land to Mephibosheth and he lived in the palace with David.
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- Last Updated: 15 February 2019