"ESTABLISHED TO BE A PROPHET OF THE LORD" (1 SAMUEL 3:20); ALSO "THE SEER" (1 SAMUEL 9:19) · THE JUDGES

Samuel. Called by name in the night at Shiloh; the LORD let none of his words fall to the ground.

SCRIPTURE CALLS

Prophet

ERA

The judges c. 1380–1050 BC

IN THE DAYS OF

Eli · Saul · David · Agag

BOOK

None bears the name

HOW THE WORD CAME

1 Samuel 3 · Called by name at Shiloh

THE CALL

How the word first came

1 SAMUEL 3 · CALLED BY NAME AT SHILOH

“And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.”

1 Samuel 3:10 (KJV) →

HOW THE WORD KEPT COMING

  • Before the call, "Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him". Afterwards "the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD. And the word of Samuel came to all Israel." 1 Samuel 3:7 1 Samuel 3:21–4:1
  • "The LORD had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came"; "Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel"; at Jesse’s house the LORD named which son to anoint. 1 Samuel 9:15–17 1 Samuel 15:10 1 Samuel 16:6–12
  • He was called "the seer": "he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer". Saul’s servant said of him that everything he says comes to pass. 1 Samuel 9:6 1 Samuel 9:9 1 Samuel 9:19
  • He prayed for the people: he "cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him", and promised, "God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you". 1 Samuel 7:9 1 Samuel 12:23
  • At Naioth in Ramah "the company of the prophets" prophesied with "Samuel standing as appointed over them". 1 Samuel 19:20
  • He wrote: "Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD." Chronicles cites "the book of Samuel the seer" for the acts of David. 1 Samuel 10:25 1 Chronicles 29:29

BEFORE THE KINGS

Before four rulers

PRIEST AND JUDGE OF ISRAEL

Eli

“It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.”

1 Samuel 3:18 (KJV) →

FIRST KING OF ISRAEL

Saul

“Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”

1 Samuel 15:22 (KJV) →

KING OF JUDAH, THEN OF ALL ISRAEL

David

“Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward.”

1 Samuel 16:13 (KJV) →

RULER

Agag, king of the Amalekites

“As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women.”

1 Samuel 15:33 (KJV) →

THE MESSAGE

The word in its main themes

Return to the LORD with all your hearts

“If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only”

1 Samuel 7:3 (KJV) →

The manner of the king

“And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.”

1 Samuel 8:18 (KJV) →

Fear the LORD and serve him

“Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.”

1 Samuel 12:24 (KJV) →

To obey is better than sacrifice

“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”

1 Samuel 15:23 (KJV) →

Not as man seeth

“for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7 (KJV) →

THE WORD TO …

To whom the word was spoken

TO ALL ISRAEL AT MIZPEH

“Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD.”

1 Samuel 7:5 (KJV) →

TO THE PEOPLE AT GILGAL

“I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great”

1 Samuel 12:17 (KJV) →

TO SAUL AT GILGAL

“But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart”

1 Samuel 13:14 (KJV) →

TO SAUL, THE TORN MANTLE

“The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.”

1 Samuel 15:28 (KJV) →

TO JESSE AT BETHLEHEM

“The LORD hath not chosen these.”

1 Samuel 16:10 (KJV) →

TO SAUL AT ENDOR

“to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me”

1 Samuel 28:19 (KJV) →

SIGNS

Signs and wonders

WONDER

Thunder at Eben-ezer

WONDER

Thunder and rain at wheat harvest

SIGN-ACT

Oil and three signs for Saul

SIGN-ACT

The torn mantle

SIGN

The spirit at Naioth

WHAT CAME OF THE WORD

As Scripture reports it

THE WORD

SCRIPTURE REPORTS

THE WORD

SCRIPTURE REPORTS

THE WORD

SCRIPTURE REPORTS

THE WORD

SCRIPTURE REPORTS

THE WORD

SCRIPTURE REPORTS

THE WORD

SCRIPTURE REPORTS

COMPANIONS AND OPPONENTS

Who stood with him, and against him

Eli

Saul

David

The company of the prophets

HOW THE STORY ENDS

Scripture says, tradition says

SCRIPTURE SAYS

  • "And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah." 1 Samuel 25:1
  • 1 Samuel 28 tells of the woman at Endor bringing up one whom Saul "perceived" to be Samuel, who told him that Israel would be delivered to the Philistines and "to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me"; Chronicles says Saul died for "asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit". 1 Samuel 28:3–20 1 Chronicles 10:13–14
  • Later Scripture sets him beside Moses: "Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name"; "Though Moses and Samuel stood before me". Peter counts "all the prophets from Samuel"; Paul says God gave judges "until Samuel the prophet". Psalms 99:6 Jeremiah 15:1 Acts 3:24 Acts 13:20

TRADITION SAYS

  • Jerome, writing in his own day, asks whether "the Emperor Arcadius" was guilty of sacrilege, "who after so long a time has conveyed the bones of the blessed Samuel from Judea to Thrace", with crowds meeting the relics "from Palestine to Chalcedon".[29] Who says so: Jerome, Against Vigilantius 5, about AD 406

OPEN QUESTIONS

Where readers have differed

A spirit taking Samuel’s form

Tertullian (about AD 200); followed by Jerome, Luther and Calvin, as reported by Kirkpatrick (1884)

Tertullian writes that the spirit consulted at Endor was "permitted ... to represent the soul of Samuel", and "God forbid, however, that we should suppose that the soul of any saint, much less of a prophet, can be dragged out of (its resting-place in Hades) by a demon."[28]

The woman deceived herself

"A modern hypothesis", as reported by Kirkpatrick (1884)

Kirkpatrick reports a view that the woman, in a trance, imagined she saw and heard Samuel. He answers that the dialogue runs "directly" between Saul and Samuel.[25]

A deliberate deception by the woman

"Another theory", as reported by Kirkpatrick (1884)

Kirkpatrick reports a view that the woman pretended to see Samuel and used her own voice or a confederate’s. He says it "finds no support in the narrative".[25]

IN SCRIPTURE

Every passage

CHAPTERS · 21

1 Samuel 3 1 Samuel 4 1 Samuel 7 1 Samuel 8 1 Samuel 9 1 Samuel 10 1 Samuel 12 1 Samuel 13 1 Samuel 15 1 Samuel 16 1 Samuel 19 1 Samuel 25 1 Samuel 28 1 Kings 2 1 Chronicles 10 1 Chronicles 11 1 Chronicles 29 Psalms 99 Jeremiah 15 Acts 3 Acts 13

PASSAGES · 20

1 Samuel 3:1–4:1 1 Samuel 7:3–17 1 Samuel 8:1–22 1 Samuel 9:6–10:13 1 Samuel 10:17–25 1 Samuel 12:1–25 1 Samuel 13:8–14 1 Samuel 15:1–35 1 Samuel 16:1–13 1 Samuel 19:18–24 1 Samuel 25:1 1 Samuel 28:3–20 1 Kings 2:27 1 Chronicles 10:13–14 1 Chronicles 11:3 1 Chronicles 29:29 Psalms 99:6 Jeremiah 15:1 Acts 3:24 Acts 13:20

WHAT SCRIPTURE DOES NOT SAY

  • Scripture gives no age for Samuel at his call.
  • 1 Samuel 28:19 says "to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me", and 1 Samuel 31:6 tells of Saul’s death with three sons; the text does not say there that the word came to pass.
  • The book named after Samuel does not say who wrote it; Scripture names one writing of his (1 Samuel 10:25) and "the book of Samuel the seer" (1 Chronicles 29:29).

SOURCES

Where this page comes from

  • C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, tr. James Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch, vol. 1 (Genesis; Exodus 1–11) (1864), pp. 451–452 (Exodus 4:14–16).
  • C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, tr. James Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch, vol. 1 (Genesis; Exodus 1–11) (1864), p. 472 (Exodus 6:28–7:7).
  • C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, tr. James Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch, vol. 2 (1872 printing) (1872), p. 56 (Exodus 15:19–21).
  • C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, tr. James Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch, vol. 3 (1871 printing) (1871), pp. 70–71 (Numbers 11:24–30).
  • C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, tr. James Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch, vol. 3 (1871 printing) (1871), pp. 75–76 (Numbers 12:1–3).
  • C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, tr. James Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch, vol. 3 (1871 printing) (1871), p. 136 (Numbers 20:22–29); pp. 244–245 (Numbers 33:30–33 and Deuteronomy 10:6).
  • C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, tr. James Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch, vol. 3 (1871 printing) (1871), pp. 158–161 (Balaam and his prophecies, introduction).
  • C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, tr. James Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch, vol. 3 (1871 printing) (1871), p. 165 (Numbers 22:5).
  • C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, tr. James Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch, vol. 3 (1871 printing) (1871), pp. 168–169 (Numbers 22:20–22).
  • C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, tr. James Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch, vol. 3 (1871 printing) (1871), pp. 192–194 (Numbers 24:17–18).
  • C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, tr. James Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch, vol. 3 (1871 printing) (1871), pp. 394–396 (Deuteronomy 18:15–19).
  • C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, tr. James Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch, vol. 3 (1871 printing) (1871), p. 492 (Deuteronomy 32:48–52); pp. 517–518 (Concluding remarks on the composition of the Pentateuch).
  • C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, tr. James Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth (1872 printing of the 1865 translation) (1872), p. 308 (Judges 5:1).
  • George Foot Moore, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Judges (International Critical Commentary) (1895), pp. 130–132 (Judges 5, the date and author of the song).
  • George Buchanan Gray, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Numbers (International Critical Commentary) (1903), p. xlvi (Introduction §15).
  • George Buchanan Gray, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Numbers (International Critical Commentary) (1903), pp. 113–115 (Numbers 11:25–29).
  • George Buchanan Gray, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Numbers (International Critical Commentary) (1903), pp. 120–121 (Numbers 12:1).
  • George Buchanan Gray, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Numbers (International Critical Commentary) (1903), pp. 325–326 (Numbers 22:5).
  • George Buchanan Gray, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Numbers (International Critical Commentary) (1903), pp. 332–333 (Numbers 22:22).
  • George Buchanan Gray, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Numbers (International Critical Commentary) (1903), pp. 369–371 (Numbers 24:17–18).
  • S. R. Driver, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Deuteronomy (International Critical Commentary) (1895), p. xxvii (Introduction §3) and pp. xlv–xlvi (Introduction §4, the date of Deuteronomy).
  • S. R. Driver, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Deuteronomy (International Critical Commentary) (1895), pp. 119–120 (Deuteronomy 10:6–7).
  • S. R. Driver, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Deuteronomy (International Critical Commentary) (1895), pp. 228–229 (Deuteronomy 18:15–19).
  • A. F. Kirkpatrick, The First Book of Samuel (Cambridge Bible for Schools) (1884), Introduction, ch. I, §§2–4 (the title, the author and the sources).
  • A. F. Kirkpatrick, The First Book of Samuel (Cambridge Bible for Schools) (1884), p. 219 (note on 28:11) and Appendix, Note VIII, pp. 244–245.
  • Origen, tr. Frederick Crombie, Against Celsus, book 1 (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 4) (1885), 1.59–60.
  • Origen, tr. Frederick Crombie, De Principiis (On First Principles), book 3 (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 4) (1885), 3.2.1.
  • Tertullian, tr. Peter Holmes, A Treatise on the Soul (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3) (1885), ch. 57.
  • Jerome, tr. W. H. Fremantle, G. Lewis and W. G. Martley, Against Vigilantius (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, vol. 6) (1893), ch. 5.
  • J. B. Lightfoot and J. R. Harmer (eds. and trs.), The Apostolic Fathers (one-volume edition): The Shepherd of Hermas (1891), introduction, pp. 293–294; Vision 2.3, p. 409.

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