SAMSON 



SAMUEL 



135 



that he came under the Nazarite vow, or something 

 equivalent to it (for the unshorn head and absti- 

 nence from wine used to be observed by the Arabs 

 also when they were engaged in war or pursu- 

 ing revenge). His numerous exploits, variously 

 reckoned as seven, or eight, or twelve, have 

 suggested to such modern interpreters as Gold- 

 7\\iKT( Hebrew Mythology, Eng. trans. 1877) the idea 

 that possiblv elements of solar mythology may 

 have come into his story, and it is in any case 

 obvious that it owes much to popular legend 

 (e.g. in the etymology of Lehi); but there is no 

 reason to doubt that there underlies it an authentic 

 tradition of a strong, childlike, patriotic hero who 

 on various occasions in the days of Israel's oppres- 

 sion had wrought havoc among the Philistines. 

 The narrative, which is a unity, and shows com- 

 paratively few editorial touches, is one of the 

 relatively early portions of the Book of Judges 

 (see JUDGES). 



Samuel (Heb. Shem&'el, i.e., most probably, 

 ' name of God'), the last of the judges (Acts, xiii. 

 20), the first of the prophets (Acts, iii. 24), and 

 next to Moses the greatest personality in the 

 early history of Israel as a nation ( Jer. xv. 1 ; Ps. 

 xcix. 6), was, according to the narrative in 1 Sam. 

 i. iii.. an Ephraimite, native of Ramathaim or 

 Rainah in Mount Ephraim (probably the Arirnathea 

 of the New Testament, the modern Er-Ram, alx>ut 

 five miles north of Jerusalem). As a child he was 

 dedicated by his mother to the priesthood (not to 

 the Nazirate, Num. vi. 1-21, as is sometimes sup- 

 posed), and, clothed in priestly ephod and robe 

 (1 Sam. ii. 18, 19), he became a temple attendant 

 under Eli the high-priest at Shiloh, having his 

 sleeping-place within the sacred building 'where 

 the ark of God was." Later tradition represented 

 him as a Levite (1 Chron. vi. 27, 28, 33, 34). 

 While still a child he received the prophetic gift 

 and foretold the fall of EH and his house, a pre- 

 diction soon fulfilled in the national disaster at 

 Ebenezer. The story of Samuel contained in 1 

 Sam. vii.-xvi. combines two widely different 

 accounts of the rest of his career. According to 

 one of these, Israel lay for twenty years under 

 the Philistine yoke ; at the end of this period a 

 national convocation was summoned to Mizpah by 

 Samuel, who, for a still longer time, had been 

 known and recognised from Dan to Beersheba as a 

 prophet of the Lord. While prophet and people were 

 engaged in religions exercises the Philistines came 

 npon them, but only to sustain a decisive repulse 

 which drove them within their own borders, where 

 they remained during all the days of Samuel. The 

 prophet thenceforward enjoyed a profoundly peace- 

 ful and prosperous rule as judge over all Israel, till 

 his advancing years compelled him to associate his 

 sons with him in the government. Dissatisfaction 

 with their ways gave the elders of Israel a pretext 

 for coming to .Samuel and asking him to give them 

 a king such as every other nation had. Although 

 clearly seeing the folly of this and well aware that 

 it was equivalent to a rejection of Jehovah, he, 

 after tome remonstrance, granted their prayer 

 ( 1 Sam. viii. ) and held a national convocation at 

 Mizpah (x. 17-27), at which Saul, son of Kish, 

 was chosen by lot to the sovereignty over Israel. 

 Saul's exploit against the Ammonites shortly after- 

 wards led to another convocation at Gilgal, where 

 the kingdom was 'renewed' (xi. 14) in what was, 

 presumably, one of the last acts of the public life 

 of Samuel. The other account, which is also the 

 older, gives a wholly different impression of the 

 prophet's career. He comes before us as a ' man of 

 God/ a man 'held in honour," and a seer whose 

 every word 'cometh surely to pass,' but occupying 

 a position hardly so prominent as that of judge of 

 all Israel. Saul is divinely made known to him as 



the instrument chosen by God in His mercy to 

 deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines, 

 under whose oppression they are (and long have 

 been) groaning. The seer secretly anoints the 

 young Benjamite and gives him certain signs, with 

 the injunction, 'let it be, when these signs are 

 come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve 

 thee, for God is with thee' (ix. 1-x. 16). The 

 ' occasion ' arose about a month afterwards (x. 27 ; 

 R. V. marg. ), when the 'spirit of God came 

 mightily upon Saul,' and his magnificent relief of 

 Jabesh-Gilead resulted in his being immediately 

 afterwards chosen and recognised as king. The 

 accounts of Samuel's conduct, during Saul's reign 

 are also discrepant, and neither version of Saul's 

 rejection by Samuel appears in the oldest narrative, 

 which is also silent about the anointing of David. 



Samuel, BOOKS OF. The Book of Samuel ( for 

 it is in reality but one) forms the third in the series 

 of the four 'former prophets,' being preceded by 

 Joshua and Judges, and followed by the (also 

 undivided ) Book of Kings. In the LXX. it appears 

 as two books, entitled respectively A and B 'of 

 kings,' or rather 'of kingdoms' (basileion) ; this, 

 through the Vulgate (Jerome preferred ' Regum ' to 

 'Regnorum'), is the source of the corresponding 

 division in the authorised version, and of the 

 alternative titles, 'otherwise called the first (or 

 second) Book of Kings.' In Coverdale's version 

 the title of 1 Sam. runs : ' the first boke of kynges, 

 otherwise called the first boke of Samuel.' In the 

 Revised Version the alternative title is dropped. In 

 printed editions of the Hebrew Bible since Bom- 

 berg's time the Hebrew text has also shown the 

 division of Samuel into two books, the first 

 covering the period of Samuel and Saul, the 

 second that of David. A more natural division 

 would have been into three, the partitions being 

 marked by 1 Sam. xiv. 52, 2 Sam. viii. 18, and 

 2 Sam. xxiv. 25, or rather by 1 Kings, ii. 46, 

 respectively. Of the sections thus indicated the third 

 presents fewest difficulties to the critic. It is held 

 to extend from 2 Sam. ix. 1 to 1 Kings, ii. 46, and 

 apart from 2 Sam. xxi.-xxiv, which constitutes 

 an appendix to the main narrative, of miscellaneous 

 contents it is a quite continuous piece of history, 

 showing in a singularly vivid way how it was 

 that Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah, failing in 

 turn to secure the succession, cleared the way 

 for Solomon. It was, obviously and admittedly, 

 written at a date comparatively near the events to 

 which it relates. Thenius attributes it to a quite 

 contemporary writer, and Klostermann even names 

 Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, as the probable author. 

 The second section ( 1 Sam. xv. 1 2 Sam. viii. 

 18), containing the history of David from the time 

 when he was first brought to court down to that of 

 his elevation to the throne of all Israel, and his 

 victory over all external foes, is somewhat more 

 complex in its structure. A clue to its analysis 

 is sought by most recent critics in the twofold 

 account of the manner in which David was first 

 brought into close personal relations with Saul. 

 The first and earlier (xvi. 14-23) represents him 

 as already of mature age, a mighty man of 

 valour, and practised in affairs, as well as a 

 gifted musician, when, on account of his skill 

 with the harp, he is introduced into Saul's service 

 after his malady had begun to show itself ; here 

 he soon becomes the king's armour-bearer. In 

 the second and later account (xvii. 1-xviii. 5), 

 which appears in a considerably shorter form in 

 the LXX. (see R.V. marg.), he is a shepherd lad, 

 inexperienced either in war or in affairs, who first 

 attract* the king's attention by his heroic encounter 

 with Goliath. The earlier of the two narratives 

 of Saul's growing fear and jealousy of David, the 

 flight of the latter, his wanderings to Ailullam. 



