Introduction to the Book of First Samuel

“You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand." (1 Samuel 17:45-47, ESV)

David, just before killing Goliath

Preface

The next four books of the Bible begin with a transition for the Israelites, from the time of the judges (a theocracy, where God is the reigning King in heaven) to that of a human monarchy. The covenant made with the people during Moses’ lifetime will continue during this time but due to the lack of compliance by the people and their kings, God will punish them (often with their enemies). Thus, the cycle we saw earlier in the book of Judges continues: 1) prosperity leading to turning away from God, 2) followed by receiving discipline from God, 3) the subsequent repentance and the seeking of God’s mercy, 4) which leads to His forgiveness and redemption, and 5) the return of being prosperous again, and so the cycle goes on.

When God sealed the covenant with Abram (later Abraham) in Genesis 15:13, He told him that “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.” (ESV) Many years later Abraham’s descendants through his grandson Jacob would enter Egypt and remain there for four hundred years. By the time the Israelites left Egypt, Satan had plenty of time to pollute the Promised Land through various people groups like the Canaanites that performed vile and horrific acts (such as child sacrifice) of worship to a wide variety of pagan deities. Which is why God commanded that those people be removed from the land. Joshua and most of the judges were able to purge many, but not all of them. Plus, instead of killing some, they were turned into slaves, which on the surface sounds more humane, but their religion and idol worship was observed and practiced by the people of Israel, creating multiple issues throughout this period. One very important element of compliance with the covenant Moses and the people of Israel agreed to at Mount Sinai was the requirement to only worship YHWH (the name of God), no exceptions.

Beginning with multiple tribal land allocations having autonomous leadership, to semi-unified regions referred to as Judah and Israel with separate leadership, then a monarchy (which unifies them to a point), followed by division (a northern kingdom and a southern kingdom), we see that the Israelites had significant 'growing pains'. The kings will be ‘measured’ in the following books by two opposing standards. If they followed God they would be measured by the deeds of King David, if they did not, then they will be compared to kings of Israel (the northern kingdom) like Jeroboam, Ahab, or Ahaz.

While these four books may reflect the hearts of the leaders and kings of the people, we also see that the people seemed to be "all too eager" to turn away from God and embrace idolatry.

Background History

The book of 1 Samuel begins essentially where the book of Judges ends. The Israelites had experienced approximately two-hundred years of being led by God through people He designated as judges. But the people often did not follow God’s guidance leaving them fractured (each tribe for themselves) and largely discouraged. Their disobedience can be summarized by the last verse in the book of Judges, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25, ESV) There was no established and permanent political authority in the land that often resulted in social upheaval.

The Israelites at that time apparently had been closely observing the neighboring nations and they have seen how the hierarchal leadership structure of ‘kingdoms’ had been working for those nations. Preferring to be led by a man and not God, the Israelites soon begin to ask God for a king. They may have not have realized at that time that they were fulfilling a prophecy recorded in Deuteronomy 17:14-15, “When you come to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ you may indeed set a king over you whom the LORD your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.” (ESV)

Three leaders will be introduced in this book: 1) The man and prophet Samuel who would be the last of the judges; 2) Saul, the first king of Israel; and 3) David, who will become the second king, but is still very young when introduced and will become king later in 2 Samuel.

Known by Many Names

The four books of First and Second Samuel and First and Second Kings are listed as one book in the Septuagint (the Greek text of the Old Testament) titled the “Books of Kingdoms” which are often delineated as 1, 2, 3, and 4 Kingdoms. The Latin Vulgate similarly lists them as 1, 2, 3, and 4 Kings. Most early Jewish literature refer to First and Second Samuel as one book (including the Dead Sea Scrolls, see 4QSamª),^[1] but later was presented as First and Second Samuel in the Hebrew Bomberg Bible (first Rabbinic Bible also known as the Mikraot Gedolot) published in 1517 A.D. Today both Jews and Christians refer to them as First and Second Samuel.

Who Wrote this Book?

To answer that question truthfully, no one knows for certain. The author never identifies himself. Some believe that it is part of a larger historical writing that begins with the Book of Joshua and goes through to the end of 2 Kings, and then was later divided into the separate books we have today. Many believe that this 'historic' document was assembled by several contributors, while others believe there were single authors for each book. The Talmud records the longstanding Jewish belief that, "Samuel wrote the book that is called by his name and the book of Judges and Ruth."^[2] (Click here to read about ancient Jewish writings) Perhaps knowing the approximate date it was written can help narrow down the potential authors.

The books of Samuel contain no clear indication of the date of their composition. That the author wrote after the division of the kingdom between Israel and Judah in 931 B.C. is clear, due to the many references to Israel and Judah as distinct entities (1 Samuel 11:8; 17:52; 18:16; 2 Samuel 5:5; 11:11; 12:8; 19:42–43; 24:1, 9). Also, the statement concerning Ziklag’s belonging “to the kings of Judah to this day” in 1 Samuel 27:6 gives clear evidence of a post-Solomonic date of writing. There is no such clarity concerning how late the date of writing could be; however, 1 and 2 Samuel are included in the former prophets in the Hebrew canon, along with Joshua, Judges, and 1 and 2 Kings. If the former prophets were composed as a unit, then Samuel would have been written during the Babylonian captivity (560–540 B.C.), since 2 Kings concludes during the exile (2 Kings 25:27–30). Samuel has a different literary style than Kings, however, so it was most likely penned before the Exile during the period of the divided kingdom (931–722 B.C.) and later made an integral part of the Former Prophets.^[3]

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[1] 4QSamª is a large, fairly well preserved scroll dating from 50–25 BC. It contains in fragmentary form parts of much of 1 and 2 Samuel. It shows a tendency to expansionism not found in the better quality 4QSamb. Hoffner, H. A., Jr. (2015). 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 1, p. 28). Lexham Press.

[2] Neusner, J. (2011). The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary (Vol. 15, pp. 55). Hendrickson Publishers. (Tractate Baba Batra Chapter 1, Folio 14B)

[3] MacArthur, J. (2000). 1 Samuel: How One Godly Man Changed a Nation (pp. 1–2). W Publishing Group.