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The books of First and Second Samuel were originally one book in the Hebrew Scriptures. It was called "The Book of Samuel" or simply "Samuel". The Greeks name the following books this way:
| Protestant Name | Greek Name |
|---|---|
| I Samuel | I Kingdoms |
| II Samuel | II Kingdoms |
| I Kings | III Kingdoms |
| II Kings | IV Kingdoms |
In the Latin version they are called First, Second, Third and Fourth Kings.
Samuel picks up where Samson left off. He was the 14th. Judge of Israel. There had never been a permanent victory over the Philistines so Samuel had to deal with them as Samson did.
The Book records the transition from a Theocracy (government under God) to a Monarchy (government under a king). The monarchy brought greater stability to Israel because the people found it easier to obey an earthly king.
This is the first book to use the word "Messiah". The word means:
In the New Testament, it becomes "The Christ" which is the Greek equivalent of "Messiah". The term was the outgrowth of God's promise to Abraham that through his descendants would come one through whom the whole world would be blessed (Gen. 12). With the coming of the reign of David and the messianic character of David, came the mistaken opinion that what God had promised to Abraham was an earthly kingdom or messianic age. Thus with the coming of the Messiah some 1000 years later, His mission was totally misunderstood.
David resembles in many ways the person of Christ"
The main characters of this book have lives that overlap:
Eli was the oldest at this time. He was born about 1130 B.C. He became Priest at Shiloh in 1099 B.C. at the age of 31.
Samson was born in 1090 B.C. and died in 1045 B.C. at the age of 45.
Samuel was born in 1086 B.C. when Samson was 4 years old.
Saul was born in 1054 B.C. when Samuel was 32 years old.
Eli died when Samuel was 37 years old.
Samuel took leadership of Israel when he was about 40 years old.
David was born in 1034 B.C. when Samuel was 52 years old.
Samuel anointed Saul as King of Israel when he was 60 years old.
Samuel anointed David as King of Israel when he was 70 years old.
Samuel died in 1006 B.C. when he was 80 years old.
From this we see that Samuel was "the man of God" who lived and judged during one of Israel's most important periods, from Samson, through Eli and Saul, to David.
The Author is unknown. Jewish tradition says that they were written by Samuel, and he may have written portions of first Samuel, but his death in First Samuel 25, makes it clear that he did not write the remainder of First Samuel or any of Second Samuel. In Chronicles, three men are mentioned as possible writers, Samuel, Nathan and Gad. Certainly all three contributed to the next six books. (Samuel, Kings and Chronicles) It certainly is probable that a single compiler, perhaps a member of a Jewish Prophetic School, assembled the writings of these three men into the present form of these six books, particularly in view of the smooth transition from one book to the other.
The time covered by First Samuel is 82 years. (1086 to 1004 BC) Samuel picks up where Samson left off. He had to deal with the Philistines since Samson did not accomplish a permanent victory. First Samuel records the transition from the theocracy under the Judges to the monarchy under the Kings. The monarchy brought greater stability because the people found it easier to follow an earthly king. Samuel was the "king maker" who anointed the first two kings of the United Kingdom of Israel. In reality, the people of Israel rejected God as their King and clamored for an earthly king.
This is the first book in the Bible where you will find the word "Messiah". David portrays the person of Christ:
God allowed David to "walk after His own heart" that he might become humble and know rejection and forgiveness and become Israel's greatest King. Christ is repeatedly called, "The descendent of David".
Some additional information concerning dates and characters in this book:
Our story begins about 1100 B.C. Eli was 30 years old. He became the High Priest at Shiloh one year later (1099 B.C.) at the age of 31. It was about this time that El-kan'-ah and Hannah were married. It wasn't until 13 years later, 1086 B.C. that Samuel was born.
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