Reference: Samuel, The Books Of
Fausets
One book in Hebrew; the Septuagint divided it into two. The Talmud (A.D. 500) is the earliest authority that ascribes the book to Samuel (Baba Bathra 14:2). The Hebrew give it his name because its first part treats of his birth, life, and work. His death recorded in 1 Samuel 25 proves he did not write it all. The Talmud's view, adopted by learned Christian fathers, may be true of the first 24 chapters. That Samuel wrote memoirs, which Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer supplemented, appears from 1Ch 29:29; "now the acts ("history": dibrei) of David the king, first and last, behold they are written in the book ("history": dibrei) of Samuel the seer, and in the book ("history") of Nathan the prophet, and in the book ("history") of Gad the seer." Nehemiah is said in 2Ma 2:13 to have "gathered together the acts in the kings and the prophets." The internal notices favor a date of the memoirs used in compiling 1 and 2 Samuel before the due organization of the temple and Mosaic ritual.
For sacrifices are mentioned with tacit approval, or at least without apology, at other places (Mizpeh, Ramah, Bethel, and Araunah's threshing floor) than before the door of the tabernacle or temple, the only place permitted by the law (1Sa 7:9-10,17; 9:13; 10:3; 14:35; 2Sa 24:18-25). On the contrary the writer of 1 and 2 Kings stigmatizes the high places to Jehovah and blames the kings who sanctioned or connived at them (1Ki 15:14; 22:43; 2Ki 12:3; 14:4; 15:4,35; 16:4; 21:3). In the disestablishment of the Mosaic ritual consequent on the Philistine capture of the ark, and in the unsettled times that followed, even the godly followed Moses less strictly. Hence he is but twice mentioned in all Samuel, and then only as joined with Aaron in delivering Israel out of Egypt; the law is never mentioned (1Sa 12:6,8).
In Joshua "Moses" occurs 56 times; in Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, after the captivity, when a return to the Mosaic standard, was the watchword of the civil and religious restoration, 31 times; in Kings, ten times; in the unsettled era of Judges, three times. Its early date is also implied by its purity of Hebrew as compared with the so-called Chaldaisms of Kings and the still more alloyed language of Chronicles. The passage (1Sa 27:6) "Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day" implies the division between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, but this is probably the comment of the last reviser. If it be the compiler's, then the compilation was made subsequently to the division. Though it does not record David's death it certainly takes it for granted (2Sa 5:5). This passage favors the view that the composition was shortly after his death.
That the composer used various existing materials appears from the distinct, but not irreconcilable, accounts of Saul's first acquaintance with David (1Sa 16:14-23; 17:55-58), also of Saul's death (1Sa 31:2-6,8-13; 2Sa 1:2-12), also of the origin of the proverb "is Saul also among the prophets?" (1Sa 10:9-12; 19:22-24). (See DAVID.) Summaries or endings of different memoirs incorporated by the composer appear in 1Sa 7:15-17; 14:47-52; 2Sa 8:15-18. The only book quoted is the Book of Jasher ("the upright", namely, "nation"), 2Sa 1:18, the bow song or elegy over Saul and Jonathan; once elsewhere (Jos 10:13).
The allusion to "the Lord's king and His anointed" (1Sa 2:10) does not imply that kings already existed, and that therefore this is not Hannah's genuine utterance (for she lived before any king in Israel), but prophetically points on to the necessary culmination of God's kingdom in the coming Messiah, and in David His typical forefather. Probably an inspired member of the schools of the prophets composed the book, incorporating in abridged form existing memoirs and records; so thought Theodoret, Athanasius, and Gregory. A recorder, remembrancer, or chronicler (mazkir) is first mentioned in David's reign (2Sa 8:16; 20:24). The details as to David in Bathsheba's affair, and of Amnon and Tamar, etc., etc., must have been furnished by contemporary memoirs written By persons having intimate access to the royal family. Prophets are prominent in Samuel.
Levites are mentioned only twice (1 Samuel 6; 2Sa 15:24), but thirty times in 1 Chronicles alone, containing David's history. The inspired author being of the prophetic schools naturally embodies Nathan's memoir as to his dealing with David in the Bathsheba sin, and in respect to the promise of permanence to his seed and throne (2 Samuel 7; 12), and Gad's dealing with him at the time of the plague (2 Samuel 24; also 1Sa 22:5). The phrase "Lord of hosts," 62 times found in Isaiah, occurs twice as often in Samuel as in all the other Old Testament histories put together. An undesigned coincidence confirming both occurs between 1Ch 10:12 (which omits notice of the burning), the men of Jabesh Gilead "buried Saul's and his son's bones," and 1Sa 31:12, "they burnt the bodies"; the bones in fragments alone remained after the burning.
Hannah's song must have been preserved by Samuel and incorporated by the compiler. The latter too derived from records David's elegies, 2Sa 1:19-27; 3:33-34; David's psalm, 2Sa 22:2-51; and his last words, 2Sa 23:1-8. Samuel contains, but Chronicles omit, David's kindness to Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9); the story of Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11; 12); Absalom's rebellion (2 Samuel 13); the Gibeonites hanging Saul's seven sons (2 Samuel 21); the war with the Philistines (2Sa 21:15-17); David's song (2 Samuel 22), and last words (2 Samuel 23). Dates are seldom given. The period included is somewhat under 155 years, 1171-1015 B.C. The internal evidence of places, times, etc., accords with truthfulness. Christ stamps Samuel as canonical (Mt 12:1-4; compare Ac 3:24; Heb 11:32).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And the sun was at rest and the moon kept its place till the nation had given punishment to their attackers. (Is it not recorded in the book of Jashar?) So the sun kept its place in the middle of the heavens, and was waiting, and did not go down, for the space of a day.
Those who make war against the Lord will be broken; against them he will send his thunder from heaven: the Lord will be judge of the ends of the earth, he will give strength to his king, lifting up the horn of him on whom the holy oil has been put.
And Samuel took a young lamb, offering all of it as a burned offering to the Lord; and Samuel made prayers to the Lord for Israel and the Lord gave him an answer. And while Samuel was offering the burned offering, the Philistines came near for the attack on Israel; but at the thunder of the Lord's voice that day the Philistines were overcome with fear, and they gave way before Israel.
And Samuel was judge of Israel all the days of his life. From year to year he went in turn to Beth-el and Gilgal and Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places. read more. And his base was at Ramah, where his house was; there he was judge of Israel and there he made an altar to the Lord.
And his base was at Ramah, where his house was; there he was judge of Israel and there he made an altar to the Lord.
When you come into the town you will see him straight away, before he goes up to the high place for the feast: the people are waiting for his blessing before starting the feast, and after that the guests will take part in it. So go up now and you will see him.
Then you are to go on from there, and when you come to the oak-tree of Tabor, you will see three men going up to God to Beth-el, one having with him three young goats and another three cakes of bread and another a skin full of wine:
And it came about, that when he went away from Samuel, God gave him a changed heart: and all those signs took place that day. And when they came to Gibeah, a band of prophets came face to face with him; and the spirit of God came on him with power and he took his place among them as a prophet. read more. Now when Saul's old friends saw him among the band of prophets, the people said to one another, What has come to Saul, the son of Kish? Is even Saul among the prophets? And one of the people of that place said in answer, And who is their father? So it became a common saying, Is even Saul among the prophets?
And Samuel said to the people, The Lord is witness, who gave authority to Moses and Aaron, and who took your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.
When Jacob and his sons had come into Egypt, and were crushed by the Egyptians, the prayers of your fathers came up to the Lord, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who took your fathers out of Egypt, and he put them into this place.
And Saul put up an altar to the Lord: this was the first altar which he put up to the Lord.
Now when Saul had taken his place as ruler of Israel, he made war on those who were against him on every side, Moab and the Ammonites and Edom and the kings of Zobah and the Philistines: and whichever way he went, he overcame them. And he did great things, and overcame the Amalekites, and made Israel safe from the hands of their attackers. read more. Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan and Ishvi and Malchi-shua; and these are the names of his daughters: the older was named Merab and the younger Michal; The name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz; the captain of his army was Abner, the son of Ner, brother of Saul's father. Kish, the father of Saul, and Ner, the father of Abner, were sons of Abiel. All through the life of Saul there was bitter war against the Philistines; and whenever Saul saw any strong man or any good fighting man, he kept him near himself.
Now the spirit of the Lord had gone from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord was troubling him. And Saul's servants said to him, See now, an evil spirit from God is troubling you. read more. Now give orders to your servants who are here before you to go in search of a man who is an expert player on a corded instrument: and it will be that when the evil spirit from God is on you, he will make music for you on his instrument, and you will get well. And Saul said to his servants, Then get me a man who is an expert player, and make him come to me. Then one of the servants in answer said, I have seen a son of Jesse, the Beth-lehemite, who is expert at playing, and a strong man and a man of war; and he is wise in his words, and pleasing in looks, and the Lord is with him. So Saul sent his servants to Jesse and said, Send me your son David who is with the sheep. And Jesse took five cakes of bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them to Saul by David. And David came to Saul, waiting before him: and he became very dear to Saul, who made him his servant, giving him the care of his arms. And Saul sent to Jesse saying, Let David be with me, for he is pleasing to me. And whenever the evil spirit from God came on Saul, David took his instrument and made music: so new life came to Saul, and he got well, and the evil spirit went away from him.
And when Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the army, Abner, whose son is this young man? And Abner said, On your life, O king, I have no idea. And the king said, Make search and see whose son this young man is. read more. And when David was coming back after the destruction of the Philistine, Abner took him to Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said to him, Young man, whose son are you? And David in answer said, I am the son of your servant Jesse of Beth-lehem.
Then he himself went to Ramah, and came to the great water-spring in Secu; and questioning the people he said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, They are at Naioth in Ramah. And he went on from there to Naioth in Ramah: and the spirit of God came on him, and he went on, acting like a prophet, till he came to Naioth in Ramah. read more. And he took off his clothing, acting like a prophet before Samuel, and falling down he was stretched out, without his clothing, all that day and all that night. This is the reason for the saying, Is even Saul among the prophets?
And the prophet Gad said to David, Do not go on living in this place but go into the land of Judah. Then David went away and came to the woodland of Hereth.
So Achish straight away gave him Ziklag: and for that reason Ziklag has been the property of the kings of Judah to this day.
And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and they put to death Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. And the fight was going badly for Saul, and the archers came across him, and he was wounded by the archers. read more. Then Saul said to the servant who had the care of his arms, Take out your sword and put it through me, before these men without circumcision come and make sport of me. But his servant, full of fear, would not do so. Then Saul took out his sword, and falling on it, put an end to himself. And when his servant saw that Saul was dead, he did the same, and was united with him in death. So death overtook Saul and his three sons and his servant on the same day.
Now on the day after, when the Philistines came to take their goods from the dead, they saw Saul and his three sons dead on the earth in Mount Gilboa. And cutting off his head and taking away his war-dress, they sent word into the land of the Philistines round about, to take the news to their gods and to the people. read more. His war-dress they put in the house of Astarte; and his body was fixed on the wall of Beth-shan. And when the people of Jabesh-gilead had news of what the Philistines had done to Saul, All the fighting men got up and, travelling all night, took Saul's body and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh and had them burned there.
All the fighting men got up and, travelling all night, took Saul's body and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh and had them burned there. And their bones they put in the earth under a tree in Jabesh; and for seven days they took no food.
(It is recorded in the book of Jashar for teaching to the sons of Judah) and he said: The glory, O Israel, is dead on your high places! How have the great ones been made low! read more. Give no news of it in Gath, let it not be said in the streets of Ashkelon; or the daughters of the Philistines will be glad, the daughters of men without circumcision will be uplifted in joy. O mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain on you, you fields of death: for there the arms of the strong have been shamed, the arms of Saul, as if he had not been marked with the holy oil. From the blood of the dead, from the fat of the strong, the bow of Jonathan was not turned back, the sword of Saul did not come back unused. Saul and Jonathan were loved and pleasing; in their lives and in their death they were not parted; they went more quickly than eagles, they were stronger than lions. O daughters of Israel, have sorrow for Saul, by whom you were delicately clothed in robes of red, with ornaments of gold on your dresses. How have the great ones been made low in the fight! Jonathan is dead on your high places. I am full of grief for you, my brother Jonathan: very dear have you been to me: your love for me was a wonder, greater than the love of women. How have the great ones been made low, and the arms of war broken!
And the king made a song of grief for Abner and said, Was the death of Abner to be like the death of a foolish man? Your hands were free, your feet were not chained: like the downfall of a man before evil men, so was your fall. And the weeping of the people over him went on again.
Ruling over Judah in Hebron for seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem, over all Israel and Judah, for thirty-three years.
And Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the army; and Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was keeper of the records;
Then Zadok came, and Abiathar, and with them the ark of God's agreement: and they put down the ark of God, till all the people from the town had gone by.
And Adoram was overseer of the forced work; and Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the recorder;
And the Philistines went to war again with Israel; and David went down with his people, and while they were at Gob they had a fight with the Philistines: And there came against David one of the offspring of the Rephaim, whose spear was three hundred shekels of brass in weight, and having a new sword, he made an attempt to put David to death. read more. But Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, came to his help, and, turning on the Philistine, gave him his death-blow. Then David's men took an oath, and said, Never again are you to go out with us to the fight, so that you may not put out the light of Israel.
And he said, The Lord is my Rock, my walled town, and my saviour, even mine; My God, my Rock, in him will I put my faith; my breastplate, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my safe place; my saviour, who keeps me safe from the violent man. read more. I will send up my cry to the Lord, who is to be praised; so will I be made safe from those who are against me. For the waves of death came round me, and the seas of evil put me in fear; The cords of hell were round me: the nets of death came on me. In my trouble my voice went up to the Lord, and my cry to my God: my voice came to his hearing in his holy Temple, and my prayer came to his ears. Then the earth was moved with a violent shock; the bases of heaven were moved and shaking, because he was angry. There went up a smoke from his nose, and a fire of destruction from his mouth: coals were lighted by it. The heavens were bent, so that he might come down; and it was dark under his feet. And he went through the air, seated on a storm-cloud: going quickly on the wings of the wind. And he made the dark his tent round him, a mass of waters, thick clouds of the skies. Before his shining light his dark clouds went past, raining ice and coals of fire. The Lord made thunder in the heavens, and the voice of the Highest was sounding out. And he sent out his arrows, driving them in all directions; by his flames of fire they were troubled. Then the deep beds of the sea were seen, and the bases of the world were uncovered, because of the Lord's wrath, because of the breath of his mouth. He sent from on high, he took me, pulling me out of great waters. He made me free from my strong hater, from those who were against me, because they were stronger than I. They came on me in the day of my trouble: but the Lord was my support. He took me out into a wide place; he was my saviour because he had delight in me. The Lord gives me the reward of my righteousness, because my hands are clean before him. For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not been turned away in sin from my God. For all his decisions were before me, and I did not put away his laws from me. And I was upright before him, and I kept myself from sin. Because of this the Lord has given me the reward of my righteousness, because my hands are clean in his eyes. On him who has mercy you will have mercy; to the upright you will be upright; He who is holy will see that you are holy; but to the man whose way is not straight you will be a hard judge. For you are the saviour of those who are in trouble; but your eyes are on men of pride, to make them low. For you are my light, O Lord; and the Lord will make the dark bright for me. By your help I have made a way through the wall which was shutting me in: by the help of my God I have gone over a wall. As for God, his way is all good: the word of the Lord is tested; he is a safe cover for all those who put their faith in him. For who is God but the Lord? and who is a Rock but our God? God puts a strong band about me, guiding me in a straight way. He makes my feet like roes' feet, and puts me on high places. He makes my hands expert in war, so that a bow of brass is bent by my arms. You have given me the breastplate of your salvation, and your mercy has made me great. You have made my steps wide under me, so that my feet make no slip. I go after my haters and overtake them; not turning back till they are all overcome. I have sent destruction on them and given them wounds, so that they are not able to get up: they are stretched under my feet. For I have been armed by you with strength for the fight: you have made low under me those who came out against me. By you their backs are turned in flight, so that my haters are cut off. They were crying out, but there was no one to come to their help: even to the Lord, but he gave them no answer. Then they were crushed as small as the dust of the earth, stamped down under my feet like the waste of the streets. You have made me free from the fightings of my people; you have made me the head of the nations: a people of whom I had no knowledge will be my servants. Men of other countries will, with false hearts, put themselves under my authority: from the time when my name comes to their ears, they will be ruled by me. They will be wasted away, they will come out of their secret places shaking with fear. The Lord is living; praise be to my Rock, and let the God of my salvation be honoured: It is God who sends punishment on my haters, and puts peoples under my rule. He makes me free from my haters: I am lifted up over those who come up against me: you have made me free from the violent man. Because of this I will give you praise, O Lord, among the nations, and will make a song of praise to your name. Great salvation does he give to his king; he has mercy on the king of his selection, David, and on his seed for ever.
Now these are the last words of David. David, the son of Jesse, says, the man who was lifted up on high, the man on whom the God of Jacob put the holy oil, the loved one of Israel's songs, says: The spirit of the Lord had voice through me, his word was on my tongue. read more. The God of Israel said, the word of the Rock of Israel came to me: When an upright king is ruling over men, when he is ruling in the fear of God, It is as the light of the morning, when the sun comes up, a morning without clouds; making young grass come to life from the earth For is not my house so with God? For he has made with me an eternal agreement, ordered in all things and certain: as for all my salvation and all my desire, will he not give it increase? But the evil-doers, all of them, will be like thorns to be pushed away, because they may not be gripped in the hand: But anyone touching them has to be armed with iron and the rod of a spear; and they will be burned with fire, every one of them. These are the names of David's men of war: Ishbaal the Hachmonite, chief of the three; his axe was lifted up against eight hundred put to death at one time.
The high places, however, were not taken away: but still the heart of Asa was true to the Lord all his life.
He did as Asa his father had done, not turning away from it, but doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord; but the high places were not taken away: the people went on making offerings and burning them in the high places.
All the fighting-men came up and took away Saul's body and the bodies of his sons, and took them to Jabesh, and put their bones to rest under the oak-tree in Jabesh, and took no food for seven days.
Now all the acts of David, first and last, are recorded in the words of Samuel the seer, and the words of Nathan the prophet, and the words of Gad the seer;
At that time Jesus went through the fields on the Sabbath day; and his disciples, being in need of food, were taking the heads of grain. But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, See, your disciples do that which it is not right to do on the Sabbath. read more. But he said to them, Have you no knowledge of what David did when he had need of food, and those who were with him? How he went into the house of God and took for food the holy bread which it was not right for him or for those who were with him to take, but only for the priests?
And all the prophets from Samuel and those who came after, every one of them, gave word of these days.