INTRODUCTION TO
1st & 2nd SAMUEL
The Rise of Kings
The book of Judges is a book
of Heroes. The characters of 1st and 2nd
Samuel are no less heroic. But while the
spotlight of the Judges often shown on very ordinary men, that of 1st and 2nd
Samuel focuses upon those who are prophet, priest and king. These three offices are those which are held
by Christ. He is the supreme prophet and
priest and king. This means that as we
read through the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel, we will find ourselves
continually reflecting upon how these books foreshadow the person of Jesus.
THE TITLE OF THE BOOK
The book which we know as
First and Second Samuel were originally written as a single book. There is no break between these two in the Masoretic Text.
How did it become
divided? The scroll of Samuel was
probably too large and too cumbersome to be handled as a single scroll, so it
was divided into two parts.
1. The
Hebrew Title: Samuel.
The
Hebrew Title is named after the first major character to appear in the
book. This is misleading, since Samuel
dies in the middle of 1st Samuel and is not mentioned at all in 2nd
Samuel. On the other hand, Samuel served
as the King-maker for both of the kings whose careers are presented in this
book.
2. The
Greek Title.
The
Septuagint groups the books of Samuel with those of Kings and refers to them
collectively as “the Books of Kingdoms.”
Thus, the Septuagint has 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Kingdoms.
3. The
Latin Title.
Jerome’s
Latin Vulgate borrowed the title from the Septuagint and modified it to read Libri Regum -
“Books of Kings.”
THE PLACE OF SAMUEL IN THE
OLD TESTAMENT
Samuel is one of the
Historical Books.
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Law |
Historical Books |
Poetry |
Prophetical Books |
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From Creation to Moses |
From entrance into the
Promised Land to the return from Captivity |
Poetry & Wisdom
Literature |
Major & Minor Prophets
(spanning both sides of Exile). |
The books of Samuel introduce
us to the Kings of Israel. This also
marks the unification of the
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Exile |
Return |
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Saul |
David |
Solomon |
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40 Years |
40 Years |
40 Years |
210 Years |
135 Years |
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Assyrian Captivity 721 B.C. |
Babylonian Captivity 586 B.C. |
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1 & 2 Samuel |
1 & 2 Kings; 1
& 2 Chronicles |
Ezekiel Daniel |
Ezra Nehemiah |
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THE SCOPE OF THE BOOK
The books of Samuel take up
where Judges leaves off. The tribes of
The books of 1st & 2nd
Samuel take us through the Establishment of the Monarchy of Israel via the
careers of three men.
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David
established the Royal line. |
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Saul was the first King of
Israel. |
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Samuel was the last of the
Judges and the first of the Prophets (of whom Moses was a forerunner). |
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We are reminded that these
two books were first written as a single unit when we note that they begin and
end with a song.
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The Song of Hannah (1
Samuel 2:1-11) Note: Promise of anointed king in verse 10. |
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The Song of David (2 Samuel 22) Note: Eternal promise to
descendants of David in verse 51. |
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The first looks forward to a
future king. The second looks to God’s
promise of an eternal kingship - ultimately fulfilled in Jesus.
The Book which we know as
First Samuel can be divided into three parts, coinciding with the careers of
its three principle characters.
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First Samuel - Rise
& Fall of Saul |
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1:1 |
8:1 |
16:1 |
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Main
Character |
Samuel Prophet, Priest, Judge |
Saul Man after man’s heart |
David Man after God’s heart |
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Priest |
Eli |
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Prophet |
Birth & Call |
Judgeship |
Later Ministry |
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Samuel |
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Kings |
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Reign |
Decline & Death |
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Saul |
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Anointed |
Exiled |
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David |
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DATE OF WRITING
We are not told either who is the writer or when this book is written. As a part of Second Samuel, it seems evident
that it was written after the death of David.
It is noteworthy to see how
often we ready of something taking place “until this day,” indicating that some
considerable time has passed between the event and its written presentation.
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1 Samuel 5:5 |
Therefore
neither the priests of Dagon nor all who enter Dagon’s house tread on the
threshold of Dagon in |
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1 Samuel 6:18 |
“...the large
stone on which they set the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day
in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.” |
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1 Samuel 27:6 |
“...therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of |
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1 Samuel 30:25 |
“And so it has
been from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for |
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2 Samuel 4:3 |
“...the Beerothites fled to Gittaim,
and have been aliens there until this day” |
The mention of “kings of
It is also noteworthy that
these instances seem to lessen during the reign of King David, possibly
indicating that the events described therein were that much closer to the
writing of this book.
The Babylonian Talmud states
that “Samuel wrote the book that bears his name” (Baba Bathra 14b), later clarifying this to refer to those
chapter which take place before Samuel’s death (Samuel dies in 1 Samuel 25:1).
If this is the case, then a
later writer would have used the account penned by Samuel as he penned the
books.
1. As the
books of 1 & 2 Samuel were written as a complete unit, they had to have
been written after the reign of King David.
2. After the Division of
1
Samuel 27:6 describes the city of
In
the same way, 1 Samuel 18:16 speaks of how “all
3. The
fact that the books of 1 &2 Samuel contain less Aramaisms
than are found in the books of Kings might indicate that it was written at an
earlier period.
4. Written
Prior to the Babylonian Captivity.
The
quote from 1 Samuel 27:6 (mentioned above) indicates that these books were
written at a time when the Kings of Judah were still reigning.
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Saul |
David |
Solomon |
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Exile |
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Assyrian Captivity 721 B.C. |
Babylonian Captivity 586 B.C. |
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Period of Narrative |
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Written during this
period |
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PURPOSE OF THE BOOK
The two institutions of the
Monarchy and the Prophetic Order come to light within the books of Samuel. Indeed, the man Samuel gives rise to both of
these. He will be the last Judge of
Israel. As well as an acting priest,
following in the stead of Eli’ wicked sons.
As well as king-maker of
1. To
Define the Monarchy of Israel as it related to the Rule of God over the nation.
These
books show the need of a king and both the wrong motives as well as the right
motives in desiring a king.
It
has been said that Saul was a king after the heart of the people while David
was a king after God’s own heart.
2. To
Legitimize the Reign of King David.
It
has been suggested that the two books of Samuel set forth an apologetic for the
Kingship of the House and Lineage of David.
a. The
failure of the nation under Eli shows the need of a king.
b. The
sin of Saul and the later actions of his descendants show that the Lord has
rejected Saul as king and set the House of David in his place.
This
does not mean that David is presented through rose-colored glasses. His sin with Bathsheba and his murder of
Uriah are presented in open view and with no justification of his sin.
However,
the death of David is not described in this book (it is not seen until 1
Kings). We have noted that 1&2
Samuel gives internal evidence of being written well after David’s reign, yet
his death is not considered to be germane to the message of the book.
This
is because this is not primarily a biography of either Saul or David but rather
a history of the
3. To
Emphasize the Importance of Following the Lord and Obeying His Statutes.
The
books of Samuel relate both the triumphs and the tragedies of Saul and David as
they were obedient to the Lord and as they were disobedient.
Saul’s
obedience leads to victory. His
disobedience leads to defeat and the loss of the nation. David’s obedience leads to victory and a
throne. His disobedience leads to murder
and revolt within his own family.
In
both cases, we learn that it is not enough to begin well. The race goes to the one who runs and who
keeps on running well. Both Saul and
David had good beginnings. But sin
entered in and brought tragic consequences.
Here
is the point. The
4. To
Teach the Grace of God.
Especially
in the case of David, we are admitted to a wonderful picture of the mercy of
God.
Though
he suffers greatly from the consequences of his sin, David is forgiven his sin
and continues to trust in the Lord. From
his experiences, we learn that failure can be overcome through repentance and
faith.
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