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Dromo's Den
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[Up] [Dromo's Den] Samuel Biography SAMUEL. The son of Elkanah and Hannah, a judge and prophet, who plays a prominent part in Hebrew history just prior to the establishment of the monarchy in the eleventh century B.C. The story of Samuel is told in the first of the two books of the Old Testament which bear his name. Modern scholars who think that these books are a compilation find each of the two sources in the account given of Samuel. In the older narrative he is represented as a seer, attached to a town in the hill country of Ephraim, who is consulted by Saul while in search of the lost asses of his father (chap. ix). Samuel, who has been informed by Yahwe of Saul's coming, receives him cordially and invites him to a sacrificial meal. On the following morning he announces to Saul that Yahwe has designed him to be the deliverer of the Hebrews from the oppression of the Philistines and privately anoints him. Three signs are given to Saul by means of which to test the truth of Samuel's words. The signs are fulfilled and soon the occasion presents itself which enables Saul to raise the siege of Jabesh-Gilead, and amid much enthusiasm he is crowned king. The later narrative is not only much fuller, but accords to Samuel the preëminent position that he occupies in biblical tradition. It begins with the vow made by Hannah, the barren wife of Elkanah, on the occasion of a visit to the sanctuary at Shiloh, to devote the child that is promised to her through Eli to the service of Yahwe. Samuel is born and after being weaned is handed over to the care of Eli. While engaged in the service of the sanctuary Yahwe appears to him in the night and announces the approaching downfall of the house of Eli in consequence of the sins committed by the wicked sons of the priest. The defeat of the Israelites by the Philistines at Aphek seems to be the catastrophe meant by the prophecy, though in connection with this event and the subsequent restoration of the ark there is no mention of Samuel. When Samuel next appears he has assumed the role of a general adviser to whom the people look for advice; he exhorts them to turn from their idolatrous practices, and his intercession with Yahwe brings about the discomfiture of the Philistines. Samuel, moreover, is portrayed as a judge administering justice throughout Israel through a yearly circuit which embraced the chief sanctuaries, Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. On the approach of old age Samuel associates his two sons with him, but the latter, like the sons of Eli, did not resemble their father. For this reason and because they wanted to be like other nations, the people demand that a king be set over them. Samuel at first opposes the request, which he regards as an act of rebellion against Yahwe, but finally vields and at a gathering of the people in Mizpah directs that lots be cast for the king. The choice falls on Saul, the son of Kish, the Benjaminite. A farewell speech practically closes the public career of Samuel, who, however, lives long enough to announce to Saul that the kingdom will be taken from him because of his disobedience to Yahwe's command. (See SAUL.) He anoints David and after that retires from public gaze. He dies at Ramah and is buried there. Bearing in mind the general religious character of the later narrative (as set forth in the article SAMUEL, BOOKS OF), it is not surprising to find incidents introduced which are intended to illustrate the narrator's conception of Israel's past. So the opposition of Samuel to the kingdom is supposed by some scholars to reflect the general view of a later period which looks with disfavor upon the whole period of royalty and regards its institution as the fatal step in Israel's history. The scene, therefore, between Samuel and the people in which he rebukes them for desiring a king (1 Sam, viii. 10-18) may contain but a slight historical kernel or even be a purely fanciful elaboration. In like manner many scholars regard the farewell speech of Samuel (1 Sam. xii) as unhistorical and believe that legendary embellishments form a factor in many of the other incidents related of him. Nevertheless they agree that the narrative correctly estimates the importance of the position held by Samuel and the scope of his influence. Consult: G. C. M. Douglas, Samuel and his Age: A Study in the Constitutional History of Israel (London, 1901); F. B. Meyer, Samuel the Prophet (new ed., New York, 1902); and the chapters on Samuel in the Hebrew histories of Stade, Wellhausen, Piepenbring, Guthe, and others. The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol. XX (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 406-407. |