1 Samuel · Introduction

What Is This Book

1 Samuel is the third scroll of the Hebrew Bible's "Former Prophets" (Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings). It was originally one unified scroll together with 2 Samuel, forming the complete Book of Samuel. The Greek Septuagint (c. 3rd century BC) was the first to divide it into two volumes.

The central question of 1 Samuel: was it good or bad for Israel to have a king?

1 Sam 8:7 "Yahweh said to Samuel, 'Listen to the voice of the people in all that they tell you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me as the king over them."

The entire book of 1 Samuel unfolds around the tension of kingship: the people want a king, yet wanting a king is rebellion against Yahweh; Yahweh permits the establishment of a king, but chooses the king He Himself desires.

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Why It Matters

1 Samuel is one of the most theologically charged books in the Hebrew Bible:

1. It portrays how God raises up leaders — beginning with the prayer of an obscure woman (Hannah)
2. It defines "the rejected king" versus "the king after God's own heart" — Saul vs. David
3. It defines the principle of God's choosing: "man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart" (1 Sam 16:7)
4. It paves the way for the entire book of 2 Samuel — David's journey from an unknown shepherd boy to the king anointed by Yahweh

Without 1 Samuel there is no 2 Samuel; without the contrast between Saul and David in 1 Samuel, there is no standard for what it means to be "a man after God's own heart."

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Structure of the Book

1 Samuel divides into three major sections:

• 1 Sam 1–7 · The Rise of Samuel: Hannah's prayer, Samuel's birth, the failure of Eli and his sons, the ark captured and returned, Samuel serving as judge
• 1 Sam 8–15 · The Rise and Rejection of Saul: the people demand a king, Saul anointed, Saul's campaigns, Saul's two acts of disobedience, God rejects Saul
• 1 Sam 16–31 · The Rise of David and the Fall of Saul: David anointed, David defeats Goliath, David and Jonathan, Saul pursues David, David's flight, Saul's death at Gilboa

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Core Themes

Theme	Reference	Significance
The son who was asked for	1:20, 1:28	Samuel was "asked" of God by Hannah — foreshadowing that God raises up leaders beginning with prayer
Yahweh looks at the heart	16:7	God's choosing is not based on outward appearance but on the heart
Obedience is better than sacrifice	15:22	The core problem with Saul — he offered many sacrifices but did not obey
Yahweh's anointed	24:6, 26:9	The red line David honoured throughout his life — the anointed must not be touched
Inquiring of Yahweh	23:2, 4, 9–12; 30:8	David's spiritual DNA
David's waiting	Chs. 24, 26, 27	Waiting on God's timing — a mark of spiritual maturity

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Key Verses of 1 Samuel

1 Sam 2:2 "There is no one as holy as Yahweh, for there is no one besides you, nor is there any rock like our God."

1 Sam 15:22 "Samuel said, 'Has Yahweh as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying Yahweh's voice? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams."

1 Sam 16:7 "But Yahweh said to Samuel, 'Don't look on his face, or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for I don't see as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.'"

1 Sam 17:47 "and that all this assembly may know that Yahweh doesn't save with sword and spear; for the battle is Yahweh's, and he will give you into our hand.'"

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Connections to the New Testament

• Luke 1:46–55 — Mary's Magnificat directly echoes Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel 2
• Luke 2:52 — "Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men" echoes 1 Sam 2:26, which says Samuel "grew, and Yahweh was with him and also with all Israel"
• Matt 1:1 — Christ is "the son of David"; the legitimacy of David's lineage is rooted in 1 Samuel 16
• 1 Pet 2:9 — believers as "a royal priesthood" echoes 1 Sam 2:35, where God promises to raise up "a faithful priest"

① History and Authorship

When Was It Written

Mainstream scholarship holds that 1 and 2 Samuel reached their final form in the sixth century BC, after the exile, with the narrator using this historical retrospective to address the grief of the exiled people.

Key textual evidence:

• 1 Samuel 9:9 — "he who is now called a prophet was before called a Seer" — the narrator writes at a time when "Seer" had already become an archaic term
• 1 Samuel 27:6 — "Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day" — "to this day" marks the narrator's own vantage point
• The contrast between "the house of Saul" and "the house of David" is already clearly established within the book, indicating that the Davidic dynasty had been founded by the time of composition

Authorship

Primary source materials:

• The book of Samuel (1 Chronicles 29:29) — Samuel himself recorded the earlier events
• The book of Nathan and the book of Gad (1 Chronicles 29:29) — later supplementary accounts
• Oral tradition — stories passed down through generations among the Hebrew people

Final editing was likely carried out by a "Deuteronomistic editor" during the exilic period.

Historical Era

The events of 1 Samuel span approximately 1100–1010 BC:

• Samuel's ministry: c. 1100–1050 BC
• Saul's reign: c. 1050–1010 BC (forty years in total; Acts 13:21)
• David's flight: c. 1025–1010 BC (overlapping with the latter part of Saul's reign)

International context:

• The Philistines — Israel's greatest threat, who controlled iron technology (1 Samuel 13:19–22)
• The Ammonites — Saul's opponents in his first battle (1 Samuel 11)
• The Amalekites — the catalyst for Saul's rejection (1 Samuel 15)

② Literary Structure

Three Major Narrative Sections

The three central figures of 1 Samuel:

1. 1 Samuel 1–7 — Samuel: the opening of the book; a transitional figure who combined the roles of judge, prophet, and priest
2. 1 Samuel 8–15 — Saul: the tragedy of the book; a promising beginning and a ruinous end
3. 1 Samuel 16–31 — David: the hope of the book; from shepherd boy to fugitive to the eve of his coronation

Parallel Structure

The narrative of 1 Samuel is built on a sophisticated parallel structure:

Samuel	Saul	David
Birth (1 Sam. 1)	Anointed (1 Sam. 9–10)	Anointed (1 Sam. 16)
Called (1 Sam. 3)	First victory (1 Sam. 11)	First victory (1 Sam. 17 — Goliath)
Replaces Eli (1 Sam. 4)	Warned by the prophet (1 Sam. 13, 15)	Protected by the prophet (1 Sam. 22:5)
Installs a king (1 Sam. 8)	Rejected (1 Sam. 15)	Installed as king (1 Sam. 16)

The narrator uses this parallel structure to present a recurring pattern of "God raising up a leader" — each figure is anointed, achieves victory, faces testing, and is evaluated.

Key Timeline

Date	Event	Chapter
c. 1100 BC	Samuel born	1 Sam. 1
c. 1080 BC	Samuel called	1 Sam. 3
c. 1075 BC	The ark captured and returned	1 Sam. 4–7
c. 1050 BC	Saul anointed king	1 Sam. 9–10
c. 1045 BC	Saul rejected the first time (1 Sam. 13)
c. 1030 BC	Saul rejected the second time (1 Sam. 15)
c. 1025 BC	David secretly anointed	1 Sam. 16
c. 1025 BC	David defeats Goliath	1 Sam. 17
c. 1020–1010 BC	David's flight	1 Sam. 18–30
c. 1010 BC	Saul dies at Gilboa	1 Sam. 31

④ How to Read 1 Samuel

Principles for Reading

1. Recognize that Hannah's prayer is the root of the entire book — chapters 1–2 are not a prelude but the theological core
2. Track the contrast between Saul and David — every chapter is engaged in this comparison
3. Follow the thread of "inquiring of Yahweh" — David inquires before every major decision
4. Look for types of Christ — Samuel foreshadows John the Baptist; Saul foreshadows "the rejected spiritual leader"; David foreshadows Christ

Suggested Reading Plans

Option One (sequential): 1 Samuel 1–31, following the narrative straight through

Option Two (thematic):

• Week 1: 1 Samuel 1–7 (Samuel)
• Week 2: 1 Samuel 8–15 (Saul's rise and rejection)
• Week 3: 1 Samuel 16–20 (David anointed, Goliath, and Jonathan)
• Week 4: 1 Samuel 21–26 (David's flight)
• Week 5: 1 Samuel 27–31 (David at Ziklag; Saul's death)

Key Verse Index for the Whole Book

Category	Reference	Theme
Hannah's prayer	2:1–10	God's raising up of leaders begins in prayer
Samuel called	3:9	"Speak, for your servant hears"
The tragedy of kingship	8:7	"They have rejected me"
Saul rejected	15:22	"To obey is better than sacrifice"
David chosen	16:7	"Yahweh looks at the heart"
David defeats Goliath	17:45–47	"The battle belongs to Yahweh"
David and Jonathan's covenant	18:3–4	Covenant friendship
David spares Saul	24:6; 26:11	Not lifting a hand against the Lord's anointed
David's inquiring	23:2, 4; 30:8	Spiritual DNA
Saul's fall	31:4	Death by his own sword at Gilboa

Three Hebrew Threads in 1 Samuel

When reading 1 Samuel, it helps to keep three Hebrew keywords in mind. The first is šāʾal (שָׁאַל, "to ask/request"), which echoes the sound of Samuel's name and anticipates the sound of Saul's name. Hannah asked Yahweh for a son; the people later asked Samuel for a king. The same word, yet one request arose from anguished surrender and the other from an anxiety to be like the surrounding nations. Through this word the narrator reminds us that people may bring their requests to God, but when what is sought drifts away from God himself, grace can turn into temptation.

The second is šāmaʿ (שָׁמַע, "to hear/obey"). The young Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant hears," yet Saul later chose selective obedience in the Amalekite episode. 1 Samuel does not oppose sacrifice and ritual as such; it opposes using religious acts to conceal a heart that refuses to obey. The third is māšîaḥ (מָשִׁיחַ, "anointed one"), which refers first to Saul and David but ultimately leads the reader toward Christ. When David refused to raise his hand against Saul, he was not treating the status of "anointed one" as a license for impunity; he was acknowledging that the granting and removal of kingship rests in Yahweh's hands. That same principle calls the church today both to honor what God has established and to refuse to excuse those in authority when they sin.

Key Vocabulary Cards

English Term	Hebrew	Transliteration	Meaning
Samuel	שְׁמוּאֵל	šəmûʾēl	"Asked of God" or "God has heard"; named by Hannah in 1 Sam 1:20
Ask / Request	שָׁאַל	šāʾal	Shares the same root as Samuel's name; the central verb of 1 Samuel
Looks at the heart	יִרְאֶה לַלֵּבָב	yirʾeh lallēḇāḇ	1 Sam 16:7; the principle by which God chooses
Anointed One	מָשִׁיחַ	māšîaḥ	1 Sam 24:6 and elsewhere; the Old Testament title behind "Christ"
Obey / Listen	שָׁמַע	šāmaʿ	1 Sam 15:22; better than sacrifice
Heart	לֵב	lēḇ	1 Sam 13:14; "a man after his own heart"
Seek / Inquire	דָּרַשׁ / שָׁאַל	dāraš / šāʾal	David's spiritual DNA
Rejected	מָאַס	māʾas	1 Sam 15:23, 26; the central verb describing Saul's rejection

The Continuity of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel

First and Second Samuel were originally one book; the division was introduced by the Greek Septuagint (3rd century BC).

1 Samuel	2 Samuel
Samuel + Saul + the rise of David	The complete story of David's dynasty
David is still a fugitive	David is king
Saul is one of the main characters	Saul is already dead
David is "waiting to become king"	David "reigns as king"

Together, the two books form a complete spiritual narrative of Israel's journey from the judges to the monarchy.

Comparing 1 Samuel and Chronicles

Chronicles barely covers the material in 1 Samuel. First Chronicles opens with Adam's genealogy, skips the period of the judges and Samuel entirely, and only picks up the thread of 1 Samuel at 1 Chronicles 10, with the death of Saul.

Why? The central concern of Chronicles is "worship and the temple." It passes over the tragedy of the monarchy's establishment because its aim is to present the grace of God's covenant. First Samuel and Chronicles complement each other: 1 Samuel honestly records sin and tragedy, while Chronicles displays the continuation of grace.

The Spiritual Geography of 1 Samuel

Location	Chapters	Spiritual Significance
Ramah	1:1 etc.	Samuel's hometown
Shiloh	1:3 etc.	Original home of the ark; the priest Eli
Gibeah	11:4 etc.	Saul's hometown; tribe of Benjamin
Gilgal	11:15; 13:7 etc.	Site of several pivotal events
Bethlehem	16:1; 20:6	David's hometown
Valley of Elah	17:2	Where David defeated Goliath
Naioth	19:18 etc.	Where Samuel sheltered David from Saul
Cave of Adullam	22:1	David's central base during his flight
En Gedi	24:1	Where David first spared Saul
Wilderness of Ziph	26:2	Where David spared Saul a second time
Ziklag	27:6	David's home in Philistine territory
Mount Gilboa	31:1	Where Saul died

The Key Characters of 1 Samuel

Character	Chapters	Spiritual Role
Hannah	1–2	The praying mother; the source of Samuel
Eli	1–4	The failed priest; his sons Hophni and Phinehas also failed
Samuel	1–25	Judge + prophet + priest; the transitional figure of Israel
Saul	9–31	The rejected king; the tragic protagonist of 1 Samuel
Jonathan	13–31	David's covenant friend; the spiritual hero who surrendered his claim to the throne
David	16–31	The shepherd-king raised up by God; the hope of 1 Samuel
Michal	18, 19, 25	Saul's daughter; David's wife
Abigail	25	A wise woman who saved Nabal's entire household
Ahimelech	21–22	The priest of Nob; slaughtered by Saul for helping David
Abiathar	22–30	The sole survivor of the priestly family of Nob
Jonathan son of Saul	13–31	See above

Hannah's Song in 1 Samuel and Mary's Magnificat in the New Testament

The two poems correspond to each other with remarkable depth.

Hannah's Song (1 Sam 2:1–10)	The Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55)
My heart rejoices in Yahweh	My soul magnifies the Lord
My horn is exalted in Yahweh	My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior
My mouth is opened wide against my enemies	For the Mighty One has done great things for me
Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread	He has put down princes from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly
Yes, she who was barren has borne seven	He has filled the hungry with good things
Yahweh makes poor, and makes rich	He has sent the rich away empty

After the angel's announcement, Mary immediately drew on Hannah's prayer. This reveals the New Testament's deep dependence on 1 Samuel: the mother of Christ sang her song in Hannah's own voice.

A Word for Modern Readers

First Samuel is one of the most profound "waiting narratives" in the Hebrew Bible.

• Hannah waited years before she had a child (1 Sam 1)
• Samuel waited years before his ministry began (1 Sam 3)
• Saul waited 40 years for the throne (1 Sam 9–31), yet he did not obey
• David waited 15 years before he became king (1 Sam 16–2 Sam 5), and he obeyed completely

Waiting is the central spiritual lesson of 1 Samuel. May readers, as they study this book, learn the posture of "waiting on Yahweh"—not passively, but actively, reverently, and obediently.

③ Theological Themes

Theme One: God Raises Up Leaders Beginning with Prayer

Hannah's prayer (1 Sam 1) is the opening act of the entire book. The narrator anchors the raising up of God's leader in the tears and prayer of an obscure woman—a hallmark of Hebrew narrative.

This theological pattern foreshadows the New Testament: Mary's Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55) is almost an echo of Hannah's prayer.

Theme Two: The Rejected King vs. the King After God's Own Heart

The contrast between Saul and David is the central tension of 1 Samuel.

Saul	David
1 Sam 13: did not wait for Samuel and offered the sacrifice himself	1 Sam 24, 26: twice spared Saul and refused to strike him down
1 Sam 15: did not completely destroy the Amalekites	1 Sam 30: pursued the Amalekites and recovered everything
1 Sam 28: consulted the medium at En Dor	1 Sam 23, 30: inquired of Yahweh
1 Sam 15:24: "I have sinned" (to save face)	2 Sam 12:13: "I have sinned against Yahweh" (genuine repentance)

The fundamental difference: Saul cared about his own image; David cared about God's heart.

Theme Three: Yahweh Looks at the Heart

First Samuel 16:7 is one of the most frequently cited theological verses in the Hebrew Bible: "man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart."

This theology runs throughout 1 Samuel:

• Samuel was raised up not because of his lineage, but because of his mother's prayer
• David was anointed not because of his appearance, but because of his heart
• Saul was rejected despite his appearance being unmatched ("there was not a more handsome person than he," 1 Sam 9:2), because his heart was not obedient

Theme Four: Waiting on Yahweh

From his secret anointing in 1 Samuel 16, to his anointing as king over Judah at Hebron in 2 Samuel 2, to his anointing as king over all Israel in 2 Samuel 5, David waited fifteen years.

This is the deepest "waiting" narrative in the Hebrew Bible. David refused two "shortcuts" (1 Sam 24, 26: he would not kill Saul) and persisted in waiting on Yahweh.