Books of Samuel: Difference between revisions

The '''Book of Samuel''',{{efn|In Hebrew, 1 and 2 Samuel together comprise simply the "Book of Samuel" ({{hebrew|ספר שמואל}}, ''Sefer Shmuel''). For purposes of chapter and verse numbering, the book is treated as divided into two parts: 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel.}} or '''1 Samuel''' and '''2 Samuel''', form part of the narrative history of [[Ancient Israel|Israel]] in the [[Nevi'im]] or "prophets" section of the [[Hebrew Bible]]/[[Old Testament]], called the [[Deuteronomistic history]], a series of books ([[Book of Joshua|Joshua]], [[Book of Judges|Judges]], Samuel and [[Books of Kings|Kings]]) that constitute a theological history of the [[Israelites]] and aim to explain [[Torah|God's law for Israel]] under the guidance of the prophets.{{sfn|Gordon|1986|p=18}} According to Jewish tradition, the book was written by [[Samuel]], with additions by the prophets [[Gad (prophet)|Gad]] and [[Nathan (prophet)|Nathan]].<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Chronicles|29:29|KJV}}</ref> Modern scholarly thinking is that the entire Deuteronomistic history was composed in the period c. 630–540&nbsp; BC by combining a number of independent texts of various ages.{{sfn|Knight|1995|p=62}}{{sfn|Jones|2001|p=197}}

Samuel begins with the prophet [[Samuel]]'s birth<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Samuel|1:1–20|KJV}}</ref> and [[Yahweh|God]]'s call to him as a boy. The story of the [[Ark of the Covenant]] that follows tells of Israel's oppression by the [[Philistines]], which brought about Samuel's anointing of [[Saul]] as Israel's first king. But [[false protagonist|Saul proved unworthy]] and God's choice turned to [[David]], who defeated Israel's enemies, purchased the threshing floor ({{bibleverse|2 Samuel|24:24|KJV}}), where his son, Solomon built the Temple and brought the Ark to Jerusalem. God then promised David and his successors an everlasting dynasty.{{sfn|Spieckerman|2001|p=348}}