Samuel israel biography

SAMUEL (Heb. שְׁמוּאֵל), Israelite judge and prophet who lived in the 11^th century b.c.e. His name is very close to that of the ancient Babylonian royal ancestor of Hammurapi, Sūmû-la-il, and similar in form to other *Amorite names such as Sūmû-Abum, Sūmû-Samas, and others (halot, 1438).

Samuel israel biography

Standing at the close of one era and the beginning of another, Samuel was instrumental in the painful, but necessary, transition from a loose confederation of Hebrew tribes to a centralized monarchy. He played a part in events which eventually saw his people completely freed from subjection to the Philistines and from the threat of the utter loss of national life.

The Biblical Account

The record of Samuel's career in i Samuel 1–16, which is intricately interwoven with that of Saul, the first king, involves many baffling questions.

It tells a story about the birth of a "child of prayer" to Hannah and Elkanah in an Ephraimite home in Ramathaim-Zophim (1:1) or Ramah (1:19). His mother de