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1 Samuel

1 Samuel

Summary of the Book of First Samuel

By H. A. (Buster) Dobbs
  1. Introduction
    1. Authors of the book are unknown
      1. Written by more than one person
      2. Arranged late in the time of David
    2. Two main sections
      1. Final period of the judges (1 to 8)
      2. Reign of Saul (9 to 31)
  2. Samuel the Last Judge
    1. Elkanah and his two wives (1:1-3)
      1. One wife, Hannah, was childless (1:2)
      2. Elkanah went yearly to worship at Shiloh (1:3)
      3. Eli was high-priest and his two sons served as priests (1-3)
    2. Birth of Samuel (1:4-28)
      1. Distress of Hannah (l:4-8)
        1. Elkanah tried to comfort Hannah (1:4-5)
        2. Elkanah's other wife provoked Hannah (1:6)
        3. Each year at Shiloh Hannah's bitterness grew (1:7-8)
      2. Hannah's prayer for a son (1:9-18)
        1. Eli sat upon a seat at the tabernacle (1:9)
        2. Hannah's vow (1:10-11)
        3. Hannah's silent prayer (1:12)
        4. Rebuke of Eli (1:13)
        5. Hannah's explanation (1:14-16)
        6. Eli's blessing (1:17-18)
      3. A son is born (1:19-23)
        1. Hannah names the child Samuel (1:20)
        2. Hannah keeps the child until he is weaned (1:21-23)
      4. Samuel is returned to the Lord (1:24-28)
    3. Samuel in service at the tabernacle (2:1 to 3:21)
      1. Hannah's thanksgiving (2:1-11)
      2. The wickedness of the sons of Eli (2:12-17)
      3. Samuel was a good servant (2:18-21)
      4. Eli rebukes his sons (2:22-26)
      5. A prophecy against Eli and his house (2:27-36)
      6. There was no revelation from God (3:1)
      7. The call of Samuel (3:2-10)
      8. God tells Samuel of the coming destruction of Eli's house (3:11-18)
      9. Samuel recognized as a prophet of God (3:19-21)
    4. The Philistines defeat the nation of Israel (4:1 to 6:21)
      1. Philistines win the first battle (4:1-2)
      2. Israelites bring the ark of the covenant from Shiloh (4:3-9)
      3. Philistines win the second battle and take the ark (4:10-11)
      4. Hophni, Phinehas, and Eli all die (4:12-18)
      5. Phinehas' wife dies in childbirth (4:19-22)
      6. The ark of the Lord in the house of Dagon (5:1-2)
        1. The image Dagon falls on its face before the ark (5:3-5)
        2. Philistines punished for keeping the ark of God (5:6-12)
        3. Philistines return the ark to Bethshemesh (6:1-18)
      7. Men of Bethshemesh punished (6:19-20)
      8. Ark sent to Kirjathjearim (6:21)
    5. Samuel's service as a prophet of Goa (7:1 to 8:22)
      1. The ark in the house of Abinadab twenty years (7:1-2)
      2. Samuel calls on Israel to repent of idolatry (7:3)
      3. Nation repents and is gathered to Mezpeh for renewal (7:4-8)
      4. Philistines defeated and Israel liberated (7:9-12)
      5. Samuel's circuit and teaching (7:13-17)
      6. Samuel's corrupt sons (8:1-3)
      7. Request for a king (8:4-5)
      8. Samuel's protest and the Lord's directions (8:6-9)
      9. Samuel warns about abuse of power (8:10-18)
      10. The people insist and a king is granted (8:19-22)
  1. Reign of Saul
    1. Discovery and anointing of Saul (9:1 to 11:15)
      1. Description of Saul (9:1-2)
      2. Saul could not find his father’s asses (9:3-10)
      3. Saul seeks a prophet (Samuel) to help him (9:11-14)
      4. Samuel identifies Saul and invites him to a meal (9:15-24)
        1. God speaks to Samuel about Saul (9:15-17)
        2. Samuel tells Saul he it to become the Captain of all Israel (9:18-20)
        3. Saul protests his humble situation (9:21)
        4. Samuel brings Saul into his house and feeds him (9:22-24)
        5. Samuel confers with Saul about his duties (9:25-27)
      5. Samuel anoints Saul, counsels him, and appoints him king (10:1-15)
        1. The anointing with oil (10:1)
        2. Samuel gives Saul three signs to confirm his selection (10:2-6-7)
        3. Saul to meet Samuel at Gilgal (10:8)
        4. Saul is a changed man and prophesies (10:9-13)
        5. Saul’s conversation with his uncle (10:14-15)
      6. Saul inaugurated king over Israel (10:16 to 11:27)
        1. Some honored Saul (10:16)
        2. Others despised him (10:17)
        3. Victory over the Ammonites (11:1-15)
        4. Nahash of Ammon invaded Jabesh-gilead (11:1-3)
        5. Saul leads a great army to victory over the Ammonites (11:4-11)
        6. Enemies of Saul rejected (11:12-13)
        7. The kingdom renewed at Gilgal (11:14-15)
    2. Samuel’s farewell address (12:1-25)
      1. Samuel’s integrity as judge (ruler) over Israel (12:1-5)
      2. People reminded of their unfaithfulness (12:6-15)
      3. Thunderstorm given as a sign that God was with Samuel (12:16-19)
      4. Samuel commends them to the mercy of God (12:20-25)
    3. The early reign and rejection of Saul (13:1 to 15:35)
      1. War with the Philistines (13:1-23)
        1. Jonathan, son of Saul, attacks a Philistine garrison (13:1-4)
        2. Under Philistine attack, Saul holds up at Gilgal (13:5-7)
        3. When Samuel did not appear, Saul offered a sacrifrice (13:8-10)
        4. Samuel arrives and condemns Saul (13:11-15)
        5. Saul at Gibeah; the Philistines encamp at Michmash (13:16)
        6. Philistines raided Israelite villages (13:17-18)
        7. The Philistines denied Israel weapons of war (13:19-23)
      2. The battle of Michmash (14:1-52)
        1. Jonathan and his armor bearer slip out of the camp (14:1-3)
        2. Jonathan and his armor bearer kill 20 Philistine soldiers (14:4-18)
        3. Saul and his men join in the rout of the Philistines (14:19-23)
        4. Saul’s rash order to not eat and its consequence (14:24-32)
        5. The people are fed (14:33-35)
        6. Jonathan spared (14:36-46)
        7. Saul defeated all his enemies (14:47-52)
      3. Saul sins and is rejected as king (15:1-33)
        1. Saul sent to utterly destroy Amalek (15:1-5)
        2. Amalek defeated, but not totally destroyed (15:6-9)
        3. Samuel announces God’s rejection of Saul (15:10-23)
        4. Repentance of Saul (15:24-31)
        5. Samuel kills Agag of Amalek (15:32-33)
        6. Samuel and Saul estranged (15:34-35)
    4. David anointed to be king in Saul’s stead (16:1-13)
    5. Latter portion of Saul’s reign (16:14 to 17:58)
      1. Saul’s malady soothed by David’s music (16:14-23)
      2. Another battle with the Philistines (17:1-58)
        1. Army of Saul set in array against the Philistine army (17:1-3)
        2. The challenge of the giant Goliath, a Philistine hero (17:4-11)
        3. David hears Goliath’s boast (17:12-27)
        4. David offers to accept Goliath’s challenge (17:28-37)
        5. David kills Goliath and Israel defeats the Philistine army (17:38-54)
        6. Saul takes a renewed interest in David (17:55-58)
      3. Saul hates David and seeks to kill him (18:1 to 20:42)
        1. Jonathan and David become close friends (18:1-4)
        2. David given command of the army and gains many victories (18:5-9)
        3. Saul in a fit of jealously attempts to kill David (18:10-11)
        4. Saul assigned David to an outpost (18:12-16)
        5. Saul attempts to have David killed by the Philistines (18:17-27)
        6. David marries the daughter of Saul (18:28)
        7. Continued hatred of Saul for David (18:29-30)
        8. Saul tells Jonathan and his servants to kill David (19:1-3)
        9. Jonathan seeks reconciliation between Saul and David (19:4-7)
        10. Saul makes several attempts to kill David (19:8-24)
        11. David consults with Jonathan (20:1-10)
        12. Jonathan sends David away (20:11-42)
      4. Saul seeks to kill David while David is banished (21:1-15)
        1. David and his men given hallowed bread at Nob (21:1-7)
        2. David given Goliath’s sword by Ahimelech (21:8-9)
        3. David feigns madness at Gath (21:10-15)
      5. David continues to escape (22:1-23)
        1. David retires to the cave of Adullam (22:21-2)
        2. David arranges with Moab for his mother and father (22:3-4)
        3. David goes to the forest of Hareth (22:5)
        4. Saul complains about Jonathan and David (22:6-8)
        5. Saul confronts Ahimelech for giving David bread (22:9-16)
        6. Saul commands 85 priests to be killed (22:17-19)
        7. David learns of the slaughter from Abiathar, a priest (22:20-23)
        8. David defends Keilah against the Philistines (23:1-6)
        9. David leaves Keilah to escape Saul (23:7-13)
        10. David lives on a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph (23:14-15)
        11. Jonathan visits David at Ziph (23:16-18)
        12. Saul pursues David from Ziph to Jeshimon to Maon (23:16-26)
        13. Saul turns away to fight the Philistines (23:27-29)
      6. David spares Saul’s life (24:1-22)
      7. Death of Samuel (25:1)
      8. Nabal dies and David marries his widow, Abigail (25:2-44)
        1. David asks Nabal for provisions for his little army (25:1-9)
        2. Nabal refuses the request and returns an insult (25:10-11)
        3. David decides to punish Nabal (25:12-13)
        4. Abigail, the wife of Nabal, appeases David (25:14-35)
        5. Nabal dies and David marries Abigail (25:36-44)
      9. David spares Saul’s life a second time (26:1-25)
      10. David escapes to the land of the Philistines (27:1 to 28:2))
      11. The Philistines war with Israel (28:3 to 30:31)
        1. Saul goes to the witch of Endor (28:4-25)
        2. The Philistines press the war with Israel (29:1-11)
        3. The Amalekites ravage Ziklag (30:1-2)
        4. David recovers his property and wives (30:3-31)
      12. Saul and his sons are killed in a battle with the Philistines (31:1-13)
1 Samuel

Samuel, two books of the Old Testament detailing the history of Israel during the 11th and 10th centuries BC. Originally a single book in the Hebrew Bible, the books contain the history of Samuel—the last judge of Israel and the first of the prophets after Moses—and that of the two kings Saul and David. Samuel did not appear as two books until the middle of the 15th century. In modern Bibles the two books of Samuel immediately precede the two books of the Kings. The books of Samuel cover events from the end of the period of the Judges to the last years of King David's life and reign. This relatively short period is a significant one in Jewish history; the first Hebrew monarchy was established during it and the Israelite tribes united into one kingdom with its capital at Jerusalem. According to the traditions of the Talmud, Samuel was the principal author of 1 Samuel. Modern scholars generally agree that the books were composed between 961 and 650 BC by several authors and author-editors from a number of different sources.