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Book of 1 Samuel

1 Samuel is the name of a book in the Old Testament of the Bible. In many Christian Bibles, 1 Samuel is divided into 31 chapters and is ordered as the 9th of the 66 books in the Bible. Some of the following is based on J.B. Tidwell's The Bible Book by Book, published in 1916.

First Samuel: The name is taken from the history of the life of Samuel recorded in the early part of the book. It means "asked of God." The two were formerly one book and called the "First Book of Kings," the two books of Kings being one book and called Second Kings. Samuel and Kings form a continuous story, and give us a record of the rise, glory and fall of the Jewish Monarchy.

This book begins with the story of Eli. the aged priest, judge and leader of the people. It records the birth and childhood of Samuel, who later becomes priest and prophet of the people. It tells of Saul's elevation to the throne and of his final downfall. Along with this is also given the growing power of David, who is to succeed Saul as king.

Samuel was not only both judge and priest and prophet, but as prophet he performed conspicuous services in several directions. Probably the most notable of all his work was the establishment of schools of prophets, which greatly dignified the work of the prophets. After this time, the prophet and not the priest was the medium of communication between God and his people.

As king, Saul began well and under favorable circumstances. He gave himself to military exploits and neglected the finer spiritual matters and soon made a complete break with Samuel, who represented the religious-national class-and thereby lost the support of the best elements of the nation. He then became morose and melancholy and insanely jealous in conduct and could not, therefore, understand the higher religious experiences that were necessary as a representative of Jehovah on the throne of Israel.

Outline of 1 Samuel

I. Career of Samuel, Chs. 1-7.
1. His birth and call, Chs. 1-3.
2. His conflict with the Philistines, Chs. 4-7.

II. Career of Saul to his rejection, Chs. 8-15.
1. Chosen as King, Chs. 8-10.
2. Wars with Philistines, Chs. 11-14.
3. He is rejected, Chs. 15.

III. Career of Saul after his rejection. Chs. 16-31.
1. While David is at his court, Chs. 16-20.
2. While David is a refugee in Judah. Chs. 21-26.
3. While David is a refugee in Philistia. Chs. 27-31.

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