1 Samuel

Brief summary:

·         The barren Hannah is rewarded for her piety with a son, Samuel, who is a Nazirite from birth.

·         Samuel serves under Eli, the high priest.

·         Elis’s sons are corrupt. They are killed in battle, and Eli in an accident. The house of Eli.

·         Philistines capture the ark. The ark causes the Philistines tumours, so they return it to the Israelites.

·         Samuel finds Saul, and anoints him as king.

·         Saul’s initial military success against Nahash the Ammonite, who threatens the men of Jabesh Gilead.

·         While waiting to fight the Philistines, Saul performs a sacrifice himself instead of waiting for Samuel.

·         Saul places his men under an oath not to eat food until the Philistines have been defeated. Unaware of this, Jonathan eats honey. Saul wants to put him to death, but the people object.

·         Disobeying God, Saul takes King Agag of the Amalekites prisoner rather than killing him. Samuel kills Agag.

·         David becomes Saul’s harpist, and defeats Goliath.

·         Saul becomes jealous of David.

·         Saul becomes friends with Jonathan.

·         For the hand of his daughter Merab, Saul asks for the dowry of a hundred Philistine foreskins. David delivers two hundred.

·         David flees Saul, warned by Jonathan.

·         The messengers who seek David are made to prophesy, as his Saul himself when he pursues him.

·         David is absent at Saul’s feast of the New Moon, and escapes with the help of Jonathan.

·         David escapes to Nob, aided by Ahimelech the priest.

·         David flees to king Achish of Gath, feigning madness.

·         David escapes to the cave of Adullam, where he becomes the leader of 400 men.

·         Saul’s massacre of priests and citizens at Nob.

·         David flees to Keilah, Ziph, Maon and Engedi.

·         Samuel dies.

·         David twice forgoes opportunities to kill Saul – cutting a part of his robe on one occasion and stealing his spear and jug from his tent on another. Both times, Saul repents and is humbled by David’s show of forbearance.

·         Nabal refuses to give David his dues for protecting him against the Philistines. Abigail, his wife, intercedes for him. God strikes Nabal dead, and David marries Abigail.

·         David has three wives: Michal, Abigail, and another called Ahinoam.

·         David escapes to Achish, and is sent home from the Philistine camp when battle with Israel is imminent.

·         Achish grants David Ziklag. David wages war against local peoples, but tells Achish he fights against Judah.

·         Saul consults the witch of Endor, who raises Samuel. Samuel tells of forthcoming defeat in battle.

·         Amalekites raid Zikrag, taking women and other goods. David rescues them with 600 men, but leaves 200 at brook Besor.

·         Philistines slay Israelites at Mount Gilboa.

·         Saul kills himself.

·         Saul and his sons are hung from the walls of Bathshan.

·         Saul’s corpse is rescued by the men of Jabesh Gilead.

1

Elkanah, an Ephraimite, and his two wives (Hannah, who has no children, and Peninnah, who does) visit Shiloh yearly. Hannah is given a double portion for an offering. Peninnah provokes her and makes her miserable. Hannah prays that if God gives her a son, she will dedicate it to Him as a Nazarite. Eli the priest thinks she is drunk as she moved her lips, but then blesses her when he discovers the truth. Hannah gives birth to Samuel, and gives him to God in Shiloh once he has been weaned.


2
Hannah praises God. Her poem warns the arrogant and proud, and talks of a God who humiliates the strong and exalts the weak. Samuel ministers for Eli. The sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, are corrupt, stealing for themselves meat offerings, and and sleeping with women who assembled at the tabernacle. Eli rebukes them, but in vain, because God wanted to kill them. An unknown man of God pronounces judgment to Eli: his family will be cut off from the office of High Priest, and his sons will both die on the same day.


3

Samuel ministers in temple of God. God calls Samuel three times. Samuel thinks it is Eli. The third time, Eli advises Samuel to reply, ‘Speak Lord, for your servant hears.’ God tells of judgment against the house of Eli. When told of this by Samuel, Eli takes the news stoically. Samuel is established as a prophet.


4

Israel fights with Philistines, and is defeated, losing 4000 men. The elders decide to take the ark from Shiloh to the scene of the battle. The Philistines fear the ark, and the Lord’s reputation. However, another defeat ensues, with time with 30,000 men, and Hophni and Phinehas die. When told the bad news, Eli falls backwards off his chair, breaks his neck and dies. Phinehas’ wife gives birth to a son and calls it Ichabod, meaning ‘the glory has departed from Israel’. She then dies.


5

Philistines take ark of God to the temple of Dagon in Ashdod. The statue of Dagon is broken, and repeatedly falls down before the ark. The ark is moved from place to place (Ashdod, Gath and Ekron), but the people in each place are struck down with tumours. The Ekronites petition for the ark to be returned to the Israelites.


6

Philistines return ark of God to Israel with a trespass offering of five gold mice and five gold tumors. They put the ark in a cart pulled by two unyoked cows, to see whether God guides it back. The ark returns to the people of Beth Shemesh in Israel, where there is great rejoicing. The cows are given as a burnt offering. A stone memorial remains to this day in Beth Shemesh. God strikes down 50,070 men, because the men of Beth Shemesh had peered inside the ark. The men of Beth Shemesh appeal to the men of Kirath Jearim to take the ark from them.


7

The ark is brought to Kirjath Jearim, where it remains for twenty years. Samuel admonishes Israel to put aside other gods, in order to be free from the Philistines. The nation repents at Mizpah. Samuel prays for Israel, and the Lord assists the Israelites in battle with thunder that confuses the Philistines. Samuel sets up a memorial stone between Mizpah and Shen called Ebenezer, meaning ‘stone of help’. The Philistines are subdued. Samuel judges across the land, though always returns to his home in Ramah.


8

When Samuel gets old, his sons, Joel and Abijah, judge in his stead, but they are corrupt. The elders reject them, and request a king. God begrudgingly acquiesces, but tells the Israelites to warn of a king’s acquisitive behaviour, taking children, servants and livestock for his own uses. The people persist in their demand, however.


9

Saul, the son of Kish the Benjamite, is tall and handsome. Saul goes looking for father’s sheep, wants to see Samuel, and is directed to a high place where a sacrifice is due to be performed. God tells Samuel that Saul will be king. Samuel tells Saul he will be king. Like Gideon in Judges, Saul’s first reaction is that he comes from a small and insignificant tribe. Samuel makes certain that Saul receives the seat and portion of honor at the feast.


10

Samuel anoints Saul as king. Three signs are given: (1) his father’s donkeys will be found. (2) At Tabor, Saul he meet three men carrying goats, loaves and wine, who will present Saul with bread. (3) Saul will meet prophets at a Philistine garrison, and start to prophesy himself. Saul is commanded to wait for Samuel at Gilgal. The signs all come to pass. ‘Is Saul among the prophets?’ becomes a proverbial expression of surprise when someone becomes very religious. Saul only tells his family about the donkeys. Samuel tells the Israelites that God has begrudgingly granted the request for a king. Saul is chosen by lot. Everyone is impressed by how tall he is, apart from some who bring no presents. Saul ignores these people.


11

Nahash the Ammonite agrees to make a covenant with Jabesh Gilead only if he can put out the right eyes of all the men. When Saul, the spirit of the Lord comes upon him: he cuts out oxen and sends them across the land, saying the same will happen to any man who does not help him. Israel wins, and Saul made king. Saul is merciful to his former opponents, waiving an opportunity to have them killed.


12

Samuel justifies his rule, but passes on the mantle of leadership to Saul. Samuel speaks to Israel’s history of apostasy and deliverance, and implies it has a lesson for the future. God sends thunder and rain, as a sign that the Israelites were wicked to ask for a king. Israel anxiously repents. Samuel exhorts the people to walk right with the Lord.


13

Saul’s son, Jonathan, attacks a Philistine garrison. Saul waits for Samuel at Gilgal for seven days, but he does not come, so Saul performs the burnt offering himself. Samuel upbraids Saul, and says his kingdom shall not continue. The Philistines are technologically superior – there is no blacksmith in Israel, so only the royal family have swords and spears.


14

Jonathan carries out a secret raid, killing twenty men. A battle ensues, which Israel wins. Saul places his men under an oath not to eat until he has taken vengeance on his enemies. Jonathan, who has not heard anbout the oath, eats some honey in a forest, and is refreshed by it. The soldiers are so hungry that they kill livestock and eat the blood, so Saul sets up a stone altar so the animals can be slaughtered properly. Inquires of the Lord if he may pursue the Philistines by night, but receives no answer. Saul attributes this to a sin committed by an unknown person, and makes inquiry by lot; he finds that Jonathan had tasted the honey, and must therefore be put to death. The people interpose, and rescue Jonathan. Saul’s family and many wars are listed.


15

Via Samuel, God tells Saul utterly to destroy the Amalekites, in revenge for their attack on the Israelites in the wilderness. The Kenites, who have showed kindness to the Israelites in the past, are warned to flee. King Agag is taken, and spared, along with his sheep. God regrets that he made Saul king. Samuel upbraids Saul, telling him God has rejected him as king. As Samuel turns, Saul seizes his robe and tears it – Samuel responds by saying that the kingdom of Israel has likewise been torn from Saul’s hand. Samuel hacks king Agag to pieces at Gilgal. Samuel and Saul go to Ramah and Gibeah respectively – they are now estranged from each other.


16

God sends Samuel to Jesse, with a new king in mind. Samuel senses that God, who judged not by appearance, has not elected Jesse’s eldest seven sons. Only the youngest son, David, is missing – he is tending the sheep. Samuel sends for him, sees him, and anoints him. The spirit of the Lord departs from Saul, and a distressing spirit comes over him. David is chosen as a harpist to cheer Saul up. He becomes a favourite of Saul’s.


17

The Philistines gather against Israel. The Philistine giant Goliath (six cubits and a span high) challenges the Israelites to single combat. David, the youngest of eight brothers, splits his time between the palace and the pasture. David brings gifts from home to his three elder brothers, who are fighting against the Philistines. David asks how a Philistine can defy the army of the living God. Saul hears of David’s words. David says his experience of defending sheep from lions and bears with stones has prepared him well. David chooses not to wear untested armour, and goes armed with a staff, a sling and five stones instead. Goliath curses David. David replies that he comes in the name of the Lord of Hosts, not like Goliath with sword, spear and javelin. David defeats Goliath with a stone to the forehead. David cuts off Goliath’s head with his own sword. Israelites pursue the fleeing Philistines. David presents himself to Saul.


18

Jonathan and David become friends. David stays at Saul’s palace permanently. Israelite women celebrate David’s military exploits: ‘Saul has killed his thousands, David his tens of thousands.’ Saul tries to kill David when he plays his harp. Saul transfers David from the palace to the army. Saul offers his daughter Merab to David, asking in return that David fight for him, and secretly hoping that David will be killed in battle. David is diffident about becoming the son-in-law of a king, but in the event, Merab is married off to Adriel the Meholathite. Michal, another of Saul’s daughters, loved David. Saul asks for the dowry of a hundred Philistine foreskins. David delivers two hundred, and marries Michal. David’s fame and popularity grows constantly.


19

Saul plots the murder of David, attempting to enlist the help of Jonathan and his servants. Jonathan tells David to hide, pleads for him, and manages to effect a reconciliation. Following more military success against the Philistines, Saul attempts to kill David with a spear again. David flees with the aid of Michal, who puts an image in his bed covered with goat’s hair. When Saul challenges Michal about this, she claims that David had threatened to kill her. David flees to Samuel at Ramah, then they both go to Naioth. Saul sends messengers to capture David, but instead they prophesy in the presence of Samuel and other prophets. Saul goes himself, and starts to prophesy. Is Saul among the prophets?


20

David asks Jonathan about Saul’s intentions towards him; Jonathan promises his help to David. David avoids the feast of the New Moon with Saul, hiding in a field but making the excuse that he must go to a yearly sacrifice with his family. David asks Jonathan to ascertain Saul’s disposition towards him: if he is satisfied by the excuse, then all will be judged well, but if he is angry, then David will know that Saul intends evil to him. Jonathan and David make a covenant, with David promising never with withdraw his kindness from Jonathan’s house. Jonathan proposes a signal to tell David of Saul’s reaction: he will send a lad after some arrows shot at a target, and if he says the arrows are to the side of him, then all is well, but if he says the arrows are beyond him, then David must flee. Saul is furious at David’s absence, accuses Jonathan of complicity with him, and throws a spear at him. Jonathan gives David the sign, and David tearfully departs from Jonathan and flees from Saul.


21

David fless to the priest Ahimelech in Nob, saying he goes there on business for the king. He receives showbread and Goliath’s sword. David flees to king Achish of Gath, and feigns madness in order to protect himself.


22

David escapes to cave of Adullam, where he becomes leader of 400 family members, debtors and other discontents. He then dwells in Moab, before the prophet Gad tells him to go to Hareth forest. Saul accuses his aides of treason, so Doeg the Edomite tells Saul he saw David at Nob. Doeg kills 85 priests and many citizens at Nob in retaliation. Abiathar, the only son of Ahimelech to survive, flees to David and is protected by him.


23

David fights with Philistines at Keilah in Judah. Saul’s forces besiege Keilah, but David flees before the men of Keilah deliver him into Saul’s hands. David hides in the wilderness of Ziph. David and Jonathan meet again, and reaffirm their covenant. The Ziphites betray David to Saul. Saul pursues David to the wilderness of Maon; David hides at a rock and is encircled, but then Saul’s forces are recalled by a Philistine threat.


24

Saul hunts David in Engedi. Without knowing, Saul comes to a cave where David and his men are hiding. David restrains himself and his men from killing Saul (who is the Lord’s anointed), and secretly cuts off a part of his robe. David reveals himself to Saul, and is honoured for his mercy. Saul asks David to swear that he will not cut off Saul’s descendents when he becomes king.


25

Samuel dies, and is buried at Ramah. David requests ‘favour’ for protecting Nabal’s sheep against Philistine raiders. Nabal refuses, so Abigail, Nabal’s wife, secretly gives David gifts of bread, wine, sheep, grain, raisins and figs, and intercedes, averting bloodshed. God strikes Nabal dead ten days later. David marries Abigail, and also Ahinoam of Zezreel. Saul has given Michal, his daughter and David’s wife, to another.


26

The Ziphites betray David again. David and Abishai the Hittite creep into Saul’s camp, and steal his spear and jug from his tent. David chides Abner, Saul’s bodyguard, saying he is worthy of death. David appeals to Saul (the Lord’s anointed) once more, whereupon Saul repents.


27

David escapes to the Philistine king Achish at Gath once more. Achish grants David Ziklag; the kings of Judah own it to this day. David wages battles against the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites, but tells Achish he fights against Judah. Achish believes him.


28

Philistines and Israel prepare to fight. Saul, who had banned all occult practices, is afraid; God does not respond to him through dreams or prophecies. Saul disguises himself and visits the witch of Endor. The witch is cagey, but is persuaded to summon up Samuel. Samuel upbraids him, tells him the Lord has departed from him, and that he will lose the battle. The witch tries to comfort Samuel!


29

The Philistines pitch their armies at Aphek, the Israelites at Jezreel. David is with Achish, but the Philistines become agitated that he will turn against them, and so he is sent home.


30

The Amalekites invade Zikrag, to which David has returned. Women are taken captive, including David’s two wives. God tells David (who dons an ephod to ask divine advice) to pursue the Amalekites. David goes with six hundred men, but leaves two hundred men at brooke Besor because they are too faint to be able to continue the pursuit. David and his four hundred men come across a starving Egyptian, abandoned because he had fallen sick. He Egyptian brings David and his company to the Amalekites, who are feasting and enjoying themselves. There is a great slaughter, and David manages to recover everything and everyone that had been taken away, including his two wives. David shares the spoils with the two hundred men at brooke Besor, despite some grumblings. He shares the spoils further with the elders of Judah.


31

The Philistines slay the Israelites at Mount Gilboa. Wishing to avoid death at the hands of the enemy, Saul asks his armourbearer to run him through. The armourbearer refuses, however, so Saul falls on his sword. The armourbearer does likewise, and Saul’s sons also die. Saul’s corpse is decapitated, and fastened to the wall of Bathshan, along with his sons. The men of Jabesh Gilead (presumably still grateful to Saul after he had delivered them from Nahash) rescue the corpses, burning and burying them properly.