Irenaeus, Siteadmin, Check users, oversight, Administrators
351,464
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 1:
Line 1: − + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + − Samuel marks the transition from the time of the judges to the time of Kings. Samuel annoints [[Saul]] as king and later designates [[David]] as the next king. Samuel's deeds are described in the book of [[I Samuel]]. Samuel did not write the books that bear his name.
→In fiction
'''Samuel''' (Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל, pronunced "Shmu'el") is a major [[prophet]] in the [[Bible]]. Given as a gift to serve God when God answerd the prayers of his mother to allow her to become pregnant, Samuel served in the temple under [[Eli]] and heard God call him. God had to call him several times as each time Samuel would go to Eli, not realizing it was God.
[[File:Louvre rosa apparition.jpg|thumbnail|300px|right|Apparition of the spirit of Samuel to Saul, by Salvator Rosa, 1668]]
'''Samuel''' (Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל, pronounced "Shmu'el") (15 January 1151 BC–fl. 18 June 1101 BC–ca. 1060 BC) was the fifteenth and last [[Judge (biblical)|Judge]] and the first of the major [[prophet]]s of [[Israel]] in the [[Bible]]. Given as a gift to serve God when God answered the prayers of his mother [[Hannah]] to allow her to become pregnant, Samuel served in the temple under [[Eli]] and heard God call him. God had to call him several times as each time Samuel would go to Eli, not realizing it was God.
Samuel is considered the last [[judge (biblical)|judge]] and the first [[prophet]].<ref>I Samuel 7:6, Acts 3:24</ref> His judgeship marks the transition from the time of the [[Judge (biblical)|judges]] to the time of Kings in that he anointed [[Saul]] and [[David]] as the first two kings of Israel. Samuel's deeds are described in the book of [[I Samuel]]. Later, Saul has the Witch at En-Dor call up Samuel's spirit, which (surprisingly) happens (not simply a demon portraying him); Samuel replies that Saul will die (along with his sons) the next day in battle.
== Name ==
The name of Samuel means either "heard of God" (from the same root at the name of [[Ishmael]], meaning God hears)<ref name=WebBible>"[http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/samuel.html Samuel]," WebBible Encyclopedia, n.d. Accessed December 26, 2008.</ref> or "name of God" (from the same root as the name of [[Shem]], meaning renown or name).<ref name=Blank>Blank, Wayne, "[http://www.keyway.ca/htm2002/samuel.htm Samuel]," Daily Bible Study, 2001. Accessed December 26, 2008.</ref> Today, Samuel is a common name in many languages and cultures, including [[English language|English]], [[Irish language|Irish]], [[Scottish]], [[French language|French]], [[German language|German]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[Scandinavia]]n, [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Czech language|Czech]], [[Slovak language|Slovak]], and [[Jewish]].
== Chronological placement ==
Floyd Nolen Jones<ref name=Jones>Jones, Floyd N., ''The Chronology of the Old Testament,'' Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2004, p. 279 and Chart 4</ref> dates Samuel's career from the date of the Fall of the Temple of Dagon (when [[Samson]] died) to five years before King [[Saul]] fell in battle with the [[Philistine]]s. Archbishop William Lloyd, in 1701, had suggested that Samuel had been born twenty years earlier, as shown in the marginal dates in some surviving copies of the [[King James Version|Authorized Version]] of the Bible. This would imply that Samuel lived to the age of 111 years, which is not impossible, but less likely in his era.
== In fiction ==
Samuel appears in many [[motion picture]] and [[television]] projects about the life and career of King [[David]]. Such projects often begin with Samuel's sharp rebuke of [[Saul]] for making a treaty with the [[Amalekites]] and continue with Samuel's secret anointing of David.
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{nb Judges}}
{{nb Judges}}
[[Category:Biblical Persons]]
[[Category:Biblical Persons]]
[[Category:Jewish People]]
[[Category:Jewish People]]