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God). Other interpretations are " posterity of God " or " his name (shemo; perhaps Yahweh's) is God." " Heard of God," based on t Sam. i. 20, is quite impossible and the See also:

INTERPRETATION (from Lat. interpretari, to expound, explain, inter pres, an agent, go-between, interpreter; inter, between, and the root pret-, possibly connected with that seen either in Greek 4 p4'ew, to speak, or irpa-rrecv, to do)

interpretation of the passage is really only appropriate to See also:

SAUL (Heb. shd'ul, " asked ")

Saul (" the asked one ") : the two names are sometimes confused in the See also:

SEPTUAGINT, THE (Gr. of 0', Lat. LXX.)

Septuagint (Ency. ib. See also:

col. 4303, n. 3). Ramah is presumably er-See also:

Ram, 5 m. N. of See also:

Jerusalem (probably the Arimathaea of Matt. See also:

XXVII

xxvii. 57), or See also:

Bet Rima, W. of Jiljilia (See also:

GILGAL (Heb. for " circle " of sacred stones)

Gilgal), and N.W. of Beitin, i.e. See also:

BETHEL (Heb. " House of God ")

Bethel (cf. the Ramathaim of 1 See also:

MACE (Fr. masse, O. Fr. mace, connected with Lat.'ntateola, a mallet)

Mace. xi. 34).are slain, and the See also:

ARK (a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Arche, adapted from the Lat. area, chest, cf. arcere, to shut up, enclose)„ a chest, basket or box. The Hebrew word tebah, translated in the' A.V. by " ark," is used in the Old Testament (1)

ark is captured (I Sam. iv.).

After a See also:

period of oppression, Samuel suddenly reappears as a See also:

GREAT

great religious See also:

LEADER, BENJAMIN WILLIAMS (1831– )

leader of Israel, See also:

SUMMONS (Fr. semonce, from semonner or semondre, Lat. summonere, summonitio)

summons the See also:

PEOPLE

people to return to Yahweh, and convenes a See also:

NATIONAL

national See also:

ASSEMBLY, UNLAWFUL

assembly at See also:

MIZPAH, or MIZPEH

Mizpah. The Philistines are defeated at Ebenezer (near Mizpah) through the See also:

DIRECT

direct inter-position of Yahweh, and Samuel rules peacefully as a theocratic See also:

JUDGE (Lat. judex, Fr. juge)

judge (vii). But in his old See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age the elders demand a king, his sons are corrupt, a monarchy and a military leader are wanted (viii. 3, 5, 20). The See also:

REQUEST, LETTERS OF

request for a monarchy is a deliberate offence against Yahweh (viii. 7, cf. it. 19, xii. 12); nevertheless, an assembly is called, and the people are warned of the drawbacks of monarchical institutions (viii. i1-21; See also:

note the milder attitude in Deut. xvii. 14-20). At Mizpah, after another See also:

SOLEMN (Lat. sollemnis, sollemnis, less correctly solennis, yearly, annual; from sollus = totus, whole, entire, Gr. Mos., and annus, year)

solemn warning, the sacred See also:

lot is taken and falls upon Saul of See also:

Benjamin, who, however, is not at first unanimously accepted (x. 17-27a). About a See also:

month later (x.

27b; see Revised Version, margin), Saul—with Samuel (xi. 7)—leads an See also:

army of Israel and See also:

JUDAH

Judah to deliver Jabesh-See also:

GILEAD (i.e. " hard " or " rugged," a name sometimes used, both in earlier and in later writers, to denote the whole of the territory occupied by the Israelites eastward of Jordan, extending from the Arnon to the southern base of Hermon (Dent. xxxiv. 1; J

Gilead from the See also:

AMMONITES

Ammonites, and is now recognized as king. Samuel in a farewell address formally abdicates his See also:

OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

office, reviews the past history, and, after convincing the people of the responsibility they had incurred in choosing a king, promises to remain always their intercessor (xii., cf. Jer. xv. I). So, according to one view, Samuel's See also:

DEATH

death marks a vital See also:

CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

change in the fortunes of Israel (See also:

xxv. i, See also:

XXVIII

xxviii. 3, 6, 15). But, according to an earlier See also:

account, instead of a See also:

state of See also:

peace after the defeat of the Philistines (vii. 14) the people groan under their yoke, and the position of Israel moves Yahweh to pity. Samuel is a See also:

LOCAL

local seer consulted by Saul, and is bidden by Yahweh to see in the youth the future ruler. Saul is privately anointed and receives various signs as See also:

PROOF (in M. Eng. preove, proeve, preve, &°c., from O. Fr . prueve, proeve, &c., mod. preuve, Late. Lat. proba, probate, to prove, to test the goodness of anything, probus, good)

proof of his new destiny (ix. i-x. i6). Despite the straitened circumstances of Israel, an army is mustered, a sudden See also:

BLOW, JOHN (1648-1708)

blow is struck at the Philistines, and, as before, super-natural assistance is at See also:

hand.

The See also:

HEBREWS, EPISTLE TO THE

Hebrews who had fled across the See also:

Jordan (xiii. 7), or who had sought See also:

REFUGE

refuge in caverns (xiii. 6, xiv. ii), or had joined the enemy (xiv. 21), rallied together and a decisive victory is obtained. That these two accounts are absolutely contradictory is now generally recognized by Biblical scholars, and it is to the former (and later) of them that the See also:

SIMPLE

simple See also:

story of Samuel's youth at Shiloh will belong. Next we find that Samuel's See also:

INTEREST

interest on behalf of the Israelite king is transferred to See also:

David, the founder of the Judaean See also:

DYNASTY (Gr. &vvaareta, sovereignty, the position of a hevnori7r, lord, ruler, from SuvaaBay to be able, Suvaµas, power)

dynasty, and it is his See also:

PART

part to announce the rejection of Saul and Yahweh's new decision (xiii. 7b-I5a, xv. 10-35, xxviii. 17), to anoint the See also:

young David, and, as See also:

head of a small community of prophets, to protect him from the hostility of Saul (xvi. 1-13, xix. 18-24). All these features in the See also:

LIFE

life of Samuel reflect the varying traditions regarding a figure who, like See also:

ELIJAH (a Hebrew name meaning " Yah[weh] is God ")

Elijah and See also:

ELISHA (a Hebrew name meaning " God is deliverance ")

Elisha, held an important See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place in N.

Israelite history. That he was an Ephrathite and lived at Ramah may only be due to the See also:

INCORPORATION (from Lat. incorporare, to form into a body)

incorporation of one See also:

cycle of specifically local tradition; the name of his grandfather Jerohaln (or See also:

JERAHMEEL, (Heb. " May God pity ")

Jerahmeel, so Septuagint) suggests a See also:

SOUTHERN

southern origin, and one may compare the relation between Saul and the See also:

KENITES

Kenites (I Sam. xv. 6) or See also:

JEHU

Jehu and the See also:

RECHABITES, or SONS OF RECHAB

Rechabites (2 See also:

KINGS, FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF

Kings x. 15). But, although his great victory in r Sam. vii. may imply that he was properly a See also:

SECULAR (Lat. saecularis, of or belonging to an age or generation, saeculum)

secular leader, comparable to See also:

OTHNIEL

Othniel, See also:

GIDEON (in Hebrew, perhaps " hewer " or " warrior ")

Gideon or See also:

JEPHTHAH

jephthah ee I Sam. xii. II, cf. Heb. xi. 32), the See also:

IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea of non-hereditary rulers over all Israel in the pre-monarchical age is a later theory (see See also:

JUDGES, THE BOOK OF

JUDGES). However, so See also:

EPOCH (Gr. E7roxij, holding in suspense, a pause, from E1rxav, to hold up, to stop)

epoch-making an event as the institution of the monarchy naturally held a prominent place in later ideas and encouraged the growth of tradition. The Saul who became the first king of N. Israel must needs be indebted to the See also:

INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence of the prophet (cf.

Jehu in 2 Kings ix.). While the figure of Samuel grows in grandeur, the disastrous fate of Saul invited explanation, which is found in his previous acts of disobedience (I Sam. xv., xxviii. 16–18; cf. See also:

AHAB (in Heb. 'ah'(ib, " father's brother ")

Ahab, I Kings xx. 35-43). Further, while on the one See also:

side the institution of the monarchy is subsequently regarded as hostile to the pre-See also:

EMINENCE (Lat. eminentia)

eminence of Yahweh, Samuel's connexion with the history of David belongs to a relatively See also:

LATE

late See also:

STAGE (Fr. 6/age; from Lat. stare, to stand)

stage in the history of the written traditions where events are viewed from a specifically Judaean aspect. Samuel's name ultimately becomes a by-word for the inauguration and observance of religious See also:

CUSTOM (from O. Fr. costume, costume or coustume; Low Lat. costuma, a shortened form of consuetudo)

custom (seer Chron. ix. 22, See also:

XXVI

xxvi. 28, 2 Chron. See also:

XXXV

xxxv. 18, Ps. xcix. 6, Ecclus. xlvi. 13 sqq.).

According to the late See also:

POST

post-exilic genealogies he was of Levitical origin (I Chron. Vt. 28, 33). See further DAVID; SAMUEL, BOOKS OF; SAUL. (S. A.

End of Article: SAMUEL

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