A guide to 1 Samuel

Who wrote 1 Samuel, and when?

Unnamed; tradition links it to Samuel, Nathan and Gad. Events about 1100–1010 BC; written after the division of the kingdom.

The books of Samuel were originally one book and do not name their author. Jewish tradition links them to Samuel, Nathan and Gad, three prophets whose records are mentioned in 1 Chronicles 29:29. Samuel himself dies in 1 Samuel 25, so the later material must come from others. The events run from about 1100 to 1010 BC, from Samuel's birth to the death of Saul. A passing note in 1 Samuel 27:6 refers to the kings of Judah, which shows the book was written or completed after the kingdom divided in the 930s BC. Most scholars think it was put together from court records and prophetic writings, some of them very close to the events. The name of the final writer is unknown.

Who was 1 Samuel written to?

Israel under the monarchy, learning what kind of king God wants.

The first readers were Israelites living under the monarchy after the kingdom had split into Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Kings had become a fact of life, and the question was what kind of king God wanted. The book showed them how the monarchy had begun: with a people demanding to be like other nations, a prophet warning them what a king would cost, and a God who gave them what they asked for and then chose a better king by his own standard. Readers in Judah, ruled by David's descendants, learned why David's line mattered. Readers everywhere learned that God looks at the heart, that obeying him matters more than religious show, and that a king who will not listen to God's word cannot stand.

What was happening at the time?

The book opens with Samuel, the last judge, and the ark captured by the Philistines. Israel demands a king like the nations. Saul is tall and impressive but disobedient; David is the unlikely shepherd whom God chooses. Most of the book is David’s long wait, hunted by Saul, refusing to seize the throne by force.

Why was 1 Samuel written?

To show that God looks at the heart and that his chosen king trusts and waits for the LORD.

1 Samuel was written to show the kind of king God wants and the kind of people he wants. Saul looks the part, tall and strong, but he will not wait for God, will not obey fully and will not admit fault. David, the youngest son out keeping sheep, is chosen because of his heart. The long middle of the book, with David hunted through the wilderness and twice refusing to kill Saul, shows what trusting God looks like when it costs something. The book wants readers to learn that obedience matters more than sacrifice (see chapter 15), that God can be prayed to in the worst moments (see Hannah in chapter 1 and David in chapter 30), and that waiting for God is safer than grabbing. In the wider Bible story, it introduces the shepherd king whose greater Son the prophets would promise.

How to read 1 Samuel today

Start with chapters 1 to 3, where Hannah prays for a son and the boy Samuel hears God's voice. Then read chapters 8 to 10 on Israel's demand for a king, chapters 15 and 16 on Saul's rejection and David's anointing, and chapter 17, David and Goliath. After that the book flows as one long story of David on the run. Watch for the contrast between Saul and David whenever they are under pressure: what do they do when they are afraid? Do not force David to be a saint; the book shows him lying and making mistakes, and the point is his trust in God, not his perfection. As you read, pray the way Hannah did, honestly and out loud, and ask God to make your heart the kind he looks for.

The key verse in 1 Samuel

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.

Passages worth knowing in 1 Samuel

• 1 Samuel 1–3

  Hannah and the boy Samuel

  A prayed-for child; speak, LORD, for your servant hears.

• 1 Samuel 8

  Give us a king

  Israel rejects the LORD as king.

• 1 Samuel 15

  Saul rejected

  To obey is better than sacrifice.

• 1 Samuel 16

  David anointed

  The LORD looks at the heart.

• 1 Samuel 17

  David and Goliath

  The battle is the LORD’s.

• 1 Samuel 24

  David spares Saul

  He will not lift his hand against the LORD’s anointed.

The main themes of 1 Samuel

• God’s choice of the unlikely
• Obedience over sacrifice
• Kingship
• Waiting on God
• Prayer

An outline of 1 Samuel