Samuel's mother was Hannah and his father was Elkanah. Elkanah lived at Ramathaim in the district of Zuph.[4][5] His genealogy is also found in a pedigree of the Kohathites (1 Chronicles 6:3–15) and in that of Heman the Ezrahite, apparently his grandson (1 Chronicles 6:18–33).
According to the genealogical tables in Chronicles, Elkanah was a Levite—a fact not mentioned in the books of Samuel. The fact that Elkanah, a Levite, was denominated an Ephraimite[6] is analogous to the designation of a Levite belonging to Judah (Judges 17:7, for example).[7]
According to 1 Samuel 1:1–28, Elkanah had two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah had children; Hannah did not. Nonetheless, Elkanah favored Hannah. Jealous, Peninnah reproached Hannah for her lack of children, causing Hannah much heartache. Elkanah was a devout man and would periodically take his family on pilgrimage to the holy site of Shiloh.[8]
On one occasion, Hannah went to the sanctuary and prayed for a child. In tears, she vowed that if she were granted a child, she would dedicate him to God as a nazirite.[8]Eli, who was sitting at the foot of the doorpost in the sanctuary at Shiloh, saw her apparently mumbling to herself and thought she was drunk, but was soon assured of both her motivation and sobriety. Eli was the priest of Shiloh, and one of the last Israelite Judges before the rule of kings in ancient Israel. He had assumed the leadership after Samson's death.[9] Eli blessed her and she returned home. Subsequently, Hannah became pregnant, later giving birth to Samuel, and praised God for his mercy and faithfulness.
After the child was weaned, she left him in Eli's care,[4] and from time to time she would come to visit her son.[9]
Name
According to 1 Samuel 1:20,[10] Hannah named Samuel to commemorate her prayer to God for a child. "... [She] called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord" (KJV). From its appearance, the name Samuel (Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל Šəmūʾēl, Tiberian:Šămūʾēl) appears to be constructed from the Hebrew Śāmū (שָׂמוּ)[11] + ʾĒl,[12] meaning "God has set" or "God has placed". This meaning relating to the idea of God setting/placing a child in the womb, alongside Hannah dedicating Samuel as a Nazirite to God. The Hebrew śāmū is also related to the Akkadian šâmū (𒊮𒈬), which shares the same meaning.[13] From the explanation given in 1 Samuel 1:20, however, it would seem to come from a contraction of the Hebrew שְׁאִלְתִּיו מֵאֵל (Modern:Šəʾīltīv mēʾĒl,Tiberian:Šĭʾīltīw mēʾĒl), meaning "I have asked/borrowed him from God".[14][15] Further shortened to שָׁאוּל מֵאֵל (Šāʾūl mēʾĒl, "asked/borrowed from God"),[16] then finally contracted to שְׁמוּאֵל (Šəmūʾēl/Šămūʾēl). This meaning also relating to Hannah dedicating Samuel as a Nazirite to God as well.[17]
Calling
Samuel worked under Eli in the service of the shrine at Shiloh. One night, Samuel heard a voice calling his name. According to the first-century Jewish historian Josephus, Samuel was 12 years old.[18] Samuel initially assumed it was coming from Eli and went to Eli to ask what he wanted. Eli, however, sent Samuel back to sleep. After this happened three times, Eli realised that the voice was the Lord's, and instructed Samuel on how to answer:
If He calls you, then you must say, "Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears".[19]
Once Samuel responded, the Lord told him that the wickedness of the sons of Eli had resulted in their dynasty being condemned to destruction.[4] In the morning, Samuel was hesitant about reporting the message to Eli, but Eli asked him to honestly recount to him what he had been told by the Lord. Upon receiving the communication, Eli merely said that the Lord should do what seems right unto him.
Samuel grew up and "all Israel from Dan to Beersheba" came to know that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.[20] Anglican theologian Donald Spence Jones comments that "the minds of all the people were thus gradually prepared when the right moment came to acknowledge Samuel as a God-sent chieftain".[21]
Leader
Samuel offers God a sacrifice and erects a large stone at the battle site as the Israelites slaughter the Philistines in the background, as depicted in an 18th-century stained-glass window (Pena Palace, Portugal).
During Samuel's youth at Shiloh, the Philistines inflicted a decisive defeat against the Israelites at Eben-Ezer, placed the land under Philistine control, and took the sanctuary's Ark for themselves. Upon hearing the news of the capture of the Ark of the Covenant, and the death of his sons, Eli collapsed and died. When the Philistines had been in possession of the Ark for seven months and had been visited with calamities and misfortunes, they decided to return the Ark to the Israelites.[9]
According to Bruce C. Birch, Samuel was a key figure in keeping the Israelites' religious heritage and identity alive during Israel's defeat and occupation by the Philistines. "[I]t may have been possible and necessary for Samuel to exercise authority in roles that would normally not converge in a single individual (priest, prophet, judge)."[22]
After 20 years of oppression, Samuel, who had gained national prominence as a prophet (1 Samuel 3:20), summoned the people to the hill of Mizpah, and led them against the Philistines. The Philistines, having marched to Mizpah to attack the newly amassed Israelite army, were soundly defeated and fled in terror. The retreating Philistines were slaughtered by the Israelites. The text then states that Samuel erected a large stone at the battle site as a memorial, and there ensued a long period of peace thereafter.
King-Maker
Samuel initially appointed his two sons Joel and Abijah as his successors; however, just like Eli's sons, Samuel's proved unworthy for they accepted bribes and perverted judgement. The Israelites rejected them. Because of the external threat from other tribes, such as the Philistines, the tribal leaders decided that there was a need for a more unified, central government,[23] and demanded Samuel appoint a king so that they could be like other nations. Samuel interpreted this as a personal rejection, and at first was reluctant to oblige, until reassured by a divine revelation.[22] He warned the people of the potential negative consequences of such a decision. When Saul and his servant were searching for his father's lost donkeys, the servant suggested consulting the nearby Samuel. Samuel recognized Saul as the future king.
Just before his retirement, Samuel gathered the people to an assembly at Gilgal, and delivered a farewell speech[24] or coronation speech[25] in which he emphasised how prophets and judges were more important than kings, that kings should be held to account, and that the people should not fall into idol worship, or worship of Asherah or of Baal. Samuel promised that God would subject the people to foreign invaders should they disobey. 1 Kings 11:5, 33,[26] and 2 Kings 23:13[27] note that the Israelites fell into Asherah worship later on.[28]
When Saul was preparing to fight the Philistines, Samuel denounced him for proceeding with the pre-battle sacrifice without waiting for the overdue Samuel to arrive. He prophesied that Saul's rule would see no dynastic succession.
Samuel also directed Saul to "utterly destroy" the Amalekites in fulfilment of the commandment in Deuteronomy 25:17–19:[29]
When the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, ... you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
During the campaign against the Amalekites, King Saul spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and the best of their livestock. Saul told Samuel that he had spared the choicest of the Amalekites' sheep and oxen, intending to sacrifice the livestock to the Lord. This was in violation of the Lord's command, as pronounced by Samuel, to "... utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass" (1 Samuel 15:3, KJV). Samuel confronted Saul for his disobedience and told him that God made him king, and God can unmake him king. Samuel then proceeded to execute Agag. Saul never saw Samuel alive again after this.[30]
Samuel then proceeded to Bethlehem and secretly anointed David as king. He would later provide sanctuary for David, when the jealous Saul first tried to have him killed.
Samuel is described in the biblical narrative as being buried in Ramah.[31] According to tradition, this burial place has been identified with Samuel's tomb in the West Bank village of Nabi Samwil.[32][33]
Some time after his death, Saul had the Witch of Endor conjure Samuel's spirit from Sheol in order to predict the result of an upcoming battle (1 Samuel 28:3–24). Samuel was angered by his recalling, and told Saul that the Lord had left him.
Rabbinical literature
While the Witch of Endor remains anonymous in the Biblical account, the rabbinical Midrash maintains that she was Zephaniah, the mother of Abner (Yalḳ, Sam. 140, from Pirḳe R. El.). That a supernatural appearance is here described is inferred from the repeated emphasis laid on the statement that Samuel had died and had been buried (I Sam. xxv. 1, xxviii. 3), by which the assumption that Samuel was still living when summoned, is discredited (Tosef., Soṭah, xi. 5). Still he was invoked during the first twelve months after his death, when, according to the Rabbis, the spirit still hovers near the body (Shab. 152b). In connection with the incidents of the story the Rabbis have developed the theory that the necromancer sees the spirit but is unable to hear his speech, while the person at whose instance the spirit is called hears the voice but fails to see; bystanders neither hear nor see (Yalḳ., l.c.; Redaḳ and RaLBaG's commentaries). The outcry of the woman at the sight of Samuel was due to his rising in an unusual way—upright, not, as she expected, in a horizontal position (comp. LXX. ὄρθιον in verse 14).[34]
Some authors see the biblical Samuel as combining descriptions of two distinct roles:
A seer, based at Ramah, and seemingly known scarcely beyond the immediate neighbourhood of Ramah (Saul, for example, not having heard of him, with his servant informing him of his existence instead). In this role, Samuel is associated with the bands of musical ecstatic roaming prophets (Nevi'im) at Gibeah, Bethel, and Gilgal, and some traditional scholars have argued that Samuel was the founder of these groups. At Ramah, Samuel secretly anointed Saul, after having met him for the first time, while Saul was looking for his father's lost donkeys, and treated him to a meal.
A prophet, based at Shiloh, who went throughout the land, from place to place, with unwearied zeal, reproving, rebuking, and exhorting the people to repentance. In this role, Samuel acted as a (biblical) judge, publicly advising the nation, and also giving private advice to individuals. Eventually Samuel delegated this role to his sons, based at Beersheba, but they behaved corruptly and so the people, facing invasion from the Ammonites, persuaded Samuel to appoint a king. Samuel reluctantly did so, and anointed Saul in front of the entire nation, who had gathered to see him.
Source-critical scholarship suggests that these two roles come from different sources, which later were spliced together to form the Book(s) of Samuel. The oldest is considered to be that marking Samuel as the local seer of Ramah, who willingly anointed Saul as king in secret, while the latter presents Samuel as a national figure, begrudgingly anointing Saul as king in front of a national assembly. This later source is generally known as the Republican source, since it denigrates the monarchy (particularly the actions of Saul) and favours religious figures, in contrast to the other main source—the Monarchial source—which treats it favourably. The Monarchial source would have Saul appointed king by public acclamation, due to his military victories, and not by Samuel's cleromancy. Another difference between the sources is that the Republican source treats the ecstatic prophets as somewhat independent from Samuel (1 Samuel 9:1ff) rather than having been led by him.[35]
The passage in which Samuel is described as having exercised the functions of a (biblical) judge, during an annual circuit from Ramah to Bethel to Gilgal (the Gilgal between Ebal and Gerizim) to Mizpah and back to Ramah (1 Samuel 7:15-17), is foreshadowed by Deborah, who used to render judgments from a place beneath a palm between Ramah and Bethel.[36] Source-critical scholarship often considers it to be a redaction aimed at harmonizing the two portrayals of Samuel.[37]
The Book(s) of Samuel variously describe Samuel as having carried out sacrifices at sanctuaries, and having constructed and sanctified altars. According to the Priestly Code/Deuteronomic Code only Aaronic priests/Levites (depending on the underlying tradition) were permitted to perform these actions, and simply being a nazarite or prophet was insufficient. The books of Samuel and Kings offer numerous examples where this rule is not followed by kings and prophets, but some critical scholars look elsewhere seeking a harmonization of the issues. In the Book of Chronicles, Samuel is described as a Levite, rectifying this situation; however critical scholarship widely sees the Book of Chronicles as an attempt to redact the Book(s) of Samuel and of Kings to conform to later religious sensibilities. Since many of the Biblical law codes themselves are thought to postdate the Book(s) of Samuel (according to the Documentary Hypothesis), this would suggest Chronicles is making its claim based on religious motivations. According to most modern scholarship, the Levitical genealogy of 1 Chronicles 4[38] is not historical.[37]
Deuteronomistic Samuel
According to the documentary hypothesis of Biblical source criticism, which postulates that "Deuteronomistic historians" redacted the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings), the Deuteronomists idealized Samuel as a figure larger than life, like Joshua. For example, Samuel's father Elkanah is described as having originated from Zuph, specifically Ramathaim-Zophim, which was part of the tribal lands of Ephraim, while 1 Chronicles states that he was a Levite.[39] Samuel is portrayed as a judge who leads the military, as the judges in the Book of Judges, and also who exercises judicial functions. In 1 Sam 12:6–17, a speech of Samuel that portrays him as the judge sent by God to save Israel may have been composed by the Deuteronomists.[40] In 1 Samuel 9:6–20, Samuel is seen as a local "seer". According to documentary scholarship, the Deuteronomistic historians preserved this view of Samuel while contributing him as "the first of prophets to articulate the failure of Israel to live up to its covenant with God."[40] For the Deuteronomistic historians, Samuel would have been an extension of Moses and continuing Moses' function as a prophet, judge, and priest, which makes the nature of the historical Samuel uncertain.[40]
According to the Book of Jeremiah[41] and one of the Psalms,[42] Samuel had a high devotion to God. Classical Rabbinical literature adds that he was more than an equal to Moses, God speaking directly to Samuel, rather than Samuel having to attend the tabernacle to hear God.[43] Samuel is also described by the Rabbis as having been extremely intelligent; he argued that it was legitimate for laymen to slaughter sacrifices, since the Halakha only insisted that the priests bring the blood,[44][45][46] Eli, who was viewed negatively by many Classical Rabbis, is said to have reacted to this logic of Samuel by arguing that it was technically true, but Samuel should be put to death for making legal statements while Eli (his mentor) was present.[46]
Samuel is also treated by the Classical Rabbis as a much more sympathetic character than he appears at face value in the Bible; his annual circuit is explained as being due to his wish to spare people the task of having to journey to him; Samuel is said to have been very rich, taking his entire household with him on the circuit so that he didn't need to impose himself on anyone's hospitality; when Saul fell out of God's favour, Samuel is described as having grieved copiously and having prematurely aged.[47]
For Christians, Samuel is considered to be a prophet, judge, and wise leader of Israel, and treated as an example of fulfilled commitments to God. On the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Lutheran calendars, his feast day is August 20.[49] He is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 30. In the Coptic Orthodox Church, the commemoration of the departure of Samuel the Prophet is celebrated on 9 Paoni.
Herbert Lockyer, minister and author, and others have seen in Samuel's combined offices of prophet, priest, and ruler a foreshadowing of Christ.[50]
Samuel (Arabic: صموئيل or شموئيل, romanized:Šamūʾīl or Ṣamūʾīl) is seen as a prophet and seer in the Islamic faith. The narrative of Samuel in Islam focuses specifically on his birth and the anointing of Talut. Other elements from his narrative are in accordance with the narratives of other Prophets of Israel, as exegesis recounts Samuel's preaching against idolatry. He is not mentioned by name in the Qur'an, but may be alluded to in Surah Al-Baqara2:246.[51][52]
In the Islamic narrative, the Israelites after Moses wanted a king to rule over their country. Thus, God sent a prophet, Samuel, to anoint Talut as the first king for the Israelites. However, the Israelites mocked and reviled the newly appointed king, as he was not wealthy from birth (Q2:247). But, assuming Talut to be Saul, in sharp contrast to the Hebrew Bible, the Qur'an praises Saul greatly, and mentions that he was gifted with great spiritual and physical strength. In the Qur'anic account, Samuel prophesies that the sign of Talut's kingship will be that the Ark of the Covenant will come back to the Israelites.[53]
An Arabic sign denoting where Samuel was buried in the Tomb of Samuel, according to tradition
The Book of Samuel is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books in the Old Testament. The book is part of the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books that constitute a theological history of the Israelites and that aim to explain God's law for Israel under the guidance of the prophets.
David was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.
Saul was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and the first king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of the Israelites from a scattered tribal society ruled by various judges to organized statehood.
The Nevi'im is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible, lying between the Torah and Ketuvim. The Nevi'im are divided into two groups. The Former Prophets consists of the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings; while the Latter Prophets include the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets.
Bethel was an ancient Israelite city and sacred space that is frequently mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.
Obed-Edom or Oved Edom is a biblical name which in Hebrew means "servant of Edom," and which appears in the books of 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Chronicles. The relationship between these passages has been the subject of scholarly discussions which express uncertainty and disagreements about the relationships between various passages that use the name.
Jesse or Yishai ; is a figure described in the Hebrew Bible as the father of David, who became the king of the Israelites. His son David is sometimes called simply "Son of Jesse". The role as both father of King David and ancestor of Jesus has been used in various depictions in art, poetry and music e.g. as the Tree of Jesse or in hymns like "Lo, how a rose e'er blooming."
Hannah is one of the wives of Elkanah mentioned in the First Book of Samuel. According to the Hebrew Bible she was the mother of Samuel.
Eli was, according to the Book of Samuel, a priest and a judge of the Israelites in the city of Shiloh, ancient Israel. When Hannah came to Shiloh to pray for a son, Eli initially accused her of drunkenness, but when she protested her innocence, Eli wished her well. Hannah's eventual child, Samuel, was raised by Eli in the tabernacle. When Eli failed to rein in the abusive behavior of his own sons, God promised to punish his family, which resulted in the death of Eli's sons at the Battle of Aphek where the Ark of the Covenant was also captured. When Eli heard the news of the captured Ark, he fell from his seat, broke his neck, and died. Later biblical passages mention the fortunes of several of Eli's descendants.
Elkanah was, according to the First Book of Samuel, the husband of Hannah, and the father of her children including her first, Samuel. Elkanah practiced polygamy; his other wife, less favoured but bearing more children, was named Peninnah. The names of Elkanah's other children apart from Samuel are not given. Elkanah plays only a minor role in the narrative, and is mostly a supporting character to Eli, Hannah, and Samuel.
Ramah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a city in ancient Israel in the land allocated to the tribe of Benjamin. It was located near Gibeon and Mizpah to the West, Gibeah to the South, and Geba to the East.
Mizpah was a city of the tribe of Benjamin referred to in the Hebrew Bible.
According to the Talmud, there were 48 prophets and 7 prophetesses of Judaism. The last Jewish prophet is believed to have been Malachi. In Jewish tradition it is believed that the period of prophecy, called Nevuah, ended with Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi at which time the "Shechinah departed from Israel".
1 Samuel 1 is the first chapter of the First Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the first part of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan, but many modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE. Chapters 1 to 7 of 1 Samuel depict Samuel's life: this chapter focuses on his birth.
2 Samuel 5 is the fifth chapter of the Second Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the second part of Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan, but modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE. This chapter contains the account of David's reign in Hebron and Jerusalem. This is within a section comprising 1 Samuel 16 to 2 Samuel 5 which records the rise of David as the king of Israel, and a section comprising 2 Samuel 2–8 which deals with the period when David set up his kingdom.
1 Samuel 7 is the seventh chapter of the First Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the first part of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan, but modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE. This chapter records a victory of Israel under the leadership of Samuel against the Philistines as part of the "Ark Narrative" within a section concerning the life of Samuel, and also as part of a section comprising 1 Samuel 7–15 which records the rise of the monarchy in Israel and the account of the first years of King Saul.
1 Samuel 8 is the eighth chapter of the First Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the first part of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan, but modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE. This chapter records the request from the elders of Israel to Samuel for a king, part of a section comprising 1 Samuel 7–15 which records the rise of the monarchy in Israel and the account of the first years of King Saul.
1 Samuel 16 is the sixteenth chapter of the First Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the first part of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan, but modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE. This chapter contains the anointing of David by Samuel and David's early service for Saul. This is within a section comprising 1 Samuel 16 to 2 Samuel 5 which records the rise of David as the king of Israel.
War in the Hebrew Bible concerns any military engagement narrated or discussed in the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Tanakh or Old Testament of the Bible. Texts about war in the Hebrew Bible are part of the broader topic of The Bible and violence. They cover a wide range of topics from detailed battle reports including weapons and tactics used, numbers of combatants involved, and casualties experienced, to discussions of motives and justifications for war, the sacred and secular aspects of war, descriptions and considerations of what in the modern era would be considered war crimes, such as genocide or wartime sexual violence, and reflections on wars that have happened, or predictions, visions or imaginations of wars that are yet to come.
References
↑ I. Singer, "The Philistines in the Bible: A Reflection of the Late Monarchic Period?"; Zmanim (2006 Heb.), pp. 74–82; Garsiel, "The Valley of Elah Battle and the Duel of David with Goliath," pp. 404–410
↑ The Bible does not say specifically say that Elkanah lived in a place known as Zuph. There is, however, a "land of Zuph" mentioned (once only) in 1 Samuel 9:5, an area in which Samuel is said to have been found. Furthermore, 1 Samuel 1:1, as the text now stands, mentions Zuph as an ancestor of Elkanah. And, according to the theory explained in the Jewish Encyclopedia, "Elkanah" the term "Zophim" in 1:1 is a corruption of the original identification of Elkanah as a "Zuphite." For confirmation that more contemporary scholarship still considers this theory seriously, see the Holman Bible Dictionary, "Ramathaim-Zophim."
↑ Hebrew Ephrathi, which is interpreted as meaning "Ephraimite" by Gesenius , and a variety of translations including NIV, NLT, NASB, HCSB, NET, JPS(1917), ASV . See the Jewish Encyclopedia, "Elkanah" for details.
↑ "Hence in I Sam. i. 1 his ancestral line is carried back to Zuph (comp. I Sam. ix. 5 et seq.). The word צופים in I Sam. i. 1 should be amended to הצופי ('the Zuphite'), the final mem being a dittogram of that with which the next word, מהר, begins; as the LXX. has it, Σειφὰ. Elkanah is also represented in I Sam. i. 1 as hailing from the mountains of Ephraim, the word here אפרתי denoting this (comp. Judges xii. 5; I Kings xi. 26)—if indeed אפרתי is not a corruption for 'Ephraimite'—and not, as in Judges i. 2 and I Sam. xvii. 12, an inhabitant of Ephrata (see LXX.)." "Elkanah," in the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia.
↑ Stern, David H. (1998) Complete Jewish Bible: An English Version of the Tanakh and B'rit Hadashah. Clarksville, Maryland: Jewish New Testament Publications pp. 314–15. Sh'mu'el Alef 15. ISBN978-965-359-018-2
↑ McCown, Chester Charlton (1921). "Muslim Shrines in Palestine". The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research in Jerusalem. 2: 56. doi:10.2307/3768451. JSTOR3768451.
↑ Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary, Note 278 to verse 246: "This was Samuel. In his time Israel had suffered from much corruption within and many reverses without. The Philistines had made a great attack and defeated Israel with great slaughter. The Israelites, instead of relying on Faith and their own valor and cohesion, brought out their most sacred possession, the Ark of the Covenant, to help them in the fight. But the enemy captured it, carried it away, and retained it for seven months. The Israelites forgot that wickedness cannot screen itself behind a sacred relic. Nor can a sacred relic help the enemies of faith. The enemy found that the Ark brought nothing but misfortune for themselves, and were glad to abandon it. It apparently remained twenty years in the village (qarya) of Yaarim (Kirjath-jeafim): I. Samuel, 7:2. Meanwhile, the people pressed Samuel to appoint them a king. They thought that a king would cure all their ills, whereas what was wanting was a spirit of union and discipline and a readiness on their part to fight in the cause of Allah."
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