Engraving-style illustration of Samuel: Samuel holding a horn of oil.

Bible Characters · Judges

Samuel

The last judge of Israel and its prophet, given to Hannah in answer to prayer, who anointed Saul and then David as king.

Judges121 references in 7 booksIn theological review

The facts, as Scripture gives them

Lived
Dates not given in Scripture.
Region
Shiloh as a boy; his home was Ramah, and his circuit ran to Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpah. (1 Samuel 1:24; 1 Samuel 7:16-17)
The name
Hannah named him Samuel, because she had asked for him from the LORD. (1 Samuel 1:20)
Work
Judge of Israel all the days of his life, and a prophet of the LORD. (1 Samuel 7:15; 1 Samuel 3:20)

Key verses

Then the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”

1 Samuel 3:10 (BSB)

But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.

1 Samuel 15:22 (BSB)

What they did

  • Promised to God by Hannah before his birth and brought to serve at Shiloh as a small boy. (1 Samuel 1:11; 1 Samuel 1:24-28)
  • Called by God in the night at Shiloh: Samuel! Samuel! Speak, for Your servant is listening. (1 Samuel 3:4-10)
  • Called Israel to put away foreign gods, prayed for them at Mizpah, and set up the Ebenezer stone: thus far the LORD has helped us. (1 Samuel 7:3-12)
  • Made his sons judges, but they took bribes; the elders demanded a king like the nations. (1 Samuel 8:1-7)
  • Anointed Saul as king, then rebuked him for the unlawful sacrifice and later for sparing Amalek: obedience is better than sacrifice. (1 Samuel 10:1; 1 Samuel 13:13-14; 1 Samuel 15:22)
  • Anointed David, Jesse's youngest son, in Bethlehem. (1 Samuel 16:12-13)
  • Died, and all Israel assembled and buried him at Ramah. (1 Samuel 25:1)

Family

Father
Elkanah (1 Samuel 1:19-20)
Mother
Hannah (1 Samuel 1:20)
Children
Joel (1 Samuel 8:2); Abijah (1 Samuel 8:2)

Connected to

  • Hannah: His mother, who prayed for him and lent him to the LORD (1 Samuel 1:20-28)
  • Eli: The priest who raised him at Shiloh and first thought he was drunk at prayer (1 Samuel 1:12-17; 1 Samuel 3:1-8)
  • Saul: The king he anointed and later rejected on God's word (1 Samuel 10:1; 1 Samuel 15:23)
  • David: The king he anointed in Saul's place (1 Samuel 16:13)

Mentioned in

1 Samuel, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Psalm, Jeremiah, Acts, Hebrews.

Every reference (121)

1 Samuel 1:20 · 1 Samuel 2:18 · 1 Samuel 2:21 · 1 Samuel 2:26 · 1 Samuel 3:1 · 1 Samuel 3:3 · 1 Samuel 3:4 · 1 Samuel 3:6 · 1 Samuel 3:7 · 1 Samuel 3:8 · 1 Samuel 3:9 · 1 Samuel 3:10 · 1 Samuel 3:11 · 1 Samuel 3:15 · 1 Samuel 3:16 · 1 Samuel 3:18 · 1 Samuel 3:19 · 1 Samuel 3:20 · 1 Samuel 3:21 · 1 Samuel 4:1 · 1 Samuel 7:3 · 1 Samuel 7:5 · 1 Samuel 7:6 · 1 Samuel 7:8 · 1 Samuel 7:9 · 1 Samuel 7:10 · 1 Samuel 7:12 · 1 Samuel 7:13 · 1 Samuel 7:15 · 1 Samuel 8:1 · 1 Samuel 8:4 · 1 Samuel 8:6 · 1 Samuel 8:7 · 1 Samuel 8:10 · 1 Samuel 8:19 · 1 Samuel 8:21 · 1 Samuel 8:22 · 1 Samuel 9:14 · 1 Samuel 9:15 · 1 Samuel 9:17 · 1 Samuel 9:18 · 1 Samuel 9:19 · 1 Samuel 9:22 · 1 Samuel 9:23 · 1 Samuel 9:24 · 1 Samuel 9:26 · 1 Samuel 9:27 · 1 Samuel 10:1 · 1 Samuel 10:9 · 1 Samuel 10:14 · 1 Samuel 10:15 · 1 Samuel 10:16 · 1 Samuel 10:17 · 1 Samuel 10:20 · 1 Samuel 10:24 · 1 Samuel 10:25 · 1 Samuel 11:7 · 1 Samuel 11:12 · 1 Samuel 11:14 · 1 Samuel 12:1 · 1 Samuel 12:6 · 1 Samuel 12:11 · 1 Samuel 12:18 · 1 Samuel 12:19 · 1 Samuel 12:20 · 1 Samuel 13:8 · 1 Samuel 13:10 · 1 Samuel 13:11 · 1 Samuel 13:13 · 1 Samuel 13:15 · 1 Samuel 15:1 · 1 Samuel 15:10 · 1 Samuel 15:11 · 1 Samuel 15:12 · 1 Samuel 15:13 · 1 Samuel 15:14 · 1 Samuel 15:16 · 1 Samuel 15:17 · 1 Samuel 15:20 · 1 Samuel 15:22 · 1 Samuel 15:24 · 1 Samuel 15:26 · 1 Samuel 15:27 · 1 Samuel 15:28 · 1 Samuel 15:31 · 1 Samuel 15:32 · 1 Samuel 15:33 · 1 Samuel 15:34 · 1 Samuel 15:35 · 1 Samuel 16:1 · 1 Samuel 16:2 · 1 Samuel 16:4 · 1 Samuel 16:7 · 1 Samuel 16:8 · 1 Samuel 16:10 · 1 Samuel 16:11 · 1 Samuel 16:13 · 1 Samuel 19:18 · 1 Samuel 19:20 · 1 Samuel 19:22 · 1 Samuel 19:24 · 1 Samuel 25:1 · 1 Samuel 28:3 · 1 Samuel 28:11 · 1 Samuel 28:12 · 1 Samuel 28:14 · 1 Samuel 28:15 · 1 Samuel 28:16 · 1 Samuel 28:20 · 1 Chronicles 6:28 · 1 Chronicles 6:33 · 1 Chronicles 9:22 · 1 Chronicles 11:3 · 1 Chronicles 26:28 · 1 Chronicles 29:29 · 2 Chronicles 35:18 · Psalm 99:6 · Jeremiah 15:1 · Acts 3:24 · Acts 13:20 · Hebrews 11:32

Review status: in-theological-review. Every Contend profile passes a human theological review against the Statement of Faith before it is published as approved teaching. This profile is in that queue. Sources: Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (public domain), verified verse by verse. Name and reference data: STEP Bible (TIPNR), Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0.