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Bible #9
1 Samuel (Bible #9), ESV
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This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
April 16, 2025
1 Samuel introduces several admirable people: Hannah, Eli, Samuel, Abigail, and, of course, King David, a man after God's own heart. It also tells the story of Saul, a man who was given a chance to be king of Israel...but blew it big time, as well as Nabal, a jerk who was killed because of his own folly. Some old favorite Sunday school stories are featured here, including the account of David and the Philistine giant Goliath, as well as Hannah's earnest desire for a child, which was fulfilled by God. Even if you grew up hearing those stories, you should read them again now; you'll notice details that you didn't as a kid. As usual, a dramatized audio version, such as The Word of Promise, really makes the stories leap off the page.
August 4, 2019
Great read; very gripping. Cinematic storytelling with uniquely compelling characters; an excellent blend of history and supernatural notions. Stoked about the sequel...
I originally picked this up for personal reasons - thinking about new decisions and behavior and habits I wanted to develop after my recent birthday. I've always liked history and the historical books of the Bible, and this one introduces us to David - God's man, and a man after God's heart. That's what they say anyway, and I didn't have any other books at the time, so it seemed like the obvious move.
Right away, I noticed that I Samuel was preceded by the significantly shorter book Ruth, and the thought struck me: in the Bible, its consistently a woman who sets up a significant event in salvation history. You can probably think of a few examples in the time it takes to read this sentence. This notion hit home as soon as I began to read the book of I Samuel - but wait, its about Hannah! Her faithfulness and commitment were a complete contrast to a man of God - Eli, who was a priest but actually an idiot, and his sons who were total savages. (Sidenote: I really do think you can find an honest biblical support for a strong and positive view of women, despite the time period it was written in. But that's another topic.)
That sets the stage for the birth of the main prophet in the book - Samuel, and who in turns gives the young nation permission to introduce a monarchy despite God's desire. Saul is God's chosen man, but Saul has a hard time with cowardice initially, and then a few other things that make the book pretty spicy. After David leaves his shepherd career to kill Goliath he gets in this weird situation where the king really likes him cause he plays the harp, the king's son really likes him like Tom and Huck Finn, and the nation really likes him cause he's awesome in battle. And then that freaks Saul out, who tries unsuccessfully to hunt him down and kill him for the rest of the book while David goes mercenary style on some surrounding tribes.
Its really interesting to think throughout the book how much of the religious and supernatural events have approval or accuracy, both within the book and outside of its historical context. So much of it sounds superstitious - of course there are temple rituals and a priestly office, but there is also the "appearance of the Spirit of the Lord" coming onto people and giving them incredible confidence and success (including at a dance party, seriously its in there). There's the Ark of the Covenant, this holy religious item, that gets stolen by an enemy, and does terrible things to everyone in the town...and then in two other towns, until it gets returned to the rightful owner.
There's also the questions we ask the text which make us wonder about what sort of fundamental truth affirmations the book would claim. Here's an example: Saul's made a bunch of mistakes. Unwise ones, and immoral ones. And he's had hella chances and warnings and new opportunities, but he just doesn't get it. So in chapter 15, God rejects Saul as king, which doesn't seem to mean much politically but definitely does personally because now Saul is mad trippin. But we read in 15:10 that God says "I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and not carried out my instructions." Okay fair enough. And then 15:29 Samuel is saying "God is the Glory of Israel who does not lie or change his mind, for he is not a man, that he should change his mind." Okayyyy wait. And then 15:35 again, "the Lord was grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel." Soooo did God change his mind or what? Or did he know all along that's how it would turn out but he was bummed that Israel basically made him make Saul their king? What's going on with God?
Another thing was obviously the battles and people getting their head chopped off and stuff. At one point, David and his mercenary band are employed by a competing kingdom and doing dirty work to the point that the king "trusted David and said to himself, he has become so odious to his people..." because David was raiding and wiping out these other areas. So its interesting that God's annointed is doing this, and its obviously detestable, but at the time its the appropriate thing for him to be doing...
And another wild one was when Saul was freaking from an impending battle and God "wouldn't answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets." Urim are like old school religious dice or a magic 8-ball type thing I think. So Saul goes to this witch instead, like a straight up divining witch, and summons the dead prophet Samuel, who's pissed about it! And the witch was surprised and upset too, its like, you didn't know you were bringing him up til he got here?! But then dead Samuel gives him a message from God, which is obviously disapproval, but apparently if we want it bad enough, we as readers get the approval that God can work through all sorts of shenanigans.
God can work through all sorts of shenanigans. Maybe that's the theme of this book. (But throughout the book, there aren't actually a lot of claims directly from God. Its all through characters and crazy events, and not nearly as much as through narrative prescription. Which is kind of another interesting thought...how much is it "this is what happened, and this is how we perceived it," and how much is it "this is how it works in the world, including in your reality today.")
I originally picked this up for personal reasons - thinking about new decisions and behavior and habits I wanted to develop after my recent birthday. I've always liked history and the historical books of the Bible, and this one introduces us to David - God's man, and a man after God's heart. That's what they say anyway, and I didn't have any other books at the time, so it seemed like the obvious move.
Right away, I noticed that I Samuel was preceded by the significantly shorter book Ruth, and the thought struck me: in the Bible, its consistently a woman who sets up a significant event in salvation history. You can probably think of a few examples in the time it takes to read this sentence. This notion hit home as soon as I began to read the book of I Samuel - but wait, its about Hannah! Her faithfulness and commitment were a complete contrast to a man of God - Eli, who was a priest but actually an idiot, and his sons who were total savages. (Sidenote: I really do think you can find an honest biblical support for a strong and positive view of women, despite the time period it was written in. But that's another topic.)
That sets the stage for the birth of the main prophet in the book - Samuel, and who in turns gives the young nation permission to introduce a monarchy despite God's desire. Saul is God's chosen man, but Saul has a hard time with cowardice initially, and then a few other things that make the book pretty spicy. After David leaves his shepherd career to kill Goliath he gets in this weird situation where the king really likes him cause he plays the harp, the king's son really likes him like Tom and Huck Finn, and the nation really likes him cause he's awesome in battle. And then that freaks Saul out, who tries unsuccessfully to hunt him down and kill him for the rest of the book while David goes mercenary style on some surrounding tribes.
Its really interesting to think throughout the book how much of the religious and supernatural events have approval or accuracy, both within the book and outside of its historical context. So much of it sounds superstitious - of course there are temple rituals and a priestly office, but there is also the "appearance of the Spirit of the Lord" coming onto people and giving them incredible confidence and success (including at a dance party, seriously its in there). There's the Ark of the Covenant, this holy religious item, that gets stolen by an enemy, and does terrible things to everyone in the town...and then in two other towns, until it gets returned to the rightful owner.
There's also the questions we ask the text which make us wonder about what sort of fundamental truth affirmations the book would claim. Here's an example: Saul's made a bunch of mistakes. Unwise ones, and immoral ones. And he's had hella chances and warnings and new opportunities, but he just doesn't get it. So in chapter 15, God rejects Saul as king, which doesn't seem to mean much politically but definitely does personally because now Saul is mad trippin. But we read in 15:10 that God says "I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and not carried out my instructions." Okay fair enough. And then 15:29 Samuel is saying "God is the Glory of Israel who does not lie or change his mind, for he is not a man, that he should change his mind." Okayyyy wait. And then 15:35 again, "the Lord was grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel." Soooo did God change his mind or what? Or did he know all along that's how it would turn out but he was bummed that Israel basically made him make Saul their king? What's going on with God?
Another thing was obviously the battles and people getting their head chopped off and stuff. At one point, David and his mercenary band are employed by a competing kingdom and doing dirty work to the point that the king "trusted David and said to himself, he has become so odious to his people..." because David was raiding and wiping out these other areas. So its interesting that God's annointed is doing this, and its obviously detestable, but at the time its the appropriate thing for him to be doing...
And another wild one was when Saul was freaking from an impending battle and God "wouldn't answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets." Urim are like old school religious dice or a magic 8-ball type thing I think. So Saul goes to this witch instead, like a straight up divining witch, and summons the dead prophet Samuel, who's pissed about it! And the witch was surprised and upset too, its like, you didn't know you were bringing him up til he got here?! But then dead Samuel gives him a message from God, which is obviously disapproval, but apparently if we want it bad enough, we as readers get the approval that God can work through all sorts of shenanigans.
God can work through all sorts of shenanigans. Maybe that's the theme of this book. (But throughout the book, there aren't actually a lot of claims directly from God. Its all through characters and crazy events, and not nearly as much as through narrative prescription. Which is kind of another interesting thought...how much is it "this is what happened, and this is how we perceived it," and how much is it "this is how it works in the world, including in your reality today.")
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June 7, 2019بعد از کتاب های "داوران" و "روت"، کتاب اول سموئیل می آید. اگرچه کتاب سموئیل در اصل اثری یکپارچه و بهم پیوسته بوده است، اما بنا به سنت یونانی و بعد از آن، این اثر به دو کتاب اول و دوم سموئیل اشتقاق یافت.
در کتاب های سموئیل منابع و سنت های روایتی مختلفی درباره ی اوایل دوران پادشاهی با هم ترکیب شده و در کنار هم قرار گرفته اند. همین امر موجب شده که گاهاٌ رویدادها و اتفاقاتِ متضاد روایت شوند و یا از نظر سیر زمانی پس و پیش گردند.
اما بطور کلی کتاب های سموئیل شامل 5 بخش است:
1.سموئیل:
در دوران داوران، زنی بنام "حنا" که بچه دار نمی شد، در معبد یهوه عهد کرد که اگر پسردار شد، آن را نذر یهوه بکند. پس به امر یهوه، او پسری زایید به نام "سموئیل". سموئیل در معبد پرورش یافت و در آنجا یهوه بر او ظاهر شد، و در سراسر اسرائیل شهره شد که او "نبی" ست.
در همان زمان ها فلسطیان به اسرائیل حمله کرده، آن ها شکست سختی داده و صندوق عهد را به غنیمت می برند. اما فلسطیان با بردن صندوق به سرزمین شان دچار بلای عظیمی شده و بت شان،"داجون" می شکند. آن ها صندوق را پس می فرستند.
چند سال بعد که دوباره فلسطیان به اسرائیل حمله می کنند، این بار سموئیل اسرائیلیان را داوری کرده و به جنگ فلسطیان برده و آن ها را شکست می دهند.
2. سموئیل و شائول:
سموئیل همه عمر خود را به داوری اسرائیل گذراند. چون سالخورده شد، مردم نزدش آمدند و به او گفتند که برای آن ها پادشاهی برگزیند. سموئیل با خشم گفت پادشاه آن ها یهوه است. اما با اصرار آن ها، یهوه، "شائول" جوان را برمی گزیند. در همین حین اسرائیلیان به رهبری شائول در جنگ با اموریان پیروز می شوند.
سموئیل شائول را در جلجال به عنوان پادشاه معرفی کرده و خود از داوری کنار می کشد.
شائول در مدت پادشاهی خود به جنگ با دشمنان بسیاری می پردازد و اسرائیل قدرتمند می گردد. اما در جنگی، او از فرمان یهوه سرپیچی می کند و روح یهوه از او رخت می بندد. سموئیل شائول را طرد کرده و به فرمان یهوه "داود" نوجوان و شبان را بعنوان پادشاه بعدی مسح می کند (شائول پادشاه رسمی (اسرائیل هست، اما اذن و اراده ی یهوه با داود و پشتیبان اوست.
3. شائول و داود:
در جنگ با فلسطیان، تنها داود نوجوان جرأت رویارویی با جُلیات (=جالوت قرآنی) را دارد. داود این سردار غول پیکر را تنها با یک سنگ می کشد. بدین ترتیب داود از نزدیکان شائول و از سرداران وی می شود.
با موفقیت های جنگی داود و افزایش محبویت وی نزد مردم و حتی پسر شائول، شائول به او حسادت می ورزد. سرانجام وقتی قصد کشتن او می کند، داود فرار می کند و چندین سال را آواره و سرگردان می شود. در حینی که شائول به تعقیب داود و مردانش می پردازد، او در غاری بدست داود می افتد، اما وی احترام پادشاه را نگه می دارد و از جانش می گذرد. پس شائول هم دست از تعقیب وی بر می دارد.
سموئیل هم در همین سال ها می میرد. دوباره فلسطیان به اسرائیل حمله می برند، اسرائیلیان را شکست می دهند و شائول و پسرانش کشته می شوند.*
کتاب اول سموئیل، روایتگر نقطه ی عطفی در تاریخ یهود می باشد؛ در این کتاب، سموئیل بعنوان واپسین داور، جایش را به شائول به عنوان اولین پادشاه اسرائیل می دهند.** در این لحظه ی تاریخی، یهود از یک قوم به یک دولت-ملت تبدیل می شود و صاحب ارتشی حرفه ای می گردد.
پ نوشت: کتاب سموئیل اثری کاملا داستانی، مهیج و دراماتیک با شخصیت پردازی های قوی و چندبعدی ست و می توان با لذت بالا و پایین شدن شخصیت ها و سرنوشت شخصیت اصلی آن، شائول را دنبال کرد و مشاهده کرد که چگونه او از فردی نظر کرده ی یهوه به شخصیتی با روح پلید و تباه تبدیل می گردد.
(*) بخش های چهارم و پنجم (داود و پیوست ها) در کتاب دوم سموئیل روایت شده اند.
(**) برای آگاهی از داوران به یادداشت من بر کتاب داوران رجوع شود.
در کتاب های سموئیل منابع و سنت های روایتی مختلفی درباره ی اوایل دوران پادشاهی با هم ترکیب شده و در کنار هم قرار گرفته اند. همین امر موجب شده که گاهاٌ رویدادها و اتفاقاتِ متضاد روایت شوند و یا از نظر سیر زمانی پس و پیش گردند.
اما بطور کلی کتاب های سموئیل شامل 5 بخش است:
1.سموئیل:
در دوران داوران، زنی بنام "حنا" که بچه دار نمی شد، در معبد یهوه عهد کرد که اگر پسردار شد، آن را نذر یهوه بکند. پس به امر یهوه، او پسری زایید به نام "سموئیل". سموئیل در معبد پرورش یافت و در آنجا یهوه بر او ظاهر شد، و در سراسر اسرائیل شهره شد که او "نبی" ست.
در همان زمان ها فلسطیان به اسرائیل حمله کرده، آن ها شکست سختی داده و صندوق عهد را به غنیمت می برند. اما فلسطیان با بردن صندوق به سرزمین شان دچار بلای عظیمی شده و بت شان،"داجون" می شکند. آن ها صندوق را پس می فرستند.
چند سال بعد که دوباره فلسطیان به اسرائیل حمله می کنند، این بار سموئیل اسرائیلیان را داوری کرده و به جنگ فلسطیان برده و آن ها را شکست می دهند.
2. سموئیل و شائول:
سموئیل همه عمر خود را به داوری اسرائیل گذراند. چون سالخورده شد، مردم نزدش آمدند و به او گفتند که برای آن ها پادشاهی برگزیند. سموئیل با خشم گفت پادشاه آن ها یهوه است. اما با اصرار آن ها، یهوه، "شائول" جوان را برمی گزیند. در همین حین اسرائیلیان به رهبری شائول در جنگ با اموریان پیروز می شوند.
سموئیل شائول را در جلجال به عنوان پادشاه معرفی کرده و خود از داوری کنار می کشد.
شائول در مدت پادشاهی خود به جنگ با دشمنان بسیاری می پردازد و اسرائیل قدرتمند می گردد. اما در جنگی، او از فرمان یهوه سرپیچی می کند و روح یهوه از او رخت می بندد. سموئیل شائول را طرد کرده و به فرمان یهوه "داود" نوجوان و شبان را بعنوان پادشاه بعدی مسح می کند (شائول پادشاه رسمی (اسرائیل هست، اما اذن و اراده ی یهوه با داود و پشتیبان اوست.
3. شائول و داود:
در جنگ با فلسطیان، تنها داود نوجوان جرأت رویارویی با جُلیات (=جالوت قرآنی) را دارد. داود این سردار غول پیکر را تنها با یک سنگ می کشد. بدین ترتیب داود از نزدیکان شائول و از سرداران وی می شود.
با موفقیت های جنگی داود و افزایش محبویت وی نزد مردم و حتی پسر شائول، شائول به او حسادت می ورزد. سرانجام وقتی قصد کشتن او می کند، داود فرار می کند و چندین سال را آواره و سرگردان می شود. در حینی که شائول به تعقیب داود و مردانش می پردازد، او در غاری بدست داود می افتد، اما وی احترام پادشاه را نگه می دارد و از جانش می گذرد. پس شائول هم دست از تعقیب وی بر می دارد.
سموئیل هم در همین سال ها می میرد. دوباره فلسطیان به اسرائیل حمله می برند، اسرائیلیان را شکست می دهند و شائول و پسرانش کشته می شوند.*
کتاب اول سموئیل، روایتگر نقطه ی عطفی در تاریخ یهود می باشد؛ در این کتاب، سموئیل بعنوان واپسین داور، جایش را به شائول به عنوان اولین پادشاه اسرائیل می دهند.** در این لحظه ی تاریخی، یهود از یک قوم به یک دولت-ملت تبدیل می شود و صاحب ارتشی حرفه ای می گردد.
پ نوشت: کتاب سموئیل اثری کاملا داستانی، مهیج و دراماتیک با شخصیت پردازی های قوی و چندبعدی ست و می توان با لذت بالا و پایین شدن شخصیت ها و سرنوشت شخصیت اصلی آن، شائول را دنبال کرد و مشاهده کرد که چگونه او از فردی نظر کرده ی یهوه به شخصیتی با روح پلید و تباه تبدیل می گردد.
(*) بخش های چهارم و پنجم (داود و پیوست ها) در کتاب دوم سموئیل روایت شده اند.
(**) برای آگاهی از داوران به یادداشت من بر کتاب داوران رجوع شود.
March 29, 2015
Part of my READ THE BIBLE WITHIN A YEAR challenge.
Wish me luck, as I've got a long way to go!
Okay, so I’m learning rather quickly that the Bible actually contains a LOT of violence! I’m a huge fan of horror novels, so it’s not as if I’m soft when it comes to reading about violence, but there is something so brutal about the stories I’ve read in the Bible so far. I don’t think my negative feelings are helped by the overall disrespect towards women and the amount of violence put upon them.
Violence aside, 1 Samuel was somewhat enjoyable. There is definitely much more of a psychological feel to this book, with subjects of jealousy, depression and suicide being covered. This book helped to remind me I’m reading about humans with feelings, and not just brutal killing machines.
Main topics that stood out to me are:
Hannah gave birth to Samuel.
The Lord speaks to Samuel.
Saul sins, and an evil spirit torments him.
David is a brave man and warrior. He kills Goliath (who is over 9 feet tall), just using a sling and stones. Then he cuts off his head (I definitely don’t remember being told that bit as a child).
Saul is both jealous and afraid of David, because he is a successful warrior and God is with him. Saul tries to hunt David down, with the intention of killing him. Even Saul’s son, Jonathan asks his father not to hurt David, as he has done nothing wrong towards him.
When David has the chance to kill Saul, in order to protect himself, he does not harm him.
David escapes to the land of the Philistines.
Saul’s sons are killed in battle and Saul kills himself.
Wish me luck, as I've got a long way to go!
Okay, so I’m learning rather quickly that the Bible actually contains a LOT of violence! I’m a huge fan of horror novels, so it’s not as if I’m soft when it comes to reading about violence, but there is something so brutal about the stories I’ve read in the Bible so far. I don’t think my negative feelings are helped by the overall disrespect towards women and the amount of violence put upon them.
Violence aside, 1 Samuel was somewhat enjoyable. There is definitely much more of a psychological feel to this book, with subjects of jealousy, depression and suicide being covered. This book helped to remind me I’m reading about humans with feelings, and not just brutal killing machines.
Main topics that stood out to me are:
Hannah gave birth to Samuel.
The Lord speaks to Samuel.
Saul sins, and an evil spirit torments him.
David is a brave man and warrior. He kills Goliath (who is over 9 feet tall), just using a sling and stones. Then he cuts off his head (I definitely don’t remember being told that bit as a child).
Saul is both jealous and afraid of David, because he is a successful warrior and God is with him. Saul tries to hunt David down, with the intention of killing him. Even Saul’s son, Jonathan asks his father not to hurt David, as he has done nothing wrong towards him.
When David has the chance to kill Saul, in order to protect himself, he does not harm him.
David escapes to the land of the Philistines.
Saul’s sons are killed in battle and Saul kills himself.
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February 24, 2022yet another book for school why do i have so many assigned readings for school im tired
June 11, 2024
I'm counting this as a book because I just finished this Book of the Bible and it's over 20k words...
Really good read. Lots of fun action, violence, and history. Great lessons to take from it too. What's not to love?
Can't rate it less than 5 stars either without calling down fire and brimstone... xD
Really good read. Lots of fun action, violence, and history. Great lessons to take from it too. What's not to love?
Can't rate it less than 5 stars either without calling down fire and brimstone... xD
May 16, 2022
First Samuel used to be the book I reread constantly as a kid, in my eagerness to avoid “boring� Bible books yet still be reading the Bible. I wonder how many other Christian kids relate. ;) Consequentially, as a grown up, I tended to view 1 Samuel a little cavalierly—with an “oh I know possibly everything there is to know about it� fashion. There’s nothing more deceptive than that idea when dealing with the Bible. Reading it this year, I was amazed and so encouraged by what I learned through the life of David—and a Bible Study on Saul’s life taught me a lot too. I would love to make a post someday on my blog about what I learned, but here’s a few highlights�
- Samuel had a great testimony before the people, yet somehow his sons didn’t know God and were known as wicked men. This helped lead the people into asking for a King. Yet Samuel did serve God faithfully and was a man of prayer, constantly crying out to God and speaking with Him.
- God had big plans for Saul but he hid in the baggage instead� and didn’t tell anyone about what God was calling him to do. He didn’t wait for God but did the sacrifice himself because he was afraid. He was very controlled by his emotions, slow to act and quick to talk. He didn’t repent and let God’s plan happen, but fought against it instead, and feared the people (and David) over God. He was lost potential—he did some good things, but not as much as he could have, and that’s not what he is remembered for.
- David seems rather brushed aside by his father/siblings, yet he really was a young man of MANY talents. I wonder if he felt sometimes that “man, I’m really not being useful cooped up here in these fields with those stupid sheep,� instead of doing (more) “worthwhile� things like his older brothers. Yet God was using this time to form him into the man he needed to be. It was in the fields that David was prepared for his destiny. It was here that his character was made and his relationship with God cemented. The years of seeming uselessness and retirement were years of careful preparation for a great purpose.
I once horrified a group of friends by saying David wasn’t my favourite Bible character. I retract that statement now. Every time I read his whole story I respect him a little bit more. The life he lived was hard and unjust. He was a good man living a good life, why did he have to suffer this way?
Because God had to refine him and make him better. And his time was not yet come.
That’s just very encouraging to me. <33
- Samuel had a great testimony before the people, yet somehow his sons didn’t know God and were known as wicked men. This helped lead the people into asking for a King. Yet Samuel did serve God faithfully and was a man of prayer, constantly crying out to God and speaking with Him.
- God had big plans for Saul but he hid in the baggage instead� and didn’t tell anyone about what God was calling him to do. He didn’t wait for God but did the sacrifice himself because he was afraid. He was very controlled by his emotions, slow to act and quick to talk. He didn’t repent and let God’s plan happen, but fought against it instead, and feared the people (and David) over God. He was lost potential—he did some good things, but not as much as he could have, and that’s not what he is remembered for.
- David seems rather brushed aside by his father/siblings, yet he really was a young man of MANY talents. I wonder if he felt sometimes that “man, I’m really not being useful cooped up here in these fields with those stupid sheep,� instead of doing (more) “worthwhile� things like his older brothers. Yet God was using this time to form him into the man he needed to be. It was in the fields that David was prepared for his destiny. It was here that his character was made and his relationship with God cemented. The years of seeming uselessness and retirement were years of careful preparation for a great purpose.
I once horrified a group of friends by saying David wasn’t my favourite Bible character. I retract that statement now. Every time I read his whole story I respect him a little bit more. The life he lived was hard and unjust. He was a good man living a good life, why did he have to suffer this way?
Because God had to refine him and make him better. And his time was not yet come.
That’s just very encouraging to me. <33
March 27, 2025
1 Samuel deals with Samuel and the rise and fall of King Saul. Saul was the first king of Israel and he was chosen by the consensus of the people because he was tall and good-looking.
Saul started well, well victories over the Philistines, but he soon went off the rails. He had trouble following directions. He was to wait until Samuel came before any offerings were to be done--but he didn't. He was to completely defeat Agag and exterminate his forces--but he saved the best of the spoil at the people's behest and King Agag. After that, God rejected him.
Next king up, David. The complete opposite of Saul, who was 30 when he became king, David was anointed at 17, before his 7 older brothers. He was full of faith and zeal, beginning his public career with a bang--slaying Goliath, who had been calling for one-on-one combat for 40 days.
There's a lot more, death, destruction, battles, intrigue. But this should give you a feeling for the book.
This one's got my Highest recommendation.
Saul started well, well victories over the Philistines, but he soon went off the rails. He had trouble following directions. He was to wait until Samuel came before any offerings were to be done--but he didn't. He was to completely defeat Agag and exterminate his forces--but he saved the best of the spoil at the people's behest and King Agag. After that, God rejected him.
Next king up, David. The complete opposite of Saul, who was 30 when he became king, David was anointed at 17, before his 7 older brothers. He was full of faith and zeal, beginning his public career with a bang--slaying Goliath, who had been calling for one-on-one combat for 40 days.
There's a lot more, death, destruction, battles, intrigue. But this should give you a feeling for the book.
This one's got my Highest recommendation.
Want to read
June 4, 20254/7/2024 - 4/18/2024 with The Bible Recap
4/8/2025 - 4/21/2025 with The Bible Recap
5/5/2025 - 6/4/2025 with the kids
4/8/2025 - 4/21/2025 with The Bible Recap
5/5/2025 - 6/4/2025 with the kids
January 23, 2025
About: the king Saul and his fight against she Shepard David, David being an average and Godly kind man who ends up defeating Goliath by his faith in God giving him strength. But the end, David showed mercy to Saul but after relentlessly pursuing David and given many chances, saul ended up dying. David remained very holy and good. ☺️
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January 19, 2025Hebrew version of Game of Thrones 🏹⚔️🗡�
March 26, 2025
Perhaps the greatest book in literature.
December 20, 2020
Predictably brutal but really quite fascinating. The people concerned are a bit more thoroughly explored than usual in this book. The story involving David, Saul and Jonathan feels almost Shakespearean.
September 24, 2018
Good dramatic stories.
April 28, 2022
For the record, I did not read the King James Version
😂
😂
October 6, 2023
Jonathan best boy and he deserved better :((
March 24, 2021
Because I'm reading the Bible in chronological order, I've been jumping back and forth between Psalms and 1 Samuel as I read the Psalms of David after the parts of the stories are told in 1 Samuel. Reading it like that really helped me understand the context of the Psalms because I knew what was happening in David's life when he wrote it. It's really breathtaking.
David and Johnathan are probably my two favorite Bible characters (aside from Jesus of course), so reading their stories completely, instead of bits and pieces as I always have, really confirmed that they are my favorite. 1 Samuel is a very dramatic and emotional book. I think I knew--but not really because I was surprised as I read this time--that Saul was anointed by Samuel to be king over Israel just as David was. In the stories I grew up hearing, I think that part was left out, so as I read through 1 Samuel, it shocked me to see Saul as an anointed king of God. And his story is truly a tragic one, that he rebelled and disobeyed God continuously all the time that he was king until the bitter end, when he dies. There's just so much to this story, that happened over many years that makes it emotional and I no longer see king Saul as just the villain in David's story. King Saul's story is far more complex than that.
Onto 2 Samuel now, which I'm sure continues the story where 1 Samual left off. :)
David and Johnathan are probably my two favorite Bible characters (aside from Jesus of course), so reading their stories completely, instead of bits and pieces as I always have, really confirmed that they are my favorite. 1 Samuel is a very dramatic and emotional book. I think I knew--but not really because I was surprised as I read this time--that Saul was anointed by Samuel to be king over Israel just as David was. In the stories I grew up hearing, I think that part was left out, so as I read through 1 Samuel, it shocked me to see Saul as an anointed king of God. And his story is truly a tragic one, that he rebelled and disobeyed God continuously all the time that he was king until the bitter end, when he dies. There's just so much to this story, that happened over many years that makes it emotional and I no longer see king Saul as just the villain in David's story. King Saul's story is far more complex than that.
Onto 2 Samuel now, which I'm sure continues the story where 1 Samual left off. :)
September 20, 2024
This book of the Bible was fantastic. It felt cinematic. I’d love to see the whole bible in a faithful live action adaptation but seeing 1st Samuel specifically would be awesome.
You of course get the famous Sunday School story of David & Goliath. Which is actually far more gripping if you read the Bible yourself. Something that’s not usually noted is that after David hit Goliath with the stone, David then walks up to take Goliath’s sword and decapitates him to show the Philistines and Israelites that he really is dead! I was like “Dang dude!�
And I even more enjoyed the story of seeing King Saul’s fall into madness. Saul attempts to kill David multiple times and each time David has a chance to kill Saul, decides to spare him telling Saul that it isn’t his (David’s) place to kill God’s anointed (Saul). I also really enjoyed the brotherly friendship between David and Jonathan (Saul’s son). He stuck by his friend all the way. Shows true friendship.
The ending does make you feel sorry for Saul because he had multiple opportunities to redeem himself and become a noble man but he just never took those chances.
I’m excited to read 2nd Samuel!
You of course get the famous Sunday School story of David & Goliath. Which is actually far more gripping if you read the Bible yourself. Something that’s not usually noted is that after David hit Goliath with the stone, David then walks up to take Goliath’s sword and decapitates him to show the Philistines and Israelites that he really is dead! I was like “Dang dude!�
And I even more enjoyed the story of seeing King Saul’s fall into madness. Saul attempts to kill David multiple times and each time David has a chance to kill Saul, decides to spare him telling Saul that it isn’t his (David’s) place to kill God’s anointed (Saul). I also really enjoyed the brotherly friendship between David and Jonathan (Saul’s son). He stuck by his friend all the way. Shows true friendship.
The ending does make you feel sorry for Saul because he had multiple opportunities to redeem himself and become a noble man but he just never took those chances.
I’m excited to read 2nd Samuel!
April 21, 2021
1 Samuel. It's a book full of two drastics: Obedient and faithful to God then the opposite, rebellious and self-reliant.
I've always loved the story of David (I mean who doesn't?) so reading the biblical account was amazing! After reading 1 Samuel, I now understand that trusting God and obeying Him is VITALLY important to the Christian faith.
🔥~ Obedience is better than sacrifice ~🔥
I loved this book and HIGHLY recommend it!
I've always loved the story of David (I mean who doesn't?) so reading the biblical account was amazing! After reading 1 Samuel, I now understand that trusting God and obeying Him is VITALLY important to the Christian faith.
🔥~ Obedience is better than sacrifice ~🔥
I loved this book and HIGHLY recommend it!
May 21, 2025
I loved reading 1 Samuel. It was incredibly impactful and eye-opening. One of the biggest takeaways for me was how clearly the book shows the consequences of disobedience and the importance of wholehearted obedience to God. I was especially struck by the truth that obedience is more important than sacrifice, and that partial obedience is still disobedience. The stories of Saul, Samuel, and David gave me a lot to reflect on in my own walk with God.
I’m excited to continue into 2 Samuel and see how David’s reign unfolds!
I’m excited to continue into 2 Samuel and see how David’s reign unfolds!
October 28, 2024
Been awhile since i’ve read about David and Saul. This book of the Bible is a masterpiece of storytelling and even if it weren’t divinely inspired, it’s got all the makings of great book—underdog story, violence, sex, witchcraft, war, friendship. Add in the Holy Spirit and this book comes alive and God shows himself as God who is not to be trifled with.
July 26, 2024
The Israelites demanded a king, even though they had God, who’d done miraculous things for them. Prideful Saul failed as king as humble David found favor. David’s defeat of Goliath is a breathtaking representation of Jesus defeating sin and death!
December 12, 2023
The Israelites reject Samual and demand a king.
May 31, 2023
First off, I want my life to reflect the life of Samuels mother. She was faithful and intimate with God in a way so unusual to the Priest that he didn’t think she was sober. But, that’s just in the first Chapter and honestly all 31 chapters of this book carry takeaways of how I DO or DO NOT want my life to reflect. Excited to dive into 2 Samuel today, but SPOILER, Samuel died halfway through his first namesake book so maybe not the most aptly named book of the Bible 😅
September 21, 2023
So, we start off with Hannah being the favorite of Elkanah's wives, however, she's having a hard time getting pregnant. When she finally gives birth, it's to our main character Samuel. Samuel learns to speak to god from Eli. Then god is like "great, now that Eli taught you to speak to me, I don't need Eli anymore. I'm going to destroy him and his household".
Samuel becomes a judge of the land and appoints all his sons as judges as well. Now, as Samuel gets older, his people want a king. Samuel comes across the most handsome man he's ever seen and is like "that's the one. He's our king". So they appoint Saul as king. Now, this is where the time line gets confusing because we fast-forward a bit. God becomes regretful of appointing Saul as king, when after winning a battle, Saul allows his men to eat their steak rare. How dare they eat bloody meat, that's one of gods 613 commandments! Don't they have all of them memorized by now! So Samuel chooses a new king. The youngest, most handsome son of Jesse, David.
Then, we rewind a little bit just to find out David is Saul's greatest enemy! This is where the story starts to sound a bit like Achilles and Patroclus. David defeats Goliath, big whoop, we've all heard that part before. What I've never heard, is that Saul's son Jonathan and David fall in love! It says "the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David and Jonathan loved him as his own soul". And then they "make a covenant", one of their vows being "The lord shall be between you and me, and between your offspring and my offspring, forever". That's pretty much a marriage vow if I've ever heard one. Saul was having his suspicions so he offers his daughters to David instead. When David defeats 200 Philistines and brings Saul all of their foreskins, Saul is like "my dude, you must marry my daughter Michal". So David marries Michal and Michal falls in love with David and that makes Saul even more angry. Saul finds out about Jonathan and David and he says to Jonathan "you son of a perverse, rebellious woman" (which we should definitely start using instead of "son of a bitch").
Meanwhile, David flees to this priest and asks him for bread. The priest is like "I don't have regular bread, I only have holy bread. I can only give you the holy bread if you haven't slept with any women". And David is like "that is not a problem, my dude. I'm only traveling with men(wink wink)". Saul finds out that the priests and all the people knew about David and Jonathan and kept it from him. He commands Doeg to kill anybody who knew of it. In their fit of homophobic rage they kill 85 "persons" which included; men, women, children, infants, oxen, donkeys and sheep.
When David and his men flee, Saul and his men come after him. Leaving his village behind, defenseless, for their enemies to attack. And attack they did. Saul had to turn around and go back home. The messenger who was sent to warn Saul of the attack was probably sent from David's camp, because in the next chapter David has Saul captured and he spares Saul's life.
Then, somewhere along the line, David takes 2 more wives and they are captured by the Philistines. David asks god "is it worth it to rescue them or should I just leave them to die" and god is like "no man, go get them, you'll win them back" and so David does.
Then Saul is being attacked by the Philistines and he tells his body guard "kill me before these uncircumcised people do" and the bodyguard is like "no way am I killing my king!". So Saul kills himself and the bodyguard kills himself and all of Saul's household dies that day.
Now we are back to being caught up, however, Samuel died somewhere along the way too so I'm not sure when exactly he had time to appoint David as king after that. It's a little all over the place and the pacing of this story is wild. Overall, I liked the love story though.
Samuel becomes a judge of the land and appoints all his sons as judges as well. Now, as Samuel gets older, his people want a king. Samuel comes across the most handsome man he's ever seen and is like "that's the one. He's our king". So they appoint Saul as king. Now, this is where the time line gets confusing because we fast-forward a bit. God becomes regretful of appointing Saul as king, when after winning a battle, Saul allows his men to eat their steak rare. How dare they eat bloody meat, that's one of gods 613 commandments! Don't they have all of them memorized by now! So Samuel chooses a new king. The youngest, most handsome son of Jesse, David.
Then, we rewind a little bit just to find out David is Saul's greatest enemy! This is where the story starts to sound a bit like Achilles and Patroclus. David defeats Goliath, big whoop, we've all heard that part before. What I've never heard, is that Saul's son Jonathan and David fall in love! It says "the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David and Jonathan loved him as his own soul". And then they "make a covenant", one of their vows being "The lord shall be between you and me, and between your offspring and my offspring, forever". That's pretty much a marriage vow if I've ever heard one. Saul was having his suspicions so he offers his daughters to David instead. When David defeats 200 Philistines and brings Saul all of their foreskins, Saul is like "my dude, you must marry my daughter Michal". So David marries Michal and Michal falls in love with David and that makes Saul even more angry. Saul finds out about Jonathan and David and he says to Jonathan "you son of a perverse, rebellious woman" (which we should definitely start using instead of "son of a bitch").
Meanwhile, David flees to this priest and asks him for bread. The priest is like "I don't have regular bread, I only have holy bread. I can only give you the holy bread if you haven't slept with any women". And David is like "that is not a problem, my dude. I'm only traveling with men(wink wink)". Saul finds out that the priests and all the people knew about David and Jonathan and kept it from him. He commands Doeg to kill anybody who knew of it. In their fit of homophobic rage they kill 85 "persons" which included; men, women, children, infants, oxen, donkeys and sheep.
When David and his men flee, Saul and his men come after him. Leaving his village behind, defenseless, for their enemies to attack. And attack they did. Saul had to turn around and go back home. The messenger who was sent to warn Saul of the attack was probably sent from David's camp, because in the next chapter David has Saul captured and he spares Saul's life.
Then, somewhere along the line, David takes 2 more wives and they are captured by the Philistines. David asks god "is it worth it to rescue them or should I just leave them to die" and god is like "no man, go get them, you'll win them back" and so David does.
Then Saul is being attacked by the Philistines and he tells his body guard "kill me before these uncircumcised people do" and the bodyguard is like "no way am I killing my king!". So Saul kills himself and the bodyguard kills himself and all of Saul's household dies that day.
Now we are back to being caught up, however, Samuel died somewhere along the way too so I'm not sure when exactly he had time to appoint David as king after that. It's a little all over the place and the pacing of this story is wild. Overall, I liked the love story though.
April 21, 2019
This book takes you on a roller coaster. You begin with the miraculously born Samuel, the last judge of Israel. He gets Israel straightened out, but then they reject him and God. Samuel takes it hard, but God tells him to pick out a king, Saul.
Saul is huge and humble, at first. He leads Israel to impressive victories over their foes the Philistines. Then he starts disobeying God. Finally God rejects him as king.
God then selects David, the youngest of his seven brothers. He becomes King Saul's harpist and then, after he kills the giant Goliath, his general and chief warrior. But Saul becomes jealous.
David marries Saul's daughter Mical and becomes best friends with his son Jonathan. But Saul tries to kill David and he flees to the wilderness. Malcontents and rebels flock to him while he flees from cave to cave. He escapes Saul and spares his life twice, finally hiding among the Philistines. The book ends with Saul and Jonathan's death, after forty years of rule.
Saul is huge and humble, at first. He leads Israel to impressive victories over their foes the Philistines. Then he starts disobeying God. Finally God rejects him as king.
God then selects David, the youngest of his seven brothers. He becomes King Saul's harpist and then, after he kills the giant Goliath, his general and chief warrior. But Saul becomes jealous.
David marries Saul's daughter Mical and becomes best friends with his son Jonathan. But Saul tries to kill David and he flees to the wilderness. Malcontents and rebels flock to him while he flees from cave to cave. He escapes Saul and spares his life twice, finally hiding among the Philistines. The book ends with Saul and Jonathan's death, after forty years of rule.
October 31, 2016
The interesting part of the book is that of David, which really is a good story. But the majority of the text is just dull and leaves you with the "so-what" feeling so typical for the fictional history of the old testament. The story of David is good, but the style is crap. Compare biblical story telling to Norse! The Israelites were poor writers. They love going on and on about irrelevant pseudo-statistics and have no humor. Another issue, do the characters have personalities? I don't think so.
May 7, 2023
The books of 1-2 Samuel were originally one book written to account for the rise of the monarchy in Israel. The books show a concern for traditionalism versus relevance. Throughout both books are two key issues: the nature of legitimate leadership and the legitimate location for worship. The importance of the ancestral tribes and their historic geographic boundaries play an important role in both books.
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November 20, 2015re-read June 26, 2015
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