📖 The Book of 1 Samuel
Start reading →Old Testament · 31 chapters · History
The birth of the monarchy — from judges to kings.
Who wrote 1 Samuel?
Author
Anonymous
Written
c. 950 BC
Genre
History
Tradition attributes parts to Samuel, Nathan, and Gad.
Why 1 Samuel was written
To record the transition from the period of judges to the kingdom, through the careers of Samuel the last judge, Saul the failed first king, and the rise of David.
Outline of 1 Samuel
- 11–7: Samuel — priest, prophet, and last judge
- 28–15: Saul — requested, anointed, and rejected
- 316–31: David rises; Saul declines
Key verses
1 Samuel 2:301 Samuel 13:141 Samuel 16:7
How 1 Samuel points to Christ
The covenant God makes with David's line (2 Sam. 7, prepared here) is fulfilled in Jesus, Son of David and eternal King. David's anointing, wilderness exile, and eventual kingship pattern Christ's humiliation and exaltation.
How 1 Samuel begins
1Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:
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