Original Bible FAQ
We discovered that the original Bible (Hebrew) was created by GOD, since it is encoded with messaging to humanity on 4 different levels. The original Bible has remained unaltered: 1,197,000 million Hebrew letters, 305,490 words, 23,206 verses, 929 chapters, in 39 books. Each of the 22 Hebrew letters is coded with two unique numbers between 1 and 510. As a result, each word or verse, is coded with meaning. The original Bible is the global source for 724 human-mistranslated books that lack the code, such as KJV.
Each of the 22 Biblical Hebrew letters is coded with two unique numbers between 1 to 510. Hence, each word in the original Bible is coded with a numerical value and a meaning. The patented code2GOD system comprises 32 mathematical methods that decode GOD’s messaging to humanity from the original Bible. It was invented by Don Karl Juravin. The findings provide answers to life’s most sought-after questions such as: “What is our purpose in life?”, “What is after death?” or, “How to maximize life?”
We have scientifically determined that words and verses in the original Bible are coded with social and scientific information that are more advanced than today’s science. As such, it can’t be a document created by a mere human in a cave. Therefore, the original Bible was created by a super-intelligent entity named in the original Bible as “GOD אלהים” and “YHWH יהוה” (known as Lord). Only the “GOD” entity can describe the genesis period with the encoded mathematical formulas.
Logically, believers who think that the original Bible was created by humans, assembled over time, are praying on a history book and guiding their lives based on an archeology book. Logically, if you believe that GOD created the universe, GOD can also make the Bible appear without the need for “inspiring human writers” to write it.
GOD (Elohim אלהים coded 86) is not necessarily the same as Lord (YHWH יהוה coded 26). While GOD is a classification (like saying human, animal, or plant), YHWH is the name of the entity. The YHWH name is the combination of the words: past (היה), present (הווה), and future (יהיה).
We can scientifically determine, with the highest certainty, that YHWH is the creator of:
- The 22 Hebrew letters
- The Hebrew language, and
- The original Bible
It is highly likely that YHWH brought into existence earth and life forms. It is likely that YHWH was brought the universe into existence. There is also a high probability that GOD is directly or indirectly, responsible for our daily lives, events, and what humans consider to be random, unknown, uncertain, or simply, luck.
We are researching the scientific difference between GOD and YHWH. For now, we assume the term “GOD,” which can be anything and everything, from a particle to the entire nature, or the universe.
The 305,490 Biblical letter distribution:
א95,683 • ב65,215 • ג10,080 • ד32,370 • ה101,964 • ו129,592 • ז9,099 • ח27,598 • ט6,310 • י137,842 • כ47,469 • ל88,302 • מ98,929 • נ55,093 • ס7,635 • ע44,811 • פ18,284 • צ14,977 • ק16,278 • ר68,065 • ש58,198 • ת63,206
א7.99% • ב5.45% • ג0.84% • ד2.70% • ה8.52% • ו10.83% • ז0.76% • ח2.31% • ט0.53% • י11.52% • כ3.97% • ל7.38% • מ8.26% • נ4.60% • ס0.64% • ע3.74% • פ1.53% • צ1.25% • ק1.36% • ר5.69% • ש4.86% • ת5.28%
1 Genesis בראשית Bereshit • 2 Exodus שמות Shmot • 3 Leviticus ויקרא VaYekra • 4 Numbers במדבר BaMidbar • 5 Deuteronomy דברים Dvarim • 6 Joshua יהושע Yehoshua• 7 Judges שופטים Shoftim • 8 Samuel 1 שמואל Shmuel • 9 Samuel 2 שמואל Shmuel • 10 Kings 1 מלכים Melachim • 11 Kings 2 מלכים Melachim • 12 Isaiah ישעיהו Ishahaiah • 13 Jeremiah ירמיהו Yermiyahu • 14 Ezekiel יחזקאל Yechezkel • 15 Hosea הושע Hoshe-ah • 16 Joel יואל Yoel • 17 Amos עמוס Amos • 18 Obadiah עובדיה Ovadiah • 19 Jonah יונה Yona • 20 Micah מיכה Michah • 21 Nahum נחום Nachum • 22 Habakkuk חבקוק Chavakuk • 23 Zephaniah צפניה Zephaniah • 24 Haggai חגי Haggai • 25 Zechariah זכריה Zechariah • 26 Malachi מלאכי Malachi • 27 Psalms תהלים Tehilim • 28 Proverbs משלי Mishlei • 29 Job איוב Eyov • 30 Song of Songs שיר השירים Shir a-shirim • 31 Ruth רות Rut • 32 Lamentations איכה Eicha •33 Ecclesiastes קהלת Kahelet • 34 Esther אסתר Ester • 35 Daniel דניאל Daniel • 36 Ezra עזרא Ezra • 37 Nehemiah נחמיה Nehemiah • 38 Chronicles 1 דברי הימים Divrei HaYamim • 39 Chronicles 2 דברי הימים Divrei HaYamim
Samuel 1 Book Explainer Video
Book of Samuel 1 STATS
- Words: 13,264 (4.342% of Word Of God of total 305,490 words)
- Letters: 51,354 (4.290% of Word Of God of total 1,197,000 letters)
- Verses: 811 (3.495% of Word Of God of total 23,206 verses)
- code2GOD value: 3,196,589 of 78,091,262
Shortest verse: 19 letters in 1 Samuel 10:13ויכל מהתנבות ויבא הבמהAnd when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.
Longest verse: 139 letters in 1 Samuel 29:4ויקצפו עליו שרי פלשתים ויאמרו לו שרי פלשתים השב את האיש וישב אל מקומו אשר הפקדתו שם ולא ירד עמנו במלחמה ולא יהיה לנו לשטן במלחמה ובמה יתרצה זה אל אדניו הלוא בראשי האנשים ההםAnd the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? [should it] not [be] with the heads of these men?
- Start word: ויהי
- Last word: ימים
- Middle letter: In position 25677 is ה, in position 25678 is א1 Samuel 17:2
- Middle word: In position 6632 is למה, In position 6633 is תצאו1 Samuel 17:8
- א4747 ב2438 ג495 ד1724 ה4232 ו6290 ז279 ח1040 ט218 י6047 כ1860 ל4339 מ4032 נ2191 ס189 ע1731 פ718 צ417 ק630 ר2528 ש2709 ת2500
- 6,290 ו6,047 י4,747 א4,339 ל4,232 ה4,032 מ2,709 ש2,528 ר2,500 ת2,438 ב2,191 נ1,860 כ1,731 ע1,724 ד1,040 ח718 פ630 ק495 ג417 צ279 ז218 ט189 ס
- 12.25% ו11.78% י9.24% א8.45% ל8.24% ה7.85% מ5.28% ש4.92% ר4.87% ת4.75% ב4.27% נ3.62% כ3.37% ע3.36% ד2.03% ח1.40% פ1.23% ק0.96% ג0.81% צ0.54% ז0.42% ט0.37% ס
Samuel 1 Book FAQ
The Book of Samuels are two Old Testament books that were originally one, are principally concerned with the origin and early history of the monarchy of ancient Israel.
The work bears the name of Samuel because he is the first of its principal figures and was instrumental in the selection of the first two kings. In 1 Samuel, Samuel is treated as prophet and judge and Israel’s principal figure immediately before the monarchy, and Saul as king. In 2 Samuel, David is presented as king.
Samuel, (flourished 11th century BC, Israel), was a religious hero in the history of Israel, represented in the Old Testament in every role of leadership open to a Jewish man of his day—seer, priest, judge, prophet, and military leader. His greatest distinction was his role in the establishment of the monarchy in Israel.
Samuel, the son of Elkanah (of Ephraim) and Hannah, was born in answer to the prayer of his previously childless mother. In gratitude, she dedicated him to the service of the chief sanctuary of Shiloh, in the charge of the priest Eli. As a boy, Samuel received a divine oracle in which the fall of the house of Eli was predicted (1 Samuel 1–3).
When he became an adult, Samuel inspired Israel to a great victory over the Philistines at Ebenezer (chapter 7). The proposal of the elders of Israel to install a king was indignantly rejected by Samuel as infidelity to Yahweh, the God of Israel (chapter 8). By the revelation of Yahweh, however, he anointed Saul king and installed him before all Israel (chapters 9–10).
The story of the name Samuel is that Hannah named him this way 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) + ʾĒl, 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. 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“. Further shortened to שָׁאוּל מֵאֵל (Šāʾūl mēʾĒl, “asked/borrowed from God”), then finally contracted to שְׁמוּאֵל (Šəmūʾēl/Šămūʾēl). This meaning also relates to Hannah dedicating Samuel as a Nazirite to God as well.
Saul was vindicated as king by his leadership of Israel in a campaign against the Ammonites (chapter 11); after this, Samuel retired from the leadership of Israel (chapter 12). He reappeared, however, to announce the oracle of Yahweh rejecting Saul as king, once for arrogating to himself the right of sacrifice (chapter 13) and a second time for failing to carry out the law of the ban—a primitive institution by which persons or objects were devoted to the deity, normally by destruction—against the Amalekites (chapter 15).
By the oracle of Yahweh, Samuel secretly anointed David as king (chapter 16). He then faded into the background, appearing at the sanctuary of Naioth (chapter 19). He died, and his ghost was evoked by a necromancer, or sorceress, at the request of Saul; he then announced a third time the rejection of Saul (chapter 28).
The two major divergences in The First Book of Samuel lie in those passages that critics call the “pro-monarchic” source (1 Samuel 9:1–10:16) and those passages called the “antimonarchic” source (1 Samuel 8 and 10:17–27). In the pro-monarchic account of the rise of Saul, Samuel is an obscure village seer (with distinct evidence of occult practices). The institution of the monarchy and the election of the king occur according to the will of Yahweh as revealed to Samuel.
The story of the anointing, however, has no story of accession to complete it; instead, there is the account of Saul’s victory over the Ammonites. Examination discloses that this is still another account of Saul’s rise without an anointing story; Saul is chosen king as the judges—the leaders of the Israelites during their conquest of the land of Canaan—were chosen, by a charismatic display of military courage and leadership. Samuel was very probably intruded into this narrative.
The antimonarchic account presents a different picture of the kingship and of Saul and Samuel. In this account Samuel is a figure known through “all Israel” (a term of uncertain meaning at this period); his authority rests on his position as judge. The institution of kingship comes not from divine revelation but from the request of the elders of Israel, and this request is treated by Samuel as rebellion against Yahweh.
Goliath, (c. 11th century BC), in the Bible (I Sam. xvii), was the Philistine giant slain by David, who thereby achieved renown. The Philistines had come up to make war against Saul, and this warrior came forth day by day to challenge to single combat. Only David ventured to respond, and armed with a sling and pebbles he overcame Goliath. The Philistines, seeing their champion killed, lost heart and were easily put to flight. The giant’s arms were placed in the sanctuary, and it was his famous sword that David took with him in his flight from Saul (I Sam. 21: 1–9).
In another passage, it is said that Goliath of Gath was slain by a certain Elhanan of Bethlehem in one of David’s conflicts with the Philistines (II Sam. 21: 18–22). This may be a transcriptural error as the parallel I Chron. 20:5 avoids the contradiction by reading “Elhanan . . . slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath.”
The phrase “David and Goliath” has taken on a more popular meaning denoting an underdog situation, a contest wherein a smaller, weaker opponent faces a much bigger, stronger adversary.
David has a long and difficult apprenticeship before he is acclaimed as king of Israel, unlike Saul who had begun his reign soon after Samuel anointed him (1 Samuel 11:1). His first public success comes in slaying the giant Goliath, who is threatening Israel’s military security.
As the army returns home, a throng of women begin singing, “Saul has killed his thousands and David his ten thousands” (1 Sam. 18:7). This enrages Saul (1 Sam. 18:1). Rather than recognizing how both he and the nation can benefit from David’s capabilities, he regards David as a threat.
He decides to eliminate David at the earliest opportunity (1 Sam. 18:9-13). Thus began a rivalry that eventually forces David to flee for his life, eluding Saul while leading a band of brigands in the wildernesses of Judah for ten years.
When given opportunities to assassinate King Saul, David refuses, knowing that the throne is not his to take. It is God’s to give. As the Psalms express it, “It is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another” (Psalm 75:7). David respects the authority God has given Saul even when Saul acts in dishonorable ways.
This seems like a lesson for those today who work for difficult bosses or are waiting to be acknowledged for their leadership. Even if we sense we are called by God to a particular task or position, this does not authorize us to grasp power by contravening the existing authorities. If everyone who thought God wanted them to be the boss tried to hasten the process by seizing power on their own, every succession of authority would bring little more than chaos. God is patient, and we are to be patient, too, as David was.
Can we trust God to give us the authority we need, in his time, to do the work that he wants us to do? In the workplace, having more authority is valuable for getting necessary work done. Grasping at that authority prematurely by undercutting a boss or by pushing a colleague out of the way does not build trust with colleagues or demonstrate trust in God.
At times it can be frustrating when it seems that it’s taking too long for the needed authority to come your way, but true authority cannot be grasped, only granted. David was willing to wait until God placed that authority in his hands.
1 Samuel 8:6-7 – “But when they said, ‘Give us a king to lead us,’ this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. And the LORD told him: ‘Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.’”
1 Samuel 13:13-14 – “’You acted foolishly,’ Samuel said. ‘You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people because you have not kept the LORD’s command.’”
1 Samuel 15:22-23 – “But Samuel replied: ‘Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.’”
1 Samuel 16:7 – “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things human beings look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’”
David was proclaimed king in Hebron, according to the biblical account. He struggled for a few years against the contending claim and forces of Ishbaal, Saul’s surviving son, who had also been crowned king, but the civil war ended with the murder of Ishbaal by his own courtiers and the anointing of David as king over all of Israel. He conquered the Jebusite-held town of Jerusalem, which he made the capital of the new united kingdom and to which he moved the sacred Ark of the Covenant, the supreme symbol of Israelite religion.
He defeated the Philistines so thoroughly that they were never again a serious threat to the Israelites’ security, and he annexed the coastal region. He went on to establish an empire by becoming the overlord of many small kingdoms bordering on Israel, including Edom, Moab, and Ammon.
David’s great success as a warrior and empire builder was marred by interconnected family dissensions and political revolts. To tie together the various groups that constituted his kingdom, David took wives from them and created a harem. The resultant family was an extreme departure from the family in the consanguineal context, the traditional clan structure.
David’s wives were mostly completely alien to one another, and his children were without the direct support of established social patterns that provided precedents for the resolution of conflict or for establishing the rights of succession.
The request for a king constituted a denial of their covenant relationship to the Lord, who was their King. Moreover, the Lord not only had promised to be their protector but had also repeatedly demonstrated his power in their behalf, most recently in the ark narratives (chs. 4 – 6), as well as in the great victory won over the Philistines under the leadership of Samuel (ch. 7).
Nevertheless, the Lord instructed Samuel to give the people a king. By divine appointment, Saul was brought into contact with Samuel, and Samuel was directed to anoint him privately as king (9:1 — 10:16). Subsequently, Samuel gathered the people at Mizpah, where, after again admonishing them concerning their sin in desiring a king (10:18-19), he presided over the selection of a king by lot.
The lot fell on Saul and publicly designated him as the one whom God had chosen (10:24). Saul did not immediately assume his royal office, but returned home to work his fields (11:5,7). When the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead were threatened by Nahash the Ammonite, Saul rose to the challenge, gathered an army and led Israel to victory in battle. His success placed a final seal of divine approval on Saul’s selection to be king (cf. 10:24; 11:12-13) and occasioned the inauguration of his reign at Gilgal (11:14 — 12:25).
Samuel gave a king to Israel by calling the people to repentance and renewal of their allegiance to the Lord on the very occasion of the inauguration of Saul as king (see note on 10:25). By establishing kingship in the context of covenant renewal, Samuel placed the monarchy in Israel on a radically different footing from that in surrounding nations.
The king in Israel was not to be autonomous in his authority and power; rather, he was to be subject to the law of the Lord and the word of the prophet (10:25; 12:23). This was to be true not only for Saul but also for all the kings who would occupy the throne in Israel in the future. The king was to be an instrument of the Lord’s rule over his people, and the people as well as the king were to continue to recognize the Lord as their ultimate Sovereign (12:14-15).
Saul soon demonstrated that he was unwilling to submit to the requirements of his theocratic office (chs. 13 – 15). When he disobeyed the instructions of the prophet Samuel in preparation for battle against the Philistines (13:13), and when he refused to totally destroy the Amalekites as he had been commanded to do by the word of the Lord through Samuel (ch. 15), he ceased to be an instrument of the Lord’s rule over his people. These abrogations of the requirements of his theocratic office led to his rejection as king (15:23).
Back in Ziklag, three days after Saul’s death, David receives news that Saul and his sons are dead. It transpires that the messenger is an Amalekite who, at Saul’s insistence, had killed Saul to speed his death along, and brought his crown to David. David orders his death for having killed God’s anointed. At this point, David offers a majestic eulogy, where he praises the bravery and magnificence of both his friend Jonathan and King Saul.
David returns to Hebron at God’s instruction. The elders of Judah anoint David as king, and as his first act he offers a reward to the people of Jabesh Gilead for performing Saul’s funerary rites. Meanwhile, in the north, Saul’s son Ish-bosheth, supported by Abner, has taken control of the northern tribes. David and Ish-bosheth’s armies meet at the Pool of Gibeon, and Abner and Joab, another son of Zeruiah and David’s general, agree to have soldiers fight in one-on-one combat.
All this achieves is twelve men on each side killing each other, but a battle follows and David wins. During the Benjaminites’ retreat, Joab’s brother Asahel chases Abner and Abner kills him, shocking everyone. Joab and Abishai continue Asahel’s pursuit. A truce is declared when they reach a hill to avoid further bloodshed, and Abner and his men are able to cross the Jordan.
The war continues as David builds a family. Meanwhile, the House of Saul is getting weaker. When Ish-bosheth accuses Abner of sleeping with Saul’s concubine Rizpah, Abner offers to join David, which David accepts as long as he brings Michal with him. At the same time, David sends a petition to Ish-bosheth for the return of Michal, which Ish-bosheth agrees to.
Patiel follows her crying until he is told to return home. Following the return of Michal, Abner agrees to get the elders of Israel to agree to make David king. However, Joab believes Abner was lying in his purpose of coming to David and, after recalling him to Hebron, kills him in revenge for Asahel. David curses Joab’s family to always contain a leper, someone disabled or someone hungry. He then holds a funeral for Abner.
By this point, the only other surviving member of Ish-bosheth’s family is Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s disabled son, who was dropped by his nurse as she attempted to escape the palace after the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. Ish-bosheth is murdered by Rechab and Baanah, two of his captains who hope for a reward from David, who stab him and cut off his head. They bring his head to David, but David has them killed for killing an innocent man. They are hanged by the pool of Hebron and Ish-bosheth’s head is buried in Abner’s tomb. David is then anointed king of all Israel.
David’s reign went against all odds, when he captured Jerusalem from the Jebusites. He takes over the fortress of Zion and builds up the area around it. Hiram I, king of Tyre, sends craftsmen to build David a palace. Meanwhile, David’s family continues to grow. The Philistines decide to attack Israel now that David is king, but God allows David to defeat them in two battles, first in Baal Perizim and next in the Valley of Rephaim.
The Ark is currently still in Baalah (another name for Kiriath Jearim), but David wants to bring it to Jerusalem. He puts it on a cart and employs the priests Uzzah and Ahio, both sons of Abinadab and brothers of Eleazar, to accompany it. A grand procession with musical instruments is organized, but comes to a sudden halt when the oxen stumble, causing Uzzah to touch the Ark and die.
David is afraid to take it any further and stores it in the house of a man named Obed-Edom. When, after three months, Obed-Edom and his family have received nothing but blessings, David takes the Ark to Jerusalem. As part of the ceremony bringing the Ark into the city, David dances in front of it wearing nothing but an ephod. Michal sees this and is annoyed, but David says it was for the Lord, and thus it was not undignified. Michal never has any children.
David wishes to build a temple, because he was arguing that he should not be living in a palace while God lives in a tent. Nathan, a prophet, agrees. However, that night Nathan has a dream in which God informs him that David should not build him a temple for three reasons.
Firstly, God has not commanded it, and has never complained about living in a tent before. Secondly, God is still working to build David and his house up and establish the Israelites in the Promised Land. Thirdly, God will establish one of David’s sons as king; he will build the temple, and his house will never be out of power.
When Nathan reports this to David, David prays to God, thanking him for these revelations. David defeats the enemies of Israel, slaughtering Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, Syrians, and Arameans. He then appoints a cabinet.
David forgot the House of Saul by asking if anyone from there was still alive so that he can show kindness to them in memory of Jonathan. Ziba, one of Saul’s servants, tells him about Mephibosheth. David informs Meshibosheth that he will live in his household and eat at his table, and Mephibosheth moves to Jerusalem.
Nahash, king of Ammon dies and his son Hanun succeeds him. David sends condolences, but the Ammonites suspect his ambassadors are spies and humiliate them before sending them back to David. When they realize their mistake, they fear retaliation from David and amass an army from the surrounding tribes. When he hears that they are doing this, he sends Joab to lead his own army to their city gates, where the Ammonites are in battle formation.
Joab decides to split the army in two: he will lead an elite force to attack the Aramean faction, while the rest of the army, led by Abisai, will focus on the Ammonites. If either enemy force turns out to be too strong, the other Israelite force will come to help their comrades. As it turns out, the Arameans flee from Joab, causing the Ammonites to also flee from Abishai.
The Israelite army returns to Jerusalem. The Arameans regroup and cross the Euphrates, and this time David himself wins a decisive victory at Helam. The Arameans realize they cannot win, make peace with Israel and refuse to help the Ammonites again. The following spring, Joab destroys the Ammonites.
The book of Samuel 1 relates God’s establishment of a political system in Israel headed by a human king. Before its described, this momentous change in the structure of the theocracy (God’s kingly rule over his people), he effectively depicts the complexity of its context.
The birth, youth, and call of Samuel (chs. 1–3). In a book dealing for the most part with the reigns of Israel’s first two kings, Saul and David, it is significant that it chose not to include a birth narrative of either of these men, but to describe the birth of their forerunner and anointer, the prophet Samuel. This in itself accentuates the importance the attached to Samuel’s role in the events that follow.
He seems to be saying in a subtle way that flesh and blood are to be subordinated to word and Spirit in the process of the establishment of kingship. For this reason chs. 1–3 should be viewed as integrally related to what follows, not as a more likely component of the book of Judges or as a loosely attached prefix to the rest of 1,2 Samuel. Kingship is given its birth and then nurtured by the prophetic word and work of the prophet Samuel. Moreover, the events of Samuel’s nativity thematically anticipate the story of God’s working that is narrated in the rest of the book.
The “ark narratives” (chs. 4–6). This section describes how the ark of God was captured by the Philistines and then, after God wreaked havoc on several Philistine cities, how it was returned to Israel. These narratives reveal the folly of Israel’s notion that possession of the ark automatically guaranteed victory over her enemies. They also display the awesome power of the Lord (Yahweh, the God of Israel) and his superiority over the Philistine god Dagon.
The Philistines were forced to confess openly their helplessness against God’s power by their return of the ark to Israel. The entire ark episode performs a vital function in placing Israel’s subsequent sinful desire for a human king in proper perspective.
Samuel as a judge and deliverer (ch. 7). When Samuel called Israel to repentance and renewed dedication to the Lord, the Lord intervened mightily in Israel’s behalf and gave victory over the Philistines. This narrative reaffirms the authority of Samuel as a divinely ordained leader; at the same time it provides evidence of divine protection and blessing for God’s people when they place their confidence in the Lord and live in obedience to their covenant obligations.
All the material in chs. 1–7 serves as a necessary preface for the narratives of chs. 8–12, which describe the rise and establishment of kingship in Israel. The book has masterfully arranged the stories in chs. 8–12 in order to accentuate the serious theological conflict surrounding the historical events.
In the study of these chapters, scholars have often noted the presence of a tension or ambivalence in the attitude toward the monarchy: On the one hand, Samuel is commanded by the Lord to give the people a king (8:7,9,22; 9:16–17; 10:24; 12:13); on the other hand, their request for a king is considered a sinful rejection of the Lord (8:7; 10:19; 12:12,17,19–20). These seemingly conflicting attitudes toward the monarchy must be understood in the context of Israel’s covenant relationship with the Lord.