1 Samuel + 2 Samuel = Samuel

I went to a Christian middle school and Christian high school (whose names aren’t worth mentioning), and then in college, I had 2 internships at Christian schools, a practicum at another Christian school, and student teaching at yet another Christian school. I can say I got my fair share of the social feel of the student body. A lot of times, the students would complain that their school didn’t have open end periods, dances or off campus lunches. Their reason why they deserved all this? They would chant, “Well all the other public schools have them. Why can’t we be like the public schools?” Every time they would say that, my mind would float to the book of 1 Samuel, for a saying similar to that is what kicks off the events within 1 Samuel… or should I say just “Samuel.”

Something you may not know that the books we call “1 Samuel” and “2 Samuel” were together as one book, or should I say scroll, in the original Hebrew Old Testament. It wasn’t until the Greek Septuagint put in the vowels that the book of Samuel became too long for both scrolls and codexes (early books). So the book needed to be divided into two books. And the division is so perfect, it’s got to somehow be God inspired, and if it’s not then, the scribes who made the division prayer a lot about it! I’ll explain that later.

Something else you may not know is the book’s title is not Samuel because he’s the author. That’s because Samuel is most likely not the author of the book of Samuel. Yeah, it’s true that some traditions will insist that Samuel is the author, but there’s a problem with that. Near the end of the book of 1 Samuel, roughly halfway through the whole book of Samuel, Samuel dies. But I’m not ready to rule out Samuel for all of it. 1 Samuel 10:25 says that Samuel did write, so Samuel might have been a source or a partial writer for 1 Samuel 1-24. In fact, the author(s) of Samuel might have used or compiled a few sources for the book of Samuel. 2 Samuel 1:18 references the book of Jashur as a source. 1 Chronicles 29:29 cites the prophet Nathan and the seer Gad as other sources. And of course Samuel himself might have contributed, as we saw in 1 Samuel 10:25. So the author(s) who wrote the book wrote the book of Samuel as we know it will remain forever a mystery. The authors could have been Samuel, Nathan and Gad, or the author(s) could have copied from the writing of Samuel, Nathan and Gad. No one will ever know. But the only reason I ever talk about a Bible book’s author is if I believe that the knowing who the author is will enhance the reader’s understanding of the book at hand. I do not see how knowing the author will help understand this part of the history of Israel, so the author’s identity is nothing to fret over. Besides, (an) unknown and uncertain author(s) remind us that no matter what human wrote the book down, God is always the author of every book, for the Bible is his inspired, God-breathed Word (2 Timothy 3:16). So if Samuel’s not the author, then why is the book called Samuel? The book’s name comes from the first main character in the book: Samuel.

Knowing the book’s author(s) may not be any help, but knowing the book’s main characters does help. Not only does it help outline the book (which I will talk about later), but it also helps to date when the book’s events happened and when the book might have been written. The book of Samuel opens with, as you may have guessed, the birth of Samuel. Scholars date this event to 1120 BC. The book of Samuel ends with David facing death, which scholars date to 971 BC. That means the book of Samuel spans 150 years! But remember in our English Bibles, the book of Samuel is two books: 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel. 1 Samuel still opens with the birth of Samuel in 1120 BC. It ends with the death of Saul, which many scholars date to 1011 BC. So 1 Samuel spans from 1120 to 1011, about 110 years. 2 Samuel begins with David’s throne finally being established, also in 1011 BC. 2 Samuel still closes with the near end of David’s reign and David’s life in 971. 2 Samuel’s timespan is much shorter than 1 Samuel, as it is only about 40 years. Still I think the book’s divide is perfect, almost divine. With 1 Samuel ending with the death of Saul, 1 Samuel’s story focuses around the reign of King Saul (1 Samuel 1-8 about Samuel serves as preface and transition to the monarchy). 2 Samuel’s story revolves around the reign of King David, all the way to near the end of his life. The divide also creates a dualistic dichotomy between the two kings, which will further be explained later. But can you see why I can easily believe this divide might be divine? It’s that perfect!

As for the date the book was written (or maybe even compiled), no one know for certain, but it has to be between certain milestones. Clearly, it has to be after the events happened, so it can’t be any earlier than 970 BC. Sometimes what helps date the book is the knowledge of historical events that the author has. If you read through the book of Samuel, you’ll see that it uses the phrase “Israel and Judah” six times (twice in 1 Samuel, 4 times in 2 Samuel). In the time of the story, Israel is a united nation; all twelve tribes consist of Israel. It would be redundant to say “Israel and Judah” in this time period. It does make sense, however, in the time of the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah. It shows the unity of the two nations. Therefore, the author(s) lived during the divided kingdom. Thus, the book has to be written after 931 BC, the divide of Israel and Judah into 2 nations. At the same time, the author does not seem to be aware of the fall of the nation of Israel, which happened in 722 BC. So the book couldn’t have been written any later than 722 BC. 931-722 BC is too big of a possible time span for me. For me, I like to believe that the events of book were recorded shortly after they happened. So let’s say the book was written between 930-900 BC. That’s a short time span I can live with.

Clearly, the events of the book take place in the united kingdom of Israel, with a little bit happening in Philistia. As for the where the book was written, it’s hard to tell. We know it’s got to be either Israel or Judah, but we really don’t know which one. The date time span and the unknown author doesn’t help pin this down. But just like the author, knowing where the book was written will not affect any interpretation.

What the location does tell us is the audience whom the book is written to. No matter whether the kingdom is united or divided, the book is written for God’s people, both Israel and Judah, both the Israelites and the Jews. It’s all about their history, how God is continuing his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He has rescued them Egypt, as well as many Canaanite people groups in the books of Joshua and Judges. It’s all about God’s faithfulness to them.

This brings us to one more point: the canonicity. The canonicity discusses the Bible book’s place in the Bible. The book of Samuel sits between Judges (Ruth is more of a side story from the time period of the Judges) and Kings. Of course, since it’s a history book, it’s naturally there for chronological order. But there’s even more than that. It sets the scene using its own history. In the previous book, the book of Judges, the Judges theocracy has got the Israelites stuck in a cycle of ups and downs. With every new judge, the judges have gotten progressively worse. The last judge in the book of Judges, Samson, is completely selfish and defiles God’s Laws and his Nazarite vows. It gets so bad that the book of Judges ends with Israel in civil war, displaying them as bad as Sodom and Gomorrah! Both the Lord and the Israelites realize this system isn’t working. It’s not the Lord’s fault, but Israel’s fault, being unfaithful to God. So a new system has to be put in place. Replacing the judges theocracy is the monocratic theocracy. God is still in charge, but instead of a judge arising in emergencies, a king will rule. How will king ruling differ from a judge ruling? This book will answer that question.

And just like that, I’ve set all the background information we need Samuel

AUTHOR (WHO): Unknown

AUDIENCE (WHOM): Israelites (Israel & Judah)
DATE (WHEN): Events: 1120-971 BC. Written: 930-900 BC.
LOCATION (WHERE): The United Kingdom of Israel (Israel & Judah)
HISTORICAL OCCASION (WHAT): The judges theocracy has failed and so an monocratic theocracy will be established

Now let’s talk purpose. For the purpose, I am going to create a purpose for the book of Samuel, but also a purpose for 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel individually. The purpose for Samuel will be a hybrid combination of the purpose for 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel. For what I see as the purpose, I want to draw your attention once again to that perfect divide between 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel. First, remember that I said that the divide makes 1 Samuel’s main character King Saul while 2 Samuel’s main character is King David. So these kings have to be mentioned in the purpose. Also remember I said that the divide creates a dualistic dichotomy between these two people. If you know anything about these two kings, David is described to be a man after God’s heart (Acts 13:22). Saul is depicted to be quite the opposite; he has no heart for God. Despite coming from humble beginnings, Saul becomes selfish, only doing what he wants to do and what pleases him. When a dichotomy or dualism becomes that sharp, the story is trying to show its audience a good example and a bad example. A king (or any leader, for that matter) is supposed to a representative to the people and an example on how to live. A king should only be followed if he’s worth following. 1 Samuel is trying to show the reader Saul’s a bad example and not worth following because he does not give his heart to God. 2 Samuel, on the other hand, shows a good king David, who is worthy to follow because he’s a man after God’s heart. By doing so, the book of Samuel legitimatizes the Davidic covenant and the Davidic dynasty.

Samuel

The Lord/author wrote the book of Samuel to inform the Israelites that David and his descendants are God’s choice for Israel and the Messiah

1 Samuel

The Lord/author wrote the book of 1 Samuel to persuade the Israelites to not follow the example of Saul, who had no heart for God.

2 Samuel

The Lord/author wrote the book of 2 Samuel to motivate the Israelites to follow the example of David and to be a [wo]man after God’s heart.

The purpose for the whole book of Samuel is as clear as day. The text central to the whole book is the Davidic Covenant found 2 Samuel 7:7-17. Every event prior to that passage points up to that point. God rejects Saul as king because he has no heart for God. The Lord turns to David, a man after God’s heart to be the next time. Time after time, 1 Samuel will give proof David is meant to be king. Even when David is hiding from Saul, God is faithful to his promise, and David does become king. Even when one of Saul’s sons tries to take the throne right after Saul’s death, God is faithful and hands the kingdom over to David. Even after the event, when all seems to go downhill, God is still faithful, and the Davidic dynasty is still strong, even after civil war, both within the family and outside in the nation.

But I can still hear my LBC professors asking, “What’s the personal application? What do the readers take home with them? How are the readers suppose to act or respond?” For that answer, I go back to dualistic dichotomy. It’s too strong to ignore. Saul, although he comes from humble beginnings, ends up being selfish, with no heart for God, but only for himself. When David becomes king, he is a man after God’s heart from the start to the end. These two kings are side-by-side for a reason. When put side-by-side, it’s clear who the good king is and who the bad king is. Saul is the bad king and David’s the good king. What makes one king good and one king bad? It’s all about their relationship with God.

See, in Israel, the king served two important spiritual functions. First, he was to be a representative of the people to God. Second, the king was suppose to be a godly example to the people. Under that context, it becomes even more clear why Saul is the bad king and David is the good king. Saul failed to do both. He wasn’t a godly example. Because he wasn’t a godly example, he did motivate the people to become godly people. Therefore, Saul was a terrible representative to the people because he appeared as someone God would not want to deal with. David succeeded in both ways. By living a godly lifestyle, he motivated the Israelites to live godly lives themselves. Thus, a godly David represented a godly people, a people God wanted to work with. Maybe that’s why God offered David a covenant.

These two kings still play a similar role today as they did when they were reigning on earth. They are still examples. Except this time, both of them are not the example to follow; only one is.  The application the readers can take from the book of Saul can be summed up in a few questions: “Whose example will I follow? Will I follow the example of Saul, become selfish, and have no heart for God? Or will I follow the example of David, become humble, submissive and broken, and end up whole heartedly for God?” These two books help us make the choice by showing how to become a [wo]man with no heart for God and how to become a [wo]man after God’s own heart.

As for the plan on how the book[s] of Samuel express this purpose, all I’m going to say is it’s a historical narrative with a theological message. But I’m not going to outline it. If I do, I’m going to wait until the end. Why? Because I want everyone to see how the story plays itself out, and then we’ll look back and realize how God’s redemptive history unfolds. But as you are reading, ask yourself questions about the purpose. First, ask, “What makes the David the perfect man to establish a covenant one, especially one that makes him a king of a dynasty?” Second, ask, “What makes David a man after God’s heart?” The two answers we discover will show us why it’s important to study the book of Samuel and the story of David.