Who wrote the book of 1 Samuel? Who was the author of 1 Samuel?

The books bear the name of Samuel. This, however, does not mean that Samuel is the author of these books. That would be impossible, inasmuch as the greater part of them contains events which transpired after the death of Samuel. The only hint in Scripture about the authorship of these two books is found in 1 Chronicles 29:29: "Now the acts of David the King, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the Seer, and in the book of Nathan the Prophet, and in the book of Gad the Seer." Ancient tradition among the Jews assigns to Samuel the authorship of the first twenty-four chapters of the first book of Samuel. These chapters contain what may be termed the life of Samuel up to the time of his death. The twenty-fifth chapter begins with the record of his death. It is reasonable that Samuel wrote these opening chapters of the first book which bears his name. That Samuel did write is fully established by chapter 10:25: "Then Samuel told the people the manner of the Kingdom, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the LORD." The same Jewish tradition credits Nathan the Prophet and Gad the Seer with having written the remainder of the two books. The passage in the first book of Chronicles seems to support this view. Evidently Samuel began to write these books, which, for this reason, were called by his name. Modern criticism rejects this view and claims that the books of Samuel could not be the work of men who lived during the reign of Saul and David. We do not give their speculative theories and conflicting opinions, which are of no value whatever in the spiritual study of the text. The best scholars believe that these books belong to a very early period, and that the critical view of a compilation of certain documents and fragments, immediately before the exile, cannot be sustained. "The minute sketches and vivid touches with which these books abound prove that their author speaks what he knows and testifies what he has seen" (John Eadie). Some of the more important objections higher criticism has raised against the early date of the books of Samuel and the alleged discrepancies we shall point out and answer in our annotations.

Originally the two books of Samuel formed o n e historical book. It was the translators of the Septuagint (Greek translation of the OT at about 200 BC) who separated the book into two parts. Henceforward the first book ended with Saul's death and the second book started with David's reign. From the Septuagint this separation into two books was taken over into the Vulgate (Latin translation of the whole Bible in the 4th century AC) and finally since Daniel Bomberg (1517) also into the printed editions of the Hebrew Bible. In the Septuagint as well as the Vulgate the books of Samuel are considered as part of the books of the Kings. This title is not altogether unsuitable for in the books of Samuel the kingdoms of Saul and David are described and in the books of Kings the reigns of Israel's and Judah's monarchs. And yet the original Hebrew title Samuel is more appropriate for both books describe the life of Samuel the prophet as well as the lives of the two kings who were anointed by him.

Having said all this, nothing has been said so far as to the author of the books. None of the books mentions any author. According to Jewish tradition in the Talmud Samuel was author of chapters 1-24 of the first book (which are the records of his time). Gad and Nathan the prophets are considered to be the authors of chapters 25-31 and the whole of the second book of Samuel. First Chronicles 29:29 gives us a hint thereto: "Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer." The mentioning of the fact that Ziklag belongs to the kings of Judah "to this day" (1 Samuel 27:6) is considered by some as an indication that the book has been written after the division of the kingdom under Rehoboam.

The first book of Samuel covers a time of about 90 years starting at Samuel's birth around 1100 BC unto the death of Saul around the year 1010 BC. The second book of Samuel describes the reign of David (around 1010 to 970 BC).

Books of Samuel

1 Samuel This book covers a period of about one hundred years, from the birth of Samuel to the death of Saul. The first twenty-four chapters only were written by the prophet (compare 1 Chron. 29:29 with 1 Sam. 25:1); the remaining chapters, with the whole of the second book, were probably written by the prophets Gad and Nathan. This is also according to ancient Jewish tradition preserved in the Talmud. Samuel was the first of the regular prophetic order (Acts 3:21).

The prophet Samuel also was a writer. He "told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before Jehovah." (1 Sam. 10:25.)

Samuel then in addressing the people lays down the principles of the kingdom, after which he writes these in a book. Manifestly the government at its inception was not top heavy with ordinances, as is the case with virtually every government now. Of course the laws of God had been already given to Israel in scripture, and these remained in force just as before.

"Then Samuel told the people the manner of the Kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before Jehovah. And Samuel sent the people away, every man to his house." The book became the standing record, useful indeed when the people became unfaithful in their new position. In like manner God keeps His book today in which is recorded everything relating to us all, and which will be opened to us, as it were, at the Judgement Seat of Christ.

The scene, however, is not allowed to close with mere enthusiasm. This is not checked; but "the manner of the kingdom" is described,and God's will is impressed upon them, if they will but hear it, together no doubt with His warning which we have been considering. All is written in a book, to leave them without excuse; to be there, too, no doubt, for reference, should penitence or faith ever turn to it — a proof of God's faithful care, though His heart was grieved and wounded at the treatment He had received from those He had fed from His hand for so long. The book is laid up before the Lord. Surely it is there yet. He has not forgotten. He never can forget. In His own patience He still waits, and the time is coming when all will be gone over with them and they shall acknowledge, with shame, their own folly as well as His love and faithfulness.

We, too, have the book of the Lord in which His faithful testimony as to the unprofitableness of the flesh is fully recorded. This He never forgets, and oh, may we remember always that God has put a mark upon it even as He did upon Cain, and may we shrink from every form of that exaltation of the natural man, "hating even the garment spotted by the flesh."

Samuel, Gad, and Nathan, 1 Chron. 29:29.

Gad and Nathan, 1 Chron. 29:29.

Another marked distinction between these two interesting books is the sources from which their writers obtained their material. In Kings it is always derived from state records, evidently, as "the book of the acts of Solomon" (1 Kings 11:41); "the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah" (1 Kings 14:29); "the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel" (1 Kings 14:19), etc. Chronicles embodies more the writings of (or selections from) individuals, as "Samuel the seer," "Nathan the prophet," "Gad the seer," "the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite," "the visions of Iddo the seer," "the book of Shemaiah the prophet," "the story of the prophet Iddo," "the book of Jehu the son of Hanani," "Isaiah the prophet," etc. (1 Chron. 29:29; 2 Chron. 9:29; 12:15; 13:22; 20:34; 26:22).