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Samuel (Scripture a prophet and judge)

in Scripture, a prophet and judge of Israel, of the tribe of Levi, was called in his youth, while attending Eli, the high priest. He consecrated Saul King of Israel and was afterward commanded to anoint David. After governing Israel either alone or in conjunction with Saul during 50 years, he died in the 90th year of his age, 1072 в. c.

Books of Samuel, two of the historical books of the Old Testament, called after the prophet Samuel, their reputed author.

They were anciently reckoned as one book by the Jews, the present division into two being derived from the Septuagint and Vulgate. Various attempts have been made to determine the age and authorship of these books. The common opinion, founded on I Chron. xxix. 29, is that the first 24 chapters were written by Samuel himself, and the remainder by Nathan and Gad. There is no reason to believe, however, that these documents were identical with the present Books of Samuel. From Samuel and Kings being sometimes called the four Books of Kings, John is of opinion that they were all written by the same person, and at a date so recent as the 30th year of the Babylonish captivity. This hypothesis, however, will not stand the test of criticism. The language and style of the books are very different, denoting different periods and different authors. The Books of Samuel bear the impress of a hoary age in their language, allusions, and mode of composition. With respect to the person who compiled and brought them together in their present form, all that can be affirmed with probability is that he lived not long after the time of David.