1 Samuel 7 is the seventh chapter of the First Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the first part of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible.[1] According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan,[2] but modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE.[3][4] This chapter records a victory of Israel under the leadership of Samuel against the Philistines as part of the "Ark Narrative" (1 Samuel 4:1–7:1) within a section concerning the life of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:1–7:17),[5] and also as part of a section comprising 1 Samuel 7–15 which records the rise of the monarchy in Israel and the account of the first years of King Saul.[6]
| 1 Samuel 7 | |
|---|---|
The pages containing the Books of Samuel (1 & 2 Samuel) in Leningrad Codex (1008 CE).
| |
| Book | First book of Samuel |
| Hebrew Bible part | Nevi'im |
| Order in the Hebrew part | 3 |
| Category | Former Prophets |
| Christian Bible part | Old Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 9 |
This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 17 verses.
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).[7] Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, including 4Q51 (4QSama; 100–50 BCE) with extant verse 1.[8][9][10][11]
Extant ancient manuscripts of a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint (originally made in the last few centuries BCE) include Codex Vaticanus (B; 
This chapter provides the background leading to the rise of the monarchy in chapters 8–12 by indicating the threat to Israel, here from the Philistines (cf. 9:16), and later also from other nations (11:1–15), as well as showing that theocracy, based on Israel's faithfulness to the covenant with God, brought success against the enemies, but later when Israel became unfaithful to God, a monarchy became a necessity.[14]
At the request of the people of Beth-shemesh (1 Samuel 6:21), men of Kiriath Jearim moved the Ark of the Covenant from Beth-shemesh to their city and installed it at the house of Abinadab. The people set aside Eleazar, son of Abinadab, as the guard (Hebrew: shmr) to the Ark, a term which may mean a priestly task of liturgical services to take care of it as a sacred object or the actual task of keeping people away from it (preventing curious peeking as in Beth-shemesh, that caused plagues there).[15] Both the names Abinadab and Eleazar often appear in levitical lists.[6] Eleazar seemed to perform his duties well as there was no reported casualties during the twenty years of the Ark being there.[15] The Ark stayed in Kiriath Jearim until David moved it to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6).[15]
Although the Philistines had been forced to return the ark, they were still a threat, so Samuel surfaced to lead his people to fight, first by addressing the issue in verse 3, then by assembling the army in verse 5.[14] The battle in verses 7–11 'bears the marks of the holy war tradition', such as in Joshua 10:[14]
These elements emphasize the basic claim that 'victory belongs to YHWH alone'.[14] Using a formula similar to those in the book of Judges (cf. Judges 4:23–24), the section concludes by stating that the Philistines were completely subjugated with Israel repossessing towns and territories formerly lost to the Philistines (near Ekron and Gath), restoring their position, as it was before an earlier battle at Ebenezer (chapter 4), a place with significant meaning, 'Stone of Help', reminding Israel that 'thus far the LORD has helped us'.[14] The Israelites even made peace with the Amorites.[14]
Samuel's address contains Deuteronomistic phrases, such as 'returning to the LORD with all your heart', and many expressions found in the book of Judges (cf. Judges 10:6–16 for 'remove foreign gods', 'serve him only', 'the Baals and Astartes').[14]
| 1 Samuel 7:13 | 1 Samuel 14:52 |
|---|---|
| "all the days of Samuel" | "all the days of Saul" |
| "the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines" | "there was bitter war with the Philistines" |
The contrast displays the ineffectiveness of Saul's reign against the Philistines, but moreover shows how the people of Israel demanded a king during the time of military dominance over the Philistines under Samuel, thus lack of valid reason to replace theocracy with monarchy.[29]
Samuel the prophet led Israel in the style of preceding "judges", who saved the people from their enemies (Judges 2:18), while also fulfilling a narrower judicial role (verses 15–17). In affirming the effectiveness of a charismatic, non-royal leadership, the inappropriateness of Israel's wish to have a king in subsequent events is established.[14]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Codex Sinaiticus". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
