1 Samuel About these stories
About these stories
These stories are about things that happened about 3,000 years ago, in the country called Israel.
Somebody wrote these stories in a big book called Samuel with lots of other stories, but it was too big, so they split it into 2 books, called 1 Samuel, and 2 Samuel. They were in God’s book, that the Jewish people had before Jesus came to this earth. They are now in the 1st part of the Holy Bible, called the Old Testament.
We have not yet translated all of the stories from 1 Samuel.
The stories in this book are about 3 men called Samuel, Saul, and David.
Samuel was God’s messenger to the Israel nation. God got him to pick Saul to be their big boss. At first Saul lived the right way, but later, he went wrong. So God told Samuel that he was going to make David the next big boss of the Israel nation. David was a very young man at that time. As he grew older, Saul got jealous of him and made trouble for him.
These stories are important, and we can learn a lot from them. They help us know what God is like, and how he looks after his people. And they show us the sort of person God wants.
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1 Samuel About these stories: PEV
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© 2021, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. All rights reserved.
1 Samuel INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
The First Book of Samuel records the transition in Israel from the period of the judges to the monarchy. This change in Israel's national life revolved mainly around three men: Samuel, the last of the great judges; Saul, Israel's first king; and David, whose early adventures before coming to power are interwoven with the accounts of Samuel and Saul.
The theme of this book, like that of other historical writings in the Old Testament, is that faithfulness to God brings success, while disobedience brings disaster. This is stated clearly in the Lord's message to the priest Eli: “I will honour those who honour me, and I will treat with contempt those who despise me.” (2.30)
The book records mixed feelings about the establishment of the monarchy. The Lord himself was regarded as the real king of Israel, but in response to the people's request, the Lord chose a king for them. The important fact was that both the king and the people of Israel lived under the sovereignty and judgement of God (2.7–10). Under God's laws the rights of all people, rich and poor alike, were to be maintained.
Outline of Contents
Samuel as judge of Israel 1.1—7.17
Saul becomes king 8.1—10.27
The first years of Saul's reign 11.1—15.35
David and Saul 16.1—30.31
The death of Saul and his sons 31.1–13
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.