Samuel
Infant Samuel by Joshua Reynolds 1723
Prophet, Seer
Honored in	Judaism Christianity Islam
Major shrine	Tomb of Samuel, Jerusalem

Samuel ( /ˈsæm.juː.əl/;^[1] Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֶל, Modern Shmu'el Tiberian Šəmûʼēl; Greek: Σαμουήλ Samouēl; Latin: Samvel; صموئيل, Ṣamu’īl; Strong's: Shemuwel) is a leader of ancient Israel in the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. He is also known as a prophet and is mentioned in the Qur'an.^[2]

His status, as viewed by rabbinical literature, is that he was the last of the Hebrew Judges and the first of the major prophets who began to prophesy inside the Land of Israel. He was thus at the cusp between two eras. According to the text of the Books of Samuel, he also anointed the first two kings of the Kingdom of Israel: Saul and David.

Biblical account[link]

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout - Hannah presenting her son Samuel to the priest Eli ca.1665

Family[link]

Samuel's mother was Hannah and his father was Elkanah. Hannah, at the beginning of the narrative, is barren and childless, like Abraham's wife Sarah. Hannah prays to God for a child. Eli who is sitting at the foot of the doorpost in the sanctuary at Shiloh, sees her apparently mumbling and thinks Hannah is drunk, but is soon assured of her motivation and sobriety. Eli was, according to the Books of Samuel, the name of a priest of Shiloh, and one of the last Israelite Judges before the rule of kings in ancient Israel. He blesses her after she promises the child to God. Subsequently Hannah becomes pregnant; her child is Samuel. After he is weaned, she leaves him in Eli's care.

Elkanah is Samuel's father and lives at Ramah (1 Sam. 1:19; 2:11; comp. 28:3), in the district of Zuph. His genealogy is also found in a pedigree of the Kohathites (1 Chron. 6:3-15) and in that of Heman, his great-grandson (ib. vi. 18-22). According to the genealogical tables, Elkanah was, a Levite, a fact otherwise not mentioned in the books of Samuel. The fact that Elkanah, a Levite, was denominated an Ephraimite is analogous to the designation of a Levite belonging to Judah (Judges 17:7, for example).^[3]

Name[link]

According to 1 Samuel 1:20, Hannah named Samuel in memory of her requesting a child from God and God listening. Samuel is translated as Heard of God or possibly as a sentence "God has heard" (from 'Shama', heard and 'El', God — with "Shama" as the verb and "El" as the subject).^[4] Samuel in the Hebrew root word is "sha’al" which is mentioned seven times in 1 Samuel 1 and once as "sha’ul" (1:28), which is Saul’s name in Hebrew. Coogan suggests that Saul’s birth narrative was transferred to Samuel by the Deuteronomistic Historians.^[5]

Calling[link]

One night, around the age of 13, Samuel heard a voice calling his name. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Samuel was about 12 years old.^[6] He initially assumed it was coming from Eli and went to Eli to ask what he wished to say. Eli, however, sent Samuel back to sleep. After this happened three times Eli realized that the voice was God's, and instructed Samuel on how to respond. Once Samuel responded God told him that the wickedness of the sons of Eli had resulted in their dynasty being condemned to destruction. Eli asked Samuel to honestly recount to him what he had been told, and upon receiving the communication merely said that God should do what seems right to himself.

Leader[link]

During Samuel's youth at Shiloh the Philistines inflicted a decisive defeat against the Israelites at Eben-Ezer (1 Sam. 4:1,2), placed the land under Philistine oppression, and took the sanctuary's Ark for themselves. (Some modern textual scholars consider that the Song of Moses, believed to be originally distinct from the surrounding text of Deuteronomy and not written by Moses, may in reality have been written in response to the theological implications of this disastrous defeat, possibly by Samuel himself.)^{[citation needed]}

This was decades before the Israelites began to be ruled by a king. After 20 years of such oppression, Samuel, who had gained national prominence as a prophet, summoned the people to Mizpah (one of the highest hills in the land), where he organized them into an army, and led them against the Philistines. The Philistines, having marched to Mizpah to attack the newly amassed Israelite army, were soundly defeated and fled in terror. The retreating Philistines were slaughtered by the Israelites, which the Bible portrays positively. The text then states that Samuel erected a large stone at the battle site as a memorial, and there ensued a long period of peace thereafter.

Textual criticism[link]

National prophet, local seer[link]

Some authors see the biblical Samuel as combining descriptions of two distinct roles:

• A seer, based at Ramah, and seemingly known scarcely beyond the immediate neighbourhood of Ramah (Saul, for example, not having heard of him, with his servant informing him of his existence instead). In this role, Samuel is associated with the bands of musical ecstatic roaming prophets (shouters - neb'im) at Gibeah, Bethel, and Gilgal, and some traditional scholars have argued that Samuel was the founder of these groups. At Ramah, Samuel secretly anoints Saul, after having met him for the first time, while Saul was looking for his father's lost donkeys, and treated him to a meal.
• A prophet, based at Shiloh, who went throughout the land, from place to place, with unwearied zeal, reproving, rebuking, and exhorting the people to repentance. In this role, Samuel acted as a (biblical) judge, publicly advising the nation, and also giving private advice to individuals. Eventually Samuel delegates this role to his sons, based at Beersheba, but they behave corruptly and so the people, facing invasion from the Ammonites, persuade Samuel to appoint a king. Samuel reluctantly does so, and anoints Saul in front of the entire nation, who had gathered to see him.

Textual scholars suggest that these two roles come from different sources, which later were spliced together to form the Book(s) of Samuel. The oldest is considered to be that which marks Samuel as the local seer of Ramah, who willingly anoints Saul as King in secret, while the latter is that which presents Samuel as a national figure, who begrudgingly anoints Saul as King in front of a national assembly. This later source is generally known as the republican source, since here, and elsewhere, it denigrates the actions and role of the monarchy (particularly those of Saul) and favours religious figures, in contrast to the other main source – the monarchial source – which treats the monarchy favourably. Theoretically if we had the monarchial source we would see Saul appointed king by public acclamation, due to his military victories, and not by cleromancy involving Samuel. Another difference between the sources is that the republican source treats the shouters as somewhat independent from Samuel (1 Samuel 9) rather than having been led by him (1 Samuel 19:18ff). The passage (1 Samuel 7:15-16) in which Samuel is described as having exercised the functions of a (biblical) judge, during an annual circuit from Ramah to Bethel to Gilgal (the Gilgal between Ebal and Gerizim) to Mizpah and back to Ramah, is thought by textual scholars to be a redaction aimed at harmonizing the two portrayals of Samuel.^[7]

The Book(s) of Samuel variously describe Samuel as having carried out sacrifices at sanctuaries, and having constructed and sanctified altars. According to the Mitzvot only Aaronic priests and/or Levites (depending on the Mitzvah) were permitted to perform these actions, and simply being a nazarite or prophet was insufficient. The books of Samuel and Kings offer numerous examples where this rule is not followed by kings and prophets, but some textual scholars look elsewhere seeking a harmonization of the issues. In the Book of Chronicles, Samuel is described as a Levite, rectifying this situation; however textual scholars widely see the Book of Chronicles as an attempt to redact the Book(s) of Samuel and of Kings to conform to later religious sensibilities. Since many of the Mitzvot themselves are thought to postdate the Book(s) of Samuel (according to the documentary hypothesis), Chronicles is probably making its claim based on religious bias. The Levitical genealogy of 1 Chronicles 4 is not historical, according to modern scholarship.^[7]

The Deuteronomistic Historians' Portrait of Samuel[link]

The Deuteronomistic Historians, who redacted the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings), idealized Samuel as a figure who is larger than life like Joshua. Samuel is a priest even though he is not of the tribe of Levi from his childhood. Samuel is a judge who leads the military like in the Book of Judges and also who exercises judicial functions. In 1 Sam 12:6-17, the Deuteronomic Historians composed a speech of Samuel that puts him as the judge sent by God to save Israel.^[8] In 1 Samuel 9:6-20, Samuel is seen as a local “seer.” The Deuteronomistic Historians preserved this view of Samuel while contributing him as “the first of prophets to articulate the failure of Israel to live up to its covenant with God.” ^[8] For the Deuteronomistic Historians, Samuel was extension of Moses and continuing Moses’ function as a prophet, judge, and a priest which made historical Samuel uncertain.^[8]

Samuel's retirement and death[link]

Apparition of the spirit of Samuel to Saul, by Salvator Rosa, 1668.

Samuel initially appointed his two sons as his successors; however, the Israelites rejected them and insisted on having a king rule over them. Samuel, who is opposed to a king, warns them of the potential negative consequences of such a decision, but at the people's insistence, asks God for a king. Samuel is told to seek out Saul, an animal herder said to be a head taller than his peers, and anoint him as the first King of Israel.

Just before his retirement, Samuel gathered the people to an assembly at Gilgal, and gives them a farewell speech, in which he emphasised how prophets and judges were more important than kings, how kings should be held to account, and how the people should not fall into idol worship, or worship of Asherah or of Baal; Samuel threatened that God would subject the people to foreign invaders should they disobey. This is seen by some people as a deuteronomic redaction;^[7] being that archaeologically sees that Asherah was still worshipped in Israelite households well into the 6th century. However, the Bible is clear in 1 Kings 11:5, 33, and 2 Kings 23:13 that the Israelites fell into Asherah worship later on.^[9]

Samuel then went into retirement, though he reappears briefly in the two accounts of why Saul's dynasty lost divine favour (parts of 1 Samuel 13 and 15), essentially acting, according to scholars, as the narrator's mouthpiece.^{[citation needed]} Apart from being the individual who anoints David as king, a role Samuel is abruptly summoned to take, he does not appear any further in the text until his own death at his hometown Ramah (1 Samuel 25:1, 28:3), where he is buried (cf. 2 Kings 21:18, 2 Chronicles 33:20, and John 19:41). According to classical rabbinical sources, this was at the age of fifty-two.

Samuel's death, however, is not completely the end of his appearance in the narrative. In the passage concerning Saul's visit to the Witch of Endor, ascribed by textual scholars to the republican source, Samuel was temporarily raised from the dead so that he can tell Saul his future. Many Christian interpretations of this event portray Samuel's appearance as being a deception from Satan, or even a demon in disguise. There are other interpretations which say that Saul and the witch having been frightened by his appearance, and Samuel as having been composed, classical rabbinical sources argue that Samuel was terrified by the ordeal, having expected to be appearing to face God's judgement, and had therefore brought Moses with him (to the land of the living) as a witness to his adherence to the mitzvot.^[7]

Perspectives on Samuel[link]

Judaism[link]

According to the Book of Jeremiah, and one of the Psalms (99), Samuel had a high devotion to God. Classical Rabbinical literature adds that he was more than an equal to Moses, God speaking directly to Samuel, rather than Samuel having to attend the tabernacle to hear God.^[10] Samuel is also described by the Rabbis as having been extremely intelligent; he argued that it was legitimate for laymen to slaughter sacrifices, since the Halakha only insisted that the priests bring the blood (cf Leviticus 1:5, Zebahim 32a).^[11] Eli, who was viewed negatively by many Classical Rabbis, is said to have reacted to this logic of Samuel by arguing that it was technically true, but Samuel should be put to death for making legal statements while Eli (his mentor) was present.^[11]

Samuel is also treated by the Classical Rabbis as a much more sympathetic character than he appears at face value in the Bible; his annual circuit is explained as being due to his wish to spare people the task of having to journey to him; Samuel is said to have been very rich, taking his entire household with him on the circuit so that he didn't need to impose himself on anyone's hospitality; when Saul fell out of God's favour, Samuel is described as having grieved copiously and having prematurely aged.^[12]

Christianity[link]

For Evangelical Christians Samuel is considered to be a Prophet, Judge, and wise Leader of Israel, and treated as an example of fulfilled commitments to God. On the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, his feast day is August 20. He is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 30. In the Coptic Orthodox Church, the commemoration of the departure of Samuel the Prophet is celebrated on 9 Paoni.

Islam[link]

Mosque of the Prophet Samuel, Jerusalem

Tomb of the Prophet Samuel, Jerusalem

Samuel is also a revered prophet^[13] and seer in the Islamic faith. The narrative of Samuel in Muslim literature focuses specifically on his birth and the anointing of Saul. Other elements from his narrative are in accordance with the narratives of other prophets of Israel, as exegesis recounts Samuel's preaching against idolatry. Although he is mentioned in the Qur'an, his name is not given but he is instead referred to as "a Prophet".^[14] According to Islamic history, the Israelites, after the time of the prophet Moses, wanted a king to rule over their country. Thus, God sent the prophet Samuel to anoint Saul as the first king for the Israelites. The Qur'an states:

Have you thought of the elders of Israel after Moses, and how they said to their apostle: "Set up a king for us, then we shall fight in the way of God?" He replied: "This too is possible that when commanded to fight you may not fight at all." They said: "How is it we should not fight in the way of God when we have been driven from our homes and deprived of our Sons?" But when they were ordered to fight they turned away, except for a few; yet God knows the sinners.

—Qur'an, sura 2 (Al-Baqara), ayah 246^[14]

The Qur'an goes on to state that a king was anointed by the prophet, whose name was Talut (Saul in the Hebrew Bible). However, it states that the Israelites mocked and reviled the newly appointed king, as he was not wealthy from birth. But, in sharp contrast to the Hebrew Bible, the Qur'an praises Saul greatly, and mentions that he was gifted with great spiritual and physical strength. In the Qur'anic account, Samuel prophesies to the children of Israel, telling them that the sign of Saul's kingship will be that the Ark of the Covenant will come back to the Israelites:

And when their prophet said to them: "God has raised Saul king over you," they said: "How can he be king over us when we have greater right to kingship than he, for he does not even possess abundant wealth?" "God has chosen him in preference to you," said the prophet "and gifted him abundantly in wisdom and stature; and God gives authority to whomsoever He will: God is infinite and all-wise."
Their prophet said to them: "The sign of his kingship will be that you will come to have a chest (tabu't) full of peace and tranquility (Sakina) from your Lord and remainder of the legacy of the children of Moses and the children of Aaron, carried over by the angels. In this certainly shall be a sign for you if you really believe."

—Qur'an, sura 2 (Al-Baqara), ayah 247–248^[15]

See also[link]

• Biblical judges
• Books of Samuel
• Book of Samuel the Seer
• List of names referring to El
• Midrash Samuel
• Tomb of Samuel

References[link]

• This article incorporates text from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), a publication now in the public domain.

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Aline Barros
Background information
Birth name	Aline Barros Kistenmacker dos Santos
Born	(1976-10-07)October 7, 1976 Rio de Janeiro, RJ,  Brazil
Genres	pop, dance, gospel
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1992 – now
Labels	AB Records (1995 - 2003) MK Music (2004 - now)
Associated acts	Trazendo a Arca, Fernandinho, PG
Website	Pagina oficial

Aline Barros Kistenmacker dos Santos (Rio de Janeiro, October 7, 1976), better known as Aline Barros is a gospel music singer, songwriter, presenter and manager in Brazil, winning 11 Trofeu Talento, five Latin Grammy, a Dove Awards and a Brazilian International Press Award. It is also evangelical pastor the Comunidade Evangélica Internacional da Zona Sul, the Flamengo neighborhood, the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro.

Aline Barros is a reference name and expression in the gospel segment. The gospel singer was the first in Brazil to win the Latin Grammy in 2004 and has been nominated for five consecutive times was also winning in 2006, 2007 and 2011. At age 35, Aline has 20 years of career with 23 albums, including four in Spanish, in Portuguese five for children and one in Spanish, seven career and some collections as well as eleven DVDs. Mixing pop, and rock & Prase and Worship, the singer attracts children, youth and adults with modern rhythms and Christian messages in context.

Her career has been characterized by pioneering spirit in the secular media. Aline has been invited to participate in major television shows (Carla Perez, Eliana, Faustão, Gilberto Barros, Hebe Camargo, Luciana Gimenez, Netinho de Paula, Raul Gil, Xuxa, Sem Censura, Ritmo Brasil, Manhã Maior, Show da Virada, Programa do Jô,...) as well as interviews from reputable newspapers, magazines and also the first major gospel singer to attend the event Criança Esperança, Rede Globo and SBT Teleton. Her ministry has extended throughout Central and North America, with awards and recognition. Aline was also the second gospel singer to have a song on a novel. The music CD again O Poder do Teu Amor was chosen as the theme of the primetime soap opera Duas Caras of Rede Globo in 2007. Today she is regarded by the mainstream media one of the greatest Brazilian singers, with approximately six million records sold.

In 2010 released an autobiographical book entitled Fé e Paixão and DVD Aline Barros Na Estrada to back shows his last tour and album released in 2011 Aline Extraordinário Amor de Deus, Latin Grammy nominated in 2012, a CD of original songs focused for adult audiences, produced by Ricardo Feghali Grupo Roupa Nova after three years touting the award-winning CD Live Caminho de Milagres. Future projects Aline Barros are CD / DVD Infant Aline Barros & Cia vol. 3rd and 4th album in Spanish. In February 2011, Aline has announced a new pregnancy, the baby was born on October 12, the same month as Aline's birthday.

Biography[link]

Daughter of Sandra Barros Barros and Ronaldo, both evangelical pastors, Aline with only 2 years old already showing interest in music. At nine years has accompanied his father and the Ministry of Praise Community of Vila da Penha, in the north of Rio de Janeiro. Soon the singer became part of the worship team, participating in some recordings, the first of which was "Thy Word," when he was 14, and the music was forty-five days on the hit parade of evangelical radio stations in the city. At 16 years, "Consecration" was nine months on the charts. At 18 she recorded her debut album.

In 1995, Aline Barros launched Unlimited, their debut album for the label Grape Vine, and produced by Ricardo Feghali Cleberson Horsth LP format. The album brought compositions of several singers in the segment known as Marquinhos Gomes and brought some innovations to the construction segment of time. and the same year, made participation in a disk Xuxa on the track "Believe to see" .

In January 1998, recorded his second CD, Voice of the Heart and in December 1998 launched an EP called Christmas carols. In October 1999, was distributed is good to be a child, the first album dedicated to children Aline. In July 2000, the collection hit stores Millennium, produced by Indie Records and distributed by Universal Music with songs from artist. And in December 2000, launched the book The Power of Your Love, which sold more than three hundred thousand copies and is considered by critics as the best album ever recorded by Aline.

In November 2001, launched a romantic collection, titled Eternal Love. In December of that year, launches Message of Peace, with the participation of Cid Moreira. In May 2002 a child is to be launched Good vol. 2.

In December 2002, Aline Barros recorded her first video album, Life in Jesus summer event, held every year at Praia da Costa, in Vila Velha, Espirito Santo to an audience of fifty thousand people. With 14 tracks, we selected the best songs from all their previous albums.

In 2003, the singer had her first son, Nicolas, and also had problems in their vocal cords. However managed to record fruit of Love, which won the Latin Grammy that year for Best Christian Music Album. Furthermore, sold more than three hundred thousand copies and was the last album of the singer in AB Records. On it is a participation of PG at the time lead singer of G3 in the song "I will sing this Love".

In 2004, Aline Barros signed a recording contract with MK Music and released his first career live album, Sound of Worship. The work produced by Roger Vieira and Kleber Lucas brought compositions Alda Celia, Emerson Pinheiro, Eyshila, among others. It was the best selling album of the singer, receiving a diamond certification from ABPD in 2007 and a Latin Grammy nomination. The following year, Aline made the recording on DVD disc in the Via Show, which is also a diamond. Between 2005 and 2008 released several albums, including Path of Miracles, Latin Grammy winner in his years.

On June 7, 2008, with an audience of ten thousand people Maracanãzinho recorded in the DVD with the songs of Path of Miracles, directed by Marina de Oliveira. The album was nominated for Talent Trophy 2009, but surprisingly lost to Live in the Maracanãzinho Bringing the Ark, recorded in the same location weeks earlier in the month of May. The following year, Aline Barros Aline Barros launched the DVD Road, which brought the scenes of his tour Path of Miracles and a little of his twenty year career.

After a long career recording their albums live, in January 2011 was released Extraordinary Love of God, recorded in studio. The book sold fifty thousand copies in one day, being considered an extraordinary event. Today, that number is greater than three hundred thousand copies, making it was the second disc with Aline to be certified by a diamond disk ABPD. The album featured several compositions of Jamba, and especially David Anderson Fernandes Freire, including "Arise I", chosen as the single from the album, nominated for Best Music Award at Promises in 2011.

Furthermore, in Aline had the same year his first daughter, named Mary Catherine, the disc Aline Barros & Cia vol. 3 and another win at the Grammy Latino. Despite the great promises of favoritism in Aline Trophy lost in the categories Best song with "I'm Human" Bruna Karla and Best CD for Diamond Damares, won only for Best Singer.

In 2012, with production and distribution of AB Records of Sony Music was recorded in the DVD Paulínia Aline Barros 20 Years. Directed by Bruno Murtinho recording brought guest appearances by Michael W. Smith, Tom Brooks and Abraham Laboriel. People from all over Brazil attended the event, which brought together about two thousand people.

External links[link]

• Official website