[Easton 한국어 번역]
하나님께서 들으심. 그의 출생에 관련된 특별한 사정은 삼상 1:20에 기록되어 있다. 엘가나의 두 아내 가운데 하나인 한나는 여호와 앞에 경배하러 실로에 올라와, 아들을 낳게 해 달라고 하나님께 간절히 기도하였다. 하나님께서는 은혜롭게 그 기도를 들어주셨다. 아이가 젖을 뗀 뒤, 한나는 그를 실로로 데려와 평생 나실인으로 여호와께 바쳤다(1:23–2:11). 이곳에서 성막에서 수종드는 여자들이 그의 육신에 필요한 것들과 양육을 돌보았고, 엘리는 그의 신앙 교육을 맡았다. 아마 그의 생애 가운데 십이 년이 이렇게 지나갔을 것이다. “아이 사무엘이 점점 자라매 여호와와 사람들에게 은총을 더욱 받더라”(2:26; 눅 2:52와 비교). 이때는 이스라엘의 타락이 심하였고 갈수록 더해 가던 시기였다(삿 21:19–21; 삼상 2:12–17, 22). 근래에 인구와 세력이 크게 늘어난 블레셋 사람들은 사실상 그 땅의 주인 노릇을 하며 백성을 지배하고 있었다(삼상 10:5; 13:3).
이때 경건한 아이에게 하나님께로부터 새로운 말씀이 전해지기 시작하였다. 밤중에 신비로운 음성이 그의 이름을 불렀으며, 엘리의 가르침을 받은 그는 “여호와여 말씀하옵소서 주의 종이 듣겠나이다”라고 대답하였다. 여호와께로부터 온 말씀은 엘리와 그의 방탕한 아들들에게 임할 재앙과 멸망에 관한 것이었다. 사무엘은 그 모든 것을 엘리에게 전하였다. 그 무서운 심판 선언에 대한 엘리의 대답은 오직 “이는 여호와시니 선하신 소견대로 하실 것이니라”는 것이었다(삼상 3:11–18). 이는 나약한 성품에서 나온 수동적인 복종으로, 그의 경우에는 지극한 신뢰와 믿음의 표현이 아니었다. 이제 여호와께서는 여러 가지 방식으로 사무엘에게 자신을 계시하셨으며, 하나님께 선지자의 직분으로 부르심을 받은 자로서 그의 명성과 영향력은 온 땅에 커져 갔다. 이제 하나님 나라의 역사에 새로운 시대가 시작되었다.
블레셋의 멍에는 무거웠다. 온 땅에 미친 압제 아래 신음하던 백성은 갑자기 들고일어나 “블레셋 사람과 싸우러 나갔다.” 에벤에셀 가까이에 있는 아벡에서 격렬하고 참담한 전투가 벌어졌다(삼상 4:1, 2). 이스라엘 사람들은 패하여 “들에서” 사천 명의 전사자를 남겼다. 백성의 지도자들은 여호와의 임재를 상징하는 언약궤를 가져감으로써 이 큰 재난을 만회할 수 있으리라고 생각하였다. 그리하여 그들은 사무엘에게 묻지도 않고 실로에서 궤를 가져다가 아벡 근처의 진에 두었다. 백성은 궤가 자기들 가운데 있는 것을 보고 “큰 소리로 외치매 땅이 울리더라.” 두 번째 전투가 벌어졌으며, 블레셋 사람들은 다시 이스라엘 사람들을 무찌르고 그들의 진을 습격하여 삼만 명을 죽이고 거룩한 궤를 빼앗았다. 이 치명적인 전투의 소식은 신속히 실로에 전해졌다. 늙은 엘리는 하나님의 궤가 빼앗겼다는 말을 듣자마자 성소 입구의 의자에서 뒤로 넘어져 목이 부러져 죽었다. 성막과 그 기구들은 아마 당시 약 이십 세였던 사무엘의 조언에 따라 실로에서 어느 안전한 곳으로 옮겨졌다가 마침내 놉으로 옮겨졌으며, 그곳에 여러 해 동안 머물렀다(21:1).
블레셋 사람들은 승세를 몰아 실로로 진격하여 그곳을 약탈하고 파괴하였다(렘 7:12; 시 78:59와 비교). 이것은 이스라엘 역사에 중대한 획을 그은 사건이었다. 이 치명적인 아벡 전투 뒤 이십 년 동안 온 땅은 블레셋의 압제 아래 놓여 있었다. 이 암울한 세월 내내 사무엘은 그 땅에서 영적인 영향력을 발휘하였다. 그가 거주하던 고향 라마에서 그의 영향력은 백성 가운데 사방으로 퍼져 나갔다. 그는 지칠 줄 모르는 열심으로 이곳저곳을 다니며 백성을 책망하고 꾸짖고 권면하였으며, 그들 안에 자신의 죄악에 대한 자각을 일깨워 회개로 이끌려고 힘썼다. 그의 수고는 “이스라엘 온 족속이 여호와를 사모”하게 될 만큼 성공을 거두었다. 사무엘은 백성을 팔레스타인 중부에서 가장 높은 언덕들 가운데 하나인 미스바로 소집하였다. 그곳에서 그들은 금식하고 기도하며, 그의 지도 아래 블레셋과의 큰 전쟁을 준비하였다. 이때 블레셋 사람들은 이스라엘 사람들을 단번에 분쇄하려고 전 병력을 미스바로 진군시켰다. 사무엘의 중보 기도에 하나님께서 이스라엘을 위하여 개입하셨다. 사무엘 자신이 그들의 지휘자였으며, 이것은 그가 전쟁에서 지휘자로 나선 유일한 경우였다. 블레셋 사람들은 완전히 패주하였다. 그들은 이스라엘 군대 앞에서 두려워 도망하였고, 큰 살육이 뒤따랐다. 아마 주전 1095년경에 벌어진 이 전투는 사십 년간의 블레셋 압제를 끝냈다. 이 큰 구원을 기념하고 베풀어 주신 도움에 감사를 표시하기 위하여, 사무엘은 전장에 큰 돌을 세우고 “여호와께서 여기까지 우리를 도우셨다” 하며 그 이름을 “에벤에셀”이라 하였다(삼상 7:1–12). 이곳은 이십 년 전 이스라엘 사람들이 크게 패하고 하나님의 궤를 빼앗겼던 바로 그 장소였다.
블레셋에 대한 이 승리 뒤 이스라엘에는 오랜 평화의 시기가 이어졌다(삼상 7:13, 14). 그동안 사무엘은 사사의 직무를 수행하며, 라마에 있는 자기 집에서 벧엘로, 그곳에서 길갈로 “해마다 순회”하고 미스바를 거쳐 라마로 돌아왔다. 여기서 길갈은 요단 골짜기에 있는 곳이 아니라 에발과 그리심 서쪽에 있던 곳이다. 그는 실로에 규칙적인 예배를 세우고 그곳에 제단을 쌓았다. 또한 라마에서는 젊은이들의 무리를 자기 주위에 모아 선지자 학교를 세웠다. 이처럼 시작되어 뒤에 기브아, 벧엘, 길갈, 여리고에도 세워진 선지자 학교들은 타락이 더해 가는 가운데 순수한 신앙을 보존함으로써 백성의 민족적 성품과 역사에 중요한 영향을 미쳤다. 이 학교들은 유대 국가 공동체의 종말까지 존속하였다.
이제 많은 세월이 흘렀으며, 그동안 사무엘은 사사 직무를 수행하면서 사적·공적 이해가 걸린 모든 일에서 백성의 벗이자 조언자가 되었다. 그는 개혁자이자 위대한 정치가였으며, 모든 사람이 그를 여호와의 선지자인 “선견자”로 공경하였다. 이 시기가 끝날 무렵, 그가 이제 노인이 되었을 때 이스라엘의 장로들이 라마에 있는 그에게 왔다(삼상 8:4, 5, 19–22). 사무엘은 자기의 보조자로 아들들에게 사사의 직무를 맡기고 블레셋 접경의 브엘세바에 두었는데, 그 아들들의 비행으로 나라가 처한 위험이 매우 크다고 장로들은 느꼈다. 또한 암몬 사람들의 침공 위협도 있었다. 이에 그들은 자기들을 다스릴 왕을 세워 달라고 요구하였다. 이 요구는 사무엘을 매우 불쾌하게 하였다. 그는 그들에게 이의를 제기하고, 그러한 조치가 가져올 결과를 경고하였다. 그러나 마침내 이 문제를 하나님께 아뢴 뒤 그들의 요구를 받아들여 사울에게 기름을 부어 왕으로 삼았다(11:15; ‘사울’ 참조). 공적인 활동에서 물러나기 전에 그는 길갈에 백성의 총회를 소집하고(12장), 그곳에서 사사이자 선지자로서 자신과 그들의 관계에 관하여 엄숙하게 연설하였다.
그는 여생을 라마에서 은거하며 보냈고, 특별한 상황에서만 이따금 다시 공적으로 나타나 사울 왕에게 하나님의 말씀을 전하였다(삼상 13장, 15장). 이제 나라에 닥친 많은 재앙을 슬퍼하던 중, 그는 갑자기 베들레헴으로 가서 이새의 아들 다윗에게 기름을 부어 사울을 대신할 이스라엘의 왕으로 삼으라는 부르심을 받았다(16장). 이 뒤로 그가 죽을 때까지의 일은 거의 알려져 있지 않다. 그는 아마 팔십 세쯤 되었을 때 라마에서 죽었다. “온 이스라엘 무리가 모여 그를 애곡하고 라마 그의 집에 그를 장사하였더라”(25:1). 이는 집 안이 아니라 그의 집 뜰이나 동산에 장사하였다는 뜻이다(왕하 21:18; 대하 33:20; 왕상 2:34; 요 19:41과 비교).
사무엘의 하나님을 향한 헌신과 하나님께서 그에게 베푸신 특별한 은총은 렘 15:1과 시 99:6에 언급되어 있다.
영문 원문·다른 사전 펼치기
[Easton]
Heard of God. The peculiar circumstances connected with his birth are recorded in 1 Sam. 1:20. Hannah, one of the two wives of Elkanah, who came up to Shiloh to worship before the Lord, earnestly prayed to God that she might become the mother of a son. Her prayer was graciously granted; and after the child was weaned she brought him to Shiloh nd consecrated him to the Lord as a perpetual Nazarite (1:23-2:11). Here his bodily wants and training were attended to by the women who served in the tabernacle, while Eli cared for his religious culture. Thus, probably, twelve years of his life passed away. “The child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men” (2:26; comp. Luke 2:52). It was a time of great and growing degeneracy in Israel (Judg. 21:19-21; 1 Sam. 2:12-17, 22). The Philistines, who of late had greatly increased in number and in power, were practically masters of the country, and kept the people in subjection (1 Sam. 10:5; 13:3).
At this time new communications from God began to be made to the pious child. A mysterious voice came to him in the night season, calling him by name, and, instructed by Eli, he answered, “Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth.” The message that came from the Lord was one of woe and ruin to Eli and his profligate sons. Samuel told it all to Eli, whose only answer to the terrible denunciations (1 Sam. 3:11-18) was, “It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good”, the passive submission of a weak character, not, in his case, the expression of the highest trust and faith. The Lord revealed himself now in divers manners to Samuel, and his fame and his influence increased throughout the land as of one divinely called to the prophetical office. A new period in the history of the kingdom of God now commenced.
The Philistine yoke was heavy, and the people, groaning under the wide-spread oppression, suddenly rose in revolt, and “went out against the Philistines to battle.” A fierce and disastrous battle was fought at Aphek, near to Ebenezer (1 Sam. 4:1, 2). The Israelites were defeated, leaving 4,000 dead “in the field.” The chiefs of the people thought to repair this great disaster by carrying with them the ark of the covenant as the symbol of Jehovah’s presence. They accordingly, without consulting Samuel, fetched it out of Shiloh to the camp near Aphek. At the sight of the ark among them the people “shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.” A second battle was fought, and again the Philistines defeated the Israelites, stormed their camp, slew 30,000 men, and took the sacred ark. The tidings of this fatal battle was speedily conveyed to Shiloh; and so soon as the aged Eli heard that the ark of God was taken, he fell backward from his seat at the entrance of the sanctuary, and his neck brake, and he died. The tabernacle with its furniture was probably, by the advice of Samuel, now about twenty years of age, removed from Shiloh to some place of safety, and finally to Nob, where it remained many years (21:1).
The Philistines followed up their advantage, and marched upon Shiloh, which they plundered and destroyed (comp. Jer. 7:12; Ps. 78:59). This was a great epoch in the history of Israel. For twenty years after this fatal battle at Aphek the whole land lay under the oppression of the Philistines. During all these dreary years Samuel was a spiritual power in the land. From Ramah, his native place, where he resided, his influence went forth on every side among the people. With unwearied zeal he went up and down from place to place, reproving, rebuking, and exhorting the people, endeavouring to awaken in them a sense of their sinfulness, and to lead them to repentance. His labours were so far successful that “all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.” Samuel summoned the people to Mizpeh, one of the loftiest hills in Central Palestine, where they fasted and prayed, and prepared themselves there, under his direction, for a great war against the Philistines, who now marched their whole force toward Mizpeh, in order to crush the Israelites once for all. At the intercession of Samuel God interposed in behalf of Israel. Samuel himself was their leader, the only occasion in which he acted as a leader in war. The Philistines were utterly routed. They fled in terror before the army of Israel, and a great slaughter ensued. This battle, fought probably about B.C. 1095, put an end to the forty years of Philistine oppression. In memory of this great deliverance, and in token of gratitude for the help vouchsafed, Samuel set up a great stone in the battlefield, and called it “Ebenezer,” saying, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us” (1 Sam. 7:1-12). This was the spot where, twenty years before, the Israelites had suffered a great defeat, when the ark of God was taken.
This victory over the Philistines was followed by a long period of peace for Israel (1 Sam. 7:13, 14), during which Samuel exercised the functions of judge, going “from year to year in circuit” from his home in Ramah to Bethel, thence to Gilgal (not that in the Jordan valley, but that which lay to the west of Ebal and Gerizim), and returning by Mizpeh to Ramah. He established regular services at Shiloh, where he built an altar; and at Ramah he gathered a company of young men around him and established a school of the prophets. The schools of the prophets, thus originated, and afterwards established also at Gibeah, Bethel, Gilgal, and Jericho, exercised an important influence on the national character and history of the people in maintaining pure religion in the midst of growing corruption. They continued to the end of the Jewish commonwealth.
Many years now passed, during which Samuel exercised the functions of his judicial office, being the friend and counsellor of the people in all matters of private and public interest. He was a great statesman as well as a reformer, and all regarded him with veneration as the “seer,” the prophet of the Lord. At the close of this period, when he was now an old man, the elders of Israel came to him at Ramah (1 Sam. 8:4, 5, 19-22); and feeling how great was the danger to which the nation was exposed from the misconduct of Samuel’s sons, whom he had invested with judicial functions as his assistants, and had placed at Beersheba on the Philistine border, and also from a threatened invasion of the Ammonites, they demanded that a king should be set over them. This request was very displeasing to Samuel. He remonstrated with them, and warned them of the consequences of such a step. At length, however, referring the matter to God, he acceded to their desires, and anointed Saul (q.v.) to be their king (11:15). Before retiring from public life he convened an assembly of the people at Gilgal (ch. 12), and there solemnly addressed them with reference to his own relation to them as judge and prophet.
The remainder of his life he spent in retirement at Ramah, only occasionally and in special circumstances appearing again in public (1 Sam. 13, 15) with communications from God to king Saul. While mourning over the many evils which now fell upon the nation, he is suddenly summoned (ch. 16) to go to Bethlehem and anoint David, the son of Jesse, as king over Israel instead of Saul. After this little is known of him till the time of his death, which took place at Ramah when he was probably about eighty years of age. “And all Israel gathered themselves together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah” (25:1), not in the house itself, but in the court or garden of his house. (Comp. 2 Kings 21:18; 2 Chr. 33:20; 1 Kings 2:34; John 19:41.)
Samuel’s devotion to God, and the special favour with which God regarded him, are referred to in Jer. 15:1 and Ps. 99:6.
[Smith]
was the son of Elkanah and Hannah, and was born at Ramathaim-zophim, among the hills of Ephraim. [Ramah No. 2] (B.C. 1171.) Before his birth he was dedicated by his mother to the office of a Nazarite and when a young child, 12 years old according to Josephus he was placed in the temple, and ministered unto the Lord before Eli.” It was while here that he received his first prophetic call. (1 Samuel 3:1-18) He next appears, probably twenty years afterward, suddenly among the people, warning them against their idolatrous practices. (1 Samuel 7:3,4) Then followed Samuel’s first and, as far as we know, only military achievement, ch. (1 Samuel 7:5-12) but it was apparently this which raised him to the office of “judge.” He visited, in the discharge of his duties as ruler, the three chief sanctuaries on the west of Jordan—Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpeh. ch. (1 Samuel 7:16) His own residence was still native city, Ramah, where he married, and two sons grew up to repeat under his eyes the same perversion of high office that he had himself witnessed in his childhood in the case of the two sons of Eli. In his old age he shared his power with them, (1 Samuel 8:1-4) but the people dissatisfied, demanded a king, and finally anointed under God’s direction, and Samuel surrendered to him his authority, (1 Samuel 12:1) ... though still remaining judge. ch. (1 Samuel 7:15) He was consulted far and near on the small affairs of life. (1 Samuel 9:7,8) From this fact, combined with his office of ruler, an awful reverence grew up around him. No sacrificial feast was thought complete without his blessing. Ibid. (1 Samuel 9:13) A peculiar virtue was believed to reside in his intercession. After Saul was rejected by God, Samuel anointed David in his place and Samuel became the spiritual father of the psalmist-king. The death of Samuel is described as taking place in the year of the close of David’s wanderings. It is said with peculiar emphasis, as if to mark the loss, that “all the Israelites were gathered together” from all parts of this hitherto-divided country, and “lamented him,” and “buried him” within his own house, thus in a manner consecrated by being turned into his tomb. (1 Samuel 25:1) Samuel represents the independence of the moral law, of the divine will, as distinct from legal or sacerdotal enactments, which is so remarkable a characteristic of all the later prophets. He is also the founder of the first regular institutions of religious instructions and communities for the purposes of education.
[Hitchcock]
heard of God; asked of God
[Nave]
–Miraculous birth of 1Sa 1:7-20
–Consecrated to God before his birth 1Sa 1:11 , 22 , 24-28
–His mother’ s song of thanksgiving 1Sa 2:1-10
–Ministered in the house of God 1Sa 2:11 , 18 , 19
–Blessed of God 1Sa 2:21 ; 3:19
–His vision concerning the house of Eli 1Sa 3:1-18
–A prophet of the Israelites 1Sa 3:20 , 21 ; 4:1
–A judge (leader) of Israel, his judgment seat at Beth-el, Gilgal,
Mizpeh, and Ramah 1Sa 7:15-17
–Organizes the tabernacle service 1Ch 9:22 ; 26:28 ; 2Ch
35:18
–Israelites repent because of his reproofs and warnings 1Sa 7:4-6
–The Philistines defeated through his intercession and sacrifices 1Sa 7:7-14
–Makes his corrupt sons judges in Israel 1Sa 8:1-3
–People desire a king; he protests 1Sa 8:4-22
–Anoints Saul to be king of Israel 1Sa 9:10
–Renews the kingdom of Saul 1Sa 11:12-15
–Reproves Saul; foretells that his kingdom will be established 1Sa 13:11-15 ; 15
–Anoints David to be king 1Sa 16
–Shelters David while escaping from Saul 1Sa 19:18
–Death of; the lament for him 1Sa 25:1
–Called up by the witch of Endor 1Sa 28:3-20
–His integrity as a judge and ruler 1Sa 12:1-5 ; Ps 99:6 ;
Jer 15:1 ; Heb 11:32
–Chronicles of 1Ch 29:29
–Sons of 1Ch 6:28 , 33
–Called SHEMUEL 1Ch 6:33
[STEPBible TIPNR]
A prophet from the tribe of Levi living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Sa.1.20)
referred to as Samuel (שְׁמוּאֵל), or Samuel (Σαμουήλ);
a son of Elkanah and Hannah;
father of Joel and Abijah.
[Theographic]
Heard of God. The peculiar circumstances connected with his birth are recorded in 1 Sam. 1:20. Hannah, one of the two wives of Elkanah, who came up to Shiloh to worship before the Lord, earnestly prayed to God that she might become the mother of a son. Her prayer was graciously granted; and after the child was weaned she brought him to Shiloh nd consecrated him to the Lord as a perpetual Nazarite (1:23-2:11). Here his bodily wants and training were attended to by the women who served in the tabernacle, while Eli cared for his religious culture. Thus, probably, twelve years of his life passed away. “The child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men” (2:26; comp. Luke 2:52). It was a time of great and growing degeneracy in Israel (Judg. 21:19-21; 1 Sam. 2:12-17, 22). The Philistines, who of late had greatly increased in number and in power, were practically masters of the country, and kept the people in subjection (1 Sam. 10:5; 13:3).
At this time new communications from God began to be made to the pious child. A mysterious voice came to him in the night season, calling him by name, and, instructed by Eli, he answered, “Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth.” The message that came from the Lord was one of woe and ruin to Eli and his profligate sons. Samuel told it all to Eli, whose only answer to the terrible denunciations (1 Sam. 3:11-18) was, “It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good”, the passive submission of a weak character, not, in his case, the expression of the highest trust and faith. The Lord revealed himself now in divers manners to Samuel, and his fame and his influence increased throughout the land as of one divinely called to the prophetical office. A new period in the history of the kingdom of God now commenced.
The Philistine yoke was heavy, and the people, groaning under the wide-spread oppression, suddenly rose in revolt, and “went out against the Philistines to battle.” A fierce and disastrous battle was fought at Aphek, near to Ebenezer (1 Sam. 4:1, 2). The Israelites were defeated, leaving 4,000 dead “in the field.” The chiefs of the people thought to repair this great disaster by carrying with them the ark of the covenant as the symbol of Jehovah’s presence. They accordingly, without consulting Samuel, fetched it out of Shiloh to the camp near Aphek. At the sight of the ark among them the people “shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.” A second battle was fought, and again the Philistines defeated the Israelites, stormed their camp, slew 30,000 men, and took the sacred ark. The tidings of this fatal battle was speedily conveyed to Shiloh; and so soon as the aged Eli heard that the ark of God was taken, he fell backward from his seat at the entrance of the sanctuary, and his neck brake, and he died. The tabernacle with its furniture was probably, by the advice of Samuel, now about twenty years of age, removed from Shiloh to some place of safety, and finally to Nob, where it remained many years (21:1).
The Philistines followed up their advantage, and marched upon Shiloh, which they plundered and destroyed (comp. Jer. 7:12; Ps. 78:59). This was a great epoch in the history of Israel. For twenty years after this fatal battle at Aphek the whole land lay under the oppression of the Philistines. During all these dreary years Samuel was a spiritual power in the land. From Ramah, his native place, where he resided, his influence went forth on every side among the people. With unwearied zeal he went up and down from place to place, reproving, rebuking, and exhorting the people, endeavouring to awaken in them a sense of their sinfulness, and to lead them to repentance. His labours were so far successful that “all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.” Samuel summoned the people to Mizpeh, one of the loftiest hills in Central Palestine, where they fasted and prayed, and prepared themselves there, under his direction, for a great war against the Philistines, who now marched their whole force toward Mizpeh, in order to crush the Israelites once for all. At the intercession of Samuel God interposed in behalf of Israel. Samuel himself was their leader, the only occasion in which he acted as a leader in war. The Philistines were utterly routed. They fled in terror before the army of Israel, and a great slaughter ensued. This battle, fought probably about B.C. 1095, put an end to the forty years of Philistine oppression. In memory of this great deliverance, and in token of gratitude for the help vouchsafed, Samuel set up a great stone in the battlefield, and called it “Ebenezer,” saying, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us” (1 Sam. 7:1-12). This was the spot where, twenty years before, the Israelites had suffered a great defeat, when the ark of God was taken.
This victory over the Philistines was followed by a long period of peace for Israel (1 Sam. 7:13, 14), during which Samuel exercised the functions of judge, going “from year to year in circuit” from his home in Ramah to Bethel, thence to Gilgal (not that in the Jordan valley, but that which lay to the west of Ebal and Gerizim), and returning by Mizpeh to Ramah. He established regular services at Shiloh, where he built an altar; and at Ramah he gathered a company of young men around him and established a school of the prophets. The schools of the prophets, thus originated, and afterwards established also at Gibeah, Bethel, Gilgal, and Jericho, exercised an important influence on the national character and history of the people in maintaining pure religion in the midst of growing corruption. They continued to the end of the Jewish commonwealth.
Many years now passed, during which Samuel exercised the functions of his judicial office, being the friend and counsellor of the people in all matters of private and public interest. He was a great statesman as well as a reformer, and all regarded him with veneration as the “seer,” the prophet of the Lord. At the close of this period, when he was now an old man, the elders of Israel came to him at Ramah (1 Sam. 8:4, 5, 19-22); and feeling how great was the danger to which the nation was exposed from the misconduct of Samuel’s sons, whom he had invested with judicial functions as his assistants, and had placed at Beersheba on the Philistine border, and also from a threatened invasion of the Ammonites, they demanded that a king should be set over them. This request was very displeasing to Samuel. He remonstrated with them, and warned them of the consequences of such a step. At length, however, referring the matter to God, he acceded to their desires, and anointed Saul (q.v.) to be their king (11:15). Before retiring from public life he convened an assembly of the people at Gilgal (ch. 12), and there solemnly addressed them with reference to his own relation to them as judge and prophet.
The remainder of his life he spent in retirement at Ramah, only occasionally and in special circumstances appearing again in public (1 Sam. 13, 15) with communications from God to king Saul. While mourning over the many evils which now fell upon the nation, he is suddenly summoned (ch. 16) to go to Bethlehem and anoint David, the son of Jesse, as king over Israel instead of Saul. After this little is known of him till the time of his death, which took place at Ramah when he was probably about eighty years of age. “And all Israel gathered themselves together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah” (25:1), not in the house itself, but in the court or garden of his house. (Comp. 2 Kings 21:18; 2 Chr. 33:20; 1 Kings 2:34; John 19:41.)
Samuel’s devotion to God, and the special favour with which God regarded him, are referred to in Jer. 15:1 and Ps. 99:6.
항목 출처: Theographic; Easton; Smith; Hitchcock; Nave; STEPBible TIPNR · CC BY-SA 4.0; Public domain; NEUU CC BY 4.0; CC BY 4.0
