Articles
Who Wrote 1 Samuel
Who Wrote The Books of Samuel?
Samuel. Well that is the short answer that is often given. It is often assumed that the book is named after its author. The Jewish tradition held that Samuel was the author. While the Talmud states that Samuel is the author, it then asks: "Is it not written, 'Now Samuel was dead' (1 Sam. 25:1)? Answer: The book was completed by Gad the seer (1 Chron. 29:29) and Nathan the prophet." This may be correct. Indeed the book mentions the death of Samuel in chapter 25, yet the book continues for another 6 chapters. Then there is the whole book of 2 Samuel to account for. Therefore most people understand that at least part of the book wasn't written by him.
James Smith in his Old Testament History series writes: "The name of Samuel came to be attached to the ninth and tenth books of the Old Testament primarily because of the prominent role this prophet played in this period. He was the last of the Judges and the first of a new line of prophets. Samuel was the instrument through whom God founded the monarchy in Israel. He anointed Saul and David, the first two kings. In the career of David the influence of Samuel lived on long after his death in 1 Samuel 25:1." (Logos edition)
It has been impossible to discern which parts of 1 Samuel came from one of the other sources, or another source, or was written by the author / compiler himself. Modern scholars have developed many theories to try and discover such, but there are many such ideas and they are all in disagreement. This simply shows that we don't know for sure.
The Jewish arrangement of the OT books puts this as one of the 'Former Prophets'. Most readers have concluded that the writer or writers were thus held to be among the prophets of Israel. There are prophets that are known as the 'literary prophets'. By this it is meant we have the literature that they wrote. Such would include Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc. There were also those who are referred to as 'non-literary' because either they didn't write or we don't have existing copies of their writings.
That is not to say that nothing in these books was written by Samuel. The writer(s) of these books had sources for their information. We read: "Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the Chronicles of Samuel the seer, and in the Chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the Chronicles of Gad the seer" (1 Chronicles 29:29). Chronicles also mentions what was NOT written in the chronicles of King David (1 Chronicles 27:24). The book of Samuel mentions the book of Jashar (2Sam. 1:18). Which parts and how much of the material is written by Samuel is unknown.
The books were not written to glorify the various authors. The prophets were used by God to deliver HIS message. Peter wrote that "no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21). The Hebrew writer states: "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets" (Hebrews 1:1). In speaking of the prophets Peter said "…God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled" (Acts 3:18). We may not know the man or men who were used to write the books of Samuel, but we believe that God is the real author and the story is God's story not man's.
