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154-457: According to Jewish tradition, the book was written by Samuel , with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan , who together are three prophets who had appeared within 1 Chronicles during the account of David's reign. Modern scholarly thinking posits that the entire Deuteronomistic history was composed circa 630–540 BCE by combining a number of independent texts of various ages. The book begins with Samuel's birth and Yahweh 's call to him as

308-708: A prophet in Judaism , Christianity , and Islam . In addition to his role in the Bible, Samuel is mentioned in Jewish rabbinical literature , in the Christian New Testament , and in the second chapter of the Quran (although the text does not mention him by name). He is also treated in the fifth through seventh books of Antiquities of the Jews , written by the Jewish scholar Josephus in

462-675: A substratum , including Aštabi , Ishara and Kubaba . The association with a Hebrew word for "fish" (as in Hebrew : דג , Tib. /dɔːg/ ) in medieval exegesis has led to an incorrect interpretation of Dagan as a fish god. No known text deals with the parentage or creation of Dagan. His wife was Shalash ; while well attested in Tuttul and elsewhere, she is seemingly absent in sources pertaining to Dagan's cult in Terqa. Their children were Hadad (analogous to Ugaritic Baal ) and possibly Hebat , who

616-599: A battle against the Philistines, he does not wait for Samuel to arrive before he offers sacrifices. Meanwhile, it turns out that the Philistines have been killing and capturing blacksmiths in order to ensure the Israelites do not have weapons, and so the Israelites go to war essentially with sharpened farm instruments. Saul's son Jonathan launches a secret attack by climbing a pass into the Philistine camp and kills twenty people in

770-769: A battle follows and David wins. During the Benjaminites' retreat, Joab's brother Asahel chases Abner and Abner kills him, shocking everyone. Joab and Abishai continue Asahel's pursuit. A truce is declared when they reach a hill to avoid further bloodshed, and Abner and his men are able to cross the Jordan . The war continues as David builds a family. Meanwhile, the House of Saul is getting weaker. When Ish-bosheth accuses Abner of sleeping with Saul's concubine Rizpah , Abner offers to join David, which David accepts as long as he brings Michal with him. At

924-736: A boy. The story of the Ark of the Covenant follows. It tells of Israel's oppression by the Philistines , which brought about Samuel's anointing of Saul as Israel 's first king. But Saul proved unworthy, and God's choice turned to David , who defeated Israel's enemies, purchased the threshing floor where his son Solomon would build the First Temple , and brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Yahweh then promised David and his successors an everlasting dynasty. In

1078-610: A brother of Dagon). She also notes that due to the circumstances of his birth, Teshub had two fathers: one opposing him and one who supported his rise to power. She suggests that therefore it is not necessarily contradictory that two separate gods were regarded as Baal's fathers, though she assumes both in Ugarit and in Phoenician beliefs Dagan/Dagon was merely an element introduced from the culture of inland Syria and played no significant role himself. Aaron Tugendhaft considers Baal an outsider who

1232-406: A cabinet. David asks if anyone from the House of Saul is still alive so that he can show kindness to them in memory of Jonathan. Ziba , one of Saul's servants, tells him about Mephibosheth. David informs Mephibosheth that he will live in his household and eat at his table, and Mephibosheth moves to Jerusalem. Nahash, king of Ammon dies and his son Hanun succeeds him. David sends condolences, but

1386-446: A decision. When Saul and his servant were searching for his father 's lost donkeys, the servant suggested consulting the nearby Samuel. Samuel recognized Saul as the future king. Just before his retirement, Samuel gathered the people to an assembly at Gilgal , and delivered a farewell speech or coronation speech in which he emphasised how prophets and judges were more important than kings, that kings should be held to account, and that

1540-601: A decisive victory at Helam . The Arameans realise they cannot win, make peace with Israel and refuse to help the Ammonites again. The following spring, Joab destroys the Ammonites. While Joab is off at war, David remains in Jerusalem. One morning, he is standing on the roof of his palace when he sees a naked woman performing ablutions after her period. David learns her name is Bathsheba , and they have sex. She becomes pregnant. Seeking to hide his sin, David recalls her husband, Uriah

1694-499: A document describing the expansion of the god's temple in Terqa. Elsewhere he referred to himself as "beloved of Dagan." An inscription of his son Yasmah-Adad , however, refers to "Mullil [Enlil] (...) who dwells in Tuttul." A šubtu (a type of shrine ) of Dagan was located near Ka-ude-babbar, one of the gates of the Esagil temple complex in Babylon . Itti-Marduk-balatu , a king from

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1848-560: A feast, where he gives him the best piece of meat, and they talk through the night on the roof of Samuel's house. Samuel tells Saul to return home, telling him the donkeys have been found and his father is now worrying about him, as well as describing a series of signs Saul will see on the way home. Saul begins to prophesy when he meets some prophets, confusing his neighbours. Eventually, Samuel publicly announces Saul as king, although not without controversy. Shortly after, Nahash of Ammon lays siege to Jabesh Gilead and demands that everyone in

2002-540: A god named Marnas (from Aramaic marnā, "lord"). Itamar Singer considered it a possibility that this name was a title of the hypothetical Philistine Dagon, though he notes he was equated not with a Levantine or Syrian deity but with Cretan Zeus, Zeus Krētagenēs . However, Gerard Mussies considers Marnas and Dagan to be two separate deities. According to Taco Terpstra, Marnas' origins are "nebulous," and while his name can be plausibly assumed to be Aramaic, his iconography follows Hellenistic conventions. At times he

2156-439: A great-grandson of Eli. Pretending he is on a mission from the king and is going to meet his men, he asks for supplies. He is given the showbread and Goliath's sword. He then flees to Gath and seeks refuge at the court of King Achish , but feigns insanity since he is afraid of what the Philistines might do to him. David travels to the cave of Adullam near his home, where his family visit him, until he finds refuge for them at

2310-483: A large amount of supplies to David herself. This turns out to be at exactly the right moment, since David had just threatened to kill everyone in Nabal's home. Abigail begs for mercy, and David agrees, praising her wisdom. That night Nabal has a feast, so Abigail waits until morning to tell him what she has done. He has a heart attack and dies ten days later. David marries Abigail and a woman from Jezreel named Ahinoam , but in

2464-406: A large area from these cities, even though its principal centers were not a major political power in their own right, a situation which according to Alfonso Archi can be compared to that of Hadabal (a 3rd millennium BCE god of the upper Orontes valley ) and Hadad of Halab . In addition to Tuttul and Terqa, settlements in which Dagan possessed a temple or shrine include Mari , Subatūm (located in

2618-545: A leper, someone disabled or someone hungry. He then holds a funeral for Abner. By this point, the only other surviving member of Ish-bosheth's family is Mephibosheth , Jonathan's disabled son, who was dropped by his nurse as she attempted to escape the palace after the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. Ish-bosheth is murdered by Rechab and Baanah , two of his captains who hope for a reward from David, who stab him and cut off his head. They bring his head to David, but David has them killed for killing an innocent man. They are hanged by

2772-414: A man named Jesse , with God promising Samuel can anoint one of his sons as king. However, while inspecting Jesse's sons, God tells Samuel that none of them are to be king. God tells Samuel to anoint David , the youngest brother, as king. Saul becomes ill and David comes to play the harp to him. Saul takes a liking to David and David enters Saul's court as his armor-bearer and harpist . A new war against

2926-404: A page to find them. If he tells the page the arrows are on his side of the stone, David can come to him, but if he tells them they are beyond the stone, he must run away. When Jonathan puts the plan into action, Saul attempts to kill him with his spear. Jonathan relays this to David using his code and the two weep as they are separated. David arrives at Nob , where he meets Ahimelech the priest,

3080-516: A phonetic spelling can be found in personal names. References to him as Bel Terqa – "Lord of Terqa" – are known from Eblaite sources too. Shalash was already regarded as his wife in this period. Representatives of the city of Nagar swore allegiance to the king of Ebla in the temple of Dagan in Tuttul, which was viewed as a neutral third party. While certain other gods known from the Eblaite texts, such as Hadabal and Kura , disappear from records after

3234-509: A place named Dagon above Jericho . It has however been argued that some of the locations possibly named after Dagon were in reality named after the Canaanite word for grain. In the Hebrew Bible , Dagon is referenced three times as the head god of the Philistines ; however, there are no references to Dagon as a Canaanite god. According to the Bible, his temples were located at Beth-dagon in

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3388-483: A reward to the people of Jabesh Gilead for performing Saul's funerary rites. Meanwhile, in the north, Saul's son Ish-bosheth , supported by Abner, has taken control of the northern tribes. David and Ish-bosheth's armies meet at the Pool of Gibeon , and Abner and Joab , another son of Zeruiah and David's general, agree to have soldiers fight in one-on-one combat. All this achieves is twelve men on each side killing each other, but

3542-557: A second place known as Beth-Dagon in Judah (Joshua 15.41). The account in 1 Samuel 5.2–7 relates how the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines and taken to Dagon's temple in Ashdod. The following morning the Ashdodites found the image of Dagon lying prostrate before the ark. They set the image upright, but again on the morning of the following day they found it prostrate before

3696-614: A sign that he was originally a weather god. However, the notion of Dagan being a weather god is rejected by most researchers of this deity (see the Dagan and weather gods section below). Lluís Feliu in his monograph The God Dagan in Bronze Age Syria rejects both of these theories and concludes that Dagan's name originated in a pre-Semitic language spoken in inland Syria. This theory is supported by Alfonso Archi as well. Multiple other ancient Syrian deities are regarded as originating in such

3850-498: A similar role in Mari. There is also some evidence that he could be invoked as a divine witness of oaths. According to texts from Ebla, Dagan's attributes were a chariot and a mace. Dagan's primary cult centers were Tuttul , where his clergy was likely involved in the traditional form of governance, and Terqa (near Mari), where his temple E-kisiga ("the house, the silent place") was located. The worship of Dagan evidently spread over

4004-519: A speech of Samuel that portrays him as the judge sent by God to save Israel may have been composed by the Deuteronomists. In 1 Samuel 9:6–20, Samuel is seen as a local "seer". According to documentary scholarship, 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." For

4158-530: A tent before. Secondly, God is still working to build David and his house up and establish the Israelites in the Promised Land . Thirdly, God will establish one of David's sons as king. He will build the temple, and his house will never be out of power. When Nathan reports this to David, David prays to God, thanking him for these revelations. David defeats the enemies of Israel, slaughtering Philistines, Moabites , Edomites , Syrians, and Arameans . He then appoints

4312-461: A test: he is to dine with the king the following day for the New Moon festival . However, he will hide in a field and Jonathan will tell Saul that David has returned to Bethlehem for a sacrifice. If the king accepts this, he is not trying to kill him, but if he becomes angry, he is. Jonathan devises a code to relay this information to David: he will come to the stone Ezel, shoot three arrows at it and tell

4466-567: A weapon was sent from Hadad's temple in Aleppo to Dagan's in Terqa , likely to legitimize his rule. It is possible that this ritual object represented the mace wielded by the weather god in his battle with the sea (analogous to the battle between Baal and Yam in the Ugaritic Baal cycle ). Despite the close connection between the clergy of Dagan from Terqa and Zimri-Lim, he was viewed unfavorably by

4620-413: A window by Michal, who then takes an idol, covers it in clothes and places goat's hair on its head to cover David's escape. David visits Samuel. When Saul finds this out, he sends men to capture David, but when they see Samuel they begin prophesying, as does Saul when he tries to capture David himself. David then visits Jonathan, and they argue about whether Saul actually wants to kill David. David proposes

4774-476: Is a matter of scholarly debate. In lists of gods and offerings from Ugarit, Dagan sometimes follows El but precedes Baal. Two such examples are known, but in six Dagan follows El and Baal. An incantation against snakebite mentions Dagan alongside Baal, while El is paired with Horon . Dagan appears in six theophoric names known from Ugarit, and possibly in a seventh under the logographic spelling KUR; for comparison Baal appears in 201, with further 36 using

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4928-567: Is also mentioned in the First Book of Ethiopian Maccabees (12:12), which was composed sometime in the 4th century AD. The "fish" etymology, while late and incorrect, was accepted in 19th and early 20th century scholarship. It led to an erroneous association between Dagan and Odakon, a half-fish being mentioned by Berossus , and with "fishman" motifs in Mesopotamian art, in reality depictions of Kulullû , an apotropaic creature associated with

5082-497: Is annoyed, but David says it was for the Lord, and thus it was not undignified. Michal never has any children. David wishes to build a temple, arguing that he should not be living in a palace while God lives in a tent. Nathan , a prophet, agrees. However, that night Nathan has a dream in which God informs him that David should not build him a temple for three reasons. Firstly, God has not commanded it, and has never complained about living in

5236-504: Is at best indirect. In god lists El was equated with Hurrian Kumarbi and Mesopotamian Enlil rather than directly with Dagan. Alfonso Archi notes in some texts both appear separately, but also that Dagan was extraneous to the theology of Ugarit. Other recent studies provide various other approaches to the problem of Baal's parentage in mythical texts. Daniel Schwemer proposes that the epithet "Son of Dagan" applied to Baal in Ugaritic texts

5390-514: Is attested alongside Dagan and Shalash in a mourning ritual from ancient Aleppo . Daniel Schwemer considers it possible that Dagan, while always viewed as a "father of gods," only became the father of the weather god under Hurrian influence. While Wilfred G. Lambert proposed in 1980 that Ishara was sometimes regarded as the wife of Dagan, and this theory is repeated as fact in older reference works such as Jeremy Black 's and Anthony Green's Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia , it

5544-465: Is calling him three times, he rushes to Eli. Eli informs him that God wishes to speak to him, and God informs Samuel that the earlier prophecy about Eli's family is correct. He is at first afraid to inform Eli of this, but Eli tells him not to be, and that God will do what is good in His sight. Over time, Samuel grows up and is recognised as a prophet. The Philistines , despite their initial worries when hearing

5698-471: 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 ( 1 Samuel 7:15-17 ), is foreshadowed by Deborah , who used to render judgments from a place beneath a palm between Ramah and Bethel. Source-critical scholarship often considers it to be a redaction aimed at harmonizing

5852-450: Is described as having grieved copiously and having prematurely aged. His yahrzeit is observed on the 28th day of Iyar . For 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 Catholic, Eastern Orthodox , and Lutheran calendars, his feast day is August 20. He is commemorated as one of

6006-452: Is drunk, but when he realises she is praying, he blesses her. A child named Samuel is born, and Samuel is dedicated to the Lord as a Nazirite  – the only one besides Samson to be identified in the Bible. Hannah sings a song of praise upon the fulfilment of her vow. Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas , sin against God's laws and the people, specifically by demanding raw rather than boiled meat for sacrifice and having sex with

6160-426: Is forgiven and will not die, his son with Bathsheba will. The child becomes ill, and David spends his time fasting and praying, but to no avail, because the child dies. David's attendants are scared to tell him the news, worried about what he may do. He surprises everyone by ending his fasting, saying that he was fasting and praying was an attempt to persuade God to save his child, whereas fasting now isn't going to bring

6314-405: Is growing increasingly anxious about the upcoming battle, but cannot get advice from God. He decides to attempt to contact Samuel from beyond the grave. While he has expelled all the witches and spiritists, he learns that one remains at Endor . After Saul assures her she will not be punished, she agrees to summon Samuel. Samuel is not happy to be disturbed, and reveals that the Philistines will win

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6468-561: Is king, but God allows David to defeat them in two battles, first in Baal Perizim and next in the Valley of Rephaim . The Ark is currently still in Baalah (another name for Kiriath Jearim), but David wants to bring it to Jerusalem. He puts it on a cart and employs the priests Uzzah and Ahio , both sons of Abinadab and brothers of Eleazar, to accompany it. A grand procession with musical instruments

6622-585: Is married off to the nobleman Adriel . However, David is in love with Michal , another of Saul's daughters. Although David is still unsure about becoming son-in-law to the king, Saul requires only 100 Philistine foreskins as dowry. Although this is a plan to have David captured by the Philistines, David kills 200 Philistines and brings their foreskins back to Saul. Saul then plots David's death, but Jonathan talks him out of it. Once again Saul tries to kill David with his spear, and so David decides to escape, lowered out of

6776-435: Is no extrabiblical evidence confirming this. The extrasolar object designated Fomalhaut b is named after Dagon. Multiple origins have been proposed for Dagan's name. According to Philo of Byblos , the Phoenician author Sanchuniathon explained Dagon as a word for "grain" ( siton ). Historian Manfred Hutter considers it possible that the god's name derives from the root * dgn (to be cloudy), which he interprets as

6930-613: Is no longer considered the consensus. Lluís Feliu in his study of Dagan concludes that the association between these two deities was limited to sharing temples in Mesopotamia, and was most likely based on their origin in the western region and shared status as foreign deities in the eyes of Mesopotamian theologians. He also points out that there is no indication that they were closely connected outside of Babylonia , especially in parts of Syria where they were most commonly worshiped. He additionally remarks that Lambert mistakenly assumed Ishara

7084-439: Is not a member of the family of El and Athirat in the beginning of the narrative and thus not their son by birth, but merely a brother of their children in the sense known from Bronze Age diplomatic texts. He argues that much as allied kings referred to each other as "brothers", so did the gods in Ugaritic myths. The Phoenician inscription on the sarcophagus of King Eshmunʿazar of Sidon (5th century BC) relates: "Furthermore,

7238-643: Is not followed by kings and prophets, but some critical scholars look elsewhere seeking a harmonization of the issues. In the Book of Chronicles , Samuel is described as a Levite, rectifying this situation; however critical scholarship widely sees 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 Biblical law codes themselves are thought to postdate

7392-432: Is one and the same as Haburitum , goddess of the river Habur , who also appears in Mesopotamian texts in association with Dagan. Both Feliu and Alfonso Archi point out that Haburitum and Ishara could appear side by side in the same documents, and therefore cannot be two names of the same deity. Archi considers it more likely that Haburitum was analogous to Belet Nagar . Like Feliu, he considers it implausible that Dagan

7546-456: Is organised, but comes to a sudden halt when the oxen stumble, causing Uzzah to touch the Ark and die. David is afraid to take it any further and stores it in the house of a man named Obed-Edom . When, after three months, Obed-Edom and his family have received nothing but blessings, David takes the Ark to Jerusalem. As part of the ceremony bringing the Ark into the city, David dances in front of it wearing nothing but an ephod . Michal sees this and

7700-508: Is passed to the city of Kiriath Jearim , where a new priest, Eleazar, son of Abinadab , is appointed to guard the ark for the twenty years it is there. The Philistines attack the Israelites gathered at Mizpah in Benjamin. Samuel appeals to God, the Philistines are decisively beaten, and the Israelites reclaim their lost territory. Samuel sets up the Eben-Ezer (the stone of help) in remembrance of

7854-621: Is seen as a prophet and seer in the Islamic faith. The narrative of Samuel in Islam focuses specifically on his birth and the anointing of Talut . Other elements from his narrative are in accordance with the narratives of other Prophets of Israel , as exegesis recounts Samuel's preaching against idolatry . He is not mentioned by name in the Qur'an , but may be alluded to in Surah Al-Baqara 2:246 . In

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8008-451: Is shown naked, similar to a naked and bearded Zeus, either seated on a throne or standing while holding a lightning bolt. Other images show him in a form similar to Apollo , holding a bow and standing on a pedestal in front of a female deity. Regardless of the variety of depictions, the abundance of them on coins indicates that the inhabitants of Gaza held him in high esteem and associated this god with their city. Textual sources portray him as

8162-497: Is some evidence that in Mesopotamia Dagan was connected with the poorly known tradition about conflict between the gods and Enmesharra , for example a passage stating that "with Dagan's authority [gods] have been guarding Enmešarra from time immemorial" is known; Dagan might however be a synonym of Enlil rather than a distinct deity in this context according to Wilfred G. Lambert . The fragmentary myth Uraš and Marduk (here

8316-657: Is sometimes regarded as equal in rank to the great city gods of Sumer and Akkad . One text uses the formula " Ishtar in Eanna , Enlil in Nippur , Dagan in Tuttul, Ninhursag in Kesh, Ea in Eridu ." In the Ur III period , marriages between rulers of Syrian and Mesopotamian politites likely contributed to the spread of the worship of Dagan, as well other western deities like Ishara and Haburitum, in

8470-508: Is the war god Aštabi rather than a weather god. In Hurrian tradition, Dagan was equated with Kumarbi , though only because of shared senior position in the respective pantheons. Kumarbi was nonetheless called "the Dagan of the Hurrians," and Shalash was viewed as his spouse due to this syncretic process . However, she is absent from Hurrian myths about Kumarbi. Due to the similarity between

8624-874: The Moabites , the Ammonites , the Edomites , the Zobahites , the Philistines and the Amalekites , winning victory over them all. His kingdom is in a constant state of war, and he constantly recruits new heroes to his army. However, he disobeys God's instruction to destroy Amalek: Saul spares Agag , the Amalekite ruler, and the best portion of the Amalekite flocks to present them as sacrifices. Samuel rebukes Saul and tells him that God has now chosen another man to be king of Israel. Samuel then kills Agag himself. Samuel travels to Bethlehem to visit

8778-681: The Septuagint , a basis of the Christian biblical canons , the text is divided into two books, now called the First and Second Book of Samuel. The Jerusalem Bible divides the two Books of Samuel into five sections. Further subheadings are also based on subdivisions in that version: 1 Samuel 1:1–7:17. Samuel 1 Samuel 8:1–15:35. Samuel and Saul 1 Samuel 16:1–2 Samuel 1:27. Saul and David 2 Samuel 2:1–20:26. David 2 Samuel 21:1–24:25. Supplementary Information A man named Elkanah , an Ephraimite from

8932-425: The male god from Dilbat , not the earth goddess ) mentions Dagan, similarly most likely fully equated in this context with Enlil. A legendary king of Purushanda who serves as an opponent of Sargon of Akkad in the epic King of Battle bears the name Nūr-Dagan. Evidence from the coastal city of Ugarit is inconclusive. Whether a temple initially often identified as Dagan's was dedicated to him rather than El

9086-477: The "Upper Land" and the cities of Ebla, Mari and Yarmuti in particular, as well as over areas as distant as the "cedar forest and silver mountains." To gain Dagan's favor, Sargon prayed to him in Tuttul . An inscription from the reign of Naram-Sin describes inhabitants of the western frontier of his empire "as far as (the city of) Ulišum" as "people whom the god Dagan had given to him." In Mesopotamian sources, Dagan

9240-418: The 1997 television film David , Eamonn Walker in the 2009 television series Kings , and Mohammad Bakri in the 2016 television series Of Kings and Prophets . Attribution Dagon Dagon ( Hebrew : דָּגוֹן , Dāgōn ) or Dagan ( Sumerian : 𒀭𒁕𒃶 , romanized:  da-gan ; Phoenician : 𐤃𐤂𐤍 , romanized:  Dāgān ) was a god worshipped in ancient Syria across

9394-690: The Amalekites' sheep and oxen, intending to sacrifice the livestock to the Lord. This was in violation of the Lord's command, as pronounced by Samuel, to "... utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass" (1 Samuel 15:3, KJV). Samuel confronted Saul for his disobedience and told him that God made him king, and God can unmake him king. Samuel then proceeded to execute Agag. Saul never saw Samuel alive again after this. Samuel then proceeded to Bethlehem and secretly anointed David as king. He would later provide sanctuary for David, when

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9548-606: The Amalekites, and David's wives taken captive. After seeking God's advice, David decides to pursue the raiding Amalekites, finding the Egyptian slave of one, abandoned when he became ill, who can show them the band. When they are located and found to be feasting, David fights all day, with only 400 escaping on camels. David recovers everything and returns to the Besor Valley , where 200 men who were too exhausted to come with him have been guarding supplies. David announces all are to share in

9702-435: The Ammonites suspect his ambassadors are spies and humiliate them before sending them back to David. When they realise their mistake, they fear retaliation from David and amass an army from the surrounding tribes. When David hears that they are doing this, he sends Joab to lead his own army to their city gates, where the Ammonites are in battle formation. Joab decides to split the army in two: he will lead an elite force to attack

9856-456: The Ammonites, takes a large amount of plunder and puts the Ammonites into forced labour before returning to Jerusalem. Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible , plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul , and again in the monarchy 's transition from Saul to David . He is venerated as

10010-505: The Aramean faction, while the rest of the army, led by Abisai, will focus on the Ammonites. If either enemy force turns out to be too strong, the other Israelite force will come to help their comrades. The Arameans flee from Joab, causing the Ammonites to also flee from Abishai. The Israelite army returns to Jerusalem. The Arameans regroup and cross the Euphrates, and this time David himself wins

10164-633: The Book(s) of Samuel (according to the Documentary Hypothesis ), this would suggest Chronicles is making its claim based on religious motivations. According to most modern scholarship, the Levitical genealogy of 1 Chronicles 4 is not historical. According to the documentary hypothesis of Biblical source criticism, which postulates that " Deuteronomistic historians " redacted the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings),

10318-503: The Book(s) of Samuel. The oldest is considered to be that marking Samuel as the local seer of Ramah, who willingly anointed Saul as king in secret, while the latter presents Samuel as a national figure, begrudgingly anointing Saul as king in front of a national assembly. This later source is generally known as the Republican source , since it denigrates the monarchy (particularly the actions of Saul) and favours religious figures, in contrast to

10472-499: The Deuteronomistic historians, Samuel would have been an extension of Moses and continuing Moses' function as a prophet, judge, and priest, which makes the nature of the historical Samuel uncertain. According to the Book of Jeremiah and one of the Psalms , 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

10626-454: The Deuteronomists idealized Samuel as a figure larger than life, like Joshua . For example, Samuel's father Elkanah is described as having originated from Zuph , specifically Ramathaim-Zophim , which was part of the tribal lands of Ephraim , while 1 Chronicles states that he was a Levite . Samuel is portrayed as a judge who leads the military, as the judges in the Book of Judges, and also who exercises judicial functions. In 1 Sam 12:6–17,

10780-509: The Hebrew Śāmū (שָׂמוּ) + ʾĒl, meaning "God has set" or "God has placed". This meaning relating to the idea of God setting/placing a child in the womb, alongside Hannah dedicating Samuel as a Nazirite to God. The Hebrew śāmū is also related to the Akkadian šâmū (𒊮𒈬), which shares the same meaning. From the explanation given in 1 Samuel 1:20 , however, it would seem to come from a contraction of

10934-407: The Hebrew שְׁאִלְתִּיו מֵאֵל ( Modern: Šəʾīltīv mēʾĒl, Tiberian: Šĭʾīltīw mēʾĒl ), meaning "I have asked/borrowed him from God". Further shortened to שָׁאוּל מֵאֵל ( Šāʾūl mēʾĒl, "asked/borrowed from God" ), then finally contracted to שְׁמוּאֵל ( Šəmūʾēl/Šămūʾēl ). This meaning also relating to Hannah dedicating Samuel as a Nazirite to God as well. Samuel worked under Eli in the service of

11088-453: The Hittite , from battle, David encourages him to go home and see his wife, but Uriah declines in case David might need him, and sleeps in the doorway to the palace that night. David, in spite of inviting Uriah to feasts, continues to be unable to persuade him to go home. David then deliberately sends Uriah on a suicide mission. David loses some of his best warriors in this mission, so Joab tells

11242-789: 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 . Herbert Lockyer , minister and author, and others have seen in Samuel's combined offices of prophet, priest, and ruler a foreshadowing of Christ. Samuel ( Arabic : صموئيل or شموئيل , romanized :  Šamūʾīl or Ṣamūʾīl )

11396-631: The Islamic narrative, the Israelites after Moses wanted a king to rule over their country. Thus, God sent a prophet, Samuel, to anoint Talut as the first king for the Israelites. However, the Israelites mocked and reviled the newly appointed king, as he was not wealthy from birth (Q 2:247 ). But, assuming Talut to be Saul , in sharp contrast to the Hebrew Bible, the Qur'an praises Saul greatly, and mentions that he

11550-533: The Israelite ritual of the entrance of the Ark of the Covenant , defeat the Israelites at the Battle of Aphek , capturing the Ark and killing Hophni and Phinehas, thus fulfilling the earlier prophecy. When Eli hears of these two events, particularly the capture of the Ark, he falls off his chair and dies. His daughter-in-law, in turn, goes into labour at this, and names her son Ichabod ('without glory') in commemoration of

11704-466: The Israelites make up a song about how much more successful David is than Saul. One day, Saul decides to kill David with a spear, but David avoids him. Saul realises that God is now with David and no longer with him, making him scared of David. He therefore seeks other ways to pacify David. First, he sends him on military campaigns, but this only makes him more successful. Next, he tries to marry him off to his daughter Merab, but David refuses, and so Merab

11858-587: The Lord of Kings gave us Dor and Joppa , the mighty lands of Dagon, which are in the Plain of Sharon , in accordance with the important deeds which I did." However, said king built no temples dedicated to Dagon in his city, and this god appears only in an insignificant role in the treaty between Esarhaddon and king Baal I of Tyre . It is therefore doubtful if he was prominent in Phoenician religion . According to Philo of Byblos , Sanchuniathon reportedly made Dagon

12012-457: The Lord told him that the wickedness of the sons of Eli had resulted in their dynasty being condemned to destruction. In the morning, Samuel was hesitant about reporting the message to Eli, but Eli asked him to honestly recount to him what he had been told by the Lord. Upon receiving the communication, Eli merely said that the Lord should do what seems right unto him. Samuel grew up and "all Israel from Dan to Beersheba " came to know that Samuel

12166-488: The Mesopotamian god Ea (under a phonetic spelling of the name, which makes it impossible he was a logographic stand-in for local god Kothar-wa-Khasis ) appeared frequently in them. Dagan plays no active role in Ugaritic myths (such as the Baal cycle ), though Baal is frequently referred to as his "son" or "lineage." In the poem Marriage of Nikkal and Yarikh he is referred to as "Dagan of Tuttul," possibly indicating that he

12320-407: The Philistines begins, and a Philistine champion named Goliath emerges, challenging any Israelite to one-on-one combat, with the loser's people becoming subject to the winner. David goes to take food to his brothers in the Israelite camp, learns of the situation and the reward Saul is willing to give to the person who kills him great wealth, his daughter's hand in marriage and exemption from taxes for

12474-658: The Philistines out of fear of Saul, taking his wives with him and brutally destroying his enemies, largely the Geshurites , the Girzites and the Amalekites, but makes the Philistines believe he is attacking the Israelites, the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites instead. King Achish is pleased with him, and supposes he will continue to serve him. Eventually, the Philistines go to war with the Israelites, and David goes with them. Meanwhile, Saul

12628-425: The Philistines. "[I]t may have been possible and necessary for Samuel to exercise authority in roles that would normally not converge in a single individual (priest, prophet, judge)." After 20 years of oppression, Samuel, who had gained national prominence as a prophet (1 Samuel 3:20), summoned the people to the hill of Mizpah , and led them against the Philistines. The Philistines, having marched to Mizpah to attack

12782-552: The Second Dynasty of Isin ( middle Babylonian period ), called himself Dagan's regent. The stele of the 9th century BC Assyrian emperor Ashurnasirpal II refers to Ashurnasirpal as the favorite of Anu and of Dagan. This phrase might, however, be simply a literary relic. In the Mesopotamian god list An = Anum , Dagan was placed in the circle of Enlil, similar to another western deity, Ishara. The same document equates him with Enlil and his wife Shalash with Ninlil . There

12936-477: The age of kings is about to begin, and speaks to the Israelites, demonstrating his innocence and recapping the history of Israel. He calls on the Lord to send thunder and rain, and rebukes the people for their desire for a king. Nonetheless, he tells them that as long as they refrain from idol worship, they will not perish – but if they do, calamity will befall the kingdom. Despite his numerous military victories, Saul disobeys Yahweh's instructions. First of all, after

13090-404: The ark, but this time with head and hands severed, lying on the miptān translated as "threshold" or "podium". The account continues with the puzzling words raq dāgōn nišʾar ʿālāyw , which means literally "only Dagon was left to him." (The Septuagint , Peshitta , and Targums render "Dagon" here as "trunk of Dagon" or "body of Dagon", presumably referring to the lower part of his image. Dagon

13244-556: The armor-bearer refuses. When they see the battle going badly, the Israelites flee their towns, allowing the Philistines to occupy them. The next day, the Philistines find Saul, behead him, and take his armour to the temple of Astarte and his body to Beth Shan . When they hear what has happened, the citizens of Jabesh Gilead take his body and perform funerary rites in their city. Back in Ziklag, three days after Saul's death, David receives news that Saul and his sons are dead. It transpires that

13398-458: The association with dâg "fish" among the maritime Canaanites (Phoenicians) would have affected the god's iconography. However, later he correctly identified it as a medieval invention. Modern researchers not only do not accept it, but even question if Dagan/Dagon was worshiped in coastal areas in any significant capacity at all. In the Classical period the central temple of Gaza was dedicated to

13552-458: The assumption that Samuel was still living when summoned, is discredited (Tosef., Soṭah, xi. 5). Still he was invoked during the first twelve months after his death, when, according to the Rabbis, the spirit still hovers near the body (Shab. 152b). In connection with the incidents of the story the Rabbis have developed the theory that the necromancer sees the spirit but is unable to hear his speech, while

13706-433: The battle, and takes his place as judge of Israel. In Samuel's old age, he appoints his sons Joel and Abijah as judges but, because of their corruption, the people ask for a king to rule over them. God directs Samuel to grant the people their wish despite his concerns: God gives them Saul from the tribe of Benjamin, whom Samuel anoints during an attempt by Saul to locate his father's lost donkeys. He then invites Saul to

13860-508: The battle, with Saul and his sons dying in the process. Saul is shocked and, although at first reluctant, eats some food and leaves. Back in the Philistine camp, several of the rulers are not happy with the idea of fighting alongside David, suspecting he may defect during the battle. Achish therefore reluctantly sends David back instead of bringing him to Jezreel with the Philistine army. When David and his men arrive in Ziklag , they find it sacked by

14014-414: The blood. To counteract this, Saul sets up an altar so the proper laws can be observed. When a priest suggests asking God before launching another attack, God is silent, leading Saul to set up a pseudo-legal procedure to ascertain whose fault it is that God has abandoned them. The lot falls on Jonathan, but the men refuse to let him be executed since he is the reason for their victory. Over time, Saul fights

14168-515: The brother of Cronus , both sons of the Sky ( Uranus ) and Earth ( Gaia ), but not Hadad's biological father. Hadad (Demarus) was begotten by "Sky" on a concubine before Sky was castrated by his son Ēl, whereupon the pregnant concubine was given to Dagon. Accordingly, Dagon in this version is Hadad's half-brother and stepfather. The Byzantine Etymologicon Magnum lists Dagon as the "Phoenician Cronus." The first-century Jewish historian Josephus mentions

14322-440: The capture of the Ark. Meanwhile, the Philistines take the Ark to the temple of their god Dagon , who recognizes the supremacy of Yahweh. The Philistines are afflicted with plagues, are unable to take the Ark into any city on account of the fear of the populations of those cities, and return the ark to the Israelites, but to the territory of the tribe of Benjamin , to the city of Beth Shemesh , rather than to Shiloh, from where it

14476-399: The child back. After they have mourned, David and Bathsheba have another child, who they name Solomon (also called Jedediah). Back on the front line, in the city of Rabbah , Joab has gained control of the water supply. Joab invites David to finish capturing the city so that it may be named after himself. David gathers an army and travels up himself. He wins a victory, crowns himself king of

14630-462: The child was weaned, she left him in Eli's care, and from time to time she would come to visit her son. According to 1 Samuel 1:20, Hannah named Samuel to commemorate her prayer to God for a child. "... [She] called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord" (KJV). From its appearance, the name Samuel ( Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל Šəmūʾēl , Tiberian: Šămūʾēl ) appears to be constructed from

14784-400: The city have their right eye gouged out as part of the peace treaty. The Jabeshites send out messengers, looking for a saviour. When Saul hears of the situation, he gathers a 330,000-strong army and launches a surprise attack at night, leading Israel to victory and saving Jabesh, thus proving those who doubted him wrong. Saul's kingship is renewed. Samuel is aware he is the final judge and that

14938-409: The city of Ramathaim-Zophim , has two wives, Peninnah and Hannah , the latter of whom is his favourite wife, and a rivalry between the two develops based on the fact that Peninnah has children and Hannah does not. The childless Hannah vows to Yahweh lord of hosts that, if she has a son, he will be dedicated to God. Eli , the priest of Shiloh , where the Ark of the Covenant is located, thinks she

15092-509: The court of the king of Moab in Mizpah . One of Saul's servants, Doeg the Edomite , saw David at Nob, and informs Saul that he was there. Saul arrives at the town, concludes that the priests are supporting David and has Doeg kill them all. One priest gets away: Abiathar , son of Ahimelech , who goes to join David. David accepts him, since he feels somewhat responsible for the massacre. David liberates

15246-426: The external threat from other tribes, such as the Philistines, the tribal leaders decided that there was a need for a more unified, central government, and demanded Samuel appoint a king so that they could be like other nations. Samuel interpreted this as a personal rejection, and at first was reluctant to oblige, until reassured by a divine revelation. He warned the people of the potential negative consequences of such

15400-441: The fall of the city, Dagan's cult continued and retained its prestige. In Mari, Dagan and Addu (Hadad) were protectors of the king and played a role in enthronement ceremony . Multiple kings of Mari regarded Dagan as the source of their authority. During the reign of Zimri-Lim , Dagan was one of the gods who received the most offerings during festivals, with other deities comparably celebrated in official offering lists including

15554-620: The first century. He is first called "the Seer" in 1 Samuel 9:9 . Samuel's mother was Hannah and his father was Elkanah . Elkanah lived at Ramathaim in the district of Zuph . His genealogy is also found in a pedigree of the Kohathites (1 Chronicles 6:3–15) and in that of Heman the Ezrahite , apparently his grandson (1 Chronicles 6:18–33). According to the genealogical tables in Chronicles, Elkanah

15708-403: The form Haddu. For comparison, in known documents from Mari Hadad appears in 159 names, while Dagan in 138. However, only 17% of known names from Ugarit are theophoric, which makes it difficult to tell how representative are they when it comes to estimating the popularity of some deities. Additionally, many gods prominent in texts from Ugarit, including Anat, are uncommon in personal names, while

15862-420: The form of a cultic journey of a statue, similar to celebrations of deities such as Lagamal or Belet Nagar attested in the same region. He was also celebrated during the zukru festival. Another festival dedicated to him known from documents from Emar was kissu , which most likely took place in Šatappi, a city possibly located further south. The precise meaning of the term kissu remains uncertain, making

16016-401: The form of a man, as it is said, his two hands were cut off." The Septuagint text of 1 Samuel 5.2–7 says that both the hands and the head of the image of Dagon were broken off. The first to cast doubt on the "fish" etymology was Hartmut Schmökel  [ de ] in his 1928 study of Dagan, though he initially nonetheless suggested that while Dagon was not in origin a "fish god",

16170-406: The god Ea . The association with dāg / dâg 'fish' was made by 11th-century Jewish Bible commentator Rashi . In the 13th century, David Kimhi interpreted the odd sentence in 1 Samuel 5.2–7 that "only Dagon was left to him" to mean "only the form of a fish was left", adding: "It is said that Dagon, from his navel down, had the form of a fish (whence his name, Dagon), and from his navel up,

16324-438: The ground. Abishai advocates killing him, but David once again resists, content with taking a spear and water jug lying by Saul's head. The next morning, David advises Abner , Saul's captain, to put the soldiers to death for not protecting Saul, citing the absence of the spear and water jug as evidence. Saul interrupts, and once again repents of his hunt. He blesses David, David returns his spear and Saul returns home. David joins

16478-426: The invasion, Saul learns David is now living in the desert of En Gedi and resumes his search for him. At one point, he enters a cave to relieve himself. David and his men are further back in the cave. They discuss the possibility of killing Saul, but David opts to merely cut a corner off his robe and use this as proof that he does not in fact wish to kill Saul. Saul repents of how he has treated David, recognises him as

16632-576: The jealous Saul first tried to have him killed. Samuel is described in the biblical narrative as being buried in Ramah . According to tradition, this burial place has been identified with Samuel's tomb in the West Bank village of Nabi Samwil . Some time after his death, Saul had the Witch of Endor conjure Samuel's spirit from Sheol in order to predict the result of an upcoming battle (1 Samuel 28:3–24). Samuel

16786-479: The killer's family and tells Saul he will kill Goliath. Saul wants him to wear his armour, but David finds he cannot because he is not used to it. Seeing David's youth, Goliath begins to curse him. David slings a stone into Goliath's forehead, and Goliath dies. David cuts off Goliath's head with Goliath's sword. Jonathan befriends David. Saul begins to send David on military missions and quickly promotes him given his successes, but begins to become jealous of David after

16940-467: The lack of mythical narratives or hymns about him and comparatively small number of other documents, though researchers were nonetheless able to determine some of his functions. Sources from Emar, Aleppo and Mari attest that Dagan was an archetypal "father of gods" and a creator figure. This aspect of his character was likely exemplified by the epithet "lord of the offspring" connected to the zukru festival from Emar. His connection to funerary offerings

17094-446: The local dynasty's tutelary deity Itūr-Mēr , Annunitum , Nergal , Shamash , Ea , Ninhursag , Addu ( Hadad ) and Belet Ekalli ( Ninegal ). In a letter Zimri-Lim's wife Šibtu enumerated Dagan, Shamash, Itūr-Mēr, Belet Ekalli and Addu as "the allies for me" and the deities who "go by my lord's side." The Terqa temple was closely associated with Zimri-Lim. A source from the period of his reign attests that to celebrate his coronation,

17248-505: The meantime Saul has married David's first wife, Michal, off to a nobleman named Palti, son of Laish . Saul decides to return to pursuing David, and the Ziphites alert him as to David's whereabouts. Saul returns to the desert of Ziph and sets up camp. One night, David and two companions, Achimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah (his nephew), go to Saul's camp and find him asleep on

17402-446: The messenger is an Amalekite who, at Saul's insistence, had killed Saul to speed his death along, and brought his crown to David. David orders his death for having killed God's anointed. At this point, David offers a majestic eulogy, where he praises the bravery and magnificence of both his friend Jonathan and King Saul. David returns to Hebron at God's instruction. The elders of Judah anoint David as king, and as his first act he offers

17556-405: The messenger reporting back to tell David that Uriah is dead. David instructs Joab to continue the attack of the city. After Bathsheba has finished mourning Uriah, David marries her and she gives birth. Nathan comes to David and tells him a parable. In a town, there are a rich man and a poor man. The rich man has much livestock, but the poor man has only one lamb whom he loves like a child. One day,

17710-544: The middle of the Euphrates , with primary temples located in Tuttul and Terqa , though many attestations of his cult come from cities such as Mari and Emar as well. In settlements situated in the upper Euphrates area, he was regarded as the "father of gods" similar to Mesopotamian Enlil or Hurrian Kumarbi , as well as a lord of the land, a god of prosperity, and a source of royal legitimacy. A large number of theophoric names , both masculine and feminine, attests that he

17864-567: The names of Dagan's wife Shalash and Shala, wife of Adad in Mesopotamia, some researches conclude that the two goddesses were the same and that Dagan was possibly a weather god himself. However, there is no clear proof that Dagan fulfilled such a function or that he was conflated with any weather gods. In some documents from Syrian cities, for example Halab and Ugarit, the logogram NISABA designates Dagan. As noted by Alphonso Archi, in Western Semitic languages such as Ugaritic Dagan's name

18018-434: The nature of these celebrations, and roles of specific deities in them, difficult to ascertain. It has been proposed that the presence of underworld deities – Shuwala and Ugur – indicates that it represented the periodic death and return to life of a deity , possibly Dagan's spouse, but this remains speculative. Ḫammu-rāpi, who around 1400 BCE ruled the area comprising the former independent Kingdom of Khana , used

18172-507: The newly amassed Israelite army, were soundly defeated and fled in terror. The retreating Philistines were slaughtered by the Israelites. 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. Samuel initially appointed his two sons Joel and Abijah as his successors; however, just like Eli's sons, Samuel's proved unworthy for they accepted bribes and perverted judgement. The Israelites rejected them. Because of

18326-466: The next king and makes him promise not to kill off his descendants. Samuel dies, and, after mourning him, David moves on to the Desert of Paran . Here he meets the shepherds of a Calebite named Nabal , and his men help protect them. At sheep-shearing time, he sends some of his men to ask for food. Nabal refuses, preferring to keep his food for his household. When his wife, Abigail , hears of this, she takes

18480-537: The other main source—the Monarchial source —which treats it favourably. The Monarchial source would have Saul appointed king by public acclamation, due to his military victories, and not by Samuel's cleromancy . Another difference between the sources is that the Republican source treats the ecstatic prophets as somewhat independent from Samuel (1 Samuel 9:1ff) rather than having been led by him. The passage in which Samuel

18634-457: The overdue Samuel to arrive. He prophesied that Saul's rule would see no dynastic succession. Samuel also directed Saul to "utterly destroy" the Amalekites in fulfilment of the commandment in Deuteronomy 25:17–19: During the campaign against the Amalekites, King Saul spared Agag , the king of the Amalekites, and the best of their livestock. Saul told Samuel that he had spared the choicest of

18788-412: The people should not fall into idol worship, or worship of Asherah or of Baal . Samuel promised that God would subject the people to foreign invaders should they disobey. 1 Kings 11:5, 33, and 2 Kings 23:13 note that the Israelites fell into Asherah worship later on. When Saul was preparing to fight the Philistines, Samuel denounced him for proceeding with the pre-battle sacrifice without waiting for

18942-559: The person at whose instance the spirit is called hears the voice but fails to see; bystanders neither hear nor see (Yalḳ., l.c.; Redaḳ and RaLBaG's commentaries). The outcry of the woman at the sight of Samuel was due to his rising in an unusual way—upright, not, as she expected, in a horizontal position (comp. LXX. ὄρθιον in verse 14). Some authors see the biblical Samuel as combining descriptions of two distinct roles: Source-critical scholarship suggests that these two roles come from different sources, which later were spliced together to form

19096-515: The pool of Hebron and Ish-bosheth's head is buried in Abner's tomb. David is anointed king of all Israel. Against all odds, David captures Jerusalem from the Jebusites . He takes over the fortress of Zion and builds up the area around it. Hiram I , king of Tyre sends craftsmen to build David a palace. Meanwhile, David's family continues to grow. The Philistines decide to attack Israel now that David

19250-414: The population of Tuttul and the presence of his officials was in at least one case regarded as a disturbance of Dagan's rites. In Emar , Dagan was the most senior god in offering lists, preceding the weather god (Baal/Hadad) and the city god, whose name was written logographically as NIN.URTA. An important celebration dedicated to him in this location was so-called erēb Dagan , "entry of Dagan." It took

19404-409: The process. The panic this creates leads to a victory for the Israelites. Jonathan finds some honey and eats it, despite a royal decree not to eat until evening. Jonathan begins to doubt his father, reasoning an even greater victory could have been achieved if the men had eaten. The royal decree has other unintended knock-on effects, namely that the men start killing and eating animals without draining

19558-529: The proximity of the aforementioned city), Urah (on the left bank of the Euphrates), Hakkulân, Šaggarātum, Zarri-amnān, Dašrah, Ida-Maras (in the Habur triangle), Admatum (a village in the kingdom of Ašlakkā), as well as Emar and various difficult to locate villages in its proximity. In Ebla, Dagan was usually referred to with titles such as "lord of Tuttul" ( BAD Du-du-lu ) or "lord of the country" ( BAD KALAM ), but

19712-467: The rich man has a guest for dinner, and instead of slaughtering one of his own livestock, took the poor man's lamb and cooked it. David angrily insists the rich man be put to death, but Nathan tells him he is the man, saying he has committed a sin to get something he already had plenty of (wives), and prophesies that his family will be gripped by violence, and someone will have affairs with his wives publicly. David repents, and Nathan tells him that while he

19866-446: The same time, David sends a petition to Ish-bosheth for the return of Michal, which Ish-bosheth agrees to. Patiel follows her crying until he is told to return home. Following the return of Michal, Abner agrees to get the elders of Israel to agree to make David king. Joab believes Abner was lying in his purpose of coming to David and, after recalling him to Hebron, kills him in revenge for Asahel. David curses Joab's family to always contain

20020-490: The sanctuary's Ark for themselves . Upon hearing the news of the capture of the Ark of the Covenant, and the death of his sons, Eli collapsed and died. When the Philistines had been in possession of the Ark for seven months and had been visited with calamities and misfortunes, they decided to return the Ark to the Israelites. According to Bruce C. Birch, Samuel was a key figure in keeping the Israelites' religious heritage and identity alive during Israel's defeat and occupation by

20174-508: The shrine at Shiloh. One night, Samuel heard a voice calling his name. According to the first-century Jewish historian Josephus , Samuel was 12 years old. Samuel initially assumed it was coming from Eli and went to Eli to ask what he wanted. Eli, however, sent Samuel back to sleep. After this happened three times, Eli realised that the voice was the Lord's, and instructed Samuel on how to answer: If He calls you, then you must say, "Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears". Once Samuel responded,

20328-469: The south of Mesopotamia. In Nippur , Dagan shared a temple with Ishara, first attested during the reign of Amar-Suen . Both deities were likely introduced from Mari and were linked only by their northwestern origin. Ishbi-Erra of Isin , assumed to be of Amorite origin and described by Ibbi-Sin of Ur as "man of Mari" and "traveling rubbish salesman of non- Sumerian origin" frequently mentioned Dagan in documents. Several of Ishbi-Erra's successors on

20482-527: The tabernacle to hear God. 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 , 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)

20636-441: The tabernacle's serving women. But the child Samuel grows up "in the presence of the Lord": his family visits him each year, bringing a new coat for him, and Hannah has five more children. Eli tries to persuade his sons to stop their wickedness, but fails. As punishment for this, a holy man arrives, prophesying that Eli's family will be cut off and none of his descendants will see old age. One night, God calls Samuel and, thinking Eli

20790-498: The territory of the tribe of Asher ( Joshua 19.27), and in Gaza (see Judges 16.23, which tells soon after how the temple is destroyed by Samson as his last act). Another temple, located in Ashdod , was mentioned in 1 Samuel 5:2–7 and again as late as 1 Maccabees 10.83 and 11.4. King Saul's head was displayed in a temple of Dagon after his death ( 1 Chronicles 10:8–10 ). There was also

20944-512: The throne had theophoric names invoking Dagan, among them Iddin-Dagan and Ishme-Dagan . They were also involved in restoring his temples in Isin and in Ur. Some aspects of the syncretism between Dagan and Enlil seemingly can be attributed to this dynasty. A few of the early Amorite kings of Assyria mention Dagan in their inscriptions, for example Shamshi-Adad I called himself "worshipper of Dagan" in

21098-588: The title "governor of Ilaba and Dagan." Due to the scarcity of sources, the later history of Dagan's cult remains unclear, though it is evident that he was no longer the head god of the upper Euphrates area in later times. The head of the Aramean pantheon known from sources from the first millennium BCE was Hadad. Mesopotamian rulers saw Dagan as the lord of the western lands (e.g., ancient Syria) and thanked him for enabling their conquests in that area. Inscriptions credit Dagan with granting Sargon of Akkad rule over

21252-451: The treasure, and even sends some to the elders of Judah when he returns to Ziklag. Meanwhile, the Battle of Mount Gilboa is raging on and, as Samuel said, the Philistines are winning. Saul's three sons have been killed, and he himself has been wounded by arrows. Saul asks his armor-bearer to run his sword through him rather than let him be captured by the Philistines, but does it himself when

21406-526: The two portrayals of Samuel. The Book(s) of Samuel variously describe Samuel as having carried out sacrifices at sanctuaries, and having constructed and sanctified altars . According to the Priestly Code / Deuteronomic Code only Aaronic priests/ Levites (depending on the underlying tradition) 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

21560-408: The village of Keilah from the Philistines with the help of God and Abiathar. When God tells him that Saul is coming and the citizens of Keilah will hand him over to Saul, David and his men escape to the desert of Ziph , where Jonathan comes and recognises him as the next king. Some Ziphites inform Saul that David is in the desert, but Saul's search is broken off by another Philistine invasion. After

21714-575: Was Dagan who received Enlil's epithets, and in Emar the logographic writing KUR, a shortened version of Enlil's epithet Kur-gal (Great Mountain), stood for Dagan's name in the late Bronze Age. It is unclear if this equation was responsible for the logographic writing of the name of Emar's city god as NIN.URTA, as the god of Emar is unlikely to be Dagan's primary son Hadad (whose name was written logographically as IŠKUR), and in Hurrian sources from Syria NIN.URTA

21868-474: Was a Levite —a fact 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). According to 1 Samuel 1:1–28, Elkanah had two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah had children; Hannah did not. Nonetheless, Elkanah favored Hannah. Jealous, Peninnah reproached Hannah for her lack of children, causing Hannah much heartache. Elkanah

22022-408: Was a devout man and would periodically take his family on pilgrimage to the holy site of Shiloh . On one occasion, Hannah went to the sanctuary and prayed for a child. In tears, she vowed that if she were granted a child, she would dedicate him to God as a nazirite . Eli , who was sitting at the foot of the doorpost in the sanctuary at Shiloh, saw her apparently mumbling to herself and thought she

22176-464: Was a popular deity. He was also worshiped further east, in Mesopotamia, where many rulers regarded him as the god capable of granting them kingship over the western areas. Attestations of Dagan from coastal areas are much less frequent and come mostly from the northern city of Ugarit , where Dagan's cult had a limited scope. According to the Hebrew Bible , Dagan was also the national god of the Philistines , with temples at Ashdod and Gaza , but there

22330-405: Was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord. Anglican theologian Donald Spence Jones comments that "the minds of all the people were thus gradually prepared when the right moment came to acknowledge Samuel as a God-sent chieftain". During Samuel's youth at Shiloh , the Philistines inflicted a decisive defeat against the Israelites at Eben-Ezer , placed the land under Philistine control, and took

22484-449: Was angered by his recalling, and told Saul that the Lord had left him. While the Witch of Endor remains anonymous in the Biblical account, the rabbinical Midrash maintains that she was Zephaniah, the mother of Abner (Yalḳ, Sam. 140, from Pirḳe R. El.). That a supernatural appearance is here described is inferred from the repeated emphasis laid on the statement that Samuel had died and had been buried (I Sam. xxv. 1, xxviii. 3), by which

22638-403: Was drunk, but was soon assured of both her motivation and sobriety. Eli was the priest of Shiloh , and one of the last Israelite Judges before the rule of kings in ancient Israel . He had assumed the leadership after Samson 's death. Eli blessed her and she returned home. Subsequently, Hannah became pregnant, later giving birth to Samuel, and praised God for his mercy and faithfulness. After

22792-436: Was ever regarded as Ishara's husband. He points out that the latter's character was similar to Ishtar 's. In Mesopotamia , Dagan was equated with Enlil due to their shared role as "fathers of gods." This equation was eventually codified by the god list An = Anum , which additionally equated their spouses with each other. However, which of the two parts of this equation was viewed as the primary god varied. In Mari , it

22946-469: Was gifted with great spiritual and physical strength. In the Qur'anic account, Samuel prophesies that the sign of Talut's kingship will be that the Ark of the Covenant will come back to the Israelites. `Abdu'l-Bahá , a central figure in the Bahá'í Faith , mentions Samuel as an example of a genuine Prophet of the House of Israel, alongside Ezekiel . Actors who have portrayed Samuel include Leonard Nimoy in

23100-462: Was homophonous with the word for grain ( dgn in alphabetic Ugaritic texts), and the logographic writing of his name as NISABA was likely a form of wordplay popular among scribes, relying on the fact that the name of Nisaba, the Mesopotamian goddess of writing, could simply be understood as "grain" too. Dagan's character is difficult to study in comparison to that of gods who held a comparable position in Mesopotamia (such as Enlil or Marduk ) due to

23254-608: Was influenced by Syrian and Hurrian tradition. Noga Ayali-Darshan states that the portrayal of the relationship between El and Baal in the Baal cycle is similar to that between Kumarbi and Teshub in the Kumarbi cycle, and that in the Hellenized Phoenician tradition recorded by Philo of Byblos Demarous (Baal) has both a biological father (" Ouranos ") and a step-father (Dagon) - both of them distinct from Elos (El; in this Phoenician myth

23408-421: Was most likely an extension of his role as a divine ancestor, and modern theories regarding him as an underworld god are most likely erroneous. One of Dagan's best documented functions was guaranteeing abundant harvests of grain. However, he was not an agricultural god but rather the source of prosperity in general. In 3rd millennium BCE Tuttul Dagan was the god believed to bestow kingship upon rulers. He had

23562-513: Was present. 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

23716-592: Was viewed as a foreign god by Ugaritic scribes. It has been argued by Joseph Fontenrose in an article from 1957 that, whatever their deep origins, at Ugarit, Dagan was sometimes identified with El , explaining why Dagan, who possibly had an important temple at Ugarit is so neglected in the Ras Shamra mythological texts, where he is merely the father of Baal, but Anat , El's daughter, is Baal's sister, and why no temple of El has appeared at Ugarit. More recent research shows that evidence for identification of Dagan with El

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