What Is the Background of the Books of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel?

The historical setting of 1 and 2 Samuel is the sunset of the judges period embodied in Samuel and the dawn of the theocratic monarchy embodied in Saul and David. Samuel, one of the greatest prophets since Moses, served as the last of the judges and facilitated the transition from the judgeship to the monarchy. The period of time covered in 1 and 2 Samuel cannot be stated with precision, but it covers approximately 150 years. If one estimates the time of the events of Hannah’s experiences in 1Sm 1 to be about 10 years, and notes that Samuel was old (1Sm 8:1) when he anointed Saul as king (60–65 years of age?), and takes into consideration the 40-year reigns of Saul and David, David’s reign ending with his death in 970 BC, one has an estimated time span of 150 years from about 1120 BC to 970 BC.

The genre of 1 and 2 Samuel is historical narrative, that is, a recounting of historical facts from the Lord’s perspective, related and relived in the form of a story for the purpose of instruction. The books belong to the part of the canon designated as the historical books. Baldwin states: “The books of Samuel are the product of highly developed literary art . . . purposefully selective . . . intending to engage the reader in an active relationship with the text” (Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel, TOTC, edited by D. J. Wiseman [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1988], 16].

The narrator recounted the history from God’s point of view. Since the Lord is the ultimate author of the account, the narrator’s perspective is the perspective of the Lord Himself.

The narrator is a skilled storyteller. One can hardly overestimate the incredible literary skill and subtlety of the narrator/storyteller of 1 and 2 Samuel. His skillful use of irony, humor, flashback, and dramatic tension and resolution is astounding.

The narrative demands our imaginative participation in the events themselves, thus helping us see how our own story by God’s grace can fit into and is a part of the big story of redemption.

Unforgettable characters, real people, dot the narrative landscape. The narrator devotes many chapters to David. Next to Moses, no other person captured Israel’s imagination like David, Israel’s greatest king, the measure by whom all subsequent kings were evaluated. He was a man after God’s own heart, and yet the Spirit of God did not hide his terrible sin recounted in 2Sm 11. More than anyone else, the Lord is met in 1 and 2 Samuel by the reader. First and 2 Samuel are truly His story, as is all of Scripture.