Israel's first king and the rise of David.
Explore the book of 1 Samuel - Israel's transition to monarchy, its troubled first king Saul, and the rise of David.
The full text, World English Bible - start reading here.
ReadThe people request what Judges warned against.
Learn MoreEarly promise gives way to disobedience and fear.
Learn MoreA shepherd's unlikely path from Goliath to the court.
Learn More1 Samuel opens with the aging prophet-judge Samuel and the people's growing demand for a king to lead them like the surrounding nations, a request Samuel and God both treat with some reluctance given what centralized human power can become. Saul is eventually chosen and anointed as the first king, an experiment in monarchy that the book will spend much of its remaining chapters testing.
Saul begins his reign with real military success but gradually unravels through a series of disobedient decisions, including impatience with instructions from Samuel and a refusal to fully carry out a commanded task, leading to the announcement that his line will not continue on the throne. His later chapters are marked increasingly by paranoia and instability, especially once a younger rival begins to overshadow him.
David enters the story as a young shepherd who defeats the giant Philistine champion Goliath in single combat, quickly becoming a celebrated warrior and a source of growing jealousy from Saul. Much of the book's second half follows David as a fugitive, repeatedly refusing opportunities to kill Saul even while fleeing for his life, building toward the transition of power the book has been anticipating from its opening chapters.