1 Samuel
About 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel
The books of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel were once one book. God's prophet Samuel is the first important person that we read about in this book. He died 930 years before Christ was born.
Before kings ruled Israel, their leaders were called ‘judges’. They were leaders of the Israelites for about 350 years after Joshua died. Samuel was the last of Israel's judges. He was also a prophet. Samuel anointed Saul to be the first king of Israel. But Saul did not obey God. So God chose another king, David, who would obey him. 1 Samuel finishes with the death of King Saul. 2 Samuel records the life of David as king. David's son, Solomon, became Israel's king after him.
After King Solomon died, the kingdom of Israel divided into two kingdoms. Israel was the kingdom in the north and Judah was the kingdom in the south. Judah's kingdom included the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
1:0Judah was the most important Israelite tribe.