1 Samuel 1 - Introduction

THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL,
OTHERWISE CALLED
THE FIRST BOOK OF THE KINGS.

(1 Samuel 1:1) The Home Life of the Family of the future Prophet-judge of Israel. (1 Samuel 1:9) Interview of Hannah with Eli — Birth and Dedication of Samuel.

Somewhere about the year 1140 B.C. (or, as some suppose, thirty years earlier), the Levitical family of Elkanah, of the house of Kohath, lived in Ramathaim-zophim, a little city of Benjamin, built on the slopes of Mount Ephraim. The supposed date of the Trojan War coincides with this period of Jewish history. We may then fairly assume that the events related in the Homeric epic took place during the time treated of in these Books of Samuel.