In the opening discussion in tractate Taanit (Fast Days),[i] various tangents are introduced and among them a brief section re: Samuel the prophet. (Taanit 5b: 3-7)
It states that there is an ancient tradition in a baraita that Samuel died at age 52.
As this was fairly young and 1 Samuel 8:1 states Samuel was “old”, the rabbis conclude God made
Samuel to look old. To prevent anyone suggesting Samuel died
early as a divine punishment of karet (Taanit 5b:3).
God did all this to hasten the era of King Saul and his
all-important replacement -- King David.
Taanit 5b: 5
כְּבָר
הִגִּיעָה מַלְכוּת דָּוִד, וְאֵין מַלְכוּת נוֹגַעַת בַּחֲבֶרְתָּהּ אֲפִילּוּ
כִּמְלֹא נִימָא
The
time of David’s reign has already
arrived, and one kingdom does not overlap with another and subtract from
the time allotted to it even by a hairbreadth.[ii]
As the Biblical text states “Samuel judged Israel all
the days of his life” (1 Samuel 7:15), some have concluded he did so even from
his earliest childhood.
Other, however, have argued that Samuel was actually
only a ‘judge’, i.e., legal adjudicator and leader of the nation, for just 10 years.
He had been raised by the priest Eli who supervised
the holy Tabernacle (Hebrew Mishkan)
at Shiloh, and Eli was the nation’s ‘judge’
– i.e., spiritual leader and legal adjudicator -- for 40 years until his sudden
death at age 98 (1 Samuel 4: 15 and 17).
So, if Samuel only came to Eli when weaned at age 2,
and for the next 40 years Eli was the sole ‘judge’, then Samuel – if he died at
age 52 – was the nation’s ‘judge’ for only 10 years.[iii]
As will be argued below, Samuel died far older than
age 52, and baraita cited by the Talmud and its ensuing rabbinic discussion –
which has been accepted for generations
-- is incorrect: based on the clear evidence of 1 Samuel itself.
It is true that 1
Samuel never gives Samuel’s age at death nor a specific number for how long
he ‘judged’ Israel.
The only statement is that he “…judged Israel all the
days of his life.” (1 Samuel 7: 15)
But this statement must be understood in context.
A context that runs from Ch 7: 15 -17 through Ch 8: 1-5.
1 Samuel
ch 7
1 Samuel
ch 8
As should be clear from the full 8 verse passage, this
role as ‘judge’ refers only to his judicial
activities – as he would traverse the land to hear major cases
on a year-long circuit. Then, once too old to do this strenuous travelling, he
appointed his two trained sons to do so -- while continuing to hold court at his home in Ramah (ch 8: 8) until his death.
So, verse I
Samuel 8:1, which the Talmud cites for Samuel as ‘looked old’ does NOT refer to the time of his death, but rather,
as the full verses show, means that Samuel was actually quite old and no longer
well enough do the arduous annual circuit: so he appointed his two sons – which
he must have trained in Torah law for many years -- to do the travelling as
‘judges’ for legal cases.[iv]
That is, Samuel was really “old” – stated TWICE -- when
the tribes came to him in verses ch 8:1-5 to complain about the legal decisions
of his two sons whom they considered unfair and corrupt; and why they at this
very visit and moment ask Samuel to find them a divinely approved KING.[v]
The opening words of this subsection: that Samuel “judged Israel all the days of his
life” is laudatory praise re: his judicial activity (only), and should not
be taken literally.
By travelling to the tribes on an annual circuit,
Samuel gave over his time and energy to resolve major legal issues for many years;
until he had trained his two sons in Torah law well enough to have them do the
long months of travelling in his stead.
And one can readily conclude that these two sons --
who were not recognized as prophets -- would not have been mere teenagers nor
just young adults when sent out to be court judges as the tribes would have
been reluctant to have ‘youths’ preside over major cases and give absolute
judgements.
just based on the information re: his two son, when
taken in context, it would seem that
Samuel, their father, would by this point – just before he was asked to find a
KING -- have been, in fact, quite old.
In short, the Talmud reference to “old” and related
‘Divine aging of Samuel’ reasoning has nothing to do with the actual Scriptural
text. They are taken totally out of context. A context which TWICE in ch. 8: 1
and 5 makes clear that Samuel was truly old when the tribal leaders asked for a
KING to replace Samuel’s sons as supreme court judge in future.
As I have argued in a previous blog on the reign of
King Saul, Saul did not reign for just two years (1 Samuel 13:1) as that verse has long been misconstrued. it is
actually a continuation of the Saul story from ch.10 and ch.11. Saul’s selection was not accepted by most of the
tribal leaders until he managed to rouse the people and lead a major victory
against Nahash the Ammorite -- after which Samuel arranged a SECOND coronation
approved by all the tribal leaders (1Samuel
11:14).
Hence the reference in 1 Samuel 13:1 is to Saul‘s becoming king “over 2 years”.[vi]
In fact, Saul must have reigned for over two (2)
decades if not far longer as he was a single youth living with his father
when anointed (1 Samuel 9:2-3) but moments before his death, his three sons
of military age – including Jonathan, a military commander, who left behind a 5
year old son (2 Samuel 4:4) -- died
in the battle at Gilboa (1 Samuel
31:2).
I.e., Saul must have reigned a minimum of 25 to 30
years.
Now Samuel had died some time before this last battle
as a desperate King Saul sought guidance before the battle from Samuel’s ghost
(1 Samuel 28:7-18).
How soon beforehand did Samuel die?
His death is first mentioned in 1 Samuel 25:1 which gives a time context re: David.
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א וַיָּמָת
שְׁמוּאֵל--וַיִּקָּבְצוּ כָל-יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּסְפְּדוּ-לוֹ, וַיִּקְבְּרֻהוּ
בְּבֵיתוֹ בָּרָמָה; וַיָּקָם דָּוִד, וַיֵּרֶד אֶל-מִדְבַּר פָּארָן. |
1 And Samuel died; and all
Israel gathered themselves together, and lamented him, and buried him in his
house at Ramah. And
David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran. |
Now King Saul became antagonistic to David when he was
his most successful general and loudly praised in song by the people (1 Samuel 18: 8-9 and 29). And when Saul first sought to kill David, David
fled and stayed with Samuel (1 Samuel
19:18).
From there the next four (4) chapters recount David’s
flight -- one event after another – for a period that would have been at least
2 years or so in duration. Then, Chapter
25 announces Samuel has just died, David mourned his death, and then David fled
into the wilderness of Paran (1 Samuel
25:1).
Thereafter, David’s flight from King Saul lasts just 2
more chapters: Chapter 26, a brief encounter and escape from Saul, and Chapter
27 which describes his relocation to the Philistine city of Gath and friendship
with its ruler, Achish: a stay that lasted 1 year and 4 months (1 Samuel 27: 7)
until King Saul’s death at Giboa (ch. 28 and ch.31).[vii]
From the above facts as stated in I Samuel, it would seem that King Saul reigned for at least
25 years or more and Samuel died just 3 or at most 4 years before Saul’s death
at Gilboa.
Hence, Samuel must have been very old when he died. He
was already “old” when he made his two sons ‘judges’ to travel the nation and
hold court while he remained active in Ramah, and this all took place before
he anointed Saul as king.
For Samuel to die just a few years before Saul, who reigned
25 years or more, means Samuel was truly very, very old at his death.
Probably in his 80’s or even 90’s.
CONCLUSION
The Tannit
5b text re: Samuel is incorrect in both the Baraita
tradition that he died at age 52 (only King Solomon did so[viii]),
and the rabbinic argument that God made him ‘look
old’ takes the word “old” – which appears twice -- totally out of
context and totally distorts what I Samuel
8:1-5 says.
Samuel was already really old before he began to
search for the first king of Israel, King Saul.
King Saul reigned for decades and not just 2 years,
and Samuel died near then end of Saul’s prolonged reign.
As for the statement that Samuel “judged Israel all
the days of his life” (1 Samuel 7:15), that is not to be taken literally. It is the opening of a subsection that runs
the rest of ch.7 (3 verses) and continues through ch 8:1-5.
It is laudatory praise for his decades of
travelling to every tribe on a year-long circuit to hear major legal cases; a
strenuous routine he could no longer do in old age and therefore he trained his
two sons to replace him on this arduous travelling.
Start of
Samuel’s triple ‘judgeship’
Samuel from his childhood (when he was Eli the
Priest’s assistant at the Tabernacle at Shiloh) soon became recognized as a prophet
of God by all of the tribes (1
Samuel 3: 20 ), and people may have come to him for divine answers to their
problems: just as Rebecca sought a divine answer when her pregnancy was
unusually painful (Gen. 25: 22-23).
But this was NOT the start of Samuel’s triple ‘judgeship’.
Samuel’s ‘judgeship’: as spiritual leader, as
political guide and as supreme court judge, all began just over 7 months after
Eli the priest’s sudden death and after the return of the holy tabernacle to Israelite
hands. (See 1 Samuel 4:18 and 6:1 and 21).
Samuel, in Ch. 7, stands up and orders the people to
destroy their pagan idols and be faithful to God alone (ch 7: 3-4) and orders the
nation to assemble at Mitzpeh (ch 7:5-6) for a re-consecration to God: so God would help them defeat the
Philistines.
It is at this point the Bible first declares Samuel as
a ‘judge”:
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ו וַיִּקָּבְצוּ הַמִּצְפָּתָה וַיִּשְׁאֲבוּ-מַיִם וַיִּשְׁפְּכוּ לִפְנֵי
יְהוָה, וַיָּצוּמוּ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, וַיֹּאמְרוּ שָׁם, חָטָאנוּ לַיהוָה; וַיִּשְׁפֹּט שְׁמוּאֵל
אֶת-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, בַּמִּצְפָּה. |
6 And they gathered together to
Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that
day, and said there: 'We have sinned against the LORD.' And Samuel judged
the children of Israel in Mizpah. |
And the description of his years as a travelling court judge (as explained above) follows at the end of
this same chapter 7.
So, only after Eli the Priest’s death and after the
return of the holy Ark seven (7) months later did Samuel become a ‘judge’:
spiritually, politically and judicially.
The vioew that he was a judge from earliest childhood
—a misunderstanding of the phrase “and he judged Israel all the days of his
life” – which isw taken out of context, is also incorrect.
And so too the conclusion he judged Israel for just 10
years: based on the false idea he died at age 52 and the correct idea he only
became ;’judge’ after Eli the Priest’s death.
Samuel lived into his 80’d or even 90’s. He led the
nation spiritually until his death and was its political guide until he anointed
King Saul and thereafter King David.
And he faithfully gave judgement and legal decisions
for decades all over the land, and even after appointing his two sons tyo do
the travelling, continued to judge legal cases at his home in Ramah.
He died in very old age, revered by the entire nation.
[i]
Oddly, tractate Taannit (Fast Days)
begins with a discussion of when the all-important prayer for rain is to begin.
While all agree it is to start being said during the harvest festival of
Succot, four (4) different start date traditions are noted in the Mishna: Rabbi
Eliezer says the first day, Rabbi Yehoshua says the last day (day 8 – Shemini Atzeret) (Taanit, 2a 1-3 and 6;
4b 1), Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira says day 2 and Rabbi Akevah says day 6 (Tanaanit, 2b 9-17 and 3a 1).
[iii] https://www.jewishhistory.org/era-of-the-judges/
See Samuel in the chart and endnote #1.
[iv] That both sons are
stated to reside at Beer-Sheba (1 Samuel 8:2) – at the very southern edge of
Israelite territory -- had been seen by the commentators Radak and Malbim as indicating
they did not travel the tribal circuit of Beth-el, Mitzpah and Gilgal as Samuel
had, but rather stayed in far off Beer-Sheva, forcing the tribal major cases to
come to them. ( See right margin Commentary section at I
Samuel 8:2 with Commentary ConnectionsList (sefaria.org) ). As Samuel still
held a legal court in his Ramah home – located in the middle of Israelite lands
-- it makes no sense that any tribal legal case would bother to travel to Beer-Sheba
for a hearing. The two sons may have had their homes in Beer-Sheba but they travelled
the old court circuit as intended by their still living and active father,
Samuel.
[v] A king would be fair and incorruptible
(as he is already the wealthiest) when deciding major disputes. All kings do
this as highlighted by King Solomon’s decision when two women claimed the same
newborn (1 Kings 3: 16-28), and, a king has the authority and power to enforce
decisions: the police and the army. As 2 Chronicles 9:8 states re: Solomon:
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ח יְהִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, בָּרוּךְ, אֲשֶׁר חָפֵץ בְּךָ לְתִתְּךָ
עַל-כִּסְאוֹ לְמֶלֶךְ, לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ: בְּאַהֲבַת אֱלֹהֶיךָ
אֶת-יִשְׂרָאֵל, לְהַעֲמִידוֹ לְעוֹלָם, וַיִּתֶּנְךָ
עֲלֵיהֶם לְמֶלֶךְ, לַעֲשׂוֹת
מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה. |
8 Blessed be the
LORD thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on His throne, to be king
for the LORD thy God; because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for
ever, therefore made He thee king over them, to do justice and
righteousness.' |
[vi] It is noteworthy that the same was
true for Solomon’s coronation. King David
had him declared his successor in Jerusalem in
a rush (1 Kings 1:32) while many leaders were off at Zoheleth Rock to anoint David’s oldest living son Adonijah as
king. (1 Kings 1: 5-9 and 49). Thereafter,
David had a second coronation for Solomon before all the tribal leaders
as recorded in 1 Chronicles 29:21).
[vii] King Saul had put out a call to one
and all to unite for the critical battle at Gilboa (1 Samuel 28: 4). But David
and his 600 warriors did not join in. In
fact, according to Ch. 29, David and his troops were assembled on the
Philistine side with his Philistine lord and protector, Achish, and would
have fought on the Philistine side except the head of the Philistines did not
trust David and sent him back to Philistine territory.
In Ch
30, David, when returning to his settlement at Ziglag, learns the town has been
attacked by Amalekite and that they had taken captive David’s two wives and all
the others. He therefore rushes off to
free them, and does so successfully.
[viii]
Solomon reigned for 40 years after being crowned while still a youth. Tradition
holds he was just age 12 when crowned. See https://aish.com/48937102/.
Josephus in the Antiquities of the Jews, Book VIII ch. 7:8 claims Solomon reigned 80 years and died in extreme old age at
94 ( https://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ant-8.html
). The much older Septuagint Greek
translation follows the Hebrew text and states Solomon reigned just 40 years in
1 Kings 11:42 (https://biblehub.com/sep/1_kings/11.htm
)
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