SAMUEL (twelfth century BCE), or, in Hebrew, Shemuʾel, was a judge and prophet of Israel. The story of Samuel's birth and the account of his youth present him as a Nazirite, dedicated to God's service through his mother's vow and raised in the sanctuary at Shiloh to be a priest (1 Sm. 1–2). While still a youth in this priestly service he is called to be a prophet to deliver a message of judgment to the house of Eli, and in one scene (1 Sm. 19:18–24) he appears as the head of an ecstatic band of prophets and the protector of David in his flight from Saul. The prophetic role predominates in the rest of the narratives about him. In addition, however, Samuel is considered by the author of 1 Samuel to be a judge and is included in his scheme of a succession of judges—charismatic leaders—who ruled in Israel...