Shemuel does not mean “asked of God”, rather it is “Name of God”. Hannah chooses this name because God has granted her request.

In Ch. 2, we can see strong parallels between Hannah’s prayer and Mary’s Magnificat in Luke, of course.

But for the first time in the Bible, apart from the priestly anointing sa in Leviticus, we hear of “the LORD’s anointed one” (Masyach, vv.10, 35), and it begins to sound like prophecy.

1 Sam.7

Israel has gone away from the Lord, and Samuel is here to bring them back: “Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Astartes from among you. Direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So Israel put away the Baals and the Astartes, and they served the Lord only.”

1 Sam 10

same thing again: We’re getting to the fun parts of the Bible now 😊

שֶׁמֶן (shemen) is fat/oil, and shaman, the verb form is to grow fat (physically).

וַיִּקַּ֨ח שְׁמוּאֵ֜ל אֶת־פַּ֥ךְ הַשֶּׁ֛מֶן וַיִּצֹ֥ק עַל־רֹאשׁ֨וֹ
Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it over his head

וַיִּשָּׁקֵ֑הוּ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר
And kissed him and said:

מְשָׁחֲךָ֧ יְהוָ֛ה עַל־ נַחֲלָת֖וֹ לְנָגִֽיד׃
Mashahaka Yahweh nachlatow lenagid

“Yahweh has anointed you commander over his inheritance.”

Following that, Saul is told to attend a charismatic meeting 😊:
“you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the shrine with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre playing in front of them; they will be in a prophetic frenzy. 6 Then the spirit of the LORD will possess you, and you will be in a prophetic frenzy along with them and be turned into a different person. 7 Now when these signs meet you, do whatever you see fit to do, for God is with you.

Verse 6: וְצָלְחָ֚ה עָלֶ֙יךָ֙ ר֣וּחַ יְהֹוָ֔ה וְהִתְנַבִּ֖יתָ עִמָּ֑ם וְנֶהְפַּכְתָּ֖ לְאִ֥ישׁ אַחֵֽר:
Then the spirit of the LORD will possess you, and you will be in a prophetic frenzy along with them and be turned into a different person.

This is not the only time that the Spirit of God is said to “come upon” Saul, of course. This occurs three more times: 1Sam.11:16, 16:13, 18;10 that I can see. I can see why the Holy Spirit is said to “possess” Samuel, rather than the more docile sounding “come upon”. צָלַח is the verb used to describe this “coming upon” of the Holy Spirit on persons, but it seems to imply much more than just a preposition.

Brown-Driver Briggs translates the word [צָלַח] verb rush; — (Thes and others compare ᵑ7 צְלַח, Syriac , cleave, penetrate, then advance, see following).

In 2 Sam19:17 it is used for “they rushed to the Jordan”,

and so “rushed upon”, “took possession of”, “came mightily upon” all seem to convey the event aptly.

1 Sam.11

כִּ֥י הַיּ֛וֹם עָשָֹֽה־יְהֹוָ֥ה תְּשׁוּעָ֖ה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל: (v.13)

ci hayyom asah YHWH tishua biYisrael

for today, the Lord has wrought deliverance in Israel.”

Ch.12

14 If you will fear the LORD and serve him and heed his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God, it will be well;

20 And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart, 21 and do not turn aside after useless things that cannot profit or save, for they are useless. 22 For the LORD will not cast away his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for himself. 23 Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. 24 Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart, for consider what great things he has done for you

1 Sam.13

Saul’s very first move as is to lose the favour of God, because he carries on with the Sacrifice without waiting for the Prophet Samuel:

13 Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which he commanded you. The LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, 14 but now your kingdom will not continue; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has appointed him to be ruler over his people because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

1 Sam. 15

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as in obedience to the voice of the Lord?
Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice
and to heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is no less a sin than divination,
and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has also rejected you from being king.”

1 Sam. 17

45 But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head, and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

1 Sam. 19

we see in this passage Saul swear by the LORD not to kill David (v.8) and breaks his oath in v.9. Truly, Saul is far from the LORD’s grace at this point, and is beset by evil spirits. Mi’chal on the other hand, saves David’s life (as does Jonathan). This is interesting to note because she falls out of favour with David later, which is unfortunate for her.

1 Sam. 20

here we have the passage which Jesus references in the New Testament when he says gloriously: “the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath”. The “Bread of the Presence” is a truly incredible and prophetic term, because it is “Presence of the LORD” himself, and actually in Hebrew it comes out as Bread of the Face (of God), which is a tremendous prefigurement of the Holy Eucharist as Catholics would see it, and even if you’re not Catholic, you can appreciate the Real Presence of Jesus when we break the Bread and “when two or three are gathered in my Name”

1 Sam. 22

This is a sad tale and really highlight Saul’s brutality. He literally has lost all credibility at this point and is no different from your average psycopath, sadly. The priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub in contrast is brave, true and faithful and truly commands our respect, and is a model of Christian values and resilience in the face of tyrranical oppression

1 Sam. 23

We can see here how David prefigures Christ by adopting a priestly role. He is prophet, priest and king.

1 Sam.27

David has by this point spared Saul’s life twice. We can see the tremendous respect, awe and fear of the Lord that is in David. Sparing the life of someone who had murderous intent towards you would be unthinkable in OT times. There is no “police protection” or “prison system” and a man fought his own battles.

Similarly, especially for Catholics, let us remember to keep praying and loving the Pope, even at times when there seem to be genuine causes for frustration. In doing so you will be emulating David. So also we honor our mother and father.

Thie first time he spares Saul’s life we see that instead, David puts himself in God’s hands “out of the wicked shall come forth wickedness…may the LORD therefore judge and give sentence between me and you” (24:13,15). Samuel himself is amazed by David’s act and says memorably “For who has ever found an enemy and sent the enemy safely away?” (24:19) Here David is truly Christ-like.

However all Saul can muster in return are snivelling apologies. David is under no illusions with regards to his intent or character though, and keeps well away from him. So also, our mercy is to be tempered with suitable caution and prudence.

1 Sam.28

Here we see that the state of Saul is truly pitiful, and he has brought about his own ruin. However it is not that he is repentant for his tyranny. It is incredible that he believes the LORD will continue to be his “personal assistant” even after all the sin he has committed. Essentially, all he wants is to use God to serve his own purposes. Let us all remember to stay close to God, and we will always hear his still small voice in our heart.

1 Sam. 30

here for the second time we see David himself adopt a priestly role, donning the ephod in order to inquire of the Lord (v.7), in fact he asks it of his priest (the previous time is 23:9)

Saul reaches his inglorious end. There is no glory in the death of one who has rejected the Lord, even his bravery in the sad and ultimately pathetic act of Saul falling despairingly falling upon his sword, committing suicide rather than face capture and mistreatment, has no merit in it. Saul’s story is the story of the utter dismantling of humanity, through the pride, arrogance, refusal to obey and I would say, lack of a prayer life and real relation to God. We have the contrast among the two Kings in Samuel, the first two Kings of Israel. And David provides the perfect contrast of a soul which loves, shows self-reflection, repentance, prayer life, the desire to be close to God and discern His Will in his life rather than merely discerning his future. he constantly weights the moral consequences of his actions, and we can see why he is described by God as a “man after my heart”.

2 Sam. 1

We learn that Saul seemingly has to commit suicide not once but twice. His first attempt at “falling on his sword” has not worked and now he has to ask someone to finish off the job which he does.

Jonathan too dies fighting the Philistines at his father’s side as a good Israelite should.

David composes the first of his recorded psalms, a lament for Saul and his beloved Jonathan. It has the immortal phrase “how the mighty have fallen” (v.25, 27), and v. 26 is for Jonathan specifically. It is worth reflecting on how strong the bond of brotherly (or sisterly) love might be if it is pure:

“I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
greatly beloved were you to me;
your love to me was wonderful,
passing the love of women.””

2 Sam. 2
Once again we see King David in the role of priest, “inquiring of the LORD”, and the conversations question-answer, almost like a quiz format, and often yes/no type questions, which seems a bit strange, but that’s what we have. Perhaps we are only told a curtailed version and not the full description of David’s prayers. Here we see the first sign of the divided Kingdom, David is King of Judah, while in the rest of Israel Abner proclaims Saul’s surviving son as king. The two great commanders of the armies- Abner and Joab are unfortunately in a blood feud because Abner kills Joab’s son, seemingly in a fair fight and even in self-defence. Joab although a great commander is not the forgiving type and he himself as we will see, eventually will meet a violent end because of this.

2 Sam. 5

at the end of chapter 5, we see David once again talking to God and now the conversations are getting more detailed, at least the documentation of them. But they are still not very “spiritual” rather assistance in battle. David takes more concubines and wives here (v.13) and children are born to him of them one of which of course, is Solomon (v.14)

2 Sam. 6

This is one of the most fascinating chapters in Scripture, if only for the picture of the prophet, king, precursor of Jesus and his biological ancestor “dancing before the Lord with all his might”, and the reply that he gives to his wife Mi’chal, which is deeply spiritual (v.21-22) and should remind us of Jesus’ own teachings (Lk.9:26/Mk.8:38 “if anyone is ashamed of me or my words…”, Mk.23:12/Lk.14:11 “all those who humble themselves will be exalted”) and many other similar NT teachings.

We cannot fully understand why Uzzah had to die, but the Lord’s directions with regards to who might approach the Ark are very explicit and only the priests can approach. This is God underlining his holiness that might not under any circumstances be violated.

Let us consider this in all our doings, when we are distracted in prayer let us consider the holiness of the One whom we are addressing and let us not abuse our own bodies which are the Temple in which he dwells. After all as St. Paul says “Now all these things happened to them as types, and have been written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come” (1Cor.10:11)

The Ark stays three months in the household of Obed-Edom and by it all his household are blessed. Catholics would see this as prefiguring Mother Mary, whom they consider the new Ark of the covenant (see Rev.12:1 and last verse of Rev.11), who similarly stayed three months with Elizabeth and we would think by her the household of Zechariah was blessed, for was not the one who is the “greatest of any born to a woman” born to them, John the Baptist

2Sam7

is an important chapter; in v:11-17 God gives King David the promise that he will “make him a house (dynasty), that his descendant will build the Temple, and that his “house and kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever” (v.16). Jesus is born of this “house”, and although it is not the Jews that crown him King, it is Pontius Pilate that parades him with robe, sceptre and crown as his soldiers mockingly bow down saying “hail king of the Jews”, while the title document is nailed to the Cross. In those days the Judean kings like Herod required Roman backing anyway, the Jews did not self- appoint.

2 Sam. 12

King David fasts just like Moses fasted for the Israelites. I like the way that once the child is dead, he simply accepts God’s Will, rather than wallow. Of course, the grieving process is natural, but prayer and closeness to God prevents us from being “consumed by grief”, when grief itself can become pathological

2 Sam.13

Don’t miss these two Old Testament verses of the rape of Tamar, which are a stunning reflection on how sex without respect for a woman’s dignity and the marital bond actually serves only to destroy love in the soul, and ultimately destroy the person

2 Sam. 15

This is almost like a Passion for King David, as he passes through the places that are familiar to us from the New Testament narrative like the Kidron valley, the Mount of Olives and reaches “the summit where God is worshipped” (we can’t be sure I where exactly that is, I guess), and all the while with his “head covered” and weeping. At the same time he is making clever political manoeuvres, and the names in this narrative just low off the tongue poetically “Itai the Gittite, Ahitophel, Kuchai the Archite, Zadok and Abiathar and their sons Jonathan and Ahimaaz.
the model of Absalom drawing people away from the true King is a model of how every false preacher draws persons away from the true Church of God by enticing them “I will give you justice” and with shows of affection.

2 Sam 16

13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan said to David, “Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord,[a] the child born to you shall die.” 15 Then Nathan went to his house.

The punishment for adultery according to the Law is stoning. King David though is spared my the Lord, as per the word of the prophet Nathan “you shall not die”. King David repents and he fasts and prays during the few days his child is alive. We can assume that he is also seeking repentance during this time for his offence. We never hear of him dwelling upon the incident of his terrible double crime of adultery and murder following this. Perhaps the lesson is that once we have repented we need not continue to be consumed by guilt feelings, but trust the Lord’s forgiveness.

2 Sam 16
1 David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Let him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord has bidden him.

King David’s great quality is forgiveness and mercy. His love is truly tender and innocent and he loves even when the other has sought his life, as in the case of Saul. When it comes to war though he deals with enemies in the manner that combatants are dealt with in the OT, and this can include massacre.

2 Sam 18

5 The king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders concerning Absalom.

33 The king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept, and as he went he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

2 Sam. 22

אַבְשָׁל֖וֹם Abshalom, never realised, but it literally means “father of peace”. David never stops loving his son who hates him without cause, usurps his kingdom, sleeps with his wives and concubines openly and pursues him for his life.

In the end his death is symbolic of his sin. He is plucked up by his exaggerated long locks of golden hair, source of his vanity and pride, plucked by thr branches of an oak tree from this life, as signifying the very hand of God

2 Sam. 23

Note that the last verse says that Uriah the Hittite is one of the 30 mighty men of David. I was surprised to see that
sorry I’m posting the NT in Greek, but you can see the English in the top of the post itself, or on the page if you click on NIV, you’ll also get the NIV translation
it saves me having to copy and paste each time, thank you for your patience
the Hebrew is always a bit tricky, but I think the last line of verse 1 calls David (as it is in the ESV) the “sweet psalmist of Israel”.