5 min read

Samuel Judged All Israel and Took Nothing for Himself

At the end of his life, Samuel dared all Israel to name one thing he had wrongly taken. He stood in the silence and waited. No one spoke.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. The Question With a Pause After It
  2. Chosen From the Womb
  3. Prophet, Judge, Priest, and Kingmaker
  4. The Voice That Did Not Stop After Death

The Question With a Pause After It

He had been judging since before he could shave. His mother had prayed him into existence with such force that the priest watching her thought she was drunk, and the child born from that prayer had been given back to the Temple before he was weaned. He grew up serving Eli. He heard the voice of God when he was still a boy and did not know what it was until Eli told him to go back and listen again. He had been listening ever since.

Now he was old. He stood before all Israel and asked a question. Have I taken anyone's ox? Have I taken anyone's donkey? Have I defrauded any of you, oppressed any of you, taken a bribe from anyone's hand? Name the person. Tell me now and I will make it right. He was not summarizing. He was not performing humility. He was daring the entire nation to indict him. There was a pause. No one spoke.

Chosen From the Womb

Ben Sira, composing his catalogue of Israel's great figures in Jerusalem around 180 BCE, remembers Samuel with compressed intensity. He was beloved of his Lord. A nazirite of God in prophecy. Chosen from the womb of his mother. Beloved of his people. Desired for his deeds. What marks that last phrase is the verb: desired. Not merely respected. Desired. The kind of attachment a people develops for someone who has used his position only in their service and never against them.

Chosen from the womb is the language the tradition reserves for a small number of figures whose purposes were sealed before birth. Samuel's mother Hannah had bargained with God: give me a son, and I will give him back. God gave. Hannah gave back. The child who was returned to the Temple in fulfillment of his mother's vow carried that dedication in his bones for his entire life.

Prophet, Judge, Priest, and Kingmaker

What made Samuel historically unrepeatable was not prophecy alone. Prophets spoke. What made Samuel the figure Ben Sira could not summarize briefly was the combination: prophet, judge, priest, and the man who made kings. He anointed Saul. When Saul failed, he wept for him, privately, a grief that cost him something personal, and then he went and anointed David. Two kings in a single lifetime, each one an act of obedience to a divine word that overrode his own preferences.

The second anointing was harder. Samuel knew what it meant for Saul. He knew the kind of man Saul was, the height and the bearing and the insecurity underneath. He had loved him in his way and watched him fail. Going to Bethlehem to anoint one of Jesse's sons while Saul was still on the throne was dangerous. Samuel said so. God said: take a heifer and say you have come to make an offering. Go. Samuel went.

The Voice That Did Not Stop After Death

Even his death did not end Samuel's usefulness to Israel. When Saul, desperate before the battle at Gilboa, went to the medium at En Dor and demanded she bring up Samuel's spirit, Samuel came. His first words were: why have you disturbed me by bringing me up? His last words, delivered from beyond the grave, were the final verdict on Saul's kingship: tomorrow you and your sons will be with me.

The tradition remembered this as the seal of Samuel's prophetic authority. He had spoken the truth when Saul could act on it and did not. He spoke the truth when Saul could no longer act on it at all. The truth did not change based on who was listening or what they could do about it. That is what Ben Sira meant by desired for his deeds. Not desired because he was pleasant to be around, but desired because his deeds were the same in the light and in the dark, before power and before death.

SamuelKingshipJudgesProphecyIntegrity
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From the tradition

Sources

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The texts this telling draws on, in full. Open a card to read inline, or expand it for a wider, quieter read.

Ben Sira 46:19Ben Sira

Ben Sira, in chapter 46 of his wisdom text, paints a vivid portrait of Samuel, a leader renowned for his unwavering faith and powerful connection to God. It's a portrait that resonates even today.

"In his faithful mouth he expounded a vision, and in his trusted word guidance." Ben Sira tells us. Samuel wasn't just a messenger; he was a conduit, a clear channel for divine wisdom. People trusted his words because they knew they came from a place of deep integrity.

Life wasn't always easy. That's where Samuel found himself. And what did he do? He turned to the ultimate source of strength. "He also called to God, as his enemies surrounding forced him; as he offered up a lamb's suet, ADONAI thundered from heaven." (Ben Sira 46).

The image is powerful, isn’t it? Samuel, in his moment of vulnerability, makes an offering, a korban, and God responds with a voice that shakes the very foundations of the world. The Zohar, that foundational text of Kabbalah, often speaks of God's voice as a force of creation and judgment. Here, it’s both.

"With a mighty crash His voice was heard, and He subdued the nobility of the enemy, and destroyed all the Philistine tyrants." It's a reminder that we are not alone in our struggles. Even when we feel most vulnerable, divine power can intervene.

And what about when Samuel’s time on this earth drew to a close? Ben Sira tells us, "And when it came time for his final rest, he testified to ADONAI and His anointed." Even at the end, his thoughts were of God, and of the divinely appointed leaders of the people.

Here's where it gets really interesting. Samuel, facing his own mortality, makes a bold declaration. "Did I take bribes or secret payments from anyone?" He asks, "And not one person answered him." (Ben Sira 46). It’s a rhetorical question, a final evidence of his honesty and uprightness. He lived a life of integrity. In a position of power, where the temptation to enrich oneself could have been overwhelming, Samuel remained steadfast. He stood before his community, before God, and declared his innocence.

And the ultimate verdict? "And until the end of his time, he was found right in the eyes of ADONAI." As we find throughout Tanakh, God values justice and honesty, and Samuel embodies these attributes completely.

Samuel's story, as recounted by Ben Sira, is more than just a historical account. It’s a timeless lesson about faith, integrity, and the unwavering power of connection to something greater than ourselves. It reminds us that even when surrounded by challenges, even as we approach the end of our journey, we can strive to live a life that is "right in the eyes of ADONAI."

What does that look like for you? What does it mean to live a life of integrity, to speak truth, and to trust in something bigger than yourself, even when the world feels like it's closing in? It's a question worth pondering, a challenge worth embracing.

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Ben Sira 46:14Ben Sira

Ben Sira celebrates those judges of old, "each man by his name, every one who didn't self-glorify; and didn't turn away from following God." Can you imagine a world where leaders aren't driven by ego, but by a genuine desire to serve? Ben Sira holds these individuals in the highest esteem.

"May their memories be blessed," he writes. And then, in a beautiful image, "[May their essences flower as a rose], and may their names pass on to their children!" It's more than just remembering their names; it's about their very essence, their neshama, their soul, continuing to influence the world, like the sweet fragrance of a rose. It's a powerful vision of how we can live on through the values we instill in future generations.

Ben Sira doesn't just offer abstract praise. He brings it home with a specific example: Shmuel, or Samuel, the prophet.

"Beloved of his people, desired of deeds, chosen from the womb of his mother; a nazirite of ADONAI in prophecy, Shmuel, the priestly judge." Nazirite refers to someone consecrated to God, often through vows of abstinence. Samuel, even from birth, was destined for greatness. He was a leader who earned the love of his people through his actions, not just his words. Samuel wasn't just a prophet; he was a bridge between eras. "At the word of God he established a monarchy, and he anointed princes over the people." He ushered in the age of kings, guided by divine instruction. He was instrumental in anointing both Saul and David, pivotal figures in Israelite history.

"With the commandment of ADONAI he commanded the congregation, and the God of Yaakov took note of them." He didn't act on his own authority, but as a conduit for God's will. The "God of Yaakov," a powerful and evocative name for God, was watching, acknowledging, and responding to their actions.

So, what does this all mean for us today? Ben Sira is reminding us that true greatness isn't about self-promotion or fleeting fame. It's about living a life of integrity, guided by a higher purpose, and leaving a positive impact on the world that resonates for generations to come. It's about striving to be like those judges of old, and like Shmuel, whose memories continue to inspire us. Are we living in a way that will make our essence "flower as a rose" for those who come after us?

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Midrash Shmuel 14:9Midrash Shmuel

"Here I am; testify against me before the LORD: whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded?" (1 Samuel 12:3). Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Theft is so grave that two of the great ones of the world needed to argue in their own defense concerning it, Moses and Samuel. Moses: "I have not taken one donkey of theirs" (Numbers 16:15).

Rabbi Chanina bar Shila and Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin in the name of Rabbi Levi: And what did Moses leave for the swindlers and the thieves? Rather, Moses said: When Israel were journeying from station to station, I did not say to a single one of them, "Take this vessel in your hand," or "Take this vessel upon your donkey." I carried and bore the load myself, as you say, "And Moses took his wife and his sons and set them upon the donkey" (Exodus 4:20).

Rabbi Yudan said: The great one of the generation, when he goes to attend to the needs of the community, from whom should he take the donkey? Should it not be from that of the community? But here, "And Moses took his wife and his sons" (ibid.).

Rabbi Levi said: As the first redeemer, so the last redeemer. Just as the first redeemer, "And Moses took his wife and his sons and set them upon the donkey", so too the last redeemer: "lowly and riding upon a donkey" (Zechariah 9:9).

"And I will restore it to you" (1 Samuel 12:3). Rabbi Yose said: Samuel was very wealthy, for had they claimed it of him, he had the means in his hand to make restitution, as you say, "And I will restore it to you."

"And they said, You have not defrauded us... And he said to them, The LORD is witness against you" (ibid. 12:4–5). It is not written "witnesses" but rather "And he said: witness." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: You testify about him concerning that which is revealed, and I testify about him concerning that which is hidden.

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