1 Samuel 7:15
in 1 Samuel 7So Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
KJV
And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
⋯
This verse in 1 Samuel 7
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAnd Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. Not only before Saul was made king, but afterwards; for though he had not the exercise of the supreme government of the nation, yet he might act as a judge under Saul, and hear and try causes brought before him, and execute justice and judgment; and as a prophet he taught and instructed the people, and reformed abuses among them; and besides, he held and exercised his extraordinary office, to which he was raised up of God, and even took upon him to reprove Saul himself, and to kill Agag.
This site's exposition
Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life
on 1 Samuel 7:15-17
This closes the line the book of Judges left open, there was no king in Israel in that book's own refrain, and Samuel is named here as the last man to judge Israel by that older office before a king is asked for. His circuit runs Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpeh with Ramah as his home, where he also builds an altar, so the closing picture of the judge is a man who worships as well as rules. The office does not end because it failed but because chapter eight will ask Israel's leader for something else.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 5 · Written before 604.
proposed
28. What are the days of each teacher's life, if not the splendors of spiritual virtues? For he judges Israel all the days of his life who represents the light of justice—which he proclaims by speaking—through the perfection of good conduct, as an example to his faithful subjects. But he who does not have the light of spiritual virtues, because he takes up teaching from the good conduct of others, surely judges by the days of another's life.
Samuel also judged Israel, etc. The Lord judges the Church at all times, in which, while it wanders on earth, He vivifies it with the light of His divine presence. For the days of Christ are the same as the days of the Church. About …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): He judged Israel; as a prophet he taught them their duty and reproved them for their sins, which is called judging, Ezek. xx. Moses judged Israel when he made them know the statutes of God and his laws ( Exod. xviii. 16 ); and thus Samuel judged them to the last, even after Saul was made king; so he promised them then, when Saul was inaugurated ( ch. xii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And these were the things for which God was preparing the designing him, in the early vouchsafements of his grace to him. The Ark at Kirjath-jearim. 1 And the men of Kirjath-jearim came, and fetched up the ark of the L ORD , and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the L ORD .
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Samuel judged Israel ... - The repetition of the phrase in 1Sa 7:16-17, in connection with Samuel’s circuit, is a proof that it is his civil judgeship which is meant. The military leadership of course belonged to Saul, when he became king.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life - Samuel is supposed to have lived one hundred years; he did not begin to judge Israel till he was about forty years of age; and if he was one hundred years of age when he died, he must have been a judge sixty years, and consequently filled that office during the whole of Saul’s reign. But that he had been dead before Saul’s last battle, is evident from the transactions of that king with the witch of En-dor, and probably not long before. Samuel was the prophet of that time; declared the will of the Lord, and frequently directed both the civil and military transactions of the kingdom. Samuel seems, in many respects, to have been considered the governor of the people, while Saul was only looked on as the general of the armies.
Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life - Samuel is supposed to have lived one hundred years; he did not begin to judge Israel till he was about forty years of age; and if he was one hundred years of age when he died, he must have been a judge sixty years, and consequently filled that office during the whole of Saul’s reign. But that he had been dead before Saul’s last battle, is evident from the transactions of that king with the witch of En-dor, and probably not long before. Samuel was the prophet of that time; declared the will of the Lord, and frequently directed both the civil and military transactions of the kingdom. Samuel seems, in many respects, to have been considered the governor of the people, while Saul was only looked on as the general of the armies.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁפֹּ֤ט | vaiyishpot | and he judged | H8199 → | 202 times |
| שְׁמוּאֵל֙ | shemuel | Samuel | H8050 → | 141 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| כֹּ֖ל | kol | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יְמֵ֥י | yemei | [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| חַיָּֽיו׃ | chaiyav | life his | H2416 → | 498 times |
וַיִּשְׁפֹּ֤טand he judged
vaiyishpotH8199 →202 times
שְׁמוּאֵל֙Samuel
shemuelH8050 →141 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
כֹּ֖לall
kolH3605 →5413 times
יְמֵ֥י[the] days of
yemeiH3117 →2304 times
חַיָּֽיו׃life his
chaiyavH2416 →498 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 25:1When Samuel died, all Israel gathered to mourn for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David set out and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 28:3
Now by this time Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.
- Deuteronomy 34:8
The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.
- Numbers 20:29
When the whole congregation saw that Aaron had died, the entire house of Israel mourned for him thirty days.
- 2 Chronicles 33:20
And Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried at his palace. And his son Amon reigned in his place.
- 1 Samuel 28:3
Through
1 Samuel 7:6When they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 14:14
For surely we will die and be like water poured out on the ground, which cannot be recovered. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises ways that the banished one…
- 1 Samuel 1:15
“No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman oppressed in spirit. I have not had any wine or strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD.
- Judges 10:10
Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, saying, “We have sinned against You, for we have indeed forsaken our God and served the Baals.”
- 2 Samuel 14:14
Through
1 Samuel 12:1Then Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listened to your voice in all that you have said to me, and I have set over you a king.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 10:24
Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
- 1 Samuel 10:24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 5; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).