Samuel 1 books 1-10 script

Narrator (N):
“There was a certain man of Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah…He had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah…” (1 Samuel 1.1)

Hannah had no children, and her rival provoked her over and over again. Therefore, Hannah grew sad and wept and would not eat. She goes to the temple of the Lord to present herself before him and pray for a child. She prays silently and :

Eli: “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine. “

Hannah: “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard you servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.”

N: Elkanah knew his wife, Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. Samuel is born. As soon as he is weaned, he is given to serve God: “they brought the child to Eli” Hannah sings a poem of thanksgiving at her separation from her son.

“The sons of Eli were scoundrels (1 Sam 2.12). Eli weakly tries to dissuade their behavior “But they would not listen to the voice of their father; for it was the will of the Lord to kill them” (2.25)

“ A man of God” speaks to Eli.

Man of God: The Lord speaks: “Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor and those who despise me shall be treated with contempt”

N: Eli learns that his family is getting kicked out of the priesthood, both of his sons will die on the same day, and that a new priest will take their place: Samuel.

Little Samuel is summoned by the Lord:
It is night, the boy Samuel sleeps. The Lord calls “Samuel, Samuel!” and he presents himself to Eli and says:

Samuel: “here I am”

N: 3 times.

Eli: go lie back down and listen when you are called!


N: The Philistines and Israel battle. Israel is defeated.

Elders: “Why has the Lord put us to rout today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the lord here…so that he may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” (4.3)

N: Initially the Philistines are terrified, but they grow brave and the ark fails the Israelites. Eli’s 2 sons are guarding the ark and are killed as the Philistines capture it.

Messenger to Eli: Your sons are dead and the ark was captured by the Philistines.

N: Eli falls over backward and dies.



Ark is placed in the temple of Dagon, the Philistine God. Suffering begins when they do not heed the warning signs: the statue of Dagon is knocked over the first night; he is replaced and the next morning he is fallen and missing limbs.
They move the ark to Gath. The Lord struck the town with tumors. They send the ark to Ekron and “the hand of God was very heavy there” (5.12)

The Philistines ask the Priests: what do we do? Answer: offer the Lord a guilt offering of 5 gold mice and 5 gold tumors, put it in a wagon and “send it off, and let it go its way” . The ark is returned to Israel, to Beth-shemesh.

N: Samuel speaks to Israel.

Samuel: “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.”

N: “so Israel put away the Baals and the Astartes and they served the Lord only” (7.3-4). Samuel judges his people at Mizpah.

Israel conquers the Philistines. Samuels sons are corrupt. Samuel is getting old.
Elders of Israel: “You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us like other nations”

N: Resistant, Samuel warns them against wanting a monarch. But they do not listen. Samuel, following the Lord’s instructions, picks the handsome, tall Saul as king when Saul visits “the seer”
Saul: I am only a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel”

N: Saul falls into a prophetic frenzy

Samuel announces to the Israelites that Saul will be king. Then they cannot find Saul, eventually discovering him hiding in the baggage. He is presented to the people.

The people: Long live the king!