CHAPTER TWO

ISRAELITE JUDGES BEFORE

MONARCHY

Objective

This chapter presents the story of Israel when they gained the

land of Canaan, the Promised Land. At the end of the chapter,

you should be able to identify some of the last Judges cum

prophets in Israel like Eli and his sons namely Hophni and

Phinehas; and Samuel, and his sons, namely Joel and Abiah.

You should be able to describe the set of circumstances that

finally served to unite the Israelite tribes Pre-test

1. What does it mean when we say the Judges were

“charismatic leaders”?

2. What set of circumstances that finally served to unite the

Israelite tribes?

3. Identify the following people: Joel and Abiah; Hophni and

Phinehas.

4. Identify the following places: Shiloh, Bethel, Gilgal,

Mizpah.

In the tabernacle of Shiloh, Eli was a high priest responsible

for worship and sacrifice. In deed for the ministry of Samuel,

Eli’s story served as a mere background to it in the tabernacle at

10Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective

Shiloh. Israelites looked up to Eli to provide sound leadership

and direction during matters of national importance. In the days

of Eli, the practice of Israelites religion was weak. This was

because he (Eli) failed to direct his two children on the path

of God. The two children were Hophri and Phinehas. They

were never taught, never abide by the tenets of Christianity or

knew God (1 Sam 2:12). They (sons of Eli) took advantage

of the people, assumed priestly duties while sacrificing and

worshipping. Before they made sacrifice, they rob God,

particularly in their demand for priestly portion. People lacked

confidence in them and couldn’t do their sacrifices at the

Shiloh. They were engaged in debauchery and profanity, the

hall mark of the Canaanite religion and people. 1 Sam 2:12

states that “Eli sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the

Lord. Corrupt practices varied religious dimension took over

the whole Israel”.

Samuel was born during this turbulent period. From his

childhood days, he was entrusted to Eli, and dedicated to

God. However, he had a God-fearing mother who took care

of him. Consequently, he was nourished and brought up in the

tabernacle which was not trained by Eli’s sons misdemeanour.

God called Samuel when he was 12 years old, sleeping in

the temple. He was told by God to tell Eli of the catastrophe

awaiting him for his detestable misconducts

Content

The Story of Eli’s Ministry

The narrative of Eli provides as a backdrop to Samuel’s

mission. Eli was in charge of worship and sacrifice at the

Shiloh tabernacle as a high priest. In religious and civil matters,

11Historical PerpectiveIsrael: Monarchy to Exile

the Israelites looked to him for direction and leadership. In the

days of Eli, Israel’s religion was at an all-time low. He failed to

instil reverence in his own sons, Hophni and Phinehas; in fact,

“they knew not the Lord” (I Sam. 2:12). They acquired priestly

functions under his jurisdiction, taking advantage of the people

who came to sacrifice and worship. They deprive God of the

priestly portion by demanding it before the sacrifice is made.

People were also hesitant to bring their sacrifices to Shiloh

because of how they carried themselves. They also desecrated

the sanctuary with the baseness and immorality that are typical

of Canaanite worship. As one might imagine, they ignored

their father’s vehement condemnation of their actions. “Eli

sons were scoundrels; they showed no regard for the Lord,” I

Sam 2:12 says. As a result, it’s hardly unexpected that Israel’s

religious practices have become increasingly corrupt.

It was in this abhorrent atmosphere Samuel was born and

brought to as well as entrusted to Eli’s care from his childhood

days. Dedicated to God and encouraged by godly mother,

Samuel grew up in the environment of the tabernacle not

affected by the godless influence of Eli’s sons. It was not until

Samuel was about twelve (12) years of age that God called him

while he was sleeping in the temple. God gave him a message

to Eli of the impending family calamities.

An unnamed prophet rebuked Eli because he honoured his

sons more than God (I Sam. 2:27). His laxity had provoked

God’s judgement; therefore, his sons would lose their lives

and a faithful priest would minister in their stead. This was

revealed to Samuel when God spoke to him during the night

(I Sam.3:1-18). Swiftly and suddenly these prophetic words

received fulfilment. When the Philistines captured the Ark of

the Covenant, Eli’s sons (Hophni and Phinehas) died on the 12Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective
same day, and Eli himself died shortly after hearing the news
of the captured ark.
Due to the terrible news, Eli’s daughter-in-law gave birth
to a son on the same day, and she appropriately named him
“Ichabod” since she thought God’s blessing had been removed
from Israel. The meaning of the child’s name is “Israel’s
splendour has passed away.” As a result, Eli’s family withdrew
in shame, paving the way for Samuel’s ministry (Torn, 2011).
Samuel’s place in the history of Israel is unique. Being the last
of the Judges, he exercised civil jurisdiction throughout the land
of Israel. He also gained recognition as the greatest prophet
in Israel since Mosaic times. He also officiated as the leading
priest though he was not of the lineage of Aaron to whom
the responsibilities of high priesthood belonged. To execute
his judicial responsibilities, Samuel annually went to Bethel,
Gilgal and Mizpah (I Sam. 7: 15-17). One may infer that in
earlier years, before he delegated responsibilities to his sons,
Joel and Abiah (I Sam. 8: 1-5); he included such distant points
as Beersheba in his circuit through the nation. Eventually, the
tribal leaders felt that they should strengthen their resistance to
Philistines’ aggression and consequently sought for a king. As
an excuse for the establishment of a monarchy, they pointed
out that Samuel was now an old man and his sons were morally
unfit to take his place. Samuel rejected their proposal imploring
them not to impose upon themselves a Canaanite institution
alien to their own way of life. In spite of this, they persisted in
their demand. Samuel obliged only after divine interventions (I
Sam. 8) but with a solemn warning, showing them the ways of
the king who shall rule them (Nelson, 2008).

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Israelite Judges from Joshua to Samuel
Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses’s lieutenant and general of
Israel’s army was the first in the line of Judges in Israel. He
led the people of Israel into a covenant-renewal ceremony at
Sheckem (Joshua 23, 24) where he called the people back to
God with a renewed commitment.Other Judges whose roles
in Israel shall not be dwelt upon here include Deborah, Gideon,
Jephthah, Samson, among others. Judges in Israel (from Joshua
to Samuel) were charismatic leaders because they possessed
magnetic personalities. In other words, they were persons who
had qualities that inspired others to follow wherever they led.
However, the common theme during the times of the Judges is
that, “in those days there was no king in Israel: every man did
that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). During
the period of the Judges, whenever Israel seemed to face a
common challenge, problem, or enemy, they usually unite to
fight it out. But when there was relative peace, they tried to
fight one another. It may be argued that the set of circumstances
that first served to unite the Israelite tribes were the raping of
Levite’s wife by some Benjamites and the ensuing war. This
incidence precipitated a war of the other eleven (11) tribes
against Benjamin. This war (won by the other 11 tribes) served
to unite the Israelite tribes. Apart from this, there are three
series of events that caused Israel to unite and eventually ask
for a king:
(i) the threats of the Philistines on Israel’s land. Israel faced
the possibility of being destroyed by the Philistines unless they
unite; (ii) the corruption of Eli’s priesthood by his sons: Hophni
and Phineas; (iii) the corruption of priesthood by Samuel’s
sons: Joel and Abiah (Cliffs, 2008).14Israel: Monarchy to ExileHistorical Perpective
Samuel was essential in the hard, but necessary shift from
alooseconfederationofHebrewtribestoacentralised
monarchy, as he stood at the end of one age and the beginning
of another. He was a key figure in the events that led to his
people’s complete liberation from the Philistines’ oppression
and the threat of total annihilation. Eli, Israel’s high priest and
judge, was succeeded by Samuel. Samuel returned to Ramah
after the Philistines destroyed Shiloh, Israel’s sacred center,
and made it the center of his work Samuel traveled to the cities
of Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, judging the people, exhorting
them to quit worshipping idols, and using his power to keep the
tribes united. He appeared to be able to see into the future, and
the people regarded him as a prophet. Israel was besieged by
the Philistines, constantly threatened by the Ammonites, and
divided among its own tribes at this period. Samuel’s corrupt
sons, Joel and Abijah, whom he chose to judge Israel in his
place, were despised by the people. The elders advised Samuel
to find a strong national leader to succeed him as king. Samuel
agreed and chose Saul, the son of Kish of the Benjamin tribe,
and he was present at Saul’s inauguration and coronation
(Houtman, 2013).
Samuel: the child of Vow
Mckenzie (2020) said that Samuel (in Hebrew Shmu’el) lived
in 11th BC. In the history of Israel, Samuel is a religious hero.
He served in every leadership position available to a Jewish
man of his time, including seer, priest, judge, prophet, and
military commander. His most notable achievement was his
role in the formation of Israel’s monarchy. Hannah conceived
and gave birth to a son, whom she named Samuel, which means
“I enquired of God.”. But McKenzie (2020) said that the phrase that fit the meaning of Samuel’s name is “Eli has heard”.

The sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, are depicted as corrupt,

abusing their position as shrine servants to take offerings from

the people for their own gratification, in contrast to Samuel,

who grew in stature and favor with both the Lord and man.

Eli’s sons and family were to be stripped of their position of

trust and influence. This condemnation and interruption of Eli’s

prophetic lineage is the Deuteronomic historian’s explanation

for why Abiathar, the priest of Eli’s family, was barred from the

priesthood at Jerusalem, which became the monarchy’s central

shrine, during the reign of David (Jagersma, 2009).

The Birth and Dedication of Samuel

The book of first Samuel opens up with the introduction of

Samuel family. Elkanah the father of Samuel had two wives

namely: Hannah and Peninnah. Hannah was barren whereas

Peninnah had children. Elkanah usually go to Shiloh yearly

to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of host. The two sons of

Eli, Hophni and Phinehas were there. When the time came

for sacrifice, Elkanah would make provision for his wives:

Peninnah, and her sons and daughters received portion of

sacrifice whereas Hannah usually received a double portion, for

he loved her but she was barren. Samuel’s birth was answer to

Hannah’s prayers of petition to God for a child. Hannah sealed

her prayer for a child with a vow so that she would be holy and

to remove the notion that she was barren because of her sin. To

keep herself holy she vowed that the child would be a Nazarite.

A Nazarite was one dedicated totally to the service of God all

the days of his life (see, Numbers 6:127) (Rober, 1989).

Hannah was severely provoked by Peninnah year by year

16Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective

when she went up to Shiloh, the house of the Lord to worship.

Therefore, she always wept and would not eat, but her husband

constantly consoled her that he (Elkanah) is better than ten

sons. So in one of the years, the family were all in Shiloh. After

they have finished eating and drinking, she was in bitterness

and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. She made a vow

and said:

O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your

maidservant and remember me, and not forget your maidservant

but will give your servant a male child, then I will give him to

the Lord all the days of his life and no razor shall come upon

his head (I Sam. 1:11).

Eli, the priest, thought she was drunk and rebuked her, but

she said she was not drunk. Then priest Eli blessed her saying

the God of Israel grant your petition which you have made.

Thus, Samuel was born and brought to the temple at Shiloh as a

young child to serve God in fulfilment of a vow made. Hannah

took the boy to the shrine at Shiloh and sang an exhortation

song (I Sam. 2:1-10), which became the basis of the form and

content of the magnificent song of Mary, the mother of Jesus,

sang in Luke chapter 1:46-55. Samuel was turned over to Eli

at such an early age because Samuel was a child of vow. An

average Israelites does not joke with a vow. So, Hannah hastily

performed her vow to God by giving Samuel to the Lord as

soon as he could eat solid food.

Eli, the priest at Shiloh (who had heard Hannah’s vow) trained

the boy to serve Yahweh at the shrine, which Samuel’s mother

and father visited annually. On one of such occasions, Eli the

Priest blessed and prayed for Hannah and Elkanah that the Lord

would give the couple more children. In answer to this prayer,

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the Lord caused Hannah to bear three sons and two daughters.

So she had a total of six children. It should be added that the

stories of the birth of Samuel (I Sam. 1: 1-2, 11) and Isaac

(Genesis 19, 21) has some similarities. Samuel and Isaac were

both wanted children. They were children from barren womb.

They were both received through prayer and God’s mercy. Both

were children of promise, although Isaac appears as more of a

child of promise than Samuel (Brill, 1995).

Summary

Judges are charismatic leaders in Israel. They ruled when there

was no king in Israel and when every man did what was right

in their eyes. In other words, every Israelite was law to his/

herself before the institution of monarchy. The importance of

making and fulfilling vow was demonstrated by Hannah. The

mentorship of Samuel under Eli was incorruptible, though in

the face corruption of the sons of Eli. Later, Samuel’s sons also

became corrupt. Eli’s and Samuel’s ministries could have been

more successful if not for the waywardness of their children.

The threats of the Philistines and the failures of Eli’s and

Samuel’s children informed Israel’s unity in demanding for a

king.

Post test

1. What does it mean when we say the Judges were

“charismatic leaders”?

2. What are the series of events that caused Israel to unite and

eventually ask for a king?

3. Identify the following people: Joel and Abiah; Hophni and

Phinehas.

4. Identify the following places: Shiloh, Bethel, Gilgal,

Mizpah.

18Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective

5. What similarities are there in the birth stories of Samuel

and Isaac?

6. Why was Samuel turned over to Eli at such an early age?