Was Samuel High Priest?

[rlvaughn]

Samuel was the prayed-for son of Hannah and Elkanah (1 Samuel 1). He was born at Ramathaim-zophim, but grew up with Eli the priest in Shiloh. After Eli’s death, Samuel seems to have operated as high priest, but the Bible never directly says so, as far as I can tell. Rather than being a descendant of Aaron, of whom were the high priests, Samuel was a descendant of Kohath:

1 Chronicles 6:22-28 The sons of Kohath; Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, Elkanah his son, and Ebiasaph his son, and Assir his son, Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. And the sons of Elkanah; Amasai, and Ahimoth. As for Elkanah: the sons of Elkanah; Zophai his son, and Nahath his son, Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. And the sons of Samuel; the firstborn Vashni, and Abiah.

Samuel was a prophet and a judge, as well as a priest, but was he the high priest of Israel?

 

[kyredneck]

Samuel was a prophet and a judge, as well as a priest, but was he the high priest of Israel?

I'm not sure that he was even a priest, let alone high priest. Wouldn't he have to be of the tribe of Levi to be either?

 

[rlvaughn]

I found no verses where the Bible specifically calls him a priest, though he is found making offerings. He was of the tribe of Levi, though, since Kohath was Levi's son (1 Chronicles 6:16). But Samuel was not a descendant of Aaron.

 

[kyredneck]

???

1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of the hill-country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite:
2 and he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 1 Sam 1

 

[rlvaughn]

Though there are some differences in the spellings/names in 1 Samuel 1 and 1 Chronicles 6, it seems to be observable that these are the same people in both places. To me the simplest explanation of how he might be both a Kohathite and an Ephraimite is that Kohathite describes his lineage/parentage and Ephraimite describes where he lived in the country of Israel. The Levites had no portion of land of their own, only cities and land within the land of the other tribes.

 

[Jerome]

Samuel is described in Scripture as a "Seer" and a "Prophet".

 

[rlvaughn]

Correct, and also as a judge: 1 Samuel 7:6, 1 Samuel 7:15. Never specifically as a priest; at least I haven't found it, though some of his actions might be considered priestly functions.

Some people think since he was brought up by Eli he would have been considered a son of Eli, by adoption of sorts.

 

[rlvaughn]

1 Sam 1:1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of the hill-country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite:

I just noticed your text calls Zuph an Ephraimite. While many versions have this, others have Ephrathite:

1 Sam 1:1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:

I'll look into that more when I have time, but on first blush it makes me think someone was fudging "an Ephraimite" to make it match "of the hill-country of Ephraim." If "Ephrathite" is correct, it may be that it only intends to note where the oldest ancestor mentioned was from geographically, that is, that Zuph had lived in the region of Ephratha.

 

[MartyF]

No.

He was a prophet.

1 Samuel 3:20 NLT
[20] And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD.

He was a judge.

1 Samuel 7:15 NLT
[15] Samuel continued as Israel's judge for the rest of his life.

Samuel’s contemporaries did not call him the high priest.

1 Samuel 9:6 NLT
[6] But the servant said, "I've just thought of something! There is a man of God who lives here in this town. He is held in high honor by all the people because everything he says comes true. Let's go find him. Perhaps he can tell us which way to go."

He isn’t in the line of Aaron although he was in the line of Levi.

1 Chronicles 6

The high priesthood descends from Aaron.

Exodus 29:29-30 NLT
[29] "Aaron's sacred garments must be preserved for his descendants who succeed him, and they will wear them when they are anointed and ordained. [30] The descendant who succeeds him as high priest will wear these clothes for seven days as he ministers in the Tabernacle and the Holy Place.

1 Chronicles 6:10 NLT
[10] Johanan was the father of Azariah, the high priest at the Temple built by Solomon in Jerusalem.

 

[kyredneck]

I just noticed your text calls Zuph an Ephraimite. While many versions have this, others have Ephrathite:

1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of the hill-country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite:

To me the simplest explanation of how he might be both a Kohathite and an Ephraimite is that Kohathite describes his lineage/parentage and Ephraimite describes where he lived in the country of Israel.

Agree.

 

[Wesley Briggman]

Here is a copy of an email I sent to John MacAuthur's organization challenging his position that Samuel was a high priest.

Mar 22, 2015, 12:29 PM

"Reference: Prophets, Priests, and Kings by John MacArthur.

On page 17 of the above booklet, under the subheading "Samuel judged the children of Israel:", the last sentence states: "As we shall see, his role as both high priest and prophet included acting as a counselor and advisor to the future king."

Please supply scriptural references to support your statement that Samuel was a high priest.

I have been unable to find any reference to Samuel as high priest.

Thank you for your attention to this request.

Wesley Briggman"

Needless to say, all I got back from his staff was a number of references to sermons that did not address the issue.

 

[rlvaughn]

Please supply scriptural references to support your statement that Samuel was a high priest.

I have been unable to find any reference to Samuel as high priest.

I have not been able to find any, either. It seems to be fairly common, though, for people to have the idea that Samuel was the high priest.

1 Samuel 14:2-3 suggests that Eli's descendants were still operating in the priesthood at that time: And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men; and Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, I‑chabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod....

The complete judgement against the house of Eli seems to have arrived in stages, as in 1 Samuel 22:17-19, 1 Samuel 23:6 cf. with 1 Samuel 21:1 & 1 Kings 2:26-27.

 

[The Archangel]

There is another consideration here, I think. It seems as if Samuel was, in a sense, adopted by and succeeds Eli as, probably, the high priest. Of course his lineage isn't worthy of being high priest, but it seems he does fill that role.

Eli's sons are "worthless" and it is said that God is going to do a new work in Israel. Clearly Samuel is part of that new work. 1 Samuel 2:18 tells us he is ministering before the Lord. We know that he was the one supposed to make the sacrifice in 1 Samuel 13.

Also, when Eli is rebuked in 1 Samuel 2, the one rebuking him says, "And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever." (1 Samuel 2:35 ESV) It might be said that this is a Christological prophecy, but it can't just be that (since Jesus is not a Levitical priest). So, Samuel is certainly a priest, and even if he isn't technically the high priest, he sure is functioning as if he were.

The Archangel

 

[Wesley Briggman]

I have not been able to find any, either. It seems to be fairly common, though, for people to have the idea that Samuel was the high priest.

I spent considerable time listening to Dr. John MacArthur's sermons and reading other of his documents and found no corroborating statements. I have my doubts that he ever read the booklet containing this statement. Ghost writer?

It would be interesting to know what he believes on this subject

 

[Jerome]

No one's consulted the precious Commentaries of John Calvin? He notes that:

God promises (1 Sam. ii. 35) that he will build for Samuel a sure house

I Samuel 2:34-35 ESV The Lord Rejects Eli's Household
And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day. And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever.

 

[church mouse guy]

Samuel was the prayed-for son of Hannah and Elkanah (1 Samuel 1). He was born at Ramathaim-zophim, but grew up with Eli the priest in Shiloh. After Eli’s death, Samuel seems to have operated as high priest, but the Bible never directly says so, as far as I can tell. Rather than being a descendant of Aaron, of whom were the high priests, Samuel was a descendant of Kohath:

1 Chronicles 6:22-28 The sons of Kohath; Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, Elkanah his son, and Ebiasaph his son, and Assir his son, Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. And the sons of Elkanah; Amasai, and Ahimoth. As for Elkanah: the sons of Elkanah; Zophai his son, and Nahath his son, Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. And the sons of Samuel; the firstborn Vashni, and Abiah.

Samuel was a prophet and a judge, as well as a priest, but was he the high priest of Israel?

My mother's favorite Bible history.

 

[agedman]

Not to derail the thread, but how was Eli sitting and perhaps leaning against what was not yet built?

9After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the LORD.

 

[rlvaughn]

Not to derail the thread, but how was Eli sitting and perhaps leaning against what was not yet built?

9After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the LORD.

The temple and tabernacle are interchangeable in 1 Samuel, as far as the place/physical structure. The word, however, used in 1 Samuel 1:9 and 1 Samuel 3:3 and translated temple in many versions is different from the word translated tabernacle or tent in 1 Samuel 2:22. I think most translations go with temple from heykal, though some use house instead. The NKJV & HCSB arbitrarily change it to tabernacle, perhaps supposing to avoid confusion with the future temple. I notice CSB, though, changes it back to temple.

 

[kyredneck]

"And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest,

And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest,

Reminds me of "God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham", or, "ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood". OK, I get it. God is able to raise up Samuel to be not only a priest but high priest.

Learned something. Thanks.

[add]

Though by the letter of the law priests were to be Aaron's descendants, the bottom line is "the Son of man is lord of the sabbath":

2 But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which it is not lawful to do upon the sabbath.
3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was hungry, and they that were with him;
4 how he entered into the house of God, and ate the showbread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them that were with him, but only for the priests?
5 Or have ye not read in the law, that on the sabbath day the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are guiltless?
6 But I say unto you, that one greater than the temple is here.
7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
8 For the Son of man is lord of the sabbath. Mt 12

 

[Alcott]

Was Samuel High Priest?

He probably wasn't a high anything else.