are narrated in the chapters immediately following (Judg. xvii.–xviii.).
On the mythological interpretations, see further Ed. Stucken, Mitteil. d. vorderasiat. Gesells. (1902). iv. 54 (with references) Völter, Ägypten und die Bibel (Leiden, 1909), pp. 119-132; A. leremias, Alte Testament im Lichte des alten Orients (Leipzig, 1906), pp. 478 sqq., and the commentaries on the Book of Judges (q.v.). (S. A. C.)
SAMSON (1135–1211), abbot of St Edmund’s, was educated
in Paris and became a teacher in Norfolk, the county of his
birth. In 1166 he entered the great Benedictine abbey of St
Edmund’s as a monk and was chosen abbot in February 1182.
He was a careful and vigilant guardian of the property of the
abbey, but he found time to attend royal councils and to take
part in public business; also he was frequently entrusted with
commissions from the pope. During the absence of Richard I.
from England he acted with vigour against John and visited the
king in his prison in Germany. He did some building at the
abbey, where he died on the 3oth of December 1211. Samson is
famous for the encouragement which he gave to the town of
Bury St Edmunds, the liberties of which he extended in spite
of his own monks. His name is most familiar owing to the
references to him in Carlyle’s Past and Present.
See the chronicle of Jocelyn of Brakeloud in vol. i. of the Memorials of St Edmund’s Abbey, edited by T. Arnold (1890); and J. R. Green, Stray Studies (1892).
SAMSON, JOSEPH ISIDORE (1793–1871), French actor and
playwright, was born at St Denis on the 2nd of July 1793, the
son of a restaurant keeper. He took the first prize for comedy
at the Conservatoire in 1812, married an actress with whom he
toured France, and came to the Comédie Française in 1826.
Here he remained until 1863, creating more than 250 parts.
He became a professor at the Conservatoire in 1829, and under
him Rachel, Rose Chéri (1824–1861), the Brohans and others
were trained. He wrote several comedies, among them La
Belle-Mere et le gendre (1826), and La Famille poisson (1846).
Samson died in Paris on the 28th of March 1871.
SAMSUN (anc. Amisus), the chief town of the ]anik sanjak
of the Trebizond vilayet of Asiatic Turkey, situated on the S.
Coast of the Black Sea between the deltas of the Kizil and Yeshil
Irmaks. Pop. about 15,000, two-thirds Christian. It is connected
by metalled roads with Sivas and Kaisarieh, and by sea
with Constantinople' It is a thriving town, and the outlet for
the trade of the Sivas vilayet. Steamers lie about 1 m. from
the shore in an open road stead, and in winter landing is sometimes
impossible. Its district is one of the principal sources of
Turkish tobacco, a whole variety of which is known as “Samsun.”
Samsun exports cereals, tobacco and wool. Both exports and
imports are about stationary, the Angora-railway having neutralized
any tendency to rise. Amisus, which stood on a promontory
about 112 m. N.W. of Samsun, was, next to Sinope, the most
flourishing of the Greek settlements on the Euxine, and under
the kings of Pontus it was a rich trading town. By the 1st
century A.D. it had displaced Sinope as the N. port of the great
trade route from Central Asia, and later it was one of the chief
towns of the Comneni of Trebizond. There are still a few
remains of the Greek settlement. (D. G. H.)
SAMUEL, a prominent figure in Old Testament history, was
born at Ramah and was dedicated to the service of Yahweh
at the sanctuary of Shiloh where his youth was spent with Eli
(q.v.).[1] Here he announced the impending fate of the priesthood
and gained reputation throughout Israel as a prophet. Best
known as “king-maker,” two distinct accounts are preserved
of his share in the institution of the monarchy. In one, the
Philistines overthrow Israel at Ebenezer near Aphek, Eli’s sons
are slain, and the ark is captured (1 Sam. iv.). After a period of oppression, Samuel suddenly reappears as a great religious leader of Israel, summons the people to return to, Yahweh, and convenes a national assembly at Mizpah. 'The Philistines are defeated at Ebenezer (near Mizpah) through the direct interposition of Yahweh, and Samuel rules peacefully as a theocratic judge (vii). But in his old age the elders demandaking, his sons are corrupt, a monarchy and a military leader are wanted (viii. 3, 5, 20). The request for a monarchy is a deliberate offence against Yahweh (viii. 7, cf. x. 19, xii. 12), nevertheless, an assembly is called, and the people are warned of the drawbacks of monarchical institutions (viii. 11-21; note the milder attitude in Deut. xvii. 14-20). At Mizpah, after another solemn warning, the sacred lot is taken and falls upon Saul of Benjamin, who, however, is not at first unanimously accepted (x. 17-27a). About a month later (x. 2712; see Revised Version, margin), Saul—with Samuel (xi. 7)—leads an army of Israel and Judah to deliver Jabesh-Gilead from the Ammonites, and is now recognized as king. Samuel in a farewell address formally abdicates his office, reviews the past history, and, after convincing the people of the responsibility they had incurred in choosing a king, promises to remain always their intercessor (xii., cf. Jer. xv. 1). So, according to one view, Samuel’s death marks a vital change in the fortunes of Israel (xxv. 1, xxviii. 3, 6, 15). But, according to an earlier account, instead of a state of peace after the defeat of the Philistines (vii. 14) the people groan under their yoke, and the position of Israel moves Yahweh to pity. Samuel is a local seer consulted by Saul, and is bidden by Yahweh to see in the youth the future ruler. Saul is privately anointed and receives various signs as proof of his new destiny (ix. 1–x. 16). Despite the straitened circumstances of Israel, an army is mustered, a sudden blow is struck at the Philistines, and, as before, supernatural assistance is at hand. The Hebrews who had fled across the Jordan (xiii. 7), or who had sought refuge in caverns (xiii. 6, xiv. 11), or had joined the enemy (xiv. 21), rallied together and a decisive victory is obtained. That these two accounts are absolutely contradictory is now generally recognized by Biblical scholars, and it is to the former (and later) of them that the simple story of Samuel’s youth at Shiloh will belong. Next we find that Samuel’s interest on behalf of the Israelite king is transferred to David, the founder of the Judaean dynasty, and it is his part to announce the rejection of Saul and Yahweh’s new decision (xiii. 7b-15a, xv. 10-35, xxviii. 17), to anoint the young David, and, as head of a small community of prophets, to protect him from the hostility of Saul (xvi. 1-13, xix. 18-24).
All these features in the life of Samuel reflect the varying traditions regarding a figure who, like Elijah and Elisha, held an important place in N. Israelite history. That he was an Ephrathite and lived at Ramah may only be due to the incorporation of one cycle of specifically local tradition; the name of his grandfather Jeroham (or Jeraḥmeel, so Septuagint) suggests a. southern origin, and one may compare the relation between Saul and the Kenites (1 Sam. xv. 6) or Jehu and the Rechabites (2 Kings x. 15). But, although his great victory in 1 Sam. vii. may imply that he was properly a secular leader, comparable to Othniel, Gideon or Jephthah (see 1 Sam. xii. 11, cf. Heb. xi. 32), the idea of non-hereditary rulers over all Israel in the pre-monarchical age is a later theory (see Judges). However, so epoch-making an event as the institution of the monarchy naturally held a prominent place in later ideas and encouraged the growth of tradition. The Saul who became the first king of N. Israel must needs be indebted to the influence of the prophet (cf. Jehu in 2 Kings ix.). While the figure of Samuel grows in grandeur, the disastrous fate of Saul invited explanation, which 15 found in his previous acts of disobedience (1 Sam. xv., xxviii. 16–18; cf. Ahab, 1 Kings xx. 35-43). Further, while on the one side the institution of the monarchy is subsequently regarded as hostile to the preeminence of Yahweh, Samuel’s connexion with the history of David belongs to a relatively late stage in the history of the written traditions where events are viewed from a specifically Judaean aspect. Samuel’s name ultimately becomes a by-word for the inauguration and observance of religious custom (see 1 Chron. ix. 22, xxvl. 28, 2 Chron. xxxv. 18, Ps. xcix. 6, Ecclus. xlvi. 13 sqq.). According to the late post-exilic genealogies he was of Levitical origin (1 Chron. vi. 28, 33). See further David; Samuel, Books of; Saul. (S. A. C.)
SAMUEL OF NEHARDEA, usually called Mar Samuel or Yarḥinai (c. 165–c. 257), Babylonian Rabbi, was born in Nahardea in Babylonia and died there c. 257. He is associated
- ↑ The name Samuel (Shémziél), on the analogy of Penuel, Reuel, seems to mean “name (i.e. manifestation) of El” (God). Other interpretations are “posterity of God” or “his name (shĕmō; perhaps Yahweh’s) is God.” “Heard of God,” based on 1 Sam. i. 20, is quite impossible and the interpretation of the passage is really only appropriate to Saul (“the asked one”): the two names are sometimes confused in the Septuagint (Envy. tb. col. 4303, n. 3). Ramah is presumably er-Rām, 5 m. N. of Jerusalem (probably the Arimathaea of Matt. xxvii. 57), or Bet Rima, W. of Jiljilia (Gilgal), and N.W. of Beitin, i.e. Bethel (cf. the Ramathaim of 1 Macc. xi. 34).
