The book of Joshua references the book of Jasher (Joshua 10:13 ), as does 2 Samuel 1:18 . However, the quote from the book of Jasher in 2 Samuel 1:23 references both Saul and Jonathan, both of whom lived centuries after Joshua. Some Jews and Christians believe that Joshua wrote the book of Joshua, but since the book of Joshua mentions the book of Jasher, and the book of Jasher mentions Saul, logically it would seem to follow that the book of Joshua must have been written hundreds of years after the death of Joshua (i.e. sometime *after* the death of Saul). Such an account would seem to fit with the Deuteronomistic history proposed by Martin Noth . An alternate hypothesis offered by conservapedia suggests that the book of Jasher was written over the timespan of hundreds of years: > David's dirge at the death of Saul was recorded in [the book of > Jasher], indicating it was being maintained as a long-term record of > certain aspects of Israel's history. This explanation seems less likely to me, especially because the book of Jasher has been lost to time, and a book that was written over many hundreds of years would probably have increased the probability that it would have had greater distribution (and thus greater longevity) than other books written over a comparatively short time frame. Are there other explanations and/or documentation to support one timeframe or another for the chronological authorship of the books of Jasher and Joshua?

We read in Ex 21: 12-14 (NRSVCE): > Whoever strikes a person mortally shall be put to death. If it was not premeditated, but came about by an act of God, then I will appoint for you a place to which the killer may flee. But if someone willfully attacks and kills another by treachery, you shall take the killer from my altar for execution. Now, 2 Samuel 11 narrates how King David got Uriah the Hittite killed in war in a deceitful manner so as to marry his would-be-widow Bathsheba. Of course, David repents at the intervention of prophet Nathan , and is punished by God with the death of his fist child born of Bathsheba ( 2 Sam 12). But the rule of death-for-death in Ex 21, which spared not even the priests, does not appear to have been implemented in the case of David. My question therefore is: **Why was King David spared of the death-for-death rule of Exodus 21?** Inputs from any denomination are welcome.

Samuel appears only outside the book of Judges, and in my skimming of the first few chapters of 1 Samuel he isn't actually called a judge (just a prophet) yet I often hear him called a judge elsewhere. What is the justification for doing so?

Thinking about the life of Samuel, you can see that in some ways lived like a priest on top of being a prophet, despite being from the half-tribe of Ephraim. One, he was brought up in the temple by Eli and thus lived out his life in priestly service together with the sons of Eli. Two, he performed some duties that were traditionally assumed to be for priests. For example, by appointing leaders and offering sacrifices. In Numbers 27, it is Eleazar the high priest who commissioned Joshua. However, it was Samuel who anointed both Saul and David. In regards to offerings, in 1 Samuel 13 we see Saul waiting for Samuel to offer the burnt offering and peace offering. According to Leviticus 1, priests and the offerer were the only ones involved in making the sacrifice. So in regards to this info, did Samuel act as a priest?

In 3 Nephi 20:24 Jesus Christ teaches the inhabitants of America about the covenant that God made with their fathers which will be fulfilled. He teaches that he is the prophet of whom Moses and all the prophets since Samuel testified of. > ### 3 Nephi 20 ### > > 23 Behold, I am he of whom Moses spake, saying: A prophet shall the > Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him > shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it > shall come to pass that every soul who will not hear that prophet > shall be cut off from among the people. > > 24 Verily I say unto you, yea, and all the prophets from **Samuel** and > those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have testified of me. Why does he mention Samuel specifically?

Considering that Baptists generally believe that the soul of a faithful servant of God is immediately united with God upon death, how does the Baptist Church interpret 1 Samuel 28:8: > 8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, "Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you." 9 The woman said to him, "Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?" 10 But Saul swore to her by the LORD, "As the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing." 11 Then the woman said, "Whom shall I bring up for you?" He said, "Bring up Samuel for me." 12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul." 13 The king said to her, "Do not be afraid. What do you see?" And the woman said to Saul, "I see a god coming up out of the earth." 14 He said to her, "What is his appearance?" And she said, "An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe." And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage. - 1 Samuel 28:8-14 ESV From a Baptist perspective, was the medium actually summoning Samuel? If so, was he summoned back from a heavenly dwelling? > Then Samuel said to Saul, "**Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up**?" Saul answered, "I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do." - 1 Samuel 28:15 ESV

Was the "spirit of Samuel" that the witch of Endor summoned (1st Samuel 28:11-19 ) from God or from Satan?