On the relation between the ages of Samuel, Saul, and David, see p. 132.

Samuel made a notable contribution when he organized schools for the youth, so that Israel could be trained in the great principles of salvation. God’s original plan was that the Levites should be scattered throughout the whole land, teaching the people concerning the things of God. But being largely unemployed, the members of this tribe were forced to find a livelihood in other kinds of work, with the result that the people were fast becoming little better than the heathen about them. As a result the schools of the prophets were instituted.

 A desert extending from southern Judah south toward Sinai (see Num. 10:12). Paran is in one instance equated with Seir (Deut. 33:2), and Seir was the home of Esau in the Negeb below Hebron (see Gen. 32:3 etc.). The Wilderness of Paran is thought to include the Wilderness of Zin lying between Kadeshbarnea and the great Arabah or plain between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqabah. Since the tribes inhabiting this region were predatory in nature, David would find a very cold reception as he fled to Paran, and doubtless recognized his mistake. This reception, together with the knowledge that Saul’s enmity would be more bitter after the death of Samuel, made David sense the need of definite help from on high. In his great anxiety he composed the 120th and 121st psalms (see PP 664).

 The word “house” need not be understood as referring to Samuel’s residence, but is here probably used of a burial chamber. If Samuel had been buried literally “in his house,” there would be perpetual defilement (Num. 19:11-22). The traditional burial place of Samuel is a cave over which has been built a Moslem mosque in Nebī Samwîl, a town about 5 mi. northwest of Jerusalem, but the identification is not certain.