You're listening to the Bible for Normal People, the only God-ordained podcast on the internet.

I'm Pete Ends.

And I'm Jared Bias.

Hey folks, before I get into the episode today, I wanted to tell you that the newest book in our series,

Psalms for Normal People Comes Out Today, April 17th.

Oh my goodness.

Now, as you know, I love ruining books of the Bible by exploring the historical, cultural, and political context of these ancient texts.

And that's exactly what you get from our author, Josh James, in Psalms for Normal People, as he unpacks,

the biblical scholarships surrounding the book of Psalms.

And whether you've memorized the Psalms or you've never heard of them before, this book is going to bring you so much enlightenment and happiness that I can't even...

Well, you can get it wherever you like to buy your books, so go order your copy and make sure to leave a review.

Alright, now, let's dig into the episode for today, which is the book of first Samuel,

and as per usual, we will do what we always do, right?

We'll look at the book as a whole to get the big picture and then to see what insights we might glean from a closer reading of it,

and from biblical scholarship, which is all about close reading.

The editors who compiled the Bible preserved multiple traditions of the same event.

Why? Because that's why they might ask us the question, why do you even ask that wouldn't you preserve both traditions as part of our sacred past?

So you have them and they bring them together and sometimes awkwardly, but not carelessly, actually very intentionally.

So, first, some general fun facts about first Samuel, and I do mean fun folks, just buckle up, this is so much fun, this will change your life.

Okay, first, the book is anonymous, but it's named after one of the main characters, Samuel, who is Israel's last judge,

and also a prophet and a priest, and especially in first Samuel, this is where he's so important, especially he is a kingmaker.

Samuel anoints Israel's first two kings, Saul and David.

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