to the great tribe of Ephraim, being the son of
Elkanah, of whom nothing is worthy of notice except that he was a
polygamist. His mother Hannah (or Anna), however, was a Hebrew Saint
Theresa, almost a Nazarite in her asceticism and a prophetess in her
gifts; her song of thanksgiving on the birth of Samuel, for a special
answer to her prayer, is one of the most beautiful remains of Hebrew
poetry. From his infancy Samuel was especially dedicated to the service
of God. He was not a priest, since he did not belong to the priestly
caste; but the Lord was with him, and raised him up to be more than
priest,--even a prophet and a judge. When a mere child, it was he who
declared to Eli the ruin of his house, since he had not restrained the
wickedness and cruelty of his sons. From that time the prophetic
character of Samuel was established, and his influence constantly
increased until he became the foremost man of his nation, second to no
one in power and dignity since the time of Moses.

But there is not much recorded of him until twenty years after the death
of Eli, who lived to be ninety. It was during this period that the
Philistines had carried away the sacred ark from Shiloh, and had overrun
the country and oppressed the Hebrews, who it seems had fallen into
idolatry, worshipping Ashtaroth and other strange gods. It was Samuel,
already recognized as a great prophet and judge, who aroused the nation
from its idolatry and delivered it from the hand of the Philistines at
Mizpeh, where a great battle was fought, so that these terrible foes
were subdued, and came no more into the borders of Israel during the
days of Samuel; and all the cities they had taken, from Ekron unto Gath,
were restored. The subjection of the Philistines was followed by the
undisputed rule of Samuel, under the name of Judge, during his life,
even after the consecration of Saul.

The Israelitish Judge seems to have been a sort of dictator, called to
power by the will of the people in times of great emergency and peril,
as among the Romans. "The Theocracy," says Ewald, "by pronouncing any
human ruler unnecessary as a permanent element of the State, lapsed into
anarchy and weakness. When a nation is without a government strong
enough to repress lawlessness within and to protect from foes without,
the whole people very soon divides once more into the two ranks of
master and servant. In Deborah's songs all Israel, so far as lay in her
circle of vision, was d