1 Samuel — who's who

Wife of Elkanah, of Ramathaim-zophim in the hill country of Ephraim. Her rival Peninnah has children; Hannah does not. Her silent prayer at the sanctuary at Shiloh opens the book. She vows her son to God if she is given one, receives Samuel, raises him to weaning age, and brings him back to Shiloh. Then she sings one of the great poems in the Hebrew Bible — the Song of Hannah, the model for Mary's Magnificat. Bears five more children after Samuel. Visits him each year with a little robe she has made.

The high priest under whom Samuel grows up. Old, heavy, going blind. Misjudges Hannah's silent prayer as drunkenness; accepts her correction with grace. Raises Samuel from a small boy, receives the prophecy against his house from the boy without bitterness — it is the Lord, let him do what seems good to him. His sons Hophni and Phinehas are scoundrels. Both die when the ark is captured at Aphek. Eli falls back from his seat at the gate when the news reaches him, breaks his neck, and dies. He is ninety-eight.

Hannah's son, given to the Lord at Shiloh, raised under Eli. Called by name as a boy in chapter 3 — the Lord calls four times before Samuel understands what is happening; Eli tells him: say, speak Lord, your servant is listening. Recognized throughout Israel as a prophet from that point. Delivers Israel from the Philistines at Mizpah after the ark disaster. Anoints Saul, then David. His verdict on Saul in chapter 15 — to obey is better than sacrifice — is among the most-quoted lines in the Hebrew Bible. Dies before the end of the book; brought up from the dead at Endor for one final scene.

Of the tribe of Benjamin, head and shoulders taller than any other Israelite. Sent out by his father Kish to find lost donkeys; found instead by Samuel, who anoints him. Chosen publicly by lot at Mizpah — but first he hides among the baggage. Delivers Jabesh-gilead from the Ammonites; acclaimed king at Gilgal. Then: the unauthorized sacrifice in chapter 13, the sparing of Agag in chapter 15. The spirit of the Lord departs from him; an evil spirit torments him. The rest of the book is his slow deterioration — paranoia, the pursuit of David through the wilderness, the consultation with the medium at Endor, death on Mount Gilboa.

Saul's eldest son. Brave: in chapter 14 he and his armour-bearer climb a Philistine outpost alone and rout the garrison, triggering a larger Israelite victory. From the moment he meets David in chapter 18, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David. He gives David his robe, weapons, and a covenant. Defends David to Saul; warns him to flee; meets him secretly in the wilderness in chapter 23 to strengthen his hand and accept, without bitterness, that David will be king. Dies with his father and two brothers on Mount Gilboa.

Saul's younger daughter, who loves David — the text says this explicitly, one of very few times in the Hebrew Bible that a woman's love for a man is stated directly. Saul gives her to David in marriage as a trap; she saves David's life in chapter 19 by helping him escape through a window and delaying Saul's messengers with an idol in the bed. Saul later gives her to another man, Paltiel, while David is in exile. She reappears in 2 Samuel.

Saul's cousin and the commander of his forces. Present at Saul's table when David is at court and at the encampments during the wilderness pursuit. David publicly rebukes him in chapter 26 for failing to keep watch while Saul slept — his spear and water jug taken from his head without anyone waking. A figure of military competence and political loyalty to the house of Saul; his role becomes significant in 2 Samuel.

Youngest of eight sons of Jesse of Bethlehem. Secretly anointed by Samuel in chapter 16 while still keeping his father's sheep. Brought into Saul's court to play the harp and ease the king's moods. Kills Goliath in chapter 17 — the stone from the sling, the head taken with the giant's own sword. Marries Michal; befriends Jonathan; survives Saul's paranoia by living as an outlaw in the Judean wilderness. Twice spares Saul's life when he has him at his mercy. Spends time among the Philistines at Gath. Still in exile when the book ends.

Six cubits and a span tall — about nine feet. Coat of mail weighing five thousand shekels of bronze; spear head weighing six hundred shekels of iron; shield-bearer walking before him. Comes out morning and evening for forty days to challenge Israel to a single-combat duel. Killed in chapter 17 by the youngest son of a Bethlehem shepherd with a sling and a stone, then beheaded with his own sword. His name has been a metaphor for overwhelming odds in every language since.

Introduced in chapter 25 as the wife of Nabal, a wealthy man of Maon who refuses David's men any of the provisions David had indirectly protected. Abigail intercepts David on his way to kill Nabal and all his household, with five loaves, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, grain, raisins, and figs. Her speech of intercession is one of the most remarkable pieces of diplomacy in 1 Samuel. Nabal dies of shock ten days later. David immediately sends for her and marries her. She is described as intelligent and beautiful.