I Samuel

1 8.2

The first book of the Old Testament that tells the stories of Saul and David

proper noun

Literature

: Primera de Samuel

She taught a lesson centered on the story of David in I Samuel.

Examples

In I Samuel, we learn about the rise of King Saul.
Next week, our Bible study group will begin reading I Samuel.
Many important events in Jewish history are found in I Samuel.
I Samuel is fascinating.
Next week, our Bible study group will begin reading I Samuel.
Many important events in Jewish history are found in I Samuel.
In I Samuel, we learn about the rise of King Saul.

Synonyms

1 Samuel

vsI Samuel

3 6.8

The first book of the Bible that tells stories about Saul and David and the beginning of kings for Israel

focuses on the Saul and David narratives without mentioning the monarchy rise

Surface Forms

I Samuel main

Morphology

I + Samuel

This is a conventional book title using a Roman-numeral/ordinal convention rather than a compositional phrase. An average B1 learner who only knows the words 'I' (normally a pronoun) and 'Samuel' (a proper name) would not infer 'the first book of Samuel in the Old Testament' without knowledge of biblical/book-numbering conventions, so the meaning is not derivable from the parts.

Etymology

I Samuel is named for the prophet Samuel because much of the book tells his story and the rise of the first kings. The I is a way of saying 'first', so the title means the first book that tells Samuel's story and the start of Saul and David's lives.