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The First Book of Samuel is unavailable, but you can change that!

David and Goliath, the call of Samuel, the witch of Endor, David and Bathsheba—such biblical stories are well known. But the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, where they are recorded, are among the most difficult books in the Bible. The Hebrew text is widely considered corrupt and sometimes even unintelligible. The social and religious customs are strange and seem to diverge from the tradition of Moses....

2 In the ancient Near East, having an heir was very important, for lacking an heir meant the end of one’s “house.” For example, King Keret of the Ugaritic epic, though he had gold and silver, lost all his male children and so his dynasty was about to be extinguished.18 It was common in real life for a well-to-do man to take a second wife if the first did not bear him an heir. Sarah, of course, advised Abraham to take her slave-girl Hagar as his second “wife” (NEB; or concubine) so that he might have
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