Answers – To Difficult Questions (1st Samuel)

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1 Samuel 1:1—Was Elkanah, the father of Samuel, an Ephraimite or was he a Levite as indicated in 1 Chronicles 6:16–30?

1 Samuel 1:11 – Does God support bargaining practices and vows?

1 Samuel 2:30-31 – Did God change his mind?

1 Samuel 3:13—Did Eli correct his sons or not?

1 Sam. 6:19 – How many were killed? 70 or 50,070?

1 Samuel 6:19—How could Beth Shemesh have a population of over 50,000 men?

1 Samuel 6:19—Why did God strike the people of Beth Shemesh with such a severe judgment for looking into the Ark?

1 Samuel 7:13—Were the Philistines expelled once and for all, or only temporarily?

1 Samuel 7:15—Did Samuel judge Israel all his days, or only until Saul was anointed king?

1 Samuel 8:7-8 – Why would God say he was rejected as the king, if he included instructions for a king

1 Samuel 8:7–9—How could God condemn Israel’s request for a king when the rules for selecting a king were given by God in Deuteronomy 17?

1 Samuel 10:1—Does the Scripture give contradictory accounts of the anointing of Saul?

1 Samuel 10:20–21—Was Saul chosen by God, by the people, or by casting a lot?

1 Samuel 13:1 – What is the correct number here?

1 Samuel 13:1—What is the correct number in this verse?

1 Samuel 13:5—How could the Philistines have an army of 30,000 chariots?

1 Samuel 13:13—How could God have promised Saul a perpetual dynasty over Israel when that had already been prophesied of David?

1 Samuel 15:2-3 – Why would God order the destruction of men, women, and children?

1 Samuel 15:2–3—Why did God destroy the Amalekites?

1 Samuel 15:3 – Why did God destroy the Amalekites?

1 Samuel 15:11—How can God say that He regretted setting up Saul to be king in Israel?

1 Samuel 15:11 – Does God Have Regrets?

1 Samuel 15:22 – Does God delight in sacrifices or not?

1 Samuel 16:1 – Is it morally right to lie?

1 Samuel 16:1ff—Did God encourage Samuel to lie?

1 Samuel 16:9—What is the correct spelling of the name of David’s brother?

1 Samuel 16:10—Did Jesse have eight sons as indicated in this verse, or only seven as indicated in 1 Chronicles 2:13–15?

1 Samuel 16:14 – Does God create evil?

1 Samuel 16:19-23 – Did or did not Saul know who David was?

1 Samuel 17:31 – Is this story of David and Goliath a Sunday school myth?

1 Samuel 17:50—Why does this verse say David killed Goliath when 2 Samuel 21:19 says Elhanan killed Goliath?

1 Samuel 17:50 – Who killed Goliath—David or Elhanan?

1 Samuel 17:50 – Who killed Goliath, David or Elhanan?

1 Samuel 17:54—How could Goliath’s head be carried to Jerusalem when it was held then by the Jebusites?

1 Samuel 16:1ff—Did God encourage Samuel to lie?

1 Samuel 16:9—What is the correct spelling of the name of David’s brother?

1 Samuel 16:10—Did Jesse have eight sons as indicated in this verse, or only seven as indicated in 1 Chronicles 2:13–15?

1 Samuel 17:50—Why does this verse say David killed Goliath when 2 Samuel 21:19 says Elhanan killed Goliath?

1 Samuel 17:54—How could Goliath’s head be carried to Jerusalem when it was held then by the Jebusites.

1 Samuel 17:57–58—Why did Saul not recognize his harp player David as the one who killed Goliath?

1 Samuel 18:1–4—Were David and Jonathan homosexuals?

1 Samuel 18:3-4 – Were David and Jonathan gay?

1 Samuel 18:10—How could a good God send an evil spirit to Saul?

1 Samuel 18:10 – Does God create evil?

1 Samuel 19:23–24—How could it be said that the Spirit of God was upon Saul when God had already rejected him?

1 Samuel 19:24—Why did Saul strip off his clothes as he danced and prophesied before Samuel?

1 Samuel 21:1 – Was Abiathar or Ahimelech the high priest?

1 Samuel 21:9—Was Goliath’s armor kept in David’s tent or in Nob?

1 Samuel 28:7ff—How could God allow the Witch of Endor to raise Samuel from the dead when God condemned witchcraft?

1 Samuel 28:7 – How could the spirit of Samuel appear to Saul?

1 Samuel 31—The report of Saul’s death in this passage contradicts that given in the next chapter (2 Sam. 1)

1 Samuel 31 – How did Saul die?

1 Samuel 31:4—Was Saul’s suicide justifiable?

1 Samuel 31:4 – Who killed Saul, Saul or the Amalekite?