Samuel became a transitional leader between the time of the judges and that of the kings. He appointed the first king of Israel, Saul. After his failure, Saul tried to prevent God's chosen one to reign in his place, David, from taking the throne. David takes the throne anyway, after many wars.
| Author | Unknown author |
| For whom it was written | For the Israelites. |
| Chapter amount | 31 |
| Verse amount | 810 |
| Eli | High priest, fourteenth judge, judged Israel for 40 years. |
| Samuel | The last of the judges and the founder of the monarchy in Israel. |
| Saul | The first king of Israel. |
| David | The second and most illustrious of the kings of Israel. Known as the man after God's own heart. |
| 1 - 3 | Hannah asks God for a son. God answers her prayer and then Samuel is born. Hannah dedicates Samuel to God. God calls Samuel to serve Him as a prophet and later as a judge. |
| 4 - 6 | The ark of the covenant is captured by the Philistines. Because of this, the Philistines go through many afflictions and then they send the ark out of their land. |
| 7, 8 | The Israelites ask for a king and God grants it. |
| 9, 10 | Samuel anoints Saul as king of Israel. |
| 11, 12 | Saul defeats the Ammonites. |
| 13 - 15 | Saul does not follow Samuel's orders. |
| 16 | God commands Samuel to anoint David as king. |
| 17 | War between the Israelites and the Philistines. Young David kills Goliath the Philistine giant. |
| 18 - 20 | Saul, out of jealousy, tries to kill David. |
| 21 - 23 | David and his men escape from Saul's pursuit. |
| 24 | David has the chance to kill Saul, but spares his life. |
| 25, 26 | Again David spares Saul's life when he finds him sleeping in his own camp. |
| 27, 28 | David begins to live with the Philistines. Samuel dies in Israel. Saul consults a medium about his future ruin. |
| 29 | David and his men return home. |
| 30 | The Amalekites kidnap the wives of David and his men. David pursues the Amalekites and recovers everything. |
| 31 | Saul and three of his sons die. |