Who Wrote 1 Samuel—and How Do We Know Hannah’s Prayer?
- David Fell
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
At question time yesterday evening, someone asked a really good question:
“How do we know Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 2? Who wrote it down? And who wrote 1 Samuel in the first place?”
That’s exactly the kind of question thoughtful Bible readers should ask. If we are going to trust the Bible, it’s worth asking where these words came from and how they were preserved.
The "Readers Digest" version is:
We don’t know with certainty who wrote 1 Samuel, but we have very good reasons to trust that God preserved these words through reliable witnesses and faithful prophetic record-keeping.
Let’s unpack that.
Who wrote 1 Samuel?
The book itself does not name its author. Jewish tradition says that Samuel wrote much of it, with later sections completed by Nathan and Gad, two prophets active during David’s life.
That tradition is based on 1 Chronicles 29:29, which says:
“As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer.”— 1 Chronicles 29:29
That suggests that prophetic records were being kept, and that the books of Samuel may have been compiled from those records. That fits with what we read in 1 Samuel 10:25:
“Samuel explained to the people the rights and duties of kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the Lord.”— 1 Samuel 10:25
But Samuel dies in 1 Samuel 25, which means he couldn’t have written the whole book. That’s why many Christians conclude that Samuel wrote part of the book, and later prophets completed or compiled the rest. So the best answer is: Samuel likely wrote some of 1 Samuel, and later prophets preserved and completed the book.
That means 1 Samuel comes from eyewitness and prophetic sources
That matters because it reminds us that 1 Samuel is not just a collection of stories handed down loosely over time. It comes from the world of prophets, priests, and written records. Throughout the Old Testament, we see references to written sources:
“the Book of the Wars of the Lord” in Numbers 21:14
“the Book of Jashar” in Joshua 10:13
“the book of the annals of the kings of Israel” in 1 Kings 14:19
In other words, Israel kept records, and God used those records in the writing of Scripture.
So when we come to Hannah’s prayer in chapter 2, we are reading words preserved through testimony, memory, writing, and prophetic oversight.
But how did they know Hannah’s actual prayer?
That’s really the question behind the question. How could anyone know the words Hannah prayed? There are a few possible answers.
1. Hannah may have told Samuel
The events of 1 Samuel 1–2 are deeply personal, but they are not hidden. Hannah prayed at the tabernacle in the presence of Eli, and later she returned to present Samuel to the Lord. Samuel grew up knowing Hannah and her family. If Samuel was involved in preserving these events, Hannah herself could easily have recounted the story and her prayer.
That’s not unusual in Scripture. Mary is told in Luke 2:19:
“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”— Luke 2:19
The implication is that these treasured events were later remembered and passed on.
Hannah could have done the same.
2. The prayer may have been preserved as a song
Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 2 is poetry. It begins:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high.”— 1 Samuel 2:1
This reads like a psalm or song of praise. That matters because songs were often preserved carefully in Israel. Think of:
the song of Moses in Exodus 15
the song of Deborah in Judges 5
the psalms of David in Psalms
So Hannah’s prayer may have been preserved as a worship song and later included in 1 Samuel.
So can we trust Hannah’s prayer?
Yes. We may not know every step in the process, but we know enough. We know that:
Samuel and other prophets kept written records
Hannah’s words were remembered and preserved in Israel
God oversaw the writing of Scripture by His Spirit
That means Hannah’s prayer is not there by accident. It is there because God wanted His people to hear it. And what a gift that is - because Hannah’s prayer does far more than tell Hannah’s story. It prepares us for Mary’s song, and ultimately for Jesus, the King who lifts the humble and brings down the proud.
Comments