Samuel was born to Hannah, who had prayed long for a child and had vowed to give him to the Lord. He was raised in the Tabernacle at Shiloh by the priest Eli. As a boy he heard the voice of the Lord calling him in the night; Eli taught him to answer: 'Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.'
He was the last of the great Judges of Israel and the first of the line of classical prophets. He warned the people against their demand for a king, then anointed Saul as Israel's first king. When Saul disobeyed, Samuel anointed the young David in his stead, secretly at Bethlehem.
His death at Ramah was mourned by all Israel. Saul afterward summoned his spirit through the witch of Endor — the only post-mortem appearance of a saint in the Hebrew Scriptures. The tomb at Nabi Samwil near Jerusalem has been venerated by Jews, Christians, and Muslims for over two thousand years.