(Hebrew: God hath heard)
The last Judge of Israel. He was born at Ramatha in the mountains of Ephraim, c.1132B.C., the son of Elcana and Anna, who vowed before his birth to give him to the Lord (1 Kings 1). He delivered the Israelites from the rule of the Philistines (1 Kings 7), and is believed by some to be the author of the books of Judges and Ruth, and the first 24 verses of 1Kings. In his old age he appointed his sons judges over Israel, but they displeased the ancients, who asked him for a king, and the Lord told him to anoint Saul (1 Kings 8).