Samaw'al ibn 'Adiya

As-Samaw’al bin ‘Ādiyā’ (Arabic: السموأل بن عادياء الحريث‎ / Hebrew: שמואל בן עדיה‎) was an Arabian poet and warrior, esteemed by the Arabs for his loyalty, which was commemorated by an Arabic idiom: "awfá min as-Samaw’al" (أوفى من السموأل / more loyal than al-Samaw'al) from the tribe of Banim Chorath.

He lived in the first half of the 6th century. His clan converted to Judaism when they were in Southern Arabia . Later, they moved to northern Arabia where al-Samw'al was born and lived his life. Some sources state that his clan were members of the Cohanim and moved from Israel to northern Arabia during the Roman invasion of Israel.

Background

His mother was of the royal tribe of Ghassan, while his father was from the clan of Banu Alrayan who belonged to the tribe of Banu Harith bin Ka'b from Qahtan. He was one of the most famous poets of his time thanks to the famous poem that he wrote after a princess tried to degrade his people since they were few in number. In this poem, he brags about the history of his clan, Banu Alrayan, and how they ascended to the lordship of their tribe. Before moving out of Yemen, his clan were the kings in Najran, and at one point they had supremacy over Yemen before some of them, including the poet's father, converted to Judaism and moved to northern Arabia. In this poem, Al-Samaw'al also trace his genealogy to Banu Aldayan. Al-Samuel owned a castle near Taima (eight hours north of Medina), built by his grandfather 'Adiya and called, from its mixed color, al-Ablaq. It was situated on a high hill and was a stopping-place for travelers to and from Syria.

Samuel

Samuel (/ˈsæm.juː.əl/;Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל, Modern Shmu'el, Tiberian Šəmûʼēl; Arabic: صموئيل Ṣamuil; Greek: Σαμουήλ Samouēl; Latin: Samvel; Strong's: Shemuwel), literally meaning "Name of God" in Hebrew, is a leader of ancient Israel in the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. He is also known as a prophet and is mentioned in the second chapter of the Qur'an, although not by name.

His status, as viewed by rabbinical literature, is that he was the last of the Hebrew Judges and the first of the major prophets who began to prophesy inside the Land of Israel. He was thus at the cusp between two eras. According to the text of the Books of Samuel, he also anointed the first two kings of the Kingdom of Israel: Saul and David.

Biblical account

Family

Samuel's mother was Hannah and his father was Elkanah. Elkanah lived at Rama-thaim in the district of Zuph. His genealogy is also found in a pedigree of the Kohathites (1 Chron. 6:3-15) and in that of Heman, his great-grandson (ib. vi. 18-22). According to the genealogical tables, Elkanah was a Levite - a fact otherwise not mentioned in the books of Samuel. The fact that Elkanah, a Levite, was denominated an Ephraimite is analogous to the designation of a Levite belonging to Judah (Judges 17:7, for example).

Samuel (Raffi novel)

Samuel (Սամվել Samvel) is an 1886 Armenian language novel by the novelist Raffi. Considered by some critics his most successful work, the plot centres on the killing of the fourth-century Prince Vahan Mamikonian and his wife by their son Samuel.

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References

Samuel of Nehardea

Samuel of Nehardea or Samuel bar Abba (Hebrew: שמואל or שמואל ירחינאה) was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an Amora of the first generation; son of Abba bar Abba and head of the Yeshiva at Nehardea. He was a teacher of halakha, judge, physician, and astronomer. He was born about 165 CE at Nehardea, in Babylonia and died there about 257 CE. As in the case of many other great men, a number of legendary stories are connected with his birth (comp. Halakot Gedolot, Giṭṭin, end; Tos. Ḳid. 73a s.v. Mai Ikka). In Talmudic texts, Samuel is frequently associated with Abba Arika, with whom he debated on many major issues. He was the teacher of Rabbi Judah ben Ezekiel. From the little biographical information gleaned from the Talmud, we know that Samuel was never ordained as a Tanna, that he was very precise with his words (Kidd. 70), and that he had a special affinity for astronomy: one of his best known sayings was that "The paths of heaven are as clear to me as the pathways of Nehardea."