Samuel - A Gift Returned

Through the pages of this book, we meet and come to know Samuel. We follow him as God formed and directed his paths, but also learn how God’s purposes played out in the life of a godly but sometimes stumbling leader and believer. The title – A Gift Returned – tells us that the following pages say much about his mother, Hannah, who lived a faith-shaped life. But we also encounter and come to understand his father, Elkanah, Eli, Peninah, Saul and others, including a nameless young man, all of whom play significant roles as they cross the pages. By endeavouring to get to know the people we meet, we will learn much from them, by way of both encouragement and caution.

‘Studying biblical figures by means of a biographical approach can bring Scripture to life. That is what happens in this very readable account of the life of Israel’s last judge and first prophet, Samuel. On the way, we gain insights into the lives of Hannah, Saul and others as Dr Shaw deftly tackles the sometimes difficult expository and theological issues that arise in Samuel’s story.’

Gary Brady, retired pastor

and Day One author

‘Ian’s book will help us pray that God would speak to us as He did with Samuel, that we would obey God from the heart, and that God would use us as He used Samuel for his glory. May God use this book to revive your devotion to Christ and His kingdom and serve Him with an undivided heart.’

Nico van Zyl, missionary and pastor of Sovereign Grace Fellowship,

Chiang Rai, Thailand

‘In this scholarly but readable book, Ian Shaw gives fresh insights and many helpful lessons from the lives of Hannah, Samuel and Saul. In these pages I felt I got to know these Bible characters better and was left with admiration for Hannah, sympathy for Samuel and sadness over Saul. I warmly recommend this book.’

Gill Jacobs, author

Ian Shaw has spent much of his life as a social scientist, researching, writing and teaching in universities across the UK, Europe and Asia. Writer and editor of more than thirty books, he is Professor Emeritus at the University of York, England. Drawn by the attractions of gardening, a lifelong compulsion to try to write, and often tested loyalty to Leicester City FC, he also is the author of Christians and Slavery (Day One Publications, 2025); Leslie Land: His Life and Ministry (Hesed and Emet, 2023) and a companion book to this one, on Jeremiah (Day One Publications, 2026). He is a member of Hope Church, Easingwold, North Yorkshire.