Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the period of the biblical judges to the institution of a kingdom under Saul, and again in the transition from Saul to David. He is venerated as a prophet by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. In addition to his role in the Hebrew Scriptures, Samuel is mentioned in the New Testament, in rabbinical literature, and in the second chapter of the Qur'an. He is also treated in the fifth through seventh books of Josephus's Antiquities of the Jews, written in the first century CE (AD). He is first called the Seer in 1 Samuel 9:9.
