Did Samuel judge Israel all his days, or only until Saul was anointed king?

PROBLEM: In this verse, we are informed that “Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.” However, Samuel lived after Saul was anointed king (1 Samuel 8:5; 1 Samuel 12:1; 1 Samuel 25:1).

SOLUTION: Samuel only gave up his civil authority to Saul, not his spiritual authority. Under Israel’s monarch there was a separation of power. Kings were forbidden to perform spiritual functions (cf. 2 Chronicles 26:16-23), and the prophets no longer had political authority. Even so, the prophets, with their direct revelations from God, were a continual moral check on those in political power.

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