What was the Fate of Samuel’s Sons?
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In 1 Samuel 8:1-3 we read about the sons of Samuel. “And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his first-born was Joel; and the name of his second, Abijah: they were judges in Beer-sheba. And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted justice.”
In this context, the people of Israel use Samuel’s sons’ corruption as a pretext to ask for a king to judge them like all the other nations around them. The text says that Samuel “made his sons judges over Israel.” This was not without precedent. Judges Jair (1 Samuel 10:3-4) and Abdon (1 Samuel 12:13-14) had sons who assisted them in their work. The text says that Samuel’s sons, “were judges in Beersheba,” which is a city on the remote southern border of the nation of Israel. We do not get to see what happened to their work as judges because God said to Samuel, “Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king” (1 Samuel 8:22). Once the new king was appointed, his administration would begin to take over the duties of the local judges in the nation.
First Samuel chapter eight is not the only place in scripture that we read of Samuel’s sons. They are mentioned again in 1 Chronicles 6:28, “And the sons of Samuel: the first-born, Joel, and the second Abijah.” Joel is mentioned again in 1 Chronicles 6:33, “And these are they that waited, and their sons. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel.” First Chronicles 6:31-32 explains why he is mentioned: “And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of Jehovah, after that the ark had rest. And they ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, until Solomon had built the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem: and they waited on their office according to their order.” Heman was one of the singers that David appointed to direct the song service. Evidently, he was the director of the entire choir of singers. He was assisted by Asaph and Merari. They were all descendants of Kohath, which meant they were special servants that supported the operations of the tabernacle. Heman was one of Samuel’s grandsons through His son Joel.
The Bible does not specifically say what happened to Samuel’s sons after Saul was appointed king, but his grandson ends up directing worship under the administration of David. One might infer that once Saul became king that Joel and Abijah’s days as judges were numbered, and Saul eventually dismissed them from that service. This evidently had a beneficial effect on their families, and they were re-tasked to support the operation of the tabernacle. They did this for a while until David became king, who was especially fond of musical worship. When David retrieved the ark of the covenant from the Philistines, he directed the Levites to appoint singers (1 Chronicles 15:16-17). Samuel’s sons, evidently, had cleaned up their act and were once again trusted because they appointed Joel’s son, Samuel’s grandson, Heman, to become the director of music under David’s administration. It is possible that Heman distinguished himself solitarily without the aid of his father and uncle. We don’t really know, but typically, one’s family connections are taken into consideration when one is appointed to such a role. The bottom line is that we do not have explicit scriptural declarations as to what happened to Samuel’s sons, so, we can only assume their fate. However, given that Heman rose to the position of prominence that he did, I like to think that Joel and Abijah reformed and were placed back within useful service to the Lord as servants of the tabernacle.