Shemuel

The name Shemuel — distinct in this umbrella from the prophet Samuel — belongs to two minor figures in the UPDV: a Simeonite chosen to help apportion the land of Canaan, and a head of a family in the tribe of Issachar.

A Simeonite on the Land-Allotment Committee

When Yahweh names the men who will divide the land among the tribes, the representative for Simeon is Shemuel: "And of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud" (Nu 34:20). His patronymic — son of Ammihud — and his tribal designation are all that the text records of him.

Head of a Family in Issachar

A second Shemuel appears in the Chronicler's tribal genealogy of Issachar, listed among the sons of Tola who become heads of fathers' houses: "And the sons of Tola: Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Ibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fathers' houses, [to wit,] of Tola; mighty men of valor in their generations: their number in the days of David was two and twenty thousand and six hundred" (1Ch 7:2). The notice ranks him among the mighty men of valor, with the combined Tolaite musters numbered in David's days at twenty-two thousand six hundred.