Person Old Testament
Joel
Also known as second =ESV, NIV; Vashni =KJV
Joel, the firstborn son of Samuel, served as a judge in Israel but did not walk in his father's ways. Mentioned in 4 verses across 2 books, first at 1 Samuel 8:2.
Why it matters. Samuel's firstborn son who judged Israel
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Joel
Joel was the firstborn son of the prophet and judge Samuel, as mentioned in 1Sa.8.2. Along with his brother Abijah, Joel was appointed by Samuel to serve as a judge in Israel. However, unlike their father, Joel and Abijah did not walk in the ways of the Lord. They turned aside after dishonest gain, accepted bribes, and perverted justice (1Sa.8.3). This corruption in leadership led the elders of Israel to demand a king to rule over them, ultimately resulting in the anointing of Saul as the first king of Israel (1Sa.8.4-5). The failure of Joel and Abijah to uphold the standards of righteous judgment set by their father had significant consequences for the nation of Israel.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
Appears in Scripture
Named in 4 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.