Samuel was the last of the Judges and the first of the great prophets after Moses. Dedicated to God's service from birth by his mother Hannah, he grew up in the Tabernacle at Shiloh under the priest Eli. God called him as a boy, and "the Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and He let none of Samuel's words fall to the ground" (1 Samuel 3:19). He anointed both Saul and David as kings of Israel. His prophetic ministry marked the transition from the period of Judges to the monarchy.