Was Samuel a priest?

It seems to be a popular idea that Samuel was priest, or even the high priest. But was he?

Scripture describes Samuel as a “Seer” or “Prophet” and a “judge” – but never specifically as a priest (1 Samuel 3:20; 1 Samuel 7:6; 1 Samuel 7:15; 1 Samuel 9:18-19). If so I have not found it, though some of his actions might be considered priestly functions. To be a priest Samuel must have been a Levite, and to be high priest he must have been a descendant of Aaron. The former may be understood from Scripture, but not the latter.[i]

Though there are some differences in the spellings/names in 1 Samuel 1:1-2 and 1 Chronicles 6:16-30, it is observable that these are the family of the same Samuel in both places. A simple explanation of how Elkanah was both a Kohathite and of mount Ephraim is this – Kohathite describes his lineage/parentage and of mount Ephraim describes where he lived in the country of Israel.[ii] The Levites had no portion of land of their own, only cities and land within the land of the other tribes, which included Ephraim (see Joshua 21).[iii] Samuel was in the lineage of the priests, but not in the lineage of Aaron the high priest.

In the days of Samuel, God pronounced judgment against the house of Eli (1 Samuel 2:34-35). Complete judgement seems to have arrived in stages. See, for example, 1 Samuel 22:17-19, 1 Samuel 23:6, and compare with 1 Samuel 21:1 & 1 Kings 2:26-27. 1 Samuel 14:2-3, 18-19 suggests that Eli’s descendants (specifically Ahiah) were still operating in the priesthood at that time, even before the death of Samuel:

And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men; and Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, I‑chabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod....

And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel. And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand.

Psalm 99:6 also seems to distinguish Samuel from Moses and Aaron. I think that Samuel was a priest, but not a high priest.

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[i] Some people think that since Eli brought him up, Samuel could be considered a son of Eli, by adoption of sorts.
[ii] An “Ephrathite” may possibly only refer to Elkanah’s ancestor Zuph, meaning that Zuph (a Levite) originally lived in Bethlehem of Ephrata
[iii] In Judges 17:7 a Levite is described, in a way, by the tribe within which he resided.