English · ASV

1 Samuel 8

Listen to this chapter
0:00 0:00

Samuel's Sons Judge Corruptly 1–3

1
And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. ​
2
Now the name of his first-born was Joel; and the name of his second, Abijah: they were judges in Beer-sheba.
3
And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted justice. ​

Israel Demands a King 4–6

4
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah; ​
5
and they said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. ​
6
But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto Jehovah. ​

God Views the Request as Rejection 7–9

7
And Jehovah said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not be king over them. ​
8
According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, in that they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. ​
9
Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit thou shalt protest solemnly unto them, and shalt show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. ​

The Warning: The Manner of the King 10–18

10
And Samuel told all the words of Jehovah unto the people that asked of him a king.
11
And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them unto him, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they shall run before his chariots; ​
12
and he will appoint them unto him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and he will set some to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots.
13
And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
14
And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
15
And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. ​
16
And he will take your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
17
He will take the tenth of your flocks: and ye shall be his servants.
18
And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king whom ye shall have chosen you; and Jehovah will not answer you in that day. ​

The People Persist and God Consents 19–22

19
But the people refused to hearken unto the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay: but we will have a king over us, ​
20
that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles. ​
21
And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of Jehovah.
22
And Jehovah said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for 1 Samuel 8

Verse 1

he made his sons judges over Israel — Samuel is old, and the office he held through the circuit of 7:16 passes to his sons Joel and Abiah (v.2), who sit at Beersheba. The same word, shaphat, to judge, runs through the chapter: the sons judge here, and the elders ask for a king 'to judge us' (vv.5, 6, 20).

Verse 3

turned aside after lucre — 'Turned aside' (natah) is also the verb rendered 'perverted' in the same verse, so the sons turn and then turn the judgment. The law said, 'Thou shalt not wrest judgment… neither take a gift' (Deut 16:19). 'Judgment' here is mishpat, the word translated 'manner' in vv.9 and 11.

Verse 4

all the elders of Israel… came to Samuel unto Ramah — Ramah is Samuel's house and the seat of his judging (7:17), and 'all the elders' travel there to him. Their request is stated in v.5.

Verse 5

make us a king to judge us like all the nations — Deut 17:14 had foreseen such a request in these words: 'I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me'. The next verse in the law adds, 'whom the LORD thy God shall choose' (Deut 17:15), which the elders' words do not mention. They give Samuel's age and his sons' ways as the reason.

Verse 6

the thing displeased Samuel — The Hebrew says it was evil in his eyes. The text names what displeased him: their saying, 'Give us a king to judge us'. Samuel's answer is to pray, as he did at Mizpeh (7:5, 9), and the LORD replies in v.7.

Verse 7

they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them — Ma'as, to reject, twice in one verse. 'Reign' is malak, the root of 'king', so the request touches the LORD's own reigning. Gideon had said, 'the LORD shall rule over you' (Judg 8:23), and Samuel later says, 'the LORD your God was your king' (12:12).

Verse 8

since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt — The LORD reads the request against the whole history: Israel 'forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods' (Judg 2:12). 'So do they also unto thee' says that Samuel is treated as the LORD has been, from Egypt until this day.

Verse 9

protest solemnly — The verb is ud, to bear witness, doubled for emphasis ('protest solemnly'). The LORD commands that they be told 'the manner of the king' (mishpat), and Samuel does it in vv.11–18, then writes 'the manner of the kingdom' in a book and lays it up before the LORD (10:25).

Verse 11

his chariots… his horsemen — The king 'will take your sons'. Deut 17:16 had said a king 'shall not multiply horses to himself', and 2 Sam 15:1 shows the pattern: Absalom 'prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him'. 'Take' (laqach) opens four of the king's demands (vv.11, 13, 14, 16).

Verse 15

the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards — Lev 27:30 says 'all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S'. The king's tenth (the verb asar, to tithe) is taken from the same seed and fruit, and given 'to his officers' (saris, a court official) and 'to his servants'.

Verse 18

ye shall cry out in that day — The LORD's answer to a people crying out for a king he did not choose is the one given in Judg 10:13–14: 'Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen'. In 1 Kgs 12:4 the people ask Solomon's son to lighten 'thy father… his heavy yoke which he put upon us'.

Verse 19

refused to obey the voice of Samuel — The verb shama, to hear, is in the LORD's command three times (vv.7, 9, 22, 'Hearken unto the voice of the people') and now in the people's refusal 'to obey the voice of Samuel'. The LORD hears their voice; they will not hear his prophet's.

Verse 20

fight our battles — Israel had been told, 'The LORD shall fight for you' (Ex 14:14), and 'the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you' (Deut 20:4). The request puts a king where the LORD had gone: 'our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.'

Verse 22

Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king — The LORD grants it, and Samuel looks back on this when he says, 'I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you' (12:1). Hos 13:11 states it from the LORD's side: 'I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.'