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The Histories · Old Testament

1 Samuel 8

Israel asks for a king

General context

Samuel's sons take bribes and distort justice. Israel's elders ask for a king to judge them like the other nations. The Lord tells Samuel that the people have rejected the Lord as king and directs him to warn them. Samuel describes a king's demands on their children, labor, crops and property. The people insist that they want a king to lead them and fight their battles, and the Lord tells Samuel to grant their request.

Cited passages: 1 Samuel 8:1, 1 Samuel 8:2, 1 Samuel 8:3, 1 Samuel 8:4, 1 Samuel 8:5, 1 Samuel 8:6, 1 Samuel 8:7, 1 Samuel 8:8, 1 Samuel 8:9, 1 Samuel 8:10, 1 Samuel 8:11, 1 Samuel 8:12, 1 Samuel 8:13, 1 Samuel 8:14, 1 Samuel 8:15, 1 Samuel 8:16, 1 Samuel 8:17, 1 Samuel 8:18, 1 Samuel 8:19, 1 Samuel 8:20, 1 Samuel 8:21, 1 Samuel 8:22

1 Samuel 8 (KJV)

1And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.

2Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beer-sheba.

3And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.

4Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,

5And 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.

6But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.

7And the Lord 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 reign over them.

8According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.

9Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

10And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king.

11And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.

12And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.

13And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.

14And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

15And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

16And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.

17He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.

18And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.

19Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;

20That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

21And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord.

22And the Lord 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.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

Joel and Abiah serve as judges at Beersheba after Samuel appoints them. The elders bring their request to Samuel at Ramah. The warning describes royal households and armies supported by taken labor, land and produce, including tenths of crops and flocks. This is a warning about what the king will take, not a report that a named king has already done all these things.

Cited passages: 1 Samuel 8:1, 1 Samuel 8:2, 1 Samuel 8:3, 1 Samuel 8:4, 1 Samuel 8:5, 1 Samuel 8:9, 1 Samuel 8:10, 1 Samuel 8:11, 1 Samuel 8:12, 1 Samuel 8:13, 1 Samuel 8:14, 1 Samuel 8:15, 1 Samuel 8:16, 1 Samuel 8:17, 1 Samuel 8:18

Literary context

The elders begin with a real failure of justice, but their desired remedy is examined through the Lord's response and Samuel's warning. Repeated forms of 'take' accumulate until the people themselves become servants. Their insistence on being like other nations returns at the end, where the warning has not changed their demand.

Cited passages: 1 Samuel 8:3, 1 Samuel 8:4, 1 Samuel 8:5, 1 Samuel 8:6, 1 Samuel 8:7, 1 Samuel 8:8, 1 Samuel 8:9, 1 Samuel 8:11, 1 Samuel 8:12, 1 Samuel 8:13, 1 Samuel 8:14, 1 Samuel 8:15, 1 Samuel 8:16, 1 Samuel 8:17, 1 Samuel 8:18, 1 Samuel 8:19, 1 Samuel 8:20

Key moments

  1. Justice perverted (1 Samuel 8:3). Samuel's sons accept bribes instead of following his ways.
  2. A king requested (1 Samuel 8:5). The elders ask for a king like the other nations have.
  3. The Lord names the rejection (1 Samuel 8:7). The Lord tells Samuel that the people have rejected him as king.
  4. The cost of kingship (1 Samuel 8:17). Samuel says that the people will become the king's servants.
  5. The demand repeated (1 Samuel 8:20). The people want a king to judge them and fight their battles.

For reflection

When a proposed solution promises security, how do you weigh its demands on the people it is meant to serve?

People in this chapter

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