The Inauguration of the Monarchy[a]
Chapter 8
The People Request a King. 1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 2 The name of the older was Joel, and the name of the younger was Abijah, and they were judges at Beer-sheba. 3 The sons did not walk in his ways. They sought dishonest gains, took bribes, and perverted justice.
4 All of the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are now old, and your sons are not following in your path. Appoint a king over us, just like all the other nations have.”
6 It displeased Samuel when they said to him, “Appoint a king over us,” so Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 The Lord said to him, “Listen to everything that the people have requested of you. It is not you whom the people have rejected, they have rejected me as their king. 8 They have done this from the day that I brought them up out of Egypt to this very day. They have rejected me and served other gods, just as they have rejected you. 9 So grant their request, but warn them solemnly and inform them what the king who reigns over them will do.”
10 The Rule of a King. Samuel told the people who were asking for a king everything that the Lord had said. 11 He said, “This is what the king who reigns over you will do. He will take away your sons to serve him on his chariots and his horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.[b] 12 He will appoint some as commanders of groups of thousands, and others as commanders of groups of fifty. He will set some to plowing his fields and reaping his harvests. Others will make weapons and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be makers of perfumes and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive groves and he will give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain harvest and the harvest of your vineyards and give it to his officials and his attendants. 16 He will take your menservants and your maidservants, the best of your cattle and donkeys, and use them for his own work. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you, yourselves, will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for help because of the king that you have chosen, but on that day the Lord will not listen to you.”[c]
19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. They said, “No! We want a king over us! 20 Then we will be like every other nation, with a king to lead us and to go out before us to fight in our battles.”
21 When Samuel heard everything that the people had said, he repeated it to the Lord. 22 So the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to them and appoint a king over them.” Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Let each man go back to his own town.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 8:1 Israel needs a strong authority to deal with the Philistine threat. Neighboring peoples offer a model: monarchy. But does not having a king mean imitating the pagan nations and betraying the Lord, who is the only true king of his people? The conscience of Israel is disturbed; the passages we shall be reading here (revised by the author of the book) bear witness to this unease: some Israelites are in favor of a monarchy, others opposed to it.
- 1 Samuel 8:11 In front of his chariots: as a sign of honor; this custom continued in the East down to modern times (2 Sam 15:1; 1 Ki 1:5).
- 1 Samuel 8:18 Samuel, despite his many admonitions, could not convince the Israelites that they would regret their decision to appoint a king. He wanted them to recognize that in God alone would they find true peace and deliverance.