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1 SAMUEL 8

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Etc.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

1. The book of 1 Samuel can be divided into chapters 1-7 and 8-31.
   1. Chapters 1-7 deal with the life and call of Samuel, who is the last of the great judges of the amphictyony period.
   2. Chapters 8-31 deal with the institution of the monarchy.
   
   
2. The Bible is ambiguous on the motives and theological foundation for the monarchy. There seems to be a real ambivalence even within 1 Samuel on kingship.
   1. for a king ‒ 1 Sam. 8:1-22; 10:18-25
   2. against a king ‒ 1 Sam. 9:1-10,16; 11:1-11,15

See Hard Sayings of the Bible, pp. 202-204 and Gleason Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, pp. 169-171.

3. The major problem does not seem to be the monarchy itself, for that is predicted in Gen. 17:6; 49:10; Deut. 17:14-20; 28:36. The major problem seems to be the attitude concerning the motive for the institution of the monarchy. In 1 Sam. 8:5, 20 the little phrase, "like all the nations," is the major theological objection.

   There is also the problem of God being King in a theological sense. The very fact they want a physical king, in some respects, rejects God as being their King, cf. 1 Sam. 8:7.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 8:1-3
  ¹And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel. ²Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba. ³His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.

8:1 "he appointed his sons judges over Israel" Judges were chosen by YHWH, not inherited. His sons, like Eli's sons and David's sons and Solomon's sons, simply did not measure up to the spiritual maturity and depth of commitment of their parents. This is probably another drawback to the monarchy, automatic succession never insures the quality of future kings.

8:2 "the name of. . ." Samuel named his children after YHWH. It was his hope, and the hope of all believing parents, that their children will measure up to the spiritual commitment and maturity of the parents.

▣ "Joel" This name (BDB 222) means "YHWH is God."

▣ "Abijah" This name (BDB 4) means "YHWH is Father."

▣ "they were judging in Beersheba" The name Beersheba (BDB 92) means "well of Sheba." It was on the very southern border of the tribal allocation of Judah. It later was a pilgrim site for the northern ten tribes (cf. Amos 5).

Josephus tells us that one son judged at Beersheba and another son judged at Bethel (Antiq. 6.3.2). The very fact that Beersheba was back in Jewish hands is some affirmation of the leadership of Samuel because in previous periods this belonged to the Philistines (cf. 1 Sam. 7:14).

8:3 "his sons, however, did not walk in his ways. . ." Notice the emphasis of biblical faith on lifestyle. The term "walk" is used in the Bible to describe the way of life.

The term "ways" (BDB 202) is used in both the Old and New Testaments to describe faithful followers, matter of fact, the early church was called "The Way" (cf. Acts 9:2; 19:9,23; 24:22).

▣ "turned aside" This VERB (BDB 639, KB 692, Hiphil IMPERFECT with waw) denotes a deviation from YHWH's revealed path.

1. went after dishonest gain
2. took bribes (cf. Exod. 23:8; Deut. 16:19; Pro. 17:23)
3. perverted justice (cf. Exod. 23:2-3,6; Deut. 24:17; 27:19; Lam. 3:35

It is possible all three of these are related to the same category of sins (i.e., greed or self-assertion and independence from YHWH's revelatory guidance, i.e., Amos 2:6-8).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 8:4-9
  ⁴Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; ⁵and they said to him, "Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations." ⁶But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the Lord. ⁷The Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. ⁸Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. ⁹Now then, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them."

8:4 "all the elders" This refers to tribal leaders.

SPECIAL TOPIC: ELDERS

▣ "Ramah" This was Samuel's hometown (cf. 1 Sam. 7:17). Apparently he was getting older and not able to make the circuit of preaching points described in 7:16.

8:5 "now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations" Their attitude, not their request, was the problem! They felt that a governmental change would solve the nation's problems. They were tired of walking by faith in YHWH's leadership and wanted a more structured political, religious lifestyle. It is interesting that the little phrase, "like all the nations," does not describe the political form of either the Philistines or the Canaanite population. We learn from the Ugaritic texts that the type of kingship Israel wanted was very similar to the Syrian and Egyptian pattern.

8:6 "but the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel" Samuel was YHWH's called representative. He felt they were rejecting him. The Philistine pressure had caused a new era in the history of Israel that they were unable to cope with. Samuel was not the aggressive military leader that they thought they needed, although the fact that Beersheba was in Israeli hands was a sign that Samuel was an effective military leader.

▣ "and Samuel prayed to the Lord" He did not react immediately to his own personal rejection and displeasure but sought the Lord for His wisdom and guidance. Good idea!

8:7 "for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them" YHWH encourages Samuel by asserting the people have not rejected him but rather Himself (cf. 1 Sam. 10:19; 15:23). Remember that if we are true spokesmen for YHWH and people reject our message, they are not rejecting us personally but who we represent. This is a very important verse in the Bible for it puts concrete form to the theory that YHWH was, in all reality, the King of Israel. The request for a monarchy really set the stage for the promise of a Davidic king in 2 Samuel 7, 1 Chronicles 17, which we know as Jesus the Davidic Messiah.

8:8 Verse 8 describes the settled character of rebellion that exemplifies Israelite people (cf. 2 Kgs. 21:15). I believe YHWH chose the Jewish nation because of their stiff-necked rebellious tendencies (cf. Exod. 32:9; 33:3,5; 34:9; Deut. 9:6,7,13,24,27; 10:16; 31:27) that the brilliance of the diamond of His grace and forgiveness in mercy might be seen against the backdrop of unfaithful, willful, continual rejection.

8:9 "you shall solemnly warn them" The VERB "warn" is a combination of an INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and an IMPERFECT VERB of the same root (Hiphil, BDB 929, KB 795), which shows intensity.

▣ "the procedure of the king" The ideal king is described in Deut. 17:14-20.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 8:10-18
  ¹⁰So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to the people who had asked of him a king. ¹¹He said, "This will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots. ¹²He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. ¹⁴He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants. ¹⁵He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his officers and to his servants. ¹⁶He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and use them for his work. ¹⁷He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. ¹⁸Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day."

8:10-17 This is a summary of the attitude and actions of Oriental monarchs exemplified in the Ugaritic texts.

1. 1 Sam. 8:11 ‒ the pomp and extravagance of Oriental palaces and procedures
2. 1 Sam. 8:12 ‒ the military conscription and drafting of both men and supplies
3. 1 Sam. 8:13-17 ‒ the taxation of both men and materials needed to support the monarchy

8:10 "the people who asked of him a king" This phrase contains the name "Saul as King" (BDB 981, KB 1371).

8:11 "chariots" The Masoretic Text has singular "chariot." This is not a reference to military power but the King's royal chariot and the large entourage that accompanied it.

8:12 "thousands" One of the problems with the large numbers in the OT is the wide semantic field of the word "thousand."

SPECIAL TOPIC: THOUSAND (eleph)

▣ "to make his weapons" In the ANE the king produced and owned the military weaponry (cf. 2 Chr. 26:14; 32:5).

The MT has the PLURAL FEMININE NOUN (BDB 955) that means "female ointment makers" (cf. Exod. 30:25,34; Neh. 3:8).

The IVP Bible Background Commentary, p. 292, mentions several duties of a "perfumer."

1. perfumed the king's clothes
2. perfumed the king's palace
3. prepared spices for medicinal purposes (ancient pharmacist)

8:14 "and give them to his servants" This seems to refer to a feudalism where the chief servants of the King are given land grants. The land would have been taken from the God-given tribal allocations of Joshua 15-19.

8:15,17 "a tithe" This is in addition to the religious tithe. Therefore, the taxation would immediately double. There are examples of this in the Ugaritic texts.

SPECIAL TOPIC: TITHING IN THE MOSAIC LEGISLATION

▣ "his officers" This term "eunuchs (BDB 710) is borrowed from Akkadian where it means "one at the head." Often the high officials of Oriental monarchies were castrated to assure their loyalty. However, Potipher in Genesis 39 is called by the same title and he was married. It is possible that Daniel and his three friends were emasculated in this manner, or simply made leaders.

The UBS Text Project, p. 162, gives the MT "your best men" an "A" rating. The two Hebrew words "youths" and "cattle" are spelled slightly differently.

8:18 "you will cry out in that day" There are conditions for answered prayer, but some sins block communication from God.

1. pride ‒ Job 35:12
2. disobedience ‒ Pro. 1:25-32; Hos. 8:2-7
3. bloodshed ‒ Isa. 1:15
4. idolatry ‒ Jer. 11:11; 14:10-12; Ezek. 8:18
5. taking advantage of the poor and powerless ‒ Micah 3:4; Zech. 7:13
6. no faith ‒ Hos. 7:13-16

For the NT requirements see SPECIAL TOPIC: EFFECTIVE PRAYER.

This phrase, "you will cry out" is used throughout the period of the Judges. Whenever the people of YHWH were oppressed by enemies they would cry out to YHWH and He would answer, however, this time they had chosen a new form of government and they simply had to live with it!

▣ "you have chosen for yourselves" This is not really a contradiction to Deut. 17:14-15 but another perspective. One is a theological understanding; one is an obvious description of the cultural situation.

▣ "but the Lord will not answer you in that day" Probably one of the worst things that YHWH could do for any of us is answer all our prayers. Sometimes we pray

1. for that which we do not need
2. for that which will be harmful to us
3. in accordance with our lower fallen nature, not in accordance with YHWH's will

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 8:19-22
  ¹⁹Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, "No, but there shall be a king over us, ²⁰that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles." ²¹Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the Lord's hearing. ²²The Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to their voice and appoint them a king." So Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Go every man to his city."

8:19 "No, but there shall be a king over us" There is a real paradox in the Bible between the sovereignty of God and the free will of man. This is a good example of a wrong human decision.

SPECIAL TOPIC: ELECTION/PREDESTINATION AND THE NEED FOR A THEOLOGICAL BALANCE

8:20 "that our king may judge us" Samuel had become too old to effectively "judge." Israel and his sons, like Eli's sons, were not godly, faithful men.

Remember, one of the main aspects of "judging" in this historical period had a military component.

8:21 "Samuel. . .repeated them in the Lord's hearing" Isn't this an unusual little phrase? Did Samuel really think that God did not hear the people say these words? Maybe this is a little psychological insight in that Samuel needed to feel needed again!

8:22 "go every man to his city" I am sure one of these elders believed he would be the new king but Samuel dismissed the people and, thereby said, "I will make no hasty decision; I must seek the Lord's will in this" (cf. 1 Sam. 8:7,9).

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. Was it YWHW's will to have a king or was it sin on the people's part?
2. What does the phrase "like all the nations" in 1 Sam. 5:20 imply about the people of YHWH.
3. Why did Samuel feel rejected? Why did YHWH feel rejected?
4. Are 1 Sam. 8:10-17 an exaggerated description of what will happen in an Oriental monarchy?

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