1 Samuel 8:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah

NIV: So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.

NASB: Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah;

CSB: So all the elders of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel at Ramah.

NLT: Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel.

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

NKJV: Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah,

Before the time of the kings in Israel, this verse pictures the best version of Israel's political structure. If the elders of Israel wanted to suggest a change, they would bring their request to the one the Lord appointed as His representative. This was because the Lord was the true King of Israel with direct rule over them. These elders presumably included representatives from the tribes of Israel. It may also have included men who governed certain territories. In this case, they brought their request to Samuel: both judge over Israel and a prophet of God (1 Samuel 3:19–21; 7:15–17). Ramah was not the capital of Israel, but it had become an important religious site because it was Samuel's hometown (1 Samuel 7:17).

Interestingly, the elders of Israel request a change to the very system of government they were using to make their request. They wanted God's spokesperson to replace himself with a king (1 Samuel 8:5).

First Samuel 8:1–9 jumps forward in time, likely several decades, from the events of the previous chapter. Samuel is now old and his sons, also judges, are corrupt. The elders of Israel gather in Ramah to ask Samuel to appoint a king for the nation. Samuel is concerned but takes their proposal to the Lord. The Lord says that the people are rejecting Him as king. Still, the Lord tells Samuel to do as the people say after he gives them fair warning about how a king will treat them.

Samuel is old, and his sons are corrupt. The elders of Israel gather in Ramah to ask Samuel to appoint a king over them. Samuel resists, but the Lord tells the prophet to do as the people have said after warning them about what a king will take from them. The list includes their children, property, fields, crops, and freedom. The Lord will not save them from their king, Samuel warns. The elders insist they still want a king like all the other nations. The Lord agrees and tells Samuel to provide them one.

First Samuel 8 jumps forward in time perhaps thirty years from the events of the previous chapter. Samuel is now old and his sons, also judges, are corrupt. The elders of Israel gather to ask Samuel to appoint a king for them. Samuel doesn't like it, but he takes the request to the Lord. The Lord tells Samuel to do it, even though the people are rejecting Him as their king. Samuel warns the elders of all the things a king will take from them to serve himself. The elders still insist, and the Lord grants their request.

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.

Accessed 5/5/2024 1:38:38 AM