Table of Contents
1 Samuel 8
1 Samuel 8
1 And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.
2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba.
3 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
5 And 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 the Lord.
7 And 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.
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, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
10 And Samuel told all the words of the Lord 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 for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
12 And 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.
13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, 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 menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
18 And 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.
19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey 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 the Lord.
22 And 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.
Notes
Cross Reference
Commentary
Rashi
Verse 3
<html><b>s They were swayed.</b> Themselves.1<i class=“footnote”> <span>וַיִטּוּ</span> is in the <span>קַל</span> [simple] form.</i> <b>[They] perverted.</b> Something else, i.e., justice.2<i class=“footnote”><span>וַיַטּוּ</span> is in the <span>הִפֽעִיל</span> [causative] form.</i> Our Rabbis said3<i class=“footnote”>Maseches Shabbos 56a.</i> that Shmuel's sons did not sin. They merely did not follow in their father's ways. Their father would travel to all places in Yisroel, and judge them in their cities. But they did not do so,4<i class=“footnote”>They did not travel, but rather settled in <span>בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע</span> and would summon litigants to their court. Because the litigants had to pay additional travel expenses to go to <span>בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע</span>, many chose to forgo their claims and thereby corrupting the justice system.</i> in order to increase the income of their agents and scribes.</html>
Verse 6
<html><b>The matter was wrong.</b> Because they said, “to judge us like all the nations.”5<i class=“footnote”> Shmuel was not displeased at the Bnei Yisroel’s request, because the Torah explicitly permits the institution of the monarchy in Devarim 17:15. It therefore seems that seeking to appoint a new king, now that the nation had settled in Eretz Yisroel was appropriate. What disturbed Shmuel was that the motive behind the request was not a desire to fulfill a mitzvah of appointing a king. Rather, they were complaining and rejecting Shmuel’s leadership [below ==== Verse 8] and their reason for seeking to appoint a king was because of their desire to be “…like all the nations…”</i></html>
Verse 9
<html><b>But warn them.6<i class=“footnote”>See Bereishis 43:3.</i></b> Warn them that the fear of their king be upon them.7<i class=“footnote”>In order to impress Bnei Yisroel with awe for the monarchy, i.e., the king’s position, Shmuel was instructed to teach them the honor due to a king of Yisroel.</i></html>
Verse 12
<html><b>And to produce his implements of war.</b> To train them as craftsmen, blacksmiths, and carpenters.</html>
Verse 13
<html><b>For perfumers.</b> Who prepare perfumes and spices for his wives' cosmetics.8<i class=“footnote”> Being that this ==== Verse deals with the preparation of food, <span>רַקָּחוֹת</span> may also be translated as confectioners or as people who produce the various spices used in the preparation of meats.</i></html>