John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 8:11
And he said, this will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you ,.... Not in which he ought to proceed, but what he will do: and this not the manner of one king, or of the first only, but of all of them, more or less; of kings in general, who are commonly inclined to arbitrary power. So Aristotle F1 In Politicis, l. 3. c. 16. in opposition to theocracy, describes a full and absolute kingdom, as he calls it, when a king does all things according to his will: and observes,... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 8:4-22
We have here the starting of a matter perfectly new and surprising, which was the setting up of kingly government in Israel. Perhaps the thing had been often talked of among them by those that were given to change and affected that which looked great. But we do not find that it was ever till now publicly proposed and debated. Abimelech was little better than a titular king, though he is said to reign over Israel (Jdg. 9:22), and perhaps his fall had for a great while rendered the title of king... read more