1 Samuel 8:1-3

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 8:1-3

Two sad things we find here, but not strange things:?1. A good and useful man growing old and unfit for service (1 Sam. 8:1): Samuel was old, and could not judge Israel, as he had done. He is not reckoned to be past sixty years of age now, perhaps not so much; but he was a man betimes, was full of thoughts and cared when he was a child, which perhaps hastened the infirmities of age upon him. The fruits that are the first ripe keep the worst. He had spent his strength and spirits in the fatigue... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 8:1

And it came to pass, when Samuel was old ,.... The common notion of the Jews is, that he lived but fifty two years F20 Seder Olam Rabba, ut supra. (c. 13. p. 35.) ; when a man is not usually called an old man, unless the infirmities of old age came upon him sooner than they commonly do, through his indefatigable labours from his childhood, and the cares and burdens of government he had long bore; though some think he was about sixty years of age; and Abarbinel is of opinion that he was... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 8:2

Now the name of his firstborn was Joel ,.... In 1 Chronicles 6:28 he is called Vashni; See Gill on 1 Chronicles 6:28 . This was not Joel the prophet, as some have thought, neither his parentage, nor his office, nor his times, will agree with this: and the name of his second Abiah : which two sons seem to be all he had: they were judges in Beersheba ; in the utmost border of the land, to the south, as Ramah, where Samuel dwelt and judged, was more to the north; where they were... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 8:3

And his sons walked not in his ways ,.... The meaning of which is not that they did not go the circuit he did, which is too low a sense of the words some Jewish writers give; but they did not walk in the fear of God, in the paths of religion and righteousness, truth and holiness; they neither served God, nor did justice to men, as Samuel had done: but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment ; indulged to covetousness, sought to get riches at any rate, took... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 8:1

When Samuel was old - Supposed to be about sixty. He made his sons judges - He appointed them as his lieutenants to superintend certain affairs in Beer-sheba, which he could not conveniently attend to himself. But they were never judges in the proper sense of the word; Samuel was the last judge in Israel, and he judged it to the day of his death. See 1 Samuel 7:16 . read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 8:3

His sons walked not in his ways - Their iniquity is pointed out in three words: They turned aside after lucre; the original ( בצע batsa ) signifies to cut, clip, break off; and therefore Mr. Parkhurst thinks that it means nearly the same with our clipping of coin. It however expresses here the idea of avarice, of getting money by hook or by crook. The Targum says, "They looked after דשקר ממון mamon dishkar , the mammon of unrighteousness;" of which they did not make... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 8:1

EXPOSITION SAUL ( CHS . 8-31). THE great interest of the First Book of Samuel lies in the fact that we have in it the orderly consolidation of two of the main factors in the preparation for the manifestation of our Lord, namely, prophecy and the kingdom. The first seven chapters give us the history of Samuel's birth, and of the gradual development in him of those spiritual powers which finally made him not merely a prophet, but the founder of prophecy as a permanent and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 8:1-9

Discontent with God's methods. The facts are— 1 . In Samuel's old age his sons, being judges over Israel, abuse their office by accepting bribes. 2 . This fact is adduced by the people as a reason for asking Samuel to make them a king. 3 . Samuel in his grief seeks counsel of God. 4 . Samuel is instructed to yield to their request, while protesting against it. 5 . The conduct of the people is declared to be an expression of the perverse tendency characteristic of their... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 8:2

The name of his firstborn was Joel. The names of Samuel's sons are pledges of his faith—Joel meaning Jehovah is God, and Abiah Jab is Father. The name given in 1 Chronicles 6:28 , Vashni, is a mistake. It means, "and the second," the name of Joel the firstborn having somehow been omitted. The names of Saul's sons, and even of Jonathan's, unlike those in Samuel's family, bear witness to their religion having been of a curiously mixed character. In Beer-sheba. Not, therefore, in any... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 8:3

His sons …took bribes. This sin was expressly forbidden in Exodus 23:6 , Exodus 23:8 ; Deuteronomy 16:19 , and it marks the high spirit of the nation that it was so indignant at justice being thus perverted. They walked not in his way (singular—so the written text); for Samuel's own administration of justice had been most upright ( 1 Samuel 12:4 ), nor is it laid to his charge that he connived at the misconduct of his sons. On the contrary, after remonstrance indeed, not for his... read more

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