1 Samuel 12:3-6

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:1-5

Here, I. Samuel gives them a short account of the late revolution, and of the present posture of their government, by way of preface to what he had further to say to them, 1 Sam. 12:1, 2. 1. For his own part, he had spent his days in their service; he began betimes to be useful among them, and had continued long so: ?I have walked before you, as a guide to direct you, as a shepherd that leads his flock (Ps. 80:1), from my childhood unto this day.? As soon as he was illuminated with the light... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:6-15

Samuel, having sufficiently secured his own reputation, instead of upbraiding the people upon it with their unkindness to him, sets himself to instruct them, and keep them in the way of their duty, and then the change of the government would be the less damage to them. I. He reminds them of the great goodness of God to them and to their fathers, gives them an abstract of the history of their nation, that, by the consideration of the great things God had done for them, they might be for ever... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:3

Behold, here I am ,.... No longer the supreme governor, but a subject, and accountable for any misdemeanour charged upon me, and to which I am ready to give answer, being now at your bar to be tried and judged before you: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed ; signifying, that if they had anything to lay to his charge, that they would produce it, and give proof and evidence of it in the presence of God, in whose name they met, and of Saul, anointed king, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:4

And they said ,.... One in the name of the rest, or they all cried out as one man: thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us ; had done them no wrong, neither privately nor publicly, by fraud or by force: neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand ; as a gift, present, or bribe, to fit your his cause. Some would infer hence that be took nothing of them for his support and maintenance, and that he lived upon his own substance; but that is not likely or reasonable; it was but... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:5

And he said unto them, the Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day ,.... Should they hereafter reproach and vilify him, and charge him with any acts of corruption, injustice, and violence: that ye have not found ought in my hand ; that they had nothing to accuse him of and charge him with throughout his whole administration, but had asserted his innocence and integrity, had honourably acquitted him, and given him a fair character: and they answered, he is... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:6

And Samuel said unto the people ,.... Having cleared and established his own character, he proceeds to lay before the people some of the great things God had done for them formerly, and quite down to the present time, the more to aggravate their ingratitude in rejecting God as their King: it is the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron ; raised them from a low estate, the one in a foreign country in Midian, the other in bondage in Egypt, to be deliverers, guides, and governors of his... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 12:3

Witness against me - Did ever a minister of state, in any part of the world, resign his office with so much self-consciousness of integrity, backed with the universal approbation of the public? No man was oppressed under his government, no man defrauded! He had accumulated no riches for himself; he had procured none for his friends; nor had one needy dependant been provided for out of the public purse. He might have pardoned his own sons, who had acted improperly, before he quitted the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 12:4

They said , Thou hast not defrauded - Of what minister or governor can any nation under heaven say such things? read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:1-5

Character a power. The facts are— 1 . Samuel reminds the people that he (a) has carried out their wishes in setting a king over them, (b) is now a very old man, and (c) has spent the whole of his life among them. 2 . He appeals to God in asserting that the whole of his official life has been free from self-seeking. 3 . The people freely admit that his public conduct has been honest, considerate, and free from greed. The meaning of Samuel's reference to himself is to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:3-5

Witness against me. Literally, "answer," as in a court of justice to the formal question of the judge. His anointed. I.e. the king (see on 1 Samuel 2:10 , 1 Samuel 2:35 ; 1 Samuel 2:1 ). Whose ox,... whose ass? See on 1 Samuel 8:16 . Of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? Bribe should be rendered ransom. Literally it signifies a covering, and was used of money given by a guilty person to induce the judge to close or "blind his eyes," and not... read more

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