1 Samuel 8:10

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does 1 Samuel 8:10 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And Samuel told all the words of Jehovah unto the people that asked of him a king.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And Samuel told all the words of Jehovah unto the people that asked of him a king.
1 Samuel 8:10 — American Standard Version

Context — 1 Samuel 8

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
10And Samuel told all the words of Jehovah unto the people that asked of him a king.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto them, etc.] How he considered this request of theirs as a rejection of him as their king, and that it was acting the same ungrateful part they had always done; and since they were so importunate to have it granted, it should be done; but that he was ordered to lay before them all the inconveniences that would attend it, and the evils that would follow upon it unto them: that asked of him a king; which is observed, not to distinguish a part of them from the rest; for this was an united request of the people.”
Read attributed excerpt →
Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“8:10-18 These verses list the disadvantages of kingship. Each sentence begins with something the king would take. A king would be a confiscator, not just a protector.”
Read attributed excerpt →
Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“In accordance with the instructions of God, Samuel told the people all the words of Jehovah, i.e., all that God had said to him, as related in Sa1 8:7-9, and then proclaimed to them the right of the king. Sa1 8:11 "He will take your sons, and set them for himself upon his chariots, and upon his saddle-horses, and they will run before his chariot;" i.e., he will make the sons of the people his retainers at court, his charioteers, riders, and runners. The singular suffix attached to בּמרכּבתּו is not to be altered, as Thenius suggests, into the plural form, according to the lxx, Chald., and Syr., since the word refers, not to war-chariots, but to the king's state-carriage; and פּרשׁ does not…”
Read attributed excerpt →

Related study paths

Sources and verification