Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 04 Oct 2020
In the last sermon we looked at the beginning of chapter 8 in which three plans for continuity of leadership over the people of Israel were laid out1:
Samuel’s plan, which involved appointing his sons as judges,
The plan of the elders of Israel to have “a king like all the [other] nations,”
And God’s plan, which was to relate to His people as their God unlike all the other nations and to graciously provide salvation for them even through their kings.
God’s main point is not that monarchy is morally wrong. (In other places God affirms monarchy as a valid system of government2.) It’s the qualifying words that are the important ones in this story; it’s the phrase “like the other nations” which is, I believe the main problem, revealing that Israel was telling Samuel that it wanted to become like a pagan nation and reject God as their final authority. That was the real problem.
But out of love for His people, God provided a warning to them through Samuel in the body of chapter 8 against wanting a king who would operate like the kings of the other nations. This warning is still useful to us today because the battle of worldviews continues on today as to the role of government in its citizenry. The general elections coming up for our nation illustrate the clash of some of these ideas. I want to look at Samuel’s critique of pagan monarchs in chapter 8 and apply its lessons to voting issues today and to the long-term work of reforming the government of our community and nation.
1 Samuel chapter 8:7 Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “Give heed to the voice of the people, concerning all that they say to you, for it is not you that they have rejected, rather it is me that they have rejected from being king over them. 8 Therefore, they are doing also to you like all the doings which they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even until this day when they have forsaken me and have served other gods. 9 So now, give heed to their voice but see to it nevertheless that you solemnly testify to them and explain to them the justice-system of the king who will reign over them.” 10 So Samuel told all the words of Yahweh to the people who had asked for a king from him. 11 and he said, “This will be the justice-system of the king who will reign over y’all: He will take your sons and instate them for himself among his cavalry and among his horses – and they will be running in front of his cavalry – 12 and to instate for himself army-officers – colonels to captains of fifties, and to be plowmen for his plowing and to be harvesters for his harvesting and to be makers of weapons for his army and weapons for his cavalry. 13 He will even take y’all’s daughters for spice-mixers and for meat-preparers and for bakers. 14 And he will take the best of y’all’s fields and of your vineyards and your olive-trees, and he will give [them] to his staff-members. 15 Furthermore, he will assess 10% of y’all’s grains and y’all’s grapes and give [that] to his officers and to his staff-members. 16 He will even take y’all’s men-servants and y’all’s maid-servants and y’all’s best oxen and y’all’s donkeys and use them for his work. 17 He will also assess 10% of y’all’s sheep, and you yourselves will turn into servants for him. 18 Then y’all will cry out during that time as a result of the presence of your king (which y’all chose for yourselves), and Yahweh will not answer y’all during those day{s because y’all chose a king for yourselves}.” 19 The people, however, refused to give heed to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No one except a king will be over us. 20 Then we – we also – will be like all the nations, in that our king will preside as judge over us and he will go out before us and fight our battles!” 21 Once Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he then spoke them into the ears of Yahweh, 22 and Yahweh said to Samuel, “Give heed to their voice and cause a king to reign for them.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Each of you go to his city.” (NAW)
Now, compare what you just heard to the following statement from the highly-influential 17th century philosopher Thomas Hobbes, in his book, The Leviathan: “This is the generation of that great leviathan, or rather, to speak more reverently, of that mortal god, to which we owe under the immortal God, our peace and defense. For by this authority, given him by every particular man in the commonwealth, he hath the use of so much power and strength conferred on him, that by terror thereof, he is enabled to perform the wills of them all to peace at home, and mutual aid against their enemies abroad… And he that carrieth this… [power] is called sovereign, and said to have sovereign power; and every one besides, his subject.”
A king, in many ways, is a human replacement to God that you revere, tithe to, and obey. This is only natural in a humanistic society, and it certainly has gained popularity in the USA. It's not so much over one man yet (although the President seems to be getting more and more attention–that bears a frightening resemblance to the tabloid coverage of European royalty.) Still, for us right now, it's more obeisance to the big government–an unknown mass of powerful bureaucrats who take 50% of our earnings and regulate every detail of our lives. And the masses ask for more, because they have no other god (except themselves).
What does government power apart from God look like? It is greedy, it redistributes resources, and it treats citizens like slaves. Let’s look at these three problems in turn:
“Samuel describeth such manners and fashions, which are incident, not to true Monarchies, but such as decline rather unto a Tyrannie… Samuel sheweth, that their King should faile: first in the manner, that he should not by order or law, but by violence and compulsion take from them their sons and daughters, their lands and goods...” ~Andrew Willett3, 1607 A.D.
v.11 He will take your sons and use them to make his mode of transportation impressive.
Keil & Delitzsch are authorities in Biblical Hebrew whom I highly respect, and their commentary is that this word for “chariot” (בְּמֶרְכַּבְתֹּו) “refers, not to war-chariots, but to the king's state-carriage; [and the word for “horses”] (פָּרָשׁ) does not mean a rider, but a saddle-horse (2Sam. 1:6; 1Kings 5:6)...” and
“It was the custom for the royal chariot to be escorted by a team of runners.” ~Tsumura
What Samuel warned that the kings of Israel would do, indeed came to pass: “...David... introduced chariots into the kingdom, Solomon increased them…” ~Tsumura
1 Kings 10:26-29 “And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem... Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt... a chariot that was imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty...” (NKJV)
It was the equivalent of a limousine accompanied by a motorcade when a modern president travels down the road.
v.12 says the king will also take your sons and impress them into service in his army
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown noted in their commentary that, “In the East, a person must accept any office to which he may be nominated by the king.” There was no choice but to take the appointment:
First as military officers: “[T]housands… and fifties… may be representing the entire range of units: namely, ‘tens’ … ‘fifites’ ... ‘hundreds’ ... [and] ‘thousands’ ... So these captains are military officers of varying rank.” ~Tsumura, NICOT
“He must needs have a standing army, for guards and garrisons; and your sons, instead of being elders of your cities, and living in quiet and honour at home, must be... disposed of at the pleasure of the sovereign...” ~Matthew Henry, 1714
And indeed this happened just as Samuel predicted. 2 Kings 1, for instance, mentions several captains of 50 commanded by King Ahaziah.
And then there’s the work of feeding that army, so there would be non-voluntary appointments to do the farmwork to produce food for that army, and, to top it off, the army needs weapons, so blacksmiths and other artisans would also be drafted.
Not only would the king take the sons of the people...
v.13 He will also take your daughters for raqachot - spice-mixers
Ecclesiastes 10:1 indicates that these aromatic concoctions were oil-based.
2 Chronicles 16:14 describes their use in enbalming dead bodies, and we might infer they were also used to scent rooms, like we use scented candles.
In addition, these spice mixes were used to flavor drinks (according to Song of Solomon 8:2), and to flavor meats (according to Ezekiel 24:10)4.
This overlaps with the king taking the daughters of the people to prepare his food “daughters... whom you hoped to prefer to houses and tables of their own…” (Henry)
The Hebrew word in v.13 for “cooks” is used exclusively in the Bible to describe butchering and preparing meat to eat.
So, in 1 Sam. 28:24-25, we see this come to pass under King Saul “Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she hastened to kill it. And she took flour and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread from it. So she brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate….” (NKJV)
One of the most influential writings (besides the Bible) upon the American Colonists during the War for Independence in the 18th Century was a tract written in the 17th Century entitled Vindiciae Contra Tyranos (“A Vindication of being Against Tyranny”), which makes a point similar to what Samuel makes here: “Let the burgesses and citizens of towns... consider with themselves that they have contracted two covenants, and taken two oaths: The first and most ancient with God, to whom the people have sworn to be His people: The second and next following with the king, to whom the people hath promised obedience, as unto him which is the governor and conductor of the people of God… In these days there is no rhetoric more common in the courts of rules, than of those who say ‘all is the king's.’ Whereby it follows, that in exacting anything from his subjects, he takes but his own, and in that which he leaves them, he expresseth the care he hath that they should not be altogether destitute of means to maintain themselves…. in all right and equity it ought to be [the] contrary. Now we must always remember that kings were created for the good and profit of the people, and that those (as Aristotle says) who endeavor and seek the welfare of the people are trust[worth]y kings; whereas those that make their own private ends and pleasures the only butt and aim of their desires, are truly tyrants… If then therefore, in the creation of kings, men gave not their own proper goods to them, but only recommended them to their protection; by what other right then, but that of freebooters[freeloaders], can they challenge the property of other men's goods to themselves?…”5
As we elect leaders, and as we seek to shape our nation for the years to come, we must renounce the idea of the Leviathan government, resist the idea that the government has a right to take everything it wants from us and work against its continued growth.
But that’s not the worst of it. Not only does Samuel warn against confiscation of people’s properties, he also warns against government that starts bestowing the goods of the commonwealth upon other persons.
v.14 He will confiscate your means of production - your fields, vineyards, and orchards – and give them to his officials.
King Ahab and Queen Jezebel had Naboth killed in order to confiscate his vineyard.
And 1 Samuel 22:7 implies that Saul confiscated land from people he didn’t like and gave it to people he liked.
The New International Commentary on the Old Testament cites seal inscriptions, ancient Ugarit chronicles, Hittite land-grant documents, and passages in 2 Kings 22:12 and 25:8 to prove that these “servants/attendants” to whom the king would redistribute the property would be his “courtiers” and “high-ranking officials.”
1 Chronicles 27:24-28:1 there is a list of the staff that served the administration under King David. It includes:
an official who oversaw “work in the grainfields” that were “David’s property”
an official who oversaw work in the royal “vineyards”
an official who oversaw work in the “olive groves”
and officials who oversaw the “storage” of the “oil” and “wine” and grain in “storehouses” near each production area and who oversaw the transporting of these goods to the palace and “fortresses.”
There were also officials over the royal “herds” of sheep & goats used for meat & clothing,
and overseers for the herds of “camels” and “donkeys” used for transportation.
v.31b “... All these were the officials over King David's property.” Also Jehonathan… the scribe… Ahithophel the king's counselor... Hushai the king's companion... the general of the king's army... and the captains of the divisions who served the king, the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possessions of the king and of his sons, with the officials...”
Having the government own the means of production is still the goal today in Communist governments like China and Russia, and the idea regularly pops up in our country as well.
Not only is this a moral violation of the 8th Commandment (“Thou Shalt not steal”), it also creates an unjust national leadership structure which is beholden to the king (or to the federal government which gives out the benefits) rather than accountable to the people.
Today, Social Security has become a government wealth redistribution program, taking money from the young and spending it on the old. Like other such Ponzi schemes, our government can’t afford to go on doing that, so most of you who are paying social security taxes won’t get those checks when you get old, but no politician will eliminate it because so much of his voting base is older folks who want to keep getting that money from the government. And that’s just one of the many problems caused by government wealth redistribution.
Not only would the king confiscate means of production, he would also confiscate a tenth of what was privately produced!
v.15 a tenth of your grain and grapes for his officials and his servants
v.17 also mentions 10% of your flock of sheep
I’m not aware of any stories in the books of Kings and Chronicles where kings took a tenth of somebody’s sheep and goats, but in 1 Kings 8:63 Solomon sacrificed 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. Where did he get such a vast number of animals from? The people, of course!
2 Chronicles 32:28-29 details how even the good king Hezekiah had storehouses built for the harvest of grain, wine, and oil, and stalls and folds for “flocks and herds which he possessed in abundance...”
The income tax is an invention of pagan nations, “In Babylon, as Aristotle relates, there was an ancient law which required the tenth of whatever was imported for the public revenue, which was revived in the times of Alexander.” ~John Gill
It assumes that the citizen himself or herself is owned by the state and thus the state is entitled to a percentage of the fruits of all that person’s labor. God is the only one who has a legitimate claim on the creation and ownership of our bodies, and He rightfuly claims a tithe, but for a government to claim 10% (or more) of your income is tantamount to claiming to be your God; that is blasphemy. That’s why I am in favor of flat taxes.
It is said that the War for American Independence was fought over a tax that amounted to less than 1% of the American colonists’ incomes. Today, I don’t know how to adequately highlight the amount of oppression Americans live under because Americans have not known economic freedom for over a hundred years. We have nothing in living memory to compare our current economic circumstances to, except the slightly-lower taxes and slightly-lower prices of goods we knew when we were children.
I’m told that the average American now pays over 50% of income as taxes of various sorts.
Some of these taxes are straightforward, like the income tax which is over 10% for many.
Others are less straightforward, like the additional 10% (and more) added to our grocery bills as sales taxes, and the approximately 50% tax we pay at the fuel pumps.
Then there’s the even-more-hidden taxes that employers have to pay for each employee and the various taxes on businesses passed down to consumers in higher costs of goods and services.
Then there’s the most hidden-of-all tax, where the government creates money out of thin air to pay for things that all the other taxes weren’t enough to cover. That is why a dollar today can’t even buy as much as a penny could have bought a century ago. The Bible says that diverse weights and measures are an abomination to God6. Inflation eats away the value of the hard-earned money you save.
The Bible sets before us the ideal of a government that taxes less than 10% of your income and which preserves rock-solid value in currency so that a dollar will buy the same amount now as it will a hundred years from now. If, however, we keep electing representatives and senators and presidents who support the unbiblical humanistic ideal of the leviathan state which taxes everything, controls everything, and has no absolute standards, we will continue to live under the natural consequences (and divine judgment) of economic hardship. Unfortunately in next month’s election, I’m not aware of even one candidate on the ballots who believes in these Biblical economic principles of truly-limited government and an absolute standard for currency. That’s why we need to volunteer to run for office, and we need to get started on that long before campaign season hits and it’s too late to field alternatives.
v.16 He will take your man-servants, maid-servants, oxen and donkeys for his work
There is some debate over whether the third item on the list is “cattle” or whether it is “young men,” but since this warning message is basically saying that a king is going to take anything and anybody for his own use, it doesn’t ultimately make a difference to the message: He’ll take both the oxen and the young men.
We know that King Saul took David into his court and into his army when David was a young man, and Isa. 31:8 speaks later on of a king taking “young men... for slave labor.”
King Saul also ordered the slaughter of all the oxen and donkeys7 in the Israelite town of Nob in 1 Samuel 22:19.
Notice the contrasting pronouns over and over in these verses between “Your” and “his.”
“Your sons… in his chariots...
your fields… for his staff...
your grain… for his officers...
your donkeys for his work.”
As more and more that was yours flows in his direction, you eventually realize you have nothing left that is truly yours. In this kind of government, anything and everything can be taken away from you by civil magistrates. This leads to the natural conclusion in v.17…
v.17 [the subject is emphatic here in Hebrew] you yourselves will turn into slaves for him
“[T]he change of title from ‘judge’ to ‘king’ in ancient Israel would bring a new social structure... in which a king fundamentally ‘rules over’ rather than ‘judges’ the people… [L]abor corvées would be the most onerous form of this ‘slavery’...” ~Tsumura (NICOT)
1 Kings 5:13-15 “King Solomon drafted forced labor out of all Israel, and the draft numbered 30,000 men. And he sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in shifts. They would be a month in Lebanon and two months at home... Solomon also had 70,000 burden-bearers and 80,000 stonecutters...” (ESV)
Then in 1 Kings 12, the people of Israel complained to King Rehoboam about how heavy the yoke of forced labor had been for them under Solomon, and what did Rehoboam do? He made it even heavier, saying, “...My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” (1Ki. 12:14b, ESV)
Fast forward to the Reformation, where question over whether a king had a right to enslave his people was answered famously by Samuel Rutherford in the negative by his watershed book Lex Rex, the title itself boldly declaring that God’s law is above the King; the King is not above the law. He wrote: “All civil power is immediately from God in its root… The king hath no proper, masterly, or lordly dominion over his subjects; his dominion is rather fiduciary and ministerial, than masterly. 1. Because royal empire is essentially to feed, rule, defend, and to govern in peace and godliness, (1 Tim. 2:2, Psal. 78:71, Isa. 55:4, 2 Sam. 5:2, 1 Chron. 11:2; 1 Chron. 17:6) .... Not to be... under a master as slaves are, is a blessing, seeing freedom is a blessing of God (John 8:33; Exod. 21:2, 26, 27; Deut. 15:12) ... Subjects are called [in the Bible] ‘the servants of the king,’ ... but they are not slaves, because (Deut. 17: 20) they are his brethren... And therefore to be the king’s servants… is some other thing than to be the king’s slaves…. the king... must be under law, and so his will and lust cannot be the rule of his power and dominion....” ~Samuel Rutherford, Lex Rex, p.119, 1644 A.D.
Francis Schaeffer continued that reformed tradition into the 20th century with his book, A Christian Manifesto, which he wrote as a rebuttal to the Communist Manifesto and the Humanist Manifesto, pointing out that the problem of the enslaving of citizens is just as real today and it still stems from trying to institute government apart from God’s ultimate authority: “The Humanists push for ‘freedom,’ [that is, freedom from God’s law] but, having no Christian consensus to contain it, that ‘freedom’ leads to chaos or to slavery under the state (or under an elite). Humanism with its lack of any final base for values or law, always leads to chaos. It then naturally leads to some form of authoritarianism to control the chaos. Having produced the sickness, humanism gives more of the same kind of medicine for a cure. With its mistaken concept of final reality, it has no intrinsic reason to be interested in the individual, the human being. Its natural interest is the two collectives: the state and society… And our view of final reality – whether it is material-energy, shaped by impersonal chance, or the living God and Creator – will determine our position on every crucial issue we face today. It will determine our views on the value and dignity of people, the base for the kind of life the individual and society lives, the direction law will take, and whether there will be freedom or some form of authoritarian dominance.” (p. 51)
Once the general population become slaves of the state, the state becomes obligated to provide for its servants as it has been doing for its other staff and officials. This is where we see socialism come in. I’ve heard that most of the citizens in our country today receive federal aid of some sort – WIC, foodstamps, scholarships, student loans, subsidized housing, redistribution checks from other people’s income taxes, and on and on the list goes. Where does a government with such a large dependent population get the money to provide for so many? Either through robbing other populations as we saw in the wars of past centuries or through robbing the future generation of citizens through debt, as we are seeing today with the trillions of dollars being spent on credit for COVID relief. Embracing personal responsibility with dependence upon God rather than dependence upon the leviathan state is the only way out.
The statement in v.18 sounds harsh: “you will cry out but Yahweh will not answer,” but note that they aren’t crying out to God; they’re just “crying out,” so why should God respond? As long as people want to use a king (or, for that matter, a democracy or a republic) as a replacement for God, God is the very one they don’t want help from. Only if they cry out to God out of a desire to repent and live in keeping with God’s ways does it make any sense for God to step in and help.
“Those that submit to the government of the world and the flesh are told plainly what hard masters they are, and what a tyranny the dominion of sin is; and yet they will exchange God's government for it.” ~Matthew Henry
In vs.19-20 there is a note of stubbornness and man-centeredness in the elders’ reply to Samuel, “No, no one except a king will be over us. We won’t hear of any other way. Then we – even we ourselves will finally be like all the nations, in that we will have a king to judge and fight for us! We don’t want God to fight our battles for us. We don’t want to fight His battles. We want to fight our own battles for ourselves, thank you very much!”8
They wanted something "better," more tangible than God. They wanted a human king to lead them into battle.9
1 Samuel 12:12 explains the context of this statement: the Ammonites were showing signs of mobilizing for war against Israel, so they wanted a king quick to mobilize an army and defend Israel: “And when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, 'No, but a king shall reign over us,' when the LORD your God was your king.” (NKJV)
But, “Could they ever desire a battle better-fought for them that the last was, by Samuel's prayer and God's thunder? (1Sam. 7:10) … [W]ere they fond of trying the chance of war at the same uncertainty that other [nation]s did? ... Their first king was slain in a battle, which none of their judges ever were...” ~M. Henry
Hosea 8:3-4 summarizes, “Israel rejected the good… They set up kings, but not by Me” (NKJ)
We can’t avoid living under some form of government. We also can’t avoid the fact that God cares about government and is sovereign over all governments. So, as God’s people, let us seek to influence our government in the direction of God’s word. We can begin by examining the legislators and executives and judges who will be on your ballot according to these principles from 1 Samuel:
Do they recognize and seek accountability to the authority of God? Are they a member of a church? Do they support their positions with the Bible?
Do they oppose increasing the size and power of centralized government? Are they content, or are they talking about big new programs?
Do they resist redistributing wealth through the government? Do they honor the private ownership of property and leave charity to the church and family to conduct through personal relationships?
Do they treat citizens as free persons, allowing them to make as many decisions for themselves as possible, or are they for passing lots of new laws to further regulate everything?
There are, of course other issues which other parts of scripture highlight, such as protecting human life, which should also be considered.
And since such candidates are rare, ask God to raise some up, then ask Him if you should run for office in a future election and seek to bring these Biblical values into our government!
“Rousseau once said that ‘man is born free and yet he is everywhere in chains.’ If that is true, then the problem is the system that enslaves all the innocents. To burn down the system therefore is to open cell doors, striking off chains. But as a fitting spokesman for the conservative mind, James Madison put things a little differently: ‘If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.’ (Federalist Papers #51) The whole idea of limited government, with checks and balances, is predicated on the idea that the basic problem lies within human nature itself… We must not be cheerleaders for any form of secularism, right or left, because only Christ can deal with the heart of man. Only Christ.” Excerpted from “The Moment” by Douglas Wilson’s Blog & Mablog post from Sept 28, 2020
Davy Crockett got it right when he spoke against spending American tax money on helping a widow with her private needs. He said, “Money is nothing but trash when it is to come out of the people... The power of collecting and disbursing money at pleasure is the most dangerous power that can be entrusted to man… the Constitution neither defines charity nor stipulates the amount… I propose that every Congressman instead donate a week of their own pay to this lady.” And, of course he got no takers, because even then, American congressmen were buying into the idea that the federal government could be used to redistribute wealth, and they all wanted to be on the receiving end, not the giving end.
“Law is rooted back to Him who is the final reality [that is, God]. Thus, neither church nor state were equal to, let alone above, that Law… and no one has the right to place anything, including king, state, or church, above the content of God’s Law. What the Reformation did was to return most clearly and consistently to the origins, to the final reality, God; but equally to the reality of Man… What we have had for four hundred years, produced from this clarity, is unique in contrast to the situation that has existed in the world in forms of government. Some of you have been taught that the Greek city states had our concepts in government. It simply is not true. All one has to do is read Plato’s Republic to have this come across with tremendous force. When the men of our State Department, especially after World War II, went all over the world trying to implant our form-freedom balance in government downward on cultures whose philosophy and religion would never have produced it, it has, in almost every case, ended in some form of totalitarianism or authoritarianism.” ~Francis Schaeffer, A Christian Manifesto, p. 29, 1981 A.D.
“When
Jesus says in Matthew 22:21: ‘Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s,
and to God what is God’s’ it is not:
GOD and
CAESAR.
It was, is, and it always will be:
GOD
and
CAESAR
The
civil government, as all of life, stands under the Law of God.”
~Francis Schaeffer, A
Christian Manifesto,
p.
90,
1981 A.D.
“When trade is free of active government involvement, competition is peaceful. But mercantilism makes competition into a contest between governments. When governments contest for advantage actively and vigorously, they are headed toward their ultimate recourse – war.” ~Clarence B. Carson, A Brief History of the United States, v.1,p112
“That power of government in general must be from God, I make good, 1st, Because (Rom. xiii. 1) “there is no power but of God; the powers that be are ordained of God.” 2d, God commandeth obedience, and so subjection of conscience to powers; Rom. xiii. 5, “Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, (or civil punishment) but also for conscience sake;” 1 Pet. ii. 13, “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man, for the Lord’s sake, whether it be to the king as supreme,” &c. Now God only by a divine law can lay a band of subjection on the conscience, tying men to guilt and punishment if they transgress. Conclus. All civil power is immediately from God in its root…” ~Samuel Rutherford, Lex Rex, p.1, 1644 A.D.
“If I speak Your words and people don't heed them, help me remember not to take it personally. When we act as God's representatives in this world, the world will treat us with the innate hatred they have for God. It's not us they hate so much as the God we represent.” ~Nate Wilson, 1994
“If God interest himself in the indignities that are done us, and the contempts that are put upon us, we may well afford to bear them patiently; nor need we think the worse of ourselves if for his sake we bear reproach (Ps. 69:7), but rather rejoice and count it an honour, Col. 1:24.”~Matthew Henry
LXX |
Brenton (LXX) |
DRB (Vulgate) |
KJV |
NAW |
Masoretic Txt |
1 Καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἐγήρασεν Σαμουηλ, καὶ κατέστησεν τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ δικαστὰς τῷ Ισραηλ. |
1 And it came to pass when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. |
1 And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. |
1 And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. |
1 Now, when Samuel became old, he then instated his sons to be judges for Israel: |
1 וַיְהִי כַּאֲשֶׁר זָקֵן שְׁמוּאֵל וַיָּשֶׂם אֶת-בָּנָיו שֹׁפְטִים לְיִשְׂרָאֵל: |
2 καὶ ταῦτα τὰ ὀνόματα τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ· πρωτότοκος Ιωηλ, καὶ ὄνομα τοῦ δευτέρου Αβια, δικασταὶ ἐν Βηρσαβεε. |
2 And these are the names of his sons; Joel the first-born, and the name of the second Abia, judges in Bersabee. |
2 Now the name of his firstborn son was Joel: and the name of the second was Abia, judges in Bersabee. |
2 Now the name of his firstborn X was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba. |
2 the name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second-born was Abijah, and they began presiding as judges in Beersheba. |
2 וַיְהִי שֶׁם-בְּנוֹ הַבְּכוֹר יוֹאֵל וְשֵׁם מִשְׁנֵהוּ אֲבִיָּה שֹׁפְטִים בִּבְאֵר שָׁבַע: |
3
καὶ οὐκ ἐπορεύθησαν
οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ
ἐν ὁδῷ αὐτοῦ
καὶ ἐξέκλιναν
ὀπίσω τῆς συντελείαςB
καὶ ἐλάμβανον
δῶρα καὶ ἐξέκλινον
δικαιώματ |
3 And his sons did not walk in his way; and they turned aside after gain, and took gift[s], and perverted judgment[s]. |
3 And his sons walked not in his ways: but they turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment. |
3 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribe[s], and perverted judgment. |
3 But his sons did not conduct themselves in the way he [did], for they went off-course after profit; they would even take a bribe and thus take justice off-course. |
3 וְלֹא-הָלְכוּ בָנָיו בְּדַרְכוֹC וַיִּטּוּ אַחֲרֵי הַבָּצַע וַיִּקְחוּ-שֹׁחַד וַיַּטּוּ מִשְׁפָּט: פ |
4 καὶ συναθροίζονται ἄνδρες Ισραηλ καὶ παραγίνονται εἰς Αρμαθαιμ πρὸς Σαμουηλ |
4 And the men of Israel gather themselves together, and come to Armathaim to Samuel, |
4 Then all the ancients of Israel being assembled came to Samuel to Ramatha. |
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, |
4 So all the elders of Israel assembled themselves together and went to Samuel at Ramah, |
4 וַיִּתְקַבְּצוּ כֹּל זִקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל- שְׁמוּאֵל הָרָמָתָה: |
5
καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ
Ἰδοὺ σὺ γεγήρακας,
καὶ οἱ υἱοί
σου οὐ πορεύονται
ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ σου·
[καὶ]
νῦν κατάστησον
ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς βασιλέα
δικάζειν ἡμᾶς
καθὰ [καὶ]
τὰ |
5
and they said to him, Behold, thou art grown old, and thy sons
walk not in thy way; [and]
now set
over us a king to judge us, as [also]
the |
5 And they said to him: Behold thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: X make us a king, to judge us, as all nations [have]. |
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. |
5 and said to him, “Look, you have gotten old, and your sons have not conducted themselves in the way you [have], so instate for us a king now to preside as judge over us like all the nations [do].” |
5 וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו הִנֵּה אַתָּה זָקַנְתָּ וּבָנֶיךָ לֹא הָלְכוּ בִּדְרָכֶיךָ Dעַתָּה שִׂימָה-לָּנוּ מֶלֶךְ לְשָׁפְטֵנוּ כְּכָל-הַגּוֹיִם: |
6 καὶ ἦν πονηρὸν τὸ ῥῆμα ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς Σαμουηλ, ὡς εἶπαν Δὸς ἡμῖν βασιλέα δικάζειν ἡμᾶς· καὶ προσηύξατο Σαμουηλ πρὸς κύριον. |
6 And the thing was evil in the eyes of Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us: and Samuel prayed to the Lord. |
6 And the word was displeasing in the eyes of Samuel, that they should say: Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed to the Lord. |
6 But the thing displeased X X X Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. |
6 But the proposal was bad in Samuel’s eyes, particularly when they said, “Give us a king to preside as judge over us,” so Samuel prayed to Yahweh. |
6 וַיֵּרַע הַדָּבָר בְּעֵינֵי שְׁמוּאֵל כַּאֲשֶׁר אָמְרוּ תְּנָה-לָּנוּ מֶלֶךְ לְשָׁפְטֵנוּ וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל שְׁמוּאֵל אֶל-יְהוָה: פ |
7 καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς Σαμουηλ Ἄκουε τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ λαοῦ καθὰ X ἂν λαλήσωσίν σοι· ὅτι οὐ σὲ ἐξουθενήκασινE, [ἀλλ᾿] ἢ ἐμὲ ἐξουδενώκασιν τοῦ μὴ βασιλεύειν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῶν. |
7 And the Lord said to Samuel, Hear the voice of the people, in whatever they shall say to thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me from reigning over them. |
7 And the Lord said to Samuel: Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to thee. For they have not rejected thee, but me, that I should not reign over them. |
7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, HearkenF 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. |
7 Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “Give heed to the voice of the people, concerning all that they say to you, for it is not you that they have rejected, rather it is me that they have rejected from being king over them. |
7 וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-שְׁמוּאֵל שְׁמַע בְּקוֹל הָעָם לְכֹל אֲשֶׁר-יֹאמְרוּ אֵלֶיךָ כִּי לֹא אֹתְךָ מָאָסוּ כִּי-אֹתִי מָאֲסוּ מִמְּלֹךְ עֲלֵיהֶם: |
8 κατὰ πάντα τὰ ποιήματα, ἃ ἐποίησάν [μοι] ἀφ᾿ ἧς ἡμέρας ἀνήγαγον αὐτοὺς ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἕως X τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης καὶ ἐγκατέλιπόν με καὶ ἐδούλευον θεοῖς ἑτέροις, οὕτως αὐτοὶ ποιοῦσιν καὶ σοί. |
8 According to all their doings which they have done [to me], from the day that I brought them out of Egypt until this day, even as they have deserted me, and served other gods, so they do also to thee. |
8
According to all their works, they have done from the day that I
brought them out of Egypt until this day: as
they have forsaken me, and served |
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. |
8 Therefore, they are doing also to you like all the doings which they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even until this day when they have forsaken me and have served other gods. |
8 כְּכָל-הַמַּעֲשִׂים אֲשֶׁר-עָשׂוּ מִיּוֹם הַעֲלֹתִי אֹתָם מִמִּצְרַיִםG וְעַד-הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה וַיַּעַזְבֻנִי וַיַּעַבְדוּ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים כֵּן הֵמָּה עֹשִׂים גַּם-לָךְ: |
9 καὶ νῦν ἄκουε τῆς φωνῆς αὐτῶν· πλὴν ὅτι διαμαρτυρόμενος διαμαρτύρῃ αὐτοῖς καὶ ἀπαγγελεῖς αὐτοῖς τὸ δικαίωμα τοῦ βασιλέως, ὃς βασιλεύσει ἐπ᾿ αὐτούς. |
9 And now hearken to their voice; only thou shalt solemnly testify to them, and thou shalt describe to them the manner of the king who shall reign over them. |
9 Now, therefore, hearken to their voice: but yet testify to them, and foretell them the right of the king, that shall reign over them. |
9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protestH solemnly unto them, and shewI them the mannerJ of the king that shall reign over them. |
9 So now, give heed to their voice but still see to it that you solemnly testify to them and explain to them the justice-system of the king who will reign over them.” |
9 וְעַתָּה שְׁמַע בְּקוֹלָם אַךְ כִּי-הָעֵד תָּעִיד בָּהֶם וְהִגַּדְתָּ לָהֶםK מִשְׁפַּט הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר יִמְלֹךְ עֲלֵיהֶם: ס |
10 καὶ εἶπεν Σαμουηλ πᾶν τὸ ῥῆμα κυρίου πρὸς τὸν λαὸν τοὺς αἰτοῦντας παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ βασιλέα |
10 And Samuel spoke every word of the Lord to the people who asked of him a king. |
10 Then Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people that had desired a king of him, |
10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. |
10 So Samuel told all the words of Yahweh to the people who had asked for a king from him, |
10 וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל אֵת כָּל-דִּבְרֵי יְהוָה אֶל-הָעָם הַשֹּׁאֲלִים מֵאִתּוֹ מֶלֶךְ: ס |
11
καὶ εἶπεν Τοῦτο
ἔσται τὸ δικαίωμα
τοῦ βασιλέως,
ὃς βασιλεύσει
ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς· τοὺς
υἱοὺς ὑμῶν
λήμψεται καὶ
θήσεται
X
αὐτοὺς
ἐν ἅρμα |
11 And he said, This shall be the manner of the king that shall rule over you: he shall take your sons, and put them in his chariots, and among his horsemen, and running before his chariots, |
11 And said: This will be the right of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and put them in his chariots, and will make them his horsemen, and his running [footmen, to run] before his chariots, |
11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appointL them for himself, for his chariot[s], and to be X his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariot[s]. |
11 and he said, “This will be the justice-system of the king who will reign over y’all: He will take your sons and instate them for himself among his cavalry and among his horses – and they will be running in front of his cavalry – |
11 וַיֹּאמֶר זֶה יִהְיֶה מִשְׁפַּט הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר יִמְלֹךְ עֲלֵיכֶם אֶת-בְּנֵיכֶם יִקָּח וְשָׂם לוֹ בְּמֶרְכַּבְתּוֹM וּבְפָרָשָׁיו וְרָצוּN לִפְנֵי מֶרְכַּבְתּוֹ: |
12
καὶ θέσθαι
[αὐτοὺς]
ἑαυτῷ |
12
and [his
manner shall be]
to make
[them]
to himself captains of |
12
And he will appoint
of them to be his tribunes, and his centurions, and to plough his
|
12
And he will appoint
him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties;
and will
set them
to earP
his |
12 and to instate for himself army-officers – colonels to captains of fifties, and to be plowmen for his plowing and to be harvesters for his harvesting and to be makers of weapons for his army and weapons for his cavalry. |
12 וְלָשׂוּם לוֹ שָׂרֵי אֲלָפִים וְשָׂרֵי חֲמִשִּׁיםR וְלַחֲרֹשׁ חֲרִישׁוֹS וְלִקְצֹר קְצִירוֹ וְלַעֲשׂוֹת כְּלֵי-מִלְחַמְתּוֹ וּכְלֵי רִכְבּוֹT: |
13 καὶ τὰς θυγατέρας ὑμῶν λήμψεται εἰς μυρεψοὺς καὶ εἰς μαγειρίσσας καὶ εἰς πεσσούσας· |
13 And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, and cooks, and bakers. |
13 Your daughters also he will take to make him ointments, and to be his cooks, and bakers. |
13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionariesU, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. |
13 He will even take y’all’s daughters for spice-mixers and for meat-preparers and for bakers. |
13 וְאֶת-בְּנוֹתֵיכֶם יִקָּח לְרַקָּחוֹת וּלְטַבָּחוֹתV וּלְאֹפוֹת: |
14 καὶ τοὺς ἀγροὺς ὑμῶν καὶ τοὺς ἀμπελῶνας ὑμῶν καὶ τοὺς ἐλαιῶνας ὑμῶν τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς λήμψεται καὶ δώσει τοῖς δούλοις αὐτοῦ· |
14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your good oliveyards, and give them to his servants. |
14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your best oliveyards, and give them to his servants. |
14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyardsW, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. |
14 And he will take the best of y’all’s fields and of your vineyards and your olive-trees, and he will give [them] to his staff-members. |
14 וְאֶת-שְׂדוֹתֵיכֶם וְאֶת-כַּרְמֵיכֶם וְזֵיתֵיכֶם הַטּוֹבִים יִקָּח וְנָתַן לַעֲבָדָיו: |
15 καὶ τὰ σπέρματαX ὑμῶν καὶ τοὺς ἀμπελῶνας ὑμῶν ἀποδεκατώσει καὶ δώσει τοῖς εὐνούχοις αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῖς δούλοις αὐτοῦ· |
15 And he will take the tithe of your seeds and your vineyards, and give it to his eunuchs, and to his servants. |
15 Moreover he will take the tenth of your corn, and of the revenues of your vineyards, to give to his eunuchs and servants. |
15 And he will take the tenth of your seedXY, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. |
15 Furthermore, he will assess 10% of y’all’s grains and y’all’s grapes and give [that] to his officers and to his staff-members. |
15 וְזַרְעֵיכֶם וְכַרְמֵיכֶם יַעְשֹׂר וְנָתַן לְסָרִיסָיוZ וְלַעֲבָדָיו: |
16
καὶ τοὺς δούλους
ὑμῶν καὶ τὰς
δούλας
ὑμῶν καὶ τὰ
βουκόλια
ὑμῶν τὰ ἀγαθὰ
καὶ τοὺς ὄνους
ὑμῶν λήμψεται
καὶ ἀποδεκατώσει
εἰς τὰ ἔργ |
16 And he will take your servants, and your handmaids, and your good herds and your asses, and will take the tenth of them for his works. |
16 X Your servants also, and handmaids, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, he will take away, and put them to his work. |
16
And he will take your menservants,
and your maidservants, and your goodliest young
men,
and your asses, and |
16 He will even take y’all’s men-servants and y’all’s maid-servants and y’all’s best oxen and y’all’s donkeys and use them for his work. |
16 וְאֶת-עַבְדֵיכֶם וְאֶת-שִׁפְחוֹתֵיכֶםAA וְאֶת-בַּחוּרֵיכֶםBB הַטּוֹבִים וְאֶת-חֲמוֹרֵיכֶם יִקָּח וְעָשָׂהCC לִמְלַאכְתּוֹ: |
17
καὶ
τὰ ποίμν |
17 And he will tithe your flocks; and ye shall be his servants. |
17 Your flocks also he will tithe, and you shall be his servants. |
17 He will take the tenth of your sheepDD: and ye shall be his servants. |
17 He will also assess 10% of y’all’s sheep, and you yourselves will turn into servants for him. |
17 EEצֹאנְכֶם יַעְשֹׂר וְאַתֶּם תִּהְיוּ-לוֹ לַעֲבָדִים: |
18 καὶ βοήσεσθε ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἐκ προσώπου βασιλέως ὑμῶν, οὗ ἐξελέξασθε ἑαυτοῖς, καὶ οὐκ ἐπακούσεται κύριος ὑμῶν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις, ὅτι ὑμεῖς ἐξελέξασθε ἑαυτοῖς βασιλέα. |
18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king whom ye have chosen to yourselves, and the Lord shall not hear you in those days, because ye have chosen to yourselves a king. |
18 And you shall cry out in that day from the face of the king, whom you have chosen to yourselves: and the Lord will not hear you in that day, because you desired unto yourselves a king. |
18
And ye shall cry out in that day because of X
your
king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not |
18 Then y’all will cry out during that time as a result of the presence of your king (which y’all chose for yourselves), and Yahweh will not answer y’all during those day{s because y’all chose a king for yourselves}.” |
18 וּזְעַקְתֶּם בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא מִלִּפְנֵי מַלְכְּכֶם אֲשֶׁר בְּחַרְתֶּם לָכֶם וְלֹא-יַעֲנֶה יְהוָה אֶתְכֶם בַּיּוֹם הַהוּאFF: |
19 καὶ οὐκ ἠβούλετο ὁ λαὸς ἀκοῦσαι X τοῦ Σαμουηλ καὶ εἶπαν [αὐτῷGG] Οὐχί, ἀλλ᾿ ἢ βασιλεὺς ἔσται ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς, |
19 But the people would not hearken to X X Samuel; and they said [to him,] Nay, but there shall be a king over us. |
19 But the people would not hear the voice of Samuel, and they said, Nay: but there shall be a king over us, |
19
Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and
they said, Nay; but we will |
19 The people, however, refused to give heed to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No one except a king will be over us. |
19 וַיְמָאֲנוּ הָעָם לִשְׁמֹעַ בְּקוֹל שְׁמוּאֵל וַיֹּאמְרוּ לֹּא כִּי אִם-מֶלֶךְ יִהְיֶה עָלֵינוּ: |
20 καὶ ἐσόμεθα καὶ ἡμεῖς κατὰ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, καὶ δικάσει ἡμᾶς βασιλεὺς ἡμῶν καὶ ἐξελεύσεται ἔμπροσθεν ἡμῶν καὶ πολεμήσει τὸν πόλεμον ἡμῶν. |
20 And we also will be like all the nations; and our king shall judge us, and shall go out before us, and fight our battles. |
20 And we also will be like all nations: and our king shall judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles for 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. |
20 Then we – we also – will be like all the nations, in that our king will preside as judge over us and he will go out before us and fight our battles!” |
20 וְהָיִינוּ גַם-אֲנַחְנוּ כְּכָל-הַגּוֹיִם וּשְׁפָטָנוּ מַלְכֵּנוּ וְיָצָא לְפָנֵינוּ וְנִלְחַם אֶת-מִלְחֲמֹתֵנוּ: |
21 καὶ ἤκουσεν Σαμουηλ πάντας τοὺς λόγους τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ ἐλάλησεν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὰ ὦτα κυρίου. |
21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and spoke them in the ears of the Lord. |
21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord. |
21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD. |
21 Once Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he then spoke them into the ears of Yahweh, |
21 וַיִּשְׁמַע שְׁמוּאֵל אֵת כָּל-דִּבְרֵי הָעָם וַיְדַבְּרֵם בְּאָזְנֵי יְהוָה: פ |
22 καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς Σαμουηλ Ἄκουε τῆς φωνῆς αὐτῶν καὶ βασίλευσον αὐτοῖς βασιλέα. καὶ εἶπεν Σαμουηλ πρὸς ἄνδρας Ισραηλ Ἀποτρεχέτω ἕκαστος εἰς τὴν πόλιν αὐτοῦ. |
22 And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken to their voice, and appoint X them a king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel, Let each man depart to his city. |
22 And the Lord said to Samuel: Hearken to their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel: Let every man go to his city. |
22 And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make X them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye [every] man unto his city. |
22 and Yahweh said to Samuel, “Give heed to their voice and cause a king to reign for them.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Each of you go to his city.” |
22 וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-שְׁמוּאֵל שְׁמַע בְּקוֹלָם וְהִמְלַכְתָּ לָהֶם מֶלֶךְ וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל אֶל-אַנְשֵׁי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְכוּ אִישׁ לְעִירוֹ: פ |
1“[T]he ideological struggle [against monarchy] had been in process since the times of Gideon (see Judg. 8:22-23… 9:22) and Saul, and even from before the conquest [of Canaan], for example, among the Hivite Gibeonite cities (Joshua 9)...” ~Tsumura, quoting Weinfeld
2“God
had decreed by this occasion to set a King over
his people, as he promised to Abraham, that Kings should come of his
seed, Gen. 17.17... the people offended, because they asked him
after a preposterous manner, not expecting the authoritie of God:
therefore the Lord is said, to have given them a King in his anger,
Hosh. 13.11. their request was then against the revealed will of
God, though God in his secret counsell had so determined.”
~Willett
“God
had intimated to them in the law that, in due time, Israel should
have a king (Deut.
17),
and perhaps they had some intimation that the time was at hand; but
they are all in haste: “We,
in our day, will have this king over us.” Could they but have
waited ten or twelve years longer they would have had David, a king
of God's giving in mercy, and all the calamities that attended the
setting up of Saul would have been prevented. Sudden resolves and
hasty desires make work for a long and leisurely repentance.”
~M.
Henry
3The rest of this quote runs as follows and forms the basis of my 3-point outline: “Secondly, he should faile in the ende: abusing these things to his pleasure, and giving them to his servants and fauorites, not applying them to the common profit and benefite of the Commonwealth. Thirdly, in respect of their persons, he should use them altogether, as servants, v. 17. (putting them to base and servile offices) not as free subiects, such as they were in time of the Judges, and their other gouernours.”
4The foremost use of this term in the Bible is in the context of the special incense used in worshipping God (Exod. 30:25, 33, 35; 37:29; 1 Chr. 9:30). There’s also one citation concerning perfumes in pagan sexual rites in Isa. 57:9 and a couple more non-specific references to a perfumer named Hananiah (Neh. 3:8 - perhaps one of the priests mentioned in Ezra 10 and Neh. 12).
5published at http://history.wisc.edu/sommerville/367/Vindiciae.htm
6Prov. 20:10,23, cf. Deut. 25:13
7As well as of all the people!
8“The 1 c. pl. ‘we’ is frequently used in the following short speech. The Lord fought his battle before (7:10), but now the people are concerned with their own battle! … This is the beginning of a new distrust by the Israelites of their covenant God… [Note the difference between] ‘to fight the Lord’s battles’ (18:17; 25:28) and ‘to fight our battles’ (2 Chr. 32:8).” ~Tsumura
9“This is… probably the main, underlying motive of the request for a king… a king would be able to mobilize the whole people behind him, whereas before only those immediately attacked had resisted and the rest of the tribes had refrained from helping them.’” ~Goldman, quoting Ralbag
AMy
original chart includes the NASB and NIV, but their copyright
restrictions have forced me to remove them from the
publicly-available edition of this chart. I have included the ESV in
footnotes when it employs a word not already used by the KJV, NASB,
or NIV. (NAW is my translation.) When a translation adds words not
in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use
of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the added words in [square
brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different
from all the other translations, I underline it. When a
version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs
too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far
from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout.
And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I
insert an X. (I also place an X at the end of a word if the original
word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I
occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between
the various editions and versions when there are more than two
different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea
Scroll containing this chapter is 4Q51Samuela, which
contains fragments of vs. 7-20 (highlighted in purple), and which
has been dated between 50-25 B.C. Where the DSS supports the LXX
with text not in the MT, I have highlighted
with yellow the LXX
and its translation into English.
BAQ
= eklinan ... pleonexiaV. S = meteklinon
akolouqounteV th pleonexia. These
early-AD versions emphasize the injustice with the translation of
pleon-
“more than
necessary,”
whereas the LXX version
from the late-BC may be
using a technical term for “bribe” which emphasizes how
it “seals the deal.”
CMasorite scribes suggested the spelling be amended by adding a yodh between the end of the noun and the final prepositional prefix (בִּדְרָכָיו) making it more clear that the noun “ways” was plural instead of singular. The Targums, Syriac, and Vulgate, as well as all the standard English translations pluralize “ways,” but the Septuagint stands with the singular in the Masoretic Text. I don’t see that it makes any difference in meaning.
DThe Septuagint as well as several Hebrew manuscripts and one of the Targums have an “and” here. It doesn’t make a difference in meaning, though.
E LXX literally “make out to be nothing” cf. S=apedokimasan “dismiss from consideration”
F NASB/NIV = “listen to, ESV “obey” (same in vs. 9, 19, & 22)
GKittel noted that there are a couple of Hebrew and Greek manuscripts which, along with the Syriac, add “land of” before “Egypt,” but this makes no difference in meaning except perhaps to clarify what might already be inferred, that it was deliverance out of a geographical region that is being emphasized rather than escape from a particular ethnic group (Egyptians).
H NASB/NIV/ESV = “warn”
I NASB = “tell,” NIV = “let them know”
J
NASB = “procedure,” NIV = “what he will
do,” ESV = “way[s],” Lit. “judging”
(also in v.11)
KThe DSS inserts a marker (את) that the next word is the object rather than the subject of the verb. Since that can already be discerned without that marker, it makes no difference in translation.
L NASB = “place” NIV = “make serve”
M The DSS only has room for four letters for this word, which could still spell “in the chariot of”
N This word ends with a mem in the DSS, matching the DSS which is a plural participle rather than a verb.
OThe LXX appears to have translated according to known military ranks “captain” and “centurion” rather than use the literal numbers in the Hebrew text.
P NASB, NIV, ESV = “plow”
Q NASB, NIV, ESV = “equipment”
R JFB: “the greatest and smallest military officers are mentioned”
S This noun only here and Gen. 45:6 and Exod. 34:21
T “Verse 12 as a whole … seems to refer to the professions of three classes in society: soldiers – farmers – artisans.” ~Tsumura
U NASB, NIV, ESV = “perfumers”
V Only 3 other places in the Hebrew Bible, all having to do with slaughtering meat: 1 Sam. 25:11; Ps. 44:23; Jer. 12:3
W NASB/NIV = “olive groves,” ESV = “olive orchards”
X S = sporima “grain-fields”
Y NIV, ESV = “grain”
Z “eunuch; here it is used in a wider sense for the royal chamberlains.” ~K&D
AAThe DSS uses a synonymous Hebrew word for female slave, אמהתיכם, perhaps the only distinction in meaning being that the word in the MT has a greater connotation of being a domestic or close to the family.
BBThe
LXX has a word here for “cattle” which makes more sense
in parallel with “donkeys” and is picked up in the NIV.
The DSS is obliterated at this point, but there is a Hebrew word
meaning “cattle” with a close spelling, בקר
K&D
note: “The
word בַּחוּרֵיכֶם,
between the slaves (men-servants and maid-servants) and the asses,
is very striking and altogether unsuitable; and in all probability
it is only an ancient copyist's error for בִּקְרֵיכֶם,
your oxen, as we may see from the lxx rendering, τὰ
βουκόλια.
”
If
so, it would be the only time that the LXX translates bqrim
as βουκόλια,
the other 3 times being
μόσχων
(2
Chr. 4:3);
κτηνῶν
(Neh.
10:37)
and
θηλείαις
(Amos
6:12).
NICOT:
“[I]t seems that the adjective (lit., ‘the good’)
[similar to its use in v.14] modifies the coordinated nouns ‘your
calves and your donkeys’ as a whole… [T]he [first]
Hebrew term could refer to any ‘young’ being, either
animal or man… Weinfeld’s consideration ‘that in
some near eastern documents of release and exemption the royal
work-force is represented by the triad slave, oxen, and asses; fits
the MT text as it stands...”
CCThe
DSS reads ועשו,
but this infinitive form wouldn’t change the meaning. The LXX,
however reads as though the Hebrew were ועשר
“collect a tenth,” which could be
more-easily visually-mis-taken from the DSS ועשו
than from the MT ועשה.
The
NICOT commentator Tsumura takes for granted that the MT is correct,
translating it “be made to do,” and explaining, “The
3 m.ds. Verb in a basic stem (i.e. the ‘unmarked’ form)
would be translated as impersonal passive, thus defocusing the
agent, in the ‘manual’ type discourse...”
DD NASB, NIV, ESV = “flocks”
EE DSS starts this sentence with an “and” and so does the LXX, Syriac, and some Latin manuscripts.
FFDSS reads ההם "these,” matching the LXX “those days,” then is obliterated until the middle of the next verse, but there is too much space for the terse reading of the MT, supporting the addendum to this verse in the LXX and Vulgate “because you have chosen for yourselves a king.” Neither changes the gist of the MT, though.
GGThe word for “no” and the word for “to him” would be pronounced the same in Hebrew. There are some Hebrew documents which read לו (“to him”) here, but it is curious that the LXX has both. The DSS is obliterated here, so it cannot be referenced.