Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 14 Feb 2021
During the party1 after the confirmation of Saul’s kingship in Gilgal, the Prophet Samuel stands up and makes a speech concerning the transfer of political power from him to Saul.
He acknowledges in v.2 that he, as the spiritual and political leader of Israel, had literally “walked before the faces” of the congressmen gathered that day who represented the people of Israel. Samuel had been in a capacity of leadership since the time God spoke to him as a child back in chapter 1, when he delivered the prophecy to Eli.
The NIV picked up on the technical use of the Hebrew word “walk” in this context, that it has to do with “leadership” - Samuel isn’t talking about sauntering through a park for recreation; this kind of walking is what a policeman or a solider might do when he his patrolling an area in his capacity as a civil authority. Samuel says that Saul is now going to carry on that official work of “patrolling” or “walking before the faces of” the leaders of all Israel.2
Samuel would continue, of course, to serve in the capacity of a Prophet and Priest, to deliver God’s word and to pray for his people, but no longer as civil judge. (Tsumura)
Samuel throws his weight behind Saul, affirming that he was the one who made Saul king, and endorsing Saul as the carrier of all the civil authority that Samuel used to carry.
He refers to Saul as the Lord’s “anointed,” in verses 3 and 5, bringing Saul formally into the role of judge by asking the people to make their accusation before both Samuel and Saul and by having both Samuel and Saul certify the results.
Furthermore, Samuel points out his sons to the nation’s leaders.
The idea of retirement and succession is in the context, although it’s hard to tell for sure what Samuel was actually saying about his sons:
Did he think they were capable of fulfilling his role as priest?
Or was he saying that his sons were not appointed “over” the people but were merely “with” the people, to allay the fears the representatives had expressed about his rascally sons becoming leaders? (Gordon)
Or was he merely saying that a man with adult sons was a man at retirement age? (Goldman, Delitzsch) It is estimated that he was only in this 50’s at this point. (Willett)
Whatever the case, don’t wait until your children are adults before you start preparing them for spiritual or community leadership. Start the training process when they are still children!
Samuel asks the people if they have any reason to accuse him of having been unjust during his tenure as Israel’s judge, but nobody can think of any instance of corruption in his administration.
He didn’t unjustly take anybody’s ox or donkey. (If the ox killed somebody, he had it killed, but he didn’t take advantage of his position as judge to fill his corral with oxen on the cheap.)
Deuteronomy 24:10-15 says, “When you lend your brother anything, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge. You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge out to you. And if the man is poor, you shall not keep his pledge overnight. You shall in any case return the pledge to him again when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his own garment and bless you; and it shall be righteousness to you before the LORD your God.” Samuel didn’t walk into the houses of debtors and start taking things and handing them to the loan sharks. He followed God’s law and stood outside the house and let the poor man decide for himself what he would give up.
Samuel did not “defraud, exploit, cheat, extort, oppress, or crush” anybody either.
Deuteronomy 24:14-15 says, “You shall not oppress [תַעֲשֹׁק] a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates. Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it...” Samuel made sure that when employees cried out about not being paid for their work, that their employers paid promptly.
Another one of the Hebrew words in vs. 3 & 4 was used in Judges 9:53 to describe what happened to Abimelek’s skull when a millstone was dropped from the top of a wall onto his head, but it is used in a figurative sense here.
Job 20:19 gives a specific example of this as “seizing” a “poor man’s house.” It would be a “crushing” blow to a poor man to lose his house or his only coat, so Samuel didn’t allow unjustly harsh sentences, he didn’t give preferential treatment to the wealthy or to the poor – he was neither a fascist nor a Marxist. How I wish we had more people like him in our government today!
“Taking a bribe” is specifically mentioned in Numbers 35:31-32, where it says, “you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. And you shall take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge...” (NKJV)
Later in the Bible, Amos 5:12 paints the picture of a poor person deprived through the murder of their loved one, arriving at the gate of one of the cities of refuge and stretching out their hands in a plea for justice to be done on the murderer, but being turned away because the murderer has paid off the judges at the gate to turn a blind eye to the guilty verdict and allow him to live in the city of refuge even though God forbade it.3
Now, if Donald Trump had been as shrewd a lawyer as Samuel, he wouldn’t be facing impeachment charges after he was no longer President. By establishing his integrity publicly with witnesses upon the moment of his transfer of power, Samuel insured that nobody could bring up charges later against him and have them stick. (Of course now in America, anything bad that happens the year after an election is blamed on the previous President. But it would not be so with Samuel; anything bad that happened in Saul’s reign would be Saul’s fault, not his!)
But can you imagine a politician today who could withstand the kind of public scrutiny which Samuel invited?
The kings-to-come would take from the people their fields and vineyards and their very sons and daughters, that was not how Samuel operated. (Henry)
No one could accuse Samuel of taking any bribes, misappropriating any funds, benefitting from any pork-barrel legislation, taking any advantage of inside information on the stock market, or taking advantage of any woman.
As my wife likes to say to my sons, “The best way to keep people from finding skeletons in your closet is not to have any skeletons in your closet!”
Men like that are as rare as hen’s teeth today! May God raise up more men in our justice system who walk before Him with integrity like Samuel did!
Samuel’s parting speech has a lot of similarities to Joshua’s farewell speech at the end of his book, and to the Apostle Paul’s parting speech to the Ephesian elders: "So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" (Acts 20:32-35, NKJV)
Why does Samuel take such pains to prove his own righteousness to the people of Israel? Perhaps he was preparing them for the rest of his message, reminding them that his word was trustworthy and that his actions would be for the best of the people. As Matthew Henry put it: “He was laid aside but to gratify the humour of a giddy people, who owned they could not have a better man to rule them, only they desired a bigger man.”
At any rate, Samuel now shifts from his own example of integrity and...
He reminds the nation of Israel in verses 6 & 7 that Yahweh, the LORD, has always been the sovereign “actor” in charge of the history of Israel. God is the one who “created/appointed/worked4” through Moses and Aaron to start the nation of Israel in the first place, and He is the one who has “done2” acts of righteousness and kindness to Israel throughout her history.
The implication is that Yahweh should continue to be respected as the ultimate Lawgiver and Judge (James 4) in Israel, and that God’s place of sovereignty should never be usurped by an earthly king.
A thousand years later, Jesus said that God was still actively at work in history: John 5:17 “...My Father has been working until now, and I have been working" (NKJV).
And He is still that sovereign king today, reigning over the earth from heaven, initiating acts of righteousness all over the world, and saving folks in every nation.
If you had been in the American colony of Plymouth in the 1600’s, and if you had asked Governor Bradford how this new colony had come to be, he would not have pointed to the greatness of the colonists whose indomitable vision to start a Christian country enabled them to overcome political perils and natural disasters, famine, war, and staggering losses. No, he would have pointed to the greatness of God who leads and provides for His people and preserves a remnant. God is our nation’s starting-point too, and we ignore Him to our peril!
To drive this point home, upon the momentous occasion of changing his government into a monarchy, Samuel begins, in v.7, to “reason/enter into judgment/make a case with” His people and “confront them with the evidence” that God has always been the ultimate ruler in Israel, so that any human king should see himself merely as a regent of the King of Kings and not as the final authority in all matters.
The oldest-known manuscripts of v.8 make the last verb (or two) singular to emphasize that it was God, not Moses and Aaron (or the people) who brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt and who settled them in the Promised Land. Because God’s sovereignty seems to be the emphasis of Samuel’s message, I’ve chosen to go with those older text traditions which say, “He [Yahweh] brought your forefathers out from Egypt, and He settled them in this place.” (Moses and Aaron weren’t even around when Israel settled the Promised Land. Of course God used human agents like Moses and Joshua, but the LORD was the power behind them, and the LORD ensured the blessing of His people.)
Exodus 2:23-24 “Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.” (NKJV)
Then God takes the credit in Joshua 24:4-5 for sending Moses and bringing them out of slavery: “...Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. Also I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to what I did among them. Afterward I brought you out...” (NKJV)
As Psalm 77:20 put it, God led His “people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.”
Psalm 105:23-45 “Israel also came into Egypt, And Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham. [The LORD] ... sent Moses His servant, And Aaron whom He had chosen. They performed His signs among them, And wonders in the land of Ham... 43 [The LORD] brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with gladness. He gave them the lands of the Gentiles, And they inherited the labor of the nations, That they might observe His statutes And keep His laws. Praise the LORD!” (NKJV)
But the Lord didn’t stop being involved once the Hebrews got settled in the Promised Land. Samuel quotes from Judges chapters 3 and 4, listing the oppressors backwards: “...the LORD strengthened Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. Then he gathered to himself the people of Ammon and Amalek, went and defeated Israel... So the children of Israel served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years. But when the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for them: Ehud... [Now, Ehud pretended to bring tribute to King Eglon, but instead gave him 18 inches of sword. Then] he blew the trumpet in the mountains of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mountains; and... he said to them, ‘Follow me, for the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.’ So they went down after him, seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and… killed about ten thousand men of Moab... So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years. After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also delivered Israel. When Ehud was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth Hagoyim. And the children of Israel cried out to the LORD; for Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and for twenty years he harshly oppressed the children of Israel.” (Judges 3:12-4:3, NKJV) So God raised up Deborah the prophetess, Barak the Israelite army-chief, and Jael the woman who was good at hammering tent-stakes, and delivered Israel from the control of this Canaanite oppressor.
Note that God both “sold” His people into each subsequent bondage and also “delivered” His people from each of those bondages. God’s sovereign control and His relationship with His people is at the forefront of Samuel’s account.
Verse 10 mentions “Baalim and Ashtarot,” which I suspect were originally the names of a pagan god worshiped in Syria and a pagan goddess worshiped in Phonecia,
but the plural forms here may indicate generically all the pagan gods and goddesses worshiped around the Middle East.
These days, the gods of unbelievers go by different names, but Christians still find them awfully tempting – the idols of entertainment, pornography, gluttony, wealth, power, social affirmation, and other things – anything but Jesus to give you comfort and joy and self-worth.
Brothers and sisters, you may have let your relationship with God slip – history tells us that’s normal – but history also tells us that God is a jealous God. He doesn’t leave His people to get cozy with other gods; He brings war into our lives to change our erring attitudes and to make us want to get right with Him again. So when you feel the heavy hand of oppression on you, and you hear the bullets flying and you realize you have wandered into a bad place, whatever you do, don’t run further away from the Lord! Cry out to Him for deliverance! That’s exactly what He wants you to do! Beg for salvation from the mess you’re in – and pray for everybody around you, while you’re at it!
God will respond to the prayers of those who trust Him to save them. Usually God does it through raising up a godly leader.
In v.8, Samuel notes how God raised up Moses & Aaron to lead the Israelites out of Egypt,
then in v.11 Samuel mentions a few of the judges: Jerubbaal was the nickname that Gideon got in Judges chapter 6, after destroying a shrine to Baal in his community and using the wooden Baal idol as firewood for a sacrifice to Yahweh. His Dad said, “Well, if Baal is a real god and if he has a problem with what my son just did, then let Baal pick a fight with him, otherwise, I’m not going to get involved.” So, “Jerubbaal” is Hebrew for “Let Baal pick a fight.” And, of course, Baal never did, because Gideon was obeying the God over all gods. And as he obeyed God, his army routed the Midianite army that was attempting to conquer Israel.
The next Judge’s name is a bit confusing because the Hebrew text reads “Bedan,”
but the only “Bedan” mentioned in the Bible is just a name in a genealogy from 1 Chronicles with no story attached5.
Unfortunately, the paper of the Dead Sea Scrolls is crumbled away and unreadable at this part of the verse, so the oldest Hebrew manuscripts we have are from the 900’s AD.
The closest name to “Bedan” in the book of Judges is “Abdon” in chapter 12, the judge before Samson who had 30 sons who rode thirty donkeys, but there is no record of him delivering Israel from any enemies.
The oldest-known manuscripts of this verse are actually Greek and Syriac translations dating back to the 300’s AD, and they all say “Barak,”
who came from a different tribe and parentage than Bedan, but who makes more sense in a list of judges previous to Samuel.
That’s why the NIV and ESV translated it “Barak.”
Barak, of course, was the Israelite army captain who was encouraged by the prophetess Deborah to defend Israel against an army of northern Canaanites under Sisera (who was mentioned in v.9, and who tried to drive the Israelites out of the Promised Land). After a successful battle, Barak and Deborah sang a praise song to the LORD, giving Him the glory for the victory, and there was peace for 40 years. (Judges 4-5)
Now, there is no consensus among Bible scholars as to why Barak would be called Bedan here, but if I could make up an answer, I’d suggest that this is a nickname, just as Samuel used “Jerubbaal” as a nickname for Gideon. If you look at the meaning of the Hebrew word בדן, it could be translated “with [the] judge,” and that would fit Barak in a unique way because he was one of the only deliverers among the judges who wasn’t a judge himself. Deborah was the judge, and he made her go into battle with him, thus perhaps you could arrive at “Bedan = with the judge” as a nickname, but that’s just a guess on my part, and other people have other theories.6
The next Judge that Samuel mentions is Jepthah, the mercenary-soldier whom the Israelites on the northeast corner of the Jordan river area had outlawed, and then later they begged him to return and defend them when the Ammonite army came out to conquer them. Jepthah prayed to God, and God gave him victory in the battle, and he recognized God’s help by offering a costly sacrifice to the LORD after the victory (Judges 11).
Samuel mentions himself last, as the last Judge of that era of Israel’s settlement of the Promised Land.
God had used him to mobilize Israel to trust God to defend them against an invasion by the Philistine army back in 1 Samuel chapter 7, and God had miraculously delivered them.
And in v. 12, Samuel brings the account up to the present, as he was fresh off of a successful military campaign with Saul against the Ammonites, who had been trying to conquer Israel from the trans-Jordan.
As a result of these deliverances from the LORD, the Israelites were able to “settle down safely” with a sense of “security,” it says at the end of v.11. The Hebrew word there is betach, which is also the word for “confident trust.”
Their sense of security was not based upon their military might but rather upon their confident trust in God. When they trusted God, they had security.
Oh that our nation would place confidence in God rather than in man for national security! As long as there is a critical mass of Christians in our country who fail to do that, God will keep sending calamities to wake His people from their deluded confidence in people and things and turn our trust to Him instead.
Psalm 16:8-9 “I have kept Yahweh dead-level in front of me always, because I will never be overthrown from my right hand. Therefore my heart has been happy and my glory has been rejoicing. Moreover, my flesh will settle down confidently.” (NAW)
Psalm 4:8 “In peace I will lie down and sleep at once, for You – You alone, Yahweh, cause me to settle down confidently.”
Are you trusting the Lord Jesus Christ to give you that kind of peace and security?
“Then y’all saw that Nahash, King of the descendants of Ammon was coming against you, and y’all said to me, ‘None but a king shall reign over us,’ when Yahweh, your God was your king. So now, see the king whom y’all have chosen – whom y’all requested, and see, Yahweh has granted a king over y’all.”
There’s a play on words here, because in Hebrew, “Saul” means “ask.”
But now we see the real reason why the Israelites asked Samuel for a king; it was because they thought that God wouldn’t be able to deliver them this time from the Ammonite army.
That’s why Samuel had to give this speech, reminding them of God’s past deliverances through the Judges – to remind them that God had it under control all along; they didn’t need to panic and change the government and quit trusting God.
What they had with Yahweh was sufficient.
The insufficiency was in their own poor relationship with God, not with God’s ability to keep them secure.
When we today think that we are up against a problem bigger than anyone has ever faced before, that requires more government intervention than ever before, because God couldn’t possibly bring the breakthrough that is necessary, we are falling into the same deception. With God, what you have is sufficient, if you’ll trust and obey Him.
Samuel also makes the point that the place of absolute monarch already belongs to God.
Yahweh is the ultimate Lawgiver and Judge and Savior of His people. So if they’re going to have a king, they can’t treat this king like the kings of the nations – as though he is a god with absolute authority; they have to treat their king as a regent who stands-in for the true King,
whose authority is derived from the true King,
whose power is limited by the will of the true King,
and who is shown honor, not for who he is but for the King he represents.
To trust in a mere man (like Saul) was wrong. They must trust in the God behind the man.
I am reminded of the situation in J.R.R. Tolkein’s book, The Return of the King, where the true heir to the throne shows up for the final battle at the White City, but the regent, whose family had been ruling the city for the last few hundred years, didn’t want to let the true king into the city or respond to the true king’s commands.
But we don’t have to look to fantasy stories to imagine what would happen if King Jesus were to show up today.
Would Mayor Redi let King Jesus into City Hall?
Would Governor Kelley let King Jesus into the Statehouse?
Would President Biden let King Jesus through the barbed wire into the Capitol?
They don’t want to right now, but when He does come around, there won’t be anything they can do to stop Him! What we need is men of God to work in the realm of civil government and hold themselves accountable to Jesus and His word. Men who will say, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates... and the King of Glory shall come in!” (Psalm 24:9, KJV)
I apologize for stopping in the middle of Samuel’s speech, but we can plan to pick it back up here next Lord’s Day!
V. |
Septuagint |
Brenton |
D-R |
KJV |
NAW |
MT |
1 |
καὶ εἶπεν Σαμουηλ πρὸς πάντα ἄνδρα Ισραηλ ἰδοὺ ἤκουσα φωνῆς ὑμῶν εἰς πάντα ὅσα εἴπατέ μοι καὶ ἐβασίλευσα ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς βασιλέα |
And Samuel said to all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened to your voice in all things that ye have said to me, and I have set a king over you. |
And Samuel said to all Israel: Behold I have hearkened to your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. |
And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkenedB unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have madeC a king over you. |
Then Samuel said to all Israel, “See, I have given heed to y’all’s voice – to all that y’all said to me, and I have caused a king to reign over y’all. |
וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל, אֶל- כָּל-יִשְׂרָאֵל, הִנֵּה שָׁמַעְתִּי בְקֹלְכֶם, לְכֹל אֲשֶׁר-אֲמַרְתֶּם לִי; וָאַמְלִיךְ עֲלֵיכֶם, מֶלֶךְ. |
2 |
καὶ νῦν ἰδοὺ ὁ βασιλεὺς διαπορεύεται ἐνώπιον ὑμῶν κἀγὼ γεγήρακα καὶ καθήσομαι καὶ οἱ υἱοί μου ἰδοὺ ἐν ὑμῗν κἀγὼ ἰδοὺ διελήλυθα ἐνώπιον ὑμῶν ἐκ νεότητός μου [καὶ]D ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης |
And now, behold, the king goes before you; and I am grown old and shall restE; and, behold, my sons are among you; and, behold, I have gone about before you from my youth X to this day. |
And now the king goeth before you: but I am old and greyheaded: and my sons are with you: having then conversed with you from my youth unto this day, |
And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. |
So I have been patrolling before your faces from my youth up to this day, but now, see the King patrolling before your faces! And as for me, I have become old and grey, but you see my sons are with y’all. |
וְעַתָּה הִנֵּהF הַמֶּלֶךְ מִתְהַלֵּךְ לִפְנֵיכֶם, וַאֲנִי זָקַנְתִּי וָשַׂבְתִּי, וּבָנַי, הִנָּם אִתְּכֶם; וַאֲנִי הִתְהַלַּכְתִּי Gלִפְנֵיכֶם, מִנְּעֻרַי עַד-הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה. |
3 |
ἰδοὺ
ἐγώ ἀποκρίθητεH
κατ᾽ ἐμοῦ ἐνώπιον
κυρίου καὶ
ἐνώπιον χριστοῦ
αὐτοῦ μόσχον
τίνος εἴληφα
ἢ ὄνον τίνος
εἴληφα ἢ X X
X τίνα κατεδυνάστευσα
ὑμῶν ἢ τίνα ἐξεπίεσα
ἢ ἐκ χειρὸς
τίνος εἴληφα
ἐξίλασμα καὶ
|
Behold,
here am
I,
answer
against
me before the Lord and before his anointed: whose calf have I
taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom of you have I X
X
X oppressed? or from whose hand have I taken a bribe, even
to
|
behold
[here] I [am]. 3Speak of
me before the Lord, and before his anointed, whether I
have taken any man's ox, or X ass: If I have wronged
any man, if I have oppressed any man, if I have taken a bribe at
any man's hand: and I will |
Behold,
[here] I [am]: witnessJ
against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have
I taken? or whose assK
have I taken? or whom have I defraudedL?
whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe
|
Here I am; give answer to me in the presence of Yahweh and in the presence of His Anointed: Whose cattle have I confiscated? And whose donkey have I confiscated? And whom have I extorted? Whom have I crushed? And from whose hand have I taken a bribe that I would avert my eyes on account of it? If so, I will make restitution to y’all.” |
הִנְנִי עֲנוּ בִי נֶגֶד יְהוָה וְנֶגֶד מְשִׁיחוֹ, אֶת-שׁוֹר מִי לָקַחְתִּי וַחֲמוֹרN מִי לָקַחְתִּי וְאֶת-מִי עָשַׁקְתִּי אֶת-מִי רַצּוֹתִיO, וּמִיַּד-מִי לָקַחְתִּי כֹפֶרP, וְאַעְלִים עֵינַי בּוֹ; וְאָשִׁיב, לָכֶם. |
4 |
καὶ εἶπαν [πρὸς Σαμουηλ] οὐκ ἠδίκησας ἡμᾶς καὶ οὐ κατεδυνάστευσας [καὶ οὐκ ἔθλασας] ἡμᾶς καὶ οὐκ εἴληφας ἐκ χειρὸς οὐδενὸς οὐδέν |
And they said [to Samuel], Thou hast not injured us, and thou hast not oppressed us; [and thou hast not afflicted us,] and thou hast not taken anything from any one’s hand. |
And they said: Thou hast not wronged us, nor oppressed us, nor taken ought at any man's hand. |
And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand. |
And they said, “You have not extorted us or crushed us or confiscated anything from the hand of anyone.” |
וַיֹּאמְרוּ, לֹא עֲשַׁקְתָּנוּ וְלֹא רַצּוֹתָנוּ; וְלֹא-לָקַחְתָּ מִיַּד-אִישׁ, מְאוּמָה. |
5 |
καὶ εἶπεν [Σαμουηλ] πρὸς τὸν [λαόν]Q μάρτυς κύριος ἐν ὑμῗν καὶ X μάρτυς χριστὸς αὐτοῦ σήμερον ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ὅτι οὐχ εὑρήκατε ἐν χειρί μου οὐθέν καὶ εἶπαν μάρτυς |
And [Samuel] said to the [people], The Lord is witness among you, and X his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found anything in my hand: and they said, He is witness. |
And he said to them: The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found any thing in my hand. And they said: He is witness. |
And he said unto them, The Lord is witness against you, and X his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness. |
So, he said to them, “Yahweh is a witness – and so is His Anointed – concerning y’all this day, that no [confiscated] item has been found in my possession.” And {they} said, “He is a witness.” |
וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם עֵד יְהוָה בָּכֶם, וְעֵד מְשִׁיחוֹ הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה--כִּי לֹא מְצָאתֶם בְּיָדִי, מְאוּמָה; וַיֹּאמֶרR, עֵד. {פ} |
6 |
καὶ
εἶπεν Σαμουηλ
πρὸς τὸν λαὸν
λέγων [μάρτυς]S
κύριος ὁ ποιήσας
τὸν Μωυσῆν καὶ
τὸν Ααρων ὁ ἀναγαγὼν
τοὺς πατέρας
|
And Samuel spoke to the people, saying, The Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron [is witness], who brought our fathers up out of Egypt. |
And Samuel said to the people: It is the Lord, who made Moses and Aaron, and brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt. |
And Samuel said unto the people, It is the Lord that advancedU Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. |
Then Samuel said to the people, “It is Yahweh who took action with Moses and Aaron and who brought {our} fathers up from the land of Egypt. |
וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל, אֶל- הָעָם: יְהוָה, אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה אֶת-מֹשֶׁה וְאֶת- אַהֲרֹן, וַאֲשֶׁר הֶעֱלָה אֶת-אֲבֹתֵיכֶםV, מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם. |
7 |
καὶ νῦν κατάστητε καὶ δικάσωW ὑμᾶς ἐνώπιον κυρίου [καὶ ἀπαγγελῶ ὑμῗν] τὴν πᾶσαν δικαιοσύνην κυρίου ἃ ἐποίησεν ἐν ὑμῗν καὶ ἐν τοῗς πατράσιν ὑμῶν |
And now stand still, and I will judge you before the Lord; [and I will relate to you] all the righteousnessX of the Lord, the things which he has wrought among you and your fathers. |
Now
therefore stand up, that I
may plead in judgment against you before the Lord,
concerning all the X |
Now therefore stand still, that I may reasonY with you before the Lord of all the righteous [acts] of the Lord, which he didZ to you and to your fathers. |
So now, stand at attention, while I make a case with y’all before the face of Yahweh concerning all of Yahweh’s acts-of-righteousness which He did with y’all and with your forefathers. |
וְעַתָּה, הִתְיַצְּבוּAA וְאִשָּׁפְטָה אִתְּכֶם--לִפְנֵי יְהוָה: אֵת כָּל-צִדְקוֹת יְהוָהAB, אֲשֶׁר-עָשָׂה אִתְּכֶם וְאֶת-אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם. |
8 |
ὡς
εἰσῆλθεν Ιακωβ
[καὶ οἱ
υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ]
εἰς Αἴγυπτον
[καὶ
ἐταπείνωσεν
αὐτοὺς Αἴγυπτος]
καὶ ἐβόησαν
οἱ πατέρες
|
When Jacob [and his sons] went into Egypt, [and Egypt humbled them,] then Xour fathers cried to the Lord, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron; and [t]he[y]AE brought Xour fathers out of Egypt, and he made them to dwell in this place. |
How Jacob went into Egypt, and your fathers cried to the Lord: and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, and brought your fathers out of Egypt: and made them dwell in this place. |
When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwellAF in this place. |
When Jacob and his descendants went to Egypt {and Egypt humbled them}, then your forefathers cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh sent Moses and Aaron, and {He} brought your forefathers out from Egypt and settled them in this place. |
כַּאֲשֶׁר-בָּא יַעֲקֹבAG, מִצְרָיִםAH--וַיִּזְעֲקוּ אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם, אֶל- יְהוָה, וַיִּשְׁלַח יְהוָה אֶת-מֹשֶׁה וְאֶת-אַהֲרֹן וַיּוֹצִיאוּ אֶת- אֲבֹתֵיכֶם מִמִּצְרַיִם, וַיֹּשִׁבוּםAI בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה. |
9 |
καὶ
ἐπελάθοντο
κυρίου τοῦ
θεοῦ αὐτῶν
καὶ ἀπέδοτο
αὐτοὺς εἰς
χεῗρ |
And they forgot the Lord their God, and he sold them into the hand[s] of Sisara captain of the host of [Jabis king of] Asor, and into the hand[s] of the Philistines, and into the hand[s] of the king of Moab; and XheXAJ fought with them. |
And they forgot the Lord their God, and he delivered them into the hand[s] of Sisara, captain of the army of Hasor, and into the hand[s] of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. |
And when they forgat the Lord their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. |
But they forgot Yahweh their God, so He sold them into the control of Sisera, the army-chief of Hatzor, and into the control of the Philistines, and into the control of the King of Moab, and they made war upon them. |
וַיִּשְׁכְּחוּ, אֶת-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם; וַיִּמְכֹּר אֹתָם בְּיַד סִיסְרָא שַׂר-צְבָא חָצוֹר וּבְיַד-פְּלִשְׁתִּים, וּבְיַד מֶלֶךְ מוֹאָב, וַיִּלָּחֲמוּ, בָּם. |
10 |
καὶ ἐβόησαν πρὸς κύριον καὶ ἔλεγον ἡμάρτομεν ὅτι ἐγκατελίπομεν τὸν κύριον καὶ ἐδουλεύσαμεν τοῗς Βααλιμ καὶ τοῗς ἄλσεσιν καὶ νῦν ἐξελοῦ ἡμᾶς ἐκ χειρὸς ἐχθρῶν ἡμῶν καὶ δουλεύσομέν σοι |
And they cried to the Lord, and said, We have sinned, for we have forsaken the Lord, and have served X Baalim and the groves: and now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. |
But [afterwards] they cried to the Lord, and said: We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served Baalim and Astaroth: but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. |
And they cried unto the Lord, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served X Baalim and X Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. |
Then they cried out to Yahweh and said, ‘We have sinned, for we have forsaken Yahweh, and we have served the Baals and the Ashtorahs, and now, rescue us from the control of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ |
וַיִּזְעֲקוּ אֶל-יְהוָה, וַיֹּאמְר[וּ]AK חָטָאנוּ, כִּי עָזַבְנוּ אֶת-יְהוָה, וַנַּעֲבֹד אֶת-הַבְּעָלִים וְאֶת-הָעַשְׁתָּרוֹת;AL וְעַתָּה, הַצִּילֵנוּ מִיַּד אֹיְבֵינוּ--וְנַעַבְדֶךָּ. |
11 |
καὶ ἀπέστειλεν κύριος τὸν Ιεροβααλ καὶ τὸν Βαρακ καὶ τὸν Ιεφθαε καὶ τὸν Σαμουηλ καὶ ἐξείλατο ὑμᾶς ἐκ χειρὸς ἐχθρῶν ὑμῶν τῶν κυκλόθεν καὶ κατῳκεῗτε πεποιθότες |
And
he sent Jerobaal, and Barac,
and Jephthae, and Samuel, and rescued |
And the Lord sent Jerobaal, and Badan, and Jephte, and Samuel, and delivered you from the hand of your enemies round about, and you dwelt securely. |
And the Lord sent Jerubbaal, and BedanAN, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every sideAO, and ye dwelled safe. |
So Yahweh sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jepthah and Samuel, and He rescued y’all from the control your surrounding enemies, and they settled down confidently. |
וַיִּשְׁלַח יְהוָה אֶת- יְרֻבַּעַל וְאֶת-בְּדָןAP, וְאֶת-יִפְתָּח וְאֶת- שְׁמוּאֵל; וַיַּצֵּל אֶתְכֶם מִיַּד אֹיְבֵיכֶם, מִסָּבִיב, וַתֵּשְׁבוּ, בֶּטַח. |
12 |
καὶ
εἴδετε ὅτι
Ναας βασιλεὺς
υἱῶν Αμμων ἦλθεν
ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς καὶ
εἴπατε XX οὐχί
ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ὅτι βασιλεὺς
βασιλεύσει
ἐφ᾽ ἡμῶν καὶ
κύριος ὁ θεὸς
|
And ye saw that Naas king of the children of Ammon came against you, and ye said XX, Nay, none but a king shall reign over us; whereas the Lord Xour God is Xour king. |
But seeing that Naas king of the children of Ammon was come against you, you said to me: Nay, but a king shall reign over us: whereas the Lord your God was your king. |
And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the Lord your God was your king. |
Then y’all saw that Nahash, King of the descendants of Ammon was coming against you, and y’all said to me, ‘None but a king shall reign over us,’ when Yahweh, your God was your king. |
וַתִּרְאוּ, כִּי-נָחָשׁ מֶלֶךְ בְּנֵי-עַמּוֹן בָּא עֲלֵיכֶם, וַתֹּאמְרוּ לִי, לֹא כִּי-מֶלֶךְ יִמְלֹךְ עָלֵינוּ: וַיהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, מַלְכְּכֶם. |
13 |
καὶ νῦν ἰδοὺ ὁ βασιλεύς ὃν ἐξελέξασθε X X X καὶ ἰδοὺ δέδωκεν κύριος ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς βασιλέα |
And
now behold the king whom ye have chosen X X X; and behold, the
Lord has |
Now
therefore [your] king is here, whom you have chosen |
Now
therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, [andAQ]
whom ye have desiredAR!
and, behold, the Lord hath |
So now, see the king whom y’all have chosen – whom y’all requested, and see, Yahweh has granted a king over y’all. |
וְעַתָּה, הִנֵּה הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר בְּחַרְתֶּם--אֲשֶׁר שְׁאֶלְתֶּם; וְהִנֵּה נָתַן יְהוָה עֲלֵיכֶם, מֶלֶךְ. |
1Tsumura was the only commentator I read who cast doubt on this, but he didn’t have strong reasons.
2Goldman, in the Soncino commentary, explained “walks” instead as “attends to your needs.” Tsumura, in the NICOT commentary defined it as “to perform a function on someone’s behalf” (quoting McCarter).
3“For I know your manifold transgressions And your mighty sins: Afflicting the just and taking bribes; Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.” (NKJV)
4עָשָׂה
51 Chron. 7:17 “The son of Ulam was Bedan.) These were the descendants of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh.” (NKJV)
6Of course, Bedan might be the name of a Judge who wasn’t mentioned in the book of Judges (Henry, Kirkpatrick), but it would seem unlikely to use such an unknown person in a speech. Rabbinic tradition assigns this name to Samson, whose name is listed separately in some old versions, and suggests that the -dn part of the name means the tribe of “Dan,” of which Samson was, but this does not adequately account for the first letter of the name (Goldman). Junius, Pool, and Willett thought that the order of names must equate Bedan with Jair the Menashite in Judg. 10.3, but I’m skeptical. (And, for what it’s worth, Delitzsch shared my skepticism on all three counts.)
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 (which is rare). NAW is my translation. When a translation
adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done
so (such as 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 Scrolls containing First Samuel 12 are 4Q52 Samuelb,
containing fragments of verses 3-6 and dated to 250BC, and
4Q51Samuela, which contains fragments of vs. 7-19, and
which has been dated between 50-25 B.C. Where the DSS confirms the
MT text, I colored the letters of the MT purple. Where the DSS
supports the LXX with omissions or insertions not in the MT, I have
highlighted with yellow the
LXX and its translation into English, and where I have accepted that
into my NAW translation, I have marked it with {pointed brackets}.
BNASB & NIV = “listened,” ESV = “obeyed”
CNASB = “appointed,” NIV = “set” Lit. “kinged”
DThe Syriac and some Hebrew manuscripts support the extra conjunction here “even to this day.”
EThe LXX translation is reasonable, based on the presupposition that the Hebrew root is שוב, and that it is speaking of Samuel’s “sitting down” in retirement, but contemporary Hebrew scholarship believes that the root is instead שיב, which also has a weak central letter that disappears, but which means “grey.” If it is the latter, it is one of only two instances in the Hebrew Bible, the other being Job 15:10 (שָׂב).
F“הִנֵּה with the participle expresses what is happening, and will happen still.” ~Delitzsch
Gcf. 2:18, 3:1
Hcf. S = fqegxasqe “speak up”
IThe Hebrew words for “sandals, testify” would be spelled נעלות עֲנוּ (compare with the MT אַעְלִים עֵינַי). This seems to be a mistaken translation. Unfortunately there is no legible DSS manuscript to compare with. There are Greek manuscripts however, which follow the MT (kai apekruya/paroyomai touV ojqalmouV mou en autw ). ESV translates it both ways!
JNASB, NIV, ESV = “testify”
KNASB, NIV, ESV = “donkey”
LNASB = “exploited,” NIV = “cheated”
MNASB = “close,” NIV = “shut,” ESV = “blind,” Lit. “cause to conceal”
Ncf. Moses in Num. 16:15 “I have not taken (נסאתי) one donkey from them...”
OThis is what happened to Amimelek’s skull when a millstone was dropped from the top of a well onto his head in Jdg. 9:53; although it is used in a figurative sense, viz. Judges 10:8; Amos 4:1. Job 20:19 gives a specific example of this word as seizing a poor man’s house.
PThe only other places in the OT where laqach + copher occur are Numbers 35:31-32 and Amos 5:12.
QThere is not room in the obliterated part of this verse in the DSS for as many words as are found in the LXX, so it is assumed that the MT is authentic here and that perhaps the LXX translators mistook הם “them” for העם "the people” (or copied the phrase from v.6) but these variants only make explicit was was implied in the terse text, so it is of no concern.
RThe MT is singular (“he said”), but the LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, English versions, and some Targums read plural, which makes more sense. Unfortunately the DSS is obliterated at this part of the verse. But whether the people or Samuel affirmed it, the point is that this fact was formalized by God’s witness.
SWord spacing between legible sections of the DSS here does not support this extra word in the LXX, but the ESV decided in favor of it..
TThis part of the verse is obliterated in the DSS. There are a couple of other Hebrew manuscripts which also omit “land of,” so the original is not certain, but it makes no difference in meaning.
UNASB, NIV, ESV = “appointed” Lit. “made/did”
VThe fact that the LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac all make this 1st plural instead of 2nd plural gives pause for consideration. It would only be the difference of one letter in Hebrew. Unfortunately this part of the verse is obliterated in the DSS.
Wcf. Symmachus ( diakriqw) and Theodotian (diakriqhsomai) = “I take issue with”
X“Kindnesses” (elehmosunwn) was, however, the choice of Symmachus to translate the Hebrew tsadiq when he made his Greek version around the third century AD, but usually the Hebrew word chesed would be used for that meaning.
Ycf. NASB = “enter into judgment,” NIV = “confront with evidence,” ESV = “plead”
ZNIV, ESV = “performed”
AAcf. 10:19
ABcf. Judges 5:11
ACThe concurrence of the MT and the DSS on the 2nd person plural pronoun here weighs against the authenticity of this pronoun being 1st person as it is in the LXX. Both make for true statements; it is merely a stylistic difference in rhetoric. It shows up in vs. 11 & 12 as well.
ADThe Syriac and Vulgate support the singular subject in the majority of Greek versions.
AEBrenton followed the Vaticanus, which reads plural exagagon.
AFNASB, NIV = “settled”
AGAlthough this part of the DSS manuscript is obliterated, there is too much space in the DSS for the terse reading of the MT, so the extra phrase “and his sons” in the LXX (the Hebrew for that would be ובניו) may be original.
AHThere is too much space in this obliterated section of the DSS manuscript for the few words in the MT. This supports the additional phrase in the LXX, “and Egypt humbled them,” or, as the ESV rendered it, “and the Egyptians oppressed them.” The authenticity of this phrase seems all the more likely due to the phenomenon of haplographic errors that stem from a repeated word in the text in close proximity (in this case “Egypt,” as in מצרים ויענם מצרים). It is easier to explain it that way than to explain the addition of an entirely new phrase. It adds no new information not already in Exodus, however.
AISeveral Hebrew manuscripts read with a singular subject: “He made them dwell.” The DSS is obliterated at this point.
AJThe singular “he fought” in Brenton’s version follows the Vaticanus [ἐπολέμησεν]; the majority of Septuagint manuscripts apparently spell it plural instead, matching the Hebrew. Either spelling states a correct fact, however.
AKAlthough the MT spells this verb singular (“he said”), the Masorite scribes suggested in the Qere that a sureq be added at the end of this word to make it plural (“they said”), and most other Hebrew texts carry this added letter. Furthermore, all the versions I’ve consulted also gave this verb the plural subject, including versions like the Vulgate and Septuagint which pre-date any known MT manuscript, so perhaps it was there originally. It doesn’t make much difference in terms of the story, however, because the corporate prayer was probably made by a single spokesman, making both spellings true of the situation.
ALTheir departure into the worship of these foreign gods is mentioned in Judges 2:13. Judges 10:6 may connote that Baal was originally the pagan god of Syria. 1 Ki. 11:5 & 33; 2 Ki. 23:13 make it clear that Ashtorah was the goddess of Sidon in modern-day Lebanon. Both words are plural, perhaps denoting other similar pagan gods of multiple surrounding countries, which is also suggested by Judges 10:6.
AMBrenton followed the Vaticanus which reads 1st person plural here and in the following pronoun, whereas the MT, the majority text of the Septuagint, and the Vulgate all read 2nd person plural. As in the previous instance of this variant in this chapter, the choice of whether or not to include the speaker in pronouns is only a difference of rhetorical style, not a difference in fact.
ANNIV & ESV follow the LXX and Syriac with “Barak”
AONASB, NIV = “all around”
APVisually, Barak is not so different from Bedan in Hebrew as an English speaker might think; besides the obvious commonality of the first letter, the difference between the other two Hebrew letters is a matter of rounding one angle (ד to ר) and lengthening one stroke (ן to ך). Tsumura made a case for bedan being a phonetic variant of Barak, but I think it’s a stretch. The Masoretic scribes weren’t that careless, so I suspect there must be some other reason, such as Bedan being a nickname for Barak. The only other mention of “Bedan” is 1 Chron. 7:17.
AQThere are some manuscripts which insert “and” here, according to Kittel, including Syriac, Vulgate, and some Targums and Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, but it’s not in the MT or the Vaticanus or Rahlfs Greek editions.
ARNASB, NIV, and ESV = “asked”
ASNASB = “put,” Lit. “given”