1 Samuel 10:25 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Samuel 10:25
Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
to grave · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
book
בַּסֵּ֔פֶרba.Se.fer
H5612
properly · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
up
יָנַחyânach
H3240
to deposit
before
לִפְנֵ֣יlif.Nei
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
LORD
יְהוָ֑הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
Samuel
שְׁמוּאֵ֛לshe.mu.'El
H8050
Shemuel · proper noun, a man's name
sent
וַיְשַׁלַּ֧חvay.sha.Lach
H7971
to send away · conjunction + verb, piel sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
people
הָעָ֖םha.'Am
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
away
שָׁלַחshâlach
H7971
to send away
man
אִ֥ישׁ'ish
H376
a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
house
לְבֵיתֽוֹle.vei.To
H1004
a house (in the greatest variation of applications · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Samuel 8:11-18 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his ch…
Deuteronomy 17:14-20 When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will se…
Ezekiel 45:9-10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away you…
Ezekiel 46:16-18 Thus saith the Lord GOD; If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his sons’; it shall be their posse…
Romans 13:1-7 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
1 Timothy 2:2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
Titus 3:1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
1 Peter 2:13-14 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 10:17–end
Saul's nomination to the throne is here made public, in a general assembly of the elders of Israel, the representatives of their respective tribes at Mizpeh. It is probable that this convention of the states was called as soon as conveniently it might, after Saul was anointed, for, if there must be a change in their government, the sooner the better: it might be of bad consequence to be long in the doing. The people having met in a solemn assembly, in which God was in a peculiar manner present (and therefore it is said they were called together unto the Lord, Sa1 10:17), Samuel acts for God among them.
I. He reproves them for casting off the government of a prophet, and desiring that of a ca…
Samuel called the people together . . . at Mizpeh--a shaft-like hill near Hebron, five hundred feet in height. The national assemblies of the Israelites were held there. A day having been appointed for the election of a king, Samuel, after having charged the people with a rejection of God's institution and a superseding of it by one of their own, proceeded to the nomination of the new monarch. As it was of the utmost importance that the appointment should be under the divine direction and control, the determination was made by the miraculous lot, tribes, families, and individuals being successively passed until Saul was found. His concealment of himself must have been the result either of in…
The manner of the kingdom - It is the same word as in Sa1 8:9; and doubtless the same thing is implied as is there related. But possibly there was some kind of compact or covenant between them and Saul; and this was the thing that was written in a book, and laid up before the Lord, probably near the ark.
John Gill on 1 Samuel 10:25
Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, According to Ben Gersom, he laid before them the power a king had over his people, and the punishment he might inflict upon them, if they rebelled against him; and some think this is the same he delivered in 1 Samuel 8:10 concerning the arbitrary power of their kings, and how they would be used by them; and which he here repeated, and then wrote it, that it might be a testimony against them hereafter; with which what Josephus (m) says pretty much agrees, that in the hearing of the king he foretold what would befall them, and then wrote it, and laid it up, that it might be a witness of his predictions; but that in
1 Samuel 8:10-17. Samu…
The Church Fathers
But Samuel spoke to the people the law of the kingdom, etc. John the Baptist spoke, as did the other prophets, to the people the law of the heavenly kingdom, which is given through Christ; and each wrote in his own book, and placed them among the sacred Scriptures, in which alone the divine will is always found. Certainly, according to the letter, it should be said that above, where the law of the king is promulgated, his proud presumption is foretold to allay the obstinacy of the requesting people. Here indeed, through the spoken, written law of the kingdom and stored for the sake of memory before the Lord, it is declared what kind of good ruler and what kind of spirit towards subjects he ought to have, according to the commands of Deuteronomy.
38. Concerning the law of kingship, because we spoke at length about it above, we recall only this about it: that in the historical narrative it is not prescribed but rather shown what wicked kings will do and what good kings should avoid. Kings are indeed to defend their subjects, not to strip them of their own goods. They ought to provide help to those under them, not to seize their fields, vineyards, and olive groves. But if anyone should wish to argue that these things were written not as things to be avoided but as things to be done, then the law of tyrants is written on behalf of that king who is demanded after the Lord has been rejected. The cruel law of the kingdom, therefore, is the punishment of a people that rejects the Lord. For it was not unjust that he should lose his fields and vineyards who willingly cast off the Lord reigning over him. Therefore we perceive that all the things contained in this law of kingship that seem contrary to equity are in fact equitable, if we consider what the people had sinned in asking for a king. For what great burden of law is it in the judgment of divine equity, if they should unwillingly place their sons and daughters in the service of the king, when they had willingly removed them from the liberty of God? And what is seen to be unfitting if, as the final consequence, those who rejected God reigning over them should themselves become the servants of men? Therefore, when the law of the kingdom is written, a punishment is handed down to perpetual memory by which the presumptuous may be chastised; and because it had been issued through the justice of the Lord, it is said to have been deposited before the Lord. But perhaps that right was something other than this law that is written. If that is true, then Samuel speaks this law before the king to the people, so that the king may know what to require from the people, and the people may know what they ought to render to their kings. This law is written in a book so that it may be preserved for the memory of those to come. It is placed before the Lord so that it may be held in reverence. We, however, have said that the kings of the Churches are the holy preachers, and we have shown that all the things contained in the law of kingship plainly apply to them. Samuel therefore speaks this law to the people when a chosen teacher instructs the faithful of holy Church with…
Dictionary and topics
King — Is in Scripture very generally used to denote one invested with authority, whether extensive or limited. There were thirty-one kings in Canaan (Josh. 12:9, 24), whom Joshua subdued. Adonibezek…
Law of Moses — Is the whole body of the Mosaic legislation (1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 3:2). It is called by way of eminence simply “the Law” (Heb. Torah, Deut. 1:5; 4:8, 44; 17:18, 19; 27:3, 8). As a written…
Books · Not extant, but mentioned in scripture: Samuel concerning the kingdom — Not extant, but mentioned in scripture: Samuel concerning the kingdom
Kings · Laws for the government of the kingdom by, written by Samuel — Laws for the government of the kingdom by, written by Samuel
Mizpah · .They crown Saul king of Israel at — .They crown Saul king of Israel at
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Saul's Election by Lot. - After Samuel had secretly anointed Saul king by the command of God, it was his duty to make provision for a recognition of the man whom God had chosen on the part of the people also. To this end he summoned the people to Mizpeh, and there instructed the tribes to choose a king by lot. As the result of the lot was regarded as a divine decision, not only was Saul to be accredited by this act in the sight of the whole nation as the king appointed by the Lord, but he himself was also to be more fully assured of the certainty of his own election on the part of God. -
(Note: Thenius follows De Wette, and adduces the incompatibility of 1 Samuel 8 and Sa1 10:17-27 with Sa1…
rights and duties of a king: See Deut 17:14-20. • He wrote them: Cp. Exod 24:4; Josh 24:26. • Samuel placed the document before the Lord—presumably in the Tabernacle. This position showed that God would honor those who lived by the covenant and punish those who violated it.
Rashi on 1 Samuel 10:22
Is hidden by the baggage. In the room where newcomers had placed their baggage; [he hid] because he was running away from the high position. But the Midrash Aggadah of R. Tanchuma8Vayikra 3. explains that 'אֶל הַכֵּלִים' refers to the Urim and Tumim. He said [to himself], 'perhaps I am not worthy of this high position. [I will not assume it]. until they inquire of the Urim and Tumim.9 Shaul was convinced that the Urim and Tumim would confirm that he was not worthy of the kingship. But, on the contrary, it confirmed that nobody was equal to him. In Maseches Eiruvin 13b it states that he who runs away from honor is rightfully pursued by it. Thereupon they asked, and he accepted it.
And Samuel dismissed all the people, etc. Even today, a teacher dismisses the congregation after the sermon is finished, similarly, once the reading of the little script is concluded, he dismisses all the listeners, each to their own conscience, so that they may reconsider what they have heard through meditation, and by acting on what they have meditated, may bring it to perfection. But if anyone is disturbed as to why I have presumed to interpret the deeds of a reprobate king allegorically in relation to Christ, who is the King of Kings, let him know that it is customary for interpreters, indeed it is the essence of the Scriptures, to draw either good from evil or an allegorical form from a good man, where such an order is necessary, impartially. Otherwise, it would never be appropriate to write with black ink, but always with bright gold, or some other honorable form; for God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1). A dark color does not unorderly signify brightness. Accordingly, Blessed Pope Gregory did not doubt to transfer even the anointing of the same Saul, not only to the kingdom of Christ but also his death, which befell because of his sin, to signify allegorically the innocent death of Christ. For you may read his exposition in Job, where he says, "Let the day perish in which I was born." Similarly, concerning King Jehoiachin, who, condemned for his crime, is carried away from Judah to the Chaldeans, he understands it as representing the Lord being transferred from the unbelieving Jews to the salvation of the Gentiles. Likewise, the Church refers all the wisdom, sayings, and actions of Solomon, though he gravely sinned afterwards, to be figures of praises of Christ. Quite a few Church commentators, as the Apostle says, "The rock was Christ," understand the rod that struck the rock as the cross of Christ, and Moses and Aaron, holy men who struck it, as representing the chief priests and doctors of the law, that is, the Pharisees, who crucified the Lord. And if that rock, although offering salutary drinks to the people, a rock nonetheless adhering to the back of the countryside with natural mass, signifies the ineffable gifts of Christ, or that patriarch anointed with holy chrism proclaims the Son of God anointed with the holy oil of the Spirit; or certainly Cyrus, the Persian, though a reasonable man yet wholly alien to the faith and…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
