King

How Nave’s arranged it

• Called KING OF KINGSEzra 7:12Ezekiel 26:7Daniel 2:37
• Divinely authorizedDeuteronomy 17:151 Samuel 9:161 Samuel 9:171 Samuel 16:121 Chronicles 22:102 Chronicles 2:112 Chronicles 2:12Proverbs 8:15Daniel 2:21Daniel 2:37Daniel 4:17Daniel 5:20Hosea 8:4Hosea 13:11
• How chosen
• By divine appointment, Saul1 Samuel 10:1
• David and the Davidic dynasty1 Samuel 16:1–13
• Hereditary succession2 Samuel 7:12–161 Kings 1:28–302 Chronicles 21:32 Chronicles 21:4Psalms 89:35–37
• See Israel, Kings of Judah
• Not hereditary1 Chronicles 1:43–51
• See Israel, Kings of Israel, after the revolt
• By lot1 Samuel 10:201 Samuel 10:21
• Modes of induction into office
• By anointing

The passages, in Bible order (181)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 16 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. Deuteronomy 17:14–19

   When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,”

   ›Commentary on Deuteronomy 17:14–191 voice

   “Their having a king is neither promised as a mercy nor commanded as a duty (nothing could be better for them than the divine regimen they were under), but it is permitted them if they desired it.

   Everything gathered on Deuteronomy 17:14–19→

   Verse page →Original language →

2. Deuteronomy 17:15

   you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the LORD your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not one of your brothers.

   ›Commentary on Deuteronomy 17:152 voices

   “God reserved to himself the nomination both of the family, and of the person. Thy brethren -- of the same nation and religion; because such a person was most likely to maintain true religion, and to rule with righteousness, gentleness, and kindness to his subjects; and that he might be a fit type of Christ their supreme king, who was to be one of their brethren.

   “The king, like the judges and officers (compare Deu 16:18), is to be chosen by the people; but their choice is to be in accordance with the will of God, and to be made from among “their brethren.” Compare 1Sa 9:15; 1Sa 10:24; 1Sa 16:1; 1Ki 19:16. Thou mayest not set a stranger over thee - The Jews extended this prohibition to all offices whatsoever (compare Jer 30:21); and naturally attached the greatest importance to it: from where the significance of the question proposed to our Lord, “Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar?” Mat 22:

   Everything gathered on Deuteronomy 17:15→

   Verse page →Original language →

3. Deuteronomy 17:18–20

   When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.

   ›Commentary on Deuteronomy 17:18–202 voices

   “He shall write - With his own hand, as the Jews say. Out of that - Out of the original, which was carefully kept by the priests in the sanctuary, that it might be a perfect copy, and that it might have the greater influence upon him, coming to him as from the hand and presence of God.

   “He shall write him a copy of this law - משנה התורה הזאת mishneh hattorah hazzoth, an iteration or duplicate of this law; translated by the Septuagint, το δευτερονομιον τουτο this deuteronomy. From this version both the Vulgate Latin and all the modern versions have taken the name of this book; and from the original word the Jews call it Mishneh. See the preface to this book.

   Everything gathered on Deuteronomy 17:18–20→

   Verse page →Original language →

4. Judges 12:14

   He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. And he judged Israel eight years.

   Verse page →Original language →

5. 1 Samuel 9:16

   “At this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him leader over My people Israel; he will save them from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.”

   ›Commentary on 1 Samuel 9:162 voices

   “Thou shalt anoint him to be captain - Not to be king, but to be נגיד nagid or captain of the Lord’s host. But in ancient times no king was esteemed who was not an able warrior. Plutarch informs us that Alexander the Great esteemed the following verse the most correct, as to its sentiment, of any in the whole Iliad of Homer: - Ουτος γ’ Ατρειδης ευρυκρειων Αγαμεμνων, Αμφοτερον βασιλευς τ’ αγαθος, κρατερος τ’ αιχμητης. “The king of kings, Atrides, you survey; Great in the war, and great in acts of sway.” Pope.

   “Philistines - For though they were now most pressed with the Ammonites, yet they looked upon these as a land-flood, soon up, and soon down again: but the Philistines, their constant and nearest enemies, they most dreaded. And from these did Saul in some measure save them, and would have saved them much more, if his and the people's sins had not hindered.

   Everything gathered on 1 Samuel 9:16→

   Verse page →Original language →

6. 1 Samuel 9:17

   When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke; he shall rule over My people.”

   Verse page →Original language →

7. 1 Samuel 10:1

   Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance?

   ›Commentary on 1 Samuel 10:12 voices

   “These sacred unctions then used, pointed at the great Messiah, or anointed One, the King of the church, and High-priest of our profession, who was anointed with the oil of the spirit without measure, above all the priests and princes of the Jewish church. Kissed - As a testimony of his sincere friendship and affection to him.

   “But it was only a vial of oil that he anointed him with, the vessel brittle, because his kingdom would soon be cracked and broken, and the quantity small, because he had but little of the Spirit conferred upon him to what David had, who was therefore anointed with a horn of oil, as were Solomon and Jehu with a box of oil.

   Everything gathered on 1 Samuel 10:1→

   Verse page →Original language →

8. 1 Samuel 10:20

   Thus Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected.

   ›Commentary on 1 Samuel 10:202 voices

   “Benjamin - Which tribe was now preferred before Judah, because the kingdom was freely promised by God to Judah, and was to be given to him in love; but now the kingdom was in a manner forced from God, and given them in anger and therefore conferred upon an obscure tribe.

   Caused ... to come near ... was taken - The Hebrew phrases are exactly the same as in Jos 7:16-17, where the King James Version renders the first has “brought.”

   Everything gathered on 1 Samuel 10:20→

   Verse page →Original language →

9. 1 Samuel 10:21

   Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its clans, and the clan of Matri was selected. Finally, Saul son of Kish was selected. But when they looked for him, they could not find him.

   ›Commentary on 1 Samuel 10:212 voices

   “The family of Matri - This name occurs nowhere else among the families of Benjamin, or in the genealogy of Saul. (See 1Sa 9:1 note.)

   “When the tribe of Benjamin was taken, they might easily foresee that they were setting up a family that would soon be put down again; for dying Jacob had, by the spirit of prophecy, entailed the dominion upon Judah. Judah is the tribe that must rule as a lion;

   Everything gathered on 1 Samuel 10:21→

   Verse page →Original language →

10. 1 Samuel 10:24

    Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

    ›Commentary on 1 Samuel 10:241 voice

    “God save the king - There is no such word here; no, nor in the whole Bible; nor is it countenanced by any of the versions. The words which we thus translate here and elsewhere are simply יחי המלך yechi hammelech, “May the king live;” and so all the versions, the Targum excepted, which says, May the king prosper! The French Vive le roi! is a proper version of the Hebrew.

    Everything gathered on 1 Samuel 10:24→

    Verse page →Original language →

11. 1 Samuel 10:25

    Then Samuel explained to the people the rights of kingship. He wrote them on a scroll and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, each to his own home.

    ›Commentary on 1 Samuel 10:252 voices

    The manner of the kingdom - i. e., the just prerogative of the kingdom, the law, or bill of rights, by which the king’s power was limited as well as secured. It is not improbable that what Samuel wrote was simply a transcript of Deu 17:14-20, which he “laid up before the Lord,” i. e., placed by the side of the ark of the covenant with the copy of the Law (see Deu 31:26). It would be ready for reference if either king or people violated the “law of the kingdom.”

    “He had before told them the manner of the king ( ch. viii. 11 ), how he would abuse his power; now he tells them the manner of the kingdom, or rather the law, or judgment, or constitution, of it, what power the prince might challenge and the utmost of the property the subject might claim.

    Everything gathered on 1 Samuel 10:25→

    Verse page →Original language →

12. 1 Samuel 10:27

    But some worthless men said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him and brought him no gifts; but Saul remained silent about it.

    ›Commentary on 1 Samuel 10:272 voices

    “And they despised him, and brought him no presents--In Eastern countries, the honor of the sovereign and the splendor of the royal household are upheld, not by a fixed rate of taxation, but by presents brought at certain seasons by officials, and men of wealth, from all parts of the kingdom, according to the means of the individual, and of a customary registered value.

    “This was an evidence both of his humility, and the mercifulness of his disposition. So Christ held his peace, in the day of his patience. But there is a day of recompense coming.

    Everything gathered on 1 Samuel 10:27→

    Verse page →Original language →

13. 1 Samuel 11:13

    But Saul ordered, “No one shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has worked salvation in Israel.”

    ›Commentary on 1 Samuel 11:132 voices

    “The calm and sagacious counsel of Samuel directed the popular feelings into a right channel, by appointing a general assembly of the militia, the really effective force of the nation, at Gilgal, where, amid great pomp and religious solemnities, the victorious leader was confirmed in his kingdom [1Sa 11:15].

    “15. For the Lord had said above to Samuel: They have not rejected you, but me, that I should not reign over them (1 Kings VIII, 7). But of Saul it was said a little before: Because they despised him, and did not bring him gifts (Ibid., X, 27). But he who was rejected, and he who was despised, after the enemies had been slain and victory obtained, heard the people crying out: Give us the men, and we will kill them.

    Everything gathered on 1 Samuel 11:13→

    Verse page →Original language →

14. 1 Samuel 14:45

    But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die—he who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for with God’s help he has accomplished this today.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.

    ›Commentary on 1 Samuel 14:452 voices

    “What then is the meaning of what is said, "Shall Jonathan then die," unless that another would have died for the same fault? By these words of the people there is surely shown to us the power of great discernment, because in the judgment of the elect, not only must the causes of faults be weighed, but also the merits of persons. This is openly shown by these words, because Jonathan is declared not to die not because he was the son of the king, but because he had wrought great salvation in Israel.

    “In this passage it should be noted that the king twice uttered an oath above concerning the killing of Jonathan, whom nevertheless, overcome by the insistence of the people, he did not kill. What does it mean that he swore, and by no means kept the assertion of his oath? But from this matter two lessons come to us, namely that we ought to be both cautious and discerning. Cautious indeed, lest we swear; discerning, if we swear to do perverse things. For he who takes care not to swear cannot possibly commit perjury.

    Everything gathered on 1 Samuel 14:45→

    Verse page →Original language →

15. 1 Samuel 15:24

    Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have transgressed the LORD’s commandment and your instructions, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

    ›Commentary on 1 Samuel 15:242 voices

    “26. What does it mean that Saul is rebuked by the prophet for not having heard the voice of the Lord and for having done evil in His eyes, and yet he does not at all confess that he has sinned; but when he sees himself rejected from the kingdom, he confesses that he has sinned and transgressed the word of the Lord and His commands? It is because the proud are bold in despising the words of the humble, yet they cannot, in the manner of the elect, despise the honors they covet.

    “I have sinned - It does by no means appear, that Saul acts the hypocrite herein, in assigning a false cause of his disobedience. Rather, he nakedly declares the thing as it was.

    Everything gathered on 1 Samuel 15:24→

    Verse page →Original language →

16. 1 Samuel 16:1–13

    Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”

    ›Commentary on 1 Samuel 16:1–132 voices

    “I have provided - This phrase is very emphatical, and implies the difference between this and the former king. Saul was a king of the people's providing, he was the product of their sinful desires: but this is a king of my own providing, to fulfil all my will, and to serve my glory.

    “Saul was the people's choice, the fruit of their wayward and sinful desires for their own honor and aggrandizement. The next was to be a king who would consult the divine glory, and selected from that tribe to which the pre-eminence had been early promised (Ge 49:10).

    Everything gathered on 1 Samuel 16:1–13→

    Verse page →Original language →