1 Samuel 10:25
in 1 Samuel 10Then 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before Jehovah. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
KJV
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.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 10
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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.”
This site's exposition
He wrote them on a scroll
Samuel explains “the rights of kingship” and writes them on a scroll before the LORD, a second document beside his catalogue of a king's demands at 8:11-18. Deuteronomy 17:14-20 had already limited a king's horses, wives and wealth, and this scroll acts as Israel's copy of that law. The scroll is never quoted again in Samuel, yet it shows the monarchy was meant to answer to law.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church3 voices
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 …
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 …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 4, Chapter 5 · Written before 604.
proposed
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.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
Manner of the kingdom - The laws and rules by which the kingly government was to be managed; agreeable to those mentioned Deut. xvii, 16, &c. Before the Lord - Before the ark, where it was kept safe from depravation.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
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 1Sa 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 1Sa 8:10-
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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.
The manner of the kingdom - It is the same word as in 1Sa 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.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְדַבֵּ֨ר | vaydaber | and he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| שְׁמוּאֵ֜ל | shemuel | Samuel | H8050 → | 141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָעָ֗ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֵ֚ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִשְׁפַּ֣ט | mishpat | [the] right[s] of | H4941 → | 422 times |
| הַמְּלֻכָ֔ה | hamelukhah | the kingship | H4410 → | 24 times |
| וַיִּכְתֹּ֣ב | vaiyikhto | and he wrote | H3789 → | |
| בַּסֵּ֔פֶר | basefer | in the book | H5612 → | |
| וַיַּנַּ֖ח | vaiyanach | and he set [it] | H5117 → | 142 times |
| לִפְנֵ֣י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיְשַׁלַּ֧ח | vayshalach | and he sent away | H7971 → | 845 times |
| שְׁמוּאֵ֛ל | shemuel | Samuel | H8050 → | 141 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָ֖ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | each man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| לְבֵיתֽוֹ׃ | leveito | to own house his | H1004 → | 2046 times |
וַיְדַבֵּ֨רand he spoke
vaydaberH1696 →1141 times
שְׁמוּאֵ֜לSamuel
shemuelH8050 →141 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָעָ֗םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אֵ֚ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
מִשְׁפַּ֣ט[the] right[s] of
mishpatH4941 →422 times
הַמְּלֻכָ֔הthe kingship
hamelukhahH4410 →24 times
וַיִּכְתֹּ֣בand he wrote
vaiyikhtoH3789 →
בַּסֵּ֔פֶרin the book
baseferH5612 →
וַיַּנַּ֖חand he set [it]
vaiyanachH5117 →142 times
לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיְשַׁלַּ֧חand he sent away
vayshalachH7971 →845 times
שְׁמוּאֵ֛לSamuel
shemuelH8050 →141 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעָ֖םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אִ֥ישׁeach man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
לְבֵיתֽוֹ׃to own house his
leveitoH1004 →2046 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Timothy 2:2for kings and all those in authority—so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:7
Seek the prosperity of the city to which I have sent you as exiles. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
- 1 Peter 2:9–13
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- Ezra 6:10
Then they will be able to offer sacrifices of a sweet aroma to the God of heaven and to pray for the lives of the king and his sons.
- Romans 13:1–7
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
- Proverbs 24:21
My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.
- Jeremiah 29:7
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 4, Chapter 5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.