1 Samuel 8:2
in 1 Samuel 8The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now the name of his first-born was Joel; and the name of his second, Abijah: they were judges in Beer-sheba.
KJV
Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beer–sheba.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 8
Commentary
7 notes on this verseNow the name of his firstborn was Joel,.... In 1Ch 6:28 he is called Vashni; See Gill on 1Ch 6:
This site's exposition
he appointed his sons as judges over Israel
on 1 Samuel 8:1-2
Samuel's age forces the question the whole chapter turns on: no judge holds office forever, and this judge has no heir fit to follow him. He appoints Joel and Abiah at Beersheba, on Judah's southern frontier, likely ground recovered from the Philistines after the victory of chapter 7. The office passes from a prophet raised up by God to sons he only raised up himself, and the difference becomes the next verse's subject.
This site's exposition
The name of his firstborn son was Joel
Samuel's sons judged at Beersheba, on the far southern frontier of Judah. Albert Barnes ties the posting to the land Israel took back from the Philistines at 7:14. John Gill notes that 1 Chronicles 6:28 names Samuel's firstborn son Vashni.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
The name of his firstborn son was Joel, etc. Joel means 'beginning' or 'was of God', Abia stands for 'father', and Beersheba means 'well of the oath'. It is indeed a place, as the name itself proves, where Abraham and Isaac made a covenant with …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 4, Chapter 1 · Written before 604.
proposed
1. The deeds of holy men who came before are often the consolations of the elect who follow.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The mention of Beer-sheba, on the extreme southern frontier of Judah, as the place where Samuel’s sons judged Israel is remarkable. It was probably due to the recovery of territory from the usurpation of the Philistines 1Sa 7:14.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The mention of Beer-sheba, on the extreme southern frontier of Judah, as the place where Samuel’s sons judged Israel is remarkable. It was probably due to the recovery of territory from the usurpation of the Philistines 1Sa 7:14.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֞י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| שֶׁם־ | shem- | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| בְּנ֤וֹ | beno | son his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הַבְּכוֹר֙ | habekhor | the firstborn | H1060 → | |
| יוֹאֵ֔ל | yoel | Joel | H3100 → | |
| וְשֵׁ֥ם | veshem | and [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| מִשְׁנֵ֖הוּ | mishnehu | second his | H4932 → | 35 times |
| אֲבִיָּ֑ה | ʾaviyah | [was] Abijah | H29 → | |
| שֹׁפְטִ֖ים | shofetim | judges | H8199 → | 202 times |
| בִּבְאֵ֥ר | biver | in Beer | H884 → | 68 times |
| שָֽׁבַע׃ | shava' | Sheba | H884 → | 68 times |
וַיְהִ֞יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
שֶׁם־[the] name of
shem-H8034 →864 times
בְּנ֤וֹson his
benoH1121 →4930 times
הַבְּכוֹר֙the firstborn
habekhorH1060 →
יוֹאֵ֔לJoel
yoelH3100 →
וְשֵׁ֥םand [the] name of
veshemH8034 →864 times
מִשְׁנֵ֖הוּsecond his
mishnehuH4932 →35 times
אֲבִיָּ֑ה[was] Abijah
ʾaviyahH29 →
שֹׁפְטִ֖יםjudges
shofetimH8199 →202 times
בִּבְאֵ֥רin Beer
biverH884 →68 times
שָֽׁבַע׃Sheba
shava'H884 →68 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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 Kings 19:3And Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
it leads to
- Genesis 21:31
So that place was called Beersheba, because it was there that the two of them swore an oath.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 26:56
But this has all happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted Him and fled.
- Genesis 21:31
Through
Amos 5:5Do not seek Bethel or go to Gilgal; do not journey to Beersheba, for Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will come to nothing.
it leads to
- Hosea 4:15
Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel, may Judah avoid such guilt! Do not journey to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear on oath, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’
- Amos 8:14
Those who swear by the guilt of Samaria and say, ‘As surely as your god lives, O Dan,’ or, ‘As surely as the way of Beersheba lives’—they will fall, never to rise again.”
- Amos 4:4
“Go to Bethel and transgress; rebel even more at Gilgal! Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days.
- Genesis 21:33
And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.
- 1 Corinthians 2:6
Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
- Hosea 4:15
Through
1 Chronicles 6:28The sons of Samuel: Joel his firstborn and Abijah his second son.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 6:33
These are the men who served, together with their sons. From the Kohathites:
- 1 Chronicles 6:33
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdom (date contested)JoelProphet, son of Pethuel (Joel 1:1); his locust-plague oracle widens into the Day of the LORD and the promise of the Spirit poured…
- PlaceThe NegevBeershebaThe well of the oath at the south of the land, where Abraham made his covenant with Abimelech and planted a tamarisk, where Isaac…
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 4, Chapter 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.