When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel.
Parallel translations
- WEB When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
- KJV And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.
- NKJV Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel.
- NASB Now it came about, when Samuel was old, that he appointed his sons as judges over Israel.
- NLT As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
When Samuel grows old, he appoints his sons as judges over Israel.
Overview
Samuel's attempt to pass on leadership through his sons reflects a natural but flawed succession. Unlike the prophetic call he himself received, this appointment rested on lineage. The verse sets up the crisis that will lead Israel to demand a king.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Deut 16:18–19You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.
- 1 Tim 5:21I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to maintain these principles without bias, and to do nothing out of partiality.
- Neh 7:2Then I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah the commander of the fortress, because he was a faithful man who feared God more than most.
- 2 Chr 19:5–6He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah.
- Judg 8:22–23Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you and your son and grandson—for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”
- Judg 12:14He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. And he judged Israel eight years.
- Judg 10:4He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. And they had thirty towns in the land of Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth-jair.
- Judg 5:10You who ride white donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets, and you who travel the road, ponder
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 8:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.