Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 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.

25. the manner of the kingdom ] A charter establishing and defining the position of the king in relation to Jehovah, and to the people. It must be distinguished from the “manner of the king” in 1Sa 8:11 ff., which describes the arbitrary exactions of an oriental despot; but it can scarcely be said to be “the first example of a limited constitutional monarchy.” In substance at any rate, it probably resembled the law of the king in Deu 17:14-20.

wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord] Lit. in the book. Possibly this important charter was added to “the book of the law” kept by the side of the ark “before the Lord” (Deu 31:26). This book contained not only the record of the Mosaic legislation (Exo 24:7; Deu 28:61), but historical narratives (Exo 17:14), and other records of importance, such as the solemn renewal of the covenant at Shechem under Joshua (Jos 24:26). See Smith’s Dict. of the Bible, Art. Canon, Vol. 1. p. 251.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

The manner of the kingdom – i. e., the just prerogative of the kingdom, the law, or bill of rights, by which the kings 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.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

1Sa 10:25

And wrote it in a book.

Value or a written constitution

A written revelation is an incomparable blessing. Is not the cry of subjects everywhere for a constitution, something written, the fights and duties of sovereign and subject in black and white? The Bible is to us like a written constitution; we can take it home, we can consult it when we please, quote from it, appeal to it God graciously binds Himself by it. Of all the modern heresies, none is more contrary to human experience than the rejection of a written word, and the proposed substitution of human conscience and the moral sentiments as our guide. (N. Adams.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 25. 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.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

The manner of the kingdom; not the manner of the king, of which he had spoken before, 1Sa 8:11, &c., but of the kingdom: to wit, the laws and rules by which the kingly government was to be managed, agreeable to those mentioned Deu 17:16, &c, which peradventure Samuel did expound and apply to their particular case.

Before the Lord; before the ark, or in the sanctuary, where it was kept safe from depravation.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, e.] 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 8:10-17. Samuel said, was the manner of their king, or how he would use them, but this the manner of the kingdom, and how the government of it was to be managed and submitted to, what was the office of a king, and what the duties of the subject; and yet was different from, at least not the same with that in De 17:15, for that had been written and laid up already:

and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord; in the ark of the Lord; as Kimchi; or rather by the ark of the Lord, on one side of it, as Ben Gersom; or best of all, as Josephus n, in the tabernacle of the Lord, where recourse might be had to it, at any time, at least by a priest, and where it would be safe, and be preserved to future times:

and Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house; for though Saul was chosen king, he did not take upon him the exercise of government directly, but left it to Samuel to dismiss the people, who had been for many years their chief magistrate.

m Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4. sect. 6. n Ibid.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(25) Wrote it in a book.The Law of the Kingdom, which Samuel rehearsed before the people, and which he wrote in a roll, and laid solemnly up and preserved among the State archives, related to the divinely established right and duties of the God-appointed king, and also clearly set forth the limitations of his power. The vice-gerent on earth of the invisible King could be no arbitrary despot, unless he transgressed plainly and openly the manner of the kingdom written in a book, and laid up before the Lord by Samuel.

This sacred document, we may assume, contained, too, the exact details of the singular story of the choice of the first king of Israel. It was well, no doubt, thought Samuel, that coming ages should know exactly how it came to pass that he, the seer, anointed the Benjamite of Gibeah as king over the Lords inheritance. We may, therefore, fairly conclude that from the record laid up among the sacred archives in the sanctuary, the compiler or redactor of this Book of Samuel derived his intimate knowledge of every little fact connected with the Divine choice of Saul.

The legal portion of this writing respecting the kingdom was, of course, strictly based upon what Moses had already written on this subject in Deuteronomy (see 1Sa. 17:14-20).

We find here, in this writing of Samuel, the first trace of literary composition among the Israelites since the days of Moses. The great revival in letters which began shortly after the days of Saul was due, most probably, to the influence of Samuel and those great schools of the prophets which he had established in the land.

And laid it up before the Lord.We are not told where this was done, but the words seem to imply that the document, or roll, was placed by the side of the Ark, then in the city of woods, Kiriath-yearim. Josephus says this writing was preserved in the Tabernacle of the Holy of Holies, where the Book of the Law had been laid up (Deu. 31:26).

And Samuel sent all the people away.It is noteworthy that even after the formal popular ratification of Sauls election as king, it is Samuel who dismisses the assembly. Indeed, throughout the remainder of the great seers life, whenever he appears on the scene, he is evidently the principal person, occupying a position above king or priest. On the other hand, after this period Samuel made but comparatively few public appearances; of his own free will he seems to have retired into privacy, and only in emergencies to have left his retirement.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

25. Manner of the kingdom This phrase is not identical with the manner of the king, described 1Sa 8:11-18, for that was a description of what oriental despots claimed as their right, while this was probably an expansion of the Mosaic law concerning a monarchy, as recorded Deu 17:14-20. Hence it appears that the kingdom of Israel was a constitutional, not an absolute monarchy. The king himself was to be governed and guided by law, and ever to understand that government itself was a divine ordinance, not a human invention.

Wrote it in a book According to the commandment, Deu 17:18: “He shall write him a copy of this law in a book,” etc.

Laid it up before the Lord Committed it to the charge of the priests, as Moses did the law. Deu 31:9; Deu 31:26. The ark and the tabernacle were at this time separate, and it is uncertain in which of them this book of Samuel was placed. Perhaps this disorganized state of the priesthood was a cause of the loss of many ancient books.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

1Sa 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.

Ver. 25. Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom. ] Not what it usually is, – degenerating into tyranny, as if it were not enough to be above men, but to be above mankind, 1Sa 8:9-10 – but what it ought to be, according to Deu 17:14-16 Eze 45:9-10 ; Eze 46:6 .

And wrote it in a book. ] a That it might be as their Magna Charta, made to keep the beam right betwixt sovereignty and subjection.

a Hic liber periit cum multis aliis. – Vat.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)