Tanach
Shmuel I 8:4-6 שמואל א ח׳:ד׳-ו׳
Part of: Chapter 8
Reading: Hebrew · Simple EnglishHebrew · Faithful translationHebrew onlyHebrew · Simple EnglishHebrew · Faithful translationHebrew onlySimple English onlyFaithful translation onlySide by sideRashi
וַיִּֽתְקַבְּצוּ כֹּל זִקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל־שְׁמוּאֵל הָרָמָֽתָה׃
All the elders of Yisroel then gathered together and they came to Shmuel, to Romoh.
All the elders of Yisroel then gathered together and they came to Shmuel, to Romoh.
וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו הִנֵּה אַתָּה זָקַנְתָּ וּבָנֶיךָ לֹא הָלְכוּ בִּדְרָכֶיךָ עַתָּה שִֽׂימָה־לָּנוּ מֶלֶךְ לְשׇׁפְטֵנוּ כְּכׇל־הַגּוֹיִֽם׃
They said to him, "Behold! You are old, and your sons did not follow your ways. Appoint for us now a king to judge us, like all the nations."
They said to him, "Behold! You are old, and your sons did not follow your ways. Appoint for us now a king to judge us, like all the nations."
וַיֵּרַע הַדָּבָר בְּעֵינֵי שְׁמוּאֵל כַּאֲשֶׁר אָֽמְרוּ תְּנָה־לָּנוּ מֶלֶךְ לְשׇׁפְטֵנוּ וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל שְׁמוּאֵל אֶל־יְהֹוָֽה׃ {פ}
The matter was wrong in Shmuel's eyes when they said, "Give us a king to rule us," and Shmuel prayed to Adonoy.
The matter was wrong in Shmuel's eyes when they said, "Give us a king to rule us," and Shmuel prayed to Adonoy.
Rashi
וירע הדבר. לפי שאמרו לשפטנו ככל הגוים:
The matter was wrong. Because they said, "to judge us like all the nations."5 Shmuel was not displeased at the Bnei Yisroel’s request, because the Torah explicitly permits the institution of the monarchy in Devarim 17:15. It therefore seems that seeking to appoint a new king, now that the nation had settled in Eretz Yisroel was appropriate. What disturbed Shmuel was that the motive behind the request was not a desire to fulfill a mitzvah of appointing a king. Rather, they were complaining and rejecting Shmuel’s leadership [below verse 8] and their reason for seeking to appoint a king was because of their desire to be “…like all the nations…”