He will appoint them to him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and he will assign some to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots.
Parallel Translations
-
He will appoint them to him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and he will assign some to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots.
-
And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
-
And he will appoint them unto him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to 1 Samuel 8:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Samuel 22:7 Saul said to his servants who stood around him, “Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse give everyone of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds,
- 1 Kings 4:7 Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for a month in the year.
- 1 Kings 4:22-23 Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors of fine flour, sixty measures of meal, ten head of fat cattle, twenty head of cattle out of the pastures, and one hundred sheep, in addition to deer, and gazelles, and roebucks, and fattened fowl.
- 1 Kings 4:27-28 Those officers provided food for king Solomon, and for all who came to king Solomon’s table, every man in his month. They let nothing be lacking. They also brought Barley and straw for the horses and swift steeds to the place where the officers were, each man according to his duty.
- 1 Chronicles 27:1-22 Now the children of Israel after their number, the heads of fathers’ households and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers who served the king, in any matter of the divisions which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year—of every division were twenty-four thousand. Over the first division for the first month was Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel: and in his division were twenty-four thousand. He was of the children of Perez, the chief of all the captains of the army for the first month. Over the division of the second month was Dodai the Ahohite, and his division; and Mikloth the ruler: and in his division were twenty-four thousand. The third captain of the army for the third month was Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the chief priest. In his division were twenty-four thousand. This is that Benaiah who was the mighty man of the thirty, and over the thirty: and of his division was Ammizabad his son. The fourth captain for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him: and in his division were twenty-four thousand. The fifth captain for the fifth month was Shamhuth the Izrahite: and in his division were twenty-four thousand. The sixth captain for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite: and in his division were twenty-four thousand. The seventh captain for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite, of the children of Ephraim. In his division were twenty-four thousand. The eighth captain for the eighth month was Sibbecai the Hushathite, of the Zerahites. In his division were twenty-four thousand. The ninth captain for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anathothite, of the Benjamites. In his division were twenty-four thousand. The tenth captain for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite, of the Zerahites. In his division were twenty-four thousand. The eleventh captain for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the children of Ephraim. In his division were twenty-four thousand. The twelfth captain for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel. In his division were twenty-four thousand. Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: of the Reubenites, Eliezer the son of Zichri was the ruler; of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maacah; of Levi, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel; of Aaron, Zadok; of Judah, Elihu, one of the brothers of David; of Issachar, Omri the son of Michael; of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah; of Naphtali, Jeremoth the son of Azriel; of the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah; of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah; of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah; of Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner; of Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. These were the captains of the tribes of Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 32:28-29 also storehouses for the increase of grain, new wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of animals, and flocks in folds. Moreover he provided for himself cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for God had given him abundant possessions.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Sa 8:12 And he will appoint him captains over…
1Sa 8:12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and [will set them] to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
Ver. 12. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, &c.] Who shall use the common soldiers as the Turkish commanders do their asapi, only to blunt the swords of the enemy, and to fill up ditches with their dead bodies, &c. {a}
Read full note →
{a} Turk. Hist., 317.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain He will appoint him, Heb. to or for himself…
He will appoint him, Heb. to or for himself emphatically, i.e. for his own fancy, or glory, or conveniency, or evil design, and not only when the necessities of the kingdom or commonwealth require it, as the judges did. And though this might seem to be no encumbrance, as it is here represented, but an honour and advantage to the persons so advanced, yet even in them that honour was accompanied with great dangers, and pernicious snares of many kinds, which those faint shadows of glory could not recompense; and as to the public, their pomp and power proved very burdensome and oppressive to the people, whose lands and fruits were taken from them, and bestowed upon these, for the support of their state, as it follows below, 1Sa 8:14,15.
And to reap his harvest, at his own pleasure, and without their consent, when possibly their own fields required all their time and pains.
Read full note →
To make his instruments of war, and
instruments of his chariots; he will press them for all sorts of his work, and that upon his own terms.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and…
And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties,.... Which though posts of honour, yet when they are not matter of choice, and especially being precarious, and depending on the arbitrary will of a prince, are not eligible, and less so to persons that choose another sort of life:
and will set them to ear his ground; to plough it; not the same persons made captains of thousands and fifties, but others, whom he will employ in tilling and manuring his fields, and oblige them to it:
Read full note →
and to reap his harvest; when it is ripe, and gather it in, and bring it home into his barns and garners:
and to make his instruments of war: as swords, spears, bows and arrows, most commonly used in those times:
and instruments of chariots; which seem to design chariots of war, and the iron spikes and scythes which were joined to them, to cut down the foot soldiers, when driven among them in battle, which are commonly called chariots of iron; see Jos 17:16.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Will appoint - Hebrew. To, or for himself; for…
Will appoint - Hebrew. To, or for himself; for his own fancy, or glory, and not only when the necessities of the kingdom require it. And though this might seem to be no incumbrance, but an honour to the persons so advanced, yet even in them that honour was accompanied with great dangers, and pernicious snares of many kinds, which those faint shadows of glory could not recompense; and as to the public, their pomp and power proved very burdensome to the people, whose lands and fruits were taken from them, and bestowed upon these, for the support of their state. Will set them - At his own pleasure, when possibly their own fields required all their time and pains. He will press them for all sorts of his work, and that upon his own terms.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Sa 8:12. He will appoint him — Hebrew, To…
1Sa 8:12. He will appoint him — Hebrew, To or for himself; for his own fancy, or glory, and not only when the necessities of the kingdom require it. Captains over thousands, and captains over fifties — Will dispose of them to military offices, higher or lower as he pleases, (1Sa 14:52,) to be perfectly subject to him, and placed or displaced as he thinks fit. And though this might seem to be no disadvantage, but an honour to the persons so advanced; yet even in them that honour was accompanied with great dangers, and pernicious snares of many kinds, for which those faint shadows of glory could not recompense them; and as to the public, their pomp and power proved very burdensome to the people, whose lands and fruits were taken from them, and bestowed upon these, for the support of their state. And will set them to ear his ground, &c. — Will make them his husbandmen, to plough his ground and reap his corn, at his own pleasure, and on his own terms, when, perhaps, their labour is necessary about their own fields. To make his instruments of war, &c. — Others he will make artificers: which was not very agreeable to that nation, who were inclined, from their first rise, rather to employ themselves in attending to the breeding of cattle, and in looking after their flocks and herds.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain This organization was as old as the time of…
This organization was as old as the time of Moses Num 31:14; Deu 1:15, and prevailed among the Philistines also 1Sa 29:2. The civil and military divisions were identical, and the civil officers were the same as the captains of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, in time of war.
To ear his ground - literally, “to plow his plowing.” “To ear” is an old English word, now obsolete, for to plow.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Centurions, or body-guards. (Menochius) --- These offices might be…
Centurions, or body-guards. (Menochius) --- These offices might be honourable, but at the same time disagreeable, when people were forced to accept of them, and to neglect their more pleasing agricultural employment. The multitude of officers increases the expenses of the prince, and falls heavy upon the people. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain he will appoint him captains--In the East, a person…
he will appoint him captains--In the East, a person must accept any office to which he may be nominated by the king, however irksome it may be to his taste or ruinous to his interests.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 12. captains over thousands and captains over fifties] The…
12. captains over thousands and captains over fifties] The Sept. reads “captains of hundreds and captains of thousands,” which are the usual military divisions (ch. 1Sa_22:7; Num_31:14): but the Heb. text is to be preferred as mentioning the highest and the lowest offices. Cp. 2Ki_1:9 ff. For the fact cp. ch. 1Sa_14:52.
to ear his ground] “To ear” = “to plough,” from Lat. arare through A.-S. erian. The verb occurs again in Deu_21:4 and Isa_30:24; the subst. earing in Gen_45:6; Exo_34:21. Shakespeare uses the word:
Read full note →
“And let them go
To ear the land that hath some hope to grow.”
Richard II. A. iii. Sc. 2.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (12) To ear his ground.—To ear, that is, to…
(12) To ear his ground.—To ear, that is, to plough. The word is an old word (Anglo-Saxon earian), and connected with the Latin arare.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Captains over thousands, and captains over fifties. The largest…
Captains over thousands, and captains over fifties. The largest and smallest divisions respectively of an Israelite, army. However objectionable the king"s personal state might be, this would fall in with the people"s wishes, for it would give them the promise of a well organised army. Not so the next clause, to ear i.e. to ploughhis ground. Forced labour was one of the most unjust, oppressive, and wasteful exactions of absolute governments, and was the chief cause of the revolt of the ten tribes from Rehoboam. (comp. 1Ki_5:13-16 1Ki_12:4) And yet it was the universal rule in ancient times, and in some countries it has continued even to the present day to be the law that the peasants must at certain seasons give their labour unpaid either to the proprietors or to the state.
Naturally, for a nation of agriculturists to have to leave their own fields just when their presence at home was most needed to plough the king"s ground and reap his harvest would be a bitter annoyance, because to the loss would be added a sense of wrong. How determinately a high-spirited nation like the Jews did resist this injustice we gather not merely from the indignation felt against Solomon"s levies, but also from the reproach cast in Jehoiakim"s teeth by Jeremiah, that "he used his neighbour"s service without wages, and gave him not for his work". (Jer_22:13) To make his instruments of war. Such work must be done; but in well organised states it is paid for by means of taxes, i.e. by a money compensation in place of personal service. In semi-barbarous states forced labour is used, and the national arsenals furnished at the greatest possible expense and vexation to those compelled to labour, and loss to the national resources.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 8:12-17 The king would take people as well as…
8:12-17 The king would take people as well as possessions.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.