1 Samuel 8:5-6

8:5 They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons don’t follow your ways. So now appoint over us a king to lead ¹  us, just like all the other nations have.”

8:6 But this request displeased Samuel, for ²  they said, “Give us a king to lead us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord.

1 Samuel 8:19-20

8:19 But the people refused to heed Samuel’s warning. ³  Instead they said, “No! There will be a king over us! 8:20 We will be like all the other nations. Our king will judge us and lead us ⁴  and fight our battles.”

1 Samuel 12:11-12

12:11 So the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, ⁵  Barak, ⁶  Jephthah, and Samuel, ⁷  and he delivered you from the hand of the enemies all around you, and you were able to live securely.

12:12 “When you saw that King Nahash of the Ammonites was advancing against you, you said to me, ‘No! A king will rule over us’ – even though the Lord your God is your king!

[8:5]  ¹ tn Heb “judge” (also in v. 6).

[8:6]  ² tn Heb “when.”

[8:19]  ³ tn Heb “and the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel.”

[8:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “and go out before us.”

[12:11]  ⁵ sn Jerub-Baal (יְרֻבַּעַל) is also known as Gideon (see Judg 6:32). The Book of Judges uses both names for him.

[12:11]  ⁶ tc The MT has “Bedan” (בְּדָן) here (cf. KJV, NASB, CEV). But a deliverer by this name is not elsewhere mentioned in the OT. The translation follows the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta in reading “Barak.”

[12:11]  ⁷ tc In the ancient versions there is some confusion with regard to these names, both with regard to the particular names selected for mention and with regard to the order in which they are listed. For example, the LXX has “Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel.” But the Targum has “Gideon, Samson, Jephthah, and Samuel,” while the Syriac Peshitta has “Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson.”