1 Samuel 8:4
New International Version
So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.

New Living Translation
Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel.

English Standard Version
Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah

Berean Standard Bible
So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.

King James Bible
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,

New King James Version
Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah,

New American Standard Bible
Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah;

NASB 1995
Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah;

NASB 1977
Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah;

Legacy Standard Bible
Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah;

Amplified Bible
Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah

Christian Standard Bible
So all the elders of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel at Ramah.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
So all the elders of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel at Ramah.

American Standard Version
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And all the Elders of the children of Israel assembled, and they came to Shemueil at Ramtha

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the men of Israel gather themselves together, and come to Armathaim to Samuel,

Contemporary English Version
One day the nation's leaders came to Samuel at Ramah

Douay-Rheims Bible
Then all the ancients of Israel being assembled, came to Samuel to Ramatha.

English Revised Version
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then all the leaders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.

Good News Translation
Then all the leaders of Israel met together, went to Samuel in Ramah,

International Standard Version
All the elders of Israel gathered together, and came to Samuel at Ramah.

JPS Tanakh 1917
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah.

Literal Standard Version
And all [the] elderly of Israel gather themselves together, and come to Samuel at Ramath,

Majority Standard Bible
So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.

New American Bible
Therefore all the elders of Israel assembled and went to Samuel at Ramah

NET Bible
So all the elders of Israel gathered together and approached Samuel at Ramah.

New Revised Standard Version
Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah,

New Heart English Bible
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel to Ramah;

Webster's Bible Translation
Then all the elders of Israel assembled, and came to Samuel to Ramah,

World English Bible
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together and came to Samuel to Ramah.

Young's Literal Translation
And all the elders of Israel gather themselves together, and come in unto Samuel to Ramath,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Israel Demands a King
3But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside toward dishonest gain, accepting bribes and perverting justice. 4So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5“Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.”…

Cross References
1 Samuel 7:17
Then he would return to Ramah because his home was there, and there he judged Israel and built an altar to the LORD.

1 Samuel 8:10
So Samuel spoke all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king.

1 Samuel 11:3
"Hold off for seven days," replied the elders of Jabesh, "and let us send messengers throughout Israel. If there is no one to save us, we will surrender to you."

2 Samuel 3:17
Now Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, "In the past you sought David as your king.


Treasury of Scripture

Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel to Ramah,

the elders

Exodus 3:16
Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:

Exodus 24:1
And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.

2 Samuel 5:3
So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the LORD: and they anointed David king over Israel.

Jump to Previous
Assembled Elders Israel Ramah Ramath Responsible Samuel Themselves Together
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Assembled Elders Israel Ramah Ramath Responsible Samuel Themselves Together
1 Samuel 8
1. By occasion of the ill government of Samuel's sons, the Israelites ask a king
6. Samuel praying in grief is comforted by God
10. He tells the manner of a king
19. God wills Samuel to yield unto the importunity of the people














(4) All the elders of Israel.--We have here a clear trace of a popular assembly which seems in all times to have existed in Israel. Such a body appears to have met for deliberation even during the Egyptian captivity (see Exodus 3:16). Of this popular council we know little beyond the fact of its existence. It seems to have been composed of representatives of the people, qualified by birth or office; these were known as "elders." Ewald sees special allusions to the "Parliament" or Assembly of Elders in Psalms 1. and 82. There are, however, various mentions of these councils in the Books of Samuel, Kings, Jeremiah, and Isaiah.

Verses 4, 5. - The elders of Israel. Here, as elsewhere (1 Samuel 15:30:2 Samuel 5:3; 1 Kings 8:3, etc.), we have traces of a popular assembly, representing the Israelite nation, and composed probably of the chiefs and heads of fathers houses. Already in Egypt (Exodus 3:16, etc.) we find stone such body in existence, and it seems to have lasted throughout the whole history of the nation; for it outlived the monarchy, gained increased power after the exile, and continued down to New Testament times. The demand, therefore, for a king, though a sort of revolt against Samuel's authority, was at least made in a constitutional manner, and came before him with all the weight of a formal decision on the part of the representatives of the nation. They put it also in the form of a request, for which they give two reasons. First, the decay of his physical powers - Behold, thou art old. Wise and vigorous as his rule had been, yet with increasing years there was less of energy; and the events recorded as having occurred at the beginning of Saul's reign show, that in order to check the increasing power of the Philistines, a leader was needed who was at once daring, resolute, and skilful in war. But there was a further reason - Thy sons walk not in thy ways. These words show that the elders had the most perfect confidence in Samuel. They felt that he would not connive at the wickedness of his sons, but would do what was right by the nation. Thus they had everything to hope from the father's justice, while if they waited till his death the sons might resist what was virtually their deposition. That the sons of a judge possessed considerable power see Judges 9:2. Make us a king to judge us like all the nations. I.e. just as all the heathen nations have a king. The words are those of Deuteronomy 17:14, and were probably intended to remind Samuel that the nation was only asking what had virtually been promised.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
So all
כֹּ֖ל (kōl)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the elders
זִקְנֵ֣י (ziq·nê)
Adjective - masculine plural construct
Strong's 2205: Old

of Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

gathered together
וַיִּֽתְקַבְּצ֔וּ (way·yiṯ·qab·bə·ṣū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hitpael - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 6908: To gather, collect

and came
וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ (way·yā·ḇō·’ū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

Samuel
שְׁמוּאֵ֖ל (šə·mū·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 8050: Samuel -- 'name of God', a prophet of Israel

at Ramah.
הָרָמָֽתָה׃ (hā·rā·mā·ṯāh)
Article | Noun - proper - feminine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 7414: Ramah -- 'height', the name of several places in Israel


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OT History: 1 Samuel 8:4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered (1Sa iSam 1 Sam i sa)
1 Samuel 8:3
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