Texts in Conversation
1 Samuel 8:18 echoes the language of Exodus 2:23, where Israel cries out under oppression and God responds. In 1 Samuel, the people are warned that under a king, they will once again cry out because of harsh treatment, but unlike in Exodus, there is no promise that God will answer.
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Exodus 2:23
Hebrew Bible
21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. 22 When she bore a son, Moses named him Gershom, for he said, “I have become a resident foreigner in a foreign land.” 23 During that long period of time the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out, and their desperate cry because of their slave labor went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning; God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the Israelites, and God understood.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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1 Samuel 8:18
Hebrew Bible
15 He will demand a tenth of your seed and of the produce of your vineyards and give it to his administrators and his servants. 16 He will take your male and female servants, as well as your best cattle and your donkeys, and assign them for his own use. 17 He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will be his servants. 18 In that day you will cry out because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord won’t answer you in that day.” 19 But the people refused to heed Samuel’s warning. Instead they said, “No! There will be a king over us! 20 We will be like all the other nations. Our king will judge us and lead us and fight our battles.”
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The literary context is key to understanding the retold story in 1 Samuel, and it will be exposed here and throughout the treatment of identity formulations. This retold exodus story is represented as being narrated just prior to the establishment of Israel’s monarchy. Samuel and God are displeased that Israel has asked for a king. Once again, “all Israel” is gathered to hear a message. Samuel begins with a legal defence of his time as judge. His claim to covenant faithfulness is clearly meant to stand in contrast to his characterization of the self-serving “manner of the king” in 1 Samuel 8:11-17. Samuel reminds Israel of the oppressive ways and practices of kings and how God had delivered her from Egypt ..."
Stargel, Linda M.
The Construction of Exodus Identity in the Texts of Ancient Israel: A Social Identity Approach
(p. 116) The University of Manchester, 2016
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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