nded a king. How Samuel at first resisted, but at last
yielded and anointed Saul as king, is told in the following story.)

THE PEOPLE DEMAND A KING TO RULE OVER THEM.

_Samuel Warns Them of the Dangers of a Kingdom_.

After a great victory over the Philistines, Samuel took a stone, and
set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer
(that is, the stone of help), saying, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped
us."

So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more within the
border of Israel: and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines
all the days of Samuel.

And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And he went from
year to year in circuit to Beth-el, and Gilgal, and Mizpah; and he
judged Israel in all those places. And his return was to Ramah, for
there was his house; and there he judged Israel: and he built there an
altar unto the Lord.

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And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges
over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of
his second, Abijah: they were judges in Beer-sheba. And his sons
walked not in his ways, but turned aside after money, and took bribes,
and perverted judgment.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came
to Samuel unto Ramah: and they said to him, "Behold, thou art old, and
thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all
the nations."

But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, "Give us a king to
judge us."

And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel,
"Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee:
for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I
should not be king over them. According to all the works which they
have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even to
this day, in that they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do
they also to thee. Now therefore hearken to their voice: howbeit thou
shalt protest solemnly to them, and shalt show them the manner of the
king that shall reign over them."

And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked
of him a king. And he said, "This will be the manner of the king that
shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them unto
him, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they shall run
before {351} his chariots: and he will appoint them for captains of
thousands, and capt