1 Samuel 8 14

1 Samuel 8:14 kjv

And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

1 Samuel 8:14 nkjv

And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants.

1 Samuel 8:14 niv

He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants.

1 Samuel 8:14 esv

He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants.

1 Samuel 8:14 nlt

He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials.

1 Samuel 8 verses

1 Samuel 8 14 Meaning

First Samuel 8:14 is part of Samuel's prophetic warning to Israel about the true nature and cost of having an earthly king, as they had demanded. The verse specifically declares that a king will unlawfully seize the best agricultural lands—fields, vineyards, and olive groves—which are the primary sources of wealth and sustenance for Israelite families. These confiscated lands will then be given to the king's servants or officials, illustrating the king's arbitrary power, his personal enrichment, and the patronage system that would displace the hereditary land rights foundational to Israelite society under God's law. This highlights a king's tendency to appropriate what belongs to his subjects for his own court and cronies, contrasting sharply with God's just provision and established land tenure.

1 Samuel 8 14 Context

First Samuel chapter 8 recounts a pivotal moment in Israelite history when the elders, having witnessed the corrupt leadership of Samuel's sons and desiring to be "like all the nations," demanded a king to rule over them. Samuel was displeased and prayed to the Lord. God, though granting their request, instructed Samuel to warn them sternly about the "custom of the king" (Hebrew: mishpat ha-melekh). Verses 11-17 detail Samuel's comprehensive list of a king's oppressive behaviors and abuses of power. Verse 14 specifically addresses the king's seizure of land, a cornerstone of Israelite wealth and familial inheritance. This warning serves as a prophetic foreshadowing of the abuses that would indeed characterize many future Israelite monarchs, challenging their perception that an earthly king would bring security and prosperity without significant cost to their liberties and resources. Historically, ancient Near Eastern kings typically had significant power to conscript labor, levy taxes, and control resources, including land, often claiming ultimate ownership or suzerainty over the national domain. This made Samuel's warning about confiscation deeply resonant with real-world royal practices that contravened God's laws concerning Israelite land tenure.

1 Samuel 8 14 Word analysis

• He will take: (יִקָּח - yiqqāḥ) From the verb לָקַח - laqaḥ, meaning "to take, seize, acquire." This is not presented as a legal or justifiable act, but an arbitrary appropriation of property, indicating the king's power to disregard established rights and land laws. This seizure is against the very spirit of God's land distribution for Israelite families.
• your best fields: (וְשָׂדוֹתֵיכֶם הַטּוֹבִים - vəśādōtêḵem haṭṭōḇîm)
  • fields: (שָׂדוֹת - śādôt) Agricultural lands, vital for sustenance and family livelihood. In Israel, land was ancestrally allocated by God (Num 26, Josh 14-19) and was the basis of an Israelite family's inheritance and identity.
  • best: (הַטּוֹבִים - haṭṭōḇîm) From tov, meaning "good" or "finest/choicest." This emphasizes that the king would not merely take marginal land, but the most fertile and productive properties, maximizing his own benefit at the people's greatest loss.
• and vineyards: (וְכַרְמֵיכֶם - vəḵarmêḵem) Productive areas for growing grapes, significant for food, drink, and cultural identity. Vineyards represented prosperity and security.
• and olive groves: (וְזֵיתֵיכֶם - vəzêtêḵem) Essential for oil production, used for food, lighting, cosmetics, and religious rituals. Olive groves were long-term investments and generational wealth. The triad of fields, vineyards, and olive groves represents the comprehensive agricultural wealth of Israel.
• and give them: (וְנָתַן - və-nāṯan) From the verb נָתַן - nātan, meaning "to give, put, place." This highlights the king's right to redistribute seized property at his will, indicative of an absolute monarchical power over resources.
• to his attendants: (לַעֲבָדָיו - laʿăvādāyw)
  • attendants: (עֲבָדָיו - ʿăvādāyw) From 'eved, meaning "servant, slave, official." This refers to the king's officials, courtiers, military personnel, or any favored individuals who served his administration or court. The seized land would be used as a form of payment or patronage to secure loyalty and maintain his burgeoning royal bureaucracy, further illustrating the shift from a decentralized, familial-land-based economy to a centralized royal one.

1 Samuel 8 14 Bonus section

The Hebrew word for "custom" or "right" (mishpat) in 1 Samuel 8:9-11 (often translated as "prerogatives" or "practices of the king") sets the tone for this warning. While mishpat can refer to a just verdict or right, in this context, when combined with the enumerated actions that follow, it carries the ironic connotation of "what the king will consider his due" or "how the king will act." Samuel isn't detailing God's divine guidelines for kings, but rather describing the ungodly ways in which kings in the ancient Near East commonly operated, and how an Israelite king, if unconstrained by divine principles, would likely act. This verse serves as a crucial theological point, contrasting God's selfless shepherding of His people with the self-serving nature of human kingship, thereby affirming God's continued lament over Israel's desire to replace Him with a fallible human leader. It underlines the sovereignty of God over land and people, which the human king threatens to usurp.

1 Samuel 8 14 Commentary

First Samuel 8:14 presents a stark prophetic image of the costs associated with the monarchy Israel demanded. It details the king's predatory acquisition of land, a central act of injustice because it directly violates God's established order for Israelite society. The confiscation of the "best" fields, vineyards, and olive groves wasn't merely a matter of economic loss but an assault on the core identity and generational security of families whose land was given as an eternal inheritance from God (Lev 25:23). By redirecting this vital resource to his "attendants," the king would not only enrich his personal retinue but also establish a powerful, dependent elite, thereby cementing his own power base and marginalizing the traditional tribal and familial structures. This scenario explicitly foreshadows historical abuses like Ahab's seizure of Naboth's vineyard (1 Kgs 21), confirming the accuracy and dire nature of Samuel's warning. The verse implicitly highlights a foundational conflict between the divinely ordained principle of land tenure as a blessing and inheritance for God's people, and the human propensity for power and greed manifest in monarchy that disregards these divine provisions for its own gain.