Concerns Regarding the Monarchy

Introduction

Contradictory Attitudes toward Kingship

Does Tanakh view the monarchy as a positive or negative institution? On one hand, already in the Patriarchal period, Hashem promises Avraham and Yaakov that "kings will emerge" from their descendants.¹ In Devarim 17, too, the Torah instructs, "שׂוֹם תָּשִׂים עָלֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ", commanding (or at least permitting) them to anoint a king.² Sefer Shofetim similarly ends with a call for kingship as it criticizes the prevailing anarchy: "בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם אֵין מֶלֶךְ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל אִישׁ הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינָיו יַעֲשֶׂה".‎³

Yet, when the nation requests a monarch in Shemuel I 8, they encounter resistance:

EN/HEע/E

(ו) וַיֵּרַע הַדָּבָר בְּעֵינֵי שְׁמוּאֵל כַּאֲשֶׁר אָמְרוּ תְּנָה לָּנוּ מֶלֶךְ לְשׇׁפְטֵנוּ וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל שְׁמוּאֵל אֶל י"י. (ז) וַיֹּאמֶר י"י אֶל שְׁמוּאֵל שְׁמַע בְּקוֹל הָעָם לְכֹל אֲשֶׁר יֹאמְרוּ אֵלֶיךָ כִּי לֹא אֹתְךָ מָאָסוּ כִּי אֹתִי מָאֲסוּ מִמְּלֹךְ עֲלֵיהֶם.

וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו הִנֵּה אַתָּה זָקַנְתָּ וּבָנֶיךָ לֹא הָלְכוּ בִּדְרָכֶיךָ עַתָּה שִׂימָה לָּנוּ מֶלֶךְ לְשׇׁפְטֵנוּ כְּכׇל הַגּוֹיִם.

And they said unto 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.'

(6) But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said: 'Give us a king to judge us.' And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. (7) 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.

How are we to understand these contradictory attitudes towards kingship? Why do Hashem and Shemuel find the people's request for a king so problematic?

King as Warrior or Judge?

What did the nation expect of their king? Were they looking for him to fill an administrative, judicial, or military role? They tell Shemuel:

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(ה) וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו הִנֵּה אַתָּה זָקַנְתָּ וּבָנֶיךָ לֹא הָלְכוּ בִּדְרָכֶיךָ עַתָּה שִׂימָה לָּנוּ מֶלֶךְ לְשׇׁפְטֵנוּ כְּכׇל הַגּוֹיִם.

(5) And they said unto 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.'

The explicit mention of judging ("לְשׇׁפְטֵנוּ") and the fact that the request is connected to criticism of the corrupt practices of Shemuel's sons suggests that the people saw the judicial role of the king as primary. Later on, however, the people reword their request, adding in a military component:

EN/HEע/E

(כ) וְהָיִינוּ גַם אֲנַחְנוּ כְּכׇל הַגּוֹיִם וּשְׁפָטָנוּ מַלְכֵּנוּ וְיָצָא לְפָנֵינוּ וְנִלְחַם אֶת מִלְחֲמֹתֵנוּ.

(20) that we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.'

Is this second formulation simply a clarification of their original petition, or did the people modify their request due to Shemuel's initial negative reaction? Did Shemuel and Hashem view any type of king as problematic, or might there be a difference between a warrior-king and one whose main tasks were judicial in nature? If the latter, which is preferred?

Additional Questions

Several other verses deserve closer inspection, as they might shed light on the questions above:

"וְהָיִינוּ גַם אֲנַחְנוּ כְּכׇל הַגּוֹיִם" – Is there anything wrong with the fact that the people desire to be like other nations? Though intuitively many readers assume that this is problematic, in Devarim, Hashem employs the very same language when speaking of anointing a future king, suggesting that this is not an issue.
"לֹא אֹתְךָ מָאָסוּ כִּי אֹתִי מָאֲסוּ" – Hashem's words imply that though Shemuel had felt personally rejected by the people's request, in reality the nation was rejecting not him but Hashem. Yet, in the very next verse, Hashem tells Shemuel, "כֵּן הֵמָּה עֹשִׂים גַּם לָךְ", suggesting that Shemuel, too, had been wronged. Was the people's petition for a king an affront to Hashem or Shemuel or both?
Comparison to idolatry – Hashem compares the nation's actions here to past misdeeds including forsaking Hashem to worship foreign gods. How is the request for a monarch similar to idolatry?
"מִשְׁפַּט הַמֶּלֶךְ" – Shemuel tells the nation how their future king will expropriate their children and possessions to serve him. Is this description simply a warning of what a tyrant might do, or are these legitimate and permissible actions? How do they compare to the laws of a king as described in Devarim 17?
Granting the request – If appointing a king was not desirable, why in the end does Hashem nonetheless grant the people's wish?

Shemuel's Later Rebukes

On two other occasions Shemuel speaks negatively about the people's longing for a king.

When anointing Shaul in Shemuel I 10, he reminds the nation of how Hashem has been their savior in the past and tells them that in asking for a king, they are forsaking God.

In his farewell address in Shemuel I 12, too, Shemuel reminds the people of their wrongful choice to anoint a king. After proclaiming his rectitude as a judge, he moves into a discussion of how Hashem has always sent saviors to the nation when needed, and concludes by warning the nation to keep Hashem's commandments or they and their king will both be doomed. To underscore the people's wrongdoing, Shemuel then brings a thunderstorm in the midst of the dry season.

What do these two speeches teach about the problems of anointing a king? Why does Shemuel feel the need to profess his honesty before rebuking the people? Finally, is there any significance to the specific sign he chooses to bring?