Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Samuel 12

My sons are with you - Possibly, however, a tinge of humiliation at the rejection of himself and his family, mixed with a desire to recommend his sons to the nation's favor and goodwill, is at the bottom of this mention of them.

His anointed: This refers to King Saul. Although the title "Messiah," meaning "anointed" (from the Greek Christos), had previously been given to the High Priests (Leviticus 4:3; compare to 1 Samuel 2:10, 35), this is the earliest instance of an actual king of Israel bearing the title of God’s Christ and thus typifying the true Messiah or Christ of God.

Any bribe: Literally, this means a "ransom"—the fine a criminal paid instead of facing imprisonment or death (Exodus 21:30). The term was also applied to the bribe paid to an unjust judge to induce him to acquit the guilty .

To blind...: This expression refers to someone who averts their eyes, whether to refuse assistance, show contempt, or, as in this context, to wink at what is wrong.

Advanced - This refers to appointing them to their office. The word literally means “made” (1 Kings 12:31; Hebrews 3:2).

Samuel’s purpose is to impress upon the people the conviction that Yahweh was their God and the God of their fathers. He reminds them that they owed their national existence and all their blessings to Him, and that faithfulness to Him—to the exclusion of all other worship (1 Samuel 12:21)—was the only safety for the newly established monarchy. Notice the constant reference to the Exodus as the well-known turning point in their national life (see 1 Samuel 4:8; 1 Samuel 6:6).

According to the present arrangement of the Book of Judges and the common chronology, the oppression of Sisera must have occurred about 200 years after the entrance into Canaan. But Samuel here places it as the first great servitude, before that under Eglon king of Moab, or that from which Shamgar delivered them. This is in accordance with the internal evidence of the Book of Judges itself. It is also the order of Judges 10:11, except that there the Ammonites (Judges 3:13) are placed before the Philistines.

Bedan - No such name occurs among the Judges who delivered Israel. Some versions and commentators read “Barak,” as the form of the letters for both words is somewhat similar in Hebrew.

And Samuel - There is nothing improper or out of place in Samuel mentioning his own judgeship. It provided a remarkable instance of God’s deliverance (1 Samuel 7:12–15); and, as it was the last as well as one of the greatest deliverances, it was natural for him to do so. The passage in Hebrews 11:32 is just as favorable to the mention of Samuel here as it is to that of “Samson,” which some propose to read instead of “Samuel.”