John Gill Commentary 1 Samuel 12

And Samuel said unto all Israel
When assembled at Gilgal, after they had recognized Saul as their king, and he was established in the kingdom, and while in the midst of their mirth and joy:

behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that you have said unto
me ;
respecting the affair of a king, to which it must be limited, as appears by what follows; otherwise it is possible, in some things they might apply to him about, he did not think fit to hearken to them, and grant their request, or speak for them:

and have made a king over you ;
that is, had by the direction and appointment of God chosen one by lot, anointed and declared him king; for it was the Lord alone, that, properly speaking, made him a king.

And now, behold, the king walks before you
He invested with his office, and in the exercise of it, and goes in and out as the captain, commander, and leader of the people; it is expressive of his being in the full possession of regal power and authority, and therefore Samuel might speak the more freely, as he could not be thought to have any hope and expectation of being reinstated in his government, or to have parted with it with any regret.

And he wisely took this opportunity of reproving the people for their sin of desiring a king, when Saul was settled and established in his kingdom, and when they were in the midst of all their mirth and jollity, who might, from the success that had attended this first adventure of their king, conclude that they had done a right and good thing in requesting to have one:

and I am old, and grey headed ;
and so unfit for government, and very willing to be eased of the burden of it: he must surely be more than fifty two years of age, as the Jews generally say he was, since it is not usual at such an age to be grey headed, (See Gill on 1 Samuel 8:1); however, on this account he merited reverence and respect, and demanded attention:

and, behold, my sons are with you ;
as private persons in the condition of subjects, making no pretension to government; and if they had committed anything criminal, they were open to the law, and might be charged, and tried, and treated according to their deserts; and there they were, and might be asked what questions they thought proper with respect to what they knew of his conduct; and to be hostages or bail for him, if they could prove anything against him; or to be taken to make satisfaction for any injuries committed by him:

and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day ;
his manner of and conversation from his infancy to this time was well known to them, and he had spent all his days in the service of God, and for the good of Israel.

Behold, here I am
No longer the supreme governor, but a subject, and accountable for any misdemeanour charged upon me, and to which I am ready to give answer, being now at your bar to be tried and judged before you:

witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed ;
signifying, that if they had anything to lay to his charge, that they would produce it, and give proof and evidence of it in the presence of God, in whose name they met, and of Saul, anointed king, and supreme judge and ruler of the nation:

whose ox have I taken ?
by force to employ in his own service in ploughing his ground, or treading out his corn:

or whose ass have I taken ?
to ride about on in his circuit, or to carry any burden for him:

or whom have I defrauded ?
of their money or goods, by any artifice circumventing and cheating them:

whom have I oppressed ?
struck, beaten, broken, or caused to be so used wrongfully; to whose person have I been injurious any more than to their property? Some derive the word from a root which signifies favour and goodwill, and interpret it as some of the Rabbins do, of his not taking money of persons with their goodwill; or rather, that he had done nothing as a judge for favour and affection, but had acted the upright part, without regard to rich or poor, friends or foes:

or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes
therewith ?
his meaning is, that he had never taken a gift or present from any person to favour his cause, that was to be brought before him, and give it for him right or wrong; to connive at any injury he had done, or to turn away his eyes from seeing where the justice of the cause lay; or that he had not received money to spare the life of a criminal that deserved to die; for the word used for a bribe signifies a ransom price, see (Deuteronomy 16:19)

and I will restore it to you ;
the ox or ass, money or goods, gifts and presents, or bribes taken, or make compensation for any injury done to the persons or estates of men. Some render it, "I will answer you" ^F6 , or give in an answer to any such charges when exhibited.

FOOTNOTES:

• F6: (Mkl byva) "respondebo vobis", Munster.

And they said
One in the name of the rest, or they all cried out as one man:

you have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us ;
had done them no wrong, neither privately nor publicly, by fraud nor by force:

neither have you taken anything of any man's hand ;
as a gift, present, or bribe, to fit his cause. Some would infer from this that he took nothing of them for his support and maintenance, and that he lived upon his own substance; but that is not likely or reasonable; it was but just that they should support him and his family suitably to his character as a judge, whose whole life was spent in their service.

And he said to them, the Lord is witness against you, and his
anointed is witness this day
Should they hereafter reproach and vilify him, and charge him with any acts of corruption, injustice, andviolence:

that you have not found anything in my hand ;
that they had nothing to accuse him of and charge him with throughout his whole administration, but hadasserted his innocence and integrity, had honourably acquitted him, and given him a fair character: and theyanswered, he is witness; the omniscient God is a witness against us, should we depart from this testimony,and Saul, the Lord's anointed, is a witness that we have fully cleared you from any imputations ofmaladministration. The word is singular, he "said" or answered ^F7 , that is, Israel said, thewhole body of the people, they all replied as one man: the reason why Samuel made such a speech at this time,when he resigned his government to Saul, was not only to secure his own character, but to suggest to Saul howhe should rule and govern according to his example; and that having established his own character, he couldthe more freely, and with the better grace, reprove the people for their sin, as in some followingverses.

FOOTNOTES:

• F7: (rmayw) "et dixit", Pagninus, Montanus,Vatablus; Drusius.