1 Samuel 8:15

15 y a ustedes les exigirá una décima parte de sus cosechas y vendimias para entregársela a sus funcionarios y ministros.

1 Samuel 8:15 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 8:15

And he will take the tenth of your seed
When grown up and ripe, as their wheat and barley:

and of your vineyards;
the tenth of the grapes they should produce:

and give to his officers, and to his servants;
for the support and maintenance of them; and to pay this, besides the tithes of the priests and Levites, would make it very burdensome to them; and this was no other than what kings of other nations usually had, the like to whom they were desirous of having, and therefore must expect that they would insist upon the privileges and revenues that others had. In Babylon, as Aristotle ^F7 relates, there was an ancient law which required the tenth of whatever was imported for the public revenue, which was revived in the times of Alexander by Antimenes the Rhodian. In Arabia Felix was an island abounding with frankincense and myrrh, and various spices, the tenth of the fruits of which the king always had, as Diodorus Siculus ^F8 reports, as in the Apocrypha:

``And as for other things that belong unto us, of the tithes and customs pertaining unto us, as also the saltpits, and the crown taxes, which are due unto us, we discharge them of them all for their relief.'' (1 Maccabees 11:35)

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 Oeconomic. l. 2. p. 283.
F8 Bibliothec. l. 5. p. 317.

1 Samuel 8:15 In-Context

13 También les quitará a sus hijas para emplearlas como perfumistas, cocineras y panaderas.

14 Se apoderará de sus mejores campos, viñedos y olivares, y se los dará a sus ministros,

15 y a ustedes les exigirá una décima parte de sus cosechas y vendimias para entregársela a sus funcionarios y ministros.

16 Además, les quitará sus criados y criadas, y sus mejores bueyes y asnos, de manera que trabajen para él.

17 Les exigirá una décima parte de sus rebaños, y ustedes mismos le servirán como esclavos.