The people would probably not have pressed for a king at this time had Samuel"s sons proved as faithful to the Mosaic Covenant as their father had been. However, Joel ("Yahweh is God") and Abijah ("My [1] Father is Yahweh") disqualified themselves from leadership in Israel by disobeying the Law ( Exodus 23:6; Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:19). Eli"s sons had done the same thing. Parental influence is important, but personal choices are even more determinative in the outcome of one"s life. Whereas the writer censured Eli for his poor parenting ( 1 Samuel 3:13), he did not do so with Samuel. Evidently he did not consider Samuel responsible for his son"s conduct, or perhaps he did not want to sully the reputation of this great judge. Some commentators have faulted Samuel for his sons" behavior. [2][source]