1 Samuel 8:4

All the elders of Israel. — We have here a clear trace of a popular assembly which seems in all times to have existed in Israel. Such a body appears to have met for deliberation even during the Egyptian captivity (see Exodus 3:16). Of this popular council we know little beyond the fact of its existence. It seems to have been composed of representatives of the people, qualified by birth or office; these were known as “elders.” Ewald sees special allusions to the “Parliament” or Assembly of Elders in Psalms 1. and 82. There are, however, various mentions of these councils in the Books of Samuel, Kings, Jeremiah, and Isaiah.