Why did the israelites wanted a king?

Answer 1

The Israelites actually didn't decide that they needed a king, but rather decided that they wanted one. Even though they had judges and prophets, the Israelites weren't happy being a nation that was 'ruled', so-to-speak, by God. This is mainly because they saw that all the nations around them had kings to rule over them. The Israelites also wanted a physical leader that they could follow, and also make them more similar to the nations surrounding them.

Some Israelites began copying the Philistine religion, suggesting that the Israelites began to think that they needed a king of their own to prevent that problem. They might have believed that a king would unite the tribes and help them fight off the Philistines.