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DIVINITY SCHOOL
TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY
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THE FIRST BOOK
OF
SAMUEL.
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SAMUEL
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General Editor :— J. J. S. PEROWNE, D.D.,
Dean of Peterborough.
THE FIRST BOOK
OF
SAMUEL,
WITH MAP, NOTES AND INTRODUCTION
REV. A. F. KIRKPATRICK, M.A.
FELLOW AND ASSISTANT TUTOR OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.
EDITED FOR THE SYNDICS OF THE UlflVERSITY-PRESS.
©ambrfoge :
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
ILonSon: CAMBRIDGE WAREHOUSE, 17, Paternoster Row
CamStftBt: DEIGHTON, BELL, AND CO.
1880
\All Rights reserved^
Moses and Aaron among His priests,
And Samuel among them that call upon His Name:
They called upon the Lord and He answered them.
PREFACE
BY THE GENERAL EDITOR.
The General Editor of The Cambridge Bible for
Schools thinks it right to say that he does not' hold
himself responsible either for the interpretation of
particular passages which the Editors of the several
Books have adopted, or for any opinion on points of
doctrine that they may have expressed. In the New
Testament more especially questions arise of the
deepest theological import, on which the ablest and
most conscientious interpreters have differed and
always will differ. His aim has been in all such
cases to leave each Contributor to the unfettered
exercise of his own judgment, only taking care that
mere controversy should as far as possible be avoided.
He has contented himself chiefly with a careful
revision of the notes, with pointing out omissions, with
PREFACE.
suggesting occasionally a reconsideration of some
question, or a fuller treatment of difficult passages,
and the like.
Beyond this he has not attempted to interfere,
feeling it better that each Commentary should have
its own individual character, and being convinced
that freshness and variety of treatment are more
than a compensation for any lack of uniformity in
the Series.
Deanery, Peterborough.
CONTENTS.
i PAGES
L Introduction. Chapter I. The Book of Samuel 9 — 16
Chapter II. Analysis of the First Book of Samuel 1 7 — 22
Chapter III. Chronology of the Book 22 — 24
Chapter IV. The Place of the Books of Samuel
in the History of the Kingdom of God 24 — 29
Chapter V. The Life and Work of Samuel 29 — 33
Chapter VI. The Prophetic Order 33—34
Chapter VII. Saul 35—37
Chapter VIII. David 38—41
II. Text and Notes 43— 234
III. Additional Notes I — VIII 235 — 245
IV. Index ..: 247 — 251
Map of the Holy Land to illustrate the
Books of Samuel , to face title-page
*#* The Text adopted in this Edition is that' of Dr Scrivener's
Cambridge Paragraph Bible. A few variations from the ordi
nary Text, chiefly in the spelling of certain words, and in the
use of italics, will be noticed. For the principles adopted by
Dr Scrivener as regards the printing of the Text see his Intro
duction to the Paragraph Bible, published by the Cambridge
University Press.
The old order changeth, yielding place to new,
And God fulfils Himself in many ways.
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise Thee.
INTRODUCTION. CHAPTER I.
THE BOOK OF SAMUEL.
I. Titles and Division of the Books. The two Books of
Samuel, like the two Books of Kings, originally formed an
undivided whole1. The Septuagint translators, regarding the
Book of Samuel and the Book of Kings as a complete History
of the Kingdom from its foundation to its fall, divided the
work into four books, which they styled Books of the Kingdoms
(/3i/3Xot finer iKciav). Jerome followed this division in the Vulgate,
altering the name to Books of the Kings (Libri Regum), which
is retained as an alternative title in the English Bible. This
division was first introduced into printed Hebrew Bibles by the
Venice printer Bomberg in 151 8.
2. Meaning of the Title. The title Samuel does not denote
authorship, but like the titles Joshua, Ruth, and Esther, com
memorates the prominent_actor in the events recorded in the
book. Its adoption shews a true insight into the connexion of
the history it contains. It stands as a monument of the great
ness of the Prophet who was Jehovah's instrument for establish-'
ing the Kingdom of Israel, and guiding the chosen people through
1 The Masoretic note of the number of verses, &c, appended at the
close of the Second Book in the Hebrew Bible, still treats the two
books as one. Origen (quoted by Euseb. H. E. vi. 25. 3) mentions that
the Jews of his day regarded Samuel as one book.
INTRODUCTION.
a crisis in its history second in importance only to the Exodus.
The book begins with the 'account of his birth: and his direct
influence extends to the close of it, in the reign of the king whom
he anointed as Jehovah's choice.
3. Who was the author of the Book of Samuel? ' To this
question no answer can be given. A late Jewish tradition
ascribes the authorship to Samuel himself. This obviously
could only apply to the first twenty-four chapters of the First
Book, and as the work forms a connected whole, it is improbable
that these in their present foxm proceeded from his pen. It is
generally agreed that the Book is a compilation from different'
sources, but who was the compiler there is no evidence to shew.
4. What then were these sources? Ingenious attempts have
been made to analyse the component parts of the book. But
apart from these conjectural theories we have several indications
of the sources from which the compiler drew his materials.
(a) The chief sources were probably contemporary prophetical
histories. The compiler of the Book of Chronicles expressly
names as the original authority for the history of David's reign
'the chronicle (lit. words) of Samuel the seer (roeh) and the
chronicle of Nafhan the prophet, and the chronicle of Gad the
seer (chSzeh)." It has been maintained that Samuel, Nathan
and Gad were the subjects, not the authors of the works referred
to. Even if this was so, it is evident that they contained much
valuable material for the history of David's reign. But the
corresponding reference to the original authorities for the history
of Solomon's reign in 2 Chron. ix. 29 (among which the chro
nicle of Natnan tne prophet is again mentioned), and the
constant references to similar prophetic writings as authorities
for the reigns of later kings l, make it almost certain that the
three prophets mentioned were themselves the historians of the
period. 1 To the writings of Shemaiah and Iddo for the reign of Rehoboam
(2 Chron. xii. 15): to the commentary (midrash) of Iddo for that of
Abijah (2 Chron. xiii. 22). Isaiah is expressly said to have written the
history of Uzziah's reign (2 Chron. xxvi. 22). See also 2 Chron. xx.
34, xxxii. 32, xxxiii. 18, 19.
INTRODUCTION.
It has been also maintained that the works referred to by the
compiler of Chronicles actually were the present Book of Samuel.
But it is evident that the document which he was using con
tained much more than these books, while at the same time
certain sections of Samuel and Chronicles agree almost verbally.
The most natural conclusion is that both compilers drew from ;
the same authority, which the Chronicler expressly names.
From this each felt at liberty to select such facts as bore upon
the special object of his work.
If then the Book of Samuel was compiled largely from the
¦^chronicles of Samuel, Nathan, and Gad, supplemented by other
records preserved in the Schools of the Prophets, it follows that
it rests upon the best possible authority, Samuel is the historian
of his own life-time, which included the greater part of Saul's
reign : Nathan and Gad together give the history of David's
reign. The events of David's life must have been familiarly
known in the Schools of the Prophets at Ramah. It is expressly
mentioned that when he fled from Saul he "came and told
Samuel all that Saul had done to him, and he and Samuel went
and dwelt in Naioth1," the college of prophets which Samuel
had established at Ramah. To this intercourse may be referred
the full and vivid account of David's friendship with Jonathan,
preserved perhaps almost in the very words in which he related
his story- to the prophets.
An incidental notice suggests that Gad was the medium of
communication between the college at Ramah and David during
his outlaw life2; both Gad3 and Nathan4 appear to have oc
cupied official positions in David's court; and both appear as
his monitors in important crises of his life8.
(b) The chronicles of king David (i Chron. xxvii. 24), which
appear from this allusion to have been of the nature of statisti
cal state-records, may also have been consulted. From them
may have been derived the formal summaries of wars such as
1 1 Sam. xix. 18. s 1 Sam. xxii. 5.
3 2 Sam. xxiv. n ; 2 Chron. xxix. 25.
4 1 Sam. vii. 2 ff., xii. 25; 1 Kings i. 8 ff.
6 2 Sam. xii. 1 ff., xxiv. 11 ff.
12 INTRODUCTION.
are given in 2 Sam. viii. I — 15, and lists of officials such as
those in 2 Sam. viii. 16 — 18, xx. 23 — 26, xxiii. 8 — 39.
(c) Express mention is made in 1 Sam. x. 25 of the fact
that Samuel committed to writing the charter of the kingdom,
and " laid it up before the LORD," possibly as an addition to the
book of the Law.
(d) The natio7ial poetic literature was laid under contribu
tion. From this were taken Hannah's song (1 Sam. ii. 1 — 10);
David's lament for Abner (2 Sam. iii. 33, 34) ; David's thanks
giving (2 Sam. xxii. = Ps. xviii.); the lalst words of David
(2 Sam. xxiii. 1 — 7). Whether these were preserved in writing
or by oral tradition is uncertain : of David's Lament for Saul
and Jonathan it is expressly said that it was written in the " na
tional anthology" known as the Book of Jashar (2 Sam. i. 18).
(e) Oral tradition may perhaps have supplied some particu
lars, though this must be a matter of conjecture.
5. At what date was the compilation made ?
(a) The language points to an early date. It is pure Hebrew,
free from Aramaisms and late forms. Constructions which are
common in the later books, e.g. Kings, are comparatively rare.
(b) Some time however had elapsed since the events narrated
in the book had occurred. The explanation of archaic terms
(1 Sam. ix. 9) and reference to obsolete customs (2 Sam. xiii.
18), as well as the use of the formula "unto this day" (1 Sam.
v. 5, vi. 18, xxvii. 6, xxx. 25 ; 2 Sam. iv. & vi. 8, xviii. 18) indicate
this. Moreover " no grand survey of a period and selection of
its events, such as is demanded from the historian, is generally
possible until the period itself has retired in some degree into
the background1."
^ (c) It must certainly have been after the death of DavidA
since the whole length of his reign is mentioned (2 Sam. v. 5) J
and if the Septuagint text is correct, there are two allusions to
events in the reign of Rehoboam. In 2 Sam. viii. 7 that version
reads, "And Shishak king of Egypt took them when he came up
against Jerusalem in the days of Rehoboam the son of Solomon :"
1 Ewald, Hist, of Israel, 1. 139.
INTRODUCTION. 13
and in 2 Sam. xiv. 27, " And she [Tamar] became the wife of
Rehoboam the son of Solomon and bare him Abia."
(d) But even if these additions are not accepted as part of
the original text, other indications point to a date not earlier
than the reign of Rehoboam. The mention of " the kings of
Judah" in 1 Sam. xxvii. 6 presupposes the separation of the
kingdoms. The distinction between Judah and Israel in several
passages1 has been supposed to point to the same conclusion;
but this' cannot be pressed as evidence. The division which
existed in the early part of David's reign was quite sufficient to
account for it.
(e) On the other hand there is nothing in the book which
points to a later date than this : and the conclusion may fairly
be arrived at that the Book of Samuel was compiled substan
tially in its present form soon after the Division of the
Kingdoms. 6. The Canonicity of the book has never been questioned.
Its acceptance in the Christian Church rests upon the fact that
it formed an integral part of those Jewish Scriptures, which were
received by our Lord and His Apostles as " given by inspiration
of God, and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness." Our Lord appealed to one of
the narratives contained in it as teaching the great principle
that the ceremonial law must give way to the law of mercy2 : the
Magnificat shews evident familiarity with the Song of Hannah :
St Peter, St Stephen, and St Paul refer to the history contained
in it3-
7. The historical accuracy of the book is remarkably borne
out by the internal evidence. It is not to be denied that diffi
culties and discrepancies exist, which it is hard, perhaps impos
sible to explain or reconcile. But the forcible simplicity and
grace of the narrative ; the vividness with which the actors in
1 1 Sam. xi. 8, xvii. 52, xviii. 16; 1 Sam. ii. 9, 10, iii. 10, v. 1 — 5,
xix. 41 — 43, xx. 2.
2 Matt. xii. 3, 4; Mk. ii. 25, 26; Lk. vi. 3, 4. Note the phrase,
" Have ye not read," a regular formula of reference to the Scriptures.
3 Acts iii. 24, vii. 46, xiii. 20 — 22.
14 INTRODUCTION.
the various events stand out before us ; the minuteness of detail
with regard to time and circumstance ; the accurate descriptions
of places1; all agree to confirm the conclusion arrived at in § 4,
that the greater part of the work is derived from the testimony
of eyewitnesses and c'ontemporaries, and in many cases handed
down to us in their actual words. The apparent inconsistencie
are in fact an evidence that the compiler faithfully embodied th
authorities he consulted, instead of harmonizing them into wha
might have seemed a more consistent whole.
8. The text of the book presents some interes|iag problem;
Our materials for determining the text are : x^
(a) The Hebrew MSS. most of whieh-are^iot older than th
tenth and eleventh centuries A.D. They all present substan
tially the same text. Two points must be mentioned in order I
explain some of the notes, (r) Hebrew was originally writtei
without vowels, except such long vowels as are represented b
consonants. The present elaborate vowel system, stereotypic
a traditional pronunciation and reading of the Old Testament
was not reduced to Writing till about the seventh or eight!
century A.D. (2) In some passages the traditional method 0
reading (Qii) did not agree with the consonants of the writtei
text (Kthibh). In such cases the scribes did not alter the text
but appended a note giving the consonants to be read with thi
vowels shewn in the text.
(b) The Versions. Of these the oldest and most valuable
is the Greek Version commonly called the Septuagint
(Sept. or LXX), or Version of the Seventy Elders, because
it was long believed to have been made by seventy or seventy-
two elders despatched from Jerusalem to Alexandria at the
request of Ptolemy Philadelphus. But the document on which
the story with its embellishments rests is now known to be a
forgery, and all that can be asserted about the origin of the
Septuagint is that it was made (1) at Alexandria, (2) at different
times and by different hands, (3) during the third and second
centuries B.C., (4) before written vowel-points had been added
1 Remarkably confirmed by the recent surveys of Palestine. See e. s.
the notes on 1 Sam. xiv. 4, xvii. 3.
INTRODUCTION. 15
to the text. The reference in Ecclus. xlvi. 19 to the Sept. ver
sion of 1 Sam. xii. 3 (see note there) proves that this part of the
version was in existence before 150 B.C.
The two most important MSS. of the LXX containing the
book of Samuel are the Alexandrine MS. (denoted by the letter
A) written in the fifth century, and now preserved in the British
Museum; and the Vatican MS. (denoted' by the letter B)
assigned to the fourth century, and preserved in the Vatican
Library at Rome. The text of the former in the Book of
Samuel has been corrected for the most part to agree with the
existing Hebrew text : that of the latter differs considerably
from it, and although disfigured by mistakes, glosses, marginal
notes inserted in the text by ignorant scribes, and similar
defects, appears to. preserve evidence for an original text older
and in some places- more correct than the existing Hebrew
recension1. That the Hebrew text of Samuel is by no means free from-
errors is clear from internal considerations and from a com
parison of the passages which exist in duplicate elsewhere.
These, with the exception of I Sam. xxxi. (=1 Chr. x. 1 — 12)
belong to the Second Book, and need not be enumerated here.
The principal readings in which the Septuagint differs from
the Hebrew are mentioned in the notes, partly with a view to
the criticism of the text, partly to exhibit the form of the text
which was current in a great part of the Christian Church for
many centuries after its first foundation.
This Version, with all its defects, must be of the greatest
interest: (1) as preserving evidence for the text far more ancient
than the oldest Hebrew MSS.: (2) as the means by which the
Greek language was wedded to Hebrew thought, and the way
prepared for the New Testament : (3) because it is the source
of the great majorify of the quotations made from the O. T.
by the writers of the N. T. : (4) because it was the version in
which the O. T. was studied by the fathers of the Eastern
Church, and indirectly by those of the Western, until Jerome's
1 The most important instance in which the Septuagint differs from
the Hebrew text is discussed in Note VI. p. 241.
16 INTRODUCTION.
new translation (the Vulgate) superseded the Old Latin versions
made from the Septuagint.
Next to the Septuagint must be mentioned the Chaldee or
Aramaic Version known as the Targum1 of Jonathan Ben
Uzziel. This was probably not reduced to writing before the
middle of the fourth century A. D., though based on much earlier
oral translations. It is for the most part an accurate version ;
but in some passages it becomes a loose paraphrase, interspersed
with comment, illustration, and fragments of Jewish tradition.
A translation of the Targum of Hannah's Song is given in
Note III. p. 236 as an example of this style of paraphrase.
Second in importance only to the LXX. is the VULGATE
(Versio vulgatd) or Latin Version made by St Jerome (Hiero-
nymus) directly from the Hebrew. This great work was com
menced by him about the year a.d. 389 when he was already
sixty years of age, and took fourteen years to complete. The
Books of Samuel and Kings were the part first issued. It is a
valuable evidence for the state of the Hebrew text in the fourth
century, and proves that that text has suffered comparatively
little change since. Many of the variations found in the editions
of the Vulgate are really interpolations from the Old Latin
Version, which as mentioned above was made from the LXX.
Jerome's work "remained for eight centuries the bulwark of
Western Christianity ; and as a monument of ancient linguistic
power the translation of the O. T. stands unrivalled and unique."
1 Targum signifies interpretation or translation.
INTRODUCTION. 17
CHAPTER II.
ANALYSIS OF THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL.
PART I.
The Close of the Theocracy : 1. — vn.
Division I. The early life of Samuel : i. — iv. 1 a.
Section 1. Samuel's birth and infancy.
(1) Samuel's parents i. 1 — 8.
(2) Hannah's prayer and its answer i. 9 — 20.
(3) Samuel's dedication i. 21 — 28.
(4) Hannah's Song of Thanksgiving ii. 1 — n.
Section 2. Samuel at Shiloh.
(1) The faithless priests ii. 12 — 17.
(2) Samuel's ministry in the Tabernacle ii. 18 — 21.
(3) Eli's fruitless expostulations with his sons ii. 22 — 26.
(4) The doom of Eli's house and the calling
of a faithful priest foretold by the man of
God ii. 2 7 — 36.
(5) The call of Samuel iii. 1 — 10.
(6) The message to Eli iii. n — 18.
(7) Samuel established as a prophet iii. 19 — iv.ia.
Note (a) the contrast throughout between Samuel and the sons of
Eli ; (b) Samuel's steady growth; (<r) Eli's weak though amiable cha
racter ; (d) the decay of religion.
Division II. The period of national disaster : iv. 1 b — vii. 1.
Section 1. Judgment on the nation and tlie house of Eli.
( 1 ) Defeat of the army and loss of the ark iv. 1 b — 1 1 .
(2) The doom of Eli's house.
(a) Death of Eli's sons iv. n.
(b) Death of Eli iv. 12— 18.
(c) Death of Eli's daughter-in-law iv. 19 — 22.
I. SAMUEL 2
18 INTRODUCTION.
Section 2. The Ark of God.
(i) Chastisement of the Philistines v. i — 12.
(2) Their resolution to restore the Ark vi. 1 — 9.
(3) Return of the Ark vi. 10 — 18.
(4) The penalty of irreverence vi. 19, 20.
(5) Settlement of the Ark at Kirjath Jearim vi. 21 — vii. 1.
Note (a) the punishments of sin ; (b) Jehovah's defence of His Ark ;
(c) religious apathy of the people ; (d) no mention of Samuel in this
period. Division III. The official life of Samuel as Judge : vii. 2—17.
(1) National repentance and reformation vii. 2 — 6.
(2) Rout of the Philistines at Ebenezer vii. 7 — 12.
(3) Summary account of Samuel's judicial activity vii. 13 — 17.
Note (a) the brevity of this account, because the narrative is hastening
on to Samuel's chief work ; (b) restoration of religious, political, social
life implied, though not fully recorded ; (c) Samuel the last of the
Judges. PART II.
The Foundation of the Monarchy • vm— xxxi.
Division I. The appointment of the first King : viii. — x.
Section 1. The demand for a king.
(1) Misgovernment of Samuel's sons, and con
sequent request of the people viii. 1 — 5.
(2) Jehovah's answer viii. 6 9.
(3) Description of an Oriental Despot viii. 10 — 18.
(4) Persistence of the people in their request viii. 19 — 22.
Section 2. The private choice of Saul by Samuel.
(1) Saul's genealogy ix. 1, 2.
(2) His search for the asses ix. 3 IO-
(3) He inquires for Samuel ix. n 14.
(4) He is entertained by Samuel ix. 15 24.
(5) He is anointed by Samuel, and promised three
signs in confirmation of his call ix. 25 x. 8.
(6) Fulfilment of the signs x, n ,§_
INTRODUCTION. 19
Section 3. The election of Saul by lot at Mizpeh.
(1) The assembly at Mizpeh x. 17 — 19.
(2) Saul chosen by lot x. 20 — 23.
(3) Installation of Saul as king x. 24 — 27.
Note (a) Samuel's self-abnegation ; (b) the wilfulness of the people ;
(c) the king after the people's heart.
Division II. Saul's reign till his rejection : xi. — xv.
Section 1. The establishment of SauVs kingdom.
(1) Defeat of the Ammonites under the leader
ship of Saul xi. 1 — 11.
(2) Confirmation of Saul as king at Gilgal xi. 12 — 15.
(3) Samuel's farewell conference with the people
in which he
(a) asserts his official integrity xii. 1 — 5.
(b) rebukes the people for their faithless
ness xii. 6—12.
(c) offers warning and encouragement for
the future xii. 13—25.
Section 2. The war of independence.
( 1 ) The revolt from the Philistines xiii. 1 — 7.
(2) Saul's disobedience and its penalty xiii. 8 — 14.
(3) The Philistine invasion xiii. 15 — 18.
(4) The disarmament of the Israelites xiii. 19 — 23.
(5) Jonathan's exploit at Michmash xiv. 1 — 15.
(6) Rout of the Philistines xiv. 16 — 23.
(7) Saul's rash oatk and its consequences xiv. 24 — 46.
Section 3. Summary account of Saul's reign.
(1) His wars xiv. 47, 48.
(2) His family ...xiv. 49—52.
Section 4. The rejection of Saul.
(1) The commission to destroy Amalek xv. 1 — 9.
(2) The penalty of disobedience xv. 10—23.
(3) The kingdom rent from Saul xv. 24 — 31.
(4) The execution of Agag xv. 32, 33.
(5) Samuel's parting from Saul xv. 34, 35.
2 2
20 INTRODUCTION.
Note (a) the gradual development of Saul's wilfulness; (b) Saul's
superstitious formalism; (c) the miserable condition of the nation; (d) •
Samuel's continued prophetic labours.
Division III. The decline of Saul and the rise of David:
xvi. — xxxi.
Section i. David chosen as Satifs successor.
( I ) Samuel's mission to Bethlehem xvi. I — 5.
(2) The family of Jesse xvi. 6 — 11.
(3) David anointed by Samuel xvi. 12, 13.
Section 2. David 's introduction to the court.
(1) Saul troubled by an evil spirit xvi. 14—18.
(2) David summoned to soothe him with music. ..xvi. 19 — 23.
Section 3. David's advancement.
(1) The Philistine invasion xvii. 1 — 3.
(2) The challenge of Goliath xvii. 4 — 11.
¦"[(3) David's errand to the camp xvii. 12 — 31.]
(4) David volunteers to fight the giant xvii. 32 — 37.
(5) The victory of Faith xvii. 38 — 51.
(6) The flight of the Philistines xvii. 52 — 54.
[(7) Saul's inquiry about David xvii. 55 — 58.J
[(8) Jonathan's friendship for David xviii. 1 5.3
(9) The celebration of the victory xviii. 6 9.
Section 4. Saul's growing jealousy of David.
[(1) Saul's attempt on David's life ; xviii. 10, 11.J
(2) David's promotion and popularity xviii. 12—16.
£(3) Saul offers his daughter Merab to David xviii. 17 iq.J
'(4) Saul's treacherous design against David's life.
David's marriage with Michal xviii. 20—30.
(5) Saul's purpose to kill David xix. , ,
(6) Jonathan's intercession x;x. .__ »
(7) Saul's attempt on David's life xix. 8 n.
(8) David's escape by the aid of Michal xix. 12— i~.
(9) David's flight to Ramah. Saul's pursuit xix. 18—24.
(10) David's consultation with Jonathan xx. 1 10
(11) Renewal of the covenant between David and
Jonathan ¦ xx. n_23.
1 On the sections in brackets see Note VI. p. 241.
INTRODUCTION. 21
(12) Saul's intention tested by Jonathan xx. 24 — 34.
(13) The parting between Jonathan and David ...xx. 35 — 42.
Section 5. David's outlaw life.
(1) David's flight
(a) to Nob xxi. 1 — 9.
(b) to Gath xxi. 10—15.
(2) David with his followers
(a) in the cave of Adullam xxii. 1, 2.,
(b) in Moab xxii. 3, 4.
{c) in the land of Judah xxii. 5.
(3) Saul's vengeance on the priests of Nob xxii. 6 — 19.
Abiathar's flight to David xxii. 20 — 23.
(4) David's rescue of Keilah xxiii. 1 — 6.
Intended treachery of the Keilites xxiii. 7 — 15.
(5) David's last meeting with Jonathan xxiii. 16 — 18.
(6) David in the wilderness of Ziph
(a) betrayed by the Ziphites xxiii. 19 — 24.
(b) providentially escapes from Saul xxiii. 25 — 28.
(7) David at Engedi xxiii. 29.
(a) He spares Saul's Ufe in the cave xxiv. 1 — 8.
(b) He protests his innocence xxiv. 9 — 15.
(c) Saul's momentary remorse xxiv. 16 — 22.
(8) Samuel's death and burial xxv. 1.
(9) Nabal and Abigail.
(a) Nabal's churlish folly xxv. 2 — 13.
(b) Abigail's timely prudence xxv. 14 — 35..
(<r) The death of Nabal xxv. 36—38.
(d) Abigail's marriage to David xxv. 39 — 44.
(10) Saul's fresh pursuit of David.
(a) Treachery of the Ziphites xxvi. 1 — 4.
(b) Saul's life again spared by David ...xxvi. 5 — 12.
(c) David's final expostulation with Saulxxvi. 13 — 25.
(ri) David as a Philistine vassal.
(a) His flight to Achish xxvii. 1 — 4.
(b) His residence at Ziklag xxvii. 5 — 7.
(c) His raids on the neighbouring tribes... xxvii. 8 — 12.
Note (a) David's providential escapes; (b) his growing power and
influence ; (c) his generosity towards Saul ; (d) Saul's continuous harden
ing.
22 INTRODUCTION.
Section 6. The last scenes of Saul's life.
(i) The Philistine muster xxviii. i, 2.
(2) Saul resorts to the witch of Endor xxviii. 3 — 25.
(3) David's dismissal from the Philistine army ...xxix. 1 — 11.
(4) David finds Ziklag plundered xxx. 1 — 6.
(a) The pursuit xxx. 7 — I5-
(b) The rescue xxx. 16 — 20.
(c) The distribution of the spoil xxx. 21 — 31.
(5) The battle of Gilboa.
(a) Death of Saul and his sons xxxi. 1 — 6.
(b) Exposure of their bodies xxxi. 7 — 10.
(c) Their rescue and burial by the men of
Jabesh <. xxxi. 11 — 13.
Note (a) Saul's final desertion by Jehovah ; (6) David's providential
escape from a perilous dilemma.
CHAPTER III.
THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE BOOK OF SAMUEL.
1. The period covered by the First Book of Samuel is Httle
less than a century. It nearly coincides with the life of Samuel,
whose death did not long precede that of Saul. There is no
systematic chronology, and the arrangement of the dates de
pends in great measure upon conjecture.
2. The earlier part of the period coincides with part of the
Book of Judges. The 20 years of Samson's judgeship (Jud. xv.
20) may have been simultaneous with the last 20 years of Eli's
life, and in all probability the Philistine oppression of 40 years
mentioned in Jud. xiii. 1 was that which was brought to an end
by the battle of Ebenezer (1 Sam. vii. 12, 13).
3. Samuel's judgeship must have lasted some time, and a
further period must be allowed for the development of his sons'
misgovernment. His life lasted till nearly the end of Saul's
INTRODUCTION.
reign. David's flight to Naioth (i Sam. xix. 18 ff.) cannot have
been many years before the battle of Gilboa.
4. If the 40 years named by St Paul1 in Acts xiii. 21 is to
be taken as a trustworthy Jewish tradition of the length of Saul's
reign (or that of his dynasty, Saul 32j + Ishbosheth 7^), a con
siderable period at the beginning of Saul's reign must be passed
over in silence. Even if a shorter reign is assumed, this is
probably the case.
(a) David was 30 years old at his accession (2 Sam. v. 4).
He cannot have been much less than 20 when he fought with
Goliath, so that about 10 years is all that can be assigned to
the period of Saul's reign after David's introduction. We may
conjecture that 4 years were spent in Saul's service, and 4 years
in outlaw life. He was 16 months in Philistia (1 Sam. xxvii. 7),
and perhaps a short time elapsed between Saul's death and his
coronation at Hebron.
(b) Saul appears to have been a young man at the time of'
his election. But in the Philistine war of chaps, xiii., xiv., his son
Jonathan is already a trusted warrior (1 Sam. xiii. 2), 20 years
old at least. The impression produced by the narrative is that
he was not much older than David, and this is corroborated by
the fact that his son Mephibosheth was only 5 years old at the
time of his death (2 Sam. iv. 4).
The natural inference is that a period of at least 10 or 15
years is passed over in silence between ch. ix. and ch. xiii.
This interval allows time for the development of Saul's
character. It would be strange indeed that he should at once
flatly disobey the prophet to whom he owed his elevation
(1 Sam. xiii. 8 ff.) : but if some time had elapsed since his
election, the act becomes much more intelligible.
5. Those who place the events of 1 Sam. xiii., xiv., at the
beginning of Saul's reign, must assume that he was at least 40
years old at his accession, and that his reign did not last more
than 20 years at the most.
1 Josephus, Ant. vi. 14. 9, makes the same statement, adding how
ever that he reigned 18 years during the lifetime of Samuel, and 22
years after his death, which does not agree with the facts of the history.
24
INTRODUCTION.
6. The following table is suggested as a conjectural arrange
ment of the dates, reckoning back from 1055 as the date.of
David's accession. B.C.
Birth of Samuel
Call of Samuel at the age of 12
Death of Eli
Philistine oppression (1 Sam. vii. 1)
Samuel's judgeship ( ? 18 years)
Rule of Samuel's sons ( ? 10 years)
Saul's election ....
David's anointing
Samuel's death, at the age of 90
Saul's death and David's accession
1 H9
H37
. (?) 1127
1 127 — 1 107
1 1 07 — 1089
1089 — 10791079
1065
¦ (?) i°59 loss
Only 24 years are here assigned to Saul's reign. If the longer
period of 32 or 40 years- is taken, it must be done by curtailing
the judgeship of Samuel and his sons, or by placing Samuel's
birth earlier and lengthening his life. His death cannot be
placed earlier, for the reasons pointed out in § 3.
CHAPTER IV.
THE PLACE OF THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL IN THE HISTORY OF
THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
1. The Old Testament differs from ordinary histories (1) in
its subject, because it is the history of the special training and
discipline of God's chosen people : (2) in its method, because it
is " a history of facts as God sees them referred to their true
centre in Him, explained by His dealings with men, and His
workings within them1:" or, in other words, its writers were
inspired by God the Holy Ghost to discern the true signi
ficance of events, and to relate such parts of the national
1 Barry's Introduction to the Old Testament, p. 45.
INTRODUCTION. 25
history as should truly set forth the gradual evolution of God's
purpose towards His people1.
2. The Old Testament is the history of a dispensation which
was partial, progressive, preparatory. It can only be rightly
understood in view of the great fact to which it looked forward.
It must be studied as the record of the Divine Preparation for
the Incarnation of the Son of God, which is the central event
of the world's history, the hope of all humanity, the final revela
tion of God to the world2. " It does not simply contain pro
phecies of Christ : it is from first to last a prophecy of Him."
3. This preparation included three main elements which
must be carefully traced in each successive epoch of Jewish
history : (i) the discipline and training of the chosen nation of
Israel that it might be "the home3" to which in "the fulness of the
times" God might send His Son4; and the instrument by which
the knowledge of God might be communicated to the world at
large5: (ii) the gradual development under the various types of
Priest, Prophet, and King, of the expectation of a Deliverer
who should unite in himself all these offices, and be at once
a Mediator, a Teacher, a Monarch : (iii) God's progressive re
velation of Himself, "in many parts and in many fashions6,"
that men might at length be enabled to recognise " the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ7."
We must examine how the period which we have to study in this
book contributed to the preparation in each of these respects.
4. (i) The book of Samuel is the record of a most critical
epoch in the training of the nation of Israel. To understand
its significance a brief survey of their whole history is necessary.
1 According to the Jewish arrangement the books of the Old Testa
ment are divided into three classes : The Law, the Prpphets, and the
Writings : a division which is already recognised in Lk. xxiv. 44. It
should be remembered that the so-called "historical books" of Joshua,
Judges, Samuel, and Kings belong to the second group, and are en
titled "The Former Prophets." True history is prophecy.
2 There is a most suggestive sketch of the Preparation for Christianity
in chap. I. of Prof. Westcott's Gospel of the Resurrection.
3 John i, n, els ra tdia. 4 Gal. iv. 4.
5 John iv. 22. 6 Heb. i. 1, ir6\v/j,epus Kal -oXvrpoirus.
7 2 Cor, iv. 6.
26 INTRODUCTION.
Three great periods must be distinguished in the history of
Israel; the Theocracy, the Monarchy, the Hierarchy; corre
sponding in some degree to the three divisions of the Old
Testament, the Law, the Prophets, the Writings.
(a) The Theocracy. The history of the Jewish nation begins
with Abraham, the friend of God, the father of the faithful,
"the ancestor of all nations which have held a monotheistic
belief practically." With him and with his family was made
the first covenant of promise. In Egypt the family became a
nation. The stern discipline of toil and suffering in the presence
of their common enemy bound them together. The great signs
and wonders of the Exodus declared their high destiny. At Sinai
the covenant made with their forefathers was renewed, confirmed,
and amplified to the nation. The Law was given as a schoolmaster
for the childhood of the new-born nation, " a kind of external con
science" to train it to obedience. The Israelites entered Canaan,
and the first part of the promise to Abraham was fulfilled.
But for a long time the nation seemed to make no progress.
The period which intervened between the Entry into Canaan
and the Life of Samuel was a time of anarchy and apostasy.
The Book of Judges is a record of two centuries of national
disintegration and religious declension. It was necessary,
humanly speaking, in order that they might learn their weak
ness. They were unable as yet to bear the pure Theocracy, the
direct government of God without the intervention of an earthly
ruler. Some visible bond must be found to unite into a solid
mass the scattered tribes which could not as yet be firmly bound
together into one by the invisible tie of a common allegiance
to Jehovah. Material and ' political means must prepare the
way for the spiritual and religious end. Otherwise the nation
must cease to exist, ground to pieces between the enemies which
surrounded it on all sides. In order to make solid advance,
retrogression was inevitable.
At this critical juncture God raised up Samuel, " a prophet
second only to Moses," to guide the nation through this crisis
in its existence, and effect the transition to the second stage of
its education.
INTRODUCTION. 27
(b) The Monarchy. The sovereignty of a visible monarch
was a declension from the ideal of the Theocracy. Yet a king
might have been given by God in His own time as a necessary
factor in the training of the nation. But the demand for a king,
as made by the Israelites at this period, was the direct outcome
of faithlessness. It was a defection from God. Nevertheless
the request was granted. God first gave them a king according
to their own ideal, that bitter experience might teach them
lessons they would not otherwise learn: and then a king "after
His own heart," a true representative of the Kingdom of God.
In his hands such a monarchy as we may conceive might have
been asked for without sin, fulfilled important purposes by
consolidating the scattered tribes into a body strong enough
to maintain its independence, thus saving the nation from
destruction, and preserving it to fulfil its great destiny of bless
ing to the world.
(c) The Hierarchy at length took the place of the Monarchy
and resumed the ideal of Theocracy. When the Kingdom fell,
and the discipline of the Captivity had done its work, "the unity
of a Church succeeded to the unity of a nation." The voice of
prophecy ceased. In the absence of new revelations, the people
pondered on the past, till at length " the time was fulfilled, and
the Kingdom of God came."
5. (ii) In what respects did the period we have to study
contribute to the formation and development of the Messianic
expectation ? The Law with its elaborate ritual of sacrifice had
pointed forward to One who should be at once Priest and
Victim, and make atonement for the sin of man. Now the
Kingdom turned the national thoughts to the hope of a King
who should reign in righteousness, and "have dominion from
sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth1."
The kingdom of David and Solomon was a type of the king
dom of that Son of David to whom in the fulness of time
was given in a spiritual reality the throne of His father David2.
1 Ps. lxxii. 7, 8. Psalms ii., xlv., lxxii., ex. should be studied as
illustrating the growth of the Messianic Hope in connexion with the
kingdom. 2 Lk. i. 32, 33.
28 INTRODUCTION.
It is in the book of Samuel that the title of Messiah, the Lord's
Anointed, the. Christ, is first applied to the king1, whose visible
majesty kindled prophetic hopes of a glorious future.
6. (iii) It remains to inquire how God's revelation of Him
self was carried forward in this period, (a) One result of the
establishment of the kingdom was the building of the Temple.
As the king was a visible representative of the Divine govern
ment, so a centralised sanctuary testified to the unity of Him
whom Israel worshipped, and both combined to present spiritual
ideas in a fixed and definite shape. Monotheism was not, as
has sometimes been wrongly said, an instinct of the Semitic
races. The repeated idolatries of the Jewish nation prove the
contrary. Only through long discipline and with constant
relapses was the lesson learnt. The period of the Monarchy
taught this truth in a visible and material manner, and when
once learnt it was afterwards spiritualised by the destruction of
the visible Monarchy and the discipline of the Captivity.
(b) Closely connected with the establishment of the Monarchy
was the institution of the Prophetic Order. This was Samuel's
second great legacy to his nation. By the agency of the pro
phets the Will of Jehovah was made known to men; new
revelations of His character and His claims were communi
cated; the spiritual meaning of the Law was interpreted2.
(c) In this period was deepened the consciousness of the
individual's personal relation to God. The intimate communing
with Him in prayer and praise, which is characteristic of the
Psalms of David, marks a new advance in the relation of man
to God. Now was laid the foundation of that Psalter in which
for all succeeding time men have found the expression and the
echo of their deepest thoughts and highest aspirations.
7. To sum up briefly, the Monarchy preserved the existence
of the nation, foreshadowed the kingdom of the Messiah, wit
nessed to the reality of the Divine government. At the same
1 1 Sam. ii. 10, where the Septuagint has xpioros. The same word
both in Heb. and Greek is applied to the high-priest in Lev. iv. 5, 16,
vi. 22.
¦ 2 See further in chap. vi.
INTRODUCTION. 29
time Prophecy and Psalmody interpreted the past, spiritualised
the present, stimulated hope for the future.
CHAPTER V.
THE LIFE AND WORK OF SAMUEL.
I. The Book of Judges closes with the significant remark,
"In those days there was no king in Israel : every man did that
which was right in his own eyes" (Jud. xxi. 25). The Book of
Samuel opens with the birth of the Prophet who was raised up
by the' Providence of God to usher in a new regime which
should reduce this chaos to order. Eli appears on the scene
only so far as he is connected with the early life of Samuel.
2. Samuel's childhood saw the period of Jewish history
which Josephus calls the Theocracy, closed with the overthrow
of the Sanctuary at Shiloh1. The characteristics of the age of
the Judges, with which that period ended, have been noticed
above (ch. iv. § 4). It had been clearly demonstrated that the
people were as yet unfit for so lofty a form of government. If
the national life was to continue, a change must be effected.
Samuel was the divinely appointed instrument of that change.
3. (i) The Preparation. The son given in answer to
Hannah's prayers was dedicated to Jehovah before his birth.
The training for his life-work began from his infancy. As soon
as he could leave his mother, he was placed in Eli's charge at
the Tabernacle in Shiloh. The holy childhood of the boy who
" grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord and also with
men " was a strange contrast and a sharp rebuke tb the scenes
of shame which desecrated the sanctuary. At the age of twelve
(according to tradition) he received his first revelation from
Jehovah, the stern message of doom against his foster-father's
guilty house. The blow fell. The disastrous battle of Aphek
1 As the fall of the Monarchy coincided with the destruction of the
First Temple, and the final dispersion Of the nation with that of the
Second Temple. See Stanley's Lectures, 1. 328.
30 INTRODUCTION.
brought Israel once more under the Philistine yoke. The Ark
was captured, and though sent back after a brief interval,
remained unnoticed in a private house. The twenty years
which followed are a blank in the history of the nation. The
people appear to have abandoned themselves to despair, and-
sought a, vain refuge in the worship of Baalim and Ashtaroth.
During those twenty years God was training Samuel to be the
Deliverer of His people. "All Israel from Dan to Beersheba
knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the
Lord."
4. (ii) The Reformation. At length he broke the lethargj
of despair, and summoned the nation to repent and return1
unto the LORD with all their hearts. He assembled them at
Mizpah, and in one of those acts of intercession for which his
name was famous1, he besought the LORD to pardon them.
The Philistines, suspecting rebellion, marched against them.
God once more fought for Israel, and the Stone of Help be
tween Mizpah and Shen attested to posterity that the LORD'S
Presence was once more among His people.
Now commenced Samuel's Judgeship. He established law,
and order, and regular religious worship2 in the land. No
breath of slander could impeach the integrity of his adminis
tration. He has been called the Jewish Aristides.
5. (iii) The Foundation of the Kingdom. But his sons
brought disgrace upon their father's age. Alleging their
misconduct as the ostensible motive, the people came to
Samuel and demanded a king. He felt that it was an act
of ingratitude to himself : still more keenly did he feel that it
was an act of unfaithfulness to Jehovah. In this strait he
prayed for counsel. The answer came, " Make them a king."
Why that sinful request was granted has been discussed above
(ch. iii. § 4). Here we are concerned with Samuel's conduct.
It was a proof of his true greatness. Sharp as was the conflict
of feeling when the request was made, as soon as he learned
what the will of God was, he cheerfully obeyed it. Without
1 Ps. xcix. 6. See note on ch. vii. 5. 2 Cp. 1 Chr. ix. 22.
INTRODUCTION. 31
murmuring or questioning he acquiesced in being the instru
ment of his own deposition. He accepted the truth that
" The old order changeth, yielding place to new,
And God fulfils Himself in many ways,''
and prepared to guide the nation through this crisis of its history.
So quietly was the change effected, that we scarcely realise the
importance of the movement which developed the tribal con
federacy of Israel into a regularly constituted monarchy.
6. (iv) Samuel as prophet-counsellor. Though Samuel had
resigned his office of judge, he did not cease to exercise his
function of prophet. He still stood by Saul to convey to him
the messages of God, to counsel, to admonish, to rebuke. It
must have been a bitter disappointment to watch that heroic
heart with the seeds of so much that was noble and brave and
hopeful, marred by growing self-will and impatience of restraint,
from the first failure at Gilgal to the crowning act of diso
bedience in the matter of Amalek. He ceased not to intercede
for Saul ; he mourned for Saul : till at- length he was sent to
anoint a worthier successor to the king who had been tried
and found wanting.
7. The establishment of the kingdom was but half the
legacy which Samuel left to Israel. The age of the monarchy
was to be the age of the prophets. From the time of Samuel
onwards1 till the voice of prophecy ceased with Malachi there
was a regular succession of prophets, maintained by the institu
tions commonly known as the Schools of the Prophets. The
character of these boMies, and the influence of the Prophets upon
the nation, are discussed in Chapter vi.
8. Samuel, although only a Levite and not a Priest, per
formed priestly functions. He constantly offered sacrifice, and
that in various places, though the Law prescribed that sacrifice
should be offered by the priests and in one place only. This
double anomaly is to be explained (a) by the exceptional
character of Samuel's commission, and (b) by the exceptional
1 "All the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after " (Acts
iii. 24).
32 INTRODUCTION.
circumstances of the age. (a) The sins of Eli's sons had so
degraded the priesthood, that Samuel received an extraordinary
commission to supersede the priesthood for a time. From the
battle of Aphek till the middle of Saul's reign1 we do not so
much as hear of a priest. The prerogative of Aaron's family
was in abeyance, and the high-priest's place was practically
taken by Samuel2, (b) The existence of numerous places for
religious worship was a result of the abandonment of Shiloh.
The old centre ceased to exist with the fall of the old order of
things (cp. § 2) ; the choice of a new one would have been
premature before the new kingdom was firmly established.
9. Samuel passed to his rest in a good, old age, followed by
the universal reverence of the nation. "All the Israelites," says
the narrative with peculiar emphasis, " were gathered together
and lamented him3." "All had known him — the tall figure,
mantle-clad, the long white locks, the reverend countenance — ;
they should see them no more ; no more hear that voice of wise
counsel and of brave rebuke. Another mighty one had passed!
away ; one who, like Moses and Joshua, had inaugurated a new
dispensation ; he too was gone — the great prophet, the gifted
seer, the upright judge, the inspired hero, he had passed away :
the very heart of the nation sighed out its loving, weeping
requiem4." 10. So passed away one of the preeminent " Heroes of He
brew History." The last representative of the old Judges, the
first of the regular succession of Prophets, the inaugurator of
the new monarchy, he occupied the most trying of all positions,
to stand between the Old and the New, and to mediate success
fully between them. He lived from one age into another, and
threw his full sympathy— most difficult of achievements— into
the wants of both periods. " Because in him the various parts
of his life hung together without any abrupt transition ; because
in him 'the child was father of the man,' and his days had
been ' bound each to each by natural piety,' therefore he was •
1 From 1 Sam. iv. to xiv. 3. 2 See note on 1 Sam. ii. «
8 1 Sam. xxv. 1.
4 Wilberforce's Heroes of Hebrew History, p. 22J
INTRODUCTION. 33
specially ordained to bind together the broken links of two
diverging epochs1."
His sublime figure stands out in the pages of Holy Writ as a
signal example of Faith, of Patience, of Integrity, of Self-sacri
fice, through a long and trying career, fulfilling the promise of
those early days in Shiloh when "he grew on, and was in favour
both with the Lord, and also with men."
CHAPTER VI.
THE PROPHETIC ORDER2.
1. Samuel was the Founder of the Prophetic Order. Indi
viduals in previous ages had been endowed with prophetic gifts,
but with Samuel commenced the regular succession of prophets3
which lasted all through the period of the Monarchy, and did
not cease until after the Captivity. The degeneracy into which
the Priesthood had fallen during the period of the Judges
demanded the establishment of a new order for the religious
training of the nation.
2. For this purpose Samuel founded the institutions known
as The Schools of the Prophets. The " company of prophets" at
Gibeah (1 Sam. x. 10), and the scene at Ramah described in
1 Sam. xix. 18 ff., imply a regular organization. These societies
are only definitely mentioned again in connexion with the history
of Elijah and Elisha4, but doubtless continued to exist in the
interval. By means of these the Order was maintained. Stu
dents were educated, and common religious exercises nurtured
and developed spiritual gifts (1 Sam. xix. 20). But it was not
all members of the Order who possessed special prophetic gifts ;
1 Stanley's Lectures, I. 350.
2 See Stanley's Lectures, vol. I., Lect. xix.
3 Acts iii. 24.
4 They existed at Bethel (2 Kings ii. 3), Jericho (2^gings3£
Gilgal (2 Kings iv. 38). Cp. 2 Kings vi. 1, 2.
I. SAMUEL
34 INTRODUCTION.
nor was it among them only that the gifts of inspiration were
to be found (Amos vii. 14).
3. The value of the Prophetic Order to the Jewish nation
was immense. The prophets were the privy-councillors of kings,
the historians of the nation, the instructors of the people. It
was their function to be preachers of righteousness to rich and
poor alike : to condemn idolatry in the court, oppression among
the nobles, injustice among the judges, formality among the
priests. They were the interpreters of the Law, who drew out
by degrees the spiritual significance which underlay ritual
observance, and laboured to prevent sacrifice and sabbath and
festival from becoming dead and unmeaning forms. Strong in
the unshaken consciousness that they were expressing the
divine will, they spoke and acted with a fearless courage which;
no threats could daunt or silence.
Thus they proved a counterpoise to the Despotism of Monar
chy and the Formalism of Priesthood. In a remarkable passage
in his Essay on Representative Government, Mr J. S. Mill
attributes to their influence the progress which distinguished
the Jews from other Oriental nations. " The Jews," he writes,
" had an absolute monarchy and a hierarchy. These did for
them what was done for other Oriental races by their institu
tions — subdued them to industry and order, and gave them a
national life. But neither their kings nor their priests ever
obtained, as in those other countries, the exclusive moulding of
their character. Their religion gave existence to an inestimably
precious institution, the Order of Prophets. Under the protec
tion, generally though not always effectual, of their sacred
character, the Prophets were a power in the nation, often more
than a match for kings and priests, and kept up in that little
corner of the earth the antagonism of influences which is the
only real security for continued progress1."
1 Mill's Representative Government, pp.41, 42.
INTRODUCTION. 35
CHAPTER VII.
SAUL.
I. "Amongst all the noble creations of Greek poetry there
is no single figure more vividly portrayed than is that of Saul
the son of Kish, as he stands before us in the inspired records
of Israel.
Every line of his character is as fresh as if he lived yesterday ;
there is the grand hero-like beauty of his early manhood, the
lofty stature, the strong arm, the unflinching nerves, the quick
eagle-eye of the successful general, the generosity to unworthy
opponents, which makes success so graceful and imperial com
mand so easy to endure1."
2. With picturesque detail the narrative describes the cir
cumstances — apparently accidental, really providential — which
led him into the presence of the great prophet who was com
missioned to anoint him to be captain over God's people (i Sam.
ix. 3). The predicted signs which met him on his homeward
path indicated that common cares were now to cease (x. 2),
offered an earnest of the homage that awaited him (x. 3, 4), and
gave him assurance of divine inspiration to fit him for his new
calling (x. 5, 6; 9—13).
A formal election by lot ratified the prophet's choice. For a
brief space the new king returned to his old occupations ; but
soon the savage threat of Nahash goaded him to action, and
the rescue of Jabesh confirmed his title to the kingdom; In
a second assembly at Gilgal his reign was inaugurated afresh
with solemn ceremony (xi. 15).
3. It seems most probable that we have no record of the
first part of Saul's reign, and that it was not until ten or fifteen
years had elapsed, that the war of independence against the
Philistines began. In it there appear all too plainly the signs
of that rashness and self-will which proved his ruin, (a) At
1 Wilberforce's Heroes of Hebrew History, p. 229.
3—2
36 INTRODUCTION.
the outset in defiance of Samuel's express command he failed
to wait for his arrival at Gilgal to sanction the commencement
of the war. Wherein lay the sin of this conduct ? It was a
forgetfulness from whom he held and for whom he wielded all
his power. It was a transgression of the fundamental principled
of the new monarchy, that the king was to be subject to the
will of God, as communicated by the Prophet. It was the act of.
a superstition which inverted the true order, and reckoned
sacrifice better than obedience, (b) Later on his rash vow on the .
battle-field nearly cost Jonathan his life, hindered the effectual
pursuit of the Philistines, and tempted the people into. sin.
4. The warlike character of his whole reign is proved by the
brief summary given in 1 Sam. xiv. 47. But only those wars are
related at length which bear directly on the history of his own
downfall and the rise of David.
The warning of Gilgal was unheeded, and when the crowning
trial of his life came in the commission to smite Amalek, he
failed miserably. The sentence which discrowned him was
pronounced, and from that day forward the clouds began to
thicken round his path. "The Spirit of the LORD departed
from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him"
(1 Sam. xvi. 14).
5. At this juncture David was brought to court to soothe
Saul's madness by his minstrelsy. The presence of one in
whom as. the years went on he could not fail to recognise the
"man after God's own heart" who was fo succeed to his throne,
aggravated the disease. At one moment the demon of passion
would gain the mastery, and a murderous hatred for the son of
Jesse possess his mind ; at another his generous and loving
nature reasserted itself, and he saw in David a loyal servant
and an affectionate son-in-law. But the madness grew worse.
In his ungovernable fury he slew the priests of God, and mas
sacred the Gibeonites, to whom the faith of Israel had been
plighted. David was driven from his home to range as an
outlaw in the mountains, and finally compelled to take refuge
in the court of a heathen prince.
6. At length the end came. Deserted by God, Saul became
INTRODUCTION. 37
the prey of dark superstition, and sought counsel from one of
those necromancers whom in his early zeal he had striven to
extirpate. " All human history has failed to record a despair
deeper or more tragic than his, who having forsaken God, and
being of God forsaken, is now seeking to move hell since heaven
is inexorable to him ; and infinitely guilty as he is, there is
something unutterably pathetic in that yearning of the dis-
anointed king now in his utter desolation to change words once
more with the friend and counsellor of his youth ; and if he
must hear his doom, to hear it from no other lips but his1."
The last scene on Gilboa, when
" In the lost battle borne down by the flying,
Where mingles war's rattle with the groans of the dying,"
the once brave hero's heart fails him, as he leans upon his spear,
and he seeks death by his own hand, is a sad conclusion to a
life which opened with such brilliant promise.
7. Saul's history is a stern warning of the fatal consequences
of uncontrolled self-will, of the inevitable descent of an unre
pentant heart from bad to worse, of the hopeless hardening
which results from neglect to use grace given.
" There is no history," writes Archbishop Trench, " which as
we read it brings home to us a stronger sense of this life as a
life of probation : no history which makes, us so vividly to realise
the fact that God takes men and puts them in certain conditions
to try them : to see how they will bear themselves under these
conditions ; how far they will profit by the opportunities for
good, and resist the solicitations to evil which these will in
evitably offer them2."
Yet in thinking of him we may surely follow the example set
by David in his touching elegy, and dwell on the brighter aspects
of his life, and forbear to pass a harsh judgment on one whom
the victim of his malice could regard to the last with such warm
affection8. 1 Abp. Trench's Shipwrecks of Faith, p. 47.
2 Shipwrecks of Faith, p. 39.
3 See Maurice's Prophets and Kings, p. 32 ft".
38 INTRODUCTION. CHAPTER VIII.
DAVID.
I. The life and character of David are presented to us with
a completeness which has no parallel in the Old Testament.
Not only have we a full biography of his outward life, written
in all probability by the companions who shared his perils and
his exaltation1, but the secrets of his inner life with its hopes
and fears, its struggles and triumphs, are revealed to us in the
outpourings of his heart preserved in the. book of Psalms2.
In the First Book of Samuel we are concerned only with that'
period of his life which was the divine education for his future
office. In this three stages are clearly marked.
2. (i) Home life at Bethlehem. The solitary hours spent
by the shepherd lad on the hills of Bethlehem left a deep im
press on his character. Even in that simple duty he was con
scious of a divine call. He kept his flock as a charge from God.
In conscious dependence upon God he knew no fear in the path
of duty. " The solitariness of the life braced up his spirit and
its dangers formed within him the habit of ready action based
on simple trust in his God." This was the secret of the courage \
which emboldened him to face Goliath3.
1 See ch. i. § 4 a.
2 The Psalms connected with -this period by their titles are: lix.,
" When Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him" (1 Sam. xix.
11— 18): liv., when the Ziphites betrayed him to Saul (1 Sam. xxiii.
19 ff., or xxvi. 1 ff.) : lvi. and xxxiv., on the occasion of his first flight!
to Gath (1 Sam. xxi.): lvii. and cxlii., "in the cave," either of Adullam ;
(1 Sam. xxii. 1), or Engedi (xxiv. 3): Iii., on Doeg (1 Sam. xxii. 9)::
lxiii., in the wilderness of Judah (1 Sam. xxii. 5). Of these, lix. and
xxxiv. are doubtful: lxiii. more probably belongs to his flight from
Absalom. ,We should probably add vii. (see on xxiv. 9) as written sometime
during his outlaw life: vi. (?): xi., perhaps at Engedi: possibly xxxv.
(cp. 1 Sam. xxiv. 9ff.).
Psalms viii., xix., xxiii., xxix. reflect his early life, though perhaps
not written till later. r r
3 1 Sam. xvii. 32—37. See Wilberforce's Heroes, p. 230 ff.
Maurice's Prophets, p. 408". r oy
INTRODUCTION. 39
Here he lived " with God and nature communing : " here
" The earth
And common face of nature spake to him
Rememberable things."
That spirit of the religious interpretation of Nature which
breathes in Pss. viii., xix., xxix., was kindled as he gazed into
the depths of the star-lit sky while he guarded his flock, or
watched the splendours of an eastern sunrise, or heard the
crashing thunder which is "the voice of Jehovah" reverberate
among the rocks. The imagery of danger drawn from wild
beasts reflects this period (Ps. vii. 2, xvii. 12, &c). Here he
acquired the skill in music which led to the transference to
Saul's court with which the second period of his life begins.
But before that change, the Anointing oil of the Prophet had
already marked him out for his future dignity. The special gift
of the Spirit of God had already begun to train him for that
special task.
3. (ii) Life at court. The simplicity of shepherd life was
now exchanged for the temptations of the court : the quiet ex
periences of youth for " the terrible discipline of flattery." The
minstrel shepherd became the conqueror of the giant, the hero
of Israelite song. A rapid promotion raised him successively
to be a royal armourbearer, a successful captain, the king's son-
in-law. Steadily he rose in favour with the people, but the
growth of Saul's jealousy kept pace with the advance of popular
good-will, till at length persecution drove him from the court,
and the third period of his discipline commenced.
4. (iii) Life as an outlaw. At first he took refuge with
Samuel in the prophetic school at Ramah. But a final test
proved that reconciliation with Saul was impossible, and he fled
by way of Nob to the court of Achish. Here his stay was brief
and perilous: he soon escaped, and gathered a band of men
about him in the cave of Adullam. For a time he seems to have
crossed over into Moab, but returning to the land of Judah by
Gad's direction, he wandered up and down, hunted from time
to time by Saul. There is no continuous history of his life at
this period ; only a series of scenes which illustrate his pro-
40 INTRODUCTION.
vidential escapes from the hand of his pursuer, his pious regard
for the anointed king, the divine control which restrained him
from hasty revenge.
Driven at length to flee the country, he established a minia
ture kingdom at Ziklag, where he practised himself and his men
in the arts of war and peace. Once more God's care was mani
fested in extricating him from the perplexing dilemma into
which his own conduct had brought him. This period of his
life and the First Book of Samuel close simultaneously with the
death of Saul and his sons on Mount Gilboa. AU that concerns
his reign belongs to the Second Book1.
5. This long and varied discipline was designed to fit David
for the duties of the throne. His residence at Gibeah, sur
rounded by envious courtiers, developed his prudence : Saul's
persecution tested his generosity and self-control : the perils
of his wanderings strengthened his sense of dependence upon
God. •
His position as an outlaw chief trained him in knowledge
and government of men : familiarity with the victims of Saul's
misgovernment taught the future ruler to know the heart of
his subjects, their sorrows, their wrongs, their crimes : even
the residence in Moab and Philistia contributed to nurture
larger sympathies which might fit him for his wider mission as
king of Israel.
6. David is a striking contrast to Saul. With all his native
generosity and courage, Saul had a hard and narrow heart.
He was incapable of wide sympathy or deep contrition. David's
heart was thoroughly human. The endless variety of his
Psalms reaches through all the range of the emotions, has
some affinity for every type of character. David fell into sin,
but sincere penitence ever restored him to communion with
God : Saul's regret for his sin was prompted by a fear lest he
should be degraded in the eyes of his people2.
Saul's religion was a slavish formalism, leading to a super-
1 The consideration of David as a type of Christ belongs to that
period. 2 Contrast 1 Sam. xv. 30 with 2 Sam. xii. 13 and Ps. li.
INTRODUCTION. 41
stitious fear. He never loved God. David " thoroughly be
lieved in God as a living and righteous Being." " In all his
works he praised the Holy One most high with words of
glory; with his whole heart he sung songs and loved Him
that made him 1."
7. A sketch of this period of David's life would be incom
plete indeed without mention of his friendship with Jonathan.
The darkest days of trial were brightened by "the sunshine
of that pure, disinterested love which has embalmed for all
time the name of Jonathan." This deep love was based on
a common faith. Jonathan like David found his strength in
God. Their covenant was a "covenant of Jehovah2." Jonathan
rejoiced in the prospect of David's advancement without a
shadow of jealousy, because he saw it was God's will. No
suspicion of selfishness tainted that noble friendship. The
tenderness of the son in some measure effaced the hard treat
ment of the father : and when they fell together on the fatal
field of Mount Gilboa, David could enshrine their memories
together in the most touching requiem of the whole Bible.
Yet perhaps Jonathan was "fortunate in a timely death3," and
it was well that his anticipation of being "next to David" in his
kingdom was not realised.
" Ah ! had he lived before thy throne to stand,
Thy spirit keen and high,
Surely it had snapped in twain love's slender band,
So dear in memory;
Paul, of his comrade left, the warning gives,
He lives with us who dies, he is but lost who lives4."
1 Ecclesiasticus xlvii. 8.
2 1 Sam. xiv. 6, 12; xx. 8.
3 As Tacitus said of Agricola, "felix non vitae tantum claritate sed
etiam opportunitate mortis," Tac. Agric. c. 45.
4 J. H. Newman in the Lyra Apostolica.
The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth;
And He shall give strength unto His King,
And exalt the horn of His Anointed.
THE
FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL,
OTHERWISE CALLED,
THE FIRST BOOK OF THE KINGS.
N
Ch. I. i — 8. ElkanaKs household and devotion.
ow there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of 1
mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son
Ch. I. 1—8. Elkanah's household and devotion.
1. Now] And. The conjunction implies that the book of Samuel
is a continuation of the history contained in the book of Judges which
it immediately follows in the order of the Hebrew Bible, Ruth, being
placed among the Hagiographa.
Ramathaim-zophim] The name Ramathaim ( = "the two heights")
is found here only, and is no doubt another name for Ramah ( = " the
height") the birthplace (v. 19), residence (vii. 17), and burial-place
(xxv. 1) of the prophet Samuel. Its site "is the most disputed problem
of sacred topography. " Probably it is to be placed either (a) at Er-
Ram, a conical hill about 5 miles due north of Jerusalem, in which case
it will be identical with Ramah of Benjamin (Josh, xviii. 25) : or (b) at
Neby Samwil ( = " the prophet Samuel") a conspicuous eminence 5 miles
N. W. of Jerusalem, on which is still shewn the traditional tomb of
Samuel : or (c) at Ram Allah, east of Beth-horon on the western slopes
of Mount Ephraim.
The epithet Zophim distinguishes the town from others of similar
name, as Ramathaim in Zuph (ix. 5), a district probably named after
Elkanah's ancestor, Zuph or Zophai (1 Chr. vi. 26).
Ramathaim is possibly the same as Arimathaea in the N. T. The
form Armathaim in which it appears in the LXX. gives the link of
connexion between the names.
of mount Ephraim] The central mountainous district of Palestine,
in which the tribe of Ephraim settled (Josh. xvii. 15), was " a good land."
The limestone hills are intersected by fertile valleys, watered by innu
merable fountains, and still remarkable for their fertility. See Stanley's
44 I. SAMUEL, I. , [vv. 2, 3.
of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of
2 Zuph, an Ephrathite : and he had two wives ; the name of
the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah;;
and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and
Sinai and Palestine, p. 229, ff. The name extended southwards to the
territory of Benjamin in which Ramah lay. Thus Deborah's palm tree
was "between Ramah and Bethel in Mount Ephraim" (Jud. iv. 5).
Elkanah] In 1 Chr. vi. 22 — 28, 33 — 38, Samuel's descent from
Kohath the son of Levi is given at length. Shemuel in v. 33 is the
Hebrew form of the name for which the E. V. usually substitutes the
Latinized form Samuel. The discrepancies in these genealogies may
be partly due to corruptions of the text, partly to the same individuals
bearing different, though in some cases synonymous, names.
an Ephrathite] The Levite Elkanah is called an Ephrathite, i.e.
Ephraimite, because his family had originally belonged to the Kohathite
settlements in the territory of Ephraim (Josh. xxi. 20). It is suggested
in the Speaker's Commentary, that as Salmon, the 7th from Judah,
entered Canaan with Joshua, Zuph, who was the 7th from Levi, ac
cording to the genealogy in 1 Chr., may very probably have lived at
the time of the settlement of the land. The genealogy would naturally
stop with the first settler in Canaan, who gave his name to "the land of
Zuph" (ix. 5). If so, we must suppose that he at once migrated from
the residence assigned him in the tribe of Ephraimi
2. two wives] Polygamy, though at variance with the original
institution of marriage (Gen. ii. 24), was tolerated by the Mosaic law
as an existing custom (Deut. xxi. 15—17), and the fact that Abraham,
Jacob, Gideon, David and Solomon were all polygamists, shews that
no moral blame attached to the practice in this period. It gradually
became less frequent, and no case is on record in the Biblical history
after the Captivity, but it Was reserved for Christianity to re-establish
the primeval ideal.
Hannah] i.e. "Grace." The same name is borne in the N.T. by
"Anna, a prophetess" (Luke ii. 36) : and according to tradition the wife
of Joachim and mother of the Virgin Mary was' named Anna. In the
Phoenician colony of Carthage, where a. language closely akin to Hebrew
was spoken, the sister of the queen Dido was named Anna (Vere Aen
iv. 9): s
Peninnah] i. e. " Coral," or " Pearl." The name may be compared
with our Margaret, which means pearl.
3. yearly] The Law required every male to present himself " before
Jehovah at the central sanctuary of the nation at each of the three
great Feasts (Ex. xxxiv. 23 ; Deut. xvi. 16), but there is no evidence
that this command was ever strictly observed, and Elkanah's practice
was probably that of a pious Israelite of the time. ' ' All his household "
(v. 21) went with him, in obedience to the injunctions of Deut xii
10—12. To which of the Feasts he went up must remain a matter of
v. 4.] I. SAMUEL, I. 45
to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the
two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the
Lord, were there. And when the. time was that Elkanah 4
offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons
conjecture. Our Lord's parents went to Jerusalem every year at the
Feast of the Passover (Luke ii. 41).
the Lord of hosts] See Note I. p. 235, for a discussion of the meaning
of this title.
in Shiloh] The position of Shiloh is defined with remarkable exact
ness in Jud. xxi. 19. It was in Ephraim, "on the north side of Bethel,
on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem,
and on the south of Lebonah." This agrees perfectly with the situation
of the modern Seil-un, which is about ten miles north of Bethel, and
east of the main road. It is thus described by Lieut. Conder ( Tent
Work in Palestine, I. 82) : " The ruins of a modern village occupy a sort
of tell or mound. On the east and north the site is shut in by bare and
lofty hills of grey limestone, dotted over with a few fig .trees ; on the
south the plateau looks down on the plain just crossed. A deep valley
runs behind the town on the north. Below the top of the hill there is
a sort of irregular quadrangle. The rock has here been rudely hewn in
two parallel scarps for over 400 feet, with a court between, 77 feet wide,
and sunk 5 feet below the outer surface. Thus there would be sufficient
room for the court of the Tabernacle in this area."
Here in the territory of the most powerful tribe, in the heart of the
promised land, the whole congregation of Israel met and set up the
Tabernacle of the congregation, the last relic of their wanderings in the
desert (Josh, xviii. 1). The name is appropriate. Shiloh signifies
"Rest." Shiloh continued (with temporary exceptions, see e.g. Jud.
xx. 27) to be the religious centre of the nation, "the place which
Jehovah had chosen to put his name there," until after the loss of the
Ark in the disastrous battle of Ebenezer. Possibly it was destroyed
or occupied by the Philistines : at any rate it ceased to be the national
sanctuary. Samuel sacrificed at Mizpeh, at Ramah, at Gilgal, never,
so far as we read, at Shiloh. The tabernacle was removed to Nob
(1 Sam. xxi.), and the once holy place was utterly desecrated.
Jeremiah points to its desolation as ihe standing witness of God's judg
ments. "Go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set
my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my
people Israel" (Jer. vii. 12).
And the two sons] Better, And Eli's two sons Hophni and Phinehas
were there priests to Jehovah. They are mentioned rather than
their father because in his old age he had resigned the active duties of
his office to them. The name Hophni occurs nowhere else in the O. T. :
for Phinehas it was reserved to sully the honour of one of the most illus
trious names in Israel, borne by him whose bold act of judgment "was
counted unto him for righteousness" (Ps. cvi. 30, 31).
4. offered] sacrificed, as in v, 3. His sacrifice was a thank-offering,
46 I. SAMUEL, I. [w. 5— 9-
sand her daughters, portions: but unto Hannah he gave a
worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the Lord had
6 shut up her womb. And her adversary also provoked her
sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up
7 her womb. And as he did so year by year, when she went
up' to the house of the Lord, so she provoked her ; there-
8 fore she wept, and did not eat. Then said Elkanah her
husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why
eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I
better to thee than ten sons?
9 — 20. Hannah's Prayer and its answer.
9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and
after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat
for it was only of the thank-offerings that the worshippers partook (Lev.
vii. 11 — 18).
he gave] The tenses in vv. 4—7 express repeated action : "he used to
give : her adversary used to provoke her."
portions] Of the victims sacrificed. Cp. ix. 23.
8. a worthy portion] Lit., one portion for two -persons: a double
portion. If the text is sound, this seems to be the best explanation
of an obscure expression. Elkanah marked his love for Hannah by
giving her a double portion. Similarly Joseph distinguished Benjamin
by sending him a fivefold portion (Gen. xliii. 34). But the Sept-
points to a different reading which would give the following sense : "
"And to Hannah he gave a single portion, because she had no child: ;
nevertheless Elkanah loved Hannah most : but the Lord had shut up
her womb."
had shut up her womb] Hannah's faith might have been strengthened
by the recollection that Sarah (Gen. xvi. 1), Rachel (Gen. xxx. 1),
Manoah's wife (Jud. xiii. 2), all had to bear the reproach of childlessness
for a time, and all eventually bore illustrious sons.
6. her adversary] Peninnah. The cognate verb is used in Lev.
xviii. 18, "Thou shalt not take a wife to her sister to vex her."
7. as he did so] Peninnah's spitefulness was evoked by the display
of Elkanah's affection. Exultation at another's misfortune is one of the
most detestable forms of malice.
did not eat] Refused to take any part in the rejoicings of the sacri
ficial feast.
8. better to thee than ten sons] Cp. Ruth iv. 15.
9—20. Hannah's Prayer and its answer.
9. So Hannah rose up] Simply And. Hannah left the feast for
which she had not heart, and went to pray.
Eli the priest] Eli belonged to the house of Ithamar Aaron's fourth
vv. 10, ii.] I. SAMUEL, I. 47
by a post of the temple of the Lord. And she was in 10
bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept
sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, n
if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid,
and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt
give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him
son, as is clear from a comparison of i Chr. xxiv. 3 with 2 Sam. viii. 17
and 1 Kings ii. 27, and from the omission of his name in the gene
alogy of Eleazar in 1 Chr. vi. 4 — 15. The last high-priest mentioned
before him was Phinehas the son of Eleazar (Jud. xx. 28) ; but when or
why the succession passed into the family of Ithamar, we are not told.
The office did not return to the line of Eleazar until Solomon deposed
Abiathar in fulfilment of the doom pronounced upon the house of Eli,
and appointed Zadok in his place (1 Kings ii. 27). Eli united the
offices of Priest and Judge.
upon a seat by a post of the temple] Rather, " upon the seat (or, his
seat) by the doorpost of the temple." "The sanctuary itself was so
encased with buildings, as to give it the name and appearance of 'a
house' or 'temple.' There was a gateway with a seat inside 4he door
posts or pillars which supported it. It was 'the seat' or 'throne' of the
ruler or judge, as afterwards in the Palace of Solomon. Here Eli sat
on days of religious or political solemnity, and surveyed the worship
pers as they came up the eminence on which the sanctuary was placed."
Stanley's Lectures on the Jewish Church, I. 321.
the temple] The Heb. word denotes a spacious and stately building:
hence (a) a royal palace: (b) the temple: (c) heaven, as the true temple
of Jehovah. It is applied to the tabernacle only here and in iii. 3, and
possibly in Ps. v. 7. Its use in the present passage may indicate that
the book was written at a time when the religious nomenclature had
been coloured by the construction of Solomon's temple.
11. vowed a vow] The law of vows, with special limitations in the
case of married women, is given in Num. xxx.
look on the affliction of thine handmaid] The rendering of the LXX.
"If thou wilt indeed regard the low estate of thine handmaiden" (iav
e'irifi\£—wv iTn,pTKi\j/rjs iirl ttjv Tairdvuaiv ttjs Sotkqs vov) gives the words
adopted by the Virgin Mary (Luke i. 48).
/ will give him] The vow is twofold, involving (1) the lifelong con
secration of the child to the service of Jehovah, for as a Levite he would
serve from the age of 25 or 30 to 50 only, and very possibly at this time
many Levites, e.g. Elkanah himself, had no official duties: (2) the
special Nazirite vow, the characteristics of which were (a) abstinence
from intoxicating drinks, as an act of self-denial and a protest against
sensual indulgence : (b) the free growth of the hair, symbolizing appa
rently the complete dedication of all the man's powers to Jehovah:
(c) the avoidance of defilement by a dead body, as a token of absolute
purity of life. See Num. vi. The vow was usually taken for a limited time
48 I. SAMUEL, I. [w. 12—16.
unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no
12 rasor come upon his head. And it came to pass, as she
continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her
I3 mouth. Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her
lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli
i4 thought she had been drunken. And Eli said unto her,,
How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from-
i5 thee. And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am.
a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine
nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the,
16 Lord. Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial:
for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I
only, but Samson, Samuel, and St John the Baptist were dedicated to a
perpetual Nazirate from their birth.
12. continued praying] Lit. "multiplied to pray," i.e. "prayed long.;
and earnestly."
13. Eli thought she had been drunken] Silent prayer was not usual ,
at the time. Eli's ready suspicion makes it probable that such excesses
were not uncommon at the sacrificial feasts. His hasty and uncharit
able judgment points to some of the defects of his character.
15. of a sorrowful spirit] Lit. "heavy of spirit." "Consider the
modesty of Hannah, who, though she suffered injury from the~High
Priest, nevertheless answers with reverence and humility." Calvin.
16. a daughter of Belial] Rather, a worthless, or, wicked woman.
Our translators have wrongly treated this word as a proper name in the
historical books, but not elsewhere, though the alternative is generally
given in the margin. It means worthlessness, and according to the usual
Hebrew idiom a son or daughter of worthlessness signifies "a worthless
man or woman," and with positively bad sense, a lawless, ungodly,.
wicked person. If "naughty," by which the word is rendered in Prov.
vi. 12, had retained its archaic sense, it would be a fair equivalent.
"Belial," or more correctly " Beliar, " is used by St Paul in 2 Cor. vi. 15
as a name of Satan, the personification of all lawlessness and worthless
ness. Milton naturally follows the E. V. in regarding Belial as the
name of a spirit. "Belial, than whom a spirit more lewd
Fell not from heaven, ... to him no temple stood,
Or altar smoked, yet who more oft than he
In temples and at altars, when the priest
Turns atheist, as did Eli's sons, who filled
With lust and violence the house of God."
Paradise Lost, I. 490, ff.
grief] Lit. "provocation" (cp. v. 6), or "vexation" as the conse
quence of provocation.
vv. 17—22.] I. SAMUEL, I. 49
spoken hitherto. Then Eli answered and said, Go in 17
peace : and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that
thou hast asked of him. And she said, Let thine handmaid 18
find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and
did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. And they 19
rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the
Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah :
and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife ; and the Lord remem
bered her. Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was 20
come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a
son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have
asked him of the Lord.
21 — 28. Samuel's infancy and dedication to fehovah.
And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to 21
offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and his vow. But 22
Hannah went not up ; for she said unto her husband, I will
not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring
18. grace] i. e. favour, as in xxv. 8.
19. the Lord remembered her] Cp. Gen. xxx. 22.
20. Wherefore] Simply And.
to Ramah] See note on Bamathaim-Zophim in v. 1..
Samuel] This name, in Hebrew Shemuel, is familiar to us only in its
Latin dress. It was borne by two other persons in the O. T. (Num. xxxiv.
20; 1 Chr. vii. 2). Three explanations of it are proposed: .(a) "Name
of God" : (b) "Asked of God" : (c) "Heard of God": of which the last
is the most probable; compare Ishmael= " God heareth. " Hannah
gives the child a name which will be- a continual memorial of God's
answer to her prayer. It found a subsequent appropriateness in the
fervency and efficacy of his own prayers.
21—28. Samuel's infancy and dedication to Jehovah.
. 21. his vow] This assumes that Elkanah as well as Hannah had
made a vow. The Sept. reads "his vows and all the tithes of his land."
Cp. Deut. xii. n,
22. until the child be weaned] He would then be two or three years
old. It is still a common practice in the East to suckle children for two
years : and in ancient times they were sometimes not weaned till three
years old. See 2 Mace. vii. 27, "O my son, have pity upon me that
gave thee suck three years and nourished thee." The weaning was
made an occasion of festivity (Gen. xxi. 8). The objection has been made
that so young a child would have been troublesome to Eli, but there
were women engaged in the tabernacle service (ii. 22), to whose care
he might have been committed. It was important that he should be '
I. SAMUEL 4
$.o I. SAMUEL, I. [vv. 23—25.
him, that he^ may appear before the Lord, and there abide;
23 for ever. And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do
what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned
him; only the Lord establish his word. So the woman
24 abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him. And
when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with
three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of
wine, and brought him unto the house of the Lord in
es Shiloh : and the child was young. And they slew a bullock^
dedicated as soon as, possible. The house of God was to be the only
home he knew ; the earliest impressions of his boyhood were to be those
of the sanctuary.
for ever] Equivalent to "as long as he liveth" of v. 28.
23. his word] No express promise of a son has been mentioned;;
Eli's blessing in v. 1 7 can scarcely be understood as such. But Samuel's
birth implied that Hannah's prayer was heard, and Elkanah prays that
it may receive a complete fulfilment. The Sept. reads "The Lord
establish that which is gone forth out of thy mouth."
24. three bullocks] We may conjecture that one was intended for a
burnt-offering, one for the "sacrifice in performing a vow," and one for
a peace-offeqng. See Num. xv. 8.
one ephah of flour] According to Josephus, the ephah contained
about S\ gallons, according to Jewish authorities about 4J gallons. The
smaller estimate is probably correct. Three tenth parts of an ephah of
flour were to be offered with each bullock (Num. xv. 9) as a "meat
offering" (minchah). ,
a bottle of wine] i.e. a skin-bottle, which would hold a considerable;]
quantity. The prescribed drink-offering with each bullock was half an
hin of wine (Num. xv. 10), or about three pints, the hin being a sixth
part of the bath, which was of the same capacity as the ephah (Ez.
xlv. n).
the house of the Lord] See note on v. 9.
the child was young] Lit. "the child was a child." The term is
quite vague, and gives no clue to Samuel's age , at the time. See how
ever the note on v. 22.
25. they slew a bullock] The bullock ; viz. the one which had been
brought as a dedicatory offering with the child : the sacrifice of the others
is taken for granted. We may try to picture the scene. Elkanah leads
the bullock to the north side of the altar of burnt-offering, in the court ;
before the door of the tabernacle, and binds it to the horns of the
altar. Hannah brings her child, and lays his hand on the head of the
victim in token that it is his representative; at that moment Elkanah
or one of the priests slays it (Lev. i. 5). Its blood is sprinkled and its
limbs burnt upon the altar, as an emblem of the complete dedication
of the child to Jehovah.
The 'Sept. version, differs widely from our present Heb. text and
w. 26—28.] I. SAMUEL, I. 51
and brought the child to Eli. And she said, 0 my lord, ^
as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by
thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed; 27
and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of
him : therefore also I have lent him to the Lord ; as long ?3
as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worship
ped the Lord there.
describes the presentation of Samuel as combined with the yearly
sacrifice. "And she went up with him to Selom with a bullock of
three years old, and bread, and an ephah of fine flour, and a bottle of
wine; and entered into the house of the Lord in Selom: and the child
was with them. • And they brought him near before the Lord : and his
father slew the sacrifice, which he used to offer year by year unto the
Lord. And he brought the child near and slew the bullock. And
Anna the mother of the child brought him near to Heli, and said, " &c.
This may represent a different original text, or be a loose paraphrase.
26. as thy soul liveth] An oath peculiar to the books of Samuel and
Kings. that stood by thee] Prayer was offered either (a) standing, as by
Hannah, and Abraham (Gen. xviii. 22): (b) kneeling, as by Solomon
(1 Kings viii. 54), and by Daniel (Dan. vi. jo) : (c) prostrate, as by
Moses and Aaron (Num. xvi. 22), and by our Lord (Matt. xxvi. 39).
28. therefore also, &c] Render, And I on my part have given him to
Jehovah as long as he liveth : because he was one asked for Jehovah.
The exact translation of the Heb. is doubtful, and the remarkable play
upon words in it is lost in translation. But the general sense is clear :
'Jehovah gave me the child, and I restore him in accordance with my
vow.' The word translated lend occurs elsewhere only in Ex. xii. 36,
where it means give rather than lend. A loan may be reclaimed at the
will of the lender. Hannah's surrender of Samuel was complete. See
v. n and ch. ii. 20.
he worshipped] Who? Not Samuel, who was too young: but El
kanah, as head of the household," worshipped, while Hannah poured
out her heart in the hymn which immediately follows. The Sept.
however omits the words, and the Vulg. reads "And they worshipped
the LORD there."
CH. II. l—ll. The Song of Hannah.
Hannah's song is a true prophecy. She is inspired "to'discern in
her own individual experience the universal laws of the divine economy,
and to recognise its significance for the whole course of the Kingdom
of God." The deliverance from her proud adversary which had just
been vouchsafed to her was but one instance of the great principles of
Jehovah's moral government of the world, principles which receive their
fullest illustration in the exaltation of the Lord's Christ through humi
liation to victory, and which will only be fully realised when "the
4—2
52 I. SAMUEL, II. [v. i.
Ch. II. i — ii. The Song of Hannah.
! And Hannah prayed, and said,
My heart rejoiceth in the Lord,
Mine horn is exalted in the Lord :<
My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies ;
kingdoms of this world shall have become the kingdoms of our Lord
and of his Christ." Hence it is that her own peculiar circumstances
are so soon lost sight of in the wider view of the dealings of God's
Providence. The failure to recognise this has led critics to deny the
authenticity of the song, and to conjecture that some ancient triumphal
war-psean has been erroneously placed in Hannah's mouth by the com
piler of the book.
A brief analysis Will help to explain the connexion of thought.
"Jehovah is the sole author of my deliverance. He shall be the
theme of my song.
There is none to be compared with Him for holiness, power, faith
fulness : be silent before him, all ye proud boasters ! He knows your
thoughts and weighs your actions.
Observe the Vicissitudes of human fortune : the haughty are humbled,
the humble exalted :. this is Jehovah's doing : for He is the Almighty
Governor of the universe. He guides and guards His saints, and
destroys the wicked.
May He finally discomfit his adversaries, judge the world, and esta
blish the kingdom of His Anointed One !"
The Magnificat (Luke i. 46 — 55) should be carefully compared with
Hannah's song, of which it is an echo rather than an imitation. The
resemblance lies in thought and tone more than in actual language, and
supplies a most delicate and valuable testimony to the appropriateness
of this hymn to Hannah's circumstances. The 113th Psalm forms a
connecting link between the two.
1. And Hannah prayed] This description of the Psalm is not in
appropriate, for prayer includes thanksgiving and praise. Cp. the
"prayer of Habakkuk" (Hab. iii. 1): and the "prayers of David" as a
general designation of his psalms (Ps. lxxii. 20).
rejoiceth] Exulteth or triumpheth, a strong word.
mine horn is exalted in the Lord] = ' I am brought to great honour,
and the author of that honour is Jehovah.' The horn is frequently used
as a symbol {a) of strength (Deut. xxxiii. 17): (b) of honour (Job xvi.
15). "To exalt the horn" signifies "to raise to a position of power or
dignity." Cp. Ps. lxxxix. 17, cxlviii. i4. The figure is probably
derived from horned animals, tossing their heads in the air, and there
is no allusion to the horns worn by women in the East at the present day.
It is found in Latin poets, e.g. Ov. A. A. I. 239, "Turn pauper
cornua sumit" = "plucks up courage."
my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies] "My mouth is opened Wide
against mine enemies;" I am no longer put to silence in their presence.
vv. 2—5.] I. SAMUEL, II. 53
Because I rejoice in thy salvation.
There is none holy as the Lord :
For there is none beside thee :
Neither is there any rock like our God.
Talk no more so exceeding proudly;
Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth :
For the Lord is a God of knowledge,
And by him actions are weighed.
The bows of the mighty men are broken,
And they that stumbled are girt with strength.
They that were full have hired out themselves for bread ; :
And they that were hungry ceased :
Cp. Ps. xxxviii. 13, 14. In ch. i. 7, 8 it is implied that Hannah made
no answer to Peninnah's taunts.
thy salvation] Cp. Luke i. 47. " Salvation " in the O. T. means (a)
deliverance, rescue from dangers or adversities of all kinds (ch. xiv. 45);
(b) help, the power by which the deliverance is effected, whether divine
or human (Ps. xxxv. 3).
2. rock] A frequent metaphor to describe the strength, faithfulness,
and unchangeableness of Jehovah. See Deut. xxxii. 4; 2 Sam. xxii. 32.
3. arrogancy] The old form of the word arrogancz (cp. innocency
for innocence) from the Lat. arrogantia. It. signifies "claiming more
than one's due," "assumption," "pride."
knowledge] The Heb. word is plural, denoting varied and extensive
by him actions are weighed] Jehovah knows the hearts of men and
estimates men's actions at their true value. See Prov. xvi. 1, xxiv. 12.
This explanation is probably right, but the Heb. may also be rendered,
"His (i.e. God's) actions are weighed," or, "measured :" i.e. ar-ejust
and right. Cp. the use of the same word in Ezek. xviii. 25, " Is not my
way equal?" " By him" is the Qri or traditional read text, (See p. 14,)
The Kthibh or written text has " not" instead of " by him," the words
being similar in pronunciation though differently spelt. This may be
rendered either, "though actions be not weighed," or interrogatively,
"and are not actions weighed?"
4, 5. This knowledge and justice apportion to all their due, and
reverse conditions of life contrary to all expectation. Sennacherib's host ¦
is annihilated : Gideon's handful triumphs.
4. The bows of the mighty men are broken, &c] The bow was one of
the chief weapons of war (2 Sam. i. 22). Its being broken is a natural
symbol of defeat. "To be girded with strength" (Ps. xviii. 39) 'is a
figure derived from the practice of "girding up the loins" in preparation
for active exertion.
5. ceased] i.e. are at rest : need toil no more : or, cease to be hungry.
54 L SAMUEL, IL [w. 6—8.
So that the barren hath born seven ;
And she that hath many children is waxed feeble.
j The Lord killeth, and maketh alive :
He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.
' The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich :
He bringeth low, and lifteth up.
i He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,
And lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill,
To set them among princes,
And to make them inherit the throne of glory :
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
And he hath set the .world upon them.
seven] A perfect family. Cp. Ruth iv. 15.
is waxed feeble] By the loss of her children. Cp. Jer. xv. 9.
6 — 8. In Jehovah's hand are the issues of life and death, prosperity
and adversity. All history illustrates this truth. Hezekiah is recalled
from the gates of the grave : Job is tried by affliction : David is taken
from the sheepfolds to be king: Nebuchadnezzar sinks to the level of
a beast : Haman is degraded, Mordecai honoured: and chiefest example
of all, He who "was despised and rejected of men," was "highly,*
exalted, and given a name that is above every name."
6. the grave] The Heb. word Sheol, variously rendered in the E. V.
grave, hell, pit, denotes the mysterious unseen world, the abode of all
departed spirits, righteous and wicked alike. Hell, frcm A. S. helan,
to cover, hide, would be a fair rendering if we could strip the word of
all the associations with which it has been invested : but as we cannot
do this, it is best to retain the Heb. word Sheol, or take its N. T. equi
valent Hades. ,
There is no direct allusion here to' the resurrection : death and Sheol
are figuratively used for the depths of adversity and peril : life for deliver
ance and prosperity. See Ps. lxxi. 20, lxxxvi. 13.
8. out of the dust] "To sit in the dust" (Is. xlvii. 1), or "on the
dunghill" (Lam. iv. 5) are Oriental figures for a condition of extreme
degradation and misery, derived probably from the practice of mourners
(Job ii. 8) : to share the company of princes, and occupy a throne of
honour (Job xxxvi. 7) are metaphors for advancement and prosperity. 5
Ps. cxiii. 7 — 9 is copied almost verbatim from these verses. Cp. too"
Ps. lxxv. 6, 7. '<
for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's] The creation and mainte
nance of the natural framework of the earth by Jehovah are a guarantee
for His moral government among men. Cp. Ps. lxxv. 3. The expression';
"pillars of the earth'" (cp. Job. ix. 6) is a poetical metaphor derived
from the construction of a house (see Jud. xvi. 26), and need not imply
any theory as to the earth's shape.
9. It is Jehovah who guards His chosen ones from stumbling in
their walk through life (Ps. Ivi. 13, xci. 12); it is He who leaves the
yv. 9, 10.] I. SAMUEL, II. 55
He will keep the feet of his saints, 9
And the wicked shall be silent in darkjiess ;
For by strength shall no man prevail:
The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces ; 1
Out of heaven shall he thunder upon them :
The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth ;
And he shall give strength unto his king,
And exalt the horn of his anointed.
wicked to languish in adversity (Job v. 14) or perish miserably (Ps.
xxxi. 17, lv. 23); for apart from Him or in opposition to Him human
strength is impotence (Zech. iv. 6).
his saints] Rather, His beloved, or, His chosen. The Heb. word
means (a) one who is the object of mercy, and does not in itself imply
holiness of character, but is used of Israel as the covenant people, the
objects of Jehovah's lovingkindness : (b) in an active sense, merciful, of
God (Jer. iii. 12): of men (2 Sam. xxii. 26).
shall be silent] " Shall be silenced," or, "perish."
10. The adversaries of the Lord] Render,
Jehovah, they that strive with Him shall he broken to pieces :
against them in heaven let Him (or, He shall) thunder :
Jehovah shall judge the ends of the earth:
and may He (or, He shall) give strength unto His king,
and exalt the horn of His Anointed.
The conclusion of the hymn is partly a prayer for the destruction of
Jehovah's enemies, partly an expression of confidence that this will
surely be effected. The mention of Jehovah's judgments leads up
naturally to the thought of those who are his instruments for executing
them. Hannah's prophetic prayer was but partially fulfilled in the king
soon to be anointed by her son as the deliverer of Israel: it reaches
forward to Him whom the Jewish kings foreshadowed, the King Messiah,
in whom alone the lofty anticipations of the prophetess are to be com
pletely realised.
shall be broken to pieces] The Sept. here inserts the greater part of
Jer. ix. 23, 24. The passage may have been originally placed in the
margin as an illustration, and afterwards incorporated in the text.
his anointed] Here first in connexion with the kingly office do we
meet the word which was to become the characteristic title of the ex
pected deliverer, the "Messiah" or "Anointed One," "the Christ." The
Sept. renders "u^uo-et Kipas x/jiotoO ailroD" (cp. Lk. ii. 26): the Vul
gate "sublimabit cornu Christi sui." See the notes on x. 1 and xii. 3.
It has been alleged that the mention of the king stamps the song as
of later date, posterior to the establishment of the monarchy. This is
by no means the case. The idea of a king was not altogether novel to
the Israelite mind. The promise to Abraham spoke of kings among his
posterity (Gen. xvii. 6) : the Mosaic legislation prescribes the method
of election and the duty of the king (Deut. xvii. 14—20) : Gideon had
56 I. SAMUEL, TI. [vv. 11—14.'
" And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child
did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest.
12 — 17. The faithless priests of Shiloh.
12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial ; they knew not
13 the Lord. And the priests' custom with the people was,
that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant
came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of
14 three teeth in his hand ; and he strooke it into the pan, or
been invited to establish a hereditary monarchy (Jud. viii. 22). Anoint
ing too was recognised as the regular rite of admission to the office
(Jud. ix. 8). Amid the prevalent anarchy and growing disintegration!
of the nation, amid internal corruption and external attack, the desire
for a king was probably taking definite shape in the popular mind. The
prophet who came to Eli speaks again of "Jehovah's anointed" (ii. 35);
But who so worthy to be first chosen to anticipate the future as the
mother of him who was destined to guide the chosen nation through
this critical epoch of its existence, and superintend the foundation of the
Davidic-Messianic kingdom?
Chapters i. and ii. to v. 10 form the Haphtarah or lesson from the
prophets, appointed to be read in the Jewish synagogues on the first
day of the new year.
A translation of the Targum or Chaldee Paraphrase of Hannah's
Song is given in Note III. p. 236.
12 — 17. The faithless priests of Shiloh.
12. sons of Belial] Worthless men. See note on i. 16.
they knew not the Lord] Were ignorant of His character and so
despised His laws. Cp. Jud. ii. 10; Job xviii. 21; Hos. iv. 1.
13. the priests' custom] The law directed the worshipper to present
to the priest the fat of the victim along with the breast and shoulder
(Lev. vii. 29—34). The fat was to be burned on the altar to Jehovah
(Lev. iii. 3 — 5): the breast and shoulder, after being 'waved' and
'heaved,' a ceremony of dedication to Jehovah, became the priest's
portion. Hophni and Phinehas were guilty of a double sin. (a) They
robbed the people: not content with the share assigned them, they
sent a servant to interrupt the preparation of the sacrificial meal, and
seize a further portion, (b) They insulted Jehovah by demanding their
share before the parts consecrated to Him had been duly burned upon
the altar (v. 15).
priests'] Misprinted priest's in most editions of the Bible.
seething] i.e. boiling.
14. strooke] An old form of struck. Cp. Milton's Ode on the Na
tivity, ' ' Such music sweet
As never was by mortal finger strook."
vv. 15—19-] L SAMUEL, II. 57
kettle, or caldron, or pot ; all that the fleshhook brought up
the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all
the Israelites that came thither. Also before they burnt the 15
fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that
sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest ; for he will not
have sodden flesh of thee, but raw. And if any.ra.zxv said 16
unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and
then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would
answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if
not, I will take it by force. Wherefore the sin of the young 17
men was very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the
offering of the Lord.
18 — 21. Samuel's ministry in the tabernacle.
But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, 18
girded with a linen ephod. Moreover his mother made him 19
16. Also] Even. The climax of their transgression was the offence
against Jehovah.
sodden] Boiled : the perf. of 'seethe' is 'sod' (Gen. xxv. 29), and the
past partic. ' sodden.'
16. presently] ' ' Immediately : " the usual meaning of the word in
the E. V., e.g. Matt. xxvi. 53.
he would answer him, Nay] The correct reading of the Heb. gives
"Nay" in place of "him." Cp. note on v. 3.
17. the young men] Hophni and Phinehas.
men abhorred] Rather, the men despised, or, brought into con
tempt the offering of Jehovah. The Sept. omits the men. Corrup
tion in the priesthood begets profanity in the people. Cp. Mal. ii. 8, 9.
"They made it vile in the eyes of the people by shewing how vile it
was in their eyes."
18 — 21. Samuel's ministry in the tabernacle.
18. Samuel ministered] The writer dwells upon the contrast between
.Samuel and the sons of Eli. We see the child attending upon Eli in
the sanctuary, growing before the LORD, in favour both with the Lord
and with men, chosen to be God's messenger to Eli, and finally re-es
tablishing the broken intercourse between Jehovah and His people.
On the other hand we see Hophni and Phinehas abusing their sacred
office, sinking from rapacity and profanity to open profligacy, unchecked
by rebuke or warning, and at last perishing miserably by the hands of
the Philistines.
a linen ephod] The ephod was a garment covering the shoulders,
(Lat. superhumerale), and secured round the waist by a girdle. It was
the distinctive dress of priests (v. 28, ch. xxii. 18), but was occasionally
58 I. SAMUEL, II. [vv. 20—22.
a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when*
she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.1'
20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The Lord
give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to
21 the Lord. And they went unto their own home. And the
Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three
sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before
the Lord.22 — 26. Eli 's fruitless expostulations with his sons.
22 Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did
unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that
assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congre-
worn by others engaged in religious ceremonies, e.g. David (2 Sam. vi.
14). The High Priest wore a special ephod (Ex. xxviii. 6 ff.).
19, 20. Moreover, &c] Lit. "And Hannah used to make.. .and
bring it to him... And Eli used to bless... and they used to go unto his
home." The verbs are frequentative, describing an annual practice often'
repeated. 19. a little coat] The Heb. mill denotes a kind of long upper tunic,
worn by kings (1 Chr. xv. 27), prophets (1 Sam. xv. 27), men of posi
tion (Job ii. 12), women of rank (2 Sam. xiii. r8). The term is applied
to a part of the High Priest's dress, the robe of the Ephod (Ex. xxviii. 31),;;
and it is suggested in the Speaker's Comm. that " the mention of the
ephod and the robe as worn by the youthful Samuel taken in connexion ;
with his after acts seems to point to an extraordinary and irregular;
priesthood to which he was called by God in an age when the provisions;
of the Levitical law were not yet in full operation."
the yearly sacrifice] See note on i. 3.
20. for the loan which is lent] Better as in the margin, in return
for the petition which she asked for Jehovah : i.e. in place of Samuel/*
for whom she prayed in order to dedicate him to God. Cp. i. 11, 27,
28, and note on v. 28.
unto their own home] Lit., "to his (Elkanah's) place." Cp. Gen.
xviii. 33.
21. grew before the Lord] Three stages of physical, moral (v. 26),
and spiritual (iii. 19 — 21) growth are marked.
22,-26. Eli's fruitless expostulations with his sons.
22. heard] "Used to hear all that his sons were doing," constantly
and habitually.
the women that assembled] Rather, that served. The word is ap
plied to (a) military service : (b) Levitical service (Num. iv. 23, viii. 24):
and it seems probable that the women mentioned here and in Ex.
xxxviii. 8, where the same words are used, had regular duties in con-
vv. 23—26.I I. SAMUEL, II. 59
gation. And he said unto them, Why do ye such things ? 23
for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. Nay, my 24
sons ; for it is no good report that I hear : ye make the
Lord's people to transgress. If one man sin against 25
another, the judge shall judge him : but if a man sin against
the Lord, who shall intreat for him ? Notwithstanding they
hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the
Lord would slay them. And the child Samuel grew on, 26
nexion with the tabernacle service. The example of the abominations
connected with the Phoenician worship of Ashtaroth may have helped to
corrupt the priests of Shiloh.
the tabernacle of the congregation] Rather, the tent of meeting, where
Jehovah would meet and hold communication with the priests, and the
people. See Ex. xxix. 42, 43.
23. for I hear of your evil dealings] Rather, for I hear evil things
of you from all this people.
25. If one man, &c] Better,
If a man sin against a man, then Elohim shall judge him :
hut if a man sin against Jehovah, who shall intercede for him?
v 'For man's offences against his fellow-man, there is a third superior
party to arbitrate and rectify the wrongs, namely God, or God's repre
sentative, the duly appointed judge : but for man's offences against
Jehovah, there is no third superior party to intercede as a mediator.
This is most likely an ancient proverb, quoted by Eli to impress his
sons with a sense of the enormity of their sins, which were committed
against Jehovah. The point is obscured by the impossibility of transla
ting the paronomasia of the Hebrew which expresses "judge" and "in
tercede" by different voices of the same verb.
the judge] Heb. Eldhim, i.e. God. Judges, as the representatives
of God in executing justice on earth (Deut. i. 17), are sometimes styled
gods (Ex. xxi. 6, xxii. 8, 9 ; Ps. Ixxxii. 1, 6), but it seems best not to
limit the present passage to human judgments.
because the Lord would slay them] Literally, was pleased to slay
them. Compare the language of Ex. iv. 21, and Josh. xi. 20, where we
read that the Lord hardened the hearts of Pharaoh and the Canaanites ;
and 1 Sam. xvi. 14, where it is said that "an evil spirit from the Lord
troubled Saul." Yet we are assured that "the Lord delighteth in mercy"
(Mic. vii. 18), and "hath no pleasure in the death of him that dieth"
(Ez. xviii. 32). This coexistence of mercy and judgment in the divine
will (Ex. xxxiv. 6, 7) is a mystery which necessarily transcends our
comprehension. But it must be carefully noted that it is not till Pharaoh
has turned a deaf ear to repeated warnings, not till the Canaanites have
polluted themselves with intolerable abominations, that God hardens
their hearts ; not till Eli's sons have ignored His existence and defied
His laws does He determine to slay them: not till Saul has set at
naught his calling and deserted God, is he deserted by Him. Obstinate
60 I. SAMUEL, II. [vv. 27-29.
and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with
men. 27 — 36. The doom of Eli's house.
27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto
him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the
house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's
28 house ? And did I choose him out of all the tribes of
Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn in
cense, to wear an ephod before me ? . and did I give unto
the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the
29 children of Israel ? Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and
at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habita-
impenitence may be judicially punished by the withdrawal of the grace
which leads to repentance.
26. grew on, and was in favour] A childhood like that of Jesus
(Luke ii. 52). Again Samuel's progress is contrasted with the declen
sion of Hophni and Phinehas.
27—36. The doom of Eli's house.
27. a man of God] i.e. a prophet commissioned by God. Even in
the general decay of religion (iii. 1 ) God still had his messengers. The
title "man of God" is applied to Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, and
others. It is specially frequent in the Books of Kings.
Did I plainly appear] Better, Did I indeed reveal myself. See Ex.
iv. 14 ff., 27, xii. 1, 43 for revelations made to Aaron.
in Pharaoh's house] In bondage to Pharaoh's house.
28. him] Perhaps we should , read, it (the house of Aaron) to he
my priests (Ex. xxviii. 1 — 4). The priestly functions are mentioned
¦ in an ascending scale : (a) the common sacrificial duties, (b) offering
incense in the Holy Place (Ex. xxx. 7, 8), (c) wearing an ephod, i.e.
serving as High-priest, for probably the High-priest's ephod (the only
one mentioned in the Pentateuch) is meant here, and not the ordinary
linen ephod worn at this time by all priests. See note on v. 18.
to offer upon mine altar] or perhaps, "to go up to mine altar," to
minister at it. But the E. V. seems best.
all the offerings made by fire] See Lev. x. 12 — 15.
29. Wherefore kick ye] Better, Wherefore do ye trample upon,
i.e. treat with contempt.
at my sacrifice and at mine offering] When the words are distinguished,
that rendered sacrifice (literally slaying) includes as a general term all
sacrifices of slain animals : that rendered offering (literally a gift) is ap
plied to unbloody sacrifices, the so-called meat-offerings ; but the latter
is often used in a wide sense to include all kinds of sacrifice, e.g. in v. 17.
The distinction between the words is fairly observed in the E. V.
vv. 30— 32.J I. SAMUEL, II. 61
tion ; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves
fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?
Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that 3°
thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before
me for ever : but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me ;
for them that honour me I will honour, and they that de
spise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days come, 31
that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's
house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.
And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the 32
wealth which God shall give Israel : and there shall not be
in my habitation] The word is used again in v. 32, and in Ps. xxvi. 8,
of the tabernacle. The Heb. is obscure, and the Sept. rendering
diverges considerably from the present text, thus, ' ' And wherefore didst
thou look upon my offering arid my sacrifice with a shameless eye?"
with the chiefest of all the offerings] "With the first," or, "best part
of every offering," which should have been God's. See note on v. 13.
30. saith] The Heb. word is one rarely used except of a solemn
divine utterance, as in Gen. xxii. 16, and very commonly in the prophets.
/ said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk
before me for ever] God had promised that the family of Aaron in all
its branches should serve perpetually as priests in His presence (Ex.
xxix. 9; Num. xxv. 13): but now the decree must be reversed, for the
faithlessness of Eli's sons had broken the covenant.
31. I will cut off thine arm] = I will destroy thy strength. "The
arm" is a common expression for "might," "strength." Cp..Ps. x. 15;
Zech. xi. 17. One signal fulfilment of this doom was the massaore of
the priests at Nob (xxii. 18, 19).
32. thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation] Or, a rival, the same
word as that rendered "adversary" in i. 6. The best explanation of
this difficult passage appears to be this : ' Thou, in the person of thy
descendants, wilt see another take thy place as priest in my habitation
(cp. t*. 29), at the time when the nation shall be most prosperous and
the office most honourable;' the reference being to Abiathar's deposi
tion by Solomon ( r Kings ii. 27). The words might also be translated
"Thou shalt behold the distress of my habitation" (cp. E. V. margin),
and would then refer to the neglect which the tabernacle suffered
owing to the loss of the Ark, even while the nation was prospering
under Samuel and Saul. Such neglect Would be a -punishment on the
house of Eli, because the High-priest for the time would lose his posi
tion and influence.
The Sept. however omits v. 32, and there are other grounds for suspect
ing that the present Heb. text of this verse as well as of v. 29 is corrupt.
wealth] Here in the sense of "weal," "well-being," as in the Litany
'In all time of our wealth. '
62 I. SAMUEL, II. [w. 33—35-'
33 an old man in thine house for ever. And the man of thine,
whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to con
sume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart : and all the in
crease of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.
34 And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon
thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas ; in one day they
35 shall die both of them. And- 1 will raise me up a faithful
priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart
33. And' the man, &c] or, Yet every man of thine will I not
cut off from mine altar, to consume thine eyes and to vex thy soul;
i.e. some will still survive to mourn over the ruin of their family.
"Thine eyes," "thy soul," because Eli is identified with his posterity,
But the Sept. has "his eyes," "his soul." . J
increase] = offspring, Lat. incrementum.
in the flower of their age] Heb. men: i.e. when they come to man
hood. 34. this shall be a sign unto thee] The immediate fulfilment of one
prediction will serve as a sign or assurance that the rest will not fail to
come to pass. Such signs were often given by prophets as the creden
tials of their mission. Cp. ch. x. 7 — 9 ; 1 Kings xiii. 3 ; 2 Kings
xx. 8, 9; Luke i. 18, 20.
in one day they shall die] See ch. iv. 1 1.
35. This verse forms no part of the sign, but is to be connected with
¦v- 33- , .
a faithful priest] The prophecy is commonly supposed to have been
fulfilled in Zadok, whose descendants retained the High-priesthood till
the end of the monarchy (1 Chr. vi. 8 — 15). But that Samuel is meant
seems clear on the following grounds.
(a) The faithful priest is obviously contrasted with the unfaithful
sons of Eli. This points to Samuel not Zadok. The account of his
call is given immediately in ch. iii. and it concludes by saying (v. 20),
' ' all Israel knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the
Lord," a connecting link with the present passage, for it is the same
Heb. word which is rendered "faithful," "sure," and "established."
This is followed by the death of Hophni and Phinehas (ch. iv.).
(b) The "sure house" which is promised does not necessarily imply
succession to the priesthood. But if it had originally done so, might not
the privilege have been forfeited by the sin of Samuel's sons (ch. viii.
3), as in the case of the exactly similar promise to Jeroboam (1 Kings xi.
38)? That Samuel's descendants flourished is clear, for his grandson
Heman (1 Chr. vi. 33) was David's chief musician, and father of four
teen sons and three daughters, (1 Chr. xxv. 1, 4, 5).
(c) " He shall walk before mine anointed (not, for ever, but) all the
days of his life" (cp. i. 22). This is most naturally referred to Samuejj
who was God's instrument for establishing the kingdom, and occupied
a unique position as the authorised adviser of Saul.
vv. 36; 1,2.] I. SAMUEL, II. III. 63
and in my mind : and I will build him a sure house ; and
he shall walk before mine anointed for ever. And it shall 36
come to pass, that every one that is left in. thine house shall
come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel
of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the
priests' offices, that / may eat a piece of bread.
Ch. III. 1 — 10. The Call of Samuel.
And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before 3
Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those
days ; there was no open vision. And it came to pass at 2
(d) But it will be said, Samuel was no priest, only a prophet-judge.
True he was not a priest by descent, and is nowhere expressly so called.
But the expression 'I will raise up' (used so commonly of the judges)
implies an extraordinary office. And during his lifetime Samuel filled
the place of High-priest. The prerogative of the line of Aaron was in
abeyance for a time, as a punishment for the corruption of Eli's sons.
Ahitub the son of Phinehas never appears in the history. Ahiah is not
mentioned till after Saul's first rejection in Samuel's extreme old age
(xiv. 3). Samuel exercised priestly functions,by intercession (vii. 9), by
offering sacrifice (vii. 9, 10), by benediction (ix. 12, 13), by anointing
Saul and David (x. 1, xvi. 13, cp. 1 Kings i. 34). He may be compared
with Moses who though not strictly a priest was sometimes regarded as
such (Ps~xcix. 6).
mine anointed] See notes on ii. 10, x. 1, xii. 3.
36. crouch] Lit. bow himself down.
a piece of silver] The Heb. word means such a coin as beggars
would receive.
a morsel of bread] Rather, a cake of bread. The same word is used
in x. 3 (E. V. loaves), and denotes a round flat cake or loaf.
Ch. III. 1 — 10. The Call of Samuel.
1. the child Samuel] According to Josephus, Samuel had just
completed his twelfth year when the word of Jehovah came to him.
In later times this age was a critical point in the life of a Jewish boy.
He then became 'a son of the Law,' and was regarded as personally
responsible for obedience" to it. It was at the age of twelve that
"the child Jesus" first went up to Jerusalem along with his parents
(Luke ii. 42).
ministered] Cp. ii. 11, 18.
was precious] Rather, was rare. In the general decay of religion,
prophetic communications from God had almost'entirely ceased. Cp.
Amos viii. 11; Ps. lxxiv. 9. We read of two prophets only in the
days of the Judges (Jud. iv. 4, vi. 8).
there was no open vision] Rather, there was no vision published
abroad. The word is used in 2 Chr. xxxi. 5 of the publication of a
64 I. SAMUEL, III. [vv. 3-6.'
that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes
3 began to wax dim, that he could not see ; and ere the lamp
of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark
4 of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; that the
5 Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. And
he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I ; for thou calledst me.
And he said, I called not ; lie down again. And he went
6 and lay down. And the Lord called yet again, Samuel.
decree (E.V. came abroad). There was no publicly acknowledged
prophet, whose ' word came to all Israel. '
2. at that time] This rendering is possible, but the Heb. literally
means on that day, the memorable day which left such a deep mark
upon Samuel's life. So the LXX. and Vulg.
The words from 'when Eli' to 'was laid down to sleep' form a parens*
thesis, describing the circumstances under which Samuel's call took-
place. (1) Eli was lying down in his place. (2) His eyes had begun to
grow dim, so that he could not see. These clauses serve to explain why
Samuel ran to Eli when he heard the Voice. He would naturally sup
pose that the infirm and half-blind old man required some assistance.
(3) The lamp of God was not yet extinguished. This marks the time
of night as shortly before daybreak, when the sacred light in the
Sanctuary would burn dim or be put out. (4) Samuel was lying
down in the temple ef Jehovah, where the ark of God was. The order
of the Hebrew requires this translation. The term 'temple' includes
the buildings round the Tabernacle (see note on i. 9), in some of the
chambers of which Eli and Samuel were sleeping, not of course in
the Tabernacle itself. The Ark is expressly mentioned because it was
the visible symbol of the Presence of Him from whom the Voice pro
ceeded. to wax] i.e. to grow, from A. S. weaxan, Germ, wachsen. The word,
has passed out of general use in modern English. Wiclif has 'Biholde'
ye the lilies of the feeld hou thei wexen.'
the lamp of God] The seven-branched golden candlestick, now men
tioned for the last time, stood on the south side of the Holy Place,
opposite the Table of Shewbread (Ex. xxv. 31 — 37). It was lighted
every evening (Ex. xxvii. 20, 21, xxx. 7, 8), and was extinguished in
the morning. In Solomon's temple it was superseded by ten separate
candlesticks, but in the second temple the single candlestick was,
restored. It was carried to Rome by Titus after the capture of Jeru
salem, and figures conspicuously among the trophies sculptured on
his triumphal arch, from which the familiar representation of it is
derived. 4. Here am I] Heb. Behold me, the regular formula for expressing
attention to a call and readiness to obey. Cp. Gen. xxii. 1 ; Is. vi. 8.
5. And he ran] Note Samuel's alacrity to serve the aged priest,
his spiritual father.
w. 7—12.] I. SAMUEL, III. 65
And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I ;
for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my
son ; lie down again. Now Samuel did not yet know the 7
Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto
him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. 8
And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for
thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had
called the child. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie 9
down : and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say,
Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went
and lay down in his place. And the Lord came, and stood, "
and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then
Samuel answered, Speak ; for thy servant heareth.
n — 14. Announcement of the Doom of Eli's House.
And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in IT
Israel, at which both the ears of every One that heareth it shall
tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I2
I have spoken concerning his house : when I begin, I will
6. thou didst call me] Simply, thou calledst, as in v. 5, and again in
v. 8. There is no additional emphasis in the original.
7. Now Samuel, &c] This verse explains why Samuel failed to
recognise the Voice. 'Knowing the Lord' here denotes not the
general religious knowledge of a pious Israelite, but the special know
ledge communicated by a personal revelation. The phrase is used in
a different sense in ii. 12.
10. And the Lord came, and stood] The Heb. is emphatic : pre
sented himself. The Voice became a Vision (v. 15). Cp. Gen. xv. 1;
Num. xii. 6 — 8. The visible manifestations of Jehovah or the Angel of
Jehovah in the O. T. were foreshadowings of the Incarnation.
11 — 14. Announcement of the Doom of Eli's House.
11. / will do] I am doing. The catastrophe is certain. With
God the future is as the present.
at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle] This
expression is found again in 2 Kings xxi. 12, and Jer. xix. 3. In the
latter passage there may be a tacit reference to this passage, suggesting
a comparison between the destruction of Shiloh and the destruction of
Jerusalem, such as is found elsewhere in Jeremiah (vii. 12 — 14, xxvi. 6).
The appalling catastrophe thus predicted was the impending defeat
of Israel by the Philistines, the death of Eli's sons and Eli himself, the
capture of the Ark, and the desolation of the national Sanctuary.
12. all things which I have spoken] See ch. ii. 27 — 36.
I. SAMUEL e
66 I. SAMUEL, III. [vv. 13-15.'
13 also make an end. For I have told him that I will judge
his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth;
because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained
14 them not. And therefore I have sworn unto the house of
Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with,
sacrifice nor offering for ever.
15 — 18. The Message delivered to Eli.
is And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors^
when I begin, I will also make an end] Literally, 'beginning and
ending, 'i.e. from beginning to end, fully and completely.
13. For I have told him] The Hebrew may be translated either (a)
And I have shewed him that I do judge his house for ever: or (b) And
I will shew him that I do judge his house for ever. If the first render
ing is adopted, the words refer to the doom already pronounced by the
prophet : if the second, the words are to be taken in connexion with the
previous verse, to signify that the impending catastrophe would be a
sign to Eli that the judgment upon his house was permanent and irre
versible. Cp. ii. 34.
judge] i.e. punish, as in Ezek. vii. 3, &c.
for the iniquity which he knoweth] The Vulgate, followed by Luther,
renders 'for his iniquity because he knew that his sons dealt shamefully:'
describing the judgment as inflicted upon Eli for his own sin in neglect
ing his duty as father (Deut. xxi. 18), high-priest (Deut. xvii. 12), and
judge, and failing to restrain the misconduct of his sons. But the
rendering of the E.V. which makes the iniquity of Eli's sons the ground
of judgment, is possible, and agrees better with ^.14.
made themselves vile] Elsewhere the Heb. word always means to
curse, or to blaspheme, and is here best rendered made themselves
accursed. There is a Jewish tradition that the original reading was
'cursed me,' which was altered by the scribes from motives of reve
rence. The rendering of the LXX. ' because his sons were blaspheming
God,' gives the same sense, corresponding to a slight alteration of the
present Hebrew text. Eli's sons had blasphemed God and made light
of him by their infamous conduct in His very presence.
he restrained them not] But contented himself with gentle expostu- '
lation (ii. 23), instead of thrusting them out of the sacred office they
had so grossly abused. By this weak indulgence he became partaker of
their sins.
14. shall not be purged] Lit., shall not cover itself; shall not make
atonement for itself. The sons of Eli had sinned, ' with a high hand,'
against light and warnings, and for such unrepentant presumptuous*!
offenders the Law had no atonement. See Num. xv. 27 31. Vat"
doom of their house is pronounced, and ratified by the oath of God.
Clearly however it is only to the temporal punishment of Eli's family
that the words refer in the first instance. Cp. Is. xxii. 14.
sacrifice nor offering] See note on ii. 29.
vv. 16—19.] I- SAMUEL, III. 67
of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to shew
Eli the vision. Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, 16
my son. And he answered, Here am I. And he said, 17
What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee? I
pray thee hide it not from me: God do so 'to thee, and
more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things '
that he said unto thee. And Samuel told him every whit, is
and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the Lord:
let him do what seemeth him good.
19 — Ch. IV. 1. Samuel established as a Prophet in Israel.
And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did 19
15 — 18. The Message delivered to Eli.
15. the doors of the house of the Lord.] As the tabernacle was closed
by a curtain only, we must suppose that the doors of the enclosure in
which it stood are meant. See note on i. 9. We here learn incident
ally the nature of the service which Samuel performed at Shiloh. He
acted as a subordinate Levite. Cp. 1 Chr. xv. 23; Ps. lxxxiv. 10.
Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision] He naturally shrank from
delivering the fatal message to one whom he loved and revered.
17. What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee ?] The
word Lord is not in the Hebrew. As in v. 9 it is tacitly assumed
that the speaker was Jehovah.
Observe how Eli first simply asks for an account of what had passed,
then demands a complete statement, and finally adjures Samuel to
conceal nothing from him.
God do so to thee, and more also] Literally, " so shall God do to thee
and so shall He add." This form of adjuration is characteristic of the
books of Samuel and Kings, in which it occurs eleven times. Else
where it is found in Ruth i. 17 only.
18. every whit] Heb. 'all the words,' = every thing. Whit is
derived from A.-S. wiht, thing.
It is the Lord] He is Jehovah. For the depth of meaning involved
in this confession, see Ex. xxxiv. 5 — 7. Eli, with all his faults, was
still at heart faithful to God. He submits without a murmur to the
divine sentence, leaving himself and his house in the hands of God.
Compare the resignation of Aaron (Lev. x. 3), Job (Job i. 21, ii. 10),
and Hezekiah (Is. xxxix. 8). But it is the passive resignation of a
weak character. Though he submits himself patiently to the will of
God, he would not rouse himself to do it.
19 — IV. 1. Samuel established as a Prophet in Israel.
19. The Lord was with him] This was the one source of strength
for all the "heroes of Hebrew history ;" for Abraham, Gen. xxi. -22;
Jacob, Gen. >xxviii. 15; Joseph, Gen. xxxix. 2; Moses, Ex. iii. 12;
68 I. SAMUEL, III. [v. 20.
20 let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel
from Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was estab-
Joshua, Josh. i. 5; Gideon, Jud. vi. 16; David, 1 Sam. xvi. 18,
xviii. 14.
did let none of his words fall lo the ground] The fulfilment of his
prophetic utterances was the attestation of his divine mission. Cp.
Deut. xviii. 21, 22. 'Falling' is a natural metaphor in all languages
for 'failing.' Comp. Gk. irlwTeiv, Lat. cadere. The word rendered
'perform' in v. 12 is the exact opposite, literally meaning 'to raise up.'
20. from Dan even to Beer-sheba] The regular formula to denote the
whole extent of the land of Israel. It is first found in Jud. xx. x, and is
common in the books of Samuel, but naturally disappears after the
Division of the Kingdoms, occurring only once again, and that after the
fall of the northern kingdom (2 Chron. xxx. 5).
Dan — originally Leshem or Laish, a Sidonian colony — was captured,
colonized, and re-named by a band of Danites (Josh. xix. 47 ; jud.
xviii.). It was the northernmost town of the Holy Land, and'stood
upon a hill from the base of which springs one of the main sources
of the Jordan, to flow through a rich and fertile plain towards the
Lake of Merom. Here Jeroboam set up one of the golden calves
(1 Kings xii. 29, 30), but shortly afterwards it was sacked by Ben-
hadad (1 Kings xv. 20), and we hear no more of it. Its name, how
ever, probably survives to this day. Dan =judge, and the hill is still
called Tell-el-Kady=" mound of the judge," while the stream bears the
name el-Ledddn, which may possibly be a corruption of Dan. See
Robinson's Biblical Researches in Palestine, III. 300 ff.
Beer-sheba="well of the oath," so named from the covenant which
Abraham and Abimelech made there (Gen. xxi. 31; cp. Gen. xxvi.
31 — 33) : or possibly = " well of seven, " in allusion to the seven ewe lambs
with which the covenant was ratified (Gen. xxi. 29, 30). It was situated
at the southernmost extremity of the land, on the confines of the desert.
It was a notable place in the history of the patriarchs.
(1) Here Abraham, Isaac and Jacob often dwelt (Gen. xxii. 19,
xxviii. 10, xlvi. 1). (2) Here Samuel's sons were established as judgesj
(1 Sam. viii. 2). (3) Hither came Elijah when he fled from Jezebeli
(1 Kings xix. 3). (4) It was apparently the seat of an idolatrous;
worship in the days of Amos (Amos v. 5, viii. 14). (5) It is mentioned}
for the last time as one of the towns reoccupied by the Jews 'on their'
-return from the Captivity (Neh. xi. 27).
The site of Beer-sheba is beyond question, for the name still survives^
in the Arabic Btr es-Seb& = " well of seven" ot " well of the lion." There
are two principal, and five lesser wells. ' ' The water in both [the principal
wells] is pure and sweet and in great abundance : the finest indeed we
had found since leaving Sinai. Both wells are surrounded with drink-
ing-troughs of stone for camels and flocks ; such as were doubtless used
of old for the flocks which then fed on the adjacent hills The curb
stones were deeply worn by the friction of the ropes in drawing up
water by hand. Robinson, Bib. Res. 1. 204. But Lieutenant Condet
w. 21 ; i.] I. SAMUEL, III. IV. 69
lished to be a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord ap- ar
peared again in Shiloh : for the Lord revealed himself
to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord. And the 4
word of Samuel came to all Israel.
Ch. IV. 1 — n. Defeat of Israel by the- Philistines and Loss
of the Ark.
Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and
made the disappointing discovery that the masonry is not very ancient.
There is a stone in the large well with an Arabic inscription bearing a
date in the twelfth century a.d. Tent Work, II. 96.
was established] or, " found faithful," "approved." The Heb. word
is the same as that which, in ch. ii. 35, is rendered 'a faithful priest,'
' a sure house ;' and the use of it here seems to indicate that Samuel's
call was the beginning of the fulfilment of that prophecy.
21. appeared again] Manifested himself in visions. Cp. vv. 10,
15; and the ancient prophetic title oi Seer (ix. 9).
by the word of the Lord] By the communication of prophetic mes
sages to Samuel. The state of things described in v. 1 was now
reversed. The "word of Jehovah" was no longer "rare," there were
visions "published abroad."
Ch. IV. 1. And the word of Samuel came to all Israel] Samuel
communicated to all Israel the divine revelation which he had received.
This clause should form the conclusion of ch. iii, not the commence
ment of ch. iv. In the latter position it would naturally mean that it
was Samuel who summoned all Israel to the disastrous war against the
Philistines. But he is never once mentioned in connexion with the
war, and does not reappear on the scene for twenty years at least (vii.
2, 3), though in all probability his prophetic activity here recorded was
in part contemporaneous with the Philistine oppression, during which
his growing influence was marking him out as the future national
deliverer. The Sept. here differs considerably from the present Hebrew text.
Omitting obvious repetitions, v. 21 stands as follows: "And the Lord
appeared again in Selom, for the Lord was revealed to Samuel. And
Eli was very old, and his sons walked perversely, and their way was
evil in the sight of the Lord. "
Ch. IV. 1 — 11. Defeat of Israel by the Philistines and
Loss of the Ark.
1. Now Israel went out] The Sept. and Vulgate contain an addi
tional clause, which softens the abruptness of the transition : "And it
came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered together to
fight against Israel."
The abruptness of the narrative may be explained (1) because the
historian only wishes to give an account of the war so far as it bears
70
I. SAMUEL, IV. [w.
pitched beside Eben-ezer: and the Philistines pitched in
* Aphek. And the Philistines put themselves in array against!
Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten
before the Philistines : and they slew of the army in the field
3 about four thousand men. And when the people were come
into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the
Lord smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us
upon his main subject, the fulfilment of the prophecies against Eli|s
house: (2) because probably the account of the battle with the Phi
listines is extracted from some other book, in which it came in natu
rally and consecutively. ,
The last mention of the Philistines was in Jud. xiii— xvi. In Jud.
xiii. 1 we read that "the Lord delivered the children of Israel into
the hand of the Philistines forty years," and the best solution of the
difficult question of the chronology of the Judges is to suppose that we
are now at the middle of this period of Philistine oppression. The first
twenty years of that oppression will then coincide with the last half of
Eli's judgeship, and probably with Samson's judgeship of "twenty
years in the days of the Philistines" (Jud. xv. 20). There is no
difficulty in supposing that Eli, who was a civil judge during this
time and permanently resident at Shiloh, was contemporaneous with
Samson, the military leader of a guerilla warfare on the frontiers of
Philistia. The second half of the period of Philistine oppression co
incides with the twenty years during which the Ark remained at Kirjath-
jearim (ch. vii. 2).
Might we not conjecture that the present renewal of the war was
connected with Samson's death? Either the Israelites took the aggres
sive to avenge their champion, or the Philistines thought to profit by
the opportunity and reduce them to more complete subjection.
the Philistines] See Note IV. p. 238.
Eben-ezer] = " the stone of 'help." The name is used by anticipation, j
It was not given till twenty years afterwards, on the occasion of the
great defeat of the Philistines, ch. vii. 12.
Aphek] = " stronghold," the name of several places in Palestine. This
Aphek was close to Eben-ezer (v. 6), in the neighbourhood of Mizpeh
of Benjamin, near the western entrance of the pass of Bethhoron, and
probably distinct from the Aphek of ch. xxix. 1.
2. of the army] Rather, in the battle array, (Lat. in acie). In the
first encounter the Israelites, though defeated with severe loss, were not
put to flight, but retired to the camp (v. 3).
S. And when, &c] Connect closely with v. 1 by rendering, And the
people came to the camp, and the elders, &c. The use of the term
people for army is characteristic of the time when there was no standing
army, but a levy of all the men capable of bearing arms in time of war.
the elders of Israel said] The officers of the army held a council of
war, and resolved to fetch the Ark. On the Elders see note on viii. 4.
3. Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us] The Israelites assume that
yv. 4— 6.] I. SAMUEL, IV. 71
fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh
unto us, that when it cometh among us, it may save us out
of the hand of our enemies. So the people sent to Shiloh, 4
that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant
.of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims :
and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there
with the ark of the covenant of God. And when the ark
of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel
shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.
And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they 6
said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp
of the Hebrews ? And they understood that the ark of the
their defeat came from Jehovah. Cp. Joshua vii. 7, 8. But instead
of enquiring the cause of His displeasure, they fancy that His aid can be
secured by the presence of the Ark. They' may have recollected the
words which Moses used when the Ark set forward, "Rise up, Lord,
and let thine enemies be scattered ; and let them that hate thee flee
before thee" (Num. a. 35) : and how the Ark had led them to victory
against Jericho (Josh. vi. 6).
Possibly the Philistines, as upon a later occasion (2 Sam. v. 21), had
brought the images of their gods into the field, and this suggested the
idea of fetching the Ark. The superstition which confused the Symbol
with the Presence was the natural result of the decay of religion.
4. that they might bring] Rather, and brought.
the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between
the cherubims] Or, who sitteth enthroned upon the cherubim. The
full title is chosen to describe the Ark {a) as the symbol of the cove
nant between Jehovah and Israel, in virtue of which they expected his
help unconditionally; (b) as the seat of the presence of the Lord of
Hosts, which they thought would infallibly accompany it, and ensure
victory to the armies of Israel. Cp. note on v. 21.
the two sons of Eli were there with the ark] It seems best
to follow the Sept. and Vulg. in omitting the word 'there.' The nar
rative requires the statement that Hophni and Phinehas accompanied
the Ark, not merely that they were at Shiloh, which we know already.
rang again] Cp. 1 Kings i. 45.
6. the Hebrews] This name is used (a) by foreigners, as here (cp. ch.
xxix. 3) : (6) by the Israelites in speaking of themselves to foreigners
(Ex. ii. 7): (c) when the Israelites are contrasted with foreigners
(1 Sam. xiii. 3, note, 7). It is either (r) a derivative from eber, a word
meaning beyond, and was originally applied to Abraham as coming from
beyond the Euphrates: or (2) a patronymic from Eber (Gen. x. 21, 24),
signifying the descendants of Eber.
'6 — 9. Observe how vividly the successive emotions of the Philis
tines are painted: astonishment, when they heard the triumphant
72 I. SAMUEL, IV. [w. 7— i«j
7 Lord was come into the camp. And the Philistines were
afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they
said, Woe unto us: for there hath not been such a thing
8 heretofore. Woe unto us: who shall deliver us out of the
hand of these mighty Gods ? these are the Gods that smote
9 the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. Be
strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that
ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to
10 you : quit yourselves like men, and fight. And the Philis
tines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every
man into his tent : and there was a very great slaughter; for
11 there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. And the ark
of God was taken ; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and
Phinehas, were slain.
shout of the vanquished army : dismay, when they learnt its cause :
manly resolution, when they had recovered from the first panic.
8. these mighty Gods] The heathen polytheists naturally suppose
that Israel like themselves had 'gods many.'
' with all the plagues] Better, with an utter overthrow, lit. ' with
every kind of smiting.' The word used is the same as that rendered
slaughter in v. 10, and the allusion is to the overthrow of Pharaoh in
the Red Sea, the shores of which are called wilderness in Ex. xiii. 20,
not to the ten plagues, for which a different word is used in Exodus.
The effect of the news of the destruction of Pharaoh upon the Philistines
is alluded to in the Song of Moses, " Sorrow shall take hold upon the
inhabitants of Palestina" (Ex. xv. 14): and Rahab speaks of it as
inspiring the Canaanites with terror (Josh. ii. 9 — 11).
9. quit yourselves] i.e. behave. Cp. 1 Cor. xvi. 13. "To quit
oneself" = " to acquit oneself," to release oneself from obligation by
meeting the claims upon or expectations entertained of oneself. It is
derived from Lat. quietare, through Fr. quitter. Cp. Milton, Samson
Agonistes, 1709, "Samson hath quit himself
Like Samson."
servants] Tributary vassals. See Jud. xiii. 1. The Philistines
appear to have had some Israelites as actual slaves (ch. xiv. 21).
10. they fled every man into his tent] The battle ended in a sauve
qui peut, every man who could escaping to his own home. The use of
the word tent is a relic of the nomad life in the wilderness. Cp. 2 Sam.
xx. 1.
11. Hophni and Phinehas were slain] The "sign" given by the
man of God that the whole doom pronounced against Eli's house
would be executed (ch. ii. 34).
The Psalmist's account of the catastrophe should be compared, Ps.
lxxviii. 56 — 64.
w. 12—14.] I- SAMUEL, IV. 73
12 — 18. The Death of Eli.
And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and 12
came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with
earth upon his head. And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon 13
a seat by the wayside watching': for his heart trembled for
the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and
told it, all the city cried out. And when Eli heard the noise 14
of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult ?
12 — 18. The Death of Eli.
12. there ran a man of Benjamin] Cp. 2 Sam. xviii. 19. The
distance from Ebenezer to Shiloh was probably not more than twenty
miles, so that a swift runner could easily arrive the same evening. Cp.
to-day in v. 16.
There is a strange Jewish tradition that the man was Saul, who seized
the tables of the law out of the hand of Goliath and fled!
out of the army] Out of the battle-array, as in v. 2.
with his clothes rent and with earth upon his head] Signs of the
deepest mourning. Cp. Josh. vii. 6; 2 Sam. i. 2; Homer, //. xviii.
23, and an exact parallel in Virg. Aen. xn. 609 — 611, describing the
mourning of Latinus on the suicide of his queen Amata :
"It scissa veste Latinus
Coniugis attonitus fatis urbisque ruina,
Canitiem immundo perfusam pulvere turpans."
"Bowed to the earth with woe on woe,
His consort dead, his town brought low,
The hapless king his raiment tears,
And soils with dust his silver hairs."
13. Eli sat upon a seat] Was sitting upon the seat, (or, his seat).
We must imagine him sitting upon his official seat by the outer gate of
the tabernacle enclosure (v. 18, cp. i. 9, note), not by the town gate on
the road by which the messenger entered, for the news does not reach
Eli until after it has been published in the town (v. 14).
The Sept. represents a slightly different text, "Eli was on his seat
by the side of the gate, watching the way."
all the city cried out] The opening stanzas of Aytoun's ballad
"Edinburgh after Flodden" in Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers give a
vivid picture of the effect of the news of a defeat.
"A murmur long and loud,
And a cry of fear and wonder
Bursts from out the bending crowd.
For they see in battered harness
Only one hard-stricken man..."
14. he said] The Sept. adds 'to the men that stood by him'
74 L SAMUEL, IV. [vv. 15—19.
15 And the man came in hastily, and told Eli. Now Eli was
ninety and eight years old ; and his eyes were dim, that he
16 could not see. And the man said unto Eli, I am he that
came out of the army, and I fled to day out of the army.
17 And he said, What is there done, my son ? And the mes
senger answered and- said, Israel is fled before the Philis
tines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the
people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are
18 dead, and the ark of God is taken. And it came to pass,
when he made mention of the ark of, God, that he fell from
off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck
brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy.
And he had judged Israel forty years.
19 — 22. Death of Eli's Daughter in Law.
19 And his daughter in law, Phinehas' wife, was with child,
near to be delivered : and when she heard the tidings that
the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and
her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed;
came in hastily] Made haste and came through the town to the
tabernacle enclosure which stood on a slight eminence.
15. his eyes were dim] Were set, a different word from that of
ch. iii. 2, found again in this sense only in 1 Kings xiv. 4. Eli was
now totally blind.
16. / am he] He has to announce himself to the blind old man
who cannot see the tale of disaster which his dust-soiled, blood-stained
garments tell all too plainly to the people.
the army] Better, as in v. 12, the battle-array.
What is there done] Lit., What was the affair ? Vulg. quid actum
est? David uses the same phrase to the Amalekite in 2 Sam. i. 4.
17. Observe the climax. Each blow is heavier than the preceding
one. The rout of the army, the slaughter of the people, Eli's personal
bereavement, the loss of the most precious treasure of Israel. The
last blow is more than the aged High-priest can bear.
18. the ark of God] National defeat and disgrace, family bereave
ment, were but trifles compared to the loss of the Ark, which seemed
to prove that Jehovah had forsaken'the people of his choice. " Where
fore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?"
he had judged Israel forty years] See note on v. 1.
19—22. Death of Eli's Daughter in Law.
19. his daughter in law] Her death is recorded (a) as being a fur
ther fulfilment of the doom of Eli's house : (b) for the sake of her
pathetic dying words about the Ark.
vv. 20— 22 ; I, 2.] I.SAMUEL, IV. V. 75
for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her =°
death ,the wo?nen that stood by her said unto her, Fear not ;
for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither
did she regard it. And she named the child Ichabod, say- 21
ing, The glory is departed from Israel : because the ark of
God was taken, and because of her father in law and her
husband. And she said, The glory is departed from Israel : ^
for the ark of God is taken.
Ch. V. 1 — 12. Chastisement of the Philistines for the
Removal of the Ark.
And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it 5
from Eben-ezer unto Ashdod. When the Philistines took 2
20. Fear not] Cp. Gen. xxxv. 16—19. But the attempt to com
fort her was vain. The loss of the Ark so absorbed her mind, that
even a mother's greatest joy (John xvi. 21) could not rouse her.
21, 22. The connexion will be'made clearer by a literal translation
as follows. And she called the child I-chabod, (saying, [The] Glory is
departed from Israel), with reference to the ark being taken, and
with reference to her father in law and her husband. And she said,
[The] Glory is departed from Israel, because the ark of God was taken.
Thus v. 22 is not mere tautology. Ins. 21 the narrator connects the
name I-chabod with the triple loss, and inserts her words "Glory is
departed from Israel" parenthetically. In v. 11 he repeats them with
an explanation. The E.V. appears to be wrong (though the Hebrew
is not decisive) in regarding "for the ark of God is taken" as the
words of Phinehas' wife.
21. I-chabod] The name means No-glory, or Where is glory ? Cp.
Rachel's significant name for Benjamin, Ben-oni="Son of my sorrow"
(Gen. xxxv. 18).
The glory is departed from Israel] In Ex. xvi. 10, xl. 34, 35, and
many other passages, "the glory of the Lord" denotes the visible ma
nifestation of the. Presence and Majesty of Jehovah, known in later
times as the Shechinah. The promise in Lev. xvi. 2, "I will appear in
the cloud on the mercy seat," (cp. Ex. xxv. 22; Num. vii. 89), con
nects this manifestation specially with the Ark, and though it does not
appear that the Cloud rested continually between the Cherubim, yet
along with the Ark the Glory which was the pledge of Jehovah's Pre
sence ' had departed from Israel.' In Rom. ix. 4 St Paul mentions
the glory as one of the special privileges of his nation.
Ch. V. 1—12. Chastisement of the Philistines for the
Removal of the Ark.
1. Ashdod] Ashdod (in Greek Azotus, Acts viii. 40), one of the five
cities of the Philistine league, was situated on an eminence near the
76 I. SAMUEL, V. [w. 3— 5/
the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon,'
3 and set it by Dagon. And when they of Ashdod arose
early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his
face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they:
4 took Dagon, and set him in his place again. And when
they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon
was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the
Lord ; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his
hands were cut off upon the threshold ; only the stump of
5 Dagon was left to him. Therefore neither the priests of, A
sea, about 35 miles W. of Jerusalem. It was a place of great strength,)
and special importance, from its position on the high road between
Syria and Egypt. It was assigned to Judah (Josh. xv. 47 ), but never
conquered till the reign of Uzziah (2 Chr. xxvi. 6). The Assyrian
king Sargon's 'Tartan' (i.e. General) took it about B.C. 716, and about
B.C. 630 it proved its strength by resisting Psammitichus king of Egypt
for 29 years. It was destroyed by Jonathan Maccabaeus (1 Mace. x. 84),
but rebuilt after the Roman conquest of Judaea. The village of Es-diid
still preserves the ancient name, and site.
2. When the Philistines, Sec] Better, And the Philistines took
the ark of God and brought it. The repetition is characteristic of the
Hebrew historical style.
Dagon] Dagon (a diminutive of endearment from ddg= fish) was
the national god of the Philistines, worshipped also at Gaza (Jud. xvi.'
21 — 30), and elsewhere, as the name Beth-dagon (Josh. xv. 41, xix. 27)
indicates. The statue of Dagon had the head and hands of a man,
and the body of a fish. The fish was an emblem of fruitfulness. See
Smith's Diet, of the Bible, I. 381, or Layard's Nineveh, II. p. 466, for
a representati'on of a fish-god, which is probably the Philistine Dagon|
as the bas-reliefs at Khorsabad from which it is taken record the wars
of Sargon with Syria. A corresponding goddess Dercgto or Atargatis
was worshipped at Askelon.
The ark was placed in Dagon's temple as a votive-offering (cp.
1 Chr. x. 10), and to mark the supposed victory of Dagon over
Jehovah. 3. Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth] In the attitude of
homage to the ark. Jehovah does not leave the Philistines to fancy';
that their god has conquered Him. He will shew that He is "the
living God." "The idols shall be moved at his presence" (Is. xix. 1).' '
4. cut off upon the threshold] i.e. cut off and lying upon the door-
sill, probably not of the main entrance to the temple, but of the chapel
or recess in which the statue stood. In this position they would be
liable to the indignity of being trampled upon by the priests and wor
shippers who entered the shrine.
only the stump of Dagon was left to him] Lit., only Dagon was left
upon him. Either some word for 'trunk' or 'body' has been lost in
w. 6—8.] L. SAMUEL, V. 77
Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the
threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day. But the hand 6
of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he
destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod
and the coasts thereof. And when the men of Ashdod 7
saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of
Israel shall not abide with us : for his hand is sore upon
us, and upon Dagon our god. They sent therefore and 8
gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and
the original, or ' Dagon ' is used to denote the fish-shaped body of the
idol, from which the god derived his name.
"Next came one
Who mourned in earnest, when the captive ark
Maimed his brute image, head and hands lopped off
In his own temple, on the grunsel edge,
Where he fell flat, and shamed his worshippers."
Paradise Lost, I. 457.
5. Therefore neither the priests, &c] As a mark of reverence for the
spot where their idol had lain. Zeph. i. 9 does not appear to contain
any reference to this practice, which was peculiar to the temple at
Ashdod. unto this day] The practice was still observed when the historian
wrote. 6. But the hand of the Lord] Rather, And. " The hand of the
LORD " = the putting forth of His might. Chastisement now overtook
the people as well as the god.
he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods] A double calamity
fell upon them, (t) Their land was ravaged by a plague of mice. The
present Heb. text leaves this to be inferred from ch. vi. 5, but the Sept.
inserts here "And mice sprang up in the midst of their land, and
there was a very deadly destruction in the city." This may be
merely an inference from v. n and vi. 5, but the numerous divergences
of the Sept. from the existing Heb. text in chaps, v. and vi. (making
full allowance for obvious glosses and errors of transcription) seem to
shew that the Greek translators employed a text which had not been
subjected to the final revision which fixed our present Heb. text.
(2) Their bodies were attacked by a loathsome and painful disease,
either (a) emerods = haemorrhoids or bleeding piles ; or more probably
(b) boils, which are a characteristic symptom of the oriental plague.
The latter explanation agrees better with the infectiousness and fatality
of the scourge.
the coasts thereof] = the borders thereof. Coast is derived from costa,
a rib, or side, and originally meant any border or frontier-line, hot
the sea-line only, cp. Josh. i. 4.
7. is sore] i.e. severe.
8. all the lords of the Philistines] A peculiar term Seren is used
78 I, SAMUEL, V. [vv. 9, 10.
said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?
And they answered/ Let the ark of the God of Israel be
carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the':
9 God of Israel about thither. And it was so, that after they'.
had carried it about, the hand of the Lord was against the •
city with a very great destruction : and he smote the men
of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in
10 their secret parts. Therefore they sent the ark of God to
Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to
Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have
brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay
exclusively to denote the five 'lords' who ruled in the five cities of the
Philistine confederacy. In all probability it preserves their native
title. They had all equal rights, for though Achish is called "kingoi
Gath" in ch. xxi. 10, xxvii. 2, this is only from a foreign point of view,
and he could not overrule the decision of his colleagues (xxix. 6 — 11).
Here we find one city appealing to the rest for counsel in the calamity
which had befallen it.
ttnto Gath] Gath may have been chosen because there was no
Dagon-temple there, the Philistines attributing the plague to the anta
gonism between Jehovah and Dagon.
The site of Gath cannot be fixed with certainty, but Mr Porter and
Lieut. Conder agree in the conclusion that it probably stood on the
conspicuous hill now called Tell-es-S&fi, 12 miles E. of Ashdod, at
the foot of the mountains of Judah. " The position is one of immense
strength, guarding the mouth of the valley of Elah." Hence its im--
portance as a border fortress, commanding one of the main approaches
from Philistia to Judaea. It was captured by David (1 Chr. xviii. 1),
fortified by Rehoboam (2 Chr. xi. 8), taken by Hazael (2 Kings xii. 17),
retaken and dismantled by Uzziah (2 Chr. xxvi. 6). There is no fur
ther notice of it in the Bible : but the Crusaders occupied Tell-es-Safi,
and built the fortress of Blanche Garde upon it.
' Gath was the native place of Goliath (ch. xvii. 4) : and the refuge of
David from the persecutions of Saul (ch. xxi. 10, xxvii. 3).
9. with a very great destruction] Better, with an exceeding great
panic, causing utter consternation.
both small and great] i. e. both young and old : all the inhabitants. '"?
and they had emerods in their secret parts] Better, and boils broke
out upon them.
10. they sent ihe ark of God to Ekron] The most northerly of the
five confederate cities, about 1 1 miles north of Gath. It was allotted to
the tribe of Judah (Josh. xv. 45, 46), and was temporarily occupied
(Jud. i. r8). Baal-zebub was the local deity (2 Kings i. 2). The site,
is marked by the modern village of Akir.
to tis, to slay us and our people] Lit., as in the margin, "to me,
vv. 11, 12; 1—3.] I. SAMUEL, V. VI. 79 '
us and our people. So they sent and gathered together all «
the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of
the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that
it slay us not, and our people : for there was a deadly
' destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was
very heavy there. And the men that died not were smitten 12
with the emerods : and the cry of the city went up to
heaven. Ch. VI. 1 — 9. The Philistines resolve to send back the Ark.
And the ark of the Lord was in the country of the 6
Philistines seven months. And the Philistines called for 2
the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do
to the ark of the Lord?- tell us wherewith we shall send
it to his place. And they said, If ye send away the 3
ark of fhe God of Israel, send it not empty ; but in any
to slay me and my people." So too in v. n. The singular seems to
indicate that the ' lord' acted as spokesman.
11. and gathered together ail the lords] A second council of state
was held, but the protest of the Ekronites was riot listened to. The
league was unwilling to part with the trophy of its victory.
a deadly destruction] A deadly panic: dismay caused by the fatal
character of the disease.
12. the cry of the city went up to heaven] Cp. Ex. ii. 23. The word
used always denotes a supplication, a cry for help.
Each city was visited with a heavier judgment than the preceding
one. "The longer the Philistines resisted and refused to recognise the
chastening hand of the living God in the plagues inflicted upon them,
the more severely would they necessarily be punished." So when Pha
raoh hardened his heart and refused to let the Israelites go, the hand of
the LORD grew heavier and heavier, till an unwilling consent was wrung
from him.
Ch. VI. 1 — 9. The Philistines resolve to send back the Ark,
1. The Sept. adds, at the end of the verse, "And their land swarmed
with mice," probably an explanatory gloss in anticipation of v. 4.
2. diviners] Men who professed to predict future events or inter
pret the will of heaven by the observation of omens. See Ex. vii. 1 1 ;
Dan. ii. ¦*. Philistine diviners seem to have been celebrated. Cp.
Is. ii. 6.
3. send it not empty] Cp. Ex. xxiii. 15. All religions regard offer
ing as a necessary part of worship.
in any wise] i.e. "at all events," "certainly." Wise means "way
of acting," "manner," "mode."
80 I. SAMUEL, VI. [vv. 4, 5.
wise return him a trespass offering : then ye shall be healed,]
and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed
4 from you. Then said they, What shall be the trespass offer
ing which we shall return to him? They answered, Five
golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the num
ber of the lords of the Philistines : for one plague was on
s you all, and on your lords. Wherefore ye shall make images
of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the
land; and ye, shall give glory unto the God of Israel : perad-
return him a trespass offering] A satisfaction or compensation in
return for the injury done him by the removal of the Ark. „¦
it shall be known to you] If the removal of the plague followed the«|
restoration of the Ark with due propitiation, they would know for cer
tain that its detention was the cause of the continuance of the plague, c
They were not yet convinced that their misfortune was more tliafli.
"a chance" [v. 9). ij
i. emerods] Or, boils. See note on ch. v. 6.
according to the number of the lords of the Philistines] The number'
of the confederate cities was naturally chosen to represent the wholfel
people. "i
6. images of your mice that mar the land] The Heb. text now first
definitely speaks of the plague of mice, which was alluded to in ch. v. 6.
The Sept. as we have seen mentions it in v. 6 and vi. 1. The extra
ordinary voracity of field-mice, and the incredible rate at which they.
multiply, are noticed by many ancient writers on Natural History.'
Aristotle, in his History of Animals (vi. 37) says, "In many places
mice are wont to appear in the fields in such unspeakable numbers^
that scarce anything is left of the whole crop. So rapidly do they con-1
sume the corn, that in some cases small farmers have observed their
crops ripe and ready for the sickle on one day, and coming the next'
with the reapers, have found them entirely devoured."
In 1848, it is said, the coffee crop in Ceylon was entirely destroyed!
by mice. f
These images are not to be compared with the talismans or amulils
made by magicians and astrologers in later times to effect cures or
avert evils, as is done by Kitto, who gives many examples of such
charms (Bible Illustrations, p. 84): nor with the thank-offerings for
recovery in the form of the injured members which maybe seen sus
pended at the altars of Roman Catholic churches in Switzerland and
Italy at the present day: but with "a custom which according to the'
traveller Tavernier has prevailed in India from time immemorial, that
when a pilgrim takes a journey to a pagoda to be cured of a disease, he
offers to the idol a present, either in gold, silver, or copper, according
to his ability, of the shape of the diseased or injured member. Sucha^
present passes as a practical acknowledgment that the god has inflicted
the suffering or evil." Thus in the present case the Philistines offereijf
vv. 6—8.] I. SAMUEL, VI.
venture he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off
your gods, and from off your land. Wherefore then do ye 6
harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened
their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among
them, did they not let the people go, and they departed ?
Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, 7
on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the
cart, and bring their calves home from them : and take the 8
"representations of the instruments of their chastisements" as an
acknowledgment that the plagues of boils and mice were inflicted by
the God of Israel, and were not "a chance." Thereby they would
"give glory to the God of Israel." Cp. Rev. xvi. 9.
The question has been raised, whether there was a plague of mice at
all. The mouse was the Egyptian symbol of destruction, and the two
kinds of images were, it is said, emblematic of the same thing, the
pestilence. The words that mar the land may mean no more than
"mice such as are commonly found in the country." The theory is
more ingenious than probable. The natural inference from the text
certainly is that there was a plague of mice, and it is quite in accord
ance with the practice of Hebrew writers that in a condensed narrative
like the present, the fact of the desolation of the country should be
barely mentioned in ch. v. 6; and the cause of it stated incidentally
afterwards. We should compare (though with caution) the Brazen Serpent (Num.
xxi. 8). (a) It too represented the instrument of chastisement :
(b) Looking to it implied an acknowledgment of sin, and a desire for
deliverance from punishment, as did the sending of these offerings by
the Philistines.
Vv. 4 and 5 stand as follows in the Sept.: "And they say, What
shall be the expiation for the plague which we shall return to it ? And
they said, According to the number of the satraps of the aliens five
golden seats, for one calamity was on you, both on your rulers and on
the people : and golden mice in the likeness of your mice that mar the
land." Possibly this is an intentional alteration to get rid of the
apparent discrepancy with v. 18. See note there.
6. as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts] A second
allusion (cp. ch. iv. 8) to the events of the Exodus. See Ex. viii. 15,
33, ix. 34-
when he had wrought wonderfully among them] Or, wrought his
will upon them. The word is used in Ex. x. 2 (E. V. wrought), and
1 Sam. xxxi. 4 (E.V. abuse). The Sept. renders it by £/i7ralt;eu> =
mock. But the E. V. may be right here.
7. Now therefore make, &c] Heb. " And now take and make a new
cart " = set to work to make. Cp. 2 Sam. xviii. 18. The use of a new
cart (cp. 2 Sam. vi. 3) and unyoked kine (Num. xix. 2 ; Deut. xxi. 3, 4)
was a natural mark of reverence.
I. SAMUEL 6
82 L SAMUEL, VI. [vv. 8— it.
ark of the Lord, and lay it upon- the cart; and put the'
jewels of gold, which ye return him^r a trespass offering, in
a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may!
9 go. And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to
Befh-shemesh, then he hath done us this great evil : but if
not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote,
us ; it was a chance that happened to us.
io — 1 8. The plan carried out and the Ark restored to Israel,
jo And the men did so ; and took two milch kine, and tied
ii them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home : and
they laid the ark of the Lord upon the cart, and the coffer
with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods.
8. jewels of gold] Jewel is here used in a general sense =" any
precious or costly object." The Heb. word simply means "articles"
or "vessels."
9. his own coast] His own border, as in v. 12. See ch. v. 6, note*
"His" refers to the Ark. The neuter possessive pronoun "its" is not
found in the original edition of the E. V. See The Bible Word-Book,
p. 272.
to Beth-shemesh] = "House of the Sun," probably the same as Ir-.
shemesh= " City of the Sun" (Josh. xix. 41). It was a priestly city (Josh.
xxi. 16) on the border of the tribe of Judah (Josh. xv. 10), about 12
miles S.E. of Ekron. Its position is identified by the modern village
of Ain Shems ( = " Fountain of the Sun") in the Wady es Siirdr, and is
described by Robinson as " a noble site for a city, a low plateau at the
junction of two fine plains," the " valley" in which the Beth-shemeshiteSjJ
were reaping their wheat (v. 1 3). " Here are vestiges of a former extend
sive city, consisting of many foundations and remains of ancient walls of
hewn stone . . . Enough yet remains to make it one of the largest and
most marked sites which we had anywhere seen." Biblical Researches,
II. 224.
Beth-shemesh was the scene of Amaziah's defeat by Jehoash (2 Kings
xiv. 11, 12) : and with other towns was taken from Ahaz by the Phi
listines (2 Chr. xxviii. 18). Its name, and that of Har-cheres=" Mount
of the Sun" (Jud. i. 35), which was evidently in the neighbourhood,"
point to an ancient sun-worship in the country.
then he hath done us this great evil] Observe the completenessjof
the test. If cows unaccustomed to the yoke drew the cart quietly; if
in spite of their natural instincts they deserted their calves; if without
human guidance they went straight to the nearest Israelite town; the
obvious conclusion must be that they were controlled by a supernatural
power, and that that power was the God of Israel. Compare Gideon'te
'signs,' consisting of phenomena contrary to expectation (Jud. vi,
37 ff-)-
w. 12—15.] !• SAMUEL, VI. 83
And the kine took the straight way -to the way of Beth-she- 12
mesh, and -went along the highway, lowing as they went,
and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left ; and
the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border
of Beth-shemesh. And they of Beth-shemesh were reaping 13
their wheat harvest in the valley : and they lifted up their
eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. And the cart 14
came into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stood
there, where there was a great stone : and they clave the
wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto
the Lord. And the Levites took down the ark of the 15
Lord, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of
gold were, and put them on the great stone : and the men of
10 — 18. The plan carried out and the Ark restored to
Israel.
12. took the straight way to the way of Beth-shemesh] Better, went
straight forward on the road to Beth-shemesh.
lowing as they went] For their lost calves.
13. they of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest] A
description of harvest in Philistia by a modern traveller helps us to
realise the scene in the valley of Beth-shemesh, which was suddenly
suspended by the appearance of the Ark. ' ' When the fog dispersed
the whole plain appeared to be dotted over with harvesting parties,
men reaping, women and children gleaning and gathering the grain
into bundles, or taking care of the flocks which followed closely upon
the footsteps of the gleaners. All seemed to be in good humour,
enjoying the cool air of the morning. There was singing alone and in
chorus, incessant talking, home-made jokes, and laughter long and
loud." Thomson's The Land and the Book, p. 543.
This notice fixes the time of year as the end of May or beginning of
June. Robinson saw wheat harvest in progress at Gaza on the 19th of
May, and just commencing at Hebron on the 4th of June. Bibl. Res.
I- 431-
in the valley] Heb. "imek," denoting "the long broad sweeps some
times found between parallel ranges of hills." Sin. and Pal. p. 481.
14. Joshua a Beth-shemite] Joshua the Beth-shemeshite. Our
translators have copied the Vulgate in abbreviating the form, as in the
case of ' Benjamite' for ' Benjaminite.'
they clave the wood of the cart, &c] For a similarly extemporised
sacrifice see 2 Sam. xxiv. 22. Cp. also 1 Kings xix. 21.
15. And the Levites took down] Rather, in accordance with v. 14,
Now the Levites had taken down. As Beth-shemesh was a priestly
city, " Levites" appears to be used here in a general sense to mean
."members of the tribe of Levi," not in its technical sense of "Levites"
as distinguished from "priests." Cp. Ex. iv. 14; Josh. iii. 3.
6—2 ^
84 L SAMUEL, VI. [vv. 16—19]
Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices
16 the same day unto the Lord. And when the five lords of
the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same
17 day. And these are the golden emerods which the Philis,,
tines returned for a trespass offering unto the Lord; for
Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one;1
is for Ekron one ; and the golden mice, according to the nurn-J
ber of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five
lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even
unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark
of the Lord : which stone remaineth unto this day in the
field of Joshua, the Beth-shemite.
19 — Ch. VII. 1. The Penalty of Irreverence. Removal of
the Ark to Kirjath-jearim.
,9 And he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they
the men of Beth-shemesh, &c] In addition to the offering of the »
kine mentioned in the previous verse, the inhabitants of the town
brought offerings of their own. The burnt- offerings symbolized renewed;
consecration of the worshippers to the service of Jehovah : the sacri
fices were thank-offerings to Jehovah for His goodness in restoring the
Ark. 17, 18. We have here a specific description of the propitiatory
offering actually sent; (a) a golden "boil" for each chief city: (b) a
golden mouse for each city and village throughout the whole country*!
The apparent discrepancy between the latter statement and o. J*
vanishes if we regard v. 4 as merely the proposal of the priests, and
o. 18 as a description of what was actually done. The reason for the
offering of mice from the whole country probably was that the plague.
of mice had ravaged the whole country, while the pestilence; was
chiefly confined to the great cities.
fenced cities] Fortified or walled cities, contrasted with the "country
yillages" or unwalled towns. Cp. Deut. iii. 5.
even unto the great [stone of] Abel] If the present Heb. text is cor
rect, Abel (= "lamentation") must be regarded as a proper name
given to the great stone in Joshua's field from the lamentation for the
disaster recorded in v. 19. But there is no mention of such a name
having been given to it : it is scarcely natural that this stone shouldlhe
taken as the boundary of the land of the Philistines : and the sentence
as it stands is ungrammatical. It seems best to follow the Targum
and Sept. in reading "stone" instead of Abel, and to make a slight
further alteration of the text, by which we obtain good sense and
grammar: either (a) "And the great stone whereon they set down-the
ark of the Lord is a witness unto this day in the field of Joshua the
Beth-shemeBhite." (Cp. Gen. xxxi. 52) : or (b) "The great stone . . .
remaineth unto this day."
v. 2o.] I. SAMUEL, VI. 85
had looked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the
people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men : and the
people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of
the people with a great slaughter. And the men of Beth- *
19 — Ch. VII. 1. The Penalty of Irreverence. Removal of
the Ark to Kirjath-jearim.
19. because they had looked into the ark] Better, because they had
gazed upon the ark. The rendering of the E.V. follows the explana
tion given by Rabbinic commentators, but the expression used signifies
rather "to gaze upon with profane curiosity." The priests of Beth-
shemesh must have known that even the Levites were forbidden to look
upon the furniture of the Holy of Holies upon pain of death (Num. iv.
19, 20), but instead of hastening to cover it with befitting reverence,
they left it exposed to the public gaze, and brought down a judgment
which was intended to vindicate the holiness of Jehovah. Certainly
they were not punished for the unavoidable sight of the Ark as it
approached them, at which they justly rejoiced (v. 13).
It seems not improbable, however, that there is some corruption in
the Heb. text here. The repetition "and he smote," " even he smote,"
is somewhat strange, and the Sept. has the following entirely different
reading, which may possibly represent an earlier text. "And the
sons of Jechonias rejoiced not among the men of Bethsamus because
they saw the ark of the Lord : and he smote among them, &c. " i.e.
either from indifference or irreligion they took no part in the general
rejoicing and were punished for their impiety.
fifty thousand and threescore and ten men] It is generally agreed
that there is some mistake in the text here, (a) The anomalous order
of the numerals in the Hebrew (70 men 50,000 men), and the absence
of the conjunction and mark corruption, (b) The village of Beth-
shemesh cannot possibly have contained such a number of inhabitants.
It seems best with Josephus and some Heb. MSS. to omit 50,000
altogether. Possibly the number was originally expressed by a letter
used as a numerical sign, and explained once rightly and once wrongly
in marginal notes, both of which eventually crept into the text. "A
like instance, of the intrusion of a number into the text is found in Neh.
vii. 70, where the number 500 is erroneously added to the 30 (or 33)
Priests' garments given by Nehemiah, to makeup 100 with the 67 given
by the congregation. See Ezr. ii. 6g, and Neh. vii. 72." Speaker's
Comm. p. 274.
Many explanations of the passage with the retention of the number
50,000 have been attempted. The only one deserving of notice is that
50,000 is the number, of the people, 70 the number of those that were
smitten among them. But apart from the improbability that the village
contained so many inhabitants, (and v. 2 1 implies that the news of the
return of the Ark had not spread so as to bring in others from a dis
tance), this meaning can only be imposed upon the Hebrew and not
fairly extracted from it.
86 I. SAMUEL, VI. VII. [vv. 21 ; i;
shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord
=1 God ? and to whom shall he go up from us ? And they
sent messengers to the inhabitants of" Kirjath-jearim, saying,
The Philistines have brought again the ark of the Lord;
7 come ye down, and- fetch it up to you. And the men of
Such errors as this, to which the text of any ancient book is liable in
the process of transmission, do not affect the general historical trust
worthiness of the narrative, and the freest acknowledgment of them in
no way precludes a full belief in the Inspiration of Scripture.
had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter] Lit., " had
smitten the people with a great smiting."
20. Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God?] Before Jeho
vah this holy God. Holiness is an especial attribute of Jehovah,
demanding a corresponding holiness on the part of the people among ¦
whom He promised to dwell (Ex. xxix. 45, 46; Lev. xi. 44,; 45).
Chastisement was necessary to teach the men of Beth-shemesh that
their sinfulness could not stand before the holiness of God (cp. Mal. iii.
2 ; Lk. v. 8) : but instead of fitting themselves for His Presence, they
desired to free themselves from the burden of it. Cp. Matt. viii. 34.
We should compare the judgment upon Uzzah, after which David
feared to bring the Ark into Jerusalem. (2 Sam. vi. 7 — 9.)
to whom shall he go up from us T] They regard the Presence of Jehc
vah as inseparable from the Ark.
21. Kirjath-jearim] i. e. "city of forests" originally belonged to
the Gibeonites (Josh. ix. 17), and was one of the frontier cities of
Judah (Josh. xv. 9).
The site is probably to be fixed at the modern village of KuryeUt.
enab, i.e. "city of the grape," which stands among the hills, 8 or oi
miles N.E. of Ain Shems. "A ride over ruined rocky paths, some of
the worst in the Country, brought us to Kureit-el-Enab, the ancien|
Kirjath-jearim, in a pleasant valley of olive-groves, abounding in jays'
and hawks. We dismounted to visit the old Gothic church, said toj
have been built by the English Crusaders, and still quite perfect,
though desecrated by the Moslem villagers to the uses of a cow-shed."
Tristram, Land of Israel, p. 397.
Kirjath-jearim was also called Baalah (Josh. xv. 9), Baale-Judah
(2 S. vi. 2), and Kirjath-baal (Josh. xv. 60), names which point to the
former existence of Baal- worship in the place.
The Ark was probably taken to Kirjath-jearim, which was neifhera
priestly nor Levitical city, as being the nearest place of importance on
the road to Shiloh, but why it was not restored to its old resting-plifflj
does not appear. Possibly Shiloh, as the central seat of worship aW
government, was occupied by the Philistines after the battle of Aph|l
Certainly it never regained its old importance. See Jer. vii. 12—147
xxvi. 6.
come ye down] Kirjath-jearim was among the hills of JudahvS*on
higher ground than Beth-shemesh. "i
vv. 2, 3.] I. SAMUEL, VII. 87
Kirjath-jearim came, and fetched up the ark of the Lord,
and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and
sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord.
2 — 6. The National Repentance and Reformation under
Samuel.
And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath- 2
jearim, that the time was long : for it was twenty years : and
all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. And 3
Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do
return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away
the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and pre-
Ch. VII. 1. into the house of Abinadab in the hill] On the hill,
some eminence in or near the town. In 2 Sam. vi. 4, 5, the E.V.
wrongly takes the same word as a proper name, "in Gibeah."
Abinadab was probably (as Josephus says) a Levite : for the Israelites
would scarcely have ventured to violate the law by entrusting the Ark
to a layman after the late judgment.
sanctified Eleazar] Consecrated him and set him apart for the
special duty. "Nothing is said of Eleazar's consecration as priest . . .
He was constituted not priest, but watchman at the grave of the Ark,
by its corpse, until its future joyful resurrection."
The words of Psalm cxxxii. 6, " We found it in the fields of the wood"
refer to this sojourn of the Ark at Kirjath-jearim. The word translated
" wood" is jaar, which is the singular of jearim.
2—6. The National Repentance and Reformation under
Samuel.
2. And it came to pass, &c] Better, And it came to pass, from the
day when the ark rested in Kirjath-jearim, that a long time elapsed,
even twenty years. Twenty years was not, as the E.V. seems to imply,
the whole duration of the Ark's sojourn at Kirjath-jearim, but the time
that elapsed before the reformation now to be recorded.
The period here passed over in silence was a dark page in Israel's
history, politically and religiously. They were vassals of the Philis
tines, reduced apparently to abject submission. The public worship of
Jehovah was intermitted ; for the Tabernacle seems to have been dis
mantled, and the Ark was in a private house. The people sank into
gross idolatry. But meanwhile Samuel was growing in strength and
influence, and when the right moment came and the desire for better
things sprang up as the fruit of his prophetic labours, he was ready to .
take his place as the leader of the nation.
lamented after the Lord] As a child follows the father whb has
b?en forced to turn away in anger, and with sighs and tears entreats for
reconciliation. 3. the. strange gods and Ashtaroth} The gods of the stranger and
I. SAMUEL, VII. [w. 4, 5.
pare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only:
and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
4 Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Asht&
5 roth, and served the Lord only. And Samuel said, GatheJ
all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the
the Ashtaroth= "the Baalim and the Ashtaroth" of v. 4. Baalim is
the plural of Baal, Ashtaroth of Ashtoreth, and the plural denotes either
(a) the numerous images of these deities, or (b) the different forms under
which they were worshipped, as Baal-Peor, Baal-Berith, Baal-Zebub.
Baal (=lord) was the supreme male deity of the Phoenician and
Canaanite nations, and probably is to be identified with the Babylonian;
Bel. „ •
Ashtoreth (Gr. Astarte) was the corresponding female deity, wor
shipped in Babylonia under the name Ishtar as the goddess of battles
and victories, in which character she also appears among the Philistines)"!
war-spoils being dedicated to her (ch. xxxi. 10). Her symbol was the
Asherah (rendered "grove" in the E.V., Jud. iii. 7 and frequently),
probably a wooden column or image resembling the sacred tree of the
Assyrians, the worship of which is very commonly coupled with that
of Baal. ;
The Baal-worship which began in the wilderness, when the Israelites!
"joined themselves to Baal-peor" the god of Moab, seems never to
have been thoroughly eradicated during the period of the Judges. See
Josh. xxiv. 23; Jud. ii. 11 — 13, iii. 7, viii. 33, *. 6.
prepare your hearts unto the Lord] Set your hearts steadfastly
towards Jehovah.
serve him only] For He is a jealous God, who cannot endure a rival.
His command is "Thou shalt have none other gods beside Me."
5. to Mizpeh] Mizpah, (in Heb. always with the definite article,
as retaining its meaning, "the watch-tower,") was the meeting-place.
of the national assembly on two other important occasions in this
period : (a) when war was declared against Benjamin (Jud. xx.);
(*)'when Saul was elected king (ch. x. 17); and (c) once in later
times, on an occasion not unlike the present, when Judas Macca-
baeus mustered Israel to revolt against the tyranny of Antiochus Epi-
phanes (1 Mace. iii. 42—46). It belonged to the tribe of Benjamin
(Josh, xviii. 26). Its site has not been identified, but is conjectured to
be either (a) Neby Samwtl, a conspicuous hill rising to the height of
2935 ft., about 5 miles N.W. of Jerusalem: or (*) Scoptts, the broad
ridge immediately north of Jerusalem. In favour of the latter site are
(a) the similarity of the name (tric6-os= watchman): (b) the description
of the place in 1 Mace. iii. 46, as " over against Jerusalem."
It must be carefully distinguished from Mizpah in Gilead (Jud. x. 17,
xi. n).
/ will pray for you unto the Lord] Other instances of Samuel's
prayers are mentioned in viii. 6, xii. 17—19, 23, xv. n. He is quoted,.!
as the type of successful intercessors in Ps. xcix. 6; Jer. xv. 1. i
w. 6— 10.] I. SAMUEL, VII. 89}
Lord. And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew 6
water, and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on
that day, and said there, We have sinned against the Lord.
And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.
7 — 12. Total Rout of the Philistines at Ebenezer.
And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel 7
were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines
went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel
heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. And the chii- s
dren of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the
Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand
of the Philistines. And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and 9
offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the Lord ; and
Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel ; and the Lord heard
him. And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the 10
6. and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord] A symbol
ical act which has no exact parallel in the O.T., but was probably
significant of the outpouring of their hearts before Jehovah in peni
tence and supplication. Cp. ch. i. 15; Ps. lxii. 8; Lam. ii. 19. The
paraphrase of the Targum is, "And they poured out their heart in re-
pentance before Jehovah. "
and fasted on that day] As on the great day of Atonement (Lev.
xvi. 29), in token of humiliation and contrition for their sin.
We have sinned against the Lord] They made a public confession.
Cp. Jud. x. 10.
And Samuel judged, &c] As prophet he effected the religious
reformation, and then taking his place as the chief magistrate of the
State, he provided for the civil and political reorganization of the
people. That the assembly lasted some time is clear from v. 7. The
Philistines had time to muster their army before it dispersed.
7 — 12. Total Rout of the Philistines at Ebenezer.
1. when the Philistines heard, &c] The lords naturally regarded a
national assembly of their vassals as a preliminary step towards revolt,
and mustering the army of the confederation, marched up towards
Mizpah. 9. a sticking lamb] Which might not be less than seven days old,
according to Lev. xxii. 27.
for a burnt offering wholly unto the Lord] The whole animal was
burnt upon the altar to denote the entire consecration to Jehovah of
those who were pleading for deliverance.
. and the Lord heard him] Better, answered him. Cp. Ps. xcix. 6,
and note on v. 5.
90 I. SAMUEL, VII. [w. n-^
Philistines drew near to battle against Israel : but the Lord'^
thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philis
tines, and discomfited them ; and they were smitten before
ii Israel. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and
pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they cam
12 under Beth-car. Then Samuel took a stone, and set it he-?
tween Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-S
ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.
13 — 1 7. Summary Account of Samuel' s fudgeship.. yW
13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more
into the coast of Israel : and the hand of the Lord was against
10. thundered with a great thunder] Lit., with a great voice.
Thunder is the "voice of God" (Ps. xxix. 3, 4). Cp. ch. ii. 10; 2 Sam**
xxii. 14, 15.
discomfited them] The Heb. word expresses the confusion qfa sudden '
panic, and is especially used of supernatural defeats. Cp. Ex., xiv. 24
(E.V. troubled); Josh. x. 10; Jud. iv. 15; 2 Sam. xxii. 15.
¦ and they were smitten before Israel] The thunder which dismayed*
the Philistines gave. courage to the Israelites. The verb "they wen
smitten " (different from the one similarly translated in the next verse)
is specially spoken of God, e.g. ch. iv. 3.
11. until they came under Beth-car] Beth-car ( = " house of a
lamb," or "house of pasture,") was apparently on high ground over-
' hanging the road back to Philistia.
12. Eben-ezer] i.e. " The Stone of Help," a memorial set up be
tween Mizpah and Shen, (in Heb. with the definite article) = " The
Tooth," probably some conspicuous "tooth" or spire of rock. Cp.
xiv. 4. The exact place is unknown, but "exactly at the spot where*';
twenty years before they had obtained their great victory, the PhihV
tines were totally routed."
Hitherto, &c] i.e. Up to this time. The deliverances of the past are
a pledge of continued help for the future.
13—17. Summary Account of Samuel's Judgeship. |
13. So the Philistines were subdued] Cp. Jud. iii. 30, iv. 23, 24*!
The word signifies "were brought low," but does not imply complete'
subjugation. The forty years oppression (Jud. xiii. 1) now came to an
end. they came no more into the coast of Israel] The same phrase is used
in 2 Kings vi. 23, where the very next verse speaks of a fresh invasion.
It is obvious therefore that the Hebrew historian could use the ex-
-^ pression relatively and not absolutely, to describe a cessation of thir
Philistine inroads for the time being. How long it lasted we are not
told, but
vv. 14—16.] I. SAMUEL, VII. 91
the Philistines all the days of Samuel. And the cities which 14
the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel,
from Ekron even unto Gath ; and the coasts thereof did
Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And
there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. And is
Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And he went 16
the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Sa
muel] Yet we find the people groaning under the Philistine oppression
(ix. 16) : a garrison or a tribute-collector stationed at Gibeah (x. 5, xiii.
3): a general disarmament of the nation by the Philistines (xiii. 19):
Hebrew slaves in the Philistine camp (xiv. 21) : and three invasions of
the land (xiii. 5, xvii. 1, xxiii. 27): all during Samuel's lifetime. We
must then understand the statement in the text as either (a) "a general
expression allowable in such a brief survey as is here given:" or (b) as
referring only to the period of Samuel's active judgeship. In the
latter case we may conjecture that the Philistines re-established their
ascendancy in his old age, in consequence of the weak and corrupt
government of his sons.
14. from Ekron even unto Gath] The towns which lay on the
Danite frontier between these places were restored to Israel, not how
ever including Ekron and Gath themselves. There is no evidence that
Gath had ever been occupied by the Israelites, and Ekron was only
held for a short time (Jud. i. 18).
the coasts thei'eof] The territory belonging to these frontier towns.
The Sept. reads "the border of Israel."
there was peace between Israel and the Amorites] The Amorites are
mentioned as the most powerful enemies of Israel next to the Philis
tines. " Amorite" is probably a local not a tribal name, meaning
" highlander," contrasted with " Canaanite," which means " lowlander."
On the W. of Jordan they lived chiefly in the mountainous country of
Judah and Ephraim (Num. xiii. 29; Josh. x. 5): E. of Jordan they
occupied the high plateau of rich pasture-land between the Jabbok and
the Arnon, from which they had expelled the Moabites (Num. xxi. 13,
26), and were in their turn dispossessed by the Israelites.
In the Egyptian inscriptions the Amorites give, their name to the
whole country of Canaan, and in several passages of the O.T. the
name appears to be used loosely of the original inhabitants in general.
Possibly this is the case here.
15. Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life] This, like the
statement of v. 13, must be understood with qualifications: for (a)
Samuel in his old age made his sons judges (viii. r) : (b) Saul was made
king a considerable time before Samuel's death. But it does not con
tradict the subsequent history. Clearly his sons supplemented but did
not supersede their father's judicial office; and Samuel retained a civil
and religious authority even after Saul had become the military leader
of the people.
92 I. SAMUEL, VII. [v- 17:
from year to year in circuit to Beth-el, and Gilgal, and Miz>
17 peh, and judged Israel in all those places. And his return
was to Ramah ; for there was his house ; and there he
judged Israel ; and there he built an altar unto the Lord.
16. to Beth-el] About 8 miles N. of Jerusalem the ruins of Beittn
mark the site of the ancient city of Beth-el, formerly the royal Canaanite
city Luz (Gen. xxviii. 19), at the head of the pass of Michmash and
Ai. (a) Near it Abraham built an altar (Gen. xii. 8). (b) There \
Jacob saw the Vision of the Ladder set up to heaven (Gen. xxviii. iiff.)i "
and received the confirmation of his new name Israel (Gen. xxxv. 10),
and from these revelations called the place Beth-el or "The House of
God." (c) There in the days of the Judges the Ark rested for a time
and an altar was set up (Jud. xx. 18, 26 — 28, where "the house of
God" in the E.V. should be "Beth-el:" cp. 1 Sam. x. 3). (d) Ther*;
after the Disruption of the Kingdoms Jeroboam set up his idolatroiis '
parody of the worship of Jehovah (1 Kings xii. 32, 33), and Beth-el
"the house of God" became in the ianguage of the prophet Beth-aveu
"the house of naught," i.e. of idols (Hos. iv. 15, x. 5).
The name Beth-el appears to have been applied originally to the
sanctuary in the neighbourhood of Luz, and not to have been given to
the city till after its conquest by the tribe of Ephraim.
For a graphic description of Beth-el see Stanley's Sinai and Pales
tine, pp. 217 — 223.
and Gilgal] Gilgal ( — "the Rolling," Josh. v. 9) was the first station
of the Israelites after the passage of the Jordan, where (a) the men
born in the wilderness were circumcised (Josh. v. 2); (b) the First
Passover was celebrated (Josh. v. 10) ; (c) in all probability the Ark
rested during the conquest of the land. Now it appears as the chief
religious and political centre of the nation, where (1) sacrifices are
offered (ch. x. 8) ; (2) assizes held ; (3) the national assembly convened
(xi. 14, 15); (4) the army mustered (xiii. 4, 7). It was probably selected ,
for these purposes on account of its historical associations and its
remoteness from the Philistines, whose invasions had pushed the centre
of gravity of the kingdom back to the banks of the Jordan.
Lieut. Conder has fixed the site of Gilgal by the discovery of the
name Jilj&lieh a mile and a half E. of the village of Eriha, between
the ancient Jericho and the Jordan. Tent Work, 11. p. 7.
and Mizpeh] See note on v. 5.
in all those places] The Sept. has "in all these sanctuaries." This
reading whether original or not expresses the fact that all these places
were, like Ramah, places for sacrifice and worship. Even before the
captivity of the Ark, Shiloh was not the sole religious centre; for
instance there was a sanctuary at Shechem in Joshua's time (Josh. xxiv.
26); and now that the Ark and Tabernacle had disappeared from
view, no effort seems to have been made to preserve the religious unity
of the nation.
17. to Ramah] See note on ch. i. 1. Samuel chose his nativ«
vv. 1—3.] I. SAMUEL, VIII. 93
Ch. VIII. 1 — 5. Request of the people for a king.
And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made 8
his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his first- 2
born was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they
were judges in Beer-sheba. And his sons walked not in his 3
ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and per-
place for his usual official residence, and made it a centre of religious
worship by building an altar to Jehovah.
Here ends the first division of the book, which records Samuel's life
and work as the last of the Judges, in connexion with the old order of
things. The next division opens by relating the steps which led to the
establishment of a monarchy, and shews us Samuel as the Mediator
between the old and the new regime, effecting a political change of the
utmost importance in the history of Israel without the shock of revo
lution. It has been conjectured (a) from the fact that this portion of the
book ends with a summary account of Samuel's whole life : (b) from
the apparent (but not altogether inexplicable) contradiction between
ch. vii. 13 — 15 and the subsequent narrative, that the compiler derived
the history of Samuel and the history of Saul from different sources :
but in the obscurity of the whole question of the compilation of the
book, it must remain a hypothesis incapable of verification.
Ch. VIII. 1 — 5. Request of the people for a king.
. 1. when Samuel was old] A considerable time, probably not much
less than 20 years, must have elapsed since the victory of Ebenezer, before
Samuel required the help of his sons on the ground of old age, and
some years more before their misgovernment became so flagrant as to
give occasion for the request of the elders. On the chronology see In-
trod. p. 22 ff.
2. Now the name, &c] Joel =" Jehovah is God:" Abiah="Jah
is my father:" names significant of a protest against the prevalent
idolatry. The text of 1 Chr. vi. 28, where the names are given as "the
firstborn Vashni and Abiah," is corrupt. "Joel" has dropped out after
"the firstborn," and "Vashni" is an obvious corruption of the Heb.
word meaning "and the second."
judges in Beer-sheba] See note on ch. iii. 20. Beer-sheba was the
most convenient centre for the southern district, which Samuel assigned
to his sons, retaining the northern himself. Josephus says that "re
signing his office to his sons he divided the people between them, and
placed them in Bethel and Beer-sheba, " a statement which is probably
his own conjecture, and does not agree with ch. vii. 15.
3. turned aside after lucre] From the straight-forward path of their
father's example. Lucre (from Lat. lucrum) is only used in the E. V. in
a bad sense of ill-gotten gain.
took bribes and perverted judgment] The same phrases are coupled
94 I. SAMUEL, VIII. [vv. 4-6.
4 verted judgment. Then all the elders of Israel gathered!
5 themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, and
said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not
in thy ways : now make us a king to judge us like all the
nations. 6 — 9. Jehovah's answer to the request.
6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give;
together in Deut. xvi. 19, though differently translated in the E.VJ
"Thou shalt not wrest judgment.. .nor take a gift." Cp. Ex. xxiii.
6, 8.
4. the elders of Israel] Acting as representatives of the people, in.
7, 10, 19, 22.
" In a patriarchal system of government the Elders or heads of families
are the natural authorities. Even before the Exodus Israel possessed!
an organization of Elders, to whom Moses was directed to deliver his
message (Ex. iii. 16), The title gradually acquired an official signifi
cation ; in the wilderness Moses appointed a council of seventy to
represent the whole body (Num. xi. 16, 24, 25). After the occupation
of Canaan we find mention of (a) Elders of cities, who acted as civil
magistrates (Josh. xx. 4; Jud. viii. 16; Ruth iv. 2 ; 1 Sam. xvi. 4):
(b) Elders of tribes or districts (Jud. xi. 5; 1 Sam. xxx. 26; 2 Sam. xix.
1 ii): (c) The Elders of Israel, or united body of the Elders of the tribes,
forming the senate or executive council of the "congregation" or na
tional assembly, (1) in war (ch. iv. 3), (2) in great political matters, as
on the present occasion, (3) in matters of general importance to the
nation (Jud. xxi. 16).
The institution of Elders lasted through the monarchy (see e.g. 1 Kings
xx. 7, 8, xxi. n), and was revived after the captivity (Ezra x. 14). In
N.T. times "the Elders" formed one of the constituent elements of the
Sanhedrin. 5. make us a king] Lit. set, i.e. appoint, the same word as in the
corresponding passage, Deut. xvii. 14.
like all the nations] i. e. as all the surrounding nations have kings,
6—9. Jehovah's answer to the request.
6. the thing displeased Samuel] v. 7 implies that Samuel's displeasure
arose from a feeling of the ingratitude of the Israelites toward himself in
desiring that one who had done so much for them should be superseded
by a king. God's answer, "Not thee (their judge) have they rejected,
but me (their true king) have they rejected from reigning over them"
(the Heb. order is emphatic) at once consoles him and points out the real
sinfulness of the request. This consisted not in the mere desire for
a king, which would not necessarily have been wrong, but in the spirit
pf distrust of the invisible sovereignty of Jehovah and desire for the
splendour of a visible monarch which really prompted the request.
w. 7— ii.] I. SAMUEL, VIII. 95
us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the
Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto 7
the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee : for
they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that
/should not reign over them. According to all the works 8
which they have done since the day that I brought them up
out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have for
saken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
Now therefore hearken unto their voice : howbeit yet protest 9
solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king
that shall reign over them.
io — 1 8. The rights of a king.
And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the peo- io
pie that asked of him a king. And he said, This will be the n
manner of the king that shall reign over you : He will take
your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and
Samuel prayed] He does not let his own personal feelings decide,
but endeavours to learn what is the Will of God in the matter.
8. so do they also unto thee] Cp. John xv. 20.
9. Now therefore hearken] Or, And now. There is no inference ' be
cause they reject me and thee, therefore, &c.,' but the command of v. 7
is repeated. For the reasons why the request was granted, see Introduc
tion, ch. iv. § 4. 10 — 18. The rights of a king.
10. unto the people] Through their representatives the elders. Cp.
note on v. 4.
11. This will be the manner of the king] Or, "the right of the
king;" such prerogatives as an absolute monarch claims.
We have here a vivid picture of the tyranny of an Oriental despot
whose subjects are at his disposal for (1) court retainers, (2) military
officers, (3) cultivators of the royal estates, (4) artificers in the arsenal,
(5) domestics in the royal household. (7) Their property is liable to
arbitrary seizure, beside (8) regular exactions of tithe, in order to enrich
court favourites, and (9) their slaves and their cattle may at anytime be
pressed into the royal service. Under such a despotism political and
social freedom is at an end. Prosperous as was Solomon's reign, it
tended in this direction. See 1 Kings v. 13 — 18, xii. 4.
and appoint them] This may be rendered either as the E.V. or,
and set them for himself upon his chariots and upon his chargers.
Service in the retinue of the king rather than in the army appears to be
meant.
96 ' I. SAMUEL, VIII. [w. 12— il
to be his horsemen ; and some shall run before his chariotsl
12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and cap
tains over fifties ; and will set them to ear his ground, and
to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and
13 instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters
to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and fo be bakers,
14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your
oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his ser-
15 vants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of
your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants,
and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them i
17 to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep : and ye
18 shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day be
cause of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and
the Lord will not hear you in that day.
some shall run before his chariots] A body of runners was a regulat
sign of regal state (2 Sam. xv. 1 ; 1 Kings i. 5).
12. captains over thousands and captains over fifties] The Sept,
reads "captains of hundreds and captains of thousands," which are the
usual military divisions (ch. xxii. 7 ; Num. xxxi. 14) : but the Heb. text
is to be preferred as mentioning the highest and the lowest offices. Cp.
2 Kings i. 9 ff. For the fact cp. ch. xiv. 52.
to ear his ground] " To ear" ' = " to plough," from Lat. arare through
A.-S. erian. The verb occurs again in Deut. xxi. 4 and Is. xxx. 24;
the subst. earing in Gen. xlv. 6 ; Ex. xxxiv. 2 1 . Shakespeare uses the
word: "And let them go
To ear the land that hath some hope to grow."
Richard II. A. iii. Sc. 1.
13. to be confectionaries] The original form of " 'confectioner,", not
however in its modern sense, but— "one who makes confections" (Ex.
xxx. 35), i.e. compounds of spices and perfumes, a perfumer.
14. he will take your fields, &c] Cp. 1 Kings xxi. 7; Ezek. xlvi. 18.
15. officers] Or, chamberlains.
16. your goodliest young men] "Young men" in the Heb. appears"
to be a copyist's error, and we should probably adopt the Sept. reading
" cattle." Men-servants and maid-servants, cattle and asses, are then
coupled together naturally. Cp. Ex. xx. 17.
17. and ye shall be his servants] To sum up all briefly, ye will be
slaves to the king ye have chosen.
18. because of your king] Or, "from your king," appealing to God
to escape from his tyranny.
will not hear you] Rather, will not answer you. The Sept. adds:
"because ye have chosen yourselves a king."
w. 19—22; 1, 2.J I. SAMUEL, VIII. IX. 97
19 — 22. Reply of the people.
Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of 19
Samuel ; and they said, Nay, but we will have a king over
us ; that we also may be like all the nations ; and that our 20
king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our bat
tles. And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and 21
he rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord. And the Lord 22
said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them
a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye
every man unto his city.
Ch. IX. 1, 2. Saul's genealogy.
Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was 9
Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becho-
rath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of
power. And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice 2
19 — 22. Reply of the people.
19. Nevertheless] Simply And.
20. that our king may judge us and go out before us] The king was
- to unite the duties of (i ) government of the nation in time of peace, and
(2) leadership of the army in time of war.
21. he rehearsed them] i.e. repeated them. 'Rehearse' is derived
from Fr. reherser, to harrow over again. Samuel once more laid the
matter before Jehovah in prayer, and again received the same answer.
This narrative is in close connexion with ch. a. 17 — 27. The inter
vening section, possibly derived from a different source, gives an account
of Samuel's preliminary interview with Saul, preparatory to his formal
election as king. Ch. IX. 1, 2. Saul's genealogy.
1. Now there was a man] "The sacred historian now tracks as it
were another stream of events which were to concur in working out
God's providential purpose of giving a king to Israel." Speaker's
Commentary; Kish, the son of Abiel] See note on xiv. 50.
it mighty man of power] The Heb. may mean either (a) a valiant
man, as in ch. xvi. 18, or (b) a wealthy man, as in Ruth ii. 1. Per
haps the ideas of personal valour and family importance are both
included here, as in the Sept. rendering o.vt)p Swards, 'a powerful
man.' 2. whose name was Saul] Heb. Shaul=" asked." It occurs as
the name (a) of an Edomite prince (Gen. xxxvi. 37, 38); (b) of a son
of Simeon (Gen. xlvi. 10); \c) of a Kohathite in the genealogy of
Samuel (1 Chr. vi. 24); (d) of Saul of Tarsus, "who is also called
I. SAMUEL <7
98 I. SAMUEL, IX. [w. 3,4V
young man, and a goodly: and there was not among thw
children of Israel a goodlier person than he : from his
shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the peopled
3 — 10. Saul's search for his Father's Asses.
3 And the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And Kish
said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with
4 thee, and arise, go seek the asses. And he passed through
mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha,
but they found them not : then they passed through the land
of Shalim, and there they were not : and he passed through.
Paul " (Acts vii. 58, &c.) ; and thus it became "the most distinguished1
name in the genealogies of the tribe of Benjamin," in the N.T. as
well as in the O.T. (Phil. iii. 5).
a choice young man, and a goodly] Choice and goodly. Cp. x. 24.
Physical qualifications of stature, strength and beauty are a natural
commendation for the dignity of a king, especially in warlike ages.
Euripides speaks of eTSos afioc rvpavviSos, ' form worthy to rule.'
Ajax appears in Homer (//. III. 227) as
" Towering o'er all with head and shoulders broad :"
and Turnus, in Virgil (Aen. vii. 784),
"Out-tops the foremost chieftains by a head."
3 — 10. Saul's search for his Father's Asses.
3. the asses] In the East asses are valuable property, indispensable
for farm-work and travelling. The possession of a drove of asses, and
several servants, indicates that Kish was a man of some substance.
4, 5. Saul's route cannot be traced with any certainty. He started
from his home at Gibeah apparently in a N.W. direction (1) through :
"Mount Ephraim" (see i. 1, note); (2) through "the land of Shah- ,
sha," perhaps the district round Baal-shalisha (2 Kings iv. 42), which
lay about 12 miles N. of Lydda; (3) then turning S. he traversed "the
land of Shalim " (=foxes), perhaps in the neighbourhood of Shaalabbjjb
(Josh. xix. 42) in Dan; (4) then striking E. he searched the western
part of the "land of Benjamin," till he reached (5) "the land of Zuph,"
in which lay Samuel's city Ramah. The search occupied parts,of
three days {v. 20). It seems best to suppose that the unnamed city
of v. 6 ff. is Ramah, for (a) the servant speaks of it as the propheffL
regular residence (v. 6); (b) it is natural to connect "the land of ZuphT
m which it was situated, with the name Ramathaim-Zophim (i,,i, .
note); (c) the difficulty raised by the description of Saul's return inch, .
x. -j. (see note) may be solved by supposing that he did not go straight ¦
home, but was sent by the prophet out of his way in order to meet the
men who were looking for him.
w. s— 8.] I. SAMUEL, IX. 99
the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not. Ands
when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his
servant that was with him, Come, and let us return ; lest my
father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us.
And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a 6
man of God, and he is an honourable man ; all that he saith
cometh surely to pass : now let us go thither ; peradventure
he can shew us our way that we should go. Then said 7
Saul to his servant, But behold, if we go, what shall we
bring the man ? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and
there is not a present to bring to the man of God : what
have we? And the servant answered Saul again, and said, 8
Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of
silver : that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our
5. take thought for us] i.e. "be anxious? as in Matt. vi. 25. Cp.
x. 2.
6. in this city] Pointing to the town on a hill in front of them.
a man of God] See note on ii. 27.
he is an honourable man] Lit., the man is highly esteemed.
all that he saith, &c] Cp. iii. 19.
peradventure] Derived from per, "by," and adventura, late Latin
for "that which is about to happen," " chance," = "perchance,"
' ' perhaps. "
our way that we should go] Rather, our way upon which we have
come : i.e. shew us which way to go to attain the object of our journey.
Cp. Gen. xxiv. 42.
It seems strange that Saul apparently knows nothing about Samuel.
But the days of Samuel's greatest activity were long past, and he had
for some time been living in comparative retirement: while "up to
this point Saul had been only the shy and retiring youth of the family,
employed in the common work of the farm," and knowing little of the
political or religious movements of the time.
7. a present] A word occurring here only, to denote the present
with which one approaches a great man. The cognate verb is found in
^s. lvii. 9, "Thou wentest to the king with ointment." For presents
offered to prophets compare 1 Kings xiv. 3; 2 Kings v. 15 ff, viii. 8, 9:
and for the present of bread which Saul suggests they might have
given compare the "handfuls of barley and pieces of bread" received
by the false prophetesses in Ezek. xiii. 19. See Smith's Diet, of the
Bible, Art. Gifts.
8. the fourth part of a shekel of silver] Worth rather more than
sixpence according to the present price of silver : but we have no clue
to its real value in the time of Samuel.
that will I give] Sept. "And thou shalt give it ;" certainly a more
natural reading, as the present would be made by the master.
7—2
I. SAMUEL, IX. [w. 9— if
9 way. (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of
God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer : for he
that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)
io Then said Saul to his servant, Well said ; come, let us go.
So they went unto the city where the man of God was.
n — 14. Inquiry for the seer.
" And as they went up the hill to the city, they found young
maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, Is the
12 seer here ? And they answered them, and said, He is ; be
hold, he is before you : make haste now, for he came to
9. Beforetime in Israel] This verse is clearly an addition to the
original narrative to explain the term "seer" which had become obso-.i
lete when the book was compiled in its present form. It is inserted"-
here and not after v. n where the term first occurs, to avoid inter
rupting the narrative.
(i) Two Hebrew words are translated "seer" in the E.V.
(1) That used here (rSeh) is applied specially to Samuel in this
chapter and in 1 Chr. ix. 22, xxvi. 28, xxix. 29: to Hanani, 2 Chr. xvi.
7, 10: generally, Is. xxx. 10. Apparently it fell out of popular use
after Samuel's time, but was revived as a classical word by the com
piler of Chronicles.
(2) Elsewhere in the E.V. "seer" represents the Heb. chdzeh-
" gazer," a term applied first to Gad (2 Sam. xxiv. 11) and used in. the:
historical and prophetical books both of particular individuals and'
generally. (ii) The term "prophet" (Heb. ndbi) maintains its ground through
out the O.T. The root of the word seems to denote "bubbling over"
and so "ecstatic utterance:" and the passive form of the substantive
signifies that the prophet is swayed by a divine afflatus.
The exact difference of meaning of these terms is much debated^
Probably ndbi designates the prophet as the inspired interpreter of the
will of God: rtieh and chSzeh refer to the method of communication by
dream and vision. Cp. Num. xii. 6.
11 — 14. Inquiry for the seer.
11. as they went up] As they were ascending by the ascent to
the city. The Hebrew has a peculiar construction, the repetition of
which is characteristic of this chapter. Cp. vv. 5, 14, 17, 27.
young maidens going out to draw water] Cp. Gen. xxiv. 15, xxix. 9 ff. ;
Ex. ii. 16 ; John iv. 7. The well was in the lower ground outside the
city wall.
12. he is before you] Before thee, addressing the speaker. It is *
direction to go straight forward.
IOI
w. 13—15.] I. SAMUEL, IX.
day to the city; for there is a sacrifice of the people
to day in the high place : as soon as ye be come into 13
the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to
the high place to eat : for the people will not eat until he
come, because he doth bless the sacrifice ; and afterwards
they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up ; for
about this time ye shall find him. And they went up into 14
the city : and when they were come into the city, behold,
Samuel came out against them, for to go up to the high
place. 15 — 24. Saul entertained by Samuel.
Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear a day before is
he came to day to the city] If "the city" was Ramah, Samuel may
have been absent from home on one of his official circuits.
a sacrifice of the people] Possibly at the New Moon (Num. xxviii.
1 1 — 1 5) or upon some special occasion of thanksgiving.
in the high place] Here probably was the altar which Samuel had
built (vii. 1 7). A natural instinct among all nations chooses hill-tops as
fitting places of worship. Such "high places" were frequently conse
crated to the worship of Jehovah in spite of the prohibition implied in
the command that there should be only one sanctuary (Deut. xii.
11 — 14). That this was the case in the unsettled period of the Judges
is not surprising, but even after the building of the temple the high-
place worship continued, though it is condemned in the books of Kings
as a blot on the character of otherwise good monarchs.
13. he doth bless the sacrifice] Pronounces a blessing or thanks
giving over the sacrificial feast. Cp. Luke ix. 16 with John vi. n;Matt.
xxvi. 26.
for about this time] Lit. " For as for him — now shall ye find him."
The pronoun is repeated for emphasis.
14. and when they were come into the city] Rather, as they were
coming into the midst of the city, behold Samuel was coming out to
meet them. In the E. V. this verse apparently disagrees with v. 18.
The correct translation makes all clear. Saul and his servant ascend
the hill. As they enter the city they meet Samuel "in the gate" (v. 18).
The Sept. reads "gate" here, and "city" in v. 18, but the change
is unnecessary.
The high place was either on the top of the hill on the slope of which
the city stood, or on the adjacent hill from which the city had its name
Ramathaim (" the two heights "). See note on i. 1.
'Against' here =' opposite to,' as in Gen. xv. 10. So Tyndale in
Gen. xxxii. 1 has "Jacob saw the angels of God come against him."
15 — 24. Saul entertained by Samuel.
IB. Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear] Lit. " had uncovered
102 I. SAMUEL, IX. [vv. 16-2I
16 Saul came, saying, To morrow about this time I will send
thee a man put of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt
anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may
save my people out of the hand of the Philistines ; for I
have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto
17 me. And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said unto him,
Behold the man whom I spake to thee of: this same shall
18 reign over my people. Then Saul drew near to Samuel in
the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's
19 house is. And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the
seer : go up before me unto the high place ; for ye shall eat
with me to day, and to morrow I will let thee go, and will
so tell thee all that is in thine heart. And as for thine asses
that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them ;
for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel?
Samuel's ear," a figure of speech said to be derived from the practicefP
removing the hair or a corner of the turban from another's ear in order
to whisper a secret into it.
16. out of the hand of the Philistines] See note on vii. .13.
/ have looked upon my people] Sept. "I have looked upon the
affliction of my people." The word might easily have fallen out of the
Hebrew text. Cp. Ex. iii. 7, 9.
17. the Lord said unto him] Lit. Jehovah answered him; ans
wered his mental question, Is this the man? v. 17 is in close connexio|j
with v. 14, w. 15 and 16 forming a parenthesis.
shall reign over my people] Lit. ' ' shall restrain my people." A pe
culiar word, contrasting the restraints of a settled government with the
license of the time in which " every man did that which was right in his
own eyes" (Jud. xxi. 25).
18. in the gate] Heb. "In the midst of the gate," i.e. the gate
way, where they would naturally halt to inquire for the Seer's house.
19. go up before me] Addressed to Saul only. The verb is in the
singular. Saul is to precede Samuel as a mark of honour.
all that is in thine heart] Thine inmost thoughts and aspirations ; not
merely about the asses, which Samuel tells him at once. May we not
suppose that Saul at his plough like Joan of Arc with her flock had been
brooding over the oppression of his country, and cherishing a vague de;
sire to liberate it ? '";;
20. three days ago] Heb. " to-day three days "=" the day beforej,
yesterday," according to the inclusive Hebrew reckoning.
set not thy mind on them] " Set not thy heart on them." Be not
anxious for them.
on whom is all the desire of Israel] Rather, For whom are all the
desirable things of Israel? are they not for thee and for all thy
father's house ? i. e. ' Care not for these asses for they are found : and
w. 21—24.] I. SAMUEL, IX. 103
Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house? And Saul 21
answered and said, A?n not I a Benjamite, of the smallest
of the tribes of Israel ? and my family the least of all the
families of the tribe of Benjamin ? wherefore then speakest
thou so to me ? And Samuel took Saul and his servant, 22
and brought them into the parlour, and made them sit in
the chiefest place among them that were bidden, which were
about thirty persons. And Samuel said unto the cook, 23
Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto
thee, Set it by thee. And the cook took up the shoulder, 24
and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And
Samuel said, Behold that which is left ; set it before thee,
even if they were lost, what matter ? is not the best that Israel has to
give at thy service ?'
21. the smallest of the tribes of Israel] The warlike tribe of Benja
min, the smallest except Manasseh at the time of the numbering in the
wilderness (Num. i. 37), was reduced to insignificance by the terrible
slaughter recorded in Jud. xx. 46.
of the tribe of Benjamin] Heb. the tribes. If this reading is right,
tribe heie—clan or subdivision of a tribe, as in Num. iv. 18 ; Jud. xx. 12
(Heb. tribes of B.). But the Sept. and all ancient versions read "tribe"
in the singular. ^_,~
22. the parlour] Or, the chamber, a room at the high place speci
ally used for sacrificial feasts. In later times the word was applied to
the " chambers " in the precincts of the temple used for the residence of
priests and Levites, and for sacred purposes in general.
made them sit in the chiefest place] Lit. " gave them a place at the
head of those who were invited." "Chiefest" is an instance of the
double superlatives common in the E.V. Cp. " most highest. " See
the Bible Word Book.
about thirty persons] Only the more distinguished citizens would be
specially invited to the chamber. The rest would feast in the open air
outside. 23. the portion] Cp. i. 4.
24. And the cook took up the shoulder] Rather, And the cook
heaved the leg. The right leg was the priest's portion (Lev. vii. 32),
which Samuel had received. Its dedication to God was indicated by a
solemn " heaving " or elevation " before the Lord," to which allusion
is here made Cp. Num. xviii. 26 ff. The reservation of the leg for
Saul was a mark of honour. Josephus calls it "a royal portion."
And [Samuel] said] The E. V. follows the Sept. and Vulg. in
supplying Samuel which is not in the Heb. But the words may pos
sibly be the cook's. See below.
Behold that which is left, &.c] Or, Behold that which was reserved is set
before thee, eat.
104 I. SAMUEL, IX. [w. 25-27.
and eat: for unto this time hath it been kept for thee
since / said, I have invited the people. So Saul did eat with
Samuel that day.
25 — X. 8. Saul anointed by Samuel and promised three
signs in confirmation of his call.
25 And when they were come down from the high place into
the city, Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the
26 house. And they arose early : and it came to pass about
the spring of the day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of
the house, saying, Up, that I may send thee away. And
Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel,
2? abroad. And as they were going down to the end of the
for unto this time, &c] The Heb. text cannot be thus translated and.
is most likely corrupt, but the sense intended appears to be " For against
the set time hath it been kept for thee of which I said, I have invited *
the people :" or, if the words are the cook's, " of which Samuel said.", .
In either case the point is that Saul's arrival was expected and provision j
made for it beforehand.
The Sept. renders "Because for a testimony (this is a common mis
translation of the word meaning " set time") hath it been reserved for .
thee apart from the rest; cut it up." The Vulg. " Because.it was kept
on purpose for thee when I invited the people."
25 — X. 8. Saul anointed by Samuel and promised three
signs in confirmation of his call.
25, 26. Samuel communed 'with Saul] Preparing him for the an
nouncement which he was going to make next morning. On the housetop
they would be open to the public view so that all could see the honour
Samuel shewed his guest, while they would have opportunity for undis
turbed conversation. The Sept. however reads, "And he came down
from the high place into the city : and they prepared a bed for Saul on
the housetop and he slept. And it came to pass, &e." This may
perhaps represent the original text, for it seems strange to say first "they
arose early," and then proceed to describe Samuel's calling Saul. The
fiat roof of an oriental house is still "resorted to for business, relaxa
tion, or for sleeping... During a large part of the year it is the most
agreeable place about the establishment, especially in the morning and
evening. " See Thomson's Land and the Book, p. 39 ff.
26. about the spring of the day] "spring," i.e. "rising" of the day
= dawn. Cp. "dayspring," Luke i. 78.
called Saul] Rather, "called to Saul." Samuel had slept in the
house, Saul on the roof.
abroad] In the language of the E. V. 'abroad' means simply 'out
of the house.5
v. I.] I. SAMUEL, X. 105
city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us,
(and he passed on,) but stand thou still a while, that I may
shew thee the word of God. Then Samuel took a vial of 10
oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said,
Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain
27. a while] Now. The E. V. follows the Vulg. paulisper.
X. 1. a vial of oil] Rather, "the vial of oil." The word rendered
mal (i.e. phial or flask) occurs again only in the account of the corona
tion of Jehu, in 2 Kings ix. 1, 3 (E. V. box). The definite article in
the original may perhaps indicate the holy anointing oil used for the
consecration of priests (Ex. xxx. 23 — 33).
and kissed him] In token of reverence and homage to his royal
dignity. Cp. Ps. ii. 12.
Is it not because the Lord] Lit., "Is it not the case that Jehovah"
= Surely Jehovah, &c.
hath anointed thee] The rite of anointing (a) signified the consecration
of the king to the service of God ; (b) was the outward sign of the gift
of the Spirit to qualify him for his office (vv. 9, 10, xvi. 13, cp. Acts
a. 38) ; (c) marked his person as sacred and inviolable (ch. xxvi. 9 ;
2 Sam. i. 14).
The title "the Lord's anointed" (Sept. Xpurros Kvpiov, cp. Luke ii.
26), designating • the theocratic King as the Vicegerent of Jehovah, is
characteristic of the books of Samuel and the Psalms. It never occurs
in Kings, when the true idea of the kingdom had been lost.
Priests (Ex. xl. 15; Lev. viii. 12), prophets in some cases (t Kings xix.
16), and kings, were consecrated by anointing, and formed partial types
and foreshadowings of The Messiah (derived from the Hebrew word
Mashiach = anointed, through the Greek form Meao-ias), i.e. the
Anointed one, the Christ, who united in Himself all three offices
of Prophet, Priest, and King.
According to Jewish tradition, anointing was only necessary when a
new dynasty came to the throne or the succession was disputed. Hence
we only find mention of it in the case of Saul ; David (ch. xvi. 3 ; 2
Sam. ii. 4, v. 3) ; Absalom (2 Sam. xix. 10) ; Solomon (1 Kings i. 39) ;
Joash (2 Kings xi. 12) ; Jehoahaz, who was not the eldest son of Josiah
(2 Kings xxiii. 30); Jehu (2 Kings ix. 3).
The ceremonies of this first recorded coronation are still observed
in England. The anointing is performed by the Archbishop of Canter
bury, and the kiss of homage is given by the Archbishop, bishops, and
premier peer of each rank for the rest of his order.
The Sept. reads "Hath not the Lord anointed thee to be ruler over
his people Israel ? And thou shalt rule the people of the Lord, and
thou shalt save them out of the hand of their enemies. And this shall be
the sign unto thee that the Lord hath anointed thee to be ruler over his
inheritance. When, &c." The Vulgate also contains the greater part
of this addition, which seems to be required to connect w. 1 and 2.
Its omission in the Hebrew may be accounted for by what is called
106 I. SAMUEL, X. [w.\ 3,
2 over his inheritance ? When thou art departed from me to
day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre in
the border of Benjamin at Zelzah ; and they will say unto
thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found : and
lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth
3 for you, saying, What shall I do for my son ? Then shall
thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the
plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going
Homoeoteleuton. When two sentences end with the same words, the
scribe's eye is liable to catch the second instead of the first, so that he
omits the intervening words.
his inheritance] Cp. Deut. xxxii. 9 ; Ps. lxxviii. 71, &c.
2. Rackets sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah] In Gen.
xxxv. 16 — 20, xlviii. 7, Rachel's grave is described as on the road from
Bethel to Ephrath which is Bethlehem, a little way from Ephrath. This
agrees with the site now marked by a tomb called Kubbet Rahil (dome
of Rachel) a mile N. of Bethlehem. But if this is the true site of
Rachel's sepulchre, it is not easy to reconcile it with the notice here.
(a) It is at least 4 miles S. of the southern border of Benjamin. \b)
Supposing "the city" to be Ramah (see note on ix. 4, 5), it is hard to see
why Saul should be sent so far out of his way home. Various attempts
have been made to explain the difficulty. (1) Thenius thinks that the'
Ephrath mentioned in Genesis was not Bethlehem, but a town in the
neighbourhood of Ramah and Gibeah, so that Rachel's sepulchre would
be on the northern frontier of Benjamin. sThis involves rejecting («)
the statement in Genesis that Ephrath was Bethlehem, as a mistaken
gloss, (b) the modern site of the tomb. (2) Keil supposes that the city
from which Saul started was not Ramah, but some unknown city in the
neighbourhood of Bethlehem. But the general impression given by the
whole chapter is that the city was the seer's usual residence. (3) The
most plausible explanation seems to be that Samuel purposely sent Saul
out of his way in order that he might meet the two men; and that the
expressions "near Rachel's sepulchre" and "in the border of Ben
jamin" must be understood as applied to Zelzah, which lay betweenthe
two, with considerable latitude.
In our uncertainty as to the exact sites, the true solution must remain
uncertain. at Zelzah] This place is mentioned nowhere else and cannot be
identified. The Sept. does not regard it as a proper name, but trans
lates it "two men leaping vigorously." The Vulg. renders "in the
south." and sorroweth] And is anxious, the same word as in ix. g.
3. the plain of Tabor] Rather, the oak of Tabor. It has been in
geniously conjectured that this is to be identified with the oak under
which Rebekah's nurse Deborah was buried "under Bethel" (Gem'
xxxv. 8), and the palm tree between Ramah and Bethel under which
Deborah judged Israel (Jud. iv. 5), Tabor being either a corruption
vv. 4—6.] I. SAMUEL, X. 107
up to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids, and another
carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a
bottle of wine : and they will salute thee, and give thee two 4
loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands.
After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the 5
garrison of the Philistines : and it shall come to pass, when
thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a
company of prophets coming down from the high place with
a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before
them j and they shall prophesy : and the spirit of the Lord 6
or dialectic variation for Deborah ; but nothing certain is known about
the place.
going up to God to Bethel] On the sanctuary at Bethel see note on
\\\. 16. As yet the presence of God was only connected with holy
places, or the Ark, and the Omnipresence of God scarcely realised. See
Gen. xxviii. 16 and 1 Sam. xiv. 36.
a bottle of wine] i.e. a skin bottle: Sept. &<tk6s. Cp. i. 24.
4. two loaves of bread] An unconscious act of homage to the newly-
anointed king. As the representative of God he receives a share of the
offerings intended for the sanctuary.
5. the hill of God] Or, Gibeah of God. Gibeah is the term used
to denote ' the bald rounded hills of central Palestine.' This eminence
was distinguished as Gibeah of God, or God's hill, from the place of
worship on its summit. It is probably to be identified with (a) Gibeah
of Benjamin, which was » place of considerable importance (jud. xix.
xx., compare 1 Sam. xiii. 2, &c.) ; and (b) Gibeah of Saul, Saul's residence
(x. 26, xi. 4). Its site is supposed by Dr Robinson to be the con
spicuous hill called Tell el FM (hill of the bean), about 3 miles N. of
Jerusalem; but Lieut. Conder inclines to the view that Saul's city
was Geba, and that the district round was first called Gibeah of Ben
jamin, afterwards Gibeah of Saul. Tent Work, II. in. Geba is no doubt
to be identified with Jeba, about 3 miles N. E. of Tell el Ful.
the garrison of the Philistines] A military post established by the
Philistines to maintain their hold upon the Israelites. See note on vii.
14. Cp. xiii. 3, 4 and 2 Sam. viii. 6, 14. The word has been otherwise
explained to mean (a) a pillar, set up to mark the Philistine conquest,
or (b) an officer for the collection of taxes; but 1 Chr. xi. 16 seems to
require the sense "garrison."
a company of prophets] A band of the organized society of prophets
established by Samuel. See Introd. p. 33, and cp. xix. 20.
and they shall prophesy] Better, prophesying. The word has nothing
to do With. prediction here, but denotes the expression of religious feeling
under the influence of inspiration iri hymns and otherwise. See the
notes on ix. 9 and xviii. 10. In 1 Chr. xxv. 1 — 3 the word is used of
clianting psalms and set services. Such a. procession of prophets was
naturally accompanied by musical instruments. Cp. Ex. xv. 20; 1 Chr.
108 I. SAMUEL, X. [vv. 7—10.
will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them,
7 and shalt be turned into another man. And let it be, when
these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion
8 serve thee ; for God is with thee. And thou shalt go down,
before me to Gilgal ; and behold, I will come down unto
thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of
peace offerings : seven days shalt thou tarty, till I come to
thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.
9 — 16. The fulfilment of the signs.
9 And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go
from Samuel, God gave him another heart : and all those
10 signs came to pass that day. And when they came thitheij
to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him ; and.
the spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among
xiii. 8 ; 2 Kings iii. 15. The psaltery (Heb. nebel) and harp (Heb.
kinnSr) were stringed instruments, the exact form of which is unknown:
the tabret or timbrel (Heb. tdph) was a tambourine or hand drum : the
pipe (Heb. chdlil) a kind of flute.
6. the spirit of the Lord will come upon thee] See Num. xi. 25 — 29 ;
Jud. xiv. 6, 19, xv. 14; 1 Sam. xi. 6, xvi. 13.
7. do as occasion serve thee] Lit. "do what thine hand shall find;"
undertake boldly whatever presents itself. Cp. Jud. ix. 33; Eccl. ix. 10.
8. thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal] Better, and when thou
goest down before me to Gilgal. This is not to be understood as a
direction to meet Samuel at Gilgal at once. The injunction applies to
some future occasion whenever it might be, of which they had been
talking. Doubtless Samuel and Saul had been discussing the best means
of shaking off the Philistine yoke, and had agreed upon a muster of the
people at Gilgal, as the national centre furthest from the Philistine power.
Samuel's parting injunction to Saul is to take no step independently.
The king must wait for the prophet's sanction to strike the blow. The
fitting opportunity for the muster did not come for several years, and
when it came Saul disobeyed Samuel's command. See xiii. 8 ff.
9 — 16. The fulfilment of the signs.
9. God gave him another heart] Lit. "turned him another heart."
Cp. v. 6. The divine inspiration transformed the simple countryman
into the King and Deliverer of Israel. The heart in Scripture denotes
' ' the centre of the whole mental and spiritual life of will, desire, thought,;
perception, and feeling." ¦"'
10. to the hill] Rather, to Gibeah. See note on v. 5. The narrator
cursorily mentions the fulfilment of the first and second signs, but re
lates the fulfilment of the third in detail, because it has an important
bearing on Saul's preparation for his new office. &
w. ii— 16.] I. SAMUEL, X. 109
them. And it came to pass, when all that knew him before- «
time saw that behold, he prophesied among the prophets,
then the people said one to another, What is this that is
come unto the son of Kish ? Is Saul also among the pro
phets? And one of the same place answered and said, 12
But who is. their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is
Saul also among the prophets ? And when he had made an 13
end of prophesying, he came to the high place. And Saul's 14
uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye ?
And he said, To seek the asses : and when we saw that they
were no where, we came to Samuel. And Saul's uncle said, 15
Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you. And 16
Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses
were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof
Samuel spake, he told him not.
11. all that knew him beforetime] An indication that Gibeah was
Saul's home. Cp. w. 14, 26.
11, 12. Saul's neighbours were astonished that the son of Kish, the
plain citizen, undistinguished save by his stalwart form and handsome
countenance, should suddenly appear as a prophet in the midst of the
trained recipients of divine inspiration. But one of their fellow-towns
men reproved them by asking, But who is their father? Was the
parentage of these prophets such as to lead us to expect them to be
thus specially gifted? The prophetic inspiration comes from God, and
may therefore be bestowed even upon the son of Kish. See Amos vii.
14, 15. Compare the astonishment of the people of Capernaum at the
words and works of Christ (Matt. xiii. 54 — 57).
12. it became a proverb] Applied probably to the unexpected ap
pearance of any person in a novel character alien to his former occu
pation and habits. The proverb received a fresh exemplification in the
occurrence related in ch. xix. 24.
13. he came to the high place] When Saul parted from the company
of prophets which he met descending from the high-place, he went
up there himself to worship.
14. SauPs uncle] Possibly Ner. See note on xiv. 50. He may
have been at the high-place for some public solemnity, at which the
prophets also had been present ; or the conversation may have occurred
on a subsequent occasion.
16. But of the matter &c] Modesty, humility, caution, have been
variously assigned as his motive for silence. But Samuel's manner had
clearly implied that his election was to be a secret for the present, even
if he had given no direct injunction to that effect.
17 — 27. The Public election of Saul as King.
The thread of the narrative in ch. viii., which has been temporarily
no I.^SOTUEL, X. [vv. 17—19,
1 7 — 27. The Public election of Saul as King.
*7 And Samuel called the people together unto the Lord to
18 Mizpeh j and said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith
the Lord God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt,
and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and
out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppres-
19 sed you : and ye have this day rejected your God, who him
self saved you out of all your adversities and your tribula<
tions ; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over-
dropped in order to give an account of the circumstances by which-'
Samuel was privately made acquainted with the man whom Jehovah
had chosen to rule his people, is now resumed, and Saul's public election
by lot to the regal office described. Since the revelation to Samuel and
the choice by lot were equally declarations of Jehovah's will, there could
be no contradiction between them: the latter publicly confirmed the
former for the satisfaction of the people.
17. Samuel called the people together] He convoked the national
assembly or "congregation of Israel," which had made the request for a
king through its representative elders (viii. 4). This body was com
posed of all Israelites of twenty years old and upwards (Num. i. 3) who
had not forfeited their privileges, together with foreigners admitted upon
certain conditions. Its political functions were necessarily limited by
the nature of the theocracy, and consisted rather in accepting the de
clared will of Jehovah than in originating measures of its own. Thus :
(1) The Law was solemnly accepted by it (Ex. xix. 3 — 9, xxiv. 3).
(2) Leaders and kings chosen by divine command were presented to
it for approval, as on the present occasion, and in the case of Joshua
(Num. xxvii. 18 — 23); David (2 Sam. v. 1); Solomon (1 Chron. xxix. •
22). (3)' In later times some of the kings appear to have been actually
elected by it: e.g. Jeroboam (r Kings xii. 20); Joash (2 Kings xi. 19);
Josiah (2 Kings xxi. 24); Jehoahaz (2 Kings xxiii. 30).
(4) It possessed a national judicial authority (Jud. xx. 1).
(5) It claimed some voice in questions of alliance and peace and war
(Josh. ix. 15, 18).
unto the Lord to Mizpeh] See note on v. 3; and for Mizpah see
note on vii. 5.
18. / brought up Israel] It was I who brought up Israel. The
pronoun is emphatic, in contrast to and ye with which v. 19 begins.
out of the hand of all kingdoms, [and of them] that oppressed yau]'.
Rather, out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you. The i
reference is to the deliverances recorded in the Book of Judges.
19. And ye have this day rejected your God] Once more the prophet
is directed to rebuke the people for their ingratitude and unbelief. See,
above on viii. 6.
ye have said unto him] The request made to Samuel was virtually j
addressed to God. :"¦'*
w. 20—22.] I. SAMUEL, X.
us. Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by
your tribes, and by your thousands. And when Samuel had 20
caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of
Benjamin was taken. When he had caused the tribe of 21
Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri
was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken : and when
they sought him, he could not be found. Therefore they 22
inquired of the Lord further, if the man should yet come
by your tribes, and by your thousands] The natural subdivision of the
nation into tribes: of the tribes into families or clans: of the families
into houses: of the houses into men (Josh. vii. 14) : was supplemented by
Moses with an artificial organization of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and
tens (Ex. xviii. 25). The thousand corresponded to the family, and the '
terms appear to be used here as synonymous. Cp. ch. xxiii. 23; Jud.
vi. 15; Josh. xxii. 14.
20. We are not told expressly by what process the selection was
made, but it was probably by casting lots. Compare Joshua vii. 14 ff.
The lot was in common use among all nations of antiquity. It is
regarded in Scripture not as a chance decision, but as a legitimate method
of ascertaining the divine will (Prov. xvi. 33). We read of its being
used —
( 1) To select an attacking force (Jud. xx. 9, 10).
(2) For the allotment of conquered territory or spoil (Josh, xviii. 10;
cp. Joel iii. 3).
(3) To detect criminals (Josh. vii. 14; 1 Sam. xiv. 42).
(4) For the choice of officers, &c. ( 1 Chron. xxiv. 5 ; Luke i. 9 ; Acts
i. 26). (5) For the selection of the scape-goat (Lev. xvi. 8, 10).
(6) For the settlement of disputes generally (Prov. xviii. 18).
21. the family of Matri] The family of the Matrites is nowhere
else mentioned. It has therefore been conjectured that we should read
Bikrites, or descendants of Becher the son of Benjamin (r Chr. vii. 6).
Saul the son of Kish was taken] The description of the process of
casting lots is abridged. The family taken would be brought by houses,
and the house taken then brought by persons. The Sept. inserts "and
they bring the family of Mattari man by man," which must be under
stood, as in Josh. vii. 17, to mean the heads of houses only, not all the
individuals of the family, which would be far too long a process. In
this way Kish would be taken, and finally, when he brought his house
hold forward man by man, Saul was taken.
he could not be found] Natural feelings of modesty and humility
prompted Saul to hide himself. He knew already that he was the ob
ject of God's choice, but he would not appear to court advancement, or
in any way put himself forward for the royal dignity.
22. they inquired of the LORD further] The technical phrase for
ascertaining God's will by means of the Urim and Thummim in the
112 I. SAMUEL, X. [vv. 23-26.
thither. And the Lord answered, Behold, he hath hid
'3 himself among the stuff. And they ran and fetched him
thence : and when he stood among the people, he was
higher than any of the people from his shoulders and up-
24 ward. And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom
the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among
all the people ? And all the people shouted, and said, God
25 save the king. Then Samuel told the people the manner, of
the kingdom, and wrote il in a book, and laid it up before
the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every
26 man to his house. And Saul also went home to Gibeah1
breastplate upon the High- priest's Ephod (Ex. xxviii. 30 ; Num. xxvii.
21). See on xxviii. 6, and cp. ch. xiv. 3, xxii. 10, xxiii. 9, xxx. 7.
the stuff] The baggage of the people who had come to Mizpah
from a distance. Compare
"Therefore away to get our stuff aboard."
Shakespeare, Com. of Errors, iv. 4.
24. that there is none like him among all the people] Stress is again
laid on Saul's imposing stature as a natural qualification for his office.
He was "a princely person and of a majestic aspect." See note on
ix. 2.
God save the king] Lit. "Let the king live." Vulg. "Vivat Rex:"
and so the Fr. "Vive le Roi," and so Wyclif: "Lyve the kyng." Cp.
1 Kings i. 25, 34, 39; 2 Kings xi. 12; 2 Chr. xxiii. n. The familial
phrase of the E.V. appears to occur first in the Genevan Bible ( 1 560).
Coverdale (1535) has "God save the new kynge." It was probably
adopted from the liturgical response, "O Lord save the king" (Domine
salvum fac regem), which is taken from the Vulgate version of Ps.
xx. 9.
25. the manner of the kingdom] A charter establishing and defining
the position of the king in relation to Jehovah, and to the people.
It must be distinguished from the "manner of the king" in viii. n if.,
which describes the arbitrary exactions of an oriental despot; but it can
scarcely be said to be "the first example of a limited constitutional
monarchy." In substance at any rate, it probably resembled the law of
the king in Deut. xvii. 14 — 20.
wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord] Lit. in the book.
Possibly this important charter was added to "the book of the law"
kept by the side of the ark "before the Lord" (Deut. xxxi. 26). This
book contained not only the record of the Mosaic legislation (Ex. xxiv.
7; Deut. xxviii. 61), but historical narratives (Ex. xvii. 14), and other
records of importance, such as the solemn renewal of the covenant at
Shechem under Joshua (Josh. xxiv. 26). See Smith's Diet, of the Bible;.
Art. Canon, Vol. I. p. 251. «
vv. 27; i.] I. SAMUEL, X. XI. 113
and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God
had touched. But the children of Belial said, How shall 27
this man save us? And they despised him, and brought
him no presents. But he held his peace.
Ch. XI. 1 — 11. Saul's victory over the Ammonites. ,
Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped 11
26. there went with him a band of men] Or, the valiant men.
Saul was escorted home by those who accepted him as the choice of
Jehovah, but
27. the children of Belial said] Certain worthless fellows (see note
on i. 16) spoke disparagingly of him, and despised him.
and brought him no presents] Cp. i Kings x. 25 ; 2 Chr. xvii. 5.
The refusal of the customary offerings pf homage was tantamount to a
dehberate and contemptuous rejection of his authority.
But he held his peace] Or, And he was as one deaf, refusing to take
notice of this studied insult. See however the note on xi. 1.
Ch. XI. 1 — 11. Saul's victory over the Ammonites.
1. Then] Simply And. There is nothing in the Hebrew text to
mark whether the interval was long or short. The Sept. however
omits the words "But he held his peace" at the close of ch. x., and
begins this chapter "And it came to pass after about a month that
Nahash, &c." This rendering represents a very slight variation in the
consonants of the Hebrew text, and possibly preserves the original read
ing. At any rate we may gather from ch. xii. 12 that an Ammonite
attack was threatened before Saul's election, and probably the actual
invasion took place not long after.
Nahash] The king of the Ammonites (ch. xii. 12). This Nahash
can hardly have been the Nahash who "shewed kindness to David"
during his wanderings (2 Sam. x. 2), but probably his father or grand
father. According to Josephus he was slain in the battle.
the Ammonite] South and East of the Israelite settlements on the
Eastern side of the Jordan dwelt the powerful tribes of the Ammonites
and Moabites. The limits of their respective territories cannot be
exactly defined, but the Ammonites appear to have lived north and the
Moabites south of the Arnon. The Ammonites were a fierce marauding
tribe : the Moabites a settled and civilised nation. United by the tie
of common descent from Lot, they were generally in alliance against
Israel. Twice during the period of the Judges they "oppressed
Israel" (Jud. iii. 12 — r4, x. xi), and even crossed the Jordan and
occupied Jericho (iii. 13, x. 9). After their defeat by Jephthah, the
Ammonites are not mentioned until the present occasion. During the
early part of David's reign they were on friendly terms with him, but
the studied insult offered by Hanun to his ambassadors (2 Sam. x. 1 ff.)
led to a war which resulted in the capture of their metropolis Rabbah
I. SAMUEL 8
H4 I. SAMUEL, XI. [vv. 2-5J
against Jabesh-gilead : and all the men of Jabesh said unto
Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.
z And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condu
tion will I make a covenant with you, that / may thrust out
all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel;
3 And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, Give us seven days'
respite, that we may send messengers unto all the coasts 'of
Israel : and then, if there be no man to save us, we will
4 come out to thee. Then came the messengers to Gibeali
of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people; and
5 all the people lift up their voices, and wept. And behold,
Saul came after the herd out of the field ; and Saul said,
(2 Sam. xii. 26). In the reign of Jehoshaphat they once more invaded
Judah in conjunction with the Moabites (2 Chr. xx), but were signally
defeated, and became tributary to Uzziah and Jotham (2 Chr. xxvi. 8,
xxvii. 5). Even after the Return their old hostility survived (Neh. iv.
7, 8). Judas Maccabaeus found them "a mighty power," and "fought
many battles with them until at length they were discomfited before
him" (1 Mace. v. 6, 7).
Jabesh- Gilead] i.e. Jabesh in Gilead, the extensive district lying
immediately E. of the Jordan between Bashan on the N. and Moab and
Ammon on the S. and S.E. To the southern portion of this district
the Ammonites laid claim (Jud. xi. 13). A terrible vengeance had been
executed on Jabesh for its neglect to join the levy of Israel in the war
against Benjamin (Jud. xxi. 8 ff), but from this blow it had recovered,
and Nahash now attacked it as the capital of Gilead, and the key to the
possession of the country. The name of Jabesh still survives in the
Wady Ydbis, which runs down into the Jordan valley a few miles below.
Beth-shanl It is a lovely yalley, full of straggling old olives, patches
of barley, and rich pasture. Tristram's Land of Israel, p. 556.
2. that I may thrust out all your right eyes] Such barbarities are
not unknown in the East even now. Vambery describes the blinding of
prisoners as a regular practice at Khiva. Travels in Central Ask,
p. 138. The savage character of the Ammonites is attested by Amos
i. 13. The loss of the right eye was intended to disable them for war,
the left eye being covered by the shield, as the amputation of his thumbs.
and great toes (Jud. i. 7, 8) was designed to incapacitate a man for the
use of the bow and destroy his swiftness of foot.
3. the elders of Jabesh] See note on ch. viii. 4, and cp. Jud. xi,
sff- I
4. lift up their voices and wept] Oriental nations naturally displaf
their feelings in tears accompanied by loud wailings. Cp. ch. xxx. &
Gen. xxvii. 38; Jud. ii. 4, xxi. 2, &c. Achilles, Patroclus and other
Homeric heroes shed tears in a way which western nations account
utterly unmanly.
. 5. after the herd] After the oxen, as in v. 7. The king elect had
vv. 6— 8.] I. SAMUEL, XI. 115
What aileth the people that they weep ? And they told him
the tidings of the men of Jabesh. And the spirit of God s
came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger
was kindled greatly. And he took a yoke of oxen, and 7
hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the
coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Who
soever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall
it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the Lord fell
on the people, and they came out with one consent. And 8
when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel
were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty
returned to his farm work till ocfiasion should call him to higher duties.
So Cincinnatus was following the plough, when the messengers of the
senate came to offer him the dictatorship (Livy III. 26).
6. the spirit of God came upon Saul] The Heb. for "came upon"
describes a sudden and pervading impulse. (Sept. i<pT)\aro: Vulg.
insilivit.) A supernatural accession of physical and mental vigour
roused his dormant energies into action, and enabled him to meet the
crisis promptly.
7. he took a yoke of oxen] Those doubtless with which he had just
been ploughing (v. 5).
and sent them] ' Them, 'i.e. the pieces, is rightly supplied. Sym
bolical acts are often, more eloquent than any words. Cp. Jud. xix. 29 ;
l Kings xi. 30, xxii.' 11;' 2 Kings xiii. 18. We may compare the Fiery
Cross which used to be sent round as the signal for the gathering of the
Highland clans '.in .Scotland. It was ''scathed with flame," and
"quenched in blood" as an emblem of the fire and sword awaiting
all who should neglect its summons. See The Lady of the Lake, Canto
lil., Stanzas 8^-1 1 .
by the hands of messengers] By the hand of the messengers, viz.
those who had come from Jabesh.
after Saul and after Samuel] Saul strengthens himself in his new
office by an appeal to the time-honoured name and prophetic authority
of Samuel.
the fear of the Lord, &c] Awe inspired by Jehovah supported the
authority of His King and His Prophet ; the people left their homes and
came out to the rendezvous as one man.
8. in Bezek] Probably to be identified with Ibzik, about half way
between Shechem and Beth-shan, and 7 miles W. of the Jordan. It
was within a day's march of Jabesh.
three, hundred thousand, &c] The numbers seem large, but not too large
for a general levy of the nation. Cp. Jud. xx. 2. The separate num
bering of Israel and Judah has been taken to mark the date of the book
as posterior to the Division of the Kingdom. It may however be only
an indication of a tendency on the part of Judah to isolation which
n6 I. SAMUEL, XI. [w. 9^|
9 thousand. And they said unto the messengers that came,
Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabesh-gilead, To mop
row, by that time the sun be hot, ye shall have help. And
the messengers came and shewed it to the men of Jabesh;,
io and they were glad. Therefore the men of Jabesh said,'
To morrow we will come out unto you, and ye shall do with
H us all that seemeth good unto you. And it was so on the
morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies ; and
they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch;,.]
and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it
came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, s®
' that two of them were not left together.
1 2 — 1 5. Confirmation of Saul as King.
12 And the people said unto Samuel, Who is he that said,
Shall Saul reign Over us ? bring the men, that we may pufcs
13 them to death. And Saul said, There shall not a man bg|
was confirmed by the separation in the early part of David's reign, and
prepared the way for the Disruption.
9. ye shall have help] Or, deliverance. The same word is trans
lated "salvation" in v. 13, and the cognate verb "save" in v. 3. ..
10. the men bf Jabesh said] To Nahash, in order to lull him into
careless security, by leading him to suppose that their efforts to get help
had failed. '
11. in three companies] In order to 'make a simultaneous attack
upon the Ammonite camp on three sides at once. Compare Gideon's
stratagem, Jud. vii. 16 ff.
in the piorning watdh] The Je\vs -anciently divided the night into
three watches, each watch representing the time for which sentinelS
remained on duty. The first watch or "beginning of the watches",
(Lam. ii. 19) lasted from sunset until 10 p.m.: the "middle watch"
(Jud. vii. 19) from 10 p.m. till 2 a.m.: the "morning watch "from 2a.m,
till sunrise. The division of the night into four Watches referred to in
the N.T. (Matt. xiv. 25; Mk. xiii. 35; Acts xii. 4) was of Roman
origin. they which remained were scattered] Jabesh was rescued from destruc
tion, and its inhabitants long remembered the debt of gratitude which
they owed to Saul. It was the men of Jabesh who at peril of their lives
recovered the bodies of Saul and Jonathan from Philistine insults, and
gave them honourable burial (ch. xxxi. 11 — 14): it was Gilead which'
was the chief centre and stay of the waning fortunes of Saul's house
during the early part of the reign of David (2 Sam. ii. 8, 9 ff.).
12—15. Confirmation of Saul as King.
13. There shall not a man be put to death this day] The execution
vv. 14, 15.J I. SAMUEL, XI. 117
put to death this day : for to day the Lord hath wrought
salvation in Israel. Then said Samuel to the people, 14
Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom
there. And all the people went to Gilgal ; and there they is
made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal ; and there they
sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord ; and
there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
even of malcontents would have clouded the general rejoicing: and Saul's
best nope of uniting the kingdom under his rule lay in a policy of con
ciliation. Cp. x. 27; 2 Sam. xix. 22.
salvation] Deliverance. See note on v. 9.
14. Then said Samuel] From this verse to xii. 22 is the Haphtarah
or lesson from the Prophets appointed to be read in the Synagogue in
conjunction with the history of Korah (Num. xvi).
to Gilgal] See note on vii. 16.
renew the kingdom] Which had been founded in the national assembly
at Mizpah (x. 25).
IB. there they made Saul king] The choice of Saul as king, privately
made by God through Samuel, and publicly confirmed by the election
at Mizpah, had received an unmistakable ratification in his victory over
Nahash. His detractors were silenced, and the unanimous consent of
the people accepted him. The assembly now held after the general levy
for the war was probably larger and more representative of the whole
nation than the previous one at Mizpah.
The Sept. has, "and Samuel anointed Saul there to be king," which
may possibly be the original reading. A public anointing would be
natural, for that recorded in ch. x. 1 was strictly private, and the use of
the title "the Lord's anointed" in ch. xii. 3 gains point if the ceremony
had just been performed. That it might be repeated we know from the
case of David, who was thrice anointed.
sacrifices of peace-offerings] Thank-offerings to Jehovah for the de
liverance he had wrought, and for the establishment of the kingdom.
Ch. XII. 1 — 25. Samuel's farewell address to the people.
The assembly at Gilgal marks an important epoch in Jewish history.
It ratified the work of the assembly at Mizpah, finally closed the period
of the Judges, and formally inaugurated the New Monarchy. Samuel,
though he was still to retain his influence and authority as Prophet, now
resigned his office as Judge, and in doing so delivered a solemn address
to the assembled people.
(a) He challenges them to impeach his official purity (1 — 3), and is
answered by the unanimous confirmation of his integrity (4, 5). (b) Re
calling Jehovah's past mercies, he upbraids them with unbelief and
ingratitude in demanding a king (6 — 12). (c) And now their future
depends upon their bearing towards Jehovah, in confirmation of which
he appeals to a miracidous sign (13—18). (d) Finally Samuel consoles
118 I. SAMUEL, XII. [w. i-f
Ch. XII. i — 25. Samuel' s farewell address to the people.%
12 And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened
unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made
* a king over you. And now behold, the king walketh before
you : and I am old and gra.yheaded ; and behold, my sons
are with you : and I have walked before you from my child-
3 hood unto this day. Behold, here 1 am : witness against
me before the Lord, and before his 'anointed : whose ox
have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? Or whom have
I defrauded ? whom have I oppressed ? or of whose hand
have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith?
the terrified people (19), by assuring them of Jehovah's faithfulness
(20 — 22), and his own continued intercession (23), and concludes with a
reiterated warning (24, 25).
1. / have hearkened unto your voice] Cp. Viii. 7", 9, 22.
2. the king walketh before you] Goes in and out in your presence
the exercise of his regal authority.
and I am old and gray-headed ; and, behold my Sons are with you]
Samdel refers to tlie two reasons alleged by the elders in ch. viii. 5 for
asking a king, (a) his own age, (b) the misgovernment of his sons. He
mentions the first expressly, but with the natural reluctance of a father
to dwell upon his sons' misconduct, only hints at the second. The
Hebrew conjunction "and" here as often introduces the reason, and
may be translated by "for" or "seeing that."
from my childhood] "From my youth," as the word is rendered
everywhere else in the E. V. Samuel's public life may be said fo
have commenced when Gdd first spoke to him in Shiloh (iii. 1 1), so that
they had had full opportunity of knowing him from the first.
3. Behold, here I am] Samuel puts Himself on his trial. The people
are to be the acdisefs: Jfehovah, and His representative Saul are the
judges. before his anointed] The title "the anointed of Jehovah" (see x. 1,
note) is here for the first time actually applied to the King, though it
had been employed before in prophecy (ch. ii. 10, 35). Its use cer
tainly gains point if we may follow the Sept. in xi. 15 (see note), and
suppose that the ceremony of anointing had just been performed in the
presence of all the people.
whose ox-. . .whose ass] The most valuable property of a pastoral and
agricultural people, hence named expressly in the Tenth Commandment
(Ex. xx. 17). Cp. Num. xvi. 15.
any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith] Cp. Ex. xxiii. 8 ; Deut. xvi.
19. The Sept. reads here, "from whose hand have I received as a bribe
even a pair of shoes? Answer against me, and I will restore it to you."
A pair of shoes seems to have been a proverbial expression for a mere
vv. 4— 9-] I- SAMUEL, XII. ng
and I will restore it you. And they said, Thou hast not 4
defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken
¦ought of any man's hand. And he said unto them, The 5
Lord is witness against you, and his anointed .is witness
this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And
they answered, He is witness. And Samuel said unto the 6
people, It is the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron,
and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.
Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before 7
the Lord of all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he
did to you and to your fathers. When Jacob was come 8
into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the Lord, then the
Lord sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your
fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place.
And when they forgat the Lord their God, he sold them 9
trifle, a paltry bribe. See Amos ii. 6, viii. 6. This rendering repre
sents a small change in the consonants of the Heb. text, and may
possibly preserve the original reading. At any rate it is as old as the
Greek translation of the book of Ecclesiasticus (170 — 150 B.C.), the
author of which must have found it in the Sept. (even if the author of
the Hebrew original did not find it in his Hebrew text), for in ch. xlvi.
19 we read, "And before his long sleep [Samuel] made protestations
in the sight of the Lord and his anointed, I have not taken any man's
goods, so much as a shoe: and no man did accuse him."
6. It is the Lord] Or, Tea Jehovah [is witness]. This verse
forms the transition to what follows. Samuel proceeds to identify
Jehovah, to whom they were now appealing as witness, with the God
who brought their fathers out of the bondage of Egypt.
advanced] Appointed. Lit. made, cp. Hebrews iii. 2.
7. stand still, that I may reason with you] Present yourselves that
I may plead with you. The figure of a trial (v. 3 note) is still kept up ;
but the relation of the parties is changed. Samuel is now the accuser,
Israel the defendant. Cp. Ezek. xx. 35, 36; Mic. vi. 1 — 5.
the righteous acts of the Lord] Punishments for sin and deliverances
from distress alike proved the righteousness of Jehovah in His covenant
with Israel. Cp. Jud. v. 1 1.
8. When Jacob, &c] The additions of the Sept. seem necessary to
complete the sense. It reads, "When Jacob and his sons were come
into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them, your fathers cried," &c.
Cp. Ex. ii. 23 — 25.
9. he sold t/iem] God's abandonment of His people to their enemies
is described under the figure of sale, just as the deliverance of them is
called redemption or buying back. Cp. Jud. ii. 14, iii. 8; Ps. xliv. r2.
The three chief oppressors of Israel during the period of the Judges
are mentioned. (1) The Canaanites, who were led by Sisera, general
'i26 L SAMUEL, XII. [vv. io— .ij
into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and
into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the
io king of Moab, and they fought against them. And thejB
cried unto the Lord, and said, We have sinned, because'
we have forsaken the Lord, and . have served Baalim and
Ashtaroth : but now deliver us out of the hand of our
ii enemies, and we will serve thee. And the Lord sent
Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and
delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every
12 side, and ye dwelled safe. And when ye saw that Nahash
of the army of King Jabin. Their chief city was Hazor (—strongholdj
situated on the high ground west of the Lake of Merom, where Jebei
Hadireh perhaps still preserves the name. This oppression lasted for
20 years. See Jud. iv. v. (2) The Philistines. See Jud. iii. 31, x. 7,
xiii. 1, and Note IV. p. 238. (3) The Moabites under Eglon. See Jud.
iii. 12 — 30.
10. And they cried unto the Lord] The resemblance of the language
to Jud. x. 10 is so close as to lead us to suppose that the compiler of
Samuel had the book of Judges before him, or at any rate that the words
are derived from a common source. Cp. also Jud. ii. 18, iii. 15, iv. 3,
vi. 7.
Baalim and Ashtaroth] See note on vii. 3.
11. And the Lord sent, &c] Four typical deliverers of the nation
are mentioned. (1) Jerubbaal, who brought the Midianite oppression
to an end (Jud. vi. — viii.). His original name Gideon was changed to
Jerubbaal ( = let Baal plead) for his bold act of piety in destroying the
altar of Baal (Jud. vi. 31, 32). (2) Bedan. This name is not found in
the book of Judges, but as that book is not a complete history, Bedan
may possibly have been the name of => judge not mentioned there. But
more probably Bedan is a copyist's error for Barak, which is the reading
of the Sept. and Syriac. The letters of the two words are much alike.
In this case the reference will be to the deliverance from the Canaanite
oppression already mentioned (Jud.. iv. 6 ff). Bedan has also been
explained as a name of Samson, either = Ben-Dan, i.e. the son of Dan
or Danite (Jud. xiii. 2) : or as a bye-name = corpulent. (3) Jephthah
the Gileadite, who routed the Ammonites (Jud. xi.). (4) Samuel.
That Samuel should thus mention himself need not surprise us if we
remember (a) that the apparent abruptness of themention is due to the
condensation of the narrative, which gives only a summary of the
original speech: (b) that he has resigned his office, and standing as it
were outside the era of the Judges, he reviews it as a whole ; (c) that in
order to point his rebuke of the Israelites for ingratitude to Jehovah in
asking a king, it was necessary to prove that He had not forsaken them,
but had continued His deliverances down to the present.
12. And when ye saw] As the demand for a king preceded the
invasion of Nahash recorded in ch. xi, the reference must be to earlier
vv. 13— 18.] I.SAMUEL, XII. 121
the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye
said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us : when
the Lord your God was your king. Now therefore behold 13
the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired :
and behold, the Lord hath set a king over you. If ye will M
fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not
rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall
both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue
following the Lord your God : but if ye will not obey the 15
voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of
the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you,
as // was against your fathers. Now therefore stand and is
see this great thing, which the Lord will do before your
eyes. Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the 17
Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain ; that ye may
perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye
have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking you a king.
So Samuel called unto the Lord ; and the Lord sent 18
thunder and rain that day : and all the people greatly feared
'inroads, or to a threatened attack. This reason for desiring a king is
hinted at in viii. 20.
Nay] Refusing to listen to my expostulations (viii. 6, 19).
when the Lord your God was your king] Cp. Jud. viii. 23.
13. whom ye have desired] Asked, as in w. 17, 19. The word
however is omitted by the Sept., and may possibly be an addition to
the original text.
14. If ye will fear, &c] Better, "If ye will fear Jehovah, and serve
him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of
Jehovah, and both ye and also the king who reigneth over you
continue following after Jehovah your God, [it shall be well with you] :
but if, &c." The apodosis must be supplied from the context, as in Ex.
xxxii. 32.
16. as it was against your fathers] As set forth in v. 9. The Sept.
however reads, "and against your king," which offers a more complete
parallel to v. 15. Cp. v. 25.
17. he shall send thunder and rain] "In ordinary seasons from the
cessation of the showers in spring [about the end of April] until their
commencement in October or November, rain never falls, and the sky
is usually serene." Robinson, Bibl. Res. I. 430. Wheat harvest was
in May and June. See note on vi. 13. "Rain in harvest" served as a
figure for what 'was unseemly and anomalous (Prov. xxvi. 1).
18. feared ihe Lord and Samuel] The unexpected rain was a
"sign," attesting the prophet's words. Cp. Ex. xiv. 31.
122 I. SAMUEL, XII. XIII. [vv. 19—25';
19 the Lord and Samuel. And all the people said unto.
Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God, that
we die not : for we have added unto all our sins this evil,
20 to ask us a king. And Samuel said unto the people, Fear
not : ye have done all this wickedness : yet turn not aside
from following the^LoRD, but serve the Lord with all yours
21 heart; and turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after
vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are
22 vain. For the Lord will not forsake his people for his
great name's sake : because it hath pleased the Lord to
23 make you his people. Moreover as for me, God forbid that
I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you :
24 but I will teach you the good and the right way : only fear
the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart : for
25 consider how great things he hath done for you. But if ye
shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and
your king. '1
Ch. XIII. 1 — 7. Revolt of the Israelites under Saul from*
the Philistines.
13 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two
19. Pray for thy servants] See note on vii. 5.
this evil] Wickedness : the same word as in w. 1 7 and 20.
21. for then should ye go after vain things] The word "for"
necessitates the insertion of a verb to complete the sentence. But it is
expressed in none of the ancient versions, and the sense gains by its
omission. Translate: "And ye shall not turn aside after vain things
which cannot profit nor deliver." " Vain things" are false gods and
idols, Heb. tdhil, literally emptiness. The same word is applied §0
them in Is. xli. 29 (E.V. confusion), and to idol-makers in Is. xliv. .9.
Cp. 1 Cor. viii. 4.
22. for his great name's sake] Lest He should seem in the eyes of
the heathen not to be such as He declares Himself to be, Almighty,
True, Faithful. Compare the use of this plea by Moses (Ex. xxxii. ir,
Num. xiv. 13 ff.), and Joshua (Josh. vii. 9). See also Rom. xi. 1, 2.
it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people] God's free choice <of
Israel to be his people is dwelt upon at length in Deut. vii. 6 — 11.
24. how great things he hath done for you] Lit. with yon. The
reference can scarcely be limited to the recent storm as a display of
God's greatness, but includes all his gracious dealings with His people.
Samuel concludes his speech as he began it (vv. 6, 7), with an appeal ti
these as the motive for loyal obedience. J
V. 2.] I. SAMUEL, XIII. 123
years over Israel, Saul chose him three thousand men of =
Israel ; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash
and in mount Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan
Ch. XIII. 1 — 7. Revolt of the Israelites under Saul from
the Philistines.
1. Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over
Israel] The Hebrew cannot be thus translated. It is the common
formula for denoting the age of a king at his accession, and the length
of his reign. See 2 Sam. ii. 10, v. 4; 1 Kings xiv. 21, &c. We must
render, "Saul was £ ] years' old when he began to reign, and
reigned [ ] and two years ove* Israel." Either the numbers were
wanting in the original document, or they have been accidentally lost.
30 is supplied in the first place by some MSS. of the Sept., and
is a plausible conjecture. The length of Saul's reign may have been
22 or 32 years. He was in the prime of life when elected king, and his
reign must have been of some considerable duration. But if he was
only 30 years old at his accession, the events here recorded cannot have
happened till at least 10 or 15 years after that event, for Jonathan, who
has not been mentioned before, now appears as a stout warrior. In
this case we have no account of the early years of Saul's reign. This
view appears to be preferable to the supposition that Saul was older at
his accession, and that the history is continuous. See Introd. Ch. in.
The whole verse is omitted by the older copies of the Sept. (A and
B)jsand possibly was not in the original text.
2. Saul chose him three thousand men] And Saul chose, &c. The
formation of a standing army marks an important epoch in the history
of a nation. It was a natural result of the election of a king, who was
to be a military leader. Cp. xiv. 52. This body was only large
enough to form a nucleus for the general levy of fighting men (v. 4),
like the hus-carls of the Saxon kings for the Land-Fyrd. See Green's
Hist, of the Engl. People, p. 75.
in Michmash] The villages of MUkhmds and Jeba preserve the
names and mark the sites of Michmash and Geba. They stand on the
N. and S. respectively of the Wady es Suweinit, a deep ravine with
precipitous sides running from the highlands of Benjamin to Jericho.
"About two miles Si E. of Ai it becomes a narrow gorge with
vertical precipices some 800 feet high." Jonathan was in Gibeah, a.
few miles to the S. W. of Geba. See note on x, 5. We may conjecture
that when Saul occupied Michmash the Philistines transferred their post,
which had previously been at Gibeah (x. 5), to Geba, in order to watch
him more closely. Jonathan thereupon seized Gibeah, from which he
made the successful sally described in v. 3.
mount Beth-el] The high ground between Bethel and Michmash.
Jonathan] The first mention of Saul's eldest son, whose memory is
famous not so much for his military achievements, as for his fast friend
ship with David. The name Jonathan means "the gift of Jehovah,"
and may be compared with the Greek Theodore.
124 I. SAMUEL, XIII. [vv. 3-Jf
in Gibeah of Benjamin : and the rest of the people he sent
3 every man to his tent. And, Jonathan smote the garrison
of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines
heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the
4 land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. And all Israel .heard .
say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and
that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines.
And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal:
5 And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight
with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand-;
horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea '
3. the garrison of the Philistines] See note on x. 5.
Saul blew the trumpet] Heralds blowing trumpets to attract attention
carried the news of Jonathan's daring exploit throughout the country to.
prepare the people for a speedy summons to fight for their liberty. Cp.
Jud. iii. 27, vi. 34; 2 Sam. xx. 1. ,¦¦
Let the Hebrews hear] The name "Hebrews" is generally employed
only by foreigners, or in speaking to foreigners. See note on iv. 6. jlf
the text is correct, it is here used (cp. v. 7) to place the nationality of
Israel in contrast with the Philistines, or to describe them from the
Philistine point of view as the subject race. But the Sept. reads "The
slaves have revolted," and it may be conjectured that we should trans
pose the words, and read "The Philistines heard saying, The slaves;!
(or, the Hebrews) have revolted." The consonants of the Hebrew
words for "slaves" and "Hebrews" are almost identical, and are
constantly liable to be confused.
4. heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison] Heard saying, Saul
hath smitten the garrison of the Philistines. The first blow in the
war of independence was doubtless struck by Jonathan under Saul's ,
direction. was had in abomination] The same word meaning literally, "l&i
make one's self stink" occurs in Gen. xxxiv. 30; Ex. v. 21; 1 Sam.
xxvii. 12; 2 Sam. x. 6.
the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal] Gilgal (see note
on vii. 15) was probably chosen for the rendezvous as being the usual
meeting-place, and the least liable to an attack from the Philistines, p
6. thirty thousand chariots] This reading, though as old as the
Sept., is certainly wrong. The number of chariots was always less than
that of horsemen, and such an enormous force of chariots is not only
quite unparalleled, but would be useless in the mountainous country.
Possibly the numeral 30, expressed in Hebrew by the letter /, was due
to the accidental repetition of the last letter of the word Israel, and we
should read "a thousand chariots." Jabinhad "nine hundred chariots"
(Jud. iv. 3).
people as the sand which is on the sea shore] " People" = infant™
yv.6— 8.] I. SAMUEL, XIII. 125
shore in multitude : and they came up, and pitched in
Michmash, eastward from B'eth-aven. When the men of 6
Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were
distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves,
and in ' thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in
pits. And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the 7
land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal,
and all the people followed him trembling.
8 — 14. Saul's disobedience and its penalty.
And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that 8
Samuel had appointed; but Samuel came not to Gilgal;
"The sand on the sea shore" is a common figure for an indefinite
number. Cp. Gen. xxii. 17, xli. 49; Josh. xi. 4; Ps. lxxviii. 27, &c.
in Michmash, eastward from Beth-aven] Saul evacuated Michmash
and withdrew to Gilgal. Jonathan however still held Gibeah (v. 16).
Beth-aven (= "house of naught" i.e. idols) was near Ai, between
Michmash and Bethel (Josh. vii. 2). The position was an important
one, commanding the chief approach from Gilgal to the heart of the
country. 6. in a strait] In distress and danger : as it were, hemmed in and
unable to turn in any direction.
the people did hide themselves] Cp. Jud. vi. 2.
in high places] The word thus translated occurs elsewhere only in
Jud. ix. 46, 49 (E.V. hold), and is supposed to mean "a fortified tower,"
like the "peels" of the border counties, possibly the work of the old
Canaanite inhabitants. But the context rather points to some natural
hiding-place. 7. some of the Hebrews] The soundness of the text is rendered
doubtful by the peculiarity of the construction, and the use of the term
" Hebrews " without apparent reason. The Sept., changing the vowels
of the word Hebrews, renders, "And they who went over went over
Jordan, &c. ; " but this can hardly be right either.
all the people followed him trembling] The nation obeyed his summons,
but in the greatest alarm at the proximity of the Philistine host.
8 — 14. Saul's disobedience and its penalty.
8. the set time that Samuel had appointed] It seems clear that the
historian intends to refer to Samuel's injunction in x. 8, although in all
probability the interview there recorded had taken place many years
before. But the command may have been repeated now, and in any
case the spirit of it survived. Chosen by Jehovah expressly to deliver
Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, Saul was not at liberty to begin
the war of independence upon his own authority, but was to wait until
duly commissioned to do so by Samuel.
126 I. SAMUEL, XIIL [vv. 9-1$
9 and the people were scattered from him. And Saul said,
Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings.
10 And he offered the burnt offering. And it came to pass,
that as soon as he had made an end of offering. The burnt
offering, behold, Samuel came ; and Saul went out to meet
11 him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, What
hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the
people were scattered from me, and that thou earnest not
within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered
12 themselves together at Michmash ; therefore said I, The
Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I
have not made supplication unto the Lord : I forced myself
13 therefore, and offered a burnt offering. And Samuel said
to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly : thou hast not kept the
commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded
thee : for now would the Lord have established thy king-
14 dom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not
9. Bring hither a burnt offering, &c] "Bring hither to me the
burnt-offering and the peace-offerings," which were ready, awaiting
Samuel's arrival.
he offered the burnt offering] The same phrase is used of David (2 Sam.
xxiv. 25), and Solomon (i Kings iii. 4), and probably does not mean
that they actually performed the sacrifice themselves. If they did do so,\
it must be inferred that it was lawful for the king to act as priest, At
any rate there is no hint here that Saul's sin consisted in the usurpation
of priestly functions.
10. Samuel came] Perhaps before SauJ had had time to offer the
peace-offerings. 11. Because I saw, &c] The situation was critical in the extreme.
Saul's army was hourly melting away. Scarcely ten miles distant was
the Philistine host, ready to pour down and crush him. How could he
take the field without entreating God's favour? Was not this sufficient]
excuse for his conduct? ^ >'¦
13. Thou hast done foolishly] Saul's sin seems excusable and
scarcely deserving of so heavy a punishment. But it involved the whole
principle of the subordination of the theocratic king to the Will of
Jehovah as expressed by His prophets. On the one hand it shewed^
distrust of God, as though God after choosing him for this work could
forsake him in the hour of need : on the other hand it shewed a spirit^
. self-assertion, as though he could make war by himself without tnf
assistance and counsel of God communicated through His prophet,
Such a character was vmfit for the office of king.
for ever] i.e. permanently, not of course absolutely without end. Cp.
the use of the word in i. 22.
vv. 15—17-] I. SAMUEL, XIII. 127
continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his
own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be
captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that
which the Lord commanded thee.
15 — 18. The Philistine invasion.
And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto is
Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that
were present with him, about six hundred men. And Saul, 16
and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present
with them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin : but the Phi
listines encamped in Michmash. And the spoilers came 17
out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies : one
14. a man after his own heart] Quoted by St Paul in his discourse
at Antioch (Acts xiii. 22). Cp. Ps. Ixxxix. 20.
16—18. The Philistine invasion.
IB. And Samuel arose] The Sept. has a fuller text, which gives the
connexion more clearly thus : "And Samuel arose and departed from
Gilgal. And the remnant of the people went up after Saul to join the .
men of war [or, to the battle after the men of war] : and when they
were come from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin, Saul numbered, &c."
After Samuel's departure Saul marched up and effected a junction with
Jonathan at Gibeah or Geba.
about six hundred men] Cp. xiv. 2. Saul's precipitate action failed
to produce the desired result of holding the army together.
16. in Gibeah qf Benjamin] Heb. in Geba of Benjamin. The
positions of w. 2, 3 are now reversed, the Philistines occupying Mich
mash on the northern side of the valley, Saul and Jonathan holding
Geba on the southern side.
17. the spoilers came out] Lit. the destroyer, the part of the army
sent out to harry the country, (a) One band of marauders turned
northwards to Ophrah, a city of Benjamin (Josh, xviii. 23), conjecturally
placed by Robinson at et Taiyibeh, 4 miles N. E. of Bethel, in the land
of Shual (= jackal) possibly the same as Shalim (ix. 4). (b) Another
band took a westerly direction to Beth-horon (= house of caverns) on
the main pass from the hill country of Judaea into the plain of Philistia.
(c) A third band went eastwards to "the way of the border," probably
that between Judah and Benjamin, by " the valley of Zeboim " (Neh. xi. 34)
= "the ravine of hyenas," "towards the wilderness" or uncultivated
district between the central district of Benjamin and the Jordan valley.
Mr Grove went from Jericho to Michmash up a wild gorge bearing the
name Shuk-ed-Dubba, or "ravine of the hyena," the exact Arabic
equivalent of "the valley of Zeboim," and possibly the same. Diet, of
Bible, iii. 18 19.
128 I. SAMUEL, XIII. [vv. 18-fSJ
company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto
18 the land of Shual : and another company turned the way
to Beth-horon : and another company turned to the way
of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim toward
, the wilderness. 19 — 23. The disarmament of the Israelites.
19 Now there was no smith found throughout all the land
of Israel : for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews!
20 make them swords or spears: but all the Israelites went
down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share,
21 and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock. Yet:l
they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and
Southwards, Saul's camp in Geba protected the country. The tense
of the verbs "turned" expresses repeated action, indicating that these
ravages were continued for some time. The Philistines hoped to draw
Saul out from his strong position, and force him to an engagement.
19 — 23. The disarmament of the Israelites.
19. Now there was no smith found, &c] A signal proof of the
severity of the Philistine oppression, and the difficulties against which
Saul had to contend. This general disarmament clearly points to the
lasting subjugation of a large district in the later years of Samuel's
judgeship and' the beginning of Saul's reign, and was not merely the
temporary result of the present invasion. A similar tyranny was prac
tised by the Canaanites before Deborah's victory (Jud. v. 8, cp. iii. 31);
and Porsena is reported by Pliny to have prohibited the Romans from
using iron except for agricultural purposes (Hist. Nat. xxxiv. 14).
20. to sharpen] The word signifies "to sharpen by forging."
his share, &c] The agricultural implements mentioned cannot be
identified with any certainty. The words rendered "share" and
•' mattock " are derived from the same root meaning to cut, and are al
most identical in form. That rendered "coulter" is elsewhere trans
lated "plow-share" (Is. ii. 4, &c).
21. Yet they had a file] So the Targum and some Rabbinic commen
tators. If the rendering is correct, the meaning will be that for the
ordinary sharpening of tools they had files, but for any forging. work -;
they had to go to the Philistines. But the best rendering appears to be )
either, "When the edges, &c. were blunt:" or that of the Vulgate;
"So the edges of the mattocks... used to be blunt." The result of
the necessity of going so far to get their tools repaired was that they got
into a very unserviceable condition. The words, "and to set (i.e.
sharpen or point) the goad" must be taken as depending on "the
Israelites went down to the Philistines," the intervening words being
regarded as a parenthesis.
w. 22, 23 ; I— 3.] I. SAMUEL, XIII. XIV. 129
for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads.
So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was 22
neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the
people that were with Saul and Jonathan : but with Saul
and with Jonathan his son was there found. And the n
garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Mich
mash. Ch. XIV. 1 — 15. J- 'onathari 's deed of daring.
Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son 14
of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armour,
Come, and let us go over to the Philistines' garrison, that
is on the other side. But he told not his father. And 2
Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pome
granate tree which is in Migron : and the people that were
with him were about six hundred men ; and Ahiah, the son 3
23. the passage of Michmash] By "the passage of Michmash,"
mentioned also in the description of Sennacherib's march upon Jerusalem
in Is. x. 29, is meant the deep ravine now known as the Wady es-
Suweinit (v. 2, note). The Philistines threw out an advanced post from
their main camp to one of the bluffs on the very edge of the valley, with
the view of watching the Israelites in Geba opposite, and preventing a
surprise attack on their camp. It was this post which Jonathan attacked.
Ch. XIV. 1 — 15. Jonathan's deed of daring.
1. that bare his armour] A confidential attendant like the squire of
the middle ages.
But he told not his father] For fear lest he should forbid so hazard
ous an attempt. From this point to the end of v. 5 we have a series of
clauses introduced parenthetically to describe the circumstances under
which the attack was made. v. 6 resumes the thread of the narrative
by a repetition of Jonathan's words. The vivid detail marks the account
of one familiar with the spot.
2. the uttermost part of Gibeah] Here at any rate Gibeah seems to
denote a district. See note on x. 5. Saul was stationed probably at
the northern extremity of it, under ' ' the pomegranate tree which is in
Migron." So we find him afterwards "under the tamarisk in Gibeah"
(xxii. 6). Migron cannot be the place mentioned in Is. x. 28, which
was north of Michmash. The name means precipice, and probably
occurred frequently in this rocky region.
3. And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub] And [there was with him]
Ahiah, or Ahijah, as the name is usually transliterated. Ahijah is per
haps the same as Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, the priest at Nob, who
was the victim of Saul's sacrilegious vengeance (xxii. 9). The name
I. SAMUEL o
13© . I. SAMUEL, XIV. [v. if.
of Ahitub, I-chabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son
of Eli, the Lord's priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod.
4 And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. And
between the passages, by' which Jonathan sought to go over'
unto the Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on
the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side : and the .
name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other
' Ahijah = ' ' brother of Jah " and Ahimelech = ' ' brother of the king " may
. have been applied to the same person, Melech king being substituted for
the divine name Jah in ordinary intercourse. But it is also possible
that Ahimelech was the brother of Ahijah and his successor in the
high priesthood.
I-chabod's brother] See iv. 21. I-chabod's elder brother Ahitub was
probably about the same age as Samuel, and his son may have been high-
priest already for some. time. Fifty years or more must have elapse!
since the death of Eli. See Introduction, Ch. III.
the Lords priest in Shiloh] These words must be referred to Eli as
the most famous priest during the period while .the Tabernacle was
at Shiloh, not to Ahijah. It is all but certain that Shiloh ceased to be
the religious centre of the nation after the capture of the Ark.
wearing an ephod] i. e. officiating as high-priest. See note on ii. 18.
His presence with the army is noticed to prepare the way for the fact*'
mentioned in v. 18.
4. And between the passages, &c] The scene of Jonathan's adven
ture is accurately described. The "passages" appear to be ravines
running down into the main valley, by which it was possible to get
down and cross over. ' ' In the valley, [the Wady es-Suweinit] just at
the left of where we crossed, are two hills of a conical or rather a
spherical form, having steep rocky sides, with small wadys running up;:
behind each so as almost to isolate them. One is on the side toward;
Jeba and the other towards Mukhmas. These would seem to be the two
rocks mentioned in connexion with Jonathan's adventure." Robinson,
Bibl. Res. I. 441.
a sharp rock] Lit. " a tooth of the rock." Cp. note on vii.' 12.
the name of the one was Bozez] " The northern cliff was named Bozez
or " shining," and the true explanation of this name only presents itself
on the spot. The great valley runs nearly due east, and thus the south
ern cliff is almost entirely in shade during the day. The contrast is sur
prising and picturesque between the dark cool colour of the south side
and the ruddy or tawny tints of the northern cliff, crowned with the
gleaming white of the upper chalky strata. The picture is unchanged
since the days when Jonathan looked over to the white camping-ground
of the Philistines, and Bozez must then have shone as brightly aslt
does now, in the full light of an eastern sun." Conder's Tent WoM
11. 113. *
the name of the other Seneh] " The southern cliff was called Seneh
or 'the Acacia,' and the same name still applies to the modern valley,
vv. S'-".] L SAMUEL, XIV. 131
Seneh. The forefront of the one was situate northward 5
over against Michmash, and the other southward over
against Gibeah. And Jonathan said to the young man 6
that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the
garrison of these uncircumcised : it may be that the Lord
will work for us : for there is no restraint to the Lord to
save by many or by few. And his armourbearer said unto 7
him, Do all that is in thine heart : turn thee ; behold, I
am with thee according to thy heart. Then said Jonathan, 8
Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will dis
cover ourselves unto them. If they say thus unto us, Tarry 9
until we come to you ; then we will stand still in our place,
and will not go up unto them. But if they say thus, 10
Come up unto us ; then we will go up : for the Lord hath
delivered them into our hand : and this 'shall be a sign unto
us. And both of them discovered themselves unto the n
garrison of the Philistines : and the Philistines said, Behold,
the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had
due to the acacia trees which dot its course." Wady es-Suweinit=
"Valley of the little thorn tree" or "acacia." Id.
5. the forefront of the one, &c] Lit. The one crag (lit. tooth) was a
pillar on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south
in front of Geba. The Sept. omits ' ' a pillar."
6. these uncircumcised ] A frequent epithet of abhorrence for the
Philistines. Here it has a special significance, for it indicates that
Jonathan's hope of success was based on the reflection that the Philis
tines stood in no covenant-relation to Jehovah, as Israel did.
there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few] See ch.
xvii. 46, 47; Jud. vii. 4, 7 ; 2 Chron. xiv. ri, and the noble words of
Judas Maccabaeus before the battle of Beth-horon (r Mace. iii. 16 — 21) :
"With the God of heaven it is all one to deliver with a great multitude
or with a small company ; for the victory of battle standeth not in the
multitude of an host ; but strength cometh from heaven." These were
among the heroes who ' ' through faith waxed valiant in fight, turned
to flight the armies of the aliens " (Heb. xi. 34).
7. turn thee] The reading of the Heb. text is doubtful, and that of
the Sept. perhaps to be preferred. "Do all unto which thine heart in-
clineth : behold I am with thee : my heart is as thy heart."
10. this shall be a sign unto us] " The sign " is clearly regarded by
Jonathan as an intimation of the Divine will. Cp. Gen. xxiv. 14 ; Jud.
vi. 36ft"., and ch. ii. 34, note.
11. the holes where they had hid themselves] See xiii. 6. Travellers
speak of numerous caverns in the limestone rocks of the district.
132 I. SAMUEL, XIV. [vv. 12-ijf
j2 hid themselves. And the men of the garrison answerer!
Jonathan and his armourbearer, and said, Come up to us,
and we will shew you a thing. And Jonathan said unto
his armourbearer, Come up after me : for the Lord hath
13 delivered them into the hand of Israel. And Jonathan
climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his
armourbearer after him : and they fell before Jonathan!
14 and his armourbearer slew after him. And that first
slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was
about twenty men, within as it were a half acre of land,
.15 which a yoke of oxen might plow. And there was trembling
in the host, in the field, and among all the people ; the
garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth|
quaked : so it was a very great trembling.
12. we will shew you a thing] Either, "give you some information;"
or, "teach you a lesson." Cp. Jud. viii. 16. Perhaps a colloquial
phrase, used of course contemptuously.
13. Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet] "Imme
diately to the east of the village of Michmash exists a natural fortress,
still called ' the fort ' by the peasantry. It is a ridge rising in three;
rounded knolls above a perpendicular crag, ending in a narrow tongue
to the east with cliffs below." Conder's Tent Work, 11. 112. This may
have been the post occupied by the advanced guard of the Philistines.,? f
14. within as it toere a half acre of land which a yoke of oxen might'
plow] Lit. in about half a furrow of a yoke of land. "A yoke of
land " may denote such a piece of land as a yoke of oxen would plough'
in one day, a natural measure for an agricultural people to use. "The
furrow of a yoke " will then denote the length of one side of Such ^
square measure. The point appears to be that the garrison was cut to
pieces in a comparatively short distance.
The Sept. however (unless its rendering is mere conjecture) repre
sents a different reading: "And the first slaughter... was with darts
and slings and stones of the field." But Jonathan at any rate was better
armed (xiii. 22), and it is hard to see the point of mentioning the wea
pons with which ihe first slaughter was accomplished.
15. in the host, in the field ] In the camp in the field, the main
army as distinguished from the outpost which Jonathan had attacked.
the earth quaked] Perhaps this only describes the tumult and confu
sion of the Philistine host (cp. iv. 5), but possibly an earthquake aug
mented the general panic, as at the Exodus (Ps. Ixxvii. 18). Cp. the,
storm at Ebenezer (ch. vii. 10).
so it was a very great trembling] -Lit. "And it became a trembling
of God," i. e. a supernatural panic inspired by God. Cp. 2 Kings
vii. 6.
w. 16— 21.] I. SAMUEL, XIV.
133
16 — 23. The rout of the Philistines.
And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; 16
and behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on
beating down one another. Then said Saul unto the people 17
that were with him, Number now, and see who is gone
from us. And when they had numbered, behold Jonathan
and his armourbearer were not there. And Saul said unto 18
Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God
was at that time with the children of Israel. And it came 19
to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise
that was in the host of the Philistines went on and in
creased : and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine
hand. And Saul and all the people that were with him 20
assembled themselves, and they came to the battle : and
behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there
was a very great discomfiture. Moreover the Hebrews 21
that were with the Philistines before that time, which went
16 — 23. The rout of the Philistines.
16. in Gibeah of Benjamin] If Tuleil-el-FAl is the true site of the
town of Gibeah, we must either suppose that Gibeah is here used of the
surrounding district, or read Geba for Gibeah, since according to Lieut.
Conder, Michmash is not visible from Tuleil-el-Iul. See note on x. 5.
they went on beating down one another] It is doubtful if this or any
other meaning can be extracted from the present Heb. text. The Sept.
gives a good sense: "And behold, the camp was in confusion on every
side." 17. Number now] The word denotes a muster or parade of the
troops for inspection.
18. Bring hither the ark of God] Saul wished to "inquire of God"
before going to battle. See Num. xxvii. 21. But apart from the fact
that we have no mention of the transportation of the Ark from Kirjath-
jearim, it was not the Ark, but the Ephod with Urim and Thummim
which was the proper instrument for ascertaining the will of God. More
over "bring hither" is a term applied to the Ephod (xxiii. 9, xxx. 7)
but not to the Ark. It seems best therefore to follow the reading of the
Sept. ; "And Saul said to Ahia, bring hither the Ephod : for he bore
the Ephod at that time before the children of Israel."
19. Withdraw thine hand] Desist from the inquiry. With cha
racteristic impatience Saul would not wait for God's answer.
20. every man's sword was against his fellow] Cp. Jud. vii. 22 ;
2 Chr. xx. 23.
21. the Hebrews that were with the Philistines] Either renegade
Israelites who had taken service in the Philistine army, or forced levies
134 I. SAMUEL, XIV. [w. 22—26:
up with them into the camp from the country round about,
even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were
22 with Saul and Jonathan. Likewise all the men of Israel
which had hid themselves in mount Ephraim, when they
heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard
23 after them in the battle. So the Lord saved Israel that
day : and the battle passed over unto Beth-aven.
24 — 30. Jonathan's breach of Saul's rash oath.
24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day : for Saul
had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that?
eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on
mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food.'.
25 And all they of the land came to a wood ; and there was
26 honey upon the ground. And when the people were come
from the districts occupied by the Philistines. The name "Hebrews''
by which they were known to the Philistines is used to distinguish them
from the "Israelites" who had not submitted to their oppressors. The
Sept. reads "slaves." See notes on iv. 6 and xiii. 3.
23. So the Lord saved Israel] Cp. Ex. xiv. 30 ; 2 Chr. xxxii. 22.
unto Beth-aven] Saul crossed the valley from Geba to Michmash,
and drove the Philistines back in a north-westerly direction to Beth-X
aven, half way between Michmash and Bethel. Thence the pursuit was
across the watershed, and headlong down the pass of Beth-horon to ,
Aijalon, where the valley begins to open out towards the plain of Phi-
listia : — that same pass where Joshua gained his great victory over the
five Amorite kings (Josh. x. 10), and where the valiant Judas Macca; ,
baeus was once more in later times to drive back the enemies of Israel to
the plains (r Mace. iii. 24). The whole distance was between 15 and
20 miles. 24—30. Jonathan's breach of Saul's rash oath.
24. were distressed that day : for Saul, &c] Render, And the men of
Israel were distressed that day. And Saul caused the people to
swear, &c. Seeing the fatigued condition of the army, and fearing lest
they should relinquish the pursuit to get food, Saul rashly exacted from
them an oath, which led to three evil results. ( 1 ) It hindered instead
of facilitating the pursuit of the enemy. (2) It involved Jonathan in an
involuntary trespass. (3) It indirectly occasioned the sin of the people
(v. 32). The Sept. however appears to have had a different text as
follows: "And all the people that were with Saul were about ten thou
sand men. And the battle was scattered throughout the whole wood
[city is a mistranslation of the Heb. word for wood in v. 25] in mount
Ephraim. And Saul did very foolishly on that day, and adjured the
people, saying, &c." , •¦
yv. 27— 33-] I. SAMUEL, XIV. 135
into the wood, behold the honey dropped; but no man
put his hand to his mouth : for the people feared the oath.
But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people 27
with the oath : wherefore he put forth the end of the rod
that was in his hand, and dipt it in a honeycomb, and put
his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened.
Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father 2s
straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed
be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people
were faint. Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled 29 -
the land : see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been
enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. How 30
much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of
the spoil of their enemies which they found ? for had there
not been now a much greater slaughter among the Phi
listines ? 31 — 35. The sin of the people.
And they smote the Philistines that day from Mich- 31
mash to Aijalon : and the people were very faint. And 32
the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and
oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground : and the
people did eat them with the blood. Then they told Saul, 33
26. behold, the honey dropped] Lit. behold a stream of honey.
Palestine is literally "a land flowing with milk and honey" (Ex. iii. 8).
Wild bees settle in vast numbers in the clefts of the limestone rocks' and
in the trees. Compare the statement of a traveller in India, where "the
forests literally flow with honey. Large combs may be seen hanging in
the trees as you pass along, full of honey." Cp. Matt. iii. 4. See
Tristram's Land of Israel, p. 83. Kitto's Bible Illustrations, p. 190.
27. his eyes were enlightened] Cp. Ps. xiii. 3. His bodily powers
were refreshed. The opposite idea is conveyed by the Heb. words for
. fainting, which are derived from roots meaning 'to be shrouded in
darkness.' 28. straitly] i.e. strictly. Cp. Ex. xiii. 19; Josh. vi. 1.
And the people were faint] Better, and the people are faint, or
weary: words of the speaker, not a comment by the historian.
29. hath troubled] The word applied to Achan in Josh. vii. 25.
31 — 35. The sin of the people.
31. from Michmash to Aijalon] See note on v. 23.
• 32. the people did eat them with the blood] As soon as it was
evening, the. fasting people flew upon the spoil to satisfy their hun-
136 I. SAMUEL, XIV. £vv. 34-39.
saying,. Behold, the people sin against the Lord, in that
they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have trans-
34 gressed : roll a great stone unto me this day. And Saul
said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto
them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man
his sheep, and slay them here, and eat ; and sin not against
the Lord in eating with the blood. And all the people1
brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew
zsthem there. And Saul built an altar unto the Lord: the
same was the first altar that he built unto the Lord.
36 — 46. The consequence of fonathan' s transgression. ¦?*
36 And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by
night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us
not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever
seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us
37 draw near hither unto God. And Saul asked counsel of
God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou;
deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered
38 him not that day. And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all
the chief of the people : and know and see wherein this
39 sin hath been this day. For, as the Lord liveth, which
ger, and in doing so transgressed the primeval prohibition (Gen. ix. 4),
which was re-enacted in the Mosaic law (Lev. xvii. 10 — 14), and ob
served in the early days of the Christian Church (Acts xv. 20).
33. this day] Rather, forthwith. But the Sept. reads "here,".
perhaps rightly.
35. the same was ihe first altar] Lit. "it he began to build as an
altar to Jehovah." The E. V. probably gives the right sense. The
altar was erected as a thank-offering for the victory. " The great stone"
most likely formed part of it.
36 — 46. The consequence of Jonathan's transgression.
36. Let us draw near hither unto God] Ahijah checks Saul's im
pulse, reminding him that it was necessary first to ascertain the will of
God. Perhaps he felt that Saul's neglect to wait for God's answer in
the morning {v. 19) had already borne evil fruit.
37. asked counsel of God] Inquired of God, the same verb as in x.
22. See note there.
38. the chief of the people] Lit. "the* corner-stones of the people,"
as in Jud. xx. 2, probably the elders or heads of houses. ' '!
wherein this sin hath been] Saul assumes that some undiscovered sin
must have caused God to refuse an answer, as Achan's trespass led Him
w. 40— 45.] I. SAMUEL, XIV. 137
saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall
surely die. But there was not a man among all the people
that answered him. Then said he unto all Israel, Be ye on 40
one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other
side. And the people said unto Saul, Do what seemeth
good unto thee. Therefore Saul said unto the Lord God 4I
of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were
taken : but the people escaped. And Saul said, Cast lots 42
between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was
taken. Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou 43
hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but
taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine
hand, and lo, I must die. And Saul answered, God do so 44
and more also : for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan. And 45
to withdraw His Presence and abandon Israel to defeat (Josh. vii. n,
12). At a later time Saul's own sin made God desert Him in the same
way (ch. xxviii. 6, 15). Jonathan's transgression of the oath, although
unintentional, was an offence against the Majesty of the Divine Name
which could not be left unnoticed.
41. Give a perfect lot] This and not the marginal rendering " Shew
the innocent" is the best explanation of an obscure phrase which occurs
nowhere else.
The Sept. however has a very different reading, which with some
emendation maybe rendered, "And Saul said, O Lord God of Israel,
why hast thou not answered thy servant to day? If the iniquity be in
me or in Jonathan my son, O Lord God of Israel, give Urim : and if it
be in thy people Israel, give Thummim." If this reading is correct, it
points to the conclusion that the "judgment of Urim and Thummim "was
obtained by a special method of casting lots, which was employed on
the present occasion. See further on xxviii. 6. The Heb. text implies
that the ordinary lot only was used.
42. And Saul said, &c] Again the Sept. text is fuller. "And
Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son : whomsoever the
Lord taketh by lot, let him die. And the people said unto Saul, This
thing shall not be. And Saul prevailed over the people, and they cast
lots between him and Jonathan his son, and Jonathan was taken." The
omission in the Heb. text may be accounted for by homoeoteleuton (x. 1.
note), the words for my son and his son being almost identical.
43. Tell me] In like manner Joshua moved Achan to confess, when
the lot had fixed upon him as the "troubler of Israel" (Josh. vii. 19).
I did but taste, &c] I did certainly taste. ..here I am: I will die.
Jonathan's words are not a lamentation over his hard fate, as the E. V.
implies, but a confession that the guilt, though involuntary, was his,
and an heroic expression of readiness to sacrifice his life for his country
even in the hour of victory.
138 I. SAMUEL, XIV; [w.46,47,
the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath
wrought this great salvation in Israel ? God forbid : as
the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to
the ground ; for he hath wrought with God this day. So
46 the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not. Then Saul
went up from following the Philistines : and the Philistines :
went to their own place.
47 — 52. Sum?nary account of Saul's wars and family.
47 So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against
45. there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground] See 2
Sam. xiv. n; 1 Kings i. 52; Matt. x. 30; Luke xxi. 18; Acts xxvii.
34- he hath wrought with God] Compare Jonathan s own words in v. 6.
the people rescued Jonathan] ' ' There was now a freer and more un
derstanding spirit in the nation at large. What was tolerated in the time
of Jephthah, when every man did what was right in his own eyes, and
when the obligation of such vows overrode all other considerations, was
no longer tolerated now. The people interposed in Jonathan's behalf.
They recognised the religious aspect of his great exploit. They rallied-
round him with a zeal that overbore even the royal vow, and rescued
Jonathan that he died not. It was the dawn of a better day. It was
the national spirit now in advance of their chief, animated by the same
Prophetic teaching, which through the voice of Samuel had now made
itself felt ; the conviction that there was a higher duty even than out
ward sacrifice or exact fulfilment of literal vows. " Stanley's Lectures,
II. 14.
A somewhat analogous story is told in Livy viii. 35. Q. Fabiusthe
Master of the Horse violated the commands of the Dictator Papirius;
Cursor by attacking the Samnites in his absence. He was ordered for
instant execution by the dictator, but escaped through the intercession;
of the people.
47 — 52. Summary account of Saul's wars and family.
47. So Saul took the kingdom] The various wars undertaken by Saul
whom the people elected king "to go out before them and fight their
battles" are here summarily noticed. (1) Against Moab. See note on
xi. 1. (2) Against the children of Ammon, as recorded in ch. xi., and
perhaps upon other occasions. (3) Against the Edomites, the descend
ants of Esau, surnamed Edom (Gen. xxv. 30), who occupied Edom or
Idumaea, previously called Mount Seir ( = rugged), the mountainous
district stretching from the Dead Sea to the head of the Gulf of Elath.
The Edomites -were -conquered by David (2 Sam. viii. 14), and re
mained subject to Judah till the reign of Jehoram (2 Kings viii. 20).
They are fiercely denounced by the later prophets, especially Obadiah,
for their hostility to Judah. (4) Against the. Syrian kingdom of Zohah
vv. 48— Si,] I. SAMUEL, XIV. 139
all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against
the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the
kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines : and whither
soever he turned himself, he vexed them. And he gathered 4S
a host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out
of the hands of them that spoiled them. ' Now the sons of 49
Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchishua : and the
names of his two daughters were these; the name of the
firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal : and 50
the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of
Ahimaaz : and the name of the captain of his host was
Abner, the son of Ner, Saul's uncle. And Kish was the s>
on the north-east. This kingdom was probably situated between
Damascus and the Euphrates, but its exact position and limits are
undetermined. The "kings" were apparently independent chiefs; in
David's time it was ruled by a single king Hadadezer, and the account
of David's wars with it testify to its power and importance (2'Sam. viii.
3 — 10). (5) Against the Philistines throughout his reign (v. 52). No
special account of the wars against Moab, Edom and Zobah is given,
for the object of the book is not to give a complete history of Saul's
reign, but to describe its salient features, and the sins which led to his
rejection. he vexed them] The word means literally "to condemn," and so (if
the reading is correct) "to conquer," the war being regarded as a suit
against the enemies of God, in which defeat was tantamount to a verdict
of condemnation. The Sept. however reads simply, "he was victorious."
48. gathered a host] Better, did valiantly, as in Num. xxiv. 18;
Ps. Ix. 12.
smote the Amalekites] As recorded at length in ch. xv.
49. Ishui] Since in ch. xxxi. 2 and 1 Chron. a. 2, the names of the
sons who fell with Saul at Gilboa are given as Jonathan, Abinadab and
Melchishua, and in the genealogies of 1 Chr. viii. 33 and ix. 39 these
three are again mentioned with the addition of Esh-Baal or Ish-bosheth,
it seems probable that Ishui is identical with Abinadab. Either Ishui
was a second name, or it is a corruption of the Heb. word for "and the
second." Cp. note on viii. 2.
50. Abner the son of Ner Saul's uncle] Grammatically, "Saul's
uncle" might refer either to Abner or to Ner, but it is almost certain
that it must refer to the latter, so that Saul and Abner were first cousins.
v. 51 should be read, according to Josephus, "And Kish the father of
Saul and Ner the father of Abner were sons of Abiel." It is true that
the genealogies in 1 Chr. viii. 33, ix. 39 make Ner the grandfather of
Saul and consequently Abner Saul's uncle : but (a) Ner is not mentioned
among Saul's ancestors in ch. ix. 1, and (b) it is difficult to suppose that
Abner who was in full vigour for seven years after Saul's death (2 Sam,
140 I. SAMUEL, XIV. XV. [vv. 52 ; i, 2.
father of Saul ; and Ner the father of Abner was the son of
52 Abiel. And there was sore war against the Philistines all
the days of Saul : and when Saul saw any strong man, 01
any valiant man, he took him unto him.
Ch. XV. 1 — 9. Saul's commission to destroy Amalek.
15 Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint
thee to be king over his people, over Israel : now therefore
hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord.
2 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which
Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way,
ii. iii.) could have belonged to the generation above him. There is
probably some confusion of the names in Chronicles.
61. Abiel] It has been conjectured that Abiel is the same as Jehiel
"the father" or founder of Gibeon, 1 Chr. ix. 35, and that Gibeon is
identical with Gibeah; but this is doubtful.
52. he took him] to serve in his permanent corps of picked soldiers
(xiii. 2).
Ch. XV. 1 — 9. Saul's commission to destroy Amalek.
1. Samuel also said] And Samuel said. How long after the repulse
of the Philistines this happened, we are not told. Some years at least
must be allowed for the evident development of that wilfulness which
was Saul's ruin.
The Lord sent me] Me did Jehovah send. The pronoun stands
emphatically at the head of the sentence. The prophet appeals to his
former commission to anoint Saul as accrediting him to be God's messen
ger on the present occasion. "The note of special warning" with which
he prefaces the command indicates that he felt that "the discipline of
Saul's life was gathering itself up into a special trial," and that this
would be "a crisis in that life-history, with which by God's own hand
his own had been so strangely intertwined." Wilberforce's Heroes of
Hebrew History, p. 219.
2. / remember] Rather, I have reviewed, or, considered. Vulg.
recensui. that which Amalek did to Israel] The origin of the powerful tribe of
the Amalekites is uncertain. According to one view they had migrated
from the East : according to another they were the descendants of
Esau's grandson Amalek (Gen. xxxvi. 12). They were a nomad people,
roaming over the wilderness which lies to the south and south-west of
Palestine and stretches down into the peninsula of Sinai. They disputed
the passage of the Israelites, but were signally defeated at Rephidim (Ex.
xvii. 8). Upon a later occasion they joined with the Canaanites, and
were victorious in a battle near Hormah (Num. xiv. 45). In league
with the Moabites (Jud. iii. 13) and Midianites (Jud. vi. 3) they con
tinued to harass the Israelites after their entrance into Canaan. As the
w. 3— 6.] I. SAMUEL, XV. i4I
when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, 3
and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not ;
but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and
sheep, camel and ass. And Saul gathered the people ?
together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred
thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. And 5
Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down 6
from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them :
for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when
they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from
first of the heathen nations who opposed the progress of God's people
after the Exodus they were doomed to utter destruction (Ex. xvii. 16;
Num. xxiv. 20; Deut. xxv. 17 — 19), and the time had now come' for
the execution of this sentence.
3. utterly destroy all that they have] The word translated "utterly
destroy" means "to ban," or "to devote," and hence since that which
was cherem or "devoted" might not be taken as spoil, it comes to
signify "utterly destroy." See Lev. xxvii. 28, 29; Josh. vi. 17 ff. The
word is used in Samuel only in this chapter.
On the "moral difficulty" involved in this command see Note V.
p. 240.
4. in Telaim] Nowhere else mentioned, unless it is the same as
Telem (Josh. xv. 24), the position of which in the southern border of
Judah suits the circumstances. The name means "lambs," and was
probably derived from the pastures in the neighbourhood.
ten thousand men of fudah] This implies that the 200,000 foot-
soldiers were from the other tribes. See note on xi. 8.
5. a city of Amalek] Perhaps the capital or chief settlement was
simply called Ir-Amalek=" the city of Amalek," as Rabbah was called
Ar or Ir-Moab = "lhe city of Moab" (Num. xxi. 28, xxii. 36).
in the valley] Heb. nachal, which signifies a ravine or torrent-bed.
See Sinai and Palestine, p. 505.
6. the Kenites] This tribe, as may be inferred from the fact that
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, the priest of Midian (Ex. iii. 1), is called
a Kenite in Jud. i. 16, was an offshoot from the Midianites. The ser
vices done to Israel by Jethro and his son Hobab (Ex. xviii; Num. x.
29 — 32) led to a firm alliance. The Kenites accompanied the Israelites
on their march as far as Jericho (Jud. i. 16), and then went and dwelt
among the Amalekites in the desert to the south of Judah. They are
mentioned again in xxvii. 10, xxx. 29, as the friends of Israel. Famous
among the Kenites was Jael, whose husband Heber had migrated into
northern Palestine (Jud. iv. ti); and the Rechabites who belonged to this
tribe (1 Chr. ii. 55) long preserved the nomad habits of their ancestors
(Jer. xxxv. 7 — 10).
142 I. SAMUEL, XV. [w. 7-11.
7 among the Amalekites. And Saul smote the Amalekites
from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against
8 Egypt And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites
alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of
9 the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the
best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, ,and
the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly
destroy them : but every thing that was vile and refuse, that
they destroyed utterly.
10 — 23. Saul's disobedience and its penalty.
10 Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying,
11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king : for he
7. from Havilah until thou comest to Shur] The region occupied
by the Ishmaelites is described in the same terms in Gen. xxv. 18.
Havilah is supposed .to be a district, of Arabia, but its position cannot
1 be fixed with any certainty. Shur is repeatedly mentioned in connexion
with the route from Palestine to Egypt, and appears to be the part of
the Arabian desert bordering on Egypt. See Gen. xvi. 7, xx. 1 ; Ex.
xv. 22; 1 Sam. xxvii. 8. Shur means wall, and the name may have
. been derived from the wall which anciently defended the north-eastern
frontier of Egypt.
over against Egypt] In front of Egypt, looking towards it from
Palestine ; or, eastward of Egypt.
8. Agag] Agag perhaps means "fiery." As the name is found in
Num. xxiv. 7, it was probably an hereditary title, like Pharaoh among
the Egyptians.
utterly destroyed all the people] All who fell into their hands. Some
survived, and continued a guerilla warfare against the Israelites (xxvii.
8, xxx. 1; 2 Sam. viii. 12). The last remnant of them was destroyed
by a band of Simeonites in the reign of Hezekiah (1 Chr. iv. 43).
9. spared Agag] Perhaps to grace his triumph and to be an evi
dence of his victory (Jud. i. 7 ) : perhaps from a feeling of sympathy with
a fellow king (1 Kings xx. 32).
and the best of the sheep, &c] In direct violation of the Divine
command. It was to be a sacred war from which the people were to
take no gain of spoil, in .token that it was undertaken in the execution
of a Divine vengeance and not for their own profit.
10 — 23. Saul's disobedience and its penalty.
11. It repenteth me]. "God's repentance is the change of His dis- ."'
pensation." In the language of the O. T. God is said to repent when a
change in the character and conduct of those with whom He is dealing
leads to a corresponding change in His plans and purposes towards
them. Thus (a) upon man's penitence God repents and withdraws a
vv. 12, 13.] I. SAMUEL, XV. 143
is turned back from following me, and hath not performed
my commandments. And it grieved Samuel ; and he cried
unto the Lord all night. And when Samuel rose early to 12
meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul
came to Carmel, and behold, he set him up a place, and
is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed 13
threatened punishment (Ex. xxxii. 14; 2 Sam. xxiv. 16): (b) upon man's
faithlessness and disobedience He cancels a promise or revokes a blessing
which He had given. The opposite is also true, "God is not a man
that he should repent" (v. 29). His repentance is not to be understood
as though He who foreknows all things regretted His action, nor is it a
sign of mutability. A change in the attitude of man to God necessarily
involves a corresponding change in the attitude of God to man.
it grieved Samuel] This rendering is probably right, though the word
more commonly means "to be angry." Samuel was grieved at the
failure of one from whom he had hoped for so much advantage to the
nation. he cried unto the Lord all night] Interceding for Saul if perchance
he might be forgiven. For Samuel's intercessions see ch. vii. 5, and
Compare Moses' pleading for Israel (Ex. xxxii. n — 13). Our Lord
"continued all night in prayer to God" (Luke vi. 12).
12. to Carmel] Carmel ( = "park" or "garden") was a city in the
mountainous country- of Judah, about seven miles S.S.E. of Hebron.
Saul would naturally pass through it in returning from, the war. The
site is marked by the ruins of a large town bearing the name Kurmul
(Robinson, Bibl. Res. I. 495 ff). Here dwelt Nabal (ch. xxv), and in
its neighbourhood much of David's outlaw life was spent.
he set him up u, place] He erected for himself a monument, or
trophy of his victory. The Vulg. has "fornicem triumphalem ; " and
according to Jerome it was an arch of myrtles, palms, and olives. The
Heb. word, literally meaning "hand," is applied to Absalom's pillar,
which was called "Absalom's place" or "monument" (2 Sam. xviii.
18). The Sept. has some doubtful additions, which partly appear in the
ordinary text of the Vulgate. "And Samuel rose early and went to
meet Israel in the morning. And it was told [Samuel] saying, [Saul] came
to Carmel, and hath set him up a monument, and he turned his chariot
and went down to Gilgal. [And Samuel came to Saul], and behold he
was offering a burnt-offering to the Lord, the first-fruits of the spoil,
which he brought from Amalek. " . The names Saul and Samuel have
been confused in the text of B, and the clause "And Samuel came to
Saul" must be transposed to make sense.
to Gilgal] In the same place where Saul's kingdom had been con-
firmed it was to be taken from him : and where the warning of the con
sequences of disobedience had been uttered (xiii. 13, 14), the sentence
on disobedience was to be pronounced.
144 I. SAMUEL, XV. [vv. 14—20.
be thou of the Lord : I have performed the commandment
¦4 of the Lord. And Samuel said, What meaneth then this
bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the
15 oxen which I hear ? And Saul said, They have brought
them from the Amalekites : for the people spared the best
of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord,
16 thy God ; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. Thetfjj
Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the'
Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him;
17 Say on. And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine
own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of
18 Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel ? And
the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly
destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them
19 until they be consumed. Wherefore then didst thou not
obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil,
20 and didst evil in the sight of the Lord ? And Saul said
13. Blessed be thou of the Lord] Cp. Gen. xiv. 19, xxiv. 31; Ruth
iii. 10; 2 Sam. ii. 5. Saul attempts to conciliate Samuel with a friendly
greeting. His conscience can scarcely have been so hardened that he
was insensible of his sin.
15. And Saul said, &c] Saul tries (a) like Aaron at Sinai (Ex. xxxii, -
22), to shift the blame from himself on to others; (b) to palliatethe1;
offence by alleging a good motive. But "the king who heeded the Voice i
of his army in such a matter shewed that he was not their leader, but
their tool and their slave. The king who pretended to keep the booty!*
for the purpose of offering sacrifice to the Lord his God, was evidently'-)
beginning to play the hypocrite; — to make the service of.God an excuse '
for acts of selfishness, and so to introduce all that is vilest in king-craft
as well as in priest-craft." Maurice, Prophets and Kings, p. 26.
16. Stay] Forbear ! cease these flimsy excuses !
17. When thou wast little] Is it not the case that though thou
wast little in thine own eyes, thou hast been made head of the tribe!
of Israel? There is a reference to Saul's own words of astonishment
that he should be chosen as king (ix. 21). The prophet desires to
remind him that as his elevation came solely from God, obedience was
due to God. There is a curious tradition preserved in the Targum,
that Saul's elevation was a reward for the courage of the tribe of
Benjamin at the passage of the Red Sea, when they sought to pass
over first.
18. the sinners the Amalekites] Sin was the ground of their doom.
The special sin which singled them out for punishment was their oppo
sition to the will of God as regards the destiny of his people Israel.
vv. 21— 23.J I. SAMUEL, XV. 145
unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord,
and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have
brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly de
stroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, 21
sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have
been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God
in Gilgal. And Samuel said, 22
Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and
sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the Lord ?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to hearken than the fat of rams.
1 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, 23
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord,
He hath also rejected thee from being king.
20. Yea, I have obeyed] Saul still persists in justifying his conduct.
(a) He had fulfilled his mission and destroyed the Amalekites, and
brought Agag with him in proof thereof, (b) The people had brought
home the spoil for sacrifice, not for themselves.
21. the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed]
The chief of the devoted things (cherem). It might seem a praiseworthy
act to reserve the spoil for sacrifice : but since it was "devoted," it did
not belong to the Israelites, and no offering could be made of it.
22. With a burst of prophetic inspiration Samuel rends asunder Saul's
tissue of excuses, and lays bare his sin. His words are the key-note of
the long remonstrance of the prophets in subsequent ages against the
too common error of supposing that external ceremonial can be of any
value in the sight of God when separated from the true devotion of the
worshipper's heart which it symbolizes. See Ps. xl. 6 — 8, I. 8 ff. , li. 1 6,
17; Is. i. ii — 15; Jer. vi. 20; Hos. vi. 6; Amos v. 21 — 24; Micah vi.
6 — 8; Mt. ix. 13, xii. 7. The rhythmical form of the original adds force
and solemnity.
23. rebellion is as ihe sin of witchcraft, &c] Opposition to the will
of God is as- bad as divination by the help of evil spirits, which is tanta
mount to apostasy from God : obstinate resistance to Him is no better
than worshipping idols (vanity or emptiness) and images (teraphim : see
note on xix. 13). Disobedience is in fact idolatry, because it elevates
self-will into a god.
There seems to be an allusion to Saul's zeal in abolishing the practice
of witchcraft (xxviii. 3). Samuel charges him with being not less guilty
than those whom he had been so eager to condemn.
I. SAMUEL 10
146 I SAMUEL, XV. [vv. 24-30.
24 — 31. The rejection of Saul.
24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned : for I have
transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words;'?
25 because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. _ Now'1
therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with
26 me, tbat I may worship the Lord. And Samuel said unto
Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected'
the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee;
27 from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about;!
to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and
28 it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent
the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given
29it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. And
also the Strength of Israel wall not lie nor repent : for he
3o is not a man, that he should repent. * Then he said, I have?
sinned : yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the eldersi
24—31. The rejection of Saul.
24. / have sinned] Though a formal confession of his sin is extorted
from Saul, hedoesnot humble himself before God in genuine penitence. .
He still tries to shift the blame on to the people, and his chief anxiety
is lest the breach between Samuel and himself should become a public,;
scandal and weaken his authority (v. 30). Contrast David's heart-felt^
repentance (2 Sam. xii. 13; Ps. li. 4). , 'A
27. the skirt of his mantle] Some kind of a lappet or flap hanging!
down behind, which could be easily torn or cut off, seems to be meanfe|
Cp. xxiv. 4. As Samuel turned to go, Saul seized it to detain him, andi
it was torn off. The accident served Samuel as an emblem of the com
plete severance of the sovereignty from Saul. Compare Ahijah's sym-i
bolical action (1 Kings xi. 30, 31).
29. the Strength of Israel] This word, which occurs here only as a
title of God, combines the ideas oi stability, permanence, constancy: the..
Strength or Confidence of Israel does not change as men do.
will not lie nor repent] The words closely resemble Num. xxiii., 19.
There is a verbal contradiction between this utterance and v. 11, which-
is usually explained by saying that in v. 11 the historian uses language
according to the manner of men (dvBpu-owadws), while here the prophet
speaks as befits the nature of God (SeoTpeirws). This is only a partial
solution. It is precisely because God is unchangeable, that in His deal
ing with men He must seem to change His action as they change their
conduct. This is one aspect of the great problem which runs through
all religion, how human free-will can coexist with the Divine Sovereignty-
Scripture is content to state both sides of the question, and leave con
science rather than reason to reconcile them.
vv. 31— 35! i] I- SAMUEL, XV. XVI. 147
of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me,
that I may worship the Lord thy God. So Samuel turned -'x
again after Saul ; and Saul worshipped the Lord.
32 — 35. The execution of Agag. Samuel's departure.
Then said Samuel, Bring you hither to me Agag the king 32
of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately.
And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. And 33
Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so
shall thy mother be childless among wpmen. And Samuel
hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. Then 34
Samuel went to Ramah ; and Saul went up to his house
to Gibeah of Saul. And Samuel came no more to see Saul 35
until the day of his death ; nevertheless Samuel mourned
for Saul : and the Lord repented that he had made Saul
king over Israel.
Ch. XVI. 1 — 13. The choice of SauP s successor.
And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou 16
mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning
over Israel? fill thine horn with' qi\, and go, I will send
30. honour me now, &c] John v. 44 and xii. 43 point to the radical
defect in Saul's character.
31. So Samuel turned again] Changing his purpose in order to
maintain the honour of the reigning king, for although Saul had for
feited his position as Jehovah's chosen representative, he must still rule
the nation.
32—35. The execution of Aqaq. Samuel's departure.
32. delicately] Rather, cheerfully: hot fearing any harm from the
aged prophet, as the king had spared his life. But the meaning of the
word is very doubtful. The Sept. has "trembling;" the Vulg. a curious
double rendering, "sleek and trembling" (pinguissimus et tremens).
Surely the bitterness of death is past] This was what Agag said to
himself, expecting to be spared. But the Sept. (from a different reading)
gives: "Is death so bitter?" Vulg. "Does bitter death thus sever [me
from life]?" (Siccine separat amara mors?) representing Agag as afraid.
33. As thy sword, &c] By the law of retaliation Agag's life was
forfeit. Cp. Jud. i. 7.
hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord] A solemn execution of the
Divine sentence which Saul had neglected. The word rendered ' ' hewed
in pieces" is a different one from that used in xi. 7, and occurs nowhere
else. It may perhaps mean no more than "executed" (Sept. &r0a£e).
The E. V. follows the Vulg. : "in frusta concidit." IO — 2
148 I. SAMUEL, XVI. [vv. 2-;/
thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite : for I have provided me
2 a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How can I go?
if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take
a heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the
3 Lord. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew
thee what thou shalt do : and thou shalt anoint unto me
4 him whom I name unto thee. And Samuel did that which
the Lord spake, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders
of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou
5 peaceably ? And he said, Peaceably : I am come to sacria
fice unto the Lord : sanctify yourselves, and come with me
Ch. XVI. 1—13. The choice of Saul's successor.
1. Jesse the Beth-lehemite] Grandson of Ruth the Moabitess,' and
belonging to the tribe of Judah through the line of his male ancestors
(Ruthiv. 18—22).
2. Take an heifer with thee, &c] For David's safety no less than
his own it was necessary that the purpose of Samuel's errand should not
be known. "Concealment of a good purpose for a good purpose. is.
clearly justifiable." It was perfectly legitimate for Samuel to conceal'
the primary intention and mention only the secondary object of his
visit. It may be inferred from the command, that Samuel was in the.habit
of holding religious gatherings in different provincial towns from time,
to time.
4. -Beth-lehem] Beth-lehem ( = "house of bread") was the later
name of the ancient town of Ephrath (Gen. xlviii. 7). It was situated
about five miles south of Jerusalem, a short distance east of the road from.
Jerusalem to Hebron. As the scene of the fresh picture of domesticWe
contained in the book of Ruth it would possess no common interest^ but
as the "city of David" (Lk. ii. 4), and the birthplace of Him of Whom
David was a type, it is, next to Jerusalem itself, the most sacred spot on
earth. Here too, it should be remembered, " beside what he believed.;to
be literally the cradle of the Christian faith. ..Jerome composed the
famous translation of the Scriptures which is still the ' Biblia Vulgate,' of
the Latin Church." Stanley's Sin. and Pal., p. 442.
4. the elders of the town, &c] The elders of the city (see note on
viii. 4) came to meet him trembling. Perhaps Samuel's visits were
often made with the view of rebuking- sin and correcting abuses, and
hence their alarm : or the breach between him and Saul may have made
the elders afraid of incurring the royal displeasure by welcoming him.
5. sanctify yourselves] By the usual ceremonial purifications, such
as washing the body and clothes, the outward symbols of spiritual
preparation. See Gen. xxxv. 2; Ex. xix. 10 ff. The Sept. adds, "and
rejoice with me this day."
w.o— ii.j I. SAMUEL, XVI. 149
to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and
called them to the sacrifice. And it came to pass, when 6
they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely
the Lord's anointed is before him. But the Lord said 7
unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the
height of his stature ; because I have refused him : for the
Lord seeth not as man seeth ; for man looketh on the
' outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before 8
Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this.
Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, 9
Neither hath the Lord chosen this. Again, Jesse made 10
seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said
unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. And Sa- n
muel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children ? And he
said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and behold, he
keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and
fetch him : for we will not sit down till he come hither.
And he sanctified, &c] In the case of Jesse's family Samuel super
intended the necessary purification himself. This gave him the oppor
tunity of a private interview with them in Jesse's house, at which David's
anointing took place. The sacrifice appears to have followed after
wards. 6. and said] Said to himself ': thought. " Eliab by his height and
his countenance seemed the natural counterpart of Saul, whose successor
the 'Prophet came to select. But the day was gone when kings were
chosen because they were head and shoulders taller than the rest."
Stanley's Led. II. 40.
Eliab is probably the same as "Elihu one of the brethren of David "
whom David appointed "ruler of the tribe of Judah" (1 Chr. xxvii.
18). 7. for [the Lord seeth] not as man seeth] The words in brackets
are rightly supplied in the Sept. For the thought see 1 Chr. xxviii. 9 ;
Lk. xvi. r5 ; Acts i. 24, &c. God first gave the people a king of stately
stature and majestic appearance, such as they would have chosen for
themselves (x. 24) : now He will choose "a man after His own heart"
on the true ground of his inner moral worth.
9. Shammah] Also called Shimeah (2 Sam. xiii. 3), or Shimea
(1 Chr. xx. 7); Shimma in 1 Chr. ii. 13 should be written Shimea. Two
of his sons are mentioned : Jonadab, celebrated for sagacity (2 Sam.
xiii. 3): Jonathan, for courage (2 Sam. xxi. 21).
10. Again, Jesse made, &c] "So Jesse made seven of his sons,"
&c, including of course the three already mentioned by name.
11. we will not sit down] We will not sit round the table for. the
sacrificial feast.
ISO I. SAMUEL, XVI. [vv. 12-ij,
J2 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy,
and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look-
to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him : for this is he.
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the'
midst of his brethren ; and the spirit of the Lord came
upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up,
and went to Ramah.
14 — 23. David's introduction to the Court df Saul.
n But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an
15 evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. And Saul's ser-
12. ruddy] The wofd denotes the red hair and fair skin which are
regarded as a mark of beauty in southern countries, where the hair and
complexion are generally dark.
of A beautiful countenance, &c:] Lit. "beautiful-eyed and goodly in
appearance. " Compare the description of Joseph (Gen. xxxix. 6), and
Moses (Ex. ii. 2 ; Acts vii. 20, where compare the Gk. dartios t$ Geji
with the Sept. here, dyados opourei Kvplip).
13. in ihe niidst of his brethren] This can only mean "in the presence
of his brethren." As in the subsequent history they do not seem to have-!
any idea of their brother's high destiny, the true significance of the act
appears te have been concealed from them. .Whether it was made clear
even to Jesse and David himself may be doubted. They may have sup
posed that Samuel had selected David for a pupil in his prophetic school,'
See xix. 1 8 ffi
the spirit of the Lord came upon David] As upon- Saul at the first
(x. 6). For "came upon" see note on xi. 6. The special supernatuH
preparation for his office began from that hour.
David] The name means "beloved" or "darling," and was pro
bably given to him as the youngest of the family.
14 — 23. David's introduction to the Court of Saul. -|P
14. But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul] Note the con
trast to v. 13: As David rose, Saul sank. ,
an evil spirit from the Lord] The cause of Saul's mental disorders
described as "an evil spirit from Jehovah," or "of Jehovah" (xix. 9);
"an evil spirit of God' (vv. 15, 16, xviii. 10); "the spirit of evil" [v.
23); even "the spirit of God" (v. 23); because it was God's messenger
of judgment. Cp. 1 Kings xxii. 19 — 22. It is never called "the spirit
of Jehovah," which always designates the spirit of holiness. Saul's-.
apostasy was punished not merely by the withdrawal of the grace which.:
had been given as the endowment of his office, but by positive assaultij
from the powers of evil, akin to the demoniacal possession of the N.Tti
The result was a form of melancholy madness. The cause of the disease
was (as we commonly speak) "supernatural," the cure employed-
"natural." The inference is that it is impossible to draw asharp Iineof
vv. 16—20.] I. SAMUEL, XVI.
151
vants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God
troubleth thee. Let our lord now command thy servants 16
which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning
player on a harp : and it shall come to pass, when the evil
spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his
hand, and thou shalt be well. And Saul said unto his 17
servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and
bring him to me. Then answered one of the servants, and 18
said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite,
that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and
a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person,
and the Lord is with him. Wherefore Saul sent messen- 19
gers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which
is with the sheep. And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, 20
distinction between the two spheres. They are in closer connexion than
is commonly recognised.
16. a cunning player] "Cunning," from A.-S. cunnan, to know,
ken, is generally used in the E. V. in its original sense of knowing,
skilful, without any idea of underhand dealing.
thou shalt be well) The power of music to restore the harmony of a
troubled mind is well known. Kitto (Bible Illustr., p. 212) quotes
among other instances the case of Philip V. of Spain in the last century.
He was seized with a total dejection of spirits, which rendered him in
capable of attending to business. After all other methods had been
tried unsuccessfully, the celebrated musician Farinelli was invited to
perform at a concert in a room adjoining the King's apartment. The
music attracted his attention ; by degrees the disease gave way, and the
King was restored to his usual health.
18. one of the servants] The word here used for "servants" literally
means "young men" (Vulg. pueri), as it is rendered in xiv. 1, and
probably refers to military attendants: that used in vv. 15, 16, 17
literally means "slaves" (Vulg. servi), and includes the servants in
general. a mighty valiant man, &c] David had proved his courage while still
tending his sheep. See xvii. 32 — 36. "A man of war" describes his
capacity and promise rather than actual warlike experience.
prudent in matters] Rather, "skilled in word," eloquent. Possibly
he had already composed psalms, but of those which have come down to
us only Ps. viii. can be referred to this period, and even that is pro
bably somewhat later. Psalms xix., xxiii., and xxix., describing the
phenomena of nature, doubtless contain recollections of his shepherd
life. the Lord is with him] See note on iii. 19.
. 20. And Jesse took, &c] Cp. x. 4, 27. The character of the
presents offered to the King shews the simplicity of the manners of the
152 I. SAMUEL, XVI. XVII. [vv. 21— 23; 1,2.
and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David
21 his son unto Saul. And David came to Saul, and stood
before him : and he loved him greatly ; and he became his
22 armourbearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David,
I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in
23 my sight. And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from
God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played
with his hand : so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and
the evil spirit departed from him.
Ch. XVII. 1 — 3. The Philistine invasion.
17 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to.
battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which be-:,
longeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah,.
2 in Ephes-dammim. And Saul and the men of Israel were
age. They were "the natural produce of the well known vines, and
corn-fields, and pastures of Bethlehem."
22. Let David... stand before me] Thus David entered upon the first
stage of special education for his office. In Saul's court he was placed
in a position which gave opportunity for the development of his powers,
and for gaining the esteem and love of the people.
23. And it came to pass, &c] The verbs in this verse are frequenta
tive, expressing what happened repeatedly.
On the apparent inconsistency between this account of David's intro-'
duction to Saul, and the narrative of the next chapter see Note VI.
p. 241. Ch. XVII. 1 — 3. The Philistine invasion.
1. at Shochoh) The scene of David's memorable combat is fixed
with great exactness. The Philistine army marched up the wide valley
of Elah to their rendezvous at Sochoh, and pitched their camp in Ephes-
dammim (cp. 1 Chr. xi. 13). The valley of Elah is almost certainly the
present Wady-es-Sunt, which runs in a N. W. direction from the hills of
Judah near Hebron past the probable site of Gath (see note on ch. v. 8) to
the sea near Ashdod. "It took its name Elah of old from the Terebinth,
of which the largest specimen we saw in Palestine still stands in the
vicinity; just as it now takes its name es-Sunt from the acacias which
are scattered in it." Robinson, Bibl. Res. II. 21. Sochoh is the modem
Shuweikeh, about 16 miles S.W. of Jerusalem on the road to Gaza.
Azekah is mentioned in Josh. x. 10 in connexion with the rout of the
Philistines in the battle of Beth-horon, but the site is uncertain. "Of
the name Ephes-dammim we have perhaps a trace in the modern Beit
Eased, or 'House of Bleeding,' near Sochoh." Conder's Tent Work,
II. 160. - The name, which signifies "boundary of blood," was probably
due to its being the scene of frequent skirmishes with the Philistines.
VV. 3— S-] L SAMUEL, XVII. 153
gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and
set the battle in array against the Philistines. And the 3
Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel
stood on a mountain on the other side : and there was a
valley between them. 4 — n. Goliath's. Challenge.
And there went out a champion out of the camp of 4
the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height
was six cubits and a span. And he had a helmet of 5
2. by the valley of Elah] Rather, "in the valley of Elah."
3. on a mountain, &c] Rather, upon the mountain. ..upon the
mountain... and the ravine was between them. The E.V. obliterates
the features of the scene. The ravine (Heb. g at) was the stream -bed at the
bottom of the valley (Heb. imek). The Israelites encamped on the eastern,
the Philistines on the western slopes of the valley. "In the middle of
the broad open valley we found a deep trench with vertical sides, im
passable except at certain places — a valley in a valley, and a natural
barrier. between the two hosts.... Here then we may picture to ourselves
the two hosts, covering the low rocky hills opposite to each other, and
half hidden among the lentisk bushes ; between them was the rich ex
panse of ripening barley and the red banks of the torrent with its white
shingly bed ; behind all were the distant blue hill- walls of Judah, whence
Saul had just come down." Conder, Tent Work, II. 161.
4 — 11. Goliath's Challenge.
4. a champion] Lit. "The (well-known) man of the interspaces,"
or "interval between two camps" (Gr. fieTatx/uov : see Eur. /%c«z. 1361,
in the account of the combat between Eteocles and Polynices), in which
single combats took place: so E.V. rightly "champion."
Goliath of Gath] A survivor probably of the ancient race of Anakim,
a remnant of which found refuge in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod, when they
were exterminated by Joshua from the mountains of Judah (Josh. xi. 21,
22). six cubits and a span] The cubit, or distance from the elbow to the
extremity of the middle finger, is variously estimated at from eighteen to
twenty-one inches : the span, or distance between the extremities of the
thumb and little finger in the outstretched hand, is reckoned as half a
cubit : so that Goliath's height was between nine feet nine inches and I
eleven feet four inches. The most probable estimate is about ten feet
three inches. Among parallel instances of gigantic stature may be
quoted Pusio and Secundilla, who lived in the reign of Augustus, and
are said by Pliny (Nat. Hist. VII. r6) to have been over ten feet high.
Josephus says that a certain Eleazar the giant who was sent to the
emperor Tiberius, was seven cubits high.
— "?%
1S4 I. SAMUEL, XVII. [vv.6-8K
brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat
of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand
6 shekels of brass. And he had greaves of brass upon his
7 legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. And the
staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam ; and his spear's
head weighed six hundred shekels of riron : and one bearing
8 a shield went before him. And he- stood and cried unto
6. a coat of mail] "A corselet of scales," made of overlapping \
plates of metal, and protecting the body almost down to the knees.
Armour of this kind is represented in the Assyrian sculptures. See
Layard's Nineveh II. 335. Cp. VIrg- den. XI. 487, " Turnus...thoraca
indutus aenis Horrebat squaimis."
five thousand shekels] Estimated at about 157 pounds avoirdupois.
6. greaves] Armour for the legs and feet : from Fr. greve, ' the
shin.' "Greaves" from the Assyrian monuments are figured in Layard's
Nineveh II. 337. The* following passage from Philemon Holland's
translation of Pliny's Nat. Hist. VII. 20, quoted in the Bible Word-
Book, illustrates both the matter and the language :
"Myselfehaue seene one named Athanatus do wonderfull strange
matters in the open shew and face of the world, namely to walke his
stations vpon the stage with a cuirace of lead weighing 500 pound ;
[ = 360 lbs. avoirdupois], booted besides with a pair of buskins or greiues ¦"'
(cothurni) about his legges that came to as much in weight."
brass) ' The word translated brass means copper in such passages aS
Deut. viii. 9, where a natural metal is spoken of. In some instances
the compound metal bronze (copper and tin) may be meant, but brass
(copper and zinc) was unknown to the ancients.
a target] Rather, a javelin, which was slung across his shoulders,
as the Greeks sometimes carried their swords (Horn. //. II. 45). Roman
soldiers were often similarly armed with both piltim (javelin) and hasta
(spear). ' The E.V. follows the Sept. and Vulg. in rendering "target,"
i.e. a kind of small shield. The marginal rendering "gorget," — "a
piece of armour for the throat," from Fr. gorge, has nothing in its
favour. 7. the staff of his spear, &c] The shaft of Goliath's spear, short,
but -extraordinarily stout and heavy, is compared to the "beam" to
which the web is fastened in a loom (cp. 2 Sam: xxi. 19). The iron
spear head weighed nearly nineteen pounds avoirdupois.
one bearing a shield] A large shield to protect the whole body.
Comp. Layard's Nineveh II. 346, " The archers, whether on foot or in
chariots, were accompanied by shield-bearers, whose office it was to pro
tect them from the shafts of the enemy. The king was always attended
in his wars by this officer ; and even in peace, one of his eunuchs usually
carried a circular shield for his use. This shield-bearer was probably a
person of high rank as in Egypt." Ajax protects Teucer with his
shield while he is shooting (Ham. //. vm. 260 — 272).
W. O— 12. J 1. bAJViUH-L,, AV11. 155
the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come
out to set your battle in array ? am not I a Philistine, and
you servants to Saul ? choose you a man for you, and let
him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, 9
and to kill me, then will we be your servants : but if I pre
vail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants,
and serve us. And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of 10
Israel this day ; give me a man, that we may fight together.
When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philis- n
tine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
12 — 31. David's errand to the camp.
Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth- 12
lehem-judah, whose name was Jesse ; -and he had eight
sons : and the man went among men for an old man in the
8. am not la Philistine] Rather, the Philistine ; the representative of
the nation. The Targum puts a long speech into Goliath's mouth. ' ' I am
Goliath the Philistine of Gath, who slew the two sons of Eli the priest,
Hophni and Phinehas, and carried away captive the ark of the covenant
of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Dagon my error [i.e. idol),
and it was there in the cities of the Philistines seven months. Moreover
in all the wars of the Philistines I go forth at the head of the army, and
we have been victorious in war, and have cast down the slain as the
dust of the earth, and hitherto trie Philistines have not honoured me, to
make me captain of a thousand over them. But as for you children of
Israel, what valiant deed has Saul the son of Kish of Gibeah wrought
for you, that ye have made him king over you ? If he be a valiant man,
let him come down and do battle with me ; but if he be a coward,
choose you, &c."
9. then will we be your servants] Compare the agreement between
the Romans and Albans about the combat of the Horatii and Curiatii,
"that the nation whose citizens conquered in the combat should rule the
other in peace " (Livy I. 24). Paris challenged Menelaus to decide the
Trojan war by single combat (Horn. 77. III. 86 ff.).
12 — 31. David's errand to the camp.
12—31. This section is not found in the Vatican MS. of the Sept.
On the difficulties it presents, and the question of its genuineness see
Note VI. p. 241.
12. that Ephrathite] "That" signifies "who has been mentioned
.before," and is inserted to connect the narrative with ch. xvi. " Ephra-
thite" = " of Ephrath," the old name of Bethlehem, which is here called
in full Beth-lehem-judah, i.e. Bethlehem in Judah.
the man went among men, &c] By the introduction of a slight emen
dation the sentence may be rendered : Now in the days of Saul the
156 I. SAMUEL, XVII. [vv. 13—20.-
13 days of Saul. And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and
followed Saul to the battle : and the names of his_ three
sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and
14 next, unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. And
David was the youngest : and the three eldest followed
is Saul. But David went and returned from Saul to feed his
& father's sheep at Beth-lehem. And the Philistine drew
near morning and evening, and presented himself forty
17 days. And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for
thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten
18 loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; and carry
these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and
19 look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. Now
Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley
20 of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. And David rose up
early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and
man was old and well stricken in years. Jesse's age is mentioned to
account for his absence from the army.
15. David went and returned from Saul] From xvi. '21 — 23 it
might have been supposed that David was already permanently resident
at Saul's court. This verse however states that he returned home when
" his services were not required at court, and at the time of the Philistine
war was with his father at Bethlehem. We must assume either that
xvi. 2 1 describes by anticipation what happened eventually after the
Philistine war : or that the appointment as armour-bearer was a nominal
commission, and that, as he was young and inexperienced, his attend- -':-
ance in camp was not yet required. Joab had ten armour-bearers
(2 Sam. xviii. 15), and Saul probably many more.
16. And the Philistine, &c] This remark resumes the narrative of ,
vv. 4 — 11, with the additional information that Goliath's defiance was
repeated for a considerable time, and so prepares the way for what
follows. 17. parched corn] Still a common article of food in Palestine. "In
the season of-harvest the grains of wheat, not yet dry and hard, are
roasted in a pan or an iron plate, and constitute a very palatable article of
food ; -this is eaten along with bread or instead of it. " Robinson, BiU.
Res. n. 50. Cp. Ruth ii. 14; 1 Sam. xxv. 18; 2 Sam. xvii. 28.
run] Rather, carry them quickly.
18. look how thy brethren fare] Visit thy brethren and enquire after
their welfare. Cp. Gen. xxxvii. 14.
take their pledge] Bring home some token from them that they are
well : the equivalent of a letter.
19. 'Now Saul, &c] Probably, "Now Saul and they.. . are, " &c,
i.e. it is Jesse's direction to David where to find his brothers, not a re
mark of the historian.
w. 21—28.] I. SAMUEL, XVII. 157
took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him ; and he
came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight,
and shouted for the battle. For Israel and the Philistines 21
had put the battle in array, army against army. And David 22
left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage,
and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the 23
champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of
the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the
same words : and David heard them. And all the men of 24
Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were
sore afraid. And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen 25
this man that is come up ? surely to defy Israel is he come
up : and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king
will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his
daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel. And 26
David, spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What
shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and
taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this
uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of
the living God ? And the people answered him after this 27
manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth
him. And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake 28
unto the men ; and Eliab's anger was kindled against
20. the trench] The word may mean either, (a) the circular rampart
round the camp ; or (b) a barrier formed by the baggage waggons round
the camp ; or (c) the place where the baggage waggons of the army were
kept. It occurs again in xxvi. 5, 7.
shouted for the battle] Raised the ' slogan ' or war-cry, like Gideon's
"For the Lord and for Gideon " (Jud. vii. 18). Cp. Josh. vi. 5 ff.
21. For Israel had put] And Israel put, &c.
. 22. his carriage the keeper of the carriage] "Carriage" in the
E. V. always signifies "that which is carried," "baggage." See Jud.
xviii. 21 ; Is. x. 28 ; Acts xxi. 15. The Heb. word is the same as that
translated "stuff" in x. 22.
26. will give him his daughter] Compare Caleb's offer, Josh. xv. 16.
Saul procrastinated about fulfilling the promise, and imposed further
conditions (xviii. 17 ff.).
make his father's house free] Probably exemption from taxes and per
sonal services to the king is meant. Cp. viii. 1 1 ff.
26. the living God] Jehovah as the one " living and true God " is
contrasted with the idols of the heathen "which have no breath in their
mouths*" Cp. Deut. v. 26, and esp. 2 Kings xix. 4.
158 I. SAMUEL, XVII. [vv. 29-35/
David, and he said, Why earnest thou down hither ? and
with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness?
I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart ; for
thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
29 And David said, What have I now done ? Is there not a
30 cause ? And he turned from him towards another, and
spake after the same manner: and the people answered
31 him again after the former manner. And when the words
were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before
Saul : and he sent for him.
3 2 — 40. David volunteers . to fight. Goliath.
32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because
of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against
this Philistine to fight with him : for thou art but a youth,'
34 and he a man of war from his youth. And David said unto
Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a
3s lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock : and I went
28. the wilderness] The Heb. word for "wilderness", does not neces
sarily mean a barren district ; but a wide open tract used for pasture, as
distinguished from arable land. Cp. Ps. lxv. 12 ; Joel i. 19, 20, ii. 22. •
naughtiness] i. e. wickedness. David's advancement seems to have
roused Eliab's jealousy. He imputes the worst motives to him and
taunts him with (1) neglect of duty; (2) arrogance and discontent with
his humble occupation; (3) unseemly eagerness for the sight of blood
shed. Eliab was unable to enter into the nature of David's lofty indig
nation. Compare the hatred of Joseph's brethren (Gen. xxxvii. 4).
29. Is there not a cause) A sufficient cause for his coming, namely,
his father's command. But probably the words mean, "Is it not a
[mere] word?" i.e. " May I not ask a harmless question?" '
32 — 40. David volunteers to fight Goliath.
32. And David said unto Saul] According to the Sept. text this
stands in close and apprppriate cgnnexion with v. n: in the Heb. text
David's offer certainly follows very abruptly on his introduction to Saul.
33. thou art but a youth] Compared with the giant David was but
a youth, though he had already shown sufficient promise to be called "a
man of war" by Saul's servant (xvi. 18).
34. and there came a lion, &c] And when a lion came or even
a bear (or, and that too with a bear) I went out after him, &c. :
"In those early days, when the forests of Southern Palestine had not
been cleared, it was the habit of the wild animals which usually fre
quented the heights of Lebanon or the thickets of the Jordan, to make
VV. 36— 39.J 1. SAMUL'L, XVII. 159
out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his
mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his
beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew 36
both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philis
tine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the
armies of the living God. David said moreover, The Lord 37
that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the
paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this
Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord
be with thee. And Saul armed David with ,his armour, and 38
he put a helmet of brass upon his head ; also he armed him
with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his 39
armour, and he assayed to go ; for he had not proved it,.
And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I ,
incursions into the pastures of Judaea. From the Lebanon at times
descended the bears. From the Jordan ascended the lion, at that time
infesting the whole of Western Asia." Stanley, Led. 11. 43. The
Syrian bear is said to be especially ferocious, and appears to have been
more dreaded than the lion. See Amos v. 19. Lions are not now found
in Palestine, but the traveller Thevenot says that the Arabs are not
afraid of them, and will attack and kill them, with no better arms than
a stick. Cp. Am. iii. 12.
36. by his beard] Cp. the Homeric epithet of the lion, "well-
bearded;" (Ms rjvyheios : 77. XV. 275); and the Latin proverb "to
pluck the beard of a dead lion " (barbam vellere mortuo leoni).
36. seeing he hath defied, &c] " The trusting heart of God's servant
could see no ground for fearing one who came forth to defy Jehovah."
Wilberforce's Heroes, p. 242.
The Sept. reads : "Shall I not go and smite him, and take away the
reproach from Israel this day ? for who is this uncircumcised, who hath
reproached the army of the living God ?"
37. the paw) Lit. "the hand," i,e. the power: the very same word
as he uses in reference to the Philistine.
the Lord be with thee] Jehovah shall be with thee : an assurance,
not a prayer.
38. arpied David with his armour] Clothed David with his dress :
probably a special military dress adapted to be worn with armour. The
sword was fastened to it (v. 39). Cp. xviii. 4 (E. V. garments).
a coat of mail] A corselet. The fact that he could wear Saul's
armour at all shews that he must have been full grown, perhaps about
twenty years old.
39. assayed] i.e. endeavoured. The word is derived from Old Fr.
asaier, "to try, put to the proof," and this from Lat. exigere, "to
weigh."
160 I. SAMUEL, XVII. Tvv. 40— 44.
40 have not proved them. And David put them off him. And
he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth
stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag
which he had, even in a scrip ; and his sling was in his
hand : and he drew near to the Philistine.
41 — 54. The victory of faith. The flight of the Philistines^
41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David;.
42 and the man that bare the shield went before him. And when
the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him :
for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou
comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed
44 David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David,
for he had not proved it] He made the effort in ignorance, because'
he had never tried a suit of armour, and did not know what'an encum
brance it would be to one unaccustomed to the use of it.
David put them off him] " Expeditissimus ille ad prcelium procedere
cupiebat ; fortis non in se sed in Domino ; armatus non tam ferro quam
fide." "He desired to go forth to the battle in the lightest possible
armour : strong in the Lord not in himself: armed not with steel but
with faith." Augustine, Serm. xxxii. God would show, as in the
case of Gideon (Jud. vii. 2), that the victory was His alone. Compare
Maurice, Prophets and Kings, p. 46.
40. five smooth stones out of the brook] "The sides and bed of this
trench [see above on v. 3] are strewn with rounded and water-worn
pebbles, which would have been well fitted for David's sling." Conder,
11. 161.
scrip] A small bag, especially a traveller's wallet. Cp. Mt. x. 10;
and Milton, Comus, 1. 626,
"And in requital ope his leathern scrip."
his sling] "The sling has been in all ages the favourite weapon of
the shepherds of Syria. The Benjamites were especially expert in their
use of it : even the left-handed could sling stones at an hair and not
miss (Jud. xx. 16)."
41 — 54. The victory of faith. The flight of the Philis
tines.
41. This verse is not found in the Sept. (B).
42. he disdained him) See Prov. xvi. 18.
43. Am I a dog] The Sept. (B)' reads: "Am I a dog that thou
comest to me with a staff and stones? And David said, Nay but worse
than a dog. "
vv.45— 49-] L SAMUEL, XVII. 161
Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the
air, and to the beasts of the field. Then said David to the 45
Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a
spear, and with a shield : but I come to thee in the name of
the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom
thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into 4«
mine hand ; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from
thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philis
tines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild
beasts of the earth ; that all the earth may know that there
is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that 47
the Lord saveth not with sword and spear : for the battle
is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands. And it 48
came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew
nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the
army to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in 49
his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote
the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his
44. / will give thy flesh, &c] Compare Hector's defiance of Ajax
in Horn. //. XIII. 831 : "Thy flesh
Shall glut the dogs and carrion birds of Troy."
45. a shield) A javelin, as in v. 6. Clearly an offensive weapon is
meant.
1 in the name of the Lord of hosts] Resting absolutely upon Him
Who has revealed Himself as the Covenant-God of Israel, and the
Almighty Ruler of heaven and earth, Whom thou deftest when thou
defiest the armies of His people. See Note I. p. 235.
46. deliver thee into mine hand] Lit. "shut thee Up." Cp. Ps.
xxxi. 8. "David did not rashly and vainly boast beforehand of the
victory, as Goliath had done ; but being full of faith praised the divine
omnipotence and prophesied of an assured victory. " Patrick.
that there is a God in Israel] That Israel hath a God who is worthy
of the name. For the thought cp. xii. 22; 1 Kings xviii. 36; 2 Kings
xix. 19.
47. the Lord saveth not with sword and spear, &c] A lesson which
-is needed at all times, when men are tempted to fall down and worship
brute force. It is a leading thought in Hannah's song (ii. 1 — 10) ; cp.
also xiv. 6; Ps. xliv. 6, 7; Hos. i. 7; Zech. iv. 6; 1 Cor. i. 27, 28.
48. ran toward the army] The battle array of the Philistines. He
showed his courage by not waiting for Goliath to approach. The Sept.
however has simply: "And the Philistine arose and went to meet
David." I. SAMUEL 1 1
162 I. SAMUEL, XVII. [w. 50-54.
50 forehead ; and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David
prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone,
and smote the Philistine, and slew him ; but there was no
51 sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran, and
stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew,
it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his
head therewith.. And when the Philistines saw their cham-
52 pion was dead, they fled. And the men of Israel and of
Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines,
until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekronij
And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to
53 Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. ' And the
children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines,
54 and they spoiled their tents. And David took the head, of
the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem ; but he put his
armour in his tent.
60. This verse is not found in the Sept. (B).
51. their champion] Their mighty man : a different word from that
in vv. 4 and 2 3.
52. until thou come to the valley] Heb. gai, "the ravine," as in 11.
3. But the ravine which separated the armies could not be the terminus
of the Philistine flight, and it seems most probable that gai is a copyist's
error for Gath, which is the reading of the Sept. (B). Shaaraim*is
mentioned in Josh. xv. 35, 36 in. connexion with Sochoh and Azekah
among the towns of Judah.. It is perhaps to be placed at Tell-Zakartytiy
a conspicuous hill on the southern side of the main valley, between^
Shuweikeh (Sochoh) and Tell-es-Sdfi (Gath), exactly in the line which
the Philistine flight would naturally- take. It must originally have beeii
an important outpost for Judah against Gath, but was now no doubt in
the hands of the Philistines.
54. to Jerusalem] There are na indications that Jerusalem had yet
attained any importance either as a political or religious centre. The
citadel still remained in the hands, of the Jebusites, though the lower
city had been captured (Josh. xv. 63). It seems best therefore to sup
pose that David deposited the head as a votive offering in the Taber
nacle at Nob which was close to Jerusalem. We know that he after
wards placed Goliath's sword there, and possibly the rest of his armour
along with it. This is preferable to the conjecture that the historian
here relates by anticipation what David did eventually when he occupied,
•Jerusalem. in his tent] So long as the army remained in the field he kept it as
a trophy of his victory.
We might naturally expect that David would celebrate his victory by
a Psalm of thanksgiving. No extant Psalm however can with certainty,,
be referred to this occasion. The Sept. adds "against Goliath" to the
w. 55—S8; 1,2.] I. SAMUEL, XVII. XVIII. 163
SS — 58- Saul's inquiry concerning David's parentage.
And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, 55
he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose
son is this youth ? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O
king, I cannot tell. And the king said, Inquire thou whose 56
son the stripling is. And as David returned from the 57
slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought
him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young 58
man ? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant
Jesse the Beth-lehemite.
Ch. XVIII. 1 — 5. fonathan' s friendship for David.
And it came to pass, when he made an end of speaking 18
unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul
of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And 2
title of Ps. cxliv (Sept. cxliii), but without any sufficient probability; and
the Psalm appended to the Psalter in the Sept. , which professes to belong
to this period, is certainly not authentic. A translation of it may be
found in Smith's Did. of the Bible, I. 403.
55—68. Saul's inquiry concerning David's parentage.
55. he said unto Abner] This section is not found in the Septuagint
(B). On the difficulty of reconciling it with ch. xvi. see Note VI.
p. 241.
56. the stripling] This word is the diminutive of strip, and like slip,
scion, &c. means a youth, as it were a strip from the parent stem. The
Heb. word, which is found again only in xx. 22, signifies "a full grown
youth." Ch. XVIII. 1—5. Jonathan's friendship for David.
1 — 5. This section also is not found in the Septuagint (B).
1. the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David] The same
expressive phrase is used of Jacob's love for Benjamin in Gen. xliv. 30,
which might be rendered "seeing bis soul is knit up with the lad's soul."
loved him as his own soul] Cpi xx. 17; Deut. xiii. 6 ; 2 Sam. i. 26.
Thus commenced that attachment "'which is the first Biblical instance
of a romantic friendship, such as was common afterwards in Greece, and
has been since in Christendom ; and is remarkable, both as giving its
sanction to these, and as filled with a pathos of its own, which has
been imitated but never surpassed, in modern works of fiction. Each
found in each the affection that he found not in his own family." Dean
Stanley in .D2W. of Bible, I. 1122. Theseus and Peirithous ; Achillesand
Patroclus; Orestes and Pylades; Damon and Pythias; Epaminondas
and Pelopidas ; are the most familiar instances in classical literature. II 2
Ufa L SAMUELr XVIII. [w. 3-6.
Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more
3 home to his father's house. Then Jonathan and David
made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
4 And Jonathan stript himself of the robe that was upon him,
and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword,
5 and to his bow, and to his girdle. And David went out
whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely :
and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted
in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's
servants. 6 — 9. The celebration of David 's victory.
6 And it came to pass as they came, when David was
returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the
women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing,
4. Jonathan stript himself, &c] Jonathan gave David (1) his mltl
or long outer robe for ordinary wear (see on ii. 19) : (2) his military
dress (xvii. 38) and girdle: (3) even his sword, and the famous bow
which was his special weapon (2 Sam. i. 22). The act was at once a
ratification of their - compact and a public mark of honour. See Gen.
xli. 42 ; Esther vi. 8. We may compare the exchange of armour be
tween Glaucus and Diomede when they met before Troy, as a pledge of
old family friendship (Horn. //. VI. 230).
5. David went out, &c] David was appointed to some post of
command, and "went out"upon military expeditions. In these "he be
haved himself wisely" — the word combines the ideas oiprudence and
consequent success: and in spite of this sudden promotion, which might
naturally have excited the jealousy of the courtiers, won their good-will.
This verse anticipates, and describes summarily facts which are men
tioned again in vv. 13 — 16 in their proper place.
6 — 9. The celebration of David's victory.
6. ' And it came to pass, &c] The narrative has made a digression
to relate the circumstances of David's permanent reception into Saul's
service, the commencement of the friendship between him and Jonathan,
and his' ultimate promotion and success. It now goes back to relate the
welcome which David received when the army returned in triumph from
the successful completion of the Philistine war. Ch. xviii. 6 is to be
read (as it actually stands in the Sept.) in connexion with xvii. 54,
though some time may have elapsed, during which the army was
occupied in following up its first success. The Sept. reads v. 6 thus;
"And the dancing women came out of all the cities of Israel to meet
¦David, with tabrets and rejoicing and cymbals."
the women came out, &c] To escort the victors home with singing and
dancing. Dancing was the usual expression of rejoicing upon occasions
of national triumph like the present; cp. Ex. xv. 20, 21; Jud. xi. 34;
W. 7— 10.J I. SAMUEL, XVIII. 165
to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instru
ments of musick. And the women answered one another as 7
they played, and said,
Saul hath slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands.
And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him ; 8
and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands,
and to me they have ascribed but thousands : and what can
he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David 9
from that day and forward.
10, n. SauPs attempt to murder David.
And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit 1°
and at religious festivals (Ps. lxviii. 25, cxlix. 3): These dances were
as a rule confined to women — David's dancing in 2 Sam. vi. 14 was
exceptional — and probably resembled the modern Oriental dance, in
which the .evolutions are extemporaneous, and not confined to any fixed
rule, but varied at the pleasure of the leading dancer, who is imitated'
by the rest of the company.
with tabrets, fie] The dance was accompanied (1) by the "tabret"
or "timbrel" (Ex. xv. 20; Jud. xi". 34): i.e. the hand-drum, an instru
ment still used bythe Arabs, and described as "a hoop (sometimes with
pieces of brass fixed ih it to make a. jingling) over which a piece of
parchment is distended. It is beaten with the fingers: '"—{2) '"with
joy:" i.e. jubilant shouts and songs: (3) "with instrument's of music;"
either "triangles," or "three-stringed instruments."
7. answered one another] The women who '"played'" — i.e; danced
and gesticulated — sang in antiphonal chorus (Ex. xv. 21) the refrain of
a popular song, which evidently became widely current, as it was well
known even among the Philistines (xxi. 1 r, xxix. 5).
David his ten thousands] For the Philistine champion was a host in
himself. Comp. the people's words to David: "thou art worth ten
thousand of us (2 Sam. xviii. 3).
9. Saul eyed David] With a suspicious jealousy which soon ripened
into a deadly hatred. There is no need to suppose that David's anoint
ing by Samuel had been reported to him. "The prophet had distinctly
told him in the day of his sin, that the Lord had rent the kingdom
from him, and had given it to a neighbour that was better than he.
And in David he could read the marks of such a man." Wilberforce's
. Heroes of Heb. Hist. p. 245.
10, 11. Saul's attempt to murder David.
10, 11. The last sentence of v. 8 and vv. 9 — 11 are not found in the
Sept. (B). The narrative certainly gains by their omission, and describes
the gradual growth of Saul's enmity more naturally. At the same time
166 I. SAMUEL, XVIII. [w. n— 13,
from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst
of the house : and David played with his hand, as at other.
11 times : and there was a javelin in Saul's hand. And Saul
cast the javelin ; for he said, I will smite David even to the
wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.
12 — 16. David's advancement.
12 And Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with
13 him, and was departed -from Saul. Therefore Saul removed
.there is no impossibility in supposing that the fit of passion to which
Saul gave way on the day of the triumph brought on a return of his '
madness, in the frenzy of which he threatened David's life : and yet
that he afterwards retained him in his service and promoted him, yield*!
ing, partly to the better impulses of his sane moments, partly to the force
of popular opinion.
10. he prophesied] The word "prophesy" describes an ecstatic con
dition due to supernatural inflteence good or evil: the result in the one
case being prophetic inspiration or religious enthusiasm: in the other
raving madness. See on x. 5.
and there was a javelin in Saul's hand] Render, And the spear was
in Saul's hand. The spear served as a sceptre, and was the symbol of
royalty. The King held it in his hand wEhen he sat in council (xxii. 6)
or in his house (xix. 9) ; it was kept by his side when he sat at table
(xx. 33) ; stuck in the ground by his pillow as he slept in camp (xxvi. 7).
Compare the modern Arab practice. "We recognised the Sheikh's
tent, among a group of twenty others of which the encampment con
sisted, by the fall spear planted against it." Tristram, Land qf Israel,:},
V- 259- '
11. Saul cast the javelin ; for he said] Probably; Saul lifted (or;:
brandished) the spear, and said. It does not seem to be meant that
fie actually cast it, as he did upon the later occasion (xix. io). The
threatening gesture was twice repeated, and David prudently withdrew!
on both occasions.
avoided] '"Withdrew," "escaped." The word is connected with
.the adj. void, and Norm. Fr. voider, to empty, from Lat. viduare. It is
generally transitive: comp. "six of us only stayed and the rest avoided^
-the room" (Bacon): but the intransitive usage is supported, e.g., by
¦ Shakespeare, Tempest, rv. 1.
"Well done, avoid, no more."
12 — 16. David's advancement.
ept. (B) this ve
. :hey have ascrib
* and Saul was afraid of David.
iz — 10. jjavid s advancement.
12. In the Sept. (B) this verse follows immediately after the clause
of v. 8, "to me they have ascribed but thousands," and reads simply,
** ClYlH Nanl uroc ryfrn-iA nf TlnYTi^ "
w. 14—18.] I. SAMUEL, XVIII. 167
him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand;
and he went out and came in before the people. And 14
David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the
Lord was with him. Wherefore when Saul saw that he 15
behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him. But all is
Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and
came in before them.
17 — 19. Saul's treacherous offer of his daughter Merab
to David.
And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab, i7
her will I give thee to wife : only be thou valiant for me,
and fight the Lord's battles. For Saul said, Let not mine
hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be
upon him. And David said unto Saul, Who am I? and 18,
what is my life, or my father's family in Israel, that I should
13. made him his captain over a thousand] What was summarily
mentioned by anticipation in v. 5 is here related with more detail in the
order of time.
15. was afraid of him] Stood in awe of him, a stronger expression
than that in v. 12, denoting primarily the avoidance of the person feared.
(Cp. Sept. ev\a(3eiro dirb Trpotrtoirov avTov.)
16. because he went out and came in before them) Acted as their
leader in war. Saul made David captain over a thousand partly to get
rid of him from his presence, partly perhaps in the hope that he might
lose his life in battle (w. 17, 25) : but the result was that he became
firmly established in the affections of the people. Cp. v. 5.
17 — 19. Saul's treacherous offer of his daughter Merab
to David.
17 — 19. This section and the clause of v. 21 which refers to it are
omitted in the Sept. (B). See Note VI. p. '241.
17. Merab] = Increase. Saul offered her to David in fulfilment of his
promise (xvii. 25). In return for this honour Saul expects him to fight
his battles, treacherously hoping that he may fall by the hand of the
Philistines. the Lord's battles] Israel's wars were "the wars of Jehovah, " because
they were undertaken for the defence and establishment of His Kingdom,
and His aid might be claimed in waging them.^ Cp. ch. xxv. 28; Num.
xxi; 14. David expresses the same idea in xvii. 36, 47.
Saul said] i.e. thought, as above in v. 11, xvi. 6, &c. To such
cowardly, and treacherous hypocrisy has jealousy reduced the once brave
and generous soldier !
18. what is my life] Probably, who are my folk, even my father's
168 I. SAMUEL, XVIII. [vv. 19—23.
i9 be son in law to the king ? But it came to pass at the
time when Merab Saul's daughter should have been given
to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to
wife. ao — 30. David's marriage with Michal.
20 And Michal Saul's daughter loved David : and they
21 told Saul, and the thing pleased him. And Saul said, I
will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that
the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore
Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law
22 in the one of the twain. And Saul commanded his servants, ¦¦
saying, Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the
king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: '
23 now therefore be the king's son in law. And Saul's ser
vants spake those words in the ears of David. And David
said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king's son in
law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?
family ? David acknowledges himself unworthy of the proposed honour
on the score of social position.
19. the Meholathite] Of Abel-Meholah, a town in the Jordan valley
near Beth-shan. It was the birth-place of Elisha (1 Kings xix. 16).
Why Saul changed his purpose does not appear. It has been inferred '
from v. 25 that Adriel had given a rich dowry.
20 — 30. David's marriage with Michal.
20. Michal Saul's daughter loved David ) According to the text of
the Sept. this follows immediately upon v. 16. By his bravery David
won the affections of the people, and even of the king's daughter.
21. a snare] Michal was to be the bait to lure David into some
venturesome raid upon the Philistines in which he might lose his life.
Wherefore Saul, &c.] Probably, And Saul said to David a second
time, Now shalt thou be my son-in-law. The Sept. (B) omits the
clause, but adds, "Now the hand of the Philistines was against Saul."
22. Commune] i.e. "converse." The word is derived from Lat.
communicare, through the old Fr. communier. It would seem that
David mistrusted Saul and returned no answer, so Saul set his courtiers
to work to persuade him.
23. a poor man] And therefore unable to offer the "dowry," or
price such as it was usual for the suitor to pay to the father of the brid%
either in money (Gen. xxxiv. 12) or in service (Gen. xxix. 20). The
same custom prevailed among the ancient Greeks (Horn. 7?. xvi. 178;
Od. viii. 318), Babylonians, and Assyrians, and still survives in the
w. 24— 30. J I. SAMUEL, XVIII. 169
And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner 24
spake David. And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, 2S
The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins
of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies.
But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the
Philistines. And when his servants told David these words, 26
it pleased David well to be the king's son in law : and the
days were not expired. Wherefore David arose and went, 2?
he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred
men ; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave
them in full tale to the king, that he might be the king's
son in law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to
wife. And Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with 28
David, and that Michal Saul's daughter loved him. And 29
.Saul was yet the more afraid of David ; and Saul became
David's enemy continually. Then the princes of the Philis- 30
tines went forth : and it came to pass, after they went forth,
, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the ser
vants of Saul ; so that his name was much set by.
East.' Tacitus notices it as a peculiarity of the Germans, that "it is not
the wife who offers a dowry to her husband, but the husband to his
wife" (Germ. c. 18).
26. the days were not expired] Apparently referring to some time
which had been fixed for David to accept or decline the king's offer.
The Sept. (B) omits the words.
27. two hundred men] He slew double the stipulated number of
Philistines. The Sept. however reads "one hundred." Cp. 2 Sam.
iii. 14.
irt full tale] "Tale" = a number told or counted off, a reckoning.
Compare "Every shepherd tells his tale
Under the hawthorn in the dale."
Milton, L' Allegro, I. 67.
28. that Michal Saul's daughter loved him] The reading of the
Sept. certainly suits the context better : "that all Israel loved him."
30. Then the princes, &c] "And the princes, &c, and it came to
pass as often as they went forth, &c." This notice of David's continual
success and growing popularity gives the ground of Saul's increasing
enmity, and prepares the way for the narrative of the next chapter.
set by) i.e. esteemed. Cp. Ps. xv. 4 in the P. B. V. "He that setteth
not by himself."
170 I. SAMUEL, XIX. [w. 1-6.
Ch. XIX. i — 7. fonathan's intercession with his father on
David's behalf.
19 And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his ser-
2 vants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan Saul's
son delighted much in David : and Jonathan told David,
saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee : now therefore, I
pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and
3 abide in a secret place, and hide thyself: and I will go
out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art,
and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I
4 see, that I will tell thee. And Jonathan spake good of
David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the
king sin against his servant, against David; because he
hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have
5 been to thee-ward very good : for he did put his life in his
hand, and slew the Philistine, and the Lord wrought a
great salvation for all Israel : thou sawest it, and didst
rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood,,
6 to slay David without a cause ? And Saul hearkened unto
Ch. XIX. 1 — 7. Jonathan's intercession with his father on
David's behalf.
1. Saul spake, &c] Perhaps in some outburst of passion Hke
Henry the Second's against Thomas a Becket. No definite command ;i
seems to have been given.
2. until the morning] Rather, in the morning.
3. in the field where thou art] Jonathan may have wished David to
hear and judge for himself of Saul's intention ; or to be close at hand so
that he might at once inform him of the result of his appeal.
4. spake good of David] Had Jonathan simply advised David to
flee, without endeavouring to bring Saul to a better mind, he would
have acted to the prejudice of his father's interests, by depriving him of
the best support of his kingdom.
to thee-ward] "Ward" is used as a termination denoting (a) direction
(Ex. xxxvii. 9), (b) as here, relation.
5. put his life in his hand] i.e. voluntarily exposed himself to peril
of death. The figure seems to be that of taking a treasure out of a safe
place, and carrying it about with the risk of losing it. Cp. ch. xxviii.
21; Jud. xii. 3; Ps. cxix. 109.
wrought a great salvation] See xi. 9 (note), 13.
sin against innocent blood] Incur bloodguiltiness by the murder of
an innocent man. Cp. Deut. xix. 10 — 13; Ps. xciv. 21.
w. 7— ii.] I. SAMUEL, XIX. 171
the voice of Jonathan : and Saul sware, As the Lord liveth,
he shall not be slain. And Jonathan called David, and 7
Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan
brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in
times past. 8 — 11. Saul's attempt on David' s life.
And there was war again : and David went out, and 8
fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great
slaughter ; and they fled from him. And the evil spirit from 9
the Lord was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his
javelin in his hand : and David played with his hand. And 10
Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the jave
lin ; but he slipt away out of Saul's presence, and he smote
the javelin into the wall : and David fled, and escaped that
night. Saul also sent messengers unto David's house, to n
watch him, and to slay him in the morning : and Michal
David's wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to
night, to morrow thou shalt be slain.
6. Saul sware] Sincerely no doubt for the time, but with no real
repentance for his murderous design.
8 — 11. Saul's attempt on David's life.
8. David went out, &c] This preliminary mention of David's fresh
successes implies that Saul's attack of madness was due to jealousy
excited by them.
9. the evil spirit] See on xvi. 14.
as he sat, &c] Now he was sitting' in his house with his spear in
his hand, and David was playing with his hand. These words are a
parenthesis picturing the circumstances under which Saul attempted to
murder David. On Saul's spear see at xviii. 10.
10. escaped that night] It is perhaps better to follow the Sept. in
joining "that night" to the next sentence and reading, "and it came to
pass that night that Saul, &c."
11. in the morning] As he left his house. Cp. Jud. xvi. v. "We
may guess that only the fear of alarming the town, and of rousing the
people to rescue their favourite hero, prevented him from directing them
to break into the house, and to slay David there." Kitto's Bibl.
Illustr. Psalm lix. is referred by its title to the present occasion. If this is
correct, the Psalm supplements the history, shewing that David was in
danger not from Saul only, but from ruffians among Saul's followers
who prowled about the streets of Gibeah threatening his life.
172 I. SAMUEL,' XIX. [vv. 12—17,
12 — 17. David's escape by the aid of Michal.
12 So Michal let David down through a window : and he
13 went, and fled, and escaped. And Michal took an image,!
and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair for \
14 his bolster, and covered it with a cloth. And when Saul
is sent messengers to take David, she, said, He is sick. And
Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring. .
16 him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him. And when
the messengers were come in, behold there was an image in
17 the bed, with a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster. And
12—17: David's escape by the aid of Michal.
12. through a window] Compare the escape of the spies from
Jericho (Josh. if. 15); and St Paul from Damascus (2 Cor. xi. 33). If
David's house, like Rahab's, was upon the town wall, it would be easy
for him to escape thus though the door was. watched by Saul's men. 3
fled, and escaped] Thus began that fugitive life of hardship and peril, .
which was to form a new element in the education of the future kingi
See Introd. p. 40:
13. an image] The teraphim. These- were the penates or house
hold images of the Israelites, brought originally from their Chaldean '¦
home (Gen. xxxi. 19). Inspiteof the strict prohibition of idols, they were
used by those who professed to worship Jehovah in the time of the
Judges (Jud. xvii. 5, xviii. 14 ff.), and even down to the later days of-
the Kings (2 Kings xxiii. 24). They seem to have, been a kind of fetish
or household charm for good luck, rather than an object of worship,
and were used in divination (Zech. x. 2; Ezek. xxi. 19 — 22). It is sur
prising to find teraphim in David's house. It has been conjectured that
Michal,. like Rachel, kept them secretly on account of her barrenness.
The plural teraphim here denotes, a single image, in human form, ap
parently of life-size.
put a pillow, &c] Put the quilt of goat's hair at its head, and
covered it with the coverlet. Michal wrapped the head of the image
in a rough rug, either to hide it,, or to. imitate a man's-hair, and covered '
up the whole with the beged, a square piece of woollen cloth, which was
used for an upper garment, or for a bed-covering. Cp. Deut. xxiv. 12,
'3- 14. she said, He is sick) Apparently she took the messengers into
the outer chamber and pointed to the figure in bed in an inner closet,
not letting them go near enough to detect the imposture. The plan
gained David time to escape. The Sept. has, "and they [the messen
gers] brought word that he was sick."
15. Bring him up] This indicates that Saul's residence was on the
hill of Gibeali, David's in the lower town.
16. There was an image, &c] The teraphim was in the bed, and
the quilt of goat's hair at its head.
w. 18—21.] I. SAMUEL, XIX. 173
Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and
sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped ? And Michal
answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go ; why should
I kill thee?
18 — 24. David takes refuge with Samuel at Ramah.
So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to is
Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And
he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. And it was told 19
Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah. And 20
Saul sent messengers to take David : and when they saw
the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel
standing as appointed over them, the spirit of God was
upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and 2*
17. He said unto me, &c] Michal adds another lie to screen her
self from Saul's anger. In this she was but following her father's ex
ample (v. 6), and with more excuse. Compare the deceit practised by
Rahab (Josh. ii. 4 ff.); by the woman at Bahurim (2 Sam. xvii. 20); and
in modern times, by Grotius' wife, who to save her husband represented
the box in which he was concealed as a box of theological books. Scrip
ture affirms the universal duty of Truth without any exception (Lev. xix.
11), nor can it be understood to sanction breaches of this general law by
recording them without disapproval. It is left to the casuist to discuss
whether any necessity is sufficient to justjfy a falsehood or an act of
deception. See Whewell's Elements of Morality, Chaps, xv. xvi.
18 — 24. David takes refuge with Samuel at Ramah.
18. to Samuel] Turning naturally for direction at this crisis to the
prophet who had anointed him, and hoping that Saul would at least
reverence the age and authority of Samuel. No doubt David had had
much intercourse with Samuel since their first meeting at Bethlehem.
in Naioth] Naioth, which was at or near Ramah, is a quasi-proper
name signifying dwellings, and in all probability denotes the College, or
common residence of the society of prophets collected together at Ramah
by Samuel. See Introd. ch. VI. p. 33. Cp. 2 Kings vi. 1, 2. The Targum
renders the word "house of instruction." Hither Samuel took David,
partly as being a safer place of refuge than his own house ; partly that
he might be spiritually strengthened by a share in the religious exercises
of the society (v. 20).
20. prophets' prophesying] Some common religious exercise con
ducted by Samuel, who is described as standing as president over the
prophets, is meant by "prophesying." See on x. 5. The Targum
paraphrases: "They saw the company of scribes praising, and Samuel
standing as instructor over them."
174 I. SAMUEL, XIX. XX. [vv. 22— 24; 1!
they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again
22 the third time, and they prophesied also. Then went he
1 also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu ;
and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And
23 one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah. And he
went thither to Naioth in Ramah : and the spirit of God
was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until
24 he came to Naioth in Ramah. And he stript off his clothes
also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay
down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they
say, Is Saul also among the prophets ?
Ch. XX. 1 — 10. David's consultation with fonathan.
20 And David fled from Naioth in Ramah; and came and
21. they prophesied also] Carried away by the religious excitement
they forgot their errand, and joined the chant of the prophets.
22. a great well] The great cistern, some well known landmark
in Sechu, a place nowhere else mentioned, between Gibeah and Ramah.
The reading is uncertain. The Sept. has "the well of the threshing-
floor that is in Sephi (or, the hill)."
23. until he came to Naioth] The inspiration seized Saul even before
he reached the company of prophets. He was to be convinced of the
irresistible might of the Divine Spirit against whose influence he had
striven. He was to be taught, if his heart was not already too utterly
hardened to learn, that in fighting against David he was fighting against
God, and engaging in a futile struggle. For this reason Saul, as the
chief agent in David's persecution, was struck down more completely.;'
than his servants, and lay there unconscious "all that day and all that
night." 24. naked] Not literally naked, but stripped of his outer garment.
Is Saul also among the prophets?] The origin of the proverb is related
in x. n. It now received a fresh, exemplification. This burst of prophetic
inspiration was a startling reminder to Saul of that former occasion when
the Spirit of God came upon him to fit him for that office in which he
had failed so sadly. See Maurice, Prophets and Kings, p. 17 ff.
Ch. XX. 1 — 10. David's consultation with Jonathan.
1. David filed from Naioth] While Saul lay helpless in his trance,
David, perhaps by Samuel's advice, returned to consult with Jonathan.
It may seem surprising that he could think of venturing back to Gibeah
after Saul's late outbreak ; but he on his part would be unwilling to
break with Saul and become an outlaw till absolutely forced to do so ;
while Jonathan, knowing David's value to the kingdom, would use every
effort to effect a reconciliation. This he might still hope for, since'all
vv. 2—5.] I. SAMUEL, XX. 175
said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine
iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he
seeketh my life ? And he said unto him, God forbid ; thou 2
shalt not die : behold, my father will do nothing either great
or small, but that he will shew it me : and why should my
father hide this thing from me ? it is not so. And David 3
sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth
that I have found grace in thine eyes ; and he saith, Let
not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved : but truly as
the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but
a step between me and death. Then said Jonathan 4
unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do
it for thee. And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to 5
morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with
the king at meat : but let me go, that I may hide myself in
Saul's actual attempts upon David's life had been made in his fits of
insanity. What have I done] The three, questions are a virtual assertion of his
innocence. Compare the passionate protests of the Seventh Psalm,
written probably somewhat later, during his flight, but reflecting the
feelings of this time. See on xxiv. 9,
2. nothing either great or smalt], i. e* absolutely nothing. Cp. xxii.
15, xxv. 36.
shew it me] Lit. "uncover mine ear," and so in v. 12. See on ix. 15.
it is not so] Bearing in mind Saul's oath (xix. 6), and attributing his
recent violence to temporary madness, Jonathan refuses to believe that his
father has any deliberate design against David's life.
3. And David sware moreover] Added an oath to the assertion in
v. 1. The Sept. however reads simply, " And David answered Jona
than arid said.
Thy father certainly knoweth, &c,] Jonathan's confidence that
Saul would tell him all beforehand clearly implies that he supposed his
father to be ignorant of the close friendship between him and David.
David undeceives him on this point.
there is but a step, &c] He stands, as it were, upon the very brink
of a precipice.
5. the new moon] The New Moon or, first day of the lunar month
was celebrated with special sacrifices and blowing of trumpets. See
Num. xxviii. 11 — 15, x. 10; Ps. lxxxi. 3. It was observed as a day of
rest (Amos viii. 5), and apparently used as an opportunity for religious
instruction (2 Kings iv. 23).
to sit with the king at meat] To join as a member of the royal
household in the sacrificial feast (v. 24) which lasted for two days at least
(v. 27).
let me go] As the sequel proved, the plan was well devised for ascer-
176 I. SAMUEL, XX. [vv. 6— n.
6 the fields unto the third day at even. If thy father at all
miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that
he might run to Beth-lehem his city : for there is a yearly
7 sacrifice there for all the family. If he say thus, It is well;'
thy servant shall have peace : but if he be very wroth, then
8 be sure that evil is determined by him. Therefore thou
shalt deal kindly with thy servant ; for thou hast brought
thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thee: notwith
standing, if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why
9 shouldest thou bring me to thy father ? And J onathan
said, Far be it from thee : for if I knew certainly that evil
were determined by my father to come upon thee, then
io would not I tell it thee ? Then said David to Jonathan,
Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee
roughly ?
1 1 — 23. David and f onathan renew their covenant.
11 And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go
out into the field. And they went out both of them into
taining whether the lesson of Naioth had wrought any change in Saul,
or whether in his sane moments he was now deliberately resolved to
kill David.
6. a yearly sacrifice therefor all the family] This request incidentally
throws light on the religious customs of the age. The annual meeting
of the family or clan for sacrifice may have been a partial observance of
the command in Deut. xii. 5 ff. ; but in the unsettled state of religion
the obligation to go up to the central sanctuary was neglected. It is not
clear whether David really wanted to go to Bethlehem, and meant to
hide "in the field" afterwards, or whether he regarded the story as
a justifiable deception to avoid exciting Saul's anger.
8. thou hast brought, &c] The initiative had been on Jonathan's side
(xviii. 3). David calls their league of friendship "a covenant of Jeho
vah" as being ratified in His name by solemn oath. See v. 12 ff.
9. Far be it from thee] i.e. Do not suppose that I could either slay
thee myself or give thee up to my father. The same phrase is rendered
"God forbid", in w. 2.
10. Who shall tell me, &c] The double question answers to Jona- ,
than's double promise in vv. 12, 13, that he will let David know the
result in either event. But perhaps the words should be rendered simply,
Who shall tell me if haply thy father answer thee roughly?.
11 — 23. David and Jonathan renew their covenant.
11. into the field] To escape observation they leave the city, in
which the conversation has been held hitherto.
w. 12— 16.] I. SAMUEL, XX. i77
the field. And Jonathan said unto David, O Lord God of "
Israel, when I have sounded my father about to morrow
any time, or the third day, and behold, if there be good
toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and shew it
thee ; the Lord do so and much more to Jonathan : but if 13
it please my father to do thee evil, then I will shew it thee,
and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace : and the
Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father. And 14
thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness
of the Lord, that I die not : but also thou shalt not cut off is
thy kindness from my house for ever : no, not when the
Lord hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the
face of the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with the is
12. 0 Lord God] Jonathan begins by addressing Jehovah, but
afterwards instead of putting the verb in the second person (so mayest
Thou do) he repeats the divine Name.
about to-morrow any time, or the third day] About this time to-mor
row or the day after.
13. The Lord do so, &c] See on iii. 17. '
the Lord be with thee, &c] Cp. xviii. 12. Jonathan already fore
sees David's destiny, as is clear from the following verses. See also
xxiii. 17.
14, 15. Convinced that David will succeed to the kingdom, Jonathan
exacts from him a promise to shew kindness to his posterity after his
death as well as to himself during his life time. His words, like Saul's
in ch. xxiv. 21, are prompted by a fear lest even David should conform
to the barbarous Oriental custom by which the first king of a new dynasty
often tried to secure himself on the throne by murdering his predecessor's
family. Cp. 1 Kings xv. 29, xvi. 11; 2 Kings x. 6, xi. r. David fulfilled
his promise by shewing kindness to Mephibosheth (2 Sam. ix. 1 ff., xxi.
7). This is clearly the general sense of the passage, though the, exact
, rendering is doubtful. (1) Retaining the Heb. text we may translate:
"And wilt thou not, if I am still alive (when thou comest to the throne),
yea wilt thou not shew me the kindness of Jehovah, that I die not.''
And thou shalt not cut off, &c. " But this involves a very harsh con
struction, and it is perhaps best (2 ) to alter the text slightly, and trans
late: "And mayest thou, if I am still alive, yea mayest thou shew me the
kindness of Jehovah : and if I die, thou shalt not cut off thy kindness
from my house for ever, &c."
16. So Jonathan, &c] (1) The E. V. treats this as a remark of the
historian: and apparently understands Jonathan's words "Let the
Lord, &c." to mean "Let the LoRDexact vengeance from David by the
hand of his enemies if he fails to fulfil the covenant." But this in
volves an unusual construction. We should expect, "Let the Lord
require it at the hand of David," if he fails to fulfil the covenant
I. SAMUEL 12
178 I. SAMUEL, XX. [vv. 17—22.
, house of David, saying, Let the Lord even require it at the
17 hand of David's enemies. And Jonathan caused David to
swear again, because he loved him : for he loved him as he
18 loved his own soul. Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow
ii the new moon : and thou shalt be missed, because thy
19 seat will be empty. And when thou hast stayed three days,
then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place
where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in
=° hand, .and shalt remain by the stone Ezel. And I will shoot
't&ee arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark, ,
21 And behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the
arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows
are on thjs side of thee, take them; then come thou:
for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the Lord
22 liveth. But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the
arrows are beyond thee ; go thy way : for the Lord hath.
(cp. Deut. xxiii. 21) : and possibly "David's enemies "-is an euphemism
for "David," substituted by a scribe in later times. Cp. note on xxv. 22.
(2) The Sept. points to a text making the whole of z/. 16 part of Jona
than's speech : "And when the Lord hath cut off, &c. let not the name
of Jonathan be cut off from the house of David, and may the Lord take
vengeance on the enemies of David." ,
17: , caused David to swear again, because, &c] Jonathan exacted
another oath beside that implied in v. 16, because, the intensity of his
love impelled him to bind David by the strongest possible obligation.
The Sept. however reads : "And Jonathan swore yet again to David."
18—42. This section is the Haphtarah for the New Moon when ijg
falls on the first day of the week.
18. thy seat will be empty] At the sacrificial feast. See vv. 5, 25.
19. when the business was in hand] Lit. "on the day of the busi
ness," either the incident recorded in xix. I — 7, or some unknown
matter. the stone Ezel] The name "stone of departure " may have been given
in remembrance of the parting, of David and Jonathan beside it. The
Sept. however, (cp. v. 41), reads "beside yonder heap of stones;"
either some natural rocks or a heap of ruins, which might serve for a
hidirg-place. The rendering of E. V. inarg. "the stone that sheweth
the way" comes from the Targum, which gives " sign-stone."
20. / will shoot, &c] This sign was arranged in case Jonathan
should be watched by Saul's spies, and prevented from getting an inter
view with David without endangering him. No suspicion would be
excited by Jonathan's carrying the bow which was his usual weapon
(xviii. 4).
22. the young man] The stripling, as in xvii. 56.
w. 23-29.] I. SAMUEL, XX. 179
sent thee away. And as touching the matter which thou 23
and I have spoken of, behold, the Lord be between thee
and me for ever.
24 — 34. Saul's intention tested hy f onathan.
So David hid himself in the field : and when the new 24
moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat. And 25
the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, eveti upon a
seat by the wall : and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by
Saul's side, and David's place was empty. Nevertheless 26
Saul spake not any thing that day : for he thought, Some
thing hath befallen him, he is not clean ; surely he is not
clean. And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the 27
^second day of the month, that David's place was empty :
and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh riot
the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to day? And 28
Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me
to go to Beth-lehem : and he said, Let me go, I pray thee ; 29
for our family hath a sacrifice in the city ; and my brother,
the Lord hath sent thee away) Bids thee depart. Jonathan is pre
pared to recognise the Divine Will in the banishment of David from
Saul's court. God had another school in which the future king must be
trained. 23. as touching the matter, &c] The reciprocal covenant of friend
ship just renewed and ratified.
the Lord, &c] As the witness of our covenant, and the avenger of
any breach of it. Cp. Gen. xxxi. 49, 53.
24 — 34. Saul's intention tested by Jonathan.
24. meat] Lit. bread. "Meat" in the E. V. signifies food in gene
ral, and is nowhere limited to the modern meaning flesh. This usage
survives in some provincial dialects.
25. upon a seat by ihe wall] Saul occupied the place of honour at
the top or the centre of the table opposite the entrance.
and Jonathan arose] This appears to mean that Jonathan first occu
pied his usual seat by Saul's side, but when Abner entered resigned the
place to him, probably not wishing to sit next his father in David's
absence. The Sept. has a different reading, "And he preceded Jona
than," which is equally obscure. Josephns says, " When they had sat
down beside Saul, Jonathan on the right, and Abner on the left."
26. he is not clean] Persons who were ceremonially unclean were
peremptorily excluded from participating in a religious festival. See
Lev. vii. 20, 21 ; 1 Sam. xvi. 5.
29. my brother] The eldest brother probably made the arrange
ments in Jesse's old age. The Sept. reads ' ' my brothers."
I. SAMUEL, XX. [vv. 30-35,
;. .he hath commanded me to be there: arid now, if I have
found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee,
and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the
30 king's table. Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jona
than, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse
rebellious wotnan, do not I know that thou hast chosen the
son of Jesse to, thine own confusion, and unto the confusion
31 of thy mother's nakedness? For as long as the son of Jesse
liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be stablished, nor
thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me,
32 for he shall surely die. And Jonathan answered Saul his
father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what
33 hath he done ? And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite
him : whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his
34 father to slay David. So Jonathan arose from the table in
fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the
month : for he was grieved for David, because his father had:
done him shariie.
35 — 42. The parting between f onathan and David. '*
35 And -it. came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went
out into the field at the time appointed with David, and
30. Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman] " To any Oriental^'
nothing is so grievously insulting as a reproach cast upon his mother. :,.'?
The mother herself is not held to be affronted in such cases, but the son
who hears such words applied to her is insulted, and meant to he
insulted, beyond expiation." Kitto, Bible Illustr. The words might
also be rendered, "thou son of perverse rebellion," i.e. according to a
common Heb. idiom (cp. i. 16), "thou perverse rebel."
that thou hast chosen] The Sept. reads, "that thou consortest with.1'
to thine own confusion, &c] Thy unfilial conduct disgraces both thy
self and the mother who bare thee.
31. he shall surely die] Lit. "he is a son of death." Cp. 2 Sam.
xii. 5 ; Ps. cii. 20 ; Mt. xxiii. 15 ; John xvii. 12.
33. cast a javelin] Or, as in xviii. 1 1, lifted his spear : brandished
it threateningly, without actually casting it.
34. had done him shame] Saul had insulted and wronged David by
publicly charging him with treasonable intentions (v. 31). "The gene
rosity of Jonathan's character is very apparent. He did not resent the
injury and insult offered to himself so much as the wrong done to
his friend." Speaker's Comm.
, 35 — 42. The parting between Jonathan and David.
35. at the time appointed] Better, to the place appointed (v. 19).
vv. 36— 42.] I. SAMUEL, XX. 181
a little lad with him. And he said unto his lad, Run, find 36
out now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran,
he shot an arrow beyond him. And when the lad was 37
come to the place of' the arrow which Jonathan had shot,
Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow
beyond thee? And Jonathan cried after the' lad, Make 38
speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered up
the arrows, and came to his master. But the lad. knew not 39
any thing : only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto 4°
him, Go, carry them to the city. And as soon as the lad 41
was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and
fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three
times: and they kissed one another, and wept one' with
another, until David exceeded. And Jonathan said to 42
David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of
us in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between
me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever.
And he arose and departed : and Jonathan went into the
city. a little lad] Who would not suspect the real purpose of Jonathan's
shooting : a vivid touch of reality in the narrative.
38. the arrows] It is implied that the three arrows agreed upon
were shot, but the narrator does not think it necessary to repeat full de-.
tails thrice.
40. his artillery] i.e. his bow and quiver. From Lat. ars, used in
late Latin to mean ' an implement,' came the late Latin artillaria, and
0. Fr. artillerie, ' machines or equipment of war.' The word was used
of missile weapons long before the invention of gunpowder. See Bible
Word-Book, p. 37.
41. out qf a place toward the south] Lit. "from the side of the
south," i.e. from a hiding-place to the south of the stone Ezel. But the
expression is anomalous, and it is best to adopt the Sept. reading, "from
beside the heap of stones," as in v. 19.
l fell on his face, &c] As a token of reverence and loyalty to the
king's son. Cp. Gen. xxxiii. 3, xiii. 6. An Oriental when he meets a
superior, kneels down and touches the ground with his forehead.
42. forasmuch as, &c] It is better to follow the marginal rendering
in assuming an aposiopesis, which corresponds with Jonathan's deep
emotion. "That which we have sworn, &c." — remember! Jonathan's
parting charge reminds David of their mutual vow.
182 I. SAMUEL, XXI. [vv. 1—5.*
Ch. XXI. 1—9. David's visit to Nob.
21 Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest : " and
Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said
unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?
2 And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath
commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no
man know any thing of the business whereabout I send
thee, and what I have commanded thee : and I have ap-
3 pointed my servants to such and such a place. Now there
fore what is under thine, hand? give me five loaves ofhrevA
4 in mine hand, or what there is present. And the priest
answered David, and said, There is no common bread':;
under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young
s men have kept themselves at least from women. And
David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth
women have been kept from' us about these three days, since
I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy,
XXI. 1 — 9. David's visit to Nob.
1. to Nob] Nob was at this time a city of the priests (xxii. 19),
though it is not specified among the places assigned to them by Joshua •,
here, as is clearly to be inferred from v. 6, the. Tabernacle, which has
not been mentioned since the death of Eli, was now standing. The site of
Nob has not been identified. The description of Sennacherib's march
in Is. x. 28 — 32 shews that it was a day's march south of Geba on the
road to Jerusalem, and within sight of the city. Dean Stanley supposes?1
it to be the northern summit of Mount Olivet, the place of worship which*"
David passed in his flight from Absalom (2 Sam. xv. 32). Sin. and Pah';,
p. 187. Hither David betook himself not as a permanent refuge, but to
inquire the will of God concerning his future movements, and to pro- -
cure food and weapons, for in the hurry of his flight he had brought no
thing away with him.
Almnelech the priest] See note on xiv. 3.
was afraid al the meeting of David ) Came to meet David trembling.
Cp. xvi. 4. Seeing the king's son-in-law unattended, he may have sus
pected the truth, and have been afraid of incurring Saul's displeasure.
2. The king, &c] Again David has recourse to a lie. See xx. 6,
and note on xix. 17., The consequences of it were disastrous.
my servants] The young men, as in v. 4. The words are David's
own, not the continuation of Saul's directions. They were probably
true. He must have had friends at court who were prepared to share
his flight, and with whom he had made arrangements for a rendezvous. .
4. common] Lit. profane or unholy, i.e. unconsecrated. Vulg.
"laicos panes."
5. the vessels] The wallets or other utensils into which the bread
vv. 6, 7.] I. SAMUEL, XXI. 183
and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were
sanctified this day in the vessel. So the priest gave him <
hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shew-
bread, that was taken from before the Lord, to put hot
bread in the day when it was taken away. Now a certain ;
man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained
would be put. If these were Levitically unclean they would defile the
bread. David assures Ahimelech that there is no ceremonial objection
to their taking the bread either in their persons or their baggage.
and the bread, &c] The further argument which David employs to
persuade Ahimelech is stated in a sentence of almost hopeless obscurity.
Perhaps either (1) " And when I came out the vessels of the young men
were holy ; how much more then, though it is a common journey, will it
be holy in the vessel to-day : " i.e. the vessels were undefiled when we
started, and though our journey has no religious object, yet as there has
been no danger of pollution since, a fortiori they cannot defile bread put
in them to-day : — or (2) "And if it is a profane procedure, yet it will be
sanctified to-day by the instrument :" i. e. if the act is profane, the
priest by whose instrumentality it is done, has power to sanction it
under the exceptional circumstances of to-day : — a gentle flattery to per
suade Ahimelech.
6. the shewbread] Lit. "the bread of the Presence " (Sept. aproi
• to5 Tpovtbirov), so called because it was solemnly placed as an offering
in the Presence of Jehovah. The mention of it implies that the Taber
nacle with its furniture was at Nob. The directions for making the
Table of Shewbread are given in Ex. xxv. 23 — 30; and the form of the
table, as it 'existed in Herod's Temple, is preserved in the sculptures on
the Arch of Titus at Rome. For the instructions concerning the bread
itself, see Lev. xxiv. 5 — 9. It was to be renewed every Sabbath, and
the loaves then removed were to be eaten by the priests in the Holy
Place. Our Lord refers to this as an instance of the great principle that
where moral and ceremonial obligations come into conflict, it is the
Jatter which must give way, because the rite is only the means and the
moral duty the end. The high priest was bound to preserve David's
life, even at the expense of a ceremonial rule. See Matt. xii. 3, 4 ;
Mk. ii. 25, 26; Lk. vi. 3 — 5. In St Mark the high priest is called
Abiathar, perhaps by an accidental error ; perhaps because he was
associated with his father as Hophni and Phinehas were with Eli.
from before the Lord] From the table on which they had lain in the
Presence of Jehovah in the Tabernacle. It seems probable that the
shewbread had just been renewed and consequently that the day was the
Sabbath ; otherwise there would have been no difficulty in preparing
ordinary bread for David's use.
7. detained before the Lord] In charge of the priest for some reli
gious purpose such as the fulfilment of a vow, or purification, or on
"184 I. SAMUEL, XXI. [w. 8— ii.
be ore the Lord ; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite,
8 the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul. And
David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under
thine hand spear or sword ? for I have neither brought my
sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business
9 required haste. And the priest said, The sword of Goliath
the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah,
behold, it is here wrapt in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou
wilt take that, take it : for there is no other save that here.
' And David said, There is none like that ; give it me.
io — 15. David's flight to Gath.
10 And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and
11 went to Achish the king of Gath. And the servants of
account of suspected leprosy (Lev. xiii. 4, 11, 31). His presence in the
Tabernacle implies that he was a proselyte. ,
Doeg, an Edomite] He may have come over to Saul in his wars with
Edom (xiv: 47).
the chiefest of the herdmen, &c] An important post in a pastoral
country. Cp. 1 Chr. xxvii. 29, 31. The Sept. reads, "Do.eg'the
Syrian, the keeper of Saul's mules." Cp. 1 Chr. xxvii. 30. "Syrian"
is certainly a mistake for "Edomite," the consonants of the Heb. words
"Aramite" and "Edomite" being almost exactly alike.
9. behind the ephod] Hung up in a secure place, behind the most
sacred part of the high-priestly vestments. It was probably dedicated as
a memorial of the victory on the conclusion of the Philistine war. See
xvii. 54.
There is none like that] The monument of God's deliverance in the
past was a pledge of His help for the future.
10—15. David's flight to Gath.
10. and ivent to Achish] In the extremity of peril, David was driven
to take refuge among Saul's bitterest enemies, and offer himself as a
servant to Achish (v. 15). He hoped no doubt that the Philistines
would not recognise the stripling who slew their champion. Unlike
Themistocles and Alcibiades when they were banished from Athens, he
had no intention of turning traitor to his country.
The circumstances of this sojourn at Gath and that recorded in ch.
xxvii. are entirely unlike, and correspond exactly to the difference of
occasion. In the present case David went alone, was ill received, and
was compelled to feign madness for safety and escape as soon as possible :
later on when his breach with Saul was notorious, he went with a nume
rous following, was received and established at Ziklag, and remained for
more than a year.
w. 12— is; i.J I. SAMUEL, XXI. XXII. 185
Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the
land ? did they not sing one to another of him in dances,
saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten
thousands ? And David laid up these words in his heart, 12
and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. And he 13
changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself
mad in their hands, and scrabled on the doors of the gate,
and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. Then said 14
Achish unto his servants, Lo,. you see the man is mad :
wherefore then have ye brought him to me ? Have I is
need of mad men,' that ye have brought this fellow to play
the mad man in my presence ? shall this fellow come into
my house ?
Ch. XXII. 1 — 5. David's band of followers.
David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave 22
Adullam : and when his brethren and all his father's house
11. the king of the land] The natural exaggeration of popular
rumour. David had appeared as chief leader in the Philistine wars.
did they not sing, &c] Do they not sing. It had become a popular
song. See on xviii. 7.
13. changed his behaviour) Ps. xxxiv. is ascribed by its title to this
occasion, but the contents do not bear out the reference. The title
of Ps. Ivi. states that it was written by David "when the Philistines
laid hold on him in Gath," and though it is not expressly said here
that he was arrested, the words "feigned himself mad in their hands"
together with the mention of his escape jn xxii. 1, seem to imply that he
was a prisoner.
feigned himself mad] So that they might suppose him harmless. The
Philistines moreover may have shared the Oriental feeling which regards
madness with a kind of reverence. See Smith's Diet, qfthe Bible, Art.
'Madness.' "Aghyle Aga, a well-known modern Arab chief, escaped
from the governor of Acre in like manner, pretending to be a mad
dervish." Stanley, Led. II. 52.
scrabled on the doors of the gate] i.e. scratched, or made marks. The
word is still used in some provincial dialects. The Sept. however reads
"drummed on the doors of the gate," which is a more suitable gesture
for a raving madman. "The doors" meant are probably those of the
court of Achish's palace.
15. come into my house] Be taken into my service. Cp. Ps. ci. 7.
Ch. XXIL ' — 5- David's band of Followers.
1. the cave Adullam) Rather, the cave of Adullam. Adullam was
an ancient royal city of the Canaanites, in the neighbourhood of Jarmuth,,
1 86 I. SAMUEL, XXII. [vv. 2, 3.
2 heard it, they went down thither to him. And every one
that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and
every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto
him ; and he became a captain over them : and there were
3 with him about four hundred men. And David went
thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of
Socoh, Azekah, and Shaaraim, all places in or near the valley of Elah
(Josh. xii. 15, xv. 35). In this valley, about 2\ miles S. of the point where
it takes an abrupt turn to the west, some ruins have been discovered bear
ing the name Aid el Ma, which is thought to be a corruption of Adullam.
They lie at the foot of a high rounded hill, almost isolated by subordi
nate valleys, and commanding a fine view over the main valley to the
east. It forms a natural fortress, well adapted for the site of a city,
which numerous ruins shew once stood there. The sides of the tributary -jj
valleys are lined with rows of caves, amply sufficient to accommodate
David's 400 men, and still used for habitations. See Conder's Tent
Work, II. 157 ff. TJhe traditional identification of Adullam with the
cave at Khureitun, five miles S.E. of Bethlehem, is quite untenable.
they went down thither to him] For fear lest Saul might wreak his
vengeance upen them. In the East it was not uncommon for a whole
family to be put to death for the fault of one member, and the massacre
at Nob soon shewed them what they might expect.
2. And every one, &c] To the cave of Adullam resorted some who
were smarting under the oppression of Saul's tyranny ; some who were
involved in debt through the neglect of the laws' concerning usury (Ex.
xxii. 25; Lev. xxv. 35 — 37); some who were in despair at the condition
of the kingdom, and desired a leader from whom they might hope for
better things.
he became a captain over them) That he could keep such a motley
band in order is an evidence of David's natural genius for ruling, which
was -further developed by this training.
about four hundred men] Soon increased to six hundred (xxiii.
13). Among them were the three heroes who brought water from
the well at Bethlehem (2 Sam. xxiii. 13 ff.; 1 Chr. xi. 15 ff.); pos
sibly the stalwart Gadites whose names are given in 1 Chr. xii. 8 — 15;
and also the detachment from Judah and Benjamin led by Amasai (1
Chr. xii. 16 — 18). ,
3. MizpeK of Moab] Mentioned here only. Perhaps either the strong
rock citadel afterwards known as Kir-Moab, now Kerak, is meant : or
some place not in Moab proper, but on the mountains of Abarim or
Pisgah north of the Arnon, which would be more easily accessible from
Bethlehem by way of Jericho. The long purple wall of the mountains
of Moab is a striking feature in the view from Bethlehem (Sin. and Pal.
p. 104), and would naturally suggest a retreat thither: but no doubt it
was his connexion with Moab through his great-grandmother Ruth,
which chiefly induced David to choose that country as a refuge for his
parents.
w. 4— 6-] I. SAMUEL, XXII. 187
Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come
forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me.
And he brought them before the king of Moab : and they 4
dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.
And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the 5
hold ; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then
David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth.
6 — 19. Saul's vengeance on the priests of Nob.
When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the 6
men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under
a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his
4. in the hold] " Hold " = stronghold or fortress : here apparently
the Mizpeh of v. 3. What became of David's parents when he quitted
the hold does not appear. A Jewish tradition affirms that the king of
-Moab betrayed his trust and murdered them, for which David exacted a
heavy vengeance when he came to the throne (2 Sam. viii. 2).
5. the prophet Gad] Mentioned here for the first time, and not again
till David had come to the throne, when he appears as holding the office
of "the king's seer." -He was one of the chroniclers of David's reign
(1 Chr. xxix. 29); helped in the arrangement of the musical services in
the Temple (2 Chr. xxix. 25); and was sent to offer David his choice
of punishments for his sin in numbering the people (2 Sam. xxiv. ir ff.).
Abide not in the hold) The future king must not remain in a foreign
land, but in the face of all risk return to his own country, in order that
by such exploits as the relief of Keilah he might gain reputation, and
prepare his way to the throne.
the forest of Hareth] Nowhere else mentioned and not identified with
any certainty. Perhaps the name survives in Khards on the edge of
the mountain chain two or three miles east of Keilah.
Psalm lxiii. is referred by its title to the time when David was in the
wilderness of Judah : but internal evidence points rather to his flight
from Absalom ; v. 1 1 implies that he was already king.
6—19. Saul's vengeance on the priests of Nob.
'6. that David was discovered] Lit. "was known." Saul found out
that some of his courtiers knew of David's hiding-place in the forest of
Hareth. *¦
nmv Saul abode, &c] Render, Now Saul was sitting at Gibeah
under the tamarisk tree on the height. We have here a vivid pic
ture of a solemn conclave met to deliberate on affairs of state or to ad
minister justice. The king sits in, state under some venerable tamarisk
(cp. xiv. 2 ; Jud. iv. 5) ; his spear, the emblem of royalty (see on xviii. 10),
is in his hand ; his servants, still chiefly the men of his own tribe (v. 7),
stand round him.
188 I. SAMUEL, XXII. [vv. 7—13.
7 servants were standing about him ;) then Saul said unto
his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benja
mites ; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields
and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and
8 captains of hundreds; that all of you have conspired against
me, and there is none that sheweth me that my son hath'
made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is noneof
you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that my son
hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at
9 this day? Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was
set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of
Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub :
10 and he inquired of the Lord for him, and gave him victuals,
11 and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine. Then
the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub,
and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob:
12 and they came all of them to the king. And Saul said,
Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I ;'
'13 am, my lord. And Saul said unto him, Why have ye
conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that
thou hast given him bread and a sword, and hast inquired
of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in
7. ye Benjamites] Saul appeals to tribal jealousies. Will not David
promote his own fellow- tribesmen rather than the Benjamites ?
captains of thousands, &c] The sarcasm of these words gains point,
if we may suppose that Saul had just heard of the organization of David's
handful of men (1 Chr. xii. 16 — 18).
8. hath made a league] Hath made a covenant, as in xx. 16. Saul
Seems to have heard what happened upon that occasion.
9. Then answered Doeg] The title of Ps. Iii. states that it was com
posed by David in reference to this occasion, vv. 1 — 4 describe such a
character as we may well suppose Doeg to have been. His tongjie was
" a false tongue, " because, though the facts he reported were true, he
helped to confirm Saul in a false and cruel suspicion. It "devised
destruction," and "loved devouring words," for his story was told with
malicious intent and fatal result.
which was set over the servants of Saul) Or, for he was standing
with the servants of Saul. The presence of ihe foreigner Doeg among
the Benjamites is specially noticed. The Sept. (cp. xxi. 7) reads, "Doeg
the Syrian who was set over Saul's mules." \
10. he inquired of 'the LORD for him) See on x. 22. This, though
not expressly mentioned in ch. xxi., was probably the chief object of
David's visit, and Ahimelech does not disclaim the charge (v. 15).
vv. 14— 19.] I. SAMUEL, XXII. 189
wait, as at this day ? Then Ahimelech answered the king, u
and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as
David, which is the king's son in law, and goeth at thy
bidding, and is honourable in thine house ? Did I then 15
begin to inquire of God for him ? be it far from me : let
not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all
the house of my father : for thy servant knew nothing of
all this, less or more. And the king said, Thou shalt surely 1°
die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house. And the 17
king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn,
and slay the priests of the Lord ; because their hand also
is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and
did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would
not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the
Lord. And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall is-
upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he
fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and
five persons that did wear a linen ephod. And Nob, the 19
city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword,
both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen,
and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.
14. goeth at thy bidding] Probably, "has access to thy audience,"
i.e. is a trusted privy-councillor. Cp. 2 Sam. xxiii. 23, marg.
15. Did I then begin] That day did I begin, &c? The stress is
upon these words. Ahimelech pleads that there was no harm in doing
as he had often done before.
be it far from me] To plot against the king.
kneio nothing of all this] Was in no way a party to the alleged con
spiracy. 17. the footmen] Lit. "the runners." See on ch. viii. 11; and for
their employment as executioners comp. 2 Kings x. 25 E. V.
guard). would not put forth their hand] They shrank from executing a com
mand at once so cold-blooded and sacrilegious.
18. that did wear a linen ephod] See on ii. 18. The distinctive
priestly dress should have reminded Saul of the sacredness of their per
sons. 19. And Nob, &c] In the madness of his self-willed fury Saul
wreaked upon an innocent city in his own kingdom the vengeance he
had failed to execute upon a guilty heathen nation at God's command
(xv. 3). Thus the doom upon the house of Eli (ii. 31) received a fresh
fulfilment. So heavy a blow was inflicted upon the family of Ithamar,
that when David organized the courses of the priests for the temple ser-
190 I. SAMUEL, XXII. XXIII. [vv. 20— 23; 1.
20 — 23. Abiathar's escape to David. -
20 And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub,
21 named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. And
Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the Lord's
22 priests. And David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that
day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would
surely tell Saul : I have occasioned the death of all the per-
23 sons of thy father's house. Abide thou with me, fear not :
for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life : but with me
thou shalt be in safeguard.
Ch. XXIII. 1 — 6. The rescue of Keilah.
23 Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines
fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshingfloors.
vice only eight "chief men" could be found in it, against sixteen in the
family of Eleazar (1 Chr. xxiv. 4).
20 — 23. Abiathar's escape to David.
20. Abiathar] Possibly Abiathar had remained at Jfob in charge of *
the Tabernacle, and got timely warning of the approach of Doeg's
ruffians. Henceforward he was the companion of David's wanderings,
and helped him by "inquiring of the Lord" for him (xxiii. 9, xxx.. 7;
2 Sam. ii. 1, &c). He held the office of high-priest till the close of
David's reign, when by some strange infatuation, after remaining faithful
through Absalom's rebellion, and " being afflicted in all wherein David
was afflicted," he took part in Adonijah's rebellion, and was in conse
quence deposed by Solomon (1 Kings ii. 26, 27).
22. I have occasioned, &c] David's conscience pricks him for having
been, even indirectly, the cause of so great a calamity.
23. he that seeketh my life] Our lives are both in danger from one
common enemy, so that our interests will be identical.
XXIII. 1 — 6. The rescue of Keilah.
1. Then they told David] Simply, And they told. There is no
mark of time. The appeal to David shews that he was growing to be
regarded as the champion of Israel.
Keilah] A fortified city (v. 7), named in Josh. xv. 44 as one of a
group of cities in the Shephilah or ' ' Lowland, " which included the low
limestone hills bordering on the Philistine plain. It was perched on a
steep hill above the valley of Elah, about three miles south of Adullam,
where the name Kila still survives to mark the site.
they rob the threshingfloors] This indicates that the raid took place
immediately after harvest, when the corn was stacked by the floors ready
for threshing.
w. 2— 8.] I. SAMUEL, XXIII. 191
Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go 2
and smite these Philistines ? And the Lord said unto
David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah.
And David's men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here 3
in Judah : how much more then if we come to Keilah
against the armies of the Philistines ? Then David inquired 4
of the Lord yet again. And the Lord answered him and
said, Arise, go down to Keilah ; for I will deliver the Phi
listines into thine hand. So David and his men, went to 5
Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away
their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So
David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. And it came to 6
pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to
Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.
7 — 15. The treachery of the Keilites.
And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. 7
And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for
he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and
bars. And Saul called all the people together to war, to 8
2. inquired of the Lord] Through the high-priest Abiathar. See on
v. 6.
3. here in Judah] Keilah belonged to the tribe of Judah (Josh. xv.
44) : so that Judah must here be used in a limited sense of the highlands
of Judah.
the armies of the Philistines] David's men exaggerate the marauding
bands of Philistines into a regular army.
6. fled to David to Keilah) Since (a) it is implied by xxii. 20 that
Abiathar joined David before the expedition to Keilah : and (b) the
inquiry in w. 2, 4 implies the presence of the high-priest with the
- Ephod : it seems best either to strike out "to Keilah," or to follow the
', Sept. in reading, "And it came to pass when Abiathar the son of
Ahimelech fled to David, that he went down with David to Keilah with
the Ephod in his hand." This note is inserted here to explain how
David could inquire of God both in Judah and at Keilah.
7 — 15. The treachery of the Keilites.
7. hath delivered him] lit. hath rejected him and delivered him. So
blind was Saul as to imagine that it was not himself but David whom
God had rejected. The Sept. reads " sold."
a town, &c] A city. It may have been one of the old Canaanite for
tresses (see on Josh. xi. 13), or have been fortified as an outpost against
the Philistines.
192 I. SAMUEL, XXIII. [vv. 9—15.
9 go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. And
- David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against
him ; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the
10 ephod. Then said David, O Lord God of Israel, thy ser
vant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to
" Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of
Keilah deliver me up into his hand? Will Saul come
down, as thy servant hath heard? O Lord God of Israel,
I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the Lord said, He
'2 will come down. Then said David, Will the men of Keilah'
deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul ? And the
13 Lord said, They will deliver thee up. Then David and
his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed*;
out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And
it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah ; and
14 he forbare to go forth. And David abode in the wilderness
in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilder
ness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God
'5 delivered him not into his hand. And David saw that
Saul was come out to seek his life : and David was in the
wilderness of Ziph in a wood.
9. secretly practised] Lit. was forging. Omit " secretly."
Bring hither the ephod] For the high-priest did not always wear it.
See note on xiv. 18, and cp. xxx. 7.
11. the men of Keilah] Lit. "the lords," Or "masters," i.e. the
governing body of citizens, as distinguished from the mass of inhabitants
(v. 5). The same word is used in Josh. xxiv. n ; Jud. ix. 2 ff., xx. 5 ;
2 Sam. xxi. 12.
will Saul come down] The logical order of the questions is inverted,
and the most important put first, indicating the anxiety of the ques
tioner. 12. They will deliver thee up] With the cowardice and ingratitude of
thorough selfishness. Cp. Jud. xv. 10 — 13.
14. And David abode in the wilderness] David's next resort was
"the wilderness of Judah," the wild uncultivated tract lying between the'
mountains of Judah and the Dead Sea. His chief abode was "the
mountain (perhaps the hill of Hachilah, v. 19) in the wilderness of Ziph,"
a district S. E. of Hebron, where a rounded hill half way between He
bron and Carmel still bears the name Tell Ztf. Ziph is mentioned in
Josh. xv. 55, and was fortified by Rehoboam (2 Chr. xi. 8).
every day) Continually : not that he literally spent all his time in the
pursuit of David.
15. in a wood] The word chbresh translated "wood" in vv. 15, 16,
18, 19 does not occur again in Samuel. Lieut. Conder argues from the
vv. 16—19.] I. SAMUEL, XXIII. 193
16 — 18. Jonathan's last meeting with David.
And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into 16
the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. And he 17
said unto him, Fear not : for the hand of Saul my father
shall not find thee; and thou shalt ,be king over Israel,
- and I shall be next unto thee ; and that also Saul my
father knoweth. And they two made a covenant before 18
the Lord : and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan
went to his house.
19 — 28. The treachery of ihe Ziphites.
Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, 19
Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the
wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of
dry unwatered character of the district that no wood of trees can ever
have flourished there, and Conjectures that CMresh was a proper name
with a different signification. He found the ruin of Khoreisa and the
Valley of Hiresh in the neighbourhood of Ziph. It is perhaps too bold -
to assert that no wood can ever have existed, and it seems best to under
stand ChSresh as a quasi-proper name for a district overgrown with
brushwood. 16—18. Jonathan's last meeting with David.
16. strengthened his hand in God] Revived his courage by point
ing him to the true ground of confidence. Cp. ch. xxx. 6; Job iv. 3.
17. Saul my father knoweth] Both that thou art destined to be king
(see on xviii. 9), and that I am ready to resign my claims in thy favour.
This is the climax of Jonathan's unselfish generosity.
18. to his house] Home to Gibeah, where Saul was (v. 19). It was
the final parting of the friends.
19—28. The treachery of the Ziphites.
. 19. Then came up the Ziphites] The title of Ps. liv. refers it to this
occasion, or that recorded in xxvi. 1, and the contents agree with the
situation. See especially v. 3.
On the relation between this narrative and that in ch. xxvi. see Note
VII. p. 243.
in the hill of Hachilah, &c] This hill was situated on the south of, or
according to xxvi. 3, "in front of " or " facing " the Waste. Jeshimon
is not a proper name, but means the Waste, and denotes the district on
which the plateau of Ziph looks down, "with white peaks and cones of
chalk and deep narrow watercourses, terminated by the great pointed cliff
of Ziz above Engedi, and by the precipices over the Dead Sea, two
thousand feet high." Hachilah is not identified with any certainty.
I. SAMUEL 13
i>94 I- SAMUEL, XXIII. [vv. 20—27;*
20 Jeshimon ? Now therefore, O king, come down according
to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part;
21 shall be to- deliver him into the king's hand. And Saul
said,. Blessed be ye of the Lord ; for ye have compassions
22 on me. Go,. I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see "'*
his place where his haunt is,, and who hath seen him there ; I
23 for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly. See there- :
forg, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he
hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty,
and I will go with you : and it shall come to pass, if he be
in the. land, that I will search him out throughout all the
24 thousands of Judah. And they arose, and went to Ziph
before Saul : but David and his men were in the wilderness
25 of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. Saul also ,
and his men went to seek him. And they told David :
wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the
wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pur:
26 sued after David in the wilderness of Maon. And Saul
went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men
on that side of the mountain :, and David made haste to
get away for fear of Saul ; for Saul and his men compassed •
27 David and his men round about to take them. But there
Lieut. Conder proposes to recognise it in the long ridge of El Kblah,
running out of the Ziph plateau eastwards. From Tell Zifihe Ziphites
could observe the movements of David's men over this region.
22. where his haunt is] Lit. "where his foot is." Observe his
tracks as you would those of a wild beast.
23. 'the thousands of Judah] i.e. the families. See on x. 19.
24. in the wilderness of Maon] The district round the conical hill '
about seven miles south of Hebron still known as Tell Main. It is
mentioned in Joshua xv. 55 among the cities of Judah in the mountains.
It was the home of Nabal (ch. xxv. 2).
in the plain on the south of Jeshimon] In the steppe on the south of
the Waste. The Ardbah or "steppe" is here the name of the dis
trict south of "the Waste," where the plateau falls away towards the
plains of Beersheba. The term. Ardbah generally denotes either the
depressed valley of the Jordan, or the valley between the Dead Sea and
the Gulf of Akaba, but neither of these can be intended here.
25. into a rock] To the rock, or, cliff, which was afterwards called
"the rock of divisions" (v. 28). The Sept. reads "which is in the
wilderness of Maon" in place of "and abode in the wilderness of
Maon," perhaps rightly.
26. compassed roundabout] i.e. encompassed, surrounded. Cp^
Ps. v. 12.
w. 28, 29; i.J I. SAMUEL, XXIII. XXIV. 195
came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come;
for the Philistines have invaded the land. Wherefore Saul ,8
returned from pursuing after David, and went against the
Philistines : therefore they called that place Sela-hammah-
lekoth. 29 — XXIV. 8. David spares Saul's: life in the cave at ,
En-gedi.
And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong 29
holds at En-gedi. And it came to pass, when Saul was 24
returned from following the Philistines, that it was told
him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.
27. there came a messenger, Sec.] Man's extremity is God's opportu
nity. Cp. 2 Kings xix. 7, 9.
28. Sela-hammahlek6th\ Either (1) "Rock of escapes;'' or more
probably (2) "Rock of divisions," because there Saul had to relinquish
the pursuit of David.
Lieut. Conder thinks he has discovered the scene of David's escape.
Between the ridge of El KSlaA and the neighbourhood of Maon there is
a great gorge called " the Valley of the Rocks :" to part of this the name
Wady Maldki now applies, and there is no other place near Maon
where cliffs, such as are to be infemred from the word Seta, can be found.
See Tent Work, 11. pi.
29. — XXIV. 8. David, spares Saul's life in the cave at
En-gedi.
This narrative and that in ch. xxvi. are regarded by some commenta
tors as different accounts of the- same event. See Note VII. p. 243, and
the notes on ch. xxvi.
Pss. lvii. and cxlii. are referred by their titles to the time when David
fled from Soul in the cave; but whether this occasion or his sojourn in
the cave of Adullam is meant, must remain uncertain.
29. at En-gedi] En-gedi (^fountain of the kid), now Ain-Jidy, is
situated about half way along the western shore of the Dead Sea. The
precipitous cliffs recede from the water's edge, and enclose a sloping
plain watered by the stream which gushes copiously from the limestone
rock. Here in the days of Abraham stood the Amorite city of Haza-
zon-tamar (= pruning of the palm). See Gen. xiv. 7; 2 Chr. xx. 2. It is
still an oasis in the limestone desert, and though palm-trees and vine
yards (Cant. i. 14) have vanished, the petrified leaves of the one and the
terraces cut on the hills for the other attest its ancient fertility. On all
sides the country is full of caverns which might serve as lurking places
for David and his men, as they do for outlaws at the present day. See
Robinson, Bibl. Res. I. 508 ff.; Tristram, Land of Israel, p. 277 ff;
Stanley, Sin. and Pal. p. 295 ff., for descriptions of this remarkable
spot.
13—2
196 I. SAMUEL, XXIV. [w. 2-8.
2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all
Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks
3 of the wild goats. And he came to the sheepcotes by the
way, where was a cave ; and Saul went in to cover his feet ;
and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.
4 And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of
which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine
enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it
shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off
s the skirt of Saul's robe privily. And it came to pass after- •¦
ward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off
6 Saul's skirt. And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid
that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's ^j
anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he
7 is the anointed of the Lord. So David stayed his servants
with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul.
But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way.
8 David also rose afterward, and went out of the cave, and
Ch. XXIV. 2. upon the rocks of the wild goats] On precipitous
cliffs scarcely accessible except to the ibex and chamois. Wild goats
and antelopes still abound on the heights above Ain-Jidy.
3. the sheepcotes by the way] Sheepfolds are still formed in the East
by building a wall of loose stones round the mouth of a cave, which
serves for shelter in case of bad weather. See The Land and the Book,
p. 603.
to cover his feet] An euphemism for performing the necessities of
nature. remained, &c] Were abiding in the recesses of the cave. Large i
caves with numerous side passages are found in the district. "They are
as dark as midnight, and the keenest eye cannot see five paces inward;,i
but one who has been long within, and is looking outward toward the
entrance, can observe with perfect distinctness all that takes place in
that direction." Hence David and his men could watch Saul without
being seen.
4. of which the Lord said] David may have received from Samuel
and Gad assurances of his ultimate deliverance from Saul's persecutions,
which his followers interpret in their own way. Cp. xxiii. 17, xxv. 28 —
3°- the skirt) See on xv. 27. He wished to have some proof to con
vince Saul that his life had been in his power.
5. David's heart smote him) David s conscience reproached him for
offering even so slight an indignity to the king.
7. stayed] Lit. tore, or lashed: a strong expression. Vulg. "con-
fregit viros suos sermonibus."
w. 9— 14- ] I. SAMUEL, XXIV.
197
cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul
Ipoked behind him, David stooped with his face to the
earth, and bowed himself.
9 — 15- David pleads his innocence.
And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men's 9
words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? -Behold, IO
this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had de
livered thee to day into mine hand in the cave : and some
bade me kill thee : but mine eye spared thee ; and I said, I
will not put forth mine hand against my lord ; for he is the
Lord's anointed. Moreover, my father, see, yea see the lz
skirt of thy robe in my hand : for in that I cut off the skirt
of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that
there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I
have not sinned against thee ; yet thou huntest my soul to
take it. The Lord judge between me and thee, and the !2
Lord avenge me of thee : but mine hand shall not be upon
thee. As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness i3
proceedeth from the wicked : but mine hand shall not be
upon thee. After whom is the king of Israel come out ? ^
8. stooped, &c] Better, bowed himself with his face to the ground
and did obeisance. The usual Oriental gesture of reverence to a king
or superior is described. See on xx. 41. Cp. 1 Kings i. 16, 31.
9 — 15. David pleads his innocence.
9. men's words] Calumniators like "Cush the Benjamite," against
whom Ps. vii;. is directed, strove' to inflame Saul's mind against David.
That Psalm has been with much probability referred to this period of
his Ufe. David's protestation of innocence in vv. 3, 4 of the Psalm is
closely parallel to his words in vv. 10, n ; and his appeal to the judg
ment of Jehovah in vv. 8, 9 of the Psalm resembles that in v. 15.
11. my father] The address of respect and affection. Cp. 2 Kings
v. 13, vi. 21.
evil] The same word as that rendered "thy hurt" in v. 9.
my soul] i.e. my life.
13. Wickedness, &c] A man's character is known by his actions. If
I were wicked at heart, I should have shewn it by killing you. Cp.
Mt. vii. 16 — 20.
but mine hand shall not be upon thee] It is not clear whether this is
part of the proverb or David's own utterance. In the first case the proverb
is a general disclaimer of a desire for vengeance : in the second, David
reaffirms his resolution not to touch Saul as a consequence of his moral
integrity.
198 I, SAMUEL, XXIV. [vv. 15—21.
after whom dost' thou pursue ? after a dead dog, after a flea.
15 The Lord therefore be judge, and judge between me and
thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver trie out of
thine hand. 16 — 22. Saul's momentary remorse.
16 And it came to pass, when David had made an end of
speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy
voice, my son David? And Saul lift up his voice, and
17 wept. And he said to David, Thou art more righteous
than I : for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have
18 rewarded thee evil. And thou hast shewed this day how
that thou hast dealt well with me : forasmuch as when the
Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me
19 not. For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well
away ? wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou
20 hast done unto me this day. And now behold, I know well
that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of
21 Israel shall be established in thine hand. Swear now there
fore unto me by the Lord, that thou wilt not cut off my
seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out
14. after a dead dog, &c] "A. dead dog, a single flea," express what "
is absolutely contemptible, harmless, and insignificant. A worthy object
truly for an expedition of the King of Israel with his picked troops !
15. plead my cause] Cp. Ps. xxxv. 1 ff. ; possibly written about this
time. deliver me out of thy hand] Ut. judge me out of thy hand: give me
my right, and set me free.
16 — 22. Saul's momentary remorse.
16. my san David] The old fatherly feeling revived. The generous
loving heart of the old days had not yet utterly perished.
19. find his enemy] Get him into his power. Cp. xxiii. 17; Ps.
xxi. 8.
will he let him go well away] A negative answer is of course to be
supplied. "No : yet thou hast done so to me : wherefore, &c."
20. I know well, &c] See note on xviii. 9. And yet, knowing the
Will of God, he resists it !
the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand] A sad echo
of Samuel's words to himself, "But now thy kingdom shall not be
established" (xiii. 14).
21. Swear now, &c] Saul pledges his successor not to follow the
¦barbarous Oriental custom. See on xx. 14.
vv. 22; 1—3.] I. SAMUEL, XXIV. XXV. 199
of my father's house. And David sware unto Saul- And 22
Saul went home ; but David and his men gat them up unto
the hold. Ch. XXV. 1. Samuel's death and burial.
And Samuel died ; and all the Israelites were gathered 25
together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at
Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilder
ness of Paran. 2 — 13. Nabal' s churlish behaviour to David.
And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions 2
were in Carmel ; and the man was very great, and he
had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats : and
he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name 3
22. gat them up unto the hold] Returned to fhe fastnesses of En-gedi.
Experience had proved that Saul's repentance was not to be trusted.
Ch. XXV. 1. Samuel's death and burial.
1. all the Israelites, &c] A public mourning was held as after the
death of Moses (Deut. xxxiv. 8), and the whole nation met to do honour
to him, who for well nigh eighty years had gone in and out amongst
them as Prophet, Judge, and Counsellor of the King.
;;;.,., in his house] Not actually in the house, which would have been
SWfi'ihconsistent with the laws of ceremonial purity (Num. xix. 16), but in
some court or garden attached to the house. Compare 2 Chr. xxxiii.
20 with 2 Kings xxi. 1 8. The Mussulman tradition places the prophet's
tomb on the hill known as Neby Samwil, five miles N.W. of Jerusalem,
but see note on i. 1.
the wilderness of Paran] A general name for the great tract of desert
south of Palestine, between the wilderness of Shur on the west, Edom
on the east, and the wilderness of Sinai on the south. It was the abode
of Ishmael (Gen. xxi. 21); the scene of the wanderings of the Israelites;
and the place from which the spies were sent (Num. x. 12, xiii. 3). The
Sept. reads Maon, but the change is unnecessary, if we suppose the term
Paran to be used with some latitude.
2—13. Nabal's churlish behaviour to David.
2. a man in Maon] Nabal's home was in the city of Maon, and his
possessions (or, his business) about a mile to the north at Carmel.
These places are mentioned together in Josh. xv. 55. See also note on -
ch. xv. r2.
very great] i.e. very rich. The same epithet is applied to Barzillai
(2 Sam. xix. 32).
I. SAMUEL, XXV. [vv. 4—10.
of the man was Nabal ; and the name of his wife Abigail :'';
and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a
beautiful countenance : but the man was churlish and evil
4 in his doings ; and he was of the house, of Caleb. And
David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his
s sheep. And David sent out ten young men, and David
said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to
s Nabal, and greet him in my name : and thus shall ye say
to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and
peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.
7 And now I have heard that thou hast shearers : now thy
shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither
was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were
8 in Carmel. Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee.
Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes : for
we come in a good day : give, I pray thee, whatsoever
cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son
9 David. And when David's young men came, they spake to
Nabal according to all thqse words in the name of David,
10 and ceased. And Nabal answered David's servants, and
said, Who is David ? and who is the son of Jesse ? there be
many servants now a days that break away every man from
3. Nabal] The name means Fool. It is the word used in Ps. xiv.
1; Prov. xxx. 22; &c.
churlish] Lit. hard. Cp. Mt. xxv. 24, where the same Greek word
is used as in the Sept. here (o-kXij/hjs).
of the house of Caleb] Who settled at Hebron (Josh. xv. 13). Cp.
"the south of Caleb" in ch. xxx. 14. The Sept. rendering "dog-like"
(kvvikos), referring to his character, is not to be followed.
6. to him that liveth in prosperity] The meaning of the single Heb.
word thus rendered is exceedingly obscure. It seems best to explain it
as an exclamation, "Hail!" literally, "For life!"
7. that thou hast shearers] Sheep-shearing was and still is an
occasion of festivity. See 2 Sam. xiii. 23, 24. David's message was
not a demand for black-mail. He had done Nabal real service, by
protecting his flocks from roving marauders, and he was entitled to
recompence., "On such a festive occasion near a town or village,
even in our own time, an Arab Sheikh of the neighbouring desert would
hardly fail to put in a word, either in person or by message ; and his mes
sage, both in form and substance, would be only the transcript of that of
David." Robinson, Bibl. Res. I. 498.
8. a good day] A day of festivity and rejoicing. Cp. Esth. viii. 17.
10. Who is David, &c] Cp. Jud. ix. 28.
w. II— 1 8.] I. SAMUEL, XXV. 201
his master. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, "
and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it
unto men, whom I know not whence they be 1 So David's 12
young men turned their way, and went again, and came
and told him all those sayings. And David said unto his 13
men, Gird you on every man his sword. And they girded
on every man his sword; and David also girded on his
- sword : and there went up after David about four hundred
men ; and two hundred abode by the stuff.
14 — 22. Abigail' s wise counsel.
But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, h
saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilder
ness to salute our master; and he railed on them. But the is
men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither
missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with
them, when we were in the fields : they were a wall unto us 16
both by night and day, all the while we were with them
keeping the sheep. Now therefore know and consider what 17.
thou wilt do ; for evil is determined against our master, and
against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that
a man cannot speak to him. Then Abigail made haste, 18
and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and
11. my water] Perhaps water is specially mentioned because it is
scarce in the district. Cp. Josh. xv. 19. The Sept. however has "wine."
13. abode by the stuff] Remained to guard their property. On
"stuff" see x.- 22 : cp. xxx. 24.
14—22. Abigail's wise counsel.
14. to salute] Lit._ to bless, as in ch. xiii. 10. Cp. 2 Kings iv. 29,
and the form of salutation in 1 Sam-, xv. 13.
he railed on them] Lit. flew upon them ; the same word as in xiv. 32.
15. as long as we were conversant with them] Lit. all the days we
went to and fro with them. "Conversant" from Lat. conversari, to dwell
or abide with, signifies "associated" or "living along with."
16. a wall unto us] A defence against the predatory tribes of the
desert. See Job i. 15, 17.
17. such a son of Belial] Such an evil man. See on i. 16. So
wilful and obstinate that his servants dared not try to reason with him,
but appealed to Abigail instead.
18. Abigail made haste, and took] A store of provisions was pre
pared for the shearing feast (v. n). For the different items of the
present compare 2 Sam. xvi. 1 ; 1 Chr. xii. 40.
202 - I. SAMUEL, XXV. [w. 19—22.
five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn,
and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes
19 of figs, and laid them on asses. And she said unto her ser
vants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But
20 she told not her husband Nabal. And it was so, as she rode.
on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill,
and behold, David and his men came down against her;
21 and she me,t them. Now David had said, Surely in vain
have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so
that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him : and
' 22 he hath requited me evil for good. So and more also do
God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain
to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
1
two bottles of wine] Skins, holding a considerable quantity. Ziba
only brought one "bottle" of wine for David in his flight (2 Sam. xvi.
1). Those now used in the East are made of kid, goat, or ox skins,
according to the size required.
five measures of parched corn] See on xvii. 17. The "measure"
(Heb. seah) contained one third of an ephah. See on i. 24. Parched
corn was only a delicacy, which accounts for the comparatively small
quantity. clusters of raisins] Lumps of dried grapes. The vineyards near
Hebron still produce the largest and best grapes in all the country, and
the finest of them are dried as raisins. Robinson's Bibl. Res. I. 214,
II. 81.
cakes of figs] Figs dried and compressed. They still grow in abun
dance in the neighbourhood of Hebron.
20. came down by the covert of the hill] Abigail was apparently riding
down a defile between two hills, which is called "the covert" (lit. "the
secret place of'the mountain "), because it was concealed from observa
tion. David's troop came down the opposite hill to meet her. "Covert-"*,
from Fr. convert means shelter, hiding-place. • On ' ' against " see ix. 14.
21. Surely in vain] Only to be deceived and disappointed. The
same word is used in Jer. iii. 23. "
pertained) i.e. belonged. "Pertain" is derived from Lat. pertinto,
through O. Fr.parlenir. Cp. " appertain " from appartenir.
22. unto the enemies of David) In the usual oath-formula the
swearer invokes divine vengeance upon himself (xx. 13), or upon the
person adjured (iii. 17). And so the Sept. here; "So God do to
David." "The enemies of David" may possibly be an euphemism,
introduced by a corrector who was unwilling to let David invoke ven- ¦
geance upon himself for an oath which he afterwards broke. Comp.
the note on xx. 16.
if I leave any, &c] David vows that he will exterminate the
family and not leave a single man alive. Cp. Deut. xx. 13.
vv. 23— 28.J I. SAMUEL, XXV. 203
23 — 31. Abigail's meeting with David.
And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off 23
the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed her
self to the ground, and fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, 24
my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine hand
maid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the
words of thine handmaid. Let not my lord, I pray thee, 25
regard this man of Belial, even Nabal : for as his name is,
so is he ; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him : but I
thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom
thou didst send. Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord 26
liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the Lord hath with-
holden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging
thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and
they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. And now this 27
blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord,
let it even be given unto the young men that follow my
lord. I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid : 28
23 — 31. Abigail's meeting with David.
23. lighted off the ass] i.e. got down from, an old form of alighted.
The Heb. word is different from that similarly translated in Josh. xv. 1 8,
and simply means ' ' to descend."
24. and fell at his feel] Apparently she first prostrated herself and
did the usual obeisance as soon as she saw David, while he was still some
distance off, and then afterwards approached and knelt down at his feet
in the posture of a suppliant to make her petition.
26. Now therefore, &c] Render, And now, my lord, as Jehovah
liveth, and by the life of thy soul, surely Jehovah hath withholden
thee from coming into blood-guiltiness, and saving thyself with
thine own hand. And now let thine enemies, &c. Abigail solemnly
affirms that it is God who by her means has restrained David from com
mitting a great crime. She feels at once that she has gained her point,
and clenches the matter by putting the whole question in the most
solemn light.
let thine enemies be as Nabal] As foolish, and consequently as
little able to injure thee. In view of Nabal's fate, the words are almost
prophetic. 27. this blessing] So a complimentary present is styled in ch. xxx. 26.
Cp. Gen. xxxiii. 11; 2 Cor. ix. 5 (ei\oyla, as here in the Sept.).
unto the young men] She does not presume to offer it for David's
own use.
28. the trespass qf thine handmaid] She takes the blame of the
wrong done to David upon herself, as in v. 24.
204 I. SAMUEL, XXV. [vv. 29—31.
for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house;
because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil
29 hath not been found in thee all thy days. Yet a man -is
risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul : but the soul of
my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord
thy God ; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he
3° sling out as out of the middle of a sling. And it shall come
to pass, when the Lord shall have done to my lord accord
ing to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee,
31 and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel ; that this
shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my
for the Lord, &c] Abigail grounds her request on the conviction
that David will succeed to the kingdom, when, as she points out in
vv. 30, 31, such- an act of violence as he was minded to commit would
be a burden on his conscience. Her conviction rests ( 1 ) on the fact that
he has proved himself the champion of Jehovah's people (see on xviii.
17) ; (2) on his blameless life. Doubtless the nation was already anxiously ,
looking forward to David as its future king.
will certainly make my lord a sure house) Will establish him. and his
posterity on the throne. For the phrase see ii. 35 ; and compare the
promise in 2 Sam. vii. 16. The same epithet is applied to David him
self in xxii. 14 (E. V; faithful).
evil hath not been found in thee) Cp. xxiv. n ; Ps. vii. 3. David's
generous and winning character was in sharp contrast to Saul's jealous
suspicion and mad cruelty.
29. Yet a man, &c] Better, And though men have arisen yet
the soul of my lord shall be bound up in the bundle of the living,
The figure is taken from the practice of binding up valuables in a bag or
bundle. Cp. Gen. xiii. 35.. Of course the immediate reference is only
to the safe preservation of David's temporal life.
shall he sling out, &c] A vigorous metaphor to express total rejec
tion. Cp. Jer. x. 18.
the middle of a sling] Lit. the pan or hollow in which the stone was
placed. The marginal rendering "bought " means " the bmved or bent
part of a sling on which the stone was placed." See the Bible Word-
Book, p. 73.
30. appointed thee ruler] The same Heb. words are used in xiii. 14,
where the E.V. has "commanded him to be- captain." Cp. also ix. 16,
x. 1.
Abigail's prudence, and her familiarity with the true idea of the
theocratic king which was to be realised in David, suggest that she may
have received instruction from Samuel, or some other prophet. Cp.
2 Kings iv. 8 ff.
31. grief) The Heb. word, which occurs nowhere else, probably means
stumbling-block. Such a crime as David had meditated would have
remained as an obstacle in the way of his enjoying a clear conscience.
vv. 32—37.] I. SAMUEL, XXV. 205
lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my
lord hath avenged himself : but when the Lord shall have
dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid.
32 — 35. David' s favourable answer.
And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of 32
Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me : and blessed be 33
thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept, me this
day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself
with mine own hand. For in very deed, as the Lord God 34
of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee,
except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there
had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that
pisseth against the wall. So David received of her hand 35
that which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up
in peace to thine house ; see, I have hearkened to thy voice,
and have accepted thy person.
36 — 38. Nabal's death.
And Abigail came to Nabal ; and behold, he held a feast 36
in his house, like the feast of a king ; and Nabal's heart was
merry within him, for he was very drunken : wherefore she told
him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. But it 37
came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out
32 — 35. David's favourable answer.
32. Blessed be the Lord] David rightly recognises that the inter
vention of Providence has saved him from a foolish and wicked revenge.
Compare his prayer in Ps. xix. 13. There is no lack of faults in David's
life, and this outburst of passion was one of them ; but with all his faults
he had that spirit of genuine repentance which makes it possible for men
" To rise on stepping-stones
Of their dead selves to higher things."
33. advice] Better, discretion.
from coming to shed blood) From coming into blood-guiltiness, as
in v. 26.
35. have accepted thy person] Here in a good sense = I have granted
thy petition. Cp. Gen. xix. 21.
36 — 38. Nabal's death.
36. a feast. ..like the feast of a king] His shearing-revel (cp. 2 Sam.
xiii. 23) was on a scale of regal luxury.
206 I. SAMUEL, XXV. [vv. 38—43.
of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his
38 heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And it
came to pass about ten days after, that the 'Lord smote
Nabal, that he died.
39 — 44. David's marriage with Abigail.
39 And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said,
Blessed be the Lord, that hath pleaded the cause of my re
proach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant
from evil : for the Lord hath returned the wickedness of Nabal
upon his own head. And David sent and communed with
4° Abigail, to take her to him to wife. And when the servants
of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake.
unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee, to take thee
41 to him to wife. And she arose, and bowed herself on
her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid
be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.
42 And Abigail hasted,, and rose, and rode upon an ass, with
five damsels of hers- that went after her ; and she went after
43 the messengers of David, and became his wife. David also
37. and his wife, &c] Better, that his wife told him... and his
heart died, &c. An outburst of passion on hearing that his will had
been thwarted brought on a fit of apoplexy, in which he lingered on
insensible for ten days, until
38. the Lord smote Nabal] His death was a divine judgment none
the less that a partly natural cause may be assigned for it in his intem
perance and passion. For " smote " comp. the use of the same word in
ch. xxvi. 10, and 2 Chr. xiii. 20 (E. V. struck).
39 — 44. David's marriage with Abigail.
39. pleaded the cause, &c] Exacted from Nabal a due penalty for
the injury he did me. Cp. xxiv. 15. In those days godly men looked
for visible judgments upon the wicked in this world, and rejoiced in
them as a vindication of God's righteous government.
hath kept his- servant from evil,, &c] The E. V. misses the striking
contrast between David and Nabal. Render, hath restrained his ser
vant from wickedness, but the wickedness of Nabal hath Jehovah
returned upon his own head.
41. and bowed herself, &c] With the obsequiousness characteristic
ofOriental nations, she expresses her devotion both by gesture and word.
"Washing the feet " like "loosing the shoe-latchet" (Mk. i. 7) was the
service of the meanest slaves.
vv.445 i— 4-] , L SAMUEL, XXV. XXVI. 207
took Ahinoam of Jezreel ; and they were also both of them
his wives. But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's 44
wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, which was of Gallim.
Ch. XXVI. 1 — 4. Saul's renewed pursuit of David.
And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth 26*
not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is
before Jeshimon ? Then Saul arose, and went down to the 2
wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of
Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which if before 3
Jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness,
and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.
David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul 4
was come in very deed.
43. took] Had taken, before his marriage with Abigail. Ahinoam
stands first in the list of his wives in 2 Sam. iii. 2.
of Jezreel) A city in the mountains, of Judah near Carmel and Juttah.
See Josh. xv. 55, 56.
44. Saul had given Michal] Probably he did it when David fled,
to mark the completeness of the breach between them. David after
wards compelled Phalti (or Phaltiel) to. restore him Michal (2 Sam.
iii. 15).
Galhm] Only referred to again in Is. x. 30, from which passage it
appears that it was between Gibeah.and Jerusalem. The name of Phalti's
father Laish was probably derived from the place Laish mentioned
in the same verse.
Ch. XXVI. 1 — 4. Saul's renewed pursuit of David.
1. And the Ziphites came] On the theory that this is only another
account of the incidents related in xxiii. 19 — xxiv. 22, see Note VII.
p. 243. The view there taken that the narratives.refer to different events,
is assumed in the notes.
Ps. liv. is referred by its title either to this occasion or to that of
xxiii. 19 ff.
the hill of Hachilah) See on xxiii. 19.
is before Jeshimon] Looketh towards the Waste. See on xxiii. 15
where the position of the hill of Hachilah is more particularly defined a?
" on the south of the Waste."
2. three thousand chosen men] Cp. xxiv. 2. This was the number
of his standing army. See xiii. 2..
3. by the way] Close to some well-known high road. Cp. xxiv. 3.
he saw] i.e. perceived or learned. Cp. xxiii. 15.
208 I. SAMUEL, XXVI. [vv. 5—8.
S — 12. Saul's life again in David 's power.
s And David arose, and came to the place where Saul
had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul
lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host :
and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round
6 about him. Then answered David and said to Ahimelech
the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brothet
to Joab, saying, Who will' go down with me to Saul to
the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.
7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night : and
behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear
stuck in the ground at his bolster : but Abner and the
s people lay round about him. Then said Abishai to David*
5 — 12. Saul's life again in- David's power.
6. in the trench] See on xvii. 20. The Sept. rendering ." in a
chariot " is a mistake.
6. Ahimelech the Hittite] Not mentioned elsewhere. Uriah was
also a Hittite. The Hittites, or descendants of Heth, the second son of
Canaan, occupied Kirjath-Arba, afterwards called Hebron, in the days
of Abraham (Gen. xxiii. 2 ff.). Esau married Hittite wives (Gen. xxvi.
34). The Hittites are repeatedly mentioned as one of the nations
inhabiting the land of Canaan, which were to be driven out by the
Israelites (Josh. iii. 10). It is now known that a branch of the Hittites
established an extremely powerful empire to the north of Syria, the
chief centres of which were Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Kadesh
on the Orontes. It was strong enough to threaten Assyria on the one
hand and Egypt on the other, and lasted from the sixteenth century B.C.
until it was destroyed by the Assyrians in the eighth century; Allusions
to the ' ' kings' of the Hittites " are found in 1 Kings x. 29 ; 2 Kings vii.
6. Our chief information about them is derived from Assyrian and
Egyptian inscriptions.
Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab] The first mention of
David's valiant but hard-hearted nephews, the sons of his sister Zeruiah,
who play such an important part in his history. Abishai distinguished
himself by saving David's lift in one of his Philistine wars (2 Sam.
xxi. 17); shared the command of the army with his brother Joab (2 Sam.
x. 10), and with him was implicated in the murder of Abner (2 Sam. iii.
30) ; in Absalom's rebellion both of them remained faithful to David
(2 Sam. xvi. 9, xviii. 2), but Joab, like Abiathar, supported Adonijaih, :«
and was put to death by Solomon's order (1 Kings i. 7, ii. 28 — 34). • (J
7. to the people] i.e. to Saul's army. Cp. xiv. 45.
his spear] See on xviii. 10.
at his bolster] At his head; and so in vv. 11 and 16. Cp. xix. 13,
vv. 9— IS-] I. SAMUEL, XXVI. 209
God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day:
now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear
even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the
second time. And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: 9
for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's
anointed, and be guiltless ? David said furthermore, As 10
the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him ; or his day shall
come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish.
The Lord forbid that / should stretch forth mine hand n
against the Lord's anointed : but, I pray thee, take thou
now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water,
and let us go. So David took the spear and the cruse of 12
water from Saul's bolster ; and they gat them away, and no
man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked : for they were all
asleep ; because a deep sleep from the Lord was fallen upon
them. 13 — 25. David' s final expostulation with Saul.
Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the 13
top of a hill afar off; a great space being between them : and 14
David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner,
saying, Answerest thou not, Abner ? Then Abner answered
and said, Who art thou that criest to the king ? And David 15
8. hath delivered] Lit. shut up, as in xxiv. 18.
at once] Not "immediately," but "with one stroke."
10. David said, &c] And David said, Nay, but Jehovah shall
strike him, &c. The person of the anointed king is inviolable : his life
is in Jehovah's hands. It may be ended either (a) by a sudden stroke,
such as that which smote Nabal (xxv. 38) ; or (b) by a natural death ; or
(c ) by death in battle ; but violent hands may not be laid upon him with
' impunity. 11. cruse] A small cup or jar. The word is found in Icelandic,
Danish, and other languages, and is probably akin to crock and crucible.
12. from SauPs bolster] From Saul's head.
a deep sleep] The word is used especially of supernaturally caused
sleep, as in Gen. ii. 21, xv. 12.
13—25. David's final expostulation with Saul.
13. a great space being between them] This precaution indicates that
David trusted Saul less now than upon the former occasion. Cp. -0. 22.
14. that criest to the king) The Sept. omits "to the king;" but the
Vulg. gives the sense rightly; "Who art thou that criest and disturbest
the king?" I. samuel 14
210 I, SAMUEL, XXVI. [vv. 16—19.
¦said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man ? and who is like
to thee in Israel ? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy
lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy
16 the king thy lord. This thing is not good that thou hast
done. As the Lord liveth, ye are worthy to die, because
ye have not kept your master, the Lord's anointed. And
now see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water
17 that was at his bolster. And Saul knew David's voice, and
said, Is this thy voice, my son David ? And David said, //
13 is my voice, my lord, O king. And he said, Wherefore doth
my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done?
19 or what evil is in mine hand ? Now therefore, I pray thee,
let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the
Lord have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an
offering; but if they be the children of men, cursed be they
before the Lord; for they have driven me out this day from
15. a [valiant] man] Heb. simply, a man, i.e. one worthy of the name.
who is like to thee in Israel] Abner was evidently the most powerful ;
man in Saul's court. His course of action after Saul's death shews
plainly the influence he had gained.
kept] i.e. kept guard over.
16, worthy to die] Lit. sons of death. Cp. xx. 31.
17. Saul knew David's voice] It was still too dark to see him at a
distance. Saul's question is the same as in xxiv. 16, but there it stands
in quite a different connexion.
18. And he said, &c] With David's speech here compare that in
xxiv. 9 ff. Here he affirms his innocence indirectly by challenging Saul
-to give his reasons for persecuting him : there he appeals directly to his
having spared Saul's life as a proof of his loyalty.
19. If the Lord, &c] Saul may be acting as the executioner of a
divine punishment. In that case David desires to obtain pardon by a
propitiatory offering.. This seems the obvious explanation. But«accord-
•ing to the view of many commentators, David suggests that this perverse
persecution is the consequence of the evil spirit continuing to vex Saul
as a punishment for his sin, and advises him to seek the removal of it
by an expiatory sacrifice.
In the language of the O. T. God is sometimes said to incite or com
mand men to do acts in themselves evil. See 2 Sam. xvi. n, xxiv. r.
The Hebrew mind was profoundly impressed with the great truth of the
universal sovereignty of God, and regarding Him as the Causeofall
things, did not distinguish, as we do, between what is caused or com
manded, and what is permitted by Him.
let.him accept anoffering] Lit. smell. .Cp. Gen. viii. 21.
if they be the children of men] See on xxiv. 9.
w. 20— 23.] I. SAMUEL, XXVI. 211
abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go, serve
other gods. Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the 20
earth before the face of the Lord: for the king of Israel is
come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge
in the mountains. Then said Saul, I have sinned : return, 21
my son David : for I will no more do thee harm, because my
soul was precious in thine eyes this day : behold, I have
: played the fool, and have erred exceedingly. And David 22
answered and said, Behold,, the king's spear ; and let one of
the young men come over and fetch it. . The Lord render 23
to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness : for the
from abiding in, &c] From being associated with the people of
Israel who are Jehovah's inheritance (x. 1). The word "today" is
emphatic : as much as to say, ' It has at last come to this that I must
flee the country : and such a banishment is tantamount to bidding me go
serve false gods, for it is only in the land of promise and at the place
which He has chosen that Jehovah manifests Himself and can be wor
shipped.' Cp. note on x. 3.
20. before the face of the Lord] Slay me not, lest Jehovah avenge
my blood upon thee. But it is possible to render "fax from the pre
sence of Jehovah :" i.e. let me not die a violent death in a heathen land :
and this suits the context better.
a flea] A single flea. Cp. xxiv. 14. The Sept. however reads instead,
perhaps rightly, "my life."
a partridge] "David alludes to the mode of chase practised now as
of old, when the partridge continuously chased was at length, when
fatigued, knocked down by sticks thrown along the ground. It must
be remembered that both the species of partridge common in the Holy
Land, unlike our bird, endeavour to save themselves by running in
preference to flight, unless when suddenly started ; that they are hot
inhabitants of plains or cornfields but of rocky hill-sides." The Hebrew
name means "caller," from "its ringing call-note, which in early
morning echoes from cliff to cliff alike amidst the barrenness of the
wilderness of Judaea, and in the glens of the forest of Carmel. " Tristram,
Natural History of the Bible, p. 225.
David means to say that the King of Israel's pursuit of him is alto
gether unworthy of his dignity.
21. I have sinned, &c] Compare and contrast xxiv. 16 ff.
22. let one of the young men, &c] For he durst not now venture to
put himself in Saul's power, as he appears to have done upon the former
occasion. Cp. v. 13.
23. The Lord render, &c] Better, shall render. In xxiv. 19 the
equivalent of these words is put into Saul's mouth. David is not sound
ing his own praises, but as before (xxiv. 12) declaring his confidence
that God will eventually recompense him for his upright and loyal
behaviour. Cp. Ps. vii. 8, xviii. 20.
14 — 2
212 I. SAMUEL, XXVI. XXVII. [vv. 24, 25 ; 1—3.
Lord delivered thee into my hand to day, but I would not
24 stretch forth mine hand against the Lord's anointed. And
behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes>
so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the Lord, and
25 let him deliver me out of all tribulation. Then Saul said to
David, Blessed be thou, my son David : thou shalt both do
great things, and also shalt still prevail. So David went oh
his way, and Saul returned to his place.
Ch. XXVII. 1^7. David's flight to Achish, and residence
at Ziklag.
27 And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day
by the hand of Saul : there is nothing better for me than
that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philis
tines ; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in
2 any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand. And
David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men
that were with him unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of
3 Gath. And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his
24. was much set by] For the expression cp. xviii, 30, though a
different Heb. word is used here: lit. "was great."
deliver me out of all tribulation] Cp. Ps. xxxiv. 17 ; liv. 7.
25. to his place] i.e. to his home, Cp. ii. 20.
Ch. XXVII. 1 — 7. David's flight to Achish, and residence
at Ziklag.
1. into the land of the Philistines] The result anticipated in xxvi.
19 has come to pass. David is forced to seek refuge in a heathen
land. The circumstances of this flight are entirely different from those
related in xxi. 10 ff. Then the solitary fugitive, recognised as the
slayer of Goliath, narrowly escaped losing his life; now the outlaw
leader of a band of stalwart warriors is welcomed as an ally. 'He
entered the king's service as an independent chieftain, like an
Italian Condottiere of the middle ages.
Traces of this residence at Gath may be observed in the attachment
of Ittai the Gittite to David (2 Sam. xv. 19); and possibly the Gittilh,,
mentioned in the title to Ps. viii., was an instrument or a melody brought
from Gath.
2. Achish, the son of Maoch] If he was the same as the Achish of
xxi. 10, and the Achish son of Maachah of 1 Kings ii. 39, he must
have reigned some fifty years. But more probably the same name was
borne by different individuals.
w.4— 8.] I. SAMUEL, XXVII. 213
men, every man with his household, even David with his two
wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmeli-
tess, Nabal's wife. And it was told Saul that David was 4
fled to Gath : and he sought no more again for him. And 5
David said unto Achish, If I have now found grace in thine
eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country,
that I may dwell there : for why should thy servant dwell in
the royal city with thee ? Then Achish gave him Ziklag 6
that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of
Judah unto this day. And . the time that David dwelt in 7
the country of the Philistines was a full year and four
months. 8 — 12. David's raids upon neighbouring tribes.
And David and his men went up, and invaded the 3
3, every man with his household] Cp. ch. xxx. 3 ff. ; 2 Sam. ii. 3.
5. in some town in the country] In one of the provincial cities
as distinguished from the metropolis Gath.
¦why should thy servant dwell, &c] He wished for a more inde
pendent position, where he might be less exposed to the jealousy pf
the Philistine lords, and have free opportunity for ruling and or
ganizing his followers.
6. Ziklag] One of the cities in the Negeb or "South Country,"
originally assigned to Judah (Josh. xv. 31), but transferred to Simeon
(Josh. xix. 5), and either never occupied by them or reconquered by
the Philistines. Its site has not been identified, but was probably
somewhere W. or N.W. of Beersheba, next to which it is mentioned
in Neh. xi. 28.
Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day] This
note from the hand of the compiler indicates that the book was com
posed after the separation of the kingdom of Judah from the kingdom
of Israel, and before the Captivity. Ziklag was, so to speak, one of
the crown estates of the royal house.
7. ,a full year and four months] The Sept. reading "four months "
is improbable, though the Heb. might be rendered " a space of time,
even four months." Ch. xxix. 3 implies a much longer residence. "In
this city David laid the foundation of his kingdom. Here he could
aheady rule with greater freedom and independence, collect fugitives
and deserters around him in larger and larger numbers, send or receive
embassies like a prince (1 Sam. xxx. 26 — -31), and as a ruler over
soldiers and peaceable citizens rehearse, on a small scale, those arts
by which he afterwards acquired and maintained his great kingdom."
Ewald,. Hist, of Israel, III. 101. Here a band of archers and slingers
from Saul's own tribe joined him, together with men from the southern
towns of Judah, and from Manasseh (1 Chr. xii. 1 — 7, 20—22).
214 I. SAMUEL, XXVII. [vv. 9; 10,
Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those
nations were of old the inhabitants of the land as thou goest
9 to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt. And David smote
the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took
away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the
camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish,
w And Achish said, Whither have ye made a road to day?
8 — 12. David's raids upon neighbouring tribes.
8. the Geshurites] A tribe dwelling south of Philistia near the
Amalekites (see Josh. xiii. 2), to be distinguished from the Geshurites
in Syria (2 Sam. xv. 8).
the Gezrites] These cannot be the inhabitants of Gezer (Josh. x.
33), which was far away from the scene of David's operations. The
written text (Kthtbh) as distinguished from the traditional reading
(Qrl) has Gerzites. It has been conjectured that this was an ancient
Arab tribe which at one time wandered up northwards and gave its
name to Mount Gerizim ; as their neighbours the Amalekites left traces
of former migrations in the name ' ' the mountain of the Amalekites "
in the territory of Ephraim (Jud. xii. 15).
the Amalekites] Such remnants of them as had escaped from Saul's
sword. See on xv. 8.
those nations were of old, &c. ] If the text is right, the E. V. gives
the general sense correctly. The allusion to their ancient occupation
of the district may be inserted with reference to the Amalekite attack
upon Israel in the march from Egypt (Ex. xvii. 8 ff.). But the Heb. is
obscure, and possibly should be emended so as to give the sense, "for
these nations inhabited the land from Telem until thou comest to Shur,
and unto the land of Egypt." Telem would be mentioned as the
southernmost city of Israel. See on xv. 4.
9. the sheep, &c] In which the wealth of nomad tribes consists. Cp.
xv. 3, &c. ; Job i. 3. "We rode through five large Arab camps, and
every hill-side and valley was filled with thousands of sheep, goats,
oxen, asses, and camels." Tristram, Land of Israel, p. 532.
returned and came to Achish] After these expeditions he reported
himself to Achish at Gath, and handed over to him the covenanted
share of the plunder. It is to be inferred that Achish expected David
to pay a kind of tribute, as well as to render personal service in war
(xxviii. 1).
10. Whither] The Heb. word does not mean whither, and must
be emended. It is best to follow the Sept. and Vulg. in reading
"against whom."
have ye made a road] The same word as that translated "invaded"
in v. 8. " Road " means a plundering excursion or raid, from A.-S.
rdd, a riding. Compare the compound in-road. "Him hee named,
who at that time was absent, making roades upon the Lacedemonians."
Sidney's Arcadia. > ,
vv. ii, 12; 1.] I. SAMUEL, XXVII. XXVIII. 215
And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the
south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the
Kenites. And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to n
bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us,
saying, So did David, and so will be his manner all the while
he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines. And Achish 12
believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel
utterly to abhor him ; therefore he shall be my servant for
ever.Ch. XXVIII. 1, 2. David forced to join the Philistine army.
And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines 28
^gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with
Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly,
that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men.
the Jerahmeelites) Descendants of Jerahmeel the son of Hezron
(1 Chr. ii. 9, 25), who were settled on the southern frontier of Judah,
apparently as an independent tribe. Cp. xxx. 29.
the Kenites] Who were in alliance with the Israelites. See on xv. 6.
11. And David said, &c] The tribes which David really plundered
must evidently have lived in the neighbourhood of the southern boun
dary of Judah, so that he could represent his expeditions as made
against his own countrymen and their allies, not, as was the fact,
against allies of the Philistines. David's falsehoods are not of course
-to be judged by the Christian standard of morality.
to bring tidings to Gath] Rather, to bring them to Gath, as
prisoners. Such barbarity was nothing strange at the time, and David
did not rise above the practice of his contemporaries.
tell on us] "On" used as we now use "of" is common in Shakes
peare : e.g. Macbeth, A. i. Sc. 3 :
" Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
and so will be his manner, &c] Render, " and so was his manner
all the while he dwelt in the country of the Philistines." A full stop
must be placed after David, and the following words taken as a remark
of the historian. Cp. v. 7.
12. Achish believed David] Connect v. 12 with v. 10. Aehish
believed that David had brought himself into ill odour (see on xiii.
4) with his own countrymen by his attacks on them, and would now
be his permanent vassal.
Ch. XXVIII. 1, 2. David forced to join the Philistine army.
1. in those days] While David was at Ziklag, as related in the
previous chapter.
216 I. SAMUEL, XXVIII. [vv. 2-4.
2 And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what
thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore
will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever.
3 — 14. Saul resorts to the witch of.Endor.
3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him,
and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul
had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards,
4 out of the land. And the Philistines gathered themselves
together, and came and pitched in Shunem ; and Saul
2. Surely thou shalt know] Better, Therefore now shalt thon
know : reading now for thou with the Sept. and Vulg. David's answer is
designedly ambiguous. He is placed in a perplexing dilemma. It
seems as though he must either fight against his own nation, or appear
false to his liege lord Achish. The difficulty was providentially solved
by the suspicion of the Philistine princes (xxix. 3 ff.).
keeper of mine head) Captain of his body-guard. Achish accepts
David's answer as a profession of loyalty.
3 — 14. Saul resorts to the witch of Endor.
3. Now Samuel, &c] From v. 3 to the end of the chapter is an
independent narrative. v. 3 states by way of introduction certain
facts as the key to the incidents about to be related : ( 1 ) the death and
burial of Samuel (xxv. 1 ) ; (2) Saul's expulsion of the soothsayers.
This he probably did in the early part of his reign. An allusion to
it may be traced in xv. 23. It was in accordance with the Law. See
Lev. xix. 31, xx. 27; Deut. xviii. 10 ff.
those that had familiar spirits] The Hebrew word Ob signifies (1) the
demon or spirit supposed to speak through the necromancer ; (2) the
possessor of such a spirit. It is generally rendered by the Sept. "ven
triloquist " (tyya.aTplji.vBos), probably because the spirit was supposed to
speak from the necromancer's belly, not as some suppose, because ven
triloquists abused their powers for imposing upon the credulous.
, the wizards] Wizard, connected with wit and wise, is an exact equi
valent of the Heb. word, which means "a knowing one:" one who is
supposed to possess a knowledge of the future by mysterious means.
4. the Philistines gathered themselves together] This was no border,
foray, but a gathering of the whole force of the confederacy, as is clear
from v. 1 arid xxix. 1 — 4, for a decisive struggle with Israel. They
marched northwards along the coast to the plain of Esdraelon, the great
battle-field of Palestine, where their chariots and horsemen could move
freely. in Shunem] Now Sblam, on the S.W. slope of the range called
Little Hermon (Neby DAhy), opposite Jezreel and Mount Gilboa, hav
ing the deep broad valley of Jezreel between, and overlooking the whole
western plain to Carmel. Shunem is elsewhere mentioned as the abode
vv. 5— 7-] I. SAMUEL, XXVIII. 217
gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa.
And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, 5
and his heart greatly trembled. And when Saul inquired 6
of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams,
nor by Urim, nor by prophets. Then said Saul unto his 7
of Abishag (1 Kings i. 3), and the home of the woman who -entertained
Elisha (2 Kings iv. 8ff.).
. in Gilboa] A mountainous tract on the E. of the plain of Esdraelon.
It is now called Jebel FukAa, but the ancient name is still preserved in
the village of JelbSn, situated on the top of the mountain.
5. he was afraid] The consciousness that "the Spirit of Jehovah
had departed from him " made the once brave king a coward.
6; when Saul inquired of the Lord] In 1 Chr. x. 13, 14 it is said
that "Saul died... for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to
inquire of it, and inquired not of the Lord." The contradiction is only
in appearance. Instead of humbling himself in penitence for the sin
which he knew must be withholding the Divine answer (xiv. 37), and
persevering in his inquiry, he resorted to a plan which was tantamount to
apostasy from Jehovah.
answered him not] See Prov. i. 24 — 30.
by dreams] A recognised method of divine communications to man
(Num. xii. 6).
-. by Urim] ¦ Since Abiathar had carried off the Ephod with the Urim
and Thummim when he fled from Nob, it would appear that Saul had
had a new Ephod made, and appointed a high-priest in the room of
Ahimelech. This conjecture is supported by the double high-priesthood
of Zadok and Abiathar in David's reign (2 Sam. viii. 17, &c), which
may be accounted for by supposing that David allowed Zadok to retain
the office to which Saul had elevated him.
The following points may be noted with respect to the obscure ques
tion of the Urim, or Urim and Thummim. For a full discussion see
Smith's Did. of the Bible.
¦ (a) The name signifies The Light and the Perfection (or the Truth),
the words being ' plurals of excellence. '
. (b) It denotes certain material objects, placed inside the breastplate of
judgment which formed part of the high-priest's Ephod (Ex. xxviii. 301.
There are no directions for making them ; it is implied that they were
already in existence.
(c) The purpose of this mysterious instrument is clear. It was a t
means by which the will of Jehovah was ascertained through the high-
priest. The present passage is the only mention by name of its use
after the entry into Canaan, though it is implied in ch. xiv. 3, 18, xxiii.
2, 9, xxx. 7, 8; 2 Sam. xxi. 1. After the Captivity it became a pro
verbial expression with reference to questions of special difficulty that
they must wait for solution "until there stood up a priest with Urim
and Thummim " (Ezra ii. 63 ; Neh. vii. 65).
(d) . The origin of the Urim and Thummim was not improbably
218 I. SAMUEL, XXVIII. [vv. 8, 9,
servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that
I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said
to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit
8 at En-dor. And Saul disguised himself, and put on other
raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they
came to the woman by night : and he said, I pray thee,
divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up,
9 whom/ 1 shall name unto thee. And the woman said unto
him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he
hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards,
Egyptian. A plausible conjecture connects them with the symbol of
Truth worn by the priest-judges of Egypt, and the symbol of Light worn
by members of the priestly caste.
(e) The method of use must remain an enigma. The most probable
theories are either (1) that they were consecrated objects by gazing on
which the high -priest passed into a state of spiritual, ecstasy, and purified
from selfish and worldly thoughts became receptive of a supernatural
illumination : or (2) that they were a special means of casting lots. Cp.
note on xiv. 41.
by prophets) Cp. ix. 6, xxii. 5, for instances of counsel given through
prophets. The same three methods of inquiry are mentioned in Horn.
//. I. 62 : 1 "But seek we first some prophet or some priest,
Or some wise vision-seer, since visions too
From Zeus proceed."
7. that hath a familiar spirit] Lit. " possessor of an Ob." See on
v. 3, and cp. Acts xvi. 16. Cp. Virg. Aen. VII. 312 :
" Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo."
" If heaven bends not, I will stir hell beneath."
En-dor] = fountain of the dwelling, was on the northern slope of the
Little Hermon (Neby D&hy), where the village of Endbr still marks the
site. It was famous as the scene of Sisera's defeat and death (Ps.
lxxxiii. 10).
8. they came to the woman by night] It was an adventurous journey.
They had to pass over the shoulder of the hill on which the Philistines
were encamped, and traverse a distance of not less than ten or twelve
miles. The darkness around was a fit emblem of the darkness in Saul's
soul. Cp. John xiii. 30, and Augustine's comment "Nox erat, et ipse
qui exivit eraf nox," (It was night, and he who went forth was night).
bring me him up, &c] A more precise definition of the method of
divination "by Ob." Cp. Deut. xviii. 10, 11. Probably Saul expected
to hear a voice, but not to see a form. Necromancy was practised
among the Greeks and other heathen nations. There was a famous
oracle of this kind on the River Acheron in Epirus (vtKvopjunaor).
w. io— 15.] I. SAMUEL, XXVIII. 219
out of the land : wherefore then layest thou a snare for my
life, to cause me to die ? And Saul sware to her by the 10
Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall no punish
ment happen to thee for this thing. Then said the woman, «
Whom shall I bring up unto thee ? And he said, Bring me
up Samuel. And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried «
with a loud voice : and the woman spake to Saul, saying,
Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. And the' 13
king said unto her, Be not afraid : for what sawestthou ?
And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out
of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? 14
And she said, An old man cometh up ; and he is covered
with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and
he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.
15 — 19. Samuel pronounces Saul's doom.
And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, 15
11. Bring me up Samuel] From Sheol, the realm of departed
spirits, which is always spoken of as beneath the earth. The nature of
the transaction here recorded is discussed in Additional Note VIII. on
p. 244. It is assumed in the notes here that Samuel really appeared and
spoke. 12. thou art Saul] The woman had not previously recognised her
visitor, but simultaneously with the apparition of Samuel, discovered
that he was Saul, either by the fact of the apparition for which she was
unprepared, or by her intensified perception in a state of clairvoyance.
13. gods] The Heb. word Eidhim is plural, and when not applied
to God Himself is generally to be so rendered. But it is evident from
v. 14 that only a single figure appeared. Eidhim here denotes a super
natural, non-earthly being; or as Josephus paraphrases it, "one of god
like form."
14. An old man cometh up) The Sept. has "» man coming up
upright," a reading which is possibly due to the strange Rabbinic fable
that the witch knew her visitor to be Saul because Samuel came up
erect to do honour to the king, instead of appearing feet foremost as
ghosts evoked usually did !
a mantle] The prophet's garb. Cp. xv. 27.
Saul perceived] Lit. knew. Saul recognised from the description that
it was Samuel, and shewed his reverence for the great prophet by the
usual gesture. Cp. xxiv. 8. At first Samuel was seen by the witch
only, but Saul's obeisance, and the conversation carried on between
them, seem to indicate that he afterwards became visible to Saul also.
15—19. Samuel pronounces Saul's doom.
15. Why hast thou disquieted me] Disturbed me from my rest in
220 I. SAMUEL, XXVI IT. [vv. 16—19.
to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed;
for the Philistines make war against me, and God is
departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by
prophets, nor by dreams : therefore I have called thee, that
-l*> thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. Then
said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing
the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine
17 enemy? And the Lord hath done to him, as he spake by
me : for the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of thine -hand,
18 and given it to thy neighbour, even to David : because thou
. obeyedst not the voice pf the Lord, nor executedst his
fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done
19 this thing unto thee this day. Moreover the Lord will also
deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and
to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me : the Lord
also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the
Philistines.
She61. Samuel utters this complaint, because although he came as
God's messenger, Saul's sin was the moving cause of sa unnatural a
mission. 16. Wherefore then, &c] As if in such extremity I who am only
God's servant could do aught for thee.
is become thine enemy] The expressibn is startling, and it is almost
certain that there is some corruption in the text, (a) The word for
"enemy" is an Aramaic form, found elsewhere in Hebrew only in one
or two doubtful instances, (b) The ancient versions point to some
different reading. The Sept. gives ' ' has turned to be with thy neigh
bour;" the Vulg. "has passed over to thy rival;" the Targ. "has be
come the help of a man who is thine enemy." ) It seems best to follow
the Sept. Comp. xv. 28; xvi. 13, 14. /
17. to him] i.e. if the Sept. reading is adopted in v. 16, to David:
or it may refer to God, and mean "for himself," in fulfilment of His
will. But the Sept. and Vulg. read "to thee."
as he spake by me] See xv. 28.
18. Because thou obeyedst not, Scti.) Cp. xv. 20, 26.
executedst hath the Lord done] The connexion between the sin
and the sentence is emphasized by the use of the same verb in the
original in both clauses.
19. will also deliver Israel] Will deliver Israel also. The guilt of
the king involves the nation also in punishment. In this clause the
impending disaster is foretold generally ; in the second and third clauses
it is further defined as the death of the king and the defeat of the
army. with me] In Shefil or Hades, the abode of departed spirits of right
eous and wicked alike. Cp. Job iii. 17; 2 Sam. xii. 23.
w. 20— 25; 1] 1. SAMUEL, XXVIII. XXIX. 221
20 — 25. Saul entertained by the woman.
Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was 20
sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel : and there was
no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day,
nor all the night. And the woman came unto Saul, and 21
saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold,
thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my
life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which
thou spakest unto me. Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken 22
thou also unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set
a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest
have strength, when thou goest on thy way. But he refused, 23
and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the
woman, compelled him ; and he hearkened unto their voice.
So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed. And the 24
woman had a fat calf in the house ; and she hasted, and
killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake
unleavened bread thereof: and she brought it before Saul, 25
and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they
arose up, and went away that night.
Ch. XXIX. 1 — 5. The Philistine lords' distrust of David.
Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to 29
20 — 25. Saul entertained by the woman.
20. all along] His full length, lit. "the fulness of his stature."
Terror of mind and exhaustion of body left him powerless.
21. I have put my life in my hand) By doing that which rendered
her liable to the punishment of death. Cp. xix. 5.
22. hearken thou also unto the voice] Obey thou also the voice.
The E. V. fails to bring out the exact parallel which the woman draws
between her own compliance and the compliance she asks from Saiil.
23. upon the bed] Probably the divan, or platform running along
the wall, which in the East serves for a seat by day and a bed at night.
Cp. Esth. i. 6; Ezek. xxiii. 41. Portable couches were also in use
(ch. xix. 15).
24. And the woman, &c] Meals are rapidly prepared in the East.
"With the Bedawin it is nearly universal to cook the meat imme
diately after it is butchered, and to bake fresh bread for every meal."
fhe Land and the Book, p. 446. Cp. Gen. xviii. 6 ff.
Ch. XXIX. 1—5. The Philistine lords' distrust of David.
1. Now the Philistines, &c. The narrative of xxviii. 1, 2 is resumed,
with a further description of the positions of the armies before the battle.
222 I. SAMUEL, XXIX; [vv. 2, 3,
Aphek : and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in
2 Jezreel. And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hun
dreds, and by thousands : but David and his men passed on
3 in the rereward with Achish. Then said the princes of the
Aphek] This cannot be the Aphek of iv. 1, in the neighbourhood of
Bethhoron, for in that case there would be no reason to account for
Saul's army being already encamped at Jezreel. Possibly it is to be
identified with Fuleh, about two miles to the W. of Shunem: or, as
Lieut. Conder thinks, with FukHa, 6 miles S.E. of Jezreel. In the
latter case, the Philistines had shifted their camp from Shunem, and
turned the strong position of Jezreel on the side where it is most assailable:
but this seems less probable, and does not agree with the account of the
flight of the Israelites to Mount Gilboa (xxxi. 1 ).
a fountain which is in Jezreel] "The fountain in Jezreel" was pro
bably the present Ain JdlHd, less than two miles E.S.E. of Zerin. "It
is a very large fountain, flowing out from under a sort of cavern in the
wall of conglomerate rock, which here forms the base of Gilboa. It
spreads out at once into a fine limpid pool, forty or fifty feet in diameter.
A stream sufficient to turn a mill flows off eastwards down the valley."
.Robinson, Bibl. Res. II. 323. It may have been the identical " spring
of Harod" at which Gideon tested his men (Jud. vii. 1 ff.). The modern
name of Jezreel is Zerin: the feeble initial/ (y) having been dropped,
and the termination el changed to tn, as in Beitin for Bethel.
Jezreel was a strong and central position. It stood upon the brow
of a steep rocky descent of at least 100 feet to the N.E., at the opening
of the middle branch of the three eastern forks of the plain of Esdraelon,
commanding the broad and fertile valley which slopes eastward to the
Jordan, and all the extent of the great plain reaching westward to the
long blue ridge of Carmel. See Robinson, Bibl. Res. 11. 318 ff. Jezreel
was the favourite residence of Ahab (1 Kings xxi. 1 ff.) ; there Jezebel
established a temple of Astarte with 400 priests (1 Kings xviii. 19);
here was enacted the tragedy of Naboth's judicial murder (1 Kings xxi.
13) ; and here Jezebel met with her end (2 Kings ix. 30 ff.).
2. And the lords, &c] Render, Now the lords... were passing on.
The narrative now goes back to a point of time during the march of the
Philistine army northwards, probably soon after the junction of the con
federate forces from the different cities of the league. It must have been
after they had passed the Philistine frontier, as David "returned into
the land of the Philistines" (v. 11), but soon after, as he reached Ziklag
on the third day (xxx. 1).
the lords] For the special title Seren translated " lord " see on ch, v. 8.
They were marching at the head of " the hundreds and the thousands"
which were the military divisions of the army.
the rereward] The rear-guard, ward and guard being related as wise
and guise. Cp. Is. Hi. 1 2.
3. princes] The Hebrew equivalent for the special title Seren ren
dered lord.
vv. 4—8.] I. SAMUEL, XXIX. 223
Philistines, What do these Hebrews here 1 And Achish said
unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the
servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me
these days, or these years, and I have found wo fault in him
since he fell unto me unto this day ? And the princes of the 4
Philistines were wroth with him ; and the princes of the
Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he
may go again to his place, which thou hast appointed him,
and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle
he be an adversary to us : for wherewith should he reconcile
himself unto his master? should it not be with the heads of
these men ? Is not this David, of whom they sang one to 5
another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and
David his ten thousands?
6 — 1 1. David dismissed from the army.
Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, 6
as the Lord liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going
out and thy coming in with me in the host is good ih
my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day
of thy coming unto me unto this day : nevertheless the
lords favour thee not. Wherefore now return, and go in 7
peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines.
And David said unto Achish, But what have- 1 done ? and s
Hebrews] See on iv. 6.
these days, or these years] Lit. "now days ( = a year) or now years,"
i.e. for a considerable time, sufficient to test his fidelity. Cp. xxvii. 7.
since he fell unto vie] i.e. deserted and came over to me. Cp. 1 Chr.
xii. 19, 20.
4. this fellow] Simply, " the man :" but below, " wherewith should
this fellow make himself acceptable unto his master? should it not be
with the heads of those men?" Pointing to the troops marching past.
5. of whom they sang) "Of whom they sing one to another in the
dances;" i.e. in popular songs at festivals. See on xxi. 11,
6 11. David dismissed from the army.
6. as the Lord liveth] Either the exact wording of the speech is
due' to the historian, or Achish, to convince David of his sincerity,
swears by the God of Israel.
thou hast been upright] Better, thou art upright.
thy going out, &c] Thy company in this expedition would please
me, for I have always found thee a faithful ally. _
8 And David said, &c] A hypocritical answer, designed to confirm
224 L SAMUEL, XXIX. XXX. [vv. 9— 11 ; 1.
what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been
with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against
9 the enemies of my lord the king ? And Achish answered
and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight,
as an angel of God : notwithstanding the princes of the
Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the
10 battle. Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with
thy master's servants that are come with thee : and as soon
as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart.
it So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning,
to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philis
tines went up io Jezreel.
Ch. XXX. 1 — 6. Sack of Ziklag in David's absence.
30 And it came to pass, when David and his men were come
to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded
the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burnt it with
Achish in the belief of his fidelity. Compare David's previous conduct
(ch. xxvii. 10 — 12). But David can scarcely have intended to fight
against his countrymen, and must have inwardly rejoiced that God had
delivered him out of so perplexing a dilemma.
9. I know that, &c] Better, I know it, for, &c.
as an angel of God] Cp. 2 Sam. xiv. 17, 20, xix. 27. The Sept. (B)
omits the words.
10. with thy master's servants] Achish speaks of David's men as
Saul's subjects, in view of the objection which has been made to their
presence in the army.
with thee] After these words the Sept. (A B) adds: "And go ye
unto the place which I have appointed you ; and lay not up any evil
thought in thine heart, for thou art good in my sight. "
11. to Jezreel] The Sept. reading (A B) " to fight against Israel"
is plausible. Ch. XXX. 1 — 6. Sack of Ziklag in David's absence.
1. on the third day] After leaving the Philistine army. Evidently
he had not accompanied them far beyond the frontier. See note on
xxix. 2.
the Amalekites] Possibly they had got information of David's absence,
and took the opportunity to make reprisals for his raids on them (xxvii.
8). the south, and Ziklag) The Negeb or "south country" is the techni
cal name for the district between the hills of Judah and the actual desert.
It is a series of rolling hills, clad with scanty herbage here and there.
In places there is fine upland pasture, but not a tree nor a shrub to
w. 2— 9. J I. SAMUEL, XXX. 225
fire; and had taken the women captives, that were therein : 2
they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them
away, and went on their way. So David and his men came 3
to the city, and behold, it was burnt with fire ; and their
wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken
captives. Then David and the people that were with him 4
lift up their voice and wept, until they had no more power
to weep. And David's two wives were taken captives, s
Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the
Carmelite. And David was greatly distressed ; for the 6
people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all' the
people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his
daughters : but David encouraged himself in the Lord
his God. 7 — 20. The pursuit.
And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's 7
son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abi
athar brought thither the ephod to David. And David 8
inquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop ?
shall I overtake them ? And he answered him. Pursue : for
thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with 9
him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were
relieve its bareness. See Tristram, Land of Israel, pp. 360 — 373. In
this district Ziklag was situated.
4. wept] See on xi. 4.
6. spake of stoning him] Cp. Ex. xvii. 4; Num. xiv. 10. They
laid the blame on him, because he had left no force to guard Ziklag.
was grieved] Was exasperated, lit. "was bitter." Cp. xxii. 2.
encouraged himself] Strengthened himself. Cp. xxiii. 16 ; Eph. vi.
10; and many of the Psalms, e.g. xviii. 2, xxvii. 14, xxxi. 1 ff., 24, &c.
7 — 20. The pursuit.
7. bring me hither the ephod) He desired to consult God by means
of the Urim and Thummim, as before at Keilah (xxiii. 9).
8. inquired al]= inquired of. Cp. Gen. xxiv. 57.
pursue... overtake] Cp. Ex. xv. 9. _
9 the six hundred men] For a rapid pursuit a small force of picked
men was most suitable. Cp. xxvii. 2. No doubt by this time he had
a much larger force at his command.
the brook Besor] The Heb. word is nachal, which means a ravine,
or torrent-bed, with a stream at the bottom. The brook Besor is men-
I. SAMUEL 1 5
226 I. SAMUEL, XXX. ' [vv. 10—14.
10 left behind stayed. But David pursued, he and four hun
dred men : for two hundred abode behind, which were so
faint that they could not go oyer the brook Besor.
" And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him
to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat ; and they
12 made him 'drink water ; and they gave him a piece of a cake'
of figs, and tWo clusters of raisins : and when he had eaten,
his spirit tame again to him: for he had eaten no bread,
13 nor drunk ahy water, three days and three nights. And
David said unto him, To whom belongest thou ? and whence
art th'ou ? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant
to an Amalekite ; and my master left me, because three days
14 agone I fell sick. We made an invasion upon the south of '
the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah,
and upon the south of Caleb; and we burnt Ziklag with.
tioned here only, and has not been identified with certainty. Perhaps
it was the Wddy es Sheriah, which rims down to the sea a few miles
south of Gaza.
10. abode behind) Stayed, as in v. 9. The condensed expression
of the last clause of v. 9 is explained by v. 10.
were so faint] A verb found only here and in v. 21, connected with
a substantive meaning a corpse; as we should say, they were dead-beat.
11. bread] Food : what it was is specified in the next verse : a piece
of fig-cake and two lumps of raisins. See on xxv. 18. The Sept. (B)
omits the raisins.
12, his spirit came again to him] He revived. Cp. Jud. xv. 19.
13. To whom belongest thou] His appearance shewed that he was a
slave. servant] Slave : captured in some Amalekite foray.
three days agone] So that more than three days had elapsed since the
sack of Ziklag, for they had gone at least one long day's march before
he was deserted. "Agone," now usually written ago, is the past parti
ciple of an obsolete verb agon, to go away.
my master left me] "A barbarous act, to leave him there to perish, -
when they had camels good -store, for the earriage of men as well as of
their spoil (v. 17): but this inhumanity cost them dear; for by this
means they lost their own lives." Patrick.
14. the Cherethites] Evidently a tribe of Philistines living on the
southern border of Philistia, as the spoil is said in v. 16 to have been
taken "out of the land of the Philistines." Cp. Ezek. xxv. 16; Zeph.
ii. 5. The name may possibly be connected with Crete.
coast] Border. See on ch. v. 6.
the south of Caleb] Joshua's faithful companion received Hebron for
his inheritance (Josh. xiv. 13), and when he ceded the city to the priests
for a city of refuge, retained the surrounding land in his own possession
vv. 15^-20.] I. SAMUEL, XXX. 227
fire. And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to 15
this company ? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that
thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of
my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.
And when he had brought him down, behold they were 16
spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and
dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken
out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of
Judah. And David smote them from the twilight even 17
unto the evening of the next day : and there escaped not a
man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode
upon camels, and fled. And David recovered all that the 18
Amalekites had carried away : and David rescued his two
wives. And there was nothing lacking to them, neither 19
small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil,
nor any thing that they had taken to them : David recovered
all. And David took all the flocks and the herds, which =°
(Josh. xxi. it, 12; cp. I Sam. xxv. 3). Apparently he gave his name
to part of the Negeb (v. 1), which was known as the Negeb of Caleb.
15. company] Troop, as in v. 8, and again in v. 23. It is the
regular word for a band of roving plunderers. Cp. Ps. xviii. 29. Is it
fanciful to think that David there refers to this successful pursuit of the
Amalekites? He must always have remembered it as one of the signal
mercies of his life.
16. dancing] Or, feasting.
17. And David smote, &c] He reached the neighbourhood of
their Camp in the evening, and found them scattered about in disorder,
carousing over the spoil. As soon as the morning began to dawn he
attacked them (cp. xi. 11), and the fight lasted till nightfall. After the
first surprise, the Amalekites made a stubborn resistance.
the evening of the next day] The battle can scarcely have lasted two
whole days. If the reading is right, the phrase the evening towards
the mori-ow may denote the evening with which the next day com
menced, Jewish days being reckoned from sunset to sunset, so that
the fight lasted from early dawn till past sunset.
young men] Perhaps servants, as in xvi. 18. The Amalekites were
famous for camels. Cp. Jud. vii. 12; 1 Sam. xv. 3-
18. recovered... rescued] Different renderings of the same Heb
word, used also in v. 8. Rescue is the best equivalent. ' Recovered'
in v. 19 is a different word; literally meaning "brought back
19. that they had taken to them] i.e. which the Amalekites had taken
for themselves. They carried off the women and children alive to use
or sell for slaves. , . T
20. This verse as it stands admits of no satisfactory explanation.. It.
is— 2
228 L SAMUEL, XXX: [w. 21—25.
they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is
David's spoil. 21—25. The division of the spoil.
21 And David came to the two hundred men, which were so
faint that could not follow David, whom they had made also
to abide at the brook Besor : and they went forth to meet
David, and to meet the people that were with him : and
when David came near to the people, he saluted them.
21 Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of
those that went with David, and said, Because they went not
with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we
have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children,
23 that they may lead them away, and depart. Then said
David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the
Lord hath given us^ who hath preserved us, and delivered
=4 the company that came against us into our hand. For who
will hearken unto you in this matter ? but as his part is that
goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by
25 the stuff: they shall part alike. And it was so from that day
is best to follow the Vulgate, with which the Sept. in the main agrees,
and read, And he took all the flocks and the herds, and drave them
before him : and they said, This is David's spoil : i.e. he not only
recovered his own property, but took a rich booty besides, which his
men drove off with shouts of triumph. The number of places to which
he sent presents (vv. 26 — 31) shews how large it must have been.
21 — 25. The division of the spoil.
22. Then answered, &c] Then answered every wicked man and
every worthless man. ..Because they went not with me. Each spoke
for himself; in the true spirit of selfishness.
24. For who, &c] Better, And who will hearken unto you as
regards this saying ? A negative answer is implied : No one; for, &c.
The Sept. adds, "for they are not inferior to us."
as his part, &c] The rule for the division of the spoil between'
combatants and non-combatants was an ancient one. See Num. xxxi.
27 ; and cp. Josh. xxii. 8. David now enforced a special application
of it with reference to the divisions of the army. A similar law
existed at Rome. According to Polybius (x. 16. 5), Scipio after the
sack of New Carthage directed the tribunes to divide the booty in equal
portions to all, including the reserves, the guards of the camp, and
the sick.
the stuff] The baggage. See on x. 22.
w. 26—29.] 1. SAMUEL, XXX.
229
forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for
Israel unto this day,
26 — 31- The presents sent to the elders of jfudah.
And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto =6
the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a
present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord ; to 27
them which were in Beth-el, and to them which were in south
Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir, and to them 28
which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth,
and to them which were in Eshtemoa, and to them which 29
they shall part alike] " Part" = share. The use of the verb in this
sense is an archaism. Cp. Acts ii. 45.
26 — 31. The presents sent to the elders of Judah.
26. he sent of the spoil, &c] In gratitude for the assistance he had
received from them during his wanderings, and to secure their good
will when Saul's death should open the way for him to the throne. On
the elders see at viii. 4.
a present] Lit. a blessing, as in xxv. 27.
the spoil of the enemies of the Lord] Since Israel was Jehovah's
people, the enemies of Israel were the enemies of His kingdom and
His cause, and every war against them was a holy war. Cp. xviii. 1 7,
xxv. 28.
27. Bethel] Not the well known Bethel in the tribe of Benjamin,
but Bethul or Bethuel, called also Chesil, a city in the neighbourhood
of Ziklag and Hormah, originally assigned to Judah, and subsequently
transferred to Simeon (Josh. xv. 30, xix. 4; 1 Chr. iv. 30).
south Ramoth] Ramoth-Negeb, or Ramoth in the south country,
as distinguished from Ramoth Gilead, is probably the same as Ramath-
Negeb in Josh. xix. 8. Perhaps " Shimei the Ramathite," the overseer
of David's vineyards, came from it (1 Chr. xxvii. 27).
Jattir] A priestly city in the mountains of Judah (Josh. xv. 48,
xxi. 14), probably the modern Attir, 4% miles S.W. of Eshtemoa. It
may have been the native place of David's heroes Ira and Gareb the
Ithrites (2 Sam. xxiii. 38).
28. Aroer] Obviously not the famous city on the R. Arnon. Perhaps
the name survives in the Wady Ardrah, some 20 miles south of
Hebron, where Robinson found evident traces of an ancient village
or town (11. 199). " Shama and Jehiel the sons of Hothan the
Aroerite" are mentioned in the catalogue of David's valiant men
(1 Chr. xi. 44).
Siphmoth] mentioned nowhere else, unless it was the home of Zabdi
fhe Shiphmite, the steward of David's wine-cellars (1 Chr. xxvii. 27).
.. Eshtemoa] A priestly city (Josh. xv. 50, xxi. 14); now Es Semua,
230 I. SAMUEL, XXX [vv. 30, jr;
were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the
Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the
3o Kenites, and to them which were in Hormah, and to them
which were in Chor-ashan, and to them which were in
31 Athach, and to them which were in Hebron, and to all
the places where David himself and his men were wont to
haunt.
nine miles S.S.W. of Hebron, "a considerable village, situated on
a low hill, with broad valleys round about, full of flocks and herds.
In several places there are remains of walls built of very large stones,
marking the site of an extensive ancient town." Robinson, Bibl. Res.
11. 204.
29. Rachal] Nowhere else mentioned. The Sept. reads Carmel,
but its list is corrupt and not to be trusted.
the Jerahmeelites) See on xxvii. 10.
the Kenites) See on xv. 6.
30. Hormah] Or Zephath (Jud. i. 17), an ancient Canaanite city
(Josh. xii. 14), assigned to Judah (Josh. xv. 30) and transferred to
Simeon (Josh. xix. 4).
Chor-ashan] The true reading is Bor-ashan ( = Cistern of Ashan).
It was doubtless the same as Ashan, a Simeonite city in the Negeb
originally given to Judah (Josh. xv. 42, xix. 7).
Athach] Nowhere else mentioned. Perhaps a corruption for Ether,
the letters of which are very similar, (Josh. xv. 42, where the Sept.
reads Ithak ; xix. 7), another city of Judah transferred to Simeon.
31. Hebron] One of the most ancient cities in the world (Num.
xiii. 22). When Abraham entered Canaan it was already existing
under the name of Kirjath Arba. In its neighbourhood he often
sojourned, and there he bought the cave of Machpelah from Ephron
the Hittite for a family sepulchre for himself and his posterity (Gen.
xxiii. 2 ff.). On the conquest of Canaan it became the inheritance of
Caleb (Josh. xiv. 13 — 15), and was made a priestly settlement and a
city of refuge (Josh. xxi. n — 13). It was soon to attain greater im
portance as the capital of David's kingdom during the first seven years
and a half of his reign. It lies 20 miles south of Jerusalem, pic
turesquely situated in a narrow valley surrounded by rocky hills, whose
sides are clothed with luxuriant vineyards. Its modern name is El
Khultl= " The Friend," in memory of Abraham who was called "the
friend of God " (2 Chr. xx. 7 ; Is. xli. 8; James ii. 23).
all the places, &c] It is evident that David's outlaw life must have
lasted for some considerable time, and have proved an important factor
in preparing the men of Judah to welcome him as their king. The
instances quoted above indicate that it was during this period that he
gained many of the faithful friends who afterwards filled offices of trust
in his kingdom.
yy- 1— 4-3 I. SAMUEL, XXXL 231
• Ch. XXXI. 1—7. The death of Saul on Mount Gilboa. ,
Now the Philistines fought against Israel : and the men of 31
Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in
mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard upon 2
Saul and upon his sons ; and the Philistines slew Jonathan,
and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons. And the battle 3
went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him ; and he was
sore wounded of the archers. Then said Saul unto his 4
armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and. thrust me through
therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me
Ch. XXXI. 1 — 7. The death of Saul on Mount Gilboa.
1. The narrative of this chapter has been inserted by the compiler
of Chronicles in his work (1 Chron. x. 1 — 12) with only a few verbal
i variations. Now the Philistines] The notices of the Philistine muster in xxviii.
4, xxix. 1, n have prepared the way for the account of the battle.
Four battles memorable in the history of Israel were fought in or
near the plain of Esdraelon " the great battlefield of Palestine."
. (1) The battle of Kishon, in which Deborah and Barak defeated the
host of Sisera (Jud. iv. 15, v. 2r).
(2) The battle of Jezreel, in which Gideon's three hundred routed
the vast horde of Midianites (Jud. vii.).
(3) The disastrous battle of Mount Gilboa recorded here.
(4) The battle of Megiddo, where Josiah lost his life fighting against
Pharaoh Necho.
(5) A fifth may be added, the battle of Hattin, on the fifth of July,
1187, " the last struggle of the Crusaders, in which all was staked in the
presence of the holiest scenes of Christianity, and all miserably lost."
See Stanley's Sin. and Pal. p. 335 ff., 369.
the men of Israel filed] Probably the battle took place in the plain of
Jezreel; the men of Israel were driven back on their camp, and finally
fled in confusion up the heights of Gilboa, pursued by the Philistines.
2. Saul's sons] See xiv. 49. There is a tragic pathos in the simplicity
of the account. Cp. v. 6.
3. the battle went sore' against Saul] Cp. 1 Kings xxn. 31 ff. The
Vulg. has a striking paraphrase: "the whole weight of the battle was
directed against Saul," (totumque pondus praelii versum est in Saul).
he was sore wounded] So the Sept. and Vulg. But the Heb. may
also be rendered, " and he was sore afraid." Despair and the fear of
insult paralysed his courage. For "of the archers" the Sept. reads "in
the abdomen," but the Heb. text is preferable.
4. Then said Saul, &c] Cp. Jud. ix. 54. _
these uncircumcised] No indignity could be more intolerable than .
for the sacred person of Jehovah's Anointed to be the butt of the
heathen who had no part in His covenant. Cp. xiv. 6.
232 I. SAMUEL, XXXI. [vv. 5—8.
through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not ;
for he was sore afraid : therefore Saul took a sword, and fell
5 upon it. And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was
dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him.
6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and
all his men, that same day together.
7 And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of
the valley, and they that were on the other side Jordan, saw
that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were
dead, they forsook the cities, and fled ; and the Philistines
came and dwelt in them.
8 — 13. The burial of Saul and his Sons.
8 And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philis
tines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and
abuse me] Maltreat me for their own amusement.
a sword] His sword.
fell upon it] This account of Saul's death is obviously inconsistent
with that given by the Amalekite (2 Sam. i. 9 ff.). His story was a
fabrication. He found the king's corpse on the field, stripped it, and
brought the spoil to David in the hope of a reward.
5. and died with him) Being answerable for the king's life he feared
punishment :- or from a nobler motive of true fidelity, refused to survive
his master.
6. and all his men] The Sept. (B) omits' these words. 1 Chron. x. 6
reads ' ' all his house. " Probably the soldiers of the royal body guard are
meant, who fell fighting round him like Harold's hus-carls at the battle
of Hastings. If so, there is no difficulty in the escape of Ishbosheth, who
probably was not on the field, and of Abner, who as general would not
be in attendance on the king's person.
7. on the other side of the valley] On the side of the valley (Smek,
see on vi. 13) or plain of Jezreel opposite to the battle-field. The
district to the north is meant, in which the tribes of Issachar, Zebulun
and Naphtali dwelt. 1 Chron. x. 7 however reads simply "in the
valley,"and perhaps the phrase only means "on the side of the valley."
See next note.
on the other side Jordan] This is the usual sense of the Hebrew
words. The panic spread even to the eastern side of the Jordan. But
possibly the phrase here means "on the side of the Jordan," i.e. in the
district between the battle-field and the river; which agrees better with
the account of the exploit of the Jabeshites, and the establishment of
Ishbosheth's kingdom at Mahanaim. The greater part of the north of
Canaan was thus occupied by the Philistines. Note that this clause is
omitted in 1 Chron. x. 7.
w. 9—12.] i. SAMUEL, XXXI. 233'
his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa. And they cut 9
off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into
the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in
the house of their idols, and among the people. And 10
they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth : and they
', fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. And when the n
inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard of that which the Philis
tines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose, and went 12
all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his
sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh, and
8 — 13. The burial of Saul and his Sons.
9. they cut off his head] The Anointed of Jehovah fares no better
than the uncircumcised Goliath, now that God has forsaken him.
to publish it) To publish the good news. Sept. evayye\l£oi>T6s. Cp.
2 Sam. i. 20.
in the house of their idols] In the temples of their idols, which were
regarded as the givers of the victory. Cp. ch. v. i. Chron. reads "to
carry tidings to their idols."
10. the house of Ashtaroth] See on vii. 3. "This was doubtless the
famous temple of Venus in Askelon mentioned by Herodotus (I. 105) as
the most ancient of all her temples. Hence the special mention of
Askelon in 2 Sam. i. 20." Speaker's Comm.
they fastened his body to the wall] Together with the bodies of his
sons (v. 12). They were hung on the wall in the "open place" (2 Sam.
xxi. 12,, E. V. street) by the gate, that all the passers by might join in
exulting over the defeat and disgrace of Israel.
Beth-shan] Now Beisdn, situated in the Wady JdMd four miles west
of the Jordan, "on the brow just where the plain of Jezreel drops down
by a rather steep descent some three hundred feet to the level of the
Gh&r," or Jordan valley. After the Return from the Captivity it was
known as Scythopolis (2 Mace. xii. 29; cp. the Sept. of Jud. i. 27).
In 1 Chr. x. 10 this statement about Saul's body is omitted, and in its
place we read that "they fastened his head in the temple of Dagon."
11. the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead] Mindful of the debt of grati
tude they owed to Saul for rescuing them from Nahash (ch. xi.). The
isolated round-topped hill on the south side of the Wady Ydbis, which
has been conjecturally fixed upon as the site of Jabesh, is in full view
of Beth-shan (Tristram, Land of Israel, p. stf). The distance over the
hills, down into the Jordan valley, and up the Wady Jdlud is not much
under twenty miles. .
12 burnt them] Cremation was not a Hebrew practice, but in the
present case was probably adopted to avoid the possibility of further
insult to the bodies, if the Philistines should take Jabesh. The con
densed account in Chronicles omits the mention of the burning.
234 I. SAMUEL, XXXI. [y. 13.
13 burnt them there. And they took their bones, and buried
them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
13. under a tree] Under the tamarisk, some well-known tree at
Jabesh. Chron. reads "under the terebinth," (Hah). David removed
the bones to the family sepulchre at Zelah (2 Sam. xxi. 12 — 14).
fasted seven days] A sign of general mourning. Cp. 2 Sam. i. 12,
iii. 35, &c.
APPENDIX. NOTE I.
The Lord of Hosts1.
(i) The. title Jehovah Tsebddth translated "Lord of hosts" meets us
for the first time in the O. T. in i Sam. i. 3. In the various forms
"Lord of hosts," "Lord God of hosts," " God of hosts," it is found in
the books of Samuel (and the parallel passages in 1 Chr.), Kings, the
first three books of Psalms, very frequently in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and
the Minor Prophets, but never in the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges,
Ruth, Job, Proverbs, Ezekiel, Daniel.
(2) In the LXX. it is sometimes rendered "Lord of hosts" (KiJ/mos
tivv&fiew), sometimes "Lord Almighty" (Kupios iravroKparup), some
times left untranslated (Kbpios 2a@au$) ; and with this latter form "Lord
of Sabaoth" we are familiar from Rom. ix. 29; James v. 4; and the Te
Deum. The Vulgate renders it Dominus exercituum, "Lord of, armies,"
or Dominus (Deus) virtutum, "Lord of powers."
(3) What then is the significance of the title? The word translated
hosts denotes (1) earthly hosts or armies, as in Ex. vii. 4; Ps. xliv. 9;
(2) heavenly hosts: either (a) celestial bodies, sun moon and stars, as in
Gen. ii. 1; Deut. iv. 19; Is. xl. 26: or (b) celestial beings, angels, as in
Josh. v. 14; 1 Kings xxii. 19; Ps. cxlviii. 2. From the first of these
meanings the title has been explained to mean ' ' Lord of the armies of
Israel," and regarded "as an expression of the warlike spirit of the
age:" in connexion with the second, the title "Lord of the heavenly
hosts" has been thought to have originated in a protest against the
idolatrous worship of " the host of heaven" already beginning to spread
among the people.
(4) Whatever its origin, it should be noted that the title first appears
simultaneously with the foundation of the Monarchy. It is used by
David in Ps. xxiv. 10, as the loftiest title of Jehovah. May we not then
take "hosts" in its widest sense, including both earthly and heavenly
hosts, and see in the title a proclamation of the universal sovereignty of
Jehovah, needed within the nation, lest that invisible sovereignty should
be forgotten in the visible majesty of the king; and outside the nation,
1 Xhere is an interesting essay on this title in Prof. Plumptre's Biblical Studies.
236 APPENDIX.
lest Jehovah should be supposed to be merely a national deity? If we
understand the title in this larger sense, it includes the idea that the
sovereign power was specially exercised on behalf of the covenant
people, and that " the Lord of hosts" was " the God of the armies of
Israel" (i Sam. xvii. 45).
(5) For us its significance is well explained by the words of the Te
Deum, "Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of Thy Glory."
Cp. Is. vi. 3; Rev. iv. 6 — n.
NOTE II.
On the Name Jehovah.
From very early times the sacred name Jehovah was never pro
nounced by the Jews, owing to a mistaken interpretation of Lev. xxiv.
16, which was supposed to prohibit its utterance. In reading the
Scriptures they substituted for it AdSnai, which means "Lord," except
when Ad6na,i is joined with Jehovah, in which case E16him ( = "God")
was substituted.
This practice was followed by the LXX. and Vulgate, and in
general by the English Version, which however, whenever Lord and '
God represent the Sacred Name, indicates the fact by the use of capital
letters. The true pronunciation is almost certainly lost. Jehovah is a com
bination of the consonants of the Name with the vowels of AdSnai
which are now written with it in the Hebrew text1. Modern gram
marians argue that it ought to be read Yahveh or Yahaveh; but
Jehovah seems firmly rooted in the English language, and the really
important point is not the exact pronunciation, but to bear in mind
that it is a Proper Name, not merely an appellative title like Lord.
It probably means " The Eternal, " or "The Self-existent," the "I am,"
and denotes God as the Covenant-God of His people Israel. See Ex.
iii. 14. NOTE III.
The Targum on i Sam. ii. i — ro.
And Hannah prayed in the spirit of prophecy and said : Behold Samuel
my son shall be a prophet over Israel : in his days shall they be delivered
from the hand of the Philistines, and by his hands shall be done unto
them signs and mighty acts : therefore is my heart strong in the portion
which Jehovah hath given me. And likewise Heman the son of Joel,'
the son of my son Samuel, shall arise with his fourteen sons to chant
with psalteries and harps along with their brethren the Levites, to
1 See Introd. p. 14.
APPENDIX. 237
.praise in the house of the sanctuary1: therefore is my horn exalted in the
gift which the Lord hath bestowed on me : and also concerning the
miraculous vengeance which shall befall the Philistines, who shall bring
the ark of Jehovah in a new cart, and ¦- trespass-offering with it : there
fore shall the congregation of Israel, say, I will open my mouth to speak
great things against mine enemies, because I rejoice in Thy deliver
ance. Concerning Sanchenb [Sennacherib] king of Asshur she prophesied
and said, He shall arise with all his host against Jerusalem, and a great
sign [miracle] shall be done upon him : the corpses of his armies shall
fall there. Therefore shall all the peoples nations and tongues give
thanks and say, There is none holy but Jehovah, for there is none beside
Thee : and Thy people shall say, There is none strong save our God.
Concerning Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel she prophesied and said,
Ye Chaldeans and all peoples who shall bear rule over Israel, ye shall
not multiply many great words ; blasphemies shall not come forth out of
your mouth ; for God knoweth all things, and over all His works is His
judgment spread : and unto you will He recompense vengeance for your
guilt. Concerning the kingdom of Javan [Greece] she prophesied and said,
The bows of the mighty men of Javan shall be broken, and the house of
the Hasmoneans " who have been weak shall have signs and mighty deeds
done for them.
Concerning the sons of Haman she prophesied and said, Those who
have been full of bread, and boasting in their riches, and abounding in
wealth, have become poor, and have turned to hire themselves out for
bread and victual. Mordecai and Esther who were obscure and poor
are made rich and have forgotten their poverty, they have become free :
so Jerusalem, who hath been as a barren woman, shall be filled with the
people of her captivity: and as for guilty Rome3 which was full and
abounding in peoples, her armies shall come to an end, she shall be
made desolate and utterly destroyed.
All these are the mighty acts of Jehovah who Himself reigneth over
the world, killing and calling to life, bringing down to Sheol, and also
'Causing to come up into the life of the world.
4[But Korah the son of Izhar the son of Kohath, from whom my son
Samuel is descended, was brought down to Sheol because he arose and
strove against Moses and Aaron. The righteous shall go forth out of
" the house of their destruction, and shall give thanks, because there
is no God save Him.]
Jehovah maketh poor and maketh rich, He bringeth low and lifteth
up. He raiseth the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the obscure from
the dunghill, to make them sit with the righteous, the great ones of the
world : and the throne of glory He maketh them inherit, for before
Jehovah are the deeds of the sons of men revealed. Below hath he pre-
1 See 1 Chr. xxv. 4 — 6.
2 i. e. The Maccabees. See Diet, of the Bible, Art. Maccabees.
3 So De Lagarde's ed. Walton's Polyglot has A ram, a mistake for Edom, the
name which the later Jews constantly used for their deadly enemy Rome.
* So De Lagarde's ed. Walton does not contain the passage in brackets.
238 APPENDIX.
pared Gehenna for the wicked, who transgress His word : and for
the righteous who do His will hath He founded the world. The bodies
of His righteous servants will He preserve from Gehenna, and the
wicked shall be judged in darkness in Gehenna, to shew that there is
no man in whom is the strength of innocence for the day of judgment.
Jehovah shall break in pieces His enemies, who arise to do evil to His
people. Out of heaven shall he smite them with a loud voice. He shall
execute vengeance upon Gog1 and the army of the plundering peoples
who come with him from the ends of the earth, and shall give strength
unto His King, and magnify the kingdom of His Messiah.
NOTE IV.
The Philistines.
The bitterest and most successful enemies of Israel play such an
important part in the history of this period as to require special notice.
(i) Their origin. The Philistines, as their name, which signifies
'Immigrants' and is translated hy the LXX. d\\6<pv\oi= aliens, im
ports, were not aboriginal inhabitants of Canaan. They came from
Caphtor (Amos ix. j).r and expelled or conquered the Avim who lived
in villages in the Shephelah. (Deut. ii. 23; Josh. xiii. 3). Caphtor
has generally been identified with Crete, but there seems good reason
for regarding it as a district of Egypt, and Gen. x. 13, 14 places the
Philistine among Mizraite or Egyptian races. If so, however, the
migration must have taken place before the distinctive national cha
racteristics of the Egyptians had been developed.
(2) Their country. They occupied the southern portion of the
ShepMlah or Low Country, the maritime plain stretching along the
western coast of Canaan, and divided into two parallel tracts of sandy
plain and cultivated corn-land. Their territory extended from Ekron
on the north to the River of Egypt (the Wady-el-Arish) on the south.
It was famous for its fertility. "The cities are all remarkable for the
extreme beauty and profusion of the gardens which surround them —
the scarlet blossoms of the pomegranates, the enormous oranges which
gild the green foliage of their famous groves But the most
striking and characteristic feature of Philistia is its immense plain of
cornfields, stretching from the edge of the sandy tract right up to the
very wall of the hills of Judah, which look down its whole length from
north to south. These rich fields must have been the great source at
once of the power and value of Philistia ... It was, in fact, "a little
Egypt" (cp. 2 Kings viii. 2, 3). These are the fields of "standing
corn" with "vineyards and olives" amongst them, into which the
Danite hero sent down the three hundred jackals from the neighbour-
1 Walton reads Magog. See Ezek. xxxviii. 2, &c.j Rev. xx. 8. In the Targuras
and Talmud Gog and Magog denote the final combination of the enemies of the king
dom of God, which is to be destroyed by the Messiah.
APPENDIX.
239
ing hills (Jud. xv. 4). Sinai and Palestine, pp. 2 57, 258. But they
were not merely an agricultural people. Their geographical position
gave them a commercial importance. Their land was the highway for
traffic between Phoenicia and Syria on the north, and Egypt and
Arabia on the south, and though we find no distinct mention in the
Bible of their trade by sea, it is probable that such existed.
(3) Their government. At this period the five great strongholds of
Gaza, Gath, Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Ekron were united in a formidable
confederacy. Each was governed by its seren or lord and had an inde
pendent jurisdiction, but common interests bound them together for
purposes of offence and defence. The "circles (E. V. borders) of the
Philistines" (Josh. xiii. 2 ; Joel iii. 4) were probably the districts attached
to these towns.
(4) Their history. Already in the time of Abraham the Philistines
appear as a pastoral tribe occupying the land, in occasional rivalry but
generally on friendly terms with Abraham (Gen. xxi. 32, xxvi. 1,
14, 20).
By the time of the Exodus' they were sufficiently powerful to deter
the Israelites from taking the shortest route to the Promised Land
(Ex. xiii. 17).
In the division of Canaan, their territory was assigned to the tribe of
Judah, which seems temporarily to have occupied Gaza, Askelon, and
Ekron (Jud. i. 18), but never really subjugated the people (Josh. xiii.
2, 3 ; Jud. iii. 3).
About the middle of the period of the Judges their power appears
to have increased considerably, which has given rise to the conjecture
that they were strengthened by a fresh immigration from their original
home. This supposition is unnecessary ; the agricultural and commercial
advantages of their country, the suitability of its level plain for military
manoeuvres (1 Sam. xiii. 5), the necessity of a special effort to resist
the encroachments of their hew neighbours, are quite sufficient to
account for this development.
They now became a constant source of annoyance to the Israelites,
establishing strong posts and ranking predatory raids, so that there
was no security for life or property. Cp. Jud. v. 6; 1 Sam. xxiii. 1.
The first hint of their active hostility is in connexion with Shamgar
(Jud. iii. 31): and somewhat later they reduced the Israelites to the
condition of tributary vassals (1 Sam. iv. 9). Samson's heroic exploits
relieve the disgrace of a forty years' submission : but after his death,
and the capture of the Ark, the nation seems to have resigned itself to
despair till Samuel rallied their scattered energies, and route'd the
Philistines at Ebenezer. But their power was not broken ; Saul was
constantly at war with them, and met his death fighting against them
on the fatal field of Gilboa. David captured Gath (1 Chr. xviii. 1),
and Solomon included Philistia in his empire (r Kings iv. 21, 24
Azzah=Gaza). But the Division of the Kingdom was the signal for
the revival of their power, and they continued enemies of both king
doms to the end. It was not till after the time of the Maccabees that
their national existence finally came to an end, and Philistia was at
•length annexed to the Roman province of Syria.
240 APPENDIX.
Two notices in profane history may be mentioned to illustrate the
strength and importance of the Philistine cities. Ashdod held out
against Psammitichus king of Egypt for twenty-nine years, about
630 B.C. (i. e. in the reign of Josiah), "the longest siege," says Herodotus,
"of any that we know" (Herod. 11. 157). Three hundred years later
Gaza dared to challenge the triumphant progress of Alexander the
Great, and baffled all the efforts of his engineers to take it for at least
two months. See Grote's Hist, of Greece, ch. xcm.
(5) By a strange irony of fate the name of the territory of the
detested Philistines has become our familiar title for the whole of the
Holy Land. Palestine is a Greek form of Pelesheth, the Hebrew for
Philistia, and the name of the district with which Greek traders
became familiar through Philistine commerce gradually came to be
applied to the whole country of Canaan. In the E. V. "Palestine" is
only used as synonymous with Philistia, and though its modern and
extended meaning appears already in Shakespeare, the limited mean
ing survived till the time of Milton, who speaks of Dagon as "that
twice battered god of Palestine." (Hymn on the Nativity, 199.)
NOTE V.
On the exterminating wars of the Israelites.
The "moral difficulty" of the exterminating wars of the Israelites is
admirably treated by Professor Mozley in his lectures on the Old Testa
ment entitled Ruling Ideas in Early Ages. (See especially Lectures IV
and x). Such wars, involving the innocent along with the guilty in a
common destruction, are incompatible not only with the Law of Love but
with the Idea of Justice taught by the Gospel. How, it is asked, could
they ever have been commanded by God? " It is replied that God is
the Author of life and death, and that He has the right at any time to
deprive any number of His creatures of life, whether by the natural
instrumentality of pestilence or famine, or by the express employment
of man as His instrument of destruction1. This as an abstract defence
is unquestionably true, nor can it be denied that as soon as a Divine
command to exterminate a whole people becomes known to another
people, they have not only the right, but are under the strictest
obligation to execute such a command2." To some minds such a
command seems strange and perplexing, but it must be remembered
that there are times when a signal demonstration of Divine Justice is
needed for mankind in the interests of morality; that there are times
when stern judgment is the truest mercy; and that the penalty of pre
mature physical death is by no means the most terrible fate which can
overtake men even in this world.
1 This is Butler's defence in his Analogy, Part 11. ch. 3.
2 Ruling Ideas, p. 84.
APPENDIX 241
But the difficulty still remains, how a nation could be convinced that
it was to be the executioner of God's judgments, and how it could execute
them in so terrible a way without injury to its moral consciousness.
The solution is to be found in the defective Oriental idea of Justice. The
destruction of a nation for the sin of its ancestors, or of a family for the
offence of its head, was a common Oriental practice. It was not repug
nant to the current sense of right ; rather it satisfied a certain passionate
excess of justice, which craved for vengeance and desired to vent itself
on the criminal's surroundings as well as himself. This indiscriminating
kind of vengeance was due to the defective sense of human individuality,
the want of a true perception of the rights and responsibilities of each
man as an independent being. This feeling was no doubt shared by the
Israelites. But with them such acts were expressly prohibited as a
part of ordinary judicial procedure (Deut. xxiv. 16), and in this
respect they were on a higher level than other Oriental nations. But
when God saw fit by the mouth of a prophet who was recognised as His
accredited messenger to enjoin the execution of such a sentence, there
was no moral resistance to it. It could be accepted without hesitation
as coming from God, and executed without any violation of their sense
of justice.Such commands were an "accommodation" to the moral and religious
state of the nation to which they were given. Revelation is progressive,
and God's dealings with the chosen people, while designed to raise and
educate them, were necessarily conditioned by their moral state at any
given period. It need hardly be said that such commands are incon
ceivable under the Gospel dispensation. The fanatics of the seventeenth
century, who sought to justify regicide by the example of Samuel and
Agag, "knew not what spirit they were of."
NOTE VI.
On the text of chapters xvii, and xviii.
1. The Septuagint Version in its oldest form as preserved in the
'Vatican MS. (B) differs considerably from the present Hebrew text in
chapters xvii. and xviii. It does not contain the following passages :
ivi. 12-31, 41. 48 (partly), 50, 55-5»; ^viii. 1-5, and the greater
part of 6, 9- 1 1, 17-19. 29 b> 3°- There are besldes a few mlnor
variations. „ , „,„,, , -, r, •
Some of these passages are wanting m a few other MSS. beside B : m .
the Alexandrine (A) and most other MSS. they have been inserted: but
it is clear that at least xvii. 12-31 was not in the archetype from which
A was copied, and the style of the version proves conclusively that it is
no part of the original Septuagint, but derived from some other source,
perhaps the version of Theodotion, which was executed in the second
century A. D.
I. SAMUEL X°
242 APPENDIX.
The result of these omissions is a straightforward and consistent
narrative free from the difficulties of the Hebrew text. David, in virtue
of his appointment as armour-bearer (xvi. 21) has accompanied Saul into
the valley of Elah : he challenges and slays Goliath, and on his return
at the close of the campaign is welcomed by the songs of the women of
Israel : by his further military successes he wins the affections of the
people and the love of Michal. Three stages in the development of
Saul's enmity are clearly marked : (a) xviii. 12, "he was afraid of hi'm; "
(b) xviii. 15, "he stood in awe of him," and endeavoured indirectly to
get rid of him; (c) xviii. 29, xix. 1, "he was yet more afraid of David,"
and gave orders for his murder.
2. The Hebrew text, on the other hand, presents serious internal
difficulties, and appears to combine two inconsistent accounts of David's
introduction to the court of Saul. Ch. xvi. 19 ff. relates how David
was summoned to court for his musical skill, won Saul's affection, and
became his armour-bearer : whereas in ch. xvii. we find him absent from
the army in time of war, and only accidentally brought to the camp by
an errand to his brothers : regarded as a mere shepherd-boy unaccustomed
to the use of weapons : unknown apparently to the king and to Abner.
Minor objections are (a) that the notice of Jesse in ch. xvii. 12 ff.
appears superfluous after that in ch. xvi., and the Hebrew shews evident
signs of having been pieced together at this point : (b) that the anticipa
tion in xviii. 5 of facts which are recorded in their natural order in vv.
13, 14 is strange: (c) that Saul's threat to murder David on the very day
after their return appears premature, and is inconsistent with his subse
quent promotion of him : (d) that the marriage of Merab to Adriel is in
volved in some doubt, for in 2 Sam. xxi. 8 the Heb. reads " the five sons
of Michal... whom she bare to Adriel."
3. The following explanations of the chief difficulties have, been
offered. (1) That David's residence at the court related in xvi. 22 was not
permanent; he was only summoned when Raul's madness required his
services ; and the notice "he became his armour-bearer " refers to what
happened eventually after the slaughter of Goliath ; the writer, according
to a common practice of Hebrew historians, anticipating the course of
events. (2) That Saul's ignorance may be accounted for by supposing
that he had only seen David in his fits of madness, and possibly not
for some time, and so failed to recognise him ; while Abner would not
be likely to trouble himself to inquire about the family of a minstrel-
boy in occasional attendance on the king. (3) According to another
hypothesis, Saul's inquiry in xviii. 55 ff. concerns not David but his
father, and does not shew any want of recognition of David, but was
prompted by the wish to ascertain1 ' ' whether his coming of any warrior
lineage might justify some hope of a prosperous issue of the unequal
conflict;" or by a desire to know the parentage of his future son-in-
law. (4) Another theory assumes that the events of ch. xvi. were really
subsequent to those of ch. xvii.; and in support of this view stress is
laid upon the expression "man of war" applied to David in xvi. 18.
But this explanation is incompatible with xviii. 2, "which definitely
states that David's residence at court after the slaughter of Goliath was
continuous.
APPENDIX. 243
4. The most probable conclusion appears to be that the Septuagint
preserves the text of these chapters in the form in which it was originally
published, and that at some subsequent date the additions now found in
the Hebrew text were made from a different source, either documentary
or traditional. It is unlikely that the Septuagint translators would have
been guilty of a deliberate mutilation of the text ; and still more unlikely
that a number of intentional omissions would have resulted in a simple
and connected narrative, if the Hebrew text was originally a homo
geneous whole, derived from the same source or written by one hand.
5. The historical value of these additions must remain a moot ques
tion. Perhaps the two narratives might be satisfactorily harmonized if
we had all the facts before us : as it is, the difficulties must be candidly
acknowledged. It may seem to some readers rash to doubt the integrity of the Hebrew
text. But it must be borne in mind that the Septuagint is by far the
most ancient evidence we possess for the text of the O.T., the oldest
known Hebrew MS. not being earlier than the 10th for possibly 9th)
century A.D., and that though the additions to the Hebrew text were
doubtless made before the Christian era, the Greek Scriptures used by
the Evangelists and Apostles in all probability did not contain the pas
sages of which the genuineness is suspected.
NOTE VII.
On the Narratives of Chapters XXIII. 19— XXIV. 22 and
XXVI.
The striking resemblance of the narrative of ch. xxvi. in many points
to that of ch. xxiii. 19 — xxiv. 22 has led some commentators to suppose _
that it is only, a more detailed account of the same, event. The main
points of agreement between the narratives are (a) the conduct of the
Ziphites ; (b) Saul's pursuit of David ; (r) David's generous refusal to take
Saul's life. Besides these there are several minor coincidences both of
circumstance and language.
But on the other hand (a) there is no great improbability in supposing
that David twice occupied a convenient position in the hill of Hachilah,
and was twice betrayed by the Ziphites. (b) Saul, it is said, must have
been "a moral monster" deliberately to repeat his pursuit of David
under the same circumstances. To this it may be answered that all
the history proves Saul to have been fickle and untrustworthy, (c) David
may Well have spared Saul's life on two different occasions, (d) It is
only natural that in the accounts of two similar events there should be
several Close coincidences. _
Further, if the narratives are closely examined, it will be found that
the differences outweigh the resemblances, and the difficulty of recon-.
ciling the narratives, if they refer to the same occurrence, is far greater
than that of supposing that somewhat similar events happened twice,
244 APPENDIX.
during a pursuit which lasted several years, and - was confined to a
small district. The following points should be noticed.
(a) The section xxiji. 19 — xxiv. 22 contains a narrative of what took
place upon two distinct occasions, separated by Saul's being called awav
to repel a Philistine raid (xxiii. 27); here there is no indication of such
an interval between Saul's arrival at Hachilah and David's visit to his
camp. (b) The scene of the interview is different in each case. Here it is
the camp at Hachilah : there a cave at En-gedi.
(c) The circumstances Aider. Here David deliberately enters Saul's
camp and takes his spear, &c: there he accidentally gets Saul into his
nower in the cave in which he was concealed, and deprives him of the
lappet of his robe.
(d) The persons concerned here are mentioned by name : there only
"the men" in general are spoken of.
(e) The point of the conversation is different: here Saul only uses
general language ; there he acknowledges that David will be king and
exacts an oath from him : here David indignantly demands to know why
he is persecuted ; there he lays stress on his having spared the king's
life as a proof of his innocence.
( f) The general circumstances of this narrative correspond to a later.
period of David's life, when David was bolder, and Saul more hardened;
and it would appear from xxvii. 1 that this pursuit was the final act of per
secution which drove David to quit the country and take refuge at Gath.
NOTE VIII.
' On the narrative of Chapter XXVIII. 7 ff.
Does the scene in the witch of Endor's house describe a real appa
rition, or an imposture ? In the former case, was it (1) Samuel himself
who appeared and spoke, or (2) a demon counterfeiting the form of
Samuel ? In the latter case, (3) was the woman self-deceived, or (4) did
. she deliberately impose upon Saul ?
(1) That the spirit of Samuel himself appeared was the view of the
ancient Jewish church. This is attested (a) by the Sept. addition in
1 Chr. x. r3; "Saul asked counsel of her that had a familiar spirit, to
inquire of her ; and Samuel made answer to him : (b) by the book of
Ecclesiasticus (xlvi. 20); "After his death [Samuel] prophesied, and
shewed the king his end, and lifted up his voice from the earth in pro
phecy :" (c) by Josephus; and the generality of Jewish commentators.
The same opinion was maintained by early Christian writers, e.g.
Justin Martyr, Origen, -Augustine, and others.
Unquestionably it is the plain and natural meaning of the narrative.
The expressions in v. 15, "Samuel said to Saul;" v. 16, "Then
said Samuel;" v. 20, "the words of Samuel;" leave no doubt of this.
APPENDIX. 245
The objection however is made that it is impossible to believe that
God would have allowed the witch to call up the spirit of Samuel.
This objection has some weight. But it does not appear that his ap
pearance is to be regarded as the result of the witch's incantations.
" None was more amazed at the success of her necromancies than the
sorceress herself." It was not the witch who compelled Samuel to ap
pear but God who sent the spirit of His servant to confound her,
and to punish the king and pronounce final sentence on him for his
sins. _ The apparition was a. fulfilment of God's words by the prophet
Ezekiel (xiv. 4, 7); " Every one of the house of Israel... which separateth
himself from Me, and setteth up his idols in his heart... and cometh to
a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me; I the Lord will answer
him by myself."
(2) The view that the appearance of Samuel was a diabolical delu
sion appears first in Tertullian, who says: "The pythonic spirit was
permitted to assume the form of Samuel, for it is inconceivable that
the soul of any saint, much less of a prophet, was drawn forth by a
demon " (De anima c. 57). Jerome followed him ; and the theologians
of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, led by Luther and Calvin, held
fhe same opinion, arguing that it was impossible that God should have
allowed His prophet to be the victim of diabolical sorceries. This view-
starts from a priori reasoning as to what is possible and what is not,
instead of taking the plain sense of the narrative : and the difficulty on
which it is based has been answered above.
(3) A modern hypothesis supposes that the witch wrought herself
into a state of ecstasy in which she deceived herself into imagining that
she saw Samuel, and heard him speak. But though this may have
been the usual character of her sorceries, it would appear that on the
present occasion the apparition was of a character for which she was
not prepared; and though it is not certain that Saul saw the figure of
Samuel, the dialogue is carried on between them directly, without the
witch's intervention.
(4) Another theory regards the affair as a deliberate imposture
^practised upon Saul by the witch, who pretended to see Samuel when
she really saw nothing, and contrived to make Saul believe that her
own voice or.that of a confederate was the voice of Samuel. This view
finds no support in the narrative, which implies throughout that the
sentence of doom pronounced upon Saul was a true prophecy ; and it
destroys the dread significance of the whole transaction.
INDEX.
Words explained and modern names of places are printed in italics.
Abel,- 84
Abel-Meholah, 168
Abiathar, 190
Abishai, 208
Abner, probably Saul's cousin^ 139; his
influence, 210
Achish, 1S4, 212
AdSndi —lord, 236
Adullam, 185
Agag, 142
agaitist, iot
Ahiah, perhaps — Ahimelech, 129
Ahimelech, 129
Aid el Ma, 186
Ain-J&l&d, 222
Ain-Jidy, 195
Ain-Shems, 82
Akir, 78
Amalekites, 140; final destruction of,
, 142
Ammonites, 113, 138
Amorites, 91
Anakim, 153
Anointed, the Lord's, 118
anointing, 105
,Aphek, 70, 222
Arabah, 194
jArk, the, symbol of Jehovah's Covenant
with Israel, 71, 74; at Shiloh, 64; cap
tured by the Philistines, 72 ff ; at Kir-
; jath-jearim, 87, 133
armour-bearer, 129
arms, exchange of, 164
army, formation of a standing, 133
Aroer, 229
arrogancy ', 53
artillery, 181
Ashdod, 75
Asherah, 88
Ashtoreth, 88
Askelon, temple at Venus at, 333
iaatiyed, i5g
Attir, 229
Augustine, on David, 160
avoided, 166
Baal, 88
bear,. 159
bed, 221
Bedan, 120
Beer-sheba, 68
'Beged, 172
Beischi, 233
Beit Fased, 152
Beitln, 92
Belial, sou or daughter of, 48
Benjamin, tribe of, 103
Benjamites, expert slingers, 160
Besor, the brook, 225
Beth-aven, 125
Beth-car, 90
Bethel, 92
Bethel in Judah, 229
Beth-horon, 127, 134
Bethlehem, 148
Beth-shan, 233
Beth-shemesh, 82
Bezek, 115
blessing— present, 203
blood, eating with the, 135
bottle, 50, 202
bought, of a sling, 204
Bozez, 130
brass, 154
burning of the dead, 233
burnt-offering, 84, 89
came ufion, 115
candlestick, the golden, 64 ,
Carmel, 143
carriage, 157
ceremonial, useless when divorced from
devotion, 145
champion, 153, 162
ckerem, 141
Cherethites, 326
248
INDEX.
Chor-ashan, 230
Chdresh -wood, 192
ch6zeh = s.e.e.r, 100
Chronicles, additional information from,
186, 213, 217
coast, 77
coat, 58
coat of mail, 154
commune, 168
confectionaries, 96
congregation of Israel, no
' conversant, 201
coronation, English ceremonies of, 105
covert, 202 '
cross, the fiery, 113
cruse, 209
cubit, 153
cunning, 151
Dagon, 76
Dan, 68
dancing, 164
David, life and character of, 38 — 41 ; («)
at Bethlehem, 38; (b) at court, 39; (c)
as an outlaw, 39, 40 ; training, for the
throne, 40; contrasted with Saul, 40;
friendship with Jonathan, 41, 163 ;
meaning of name, 150; anointing of,
148 ff; fight with Goliath, 159; faith
of, 159 ; celebration of his victory,
164; Saul's jealousy of, 165; marriage
with Michal, 168; advancement, 166;
life attempted by Saul, 165, 171 ;
escapes by Michal's help, 172 ; goes to
Samuel at Ramah, 173; at Nob, 183;
at Gath, 184, 212; at Adullam, 185;
, character of his band of men, 186 ;
genius for ruling, 186; at Ziklag, 213 ;
falsehoods, 215, 223 ; imperfect moral
ity, 215 ; friends gained during outlaw
life, 230
deep sleep, 209
disarmament of the Israelites, 12S
discomfit, 90
diviners, 79
Doeg, 184
dowry, 168
ear— plough, 96
Eben-ezer, 70," go,
Ecclesiasticus, quoted, 41, 119
Edom, a name for Rome in later Jewish
writings, 237 '
Edomites, 138
Ekron, 78
Elah, valley of, 152
Eli, his descent, 47 ; character, 67 ; doom
on his house fulfilled, 189
Eliab, 149
tEldkim, 59, 219
Emek = valley, 83, 153
Emerods, 77
En-dor, 218
Endor, witch of, 218, 244
En-gedi, 195
elders, 94
ephah, 50 '
Ephes- dammim, 152-
Ephod, the, 133, 217
erJhod, 57, 189
Ephraim, mount, 43
Ephrathite, 44, 153 1
Er-Ram, 43
Esdraelon, battles in the plain of, 231
Eshtemoa, 229
Es-Semiia, 229
Exodus, allusions to the, 72, 81
Ezel„ 178
faint, 226 ; derivation of some Heb. words
for, 135
faith, victory of, 131, 160
fall,m ¦-¦
familiar spirit, 216
for ever, 50, 126
friendships, famous, 163
Fffleh, 222
Gad, 187
£"*« = ravine, 153, i(5z
Gallim, 207
Gath, 78 ; traces of David's residence
at, 211
garrison, 107
Geba, 107, 123
Gerzites, 214
Geshurites, 214.
Gezrites, 214
giants, 153
Gibeah, 133; town or district, 107, 129-
Gideon, 120
Gilboa, 217
Gilgal, 92
Glory,, the?=the Shechinah, 75
God, when printed in capitals in E.V.,
236; vindicates His Holiness, 85; Om
nipresence of, not yet realised,. 107,
211; His repentance, 142, 146; said to
harden men!s hearts, 59 ; to move men
to do evil, 210; His commands relative
to the condition of their recipients, 241
God save the king, origin of,, 112
gods, 219
Gog, 238
Goliath, 153
gorget, 154
grave, 54
greaves, 154
grovesf 88
Hachilah, 193
Hannah, 44
Haphtarah, 56, 117, 178
harden the heart, God said to, 59
Hareih, "7
harp, ic
harvest, z,-. .ir^ribcc', 83; time of, 835
INDEX.
249
Havilah, T42
Hazor, 120
heart, Scripture meaning of, 108
Hebrew MSS., 14; date of, 243; errors
of, 85, 93, 96, 123, 124, 162, 214, 220,
227
Hebrews, use of the name, 71, 124, 133
Hebron, 230
high-places, 125
High-priests, why two in David's reign,
217
Hierarchy, period of the, 27
Hiresh, 193
Hittites, 208
hold, 187
holiness a special attribute of Jehovah,
86
Homoeoteleuton, 106, 137
honey, 135
Hormah, 230
horn, to exalt the, 52
hosts, 235
housetop, 104
Ibzik, 115
Ichabod, 75
increase, 62
inquire qfthe Lord, in
Ishui, 139
Israel, epochs in the history of, (a) The
ocracy, 26, (&) Monarchy, 27, (c) Hier
archy, 27 ; subjection to the Philistines,
87, 128; congregation of, no; repre
sented by elders, 94; divisions of the
nation, in; exterminating wars of,
240
Jabesh- Gilead, 114, 116; gratitude of its
inhabitants to Saul, 116
Jattir, 229
Jeba, 107, 123
Jebel Fukua, 217
Jebel H adhireh, 120
Jehovah, true pronunciation of, lost, 236;
represented in E.V. by Lord, 236; the
: living God, 157; the Name of, 161 ;
wars of, 167, 204 ; enemies of, 229
Jelbdn, 217
Jephthah, 120
Jerahmeelites, 215
Jeremiah, references to Shiloh in, 65
Jerubbaal, 120
Jerusalem, 162
Jeshimon, 193
Jesse, 148
jewfl, 82
Jezreel, 222
Jezreel of Judah, 207
Joab, 208 . _ . ,
Jonathan, his friendship with David, 41,
163; meaning of the name, 123; his
' unintentional transgression, 137; heroic
character, 137 \ rescued by the people,
138; gives his arms to David, 164; re-
I. SAMUEL
news his covenant with David, 176;
parting with David, 193; death and
burial, 223
Judas Maccabaeus, 131, 134
Judges, the period ofj its character, 26;
chronology, 70 ; oppressions during,
119; judges referred to, 120; resem
blance to language of book of, 120
justice, imperfect Oriental idea of, 241
Keilah, 190 -
Kenites, 141
Khards, 187
Khoreisa, 193
Khureltun, 186
Kila, 190
King, sin of the request for a, 94; why
granted, 26, 27 ; character of an Ori
ental, 95 ; early allusion to a, 55 ; when
anointed, 105
kinndr, 108
Kirjath-jearim, 86
El Kolah, 194
Kthtbh, 14
Kubbet Rahil, 106
Kuryet-el-enab, 86
Kurmul, 143
Laish, 207
lamp of God, 64
Law, book of the, 112
lighted, 203
Hon, 159
Lord=Jehovah, 236
Lord of Hosts, 235
lords of the Philistines, 77
lots, use of, in, 137
lucre, 93
madness, Oriental regard for, 185
Magog, 238 ¦
Maon, 194
meals quickly prepared in the East, 221
measure, 202
¦meat, 179
meil, 58
men of Keilah, 192
Merao, 167, 242
Messiah, expectation of, developed by
the Monarchy, 27 ; meaning of title,
55, 105
mice, plague of, 77, 80, 8i
Michmash, passage of, 129
Migron, 129
Mizpah, 88
Mizpeh of Moab, 186
Moabites, 113, 138
Monarchy, period of the, 27
mourning, signs of, 73
mother, reproach cast on a, 180
Mukhmas, 123
music, power of, 151
Nabal, 200 17
250
INDEX.
n&bZ=prophet, 100
nackal= ravine, 141, 225
Nahash, 113
Naioth, 173
Name of Jehovah, 122
Nazarite vow, 47
nebel, 108
Neby Duhy, 216
Neby Samwil, 43, 88
necromancy, 218
iW^f^=south- country, 224
Ner, probably Saul's uncle, 139
new moon, 175
Nob, 182
Oaths characteristic of Samuel and Kings,
67
Ob= familiar spirit, 216
obligations, conflict of ceremonial and
moral, 183
offering, 60
Old Testament, Hebrew division of, 23;
difference from secular histories, 24 ;
record of preparation for the Incarna
tion, 25 ; periods of history in, 24 — 28 ;
moral difficulties of, 240
Omnipresence of God not yet realised,
107
on~of, 215
Ophrah, 127
Oriental custom of Icings murdering their
predecessor's family, 177, 198
Palestine, derivation of, 240
Paran, wilderness of, 199
parched corn, 156, 202
part— share, 229
partridge, 211
Peninnah, 44
people = army, 70, 124
peradventure, 99
pertain, 202
Philistines, origin of, 238; country of,
238; government of, 239; history of,
,239
place = monument, 143
polygamy, 44
prayer, postures for, 51
precious, 63
presents, 99, 113, 151
presumptuous sins, 66
priest's share of sacrifice, 56, 103; duties,
60
prophesy, 107, 166
prophet, 100
Prophets, order of, 33, 34; schools of, 33,
173 ; value to the nation, 34 ; national
historians, 10, 11, 34
Psalms illustrating this period of David's
life, 38; on Goliath, 162; referred to,
vii. 175, 197; xxxiv. 185; xxxv. 198;
Hi. 188 ; liv. 193, 207 ; Ivi. 183 ; lvii. 193 ;
lix. 171; lxiii. 187; cxlii. 195
psaltery, 108
put his life in his hand, 170
Qrf,i4quit yourselves, 72
Rachel's sepulchre, 106
rain in harvest, 121
raisins, 202
Ramah, site of, 43
Ram-Allah, 43
Ramoth, 229
redemption, 119
rehearse, 97
repentance, God's, 142, 146
road= raid, 214
rdek- seer, 100
ruddy, 150
runners, 96, 189
Sdbaoth, 233 '
sacrifice, 60
sacrifice, description of a, 50
sacrifice, family, 176
said= thought, 149, 167
saints, 55
salvation, 53
Samson, contemporary with Eli, 70
Samuel, meaning of name, 49; life and
work of, 29, — 33 ; contrasted with Eli's
sons, 57; age at his call, 63 ; nature of
his ministry at Shiloh, 67 ; as inter
cessor, 88, 143; farewell address, 117;
pastoral visits, 148 ; death and burial,
199; apparition, 219, 244; judgeship,
30, 89 ; work in establishing the
kingdom, 30; Saul's counsellor, 31;
founder of the Prophetic Order, 31;
priestly functions, 31, 32, 62, 63 ;
character, 32
Samuel, Books of, original unity of the
books, 9 ; titles in LXX. and Vulgate,
9; meaning of the title, 9; authorship,
10; sources, 10 — 12; date, 12; canon-
icity, 13 ; historical accuracy, 13 ;
materials for determining the text,
14 — 16
Analysis of the contents, 17 — 22 ;
chronology, 22 — 24 ; place in the his
tory of the Kingdom of God, 24 — 29 ;
references to in N. T. 13, 127 ; probable
later additions to, 241 — 243; supposed
duplicate narratives in, 243
sanctify, 148
Saul, life and character of, 35 — 37 ;
length of his reign, 23, 123 ; reasons
for his rejection, 36; meaning of the
name, 97 ; confirmation of his kingdom,
117; anointed, 105, 117; sin at Gilgal,
126; his rash oath and its conse
quences, 134; his wars, 138; his family,
139; commission to destroy Amalek,
140 ; his failure, 144 ; abolition of
witchcraft, 145 ; never really penitent,
146 ; possessed by an evil spirit, 150 ;
INDEX.
251
jealousy of David, 165; attempts on
David s hfe, 165, 171 ; Saul among ihe
prophets, 109, 174; deserted by God,
217 ; consults the witch, 216 ff; death
and, burial, 231 ff
Scopus, 88 '
scrabled, 185
scrip, 160
seer, 100
Sela-hammahlekoth, 195
Seneh, 130
Septuagint, date and character of, 14—
16; value and interest, 13; MSS. of,
15; variations from Heb. text, 51, 69,
77, 81, 85, 105, 113, 118, 127, 131, 132,
s *33> J34. I37, *43, ^55, 160, 162, 163,
165, 166, 167, 168, 185, 188, 191, T94,
213, 220, 224, 231, 241 — 243
Seren=lord, 77
serpent, the brazen, 81
servants, 151
set by, 169, 212
Shaaraim, 162
Shammah, 149
Shechinah, 75
sheep, 214
sheepfolds, 196
,< sheep-shearing, 200
1 Sheol, 54, 219
: Skephelah= low country, 190, 238
' shewbread, 183
shield-bearer, 154!
Shiloh, site of, 45 ; complete ruin of, 29,
86 ; not the only religious centre, 92
Shuk-ed-Dubba, 127
Shunem, 216
Shur, 142
Skuweikeh, 152
single combats, 153
Siphmoth, 229
skirt, 146
sling, 160
Sochoh, 152
Sdlam, 216
songs, popular, 163, 185
span, 153
spear, a symbol of royalty, 166
Spirit of the Lord, 108, 150
spirit, an evil, from the Lord, 150
spoil, division of, 228
Strength of Israel, 146
stripling, 163
stuff, 112
symbolical actions, 115* *46
tabernacle, at Shiloh, 47; at Nob 183;
women serving in, 51
tabernacle qfthe congregation, 59
tabret, 108, 163
et Taiyibeh, 127
take thought for, 99
tale, 169
target, 154
Targum, 16; specimen of, 236; quoted,
89,. i44» *55i r73
Telaim, 141
Telem, 214
Tell- or Tuleil-el-Ful, 107
Tell Main, 194
Tell-es-Safi, 78
Tell Zakariya, 162
TellZtf, 192
Temple, 47
Teraphim, 172
Theocracy, period of the, 26
timbrel, 108, 165
tdph, 108
trench, 157
trespass-offering, 80
troop, 227
uncircumcised, epithet for the Philistines,
i3r» 231
uncover the ear, 102
Urim and Thummim, 137, 217
utterly destroy, 141
valley^ different Hebrew words for, 83,
141, 153, 225
versions, of the O. T., 14 — 16
vows, 47
Vulgate, 16, 148
Wady Ara-rah, 229
Wady Malaki, 195
Wady es Sheriah, 226
Wady es Sunt, 152
Wady es Suweinit, 123 ; meaning of
name, 131
Wady YSbis, 114
war-cry, 157 _
wars, exterminating, 240
ward, 170
watches of the night, 116
•wax, 64 ,
•wealth, 61
weaning, 49
weeping, 114
wilderness, 158
witch of Endor, 244
•wizard, 216
worship, many places for, during this
period, 32, 92, 101
Zeboim, valley of, 127
Zelzah, 106
Zertn, 222
Ziklag, 213; its value to David, 213
Ziph, 192
Zobah, 138
-^^^iTTRmTiB BY C. J. CLAY, M.A., AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
The CAMBRIDGE BIBLE for SCHOOLS
©ptntonsJ ot tf)t $«**?
"We were quite prepared to find in Canon Farrar's St Luke a
masterpiece of Biblical criticism and comment, and we are not dis
appointed by our examination of the volume before us. It reflects very
faithfully the learning and critical insight of the Canon's greatest works,
his 'Life of Christ' and his 'Life of St Paul,' but differs widely from
both in the terseness and condensation of its style. What Canon Farrar
has evidently aimed at is to place before students as much information
as possible within the limits of the smallest possible space, and in this
aim he has hit the mark to perfection. The introduction deals with the
Gospels generally, and with St Luke's in particular. It gives an ex
cellent biographical sketch of St Luke, points out the evidences for the
s authenticity of St Luke's Gospel, gives in detail the characteristics of
the Gospel, furnishes an analysis of its contents, states the chief ancient
manuscripts of the Gospels, and presents us with a brief account of the
Herods as mentioned in the Gospels and the Acts. It is only fair
to say that as a series the 'Cambridge Bible for Schools' has no
equal in point of excellence and usefulness, and that Canon Farrar's
work is quite the best of the series."— The Examiner.
" Canon Farrar's contribution to The Cambridge School Bible
is one of the most valuable yet made. His annotations on The Gospel
according to St. Luke, while they display a scholarship at least as sound,
' and an erudition at least as wide and varied as those of the editors of
St. Matthew and St. Mark, are rendered telling and attractive by a
more lively imagination, a keener intellectual and spiritual insight, a
more incisive and picturesque style. They are marked, in short, by the
very qualities most requisite \o interest and instruct the class for which
this work is designed. His St. Luke is worthy to be ranked,with Pro
fessor Plumptre's St James, than which no higher commendation can
well be given." — The Expositor.
"Dr Farrar, in the Cambridge St Luke, has laid us all under great
obligation by his masterly marshalling before us of all that is necessary -
to know concerning the Gospel itself, and in regard to its relation to
others. His notes on the verses are crjtical and full of information, yet
concise withal; but his introductory matter is invaluable. In his fourth
chapter on "Characteristics of the Gospel," we 'seem to get into the
very heart of the evangelist's purpose, and, after perusal, qne sees more
clearly than before hpw wise and beneficent was the Divine plan^ that
gave us the gospel from more pens than one." — The Sunday School
Chronicle. "The Cambridge Bible for Schools. St Luke. Edited by Canon
Farrar, D.D. We have received' with pleasure this edition of the
Gospel by' St Luke, by Canqn Farrar. It is another instalment of
the best school commentary of the Bible we possess. In its general
features it does not differ from the previous volumes of the series. Of
the expository part of the work we cannot speak too highly. It is
admirable in every way, and contains just the sort of information
needed for Students of the English text unable to make use of the
original Greek for themselves."— The Nonconformist and Independent.
CAMBRIDGE BIBLE FOR SCHOOLS.
" Another instalment of the Cambridge Bible for Schools appears in
the Gospel according to St Luke, edited by Canon Farrar. _ Dr Farrar
has written a brief introduction at once lucid and scholarly, in which he
summarises what is known as to the origin, and points out the distinc
tive features of all the four Gospels, presents a sketch of the life of
St Luke, discusses the authenticity of his Gospel, describes its charac
teristics, and furnishes an analysis of it. The chief value of the book to
students, however, will consist in the notes, which are exceedingly
numerous, and constitute a commentary at once minute, informative,
and pervaded by a spirit of true Christian culture. No volume of the
series is likely to command more general appreciation than this." — The
Scotsman. "No one who has seen Canon Farrar's 'Life of Christ' and 'St
Paul,' will doubt us when we say that every page of his 'St Luke'
contains useful and suggestive comments. It is intended to issue the
whole of the Bible in similar style. We strongly advise our readers to
obtain a prospectus of this publication." — -The Lay Preacher.
"As a handbook to the third gospel, this small work is invaluable.
The author has compressed into little space a vast mass of scholarly in
formation. . . The notes are pithy, vigorous, and suggestive, abounding
in pertinent illustrations from general literature, and aiding the youngest
reader to an intelligent appreciation of the text. ' A finer contribution to
'The Cambridge Bible for Schools' has not yet been made." — Baptist
Magazine, "Canon Farxar has supplied students of the Gospel with an ad
mirable manual in this volume. 'It has all that copious variety of illus
tration, ingenuity of suggestion, and general soundness of interpretation
which readers are accustomed to expect from the learned and eloquent
editor. Any one who has been accustomed to associate the idea of
'dryness' with a commentary, should go to Canon Farrar's St Luke for
a more correct impression. He will find that a commentary may be
made interesting in the highest degree, and that without losing anything
of its solid value. . . . But, so to speak, it is too good for some of the
readers for whom it is intended. An immediate demand for it will
come from classes preparing for the Cambridge Local Examination. . .
The more advanced the student, the more useful to him this manual." —
, The Spectator.
"St Mark, with Notes by the Rev. G. F. Maclear, D.D. Into
this small volume Dr Maclear, besides a clear and able Introduc
tion to the Gospel, and the text of St Mark, has compressed many
hundreds of valuable and helpful notes. In short, he has given us
a capital manual of the kind required — containing all that is needed to
illustrate the text, i. e. all that can be drawn from the history, geography,
customs, and manners of the time. But as a handbook, giving in a
clear and succinct form the information which a lad requires in order
to stand an examination in the Gospel, it is admirable... I can very
heartily commend it, not only to the senior boys and girls in our High
Schools, but also to Sunday-school teachers, who may get from it the
very kind of knowledge they often find it hardest to %et." -^Expositor.
"The scheme is well started in the little book before us. Dr
Maclear has formed a sound conception of the kind of book needed for
school purposes, and has made his contribution thoroughly serviceable,
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
"• W? *e helP of a book like this, an intelligent teacher may make
Divinity as interesting a lesson as any in the school course. The
notes are of a kind that will be, for the most part, intelligible to boys
of the lower forms of our public schools; but they may be read with
greater profit by the fifth and sixth, in conjunction with the original
text. — The Academy.
"St Mark is edited by Dr Maclear, Head Master of King's
College School. It is a very business-like little book. The text is
given in paragraphs, and each paragraph has a title, which reappears as
a division of the notes. The introduction, which occupies twenty pages,
is clear and good, and concludes with an analysis of the book. There
are maps and an index. The notes are pointed and instructive, and
constantly give words and phrases from Wicliff 's version, and quota
tions from classical and modern authors, which add greatly to the
interest of the work and to its usefulness for schools. There is a good
list of writers who have undertaken other parts of this edition of the
Bible, including the editor and his distinguished brothers, Professor
Plumptre, Canon Farrar, Dr Moulton, and Mr Sanday. " — Contemporary
Review. " We welcome with enthusiasm this first fruit of the banding to
gether of eminent divinity students of our Universities under the editor-
. ship of Dr Perowne, and are not sorry that it represents the labours of
so experienced a scholar and teacher as Dr Maclear, upon the Gospel
of St Mark. We gather from it an earnest of the handy and compact
arrangement to be looked for in the contents of the volumes ,to follow,
the ordering of the requisite introductory matter, the conciseness yet
j sufficiency of the notes to the text, the fullness of the general index, and
the discreet choice of that of special words and phrases." — English
Churchman. f
"The Gospel according to St Matthew, by the Rev. A. Carr. This
valuable series of school books is under the editorship of Professor
Perowne, and is doing a great and thorough educational work in
our schools. The volume before us condenses in the smallest possible
space the best results of the best commentators on St Matthew's Gospel.
The introduction is able, scholarly, and eminently practical, as it bears
on the authorship and contents of the Gospel, and the original form
in which it is supposed to have been written. It is well illustrated by
two excellent maps of the Holy Land and of the Sea of Galilee." —
English Churchman.
" The Book of Joshua. Edited by G. F. Maclear, D.D. We have
the first instalment of what we have long desiderated, a School Com
mentary on the books of Scripture. If we may judge of the work con
templated by the sample before us it has our heartiest commendation.
With Dr T. T. S. Perowne for General Editor and an eminent list of
well-known Biblical scholars as contributors, we have the highest
guarantee that the work will be completed in a scholarly, useful, and
reliable form The introductory chapter of the present volume on the
life character, and work of Joshua is ably and attractively written. .. .
The 'notes' will be found brief, terse, pointed, and suggestive. The
historical illustrations are apposite and felicitous. The maps and geo
graphical explanations are accurate and valuable. The book ought to
be m the hands of every teacher, and even clergymen will find it a.
4 CAMBRIDGE BIBLE FOR SCHOOLS.
valuable accession to their list of commentaries. We await the issue
of the remaining volumes with interest." — Weekly Review.
"A very important work in the nature of a Scriptural text-book for
the use of students has been undertaken by the Syndics of the Cam'
bridge University Press — namely, the separate issue of the several books
of the Bible, each edited and annotated by some Biblical scholar of high
reputation The value of the work as an aid to Biblical study, not
merely in schools but among people of all classes who are desirous td
have intelligent knowledge of the Scriptures, cannot easily be over
estimated." — The Scotsman.
"Among the Commentaries which are in course of publication, the
Cambridge Bible for Schools (Cambridge University Press) deserves
mention." It is issued in conveniently-sized volumes, each containing
a Book of the Old or New Testament. We have just received two of
these volumes — one, on The Book of Joshua, prepared by Dr Maclear,
of the King's College School ; the other, by Professor Plumptre, on
The Epistle of St James. That they are designed for the use of schools
sufficiently indicates the scope of the annotations which accompany the
text of each of these books. That on the Book of Joshua is enriched
with notices of the most recent discoveries in Biblical archaeology and
geography. The volume on the Epistle of St James is, independently
of a sufficient commentary, enriched with a useful introduction, in
which the authorship of the Epistle and the time when written are
discussed with the fulness which we had a right to expect from
Dr Plumptre. The series will be valuable to schools; but it will
by no means exhaust its usefulness there. More advanced readers
of Holy Scripture than are to be found in our public schools will
derive assistance from these handy volumes, which, when completed
— if completed as those already published give us reason to expect—
will be a welcome addition to Our commentaries on Holy Scrip
ture."— John Bull.
"St Matthew, edited by A. Cart, M.A. The Book qf Joshua, edited
by G. F. Maclear, D.D. The General E'pistle of St Jatmes, edited by
E. H. Plumptre, D.D. (Cambridge University Press). These volumes
are constructed upon the same plan, and exhibit the saihe features as
that on 'St- Mark's Gospel,' of which we gave a. full account on its
issue. The introductions and notes are scholarly, and generally such
as young readers need and can appreciate. The maps in both Joshua
and Matthew are very good, and all matters of editing are faultless.
Professor Plumptre's notes on ' The Epistle of St James ' are models of
terse, exact, and elegant renderings of the original, which is too often
obscured in the authorised version." — Nonconformist.
' ' The General Epistle of St James, with Notes and Introduction.
By Professor Plumptre, D.D. (University Press, Cambridge). This' is
only a part of the Cambridge Bible for Schools, and may be bought
for a few pence. Nevertheless it is, so far as I know, by far the best
exposition of the Epistle of St James in the English language. Not
Schoolboys or Students going in for an examination alone, but Ministers
and Preachers of the Word, may get more real help from it than from
the most costly and elaborate commentaries." — Expositor.
" With Mr Carr's well-edited apparatus to St Matthew's Gospel,
where the text is that of Dr Scrivener's Cambridge Paragraph Bible,
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
we
are sure the young student will need nothing but a good Greek
w™™^ £ ¦ doubt whether any volume of like dimensions could
be found so sufficient for the needs of a student of the first Gospel, from
whatever point of view he may approach it." -Saturday RevuZ.
t tr V^.bridge Bible for Schools: St Matthew, Joshua,
Jonah, Cormthians, and James. We have on a former occasion drawn
the attention of our readers to the first volume of this excellent series—
bt Mark. Ihe volumes indicated above have now been published, and
fully maintain the high standard won by the first. They furnish valu
able and precise information in a most convenient form, and will be
highly esteemed by students preparing for examinations, and also by
Sunday-school teachers and others. They are particularly valuable in
furnishing information concerning history, geography, manners and
customs, in illustration of the sacred text." — The Baptist.
"The Cambridge Bible for Schools ^-The First Epistle to the
Corinthians. Edited by Professor Lias. Jonah. Edited by Arch
deacon Perowne. (Cambridge University Press.) Every fresh instal
ment of this annotated edition Of the Bible for schools confirms the
favourable opinion we formed of its value from the examination of its
first number. The origin and plan af the Epistle are discussed with its
character and genuineness. The ahalysis of its contents is very full and
clear, and will be found of great service to the teachers of the more
advanced classes in Sunday-schools and to the leaders of Bible-classes.
The notes at the foot of the text aire brief, but suggestive. We should
recommend the committee of the City Missions, and all who have
charge of rural evangelization societies, to put this book into the hands
of their agents.... The moral teaching of the book is so valuable, and
the light it sheds upon the growth of religion amongst the Jews so
interesting, that these elements 'Ought to receive the largest share of an
editor's attention. ' ' — The Nonconformist.
"Dr Maclear's commentary for Schools on The Book of Joshua is,
as may be anticipated from him, clear and compendious. The historical
books of the Old Testament are especially adapted for such an exegesis,
elucidating many minute points, which might escape the observation of
a less careful student. Ariother volume of the same series, The Gospel
of St Matthew, with Mr Carr's annotations, deserves equally high
praise. The commentary is terse and scholarly, without losing its
interest for ordinary readers. The maps, the index, and the tabulated
information in the Appendix all enhance the usefulness of this handy
little volume. The name of 'the editor, Dr Plumptre, is in itself enough
to recommend the edition of The General Epistle of St James, in
the same series. More copious than the companion volumes, it
contains some lengthy notes in the form of an excursus — e.g. on the
personal relation of St Paul and St James the Less." — Guardian.
" The last part, the Book of Jonah, is from the hand of (The Ve'n.
T. T.) Perowne, Archdeacon of Norwich. The little work is well done,
Written in a graceful, lucid, and cheerful style, which will be attractive
to young readers. The notes contain information and reflection in a
very just proportion, the great preponderance being given to informa
tion » The British and Foreign Evangelical Review.
'" The Book of Joshua. By the Rev. G. F. Maclear, D.D. Jonah. ¦
Bv the Ven. T. T. Perowne, B.D. The Gospel according to St Matthew.
CAMBRIDGE BIBLE FOR SCHOOLS.
By the Rev. A. Carr, M.A. The Gospel according to St Mark. By
the Rev. G. F. Maclear, D.D. The Acts of the Apostles (i— xiv). By
J. Rawson Lumby, D.D. We cannot have a healthier intellectual
exercise than an impartial examination of the structure and contents
of Scripture, and there are no books more likely to aid such an
examination than the Manuals issued by the Syndics of the University
Press. Works of more solid worth have not been published. The
text adopted throughout is that of Scrivener's Cambridge Paragraph
Bible. Each part contains a careful and scholarly introduction on the
authorship, the date, the sources, &c, of the book. The notes are
terse and suggestive, giving in few words the gist of elaborate re
searches. They abound in fine textual criticism, no less than in valuable i
doctrinal and ethical comments. Dr Maclear is thoroughly at home in
such an historical book as Joshua, He draws illustrations from all
quarters, especially from old English literature, and writes in a style
of great elegance. The volume on Jonah is a literary gem,*- both on
apologetic and hermeneutical grounds. In Mr Carr's Matthew there is,
in addition to keen verbal criticism and archaeological research, a deter
mined effort to trace the course of thought in the inspired text, to point
out the nexus between the various sections and verses of the Gospel.
Mr Carr has all the qualifications which vigorous and refined scholar
ship can give, and possesses what is of far higher value, clear spiritual
insight. Mr Lumby's manner of work is known to most of our readers
from his papers in the Expositor. His notes on the Acts will certainly
enhance his reputation, and form a valuable commentary on one of the
most important books of the New Testament.... All these books are, in
fact, a valuable addition to our Biblical expositions! original contribu
tions to a subject of transcendant importance ; and while they cannot
fail to be valued by those for whom they are expressly designed, we
have a shrewd suspicion that they will be still more highly appreciated
by minds of a riper order. The maps which most of the manuals
contain are beautifully executed, and will be a great aid to the intelli
gent study of the Scriptures. Canon Perowne, to whom the general
editorship of the series has been entrusted, may be congratulated on the
success which the scheme has so far achieved. ' the Cambridge Bible
for Schools ' is one of the most popular and useful literary enterprises of
the nineteenth century. " — Baptist Magazine.
"The Cambridge Bible for Schools — The Second Epistle to
the Corinthians. By Professor Lias. The General Epistles of St Peter
and St Jude. By E. H. Plumptre, D.D. We welcome these
additions to the valuable series of the Cambridge Bible. We have
nothing to add to the commendation which we have from the first
publication given to this edition of the Bible. It is enough to say that
Professor Lias has completed his work on the two 'Epistles to the
Corinthians in the same admirable manner as at first. Dr Plumptre
has also completed the Catholic Epistles." — Nonconformist.
"(i) The Acts of the Apostles. By J. Rawson Lumby, D.D.
(2) The Second Epistle of the Corinthians, edited by Professor Lias.
The introduction is pithy, and contains a mass of carefully-selected
information on the authorship of the Acts, its designs, and its sources.
The Second Epistle of the Corinthians is a manual beyond all
praise, for the excellence of its pithy and pointed annotations, its
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
analysis of the contents, and the fulness and value of its introduction."
— Examiner. "The Cambridge Bible for Schools.— The Cambridge Uni
versity Press has not made of late years a more valuable contribution to
the literature of the age than this series of books of the Bible, which
has been prepared specially for schools.... We have been most careful to
examine St Matthew, edited by Rev. A. Carr, M. A., as our thoughts are
directed in the line of the International Lessons for the first six months
of the next year, and we are very pleased to direct our readers' attention
to a work which is calculated to be so helpful to them. The introductory
portion is very able, so full of interesting matter, and yet so concisely
put. This quality of conciseness characterises the notes throughout, and
as they appear on the same page as the letter press to which they relate,
facility of reference is thus obtained." — The Sunday School Chronicle.
"The Cambridge Bible for Schools.— The 2nd Epistle to the
Corinthians, with Notes, Map, and Introduction. By the Rev. J. J.
Lias, M.A. We have here a noteworthy sample of the thoroughness
of the editing of the various books of the English Bible under the super
intendence of Dean Perowne, and a trustworthy earnest of his choice
of the best coadjutors for each particular volume. The Rev. Professor
Lias, M.A., is not unknown as a profound Biblical scholar; but, if he
were, his arrangement and discrimination of materials, his shrewd
weighing of arguments where there is crux for commentators, the
general soberness and serviceableness of his notes would recommend
him to those who require a scholarly editor for even the Bible in Eng
lish. These are and ought to be many, and it is no small boon to them
that the Syndics of the Cambridge Pitt Press are alive to their need and
desire. We have examined the notes, and can only say that their
soundness and orthodoxy are such as to give a comfortable assurance
that Cambridge and Lampeter undergraduates are fortunate in being
guided by such sound and sage divines as Professor Lias." — The English
Churchman and Clerical Journal.
" The Epistle to the Romans. By H. C. G. Moule, M.A. This
admirable school series continues its work. Mr Moule treats in this
new volume of one of the profoundest of the New Testament Books.
His work is scholarly, clear, full, and devout, and we are thankful
that such volumes find their way into our schools The volumes,
taken as a whole, are admirable." — The Freeman.
"The Rev. H. C. G. Moule, M.A., has made a valuable addition
to The Cambridge Bible for Schools in his brief commentary on
the Epistle to the Romans. The "Notes" are very good, and
lean, as the notes of a School Bible should, to the most commonly
accepted and orthodox view of the inspired author's meaning; while
the Introduction, and especially the Sketch of the Life of St Paul, is
a model of condensation. It is as lively and pleasant to read as if
two or three facts had not been crowded into well-nigh every sentence."
~~ "The °Etistle to the Romans. It is seldom we have met with a
work so remarkable for the compression and condensation of all that
is valuable in the smallest possible space as in the volume before us.
Within its limited pages we have 'a sketch of the Life of St Paul,'
which really amounts to a full and excellent biography; we have
CAMBRIDGE BIBLE FOR SCHOOLS.
further a critical account of the date of the Epistle to the Romans, of
its language, and of its genuineness. The notes are numerous, full of
matter, to the point, and leave no real difficulty or obscurity unex
plained." — The Examiner.
"The Epistle to the Romans. To the mature reader, the "book may
be most confidently recommended. He will have his reserve about the
theology, but he will find it an admirably careful and complete com
mentary, avoiding no difficulties, tracing out distinctly the sequences
of thought, and expressing in perspicuous language what St Paul
meant, or, at least, what a learned and intelligent critic believed
him to have meant." — The Spectator.
"This is a volume of that very useful series, 'The Cambridge Bible
for Schools,' edited by Dean Perowne. Mr Moule's work, we need
hardly say, bears marks of close, conscientiqus, study; the exposition is
clear, suggestive, and thoroughly sound. There is, not the slightest
parade of scholarship, and. yet this Commentary will bear comparison
with any even of the highest ra,nk for ability and erudition. . . Mr
Moule has evidently read much, and pondered carefully ; but he gives,
in small compass, the conclusion at which he has arrived. We are
greatly pleased with this hook."^The Ch.ttrchm.an.
' ' We heartily commend to the notice of our readers the volume con
taining the notes of Mr Moule on the Epistle to the Romans, which
appears as one of the series of 'The Cambridge Bible for Schools.'
Added to his refined scholarship, Mr Moule appears tq us to have exe
cuted his task with accuracy and sound judgment. "The sketch of St
Paul's life is sufficiently complete for the; purpose for which it is de
signed. So is the introduction generally." — Clergyman's Magazine.
"This handy little volume is one of the f'The Cambridge Bible for
Schools" series now being published under the superintendence of Dean
Perowne. It thoroughly well merits the praise, multum inparvo. The
Introduction, containing a sketch of St. Paul's life, and some valuable
remarks on this Epistle, occupies fifty pages. The Commentary, exposi
tory and critical notes on the text, is singularly rich ; a mass of infor-
' mation is presented in, a very readable form. The sentences are terse,
clear, and suggestive. Mr Moule has evidently read much, and pon
dered carefully; but he does not qverload his exposition with details,
and he has judged it best in a work "for school's" tq give simply on
orthodox lines his cqnclusions. Hence, the well-packed notes ar'e in
teresting, and although there is nowhere the slightest parade of scholar
ship the work has unmistakably the flavour and the value of sound
scholarly divinity. It is hardly necessary to add that the exposition is
Evangelical. Many Bible students who have long ago left school will
find Mr Moule's work a- really valuable help.". — The Record.
CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY C J. CLAY, M.A., AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
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