John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

1 Samuel 6:1



INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 6



In this chapter we are told the Philistines advised with their priests what to do with the ark, and wherewith to send it home, 1Sa 6:1 whose advice was to send with it a trespass offering, golden images of emerods and mice, and to put it on a new cart, and the images in a coffer on the side of the ark, and draw it with two cows, 1Sa 6:3, and gave them a token whereby they might know whether they had been smitten by the God of Israel or not, 1Sa 6:9 which advice they took, and acted in all things according to it; and the lords of the Philistines accompanied the ark to the border of Bethshemesh, 1Sa 6:10, where they of Bethshemesh received it with joy, and offered the kine for a burnt offering to the Lord, and the Levites took care of the ark and presents in it, and the lords of the Philistines returned home, 1Sa 6:13, but they of Bethshemesh looking into the ark were smitten of God, upon which they sent to the men of Kirjathjearim to fetch it from them, 1Sa 6:19.



Ver. 1. And the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. Or "in the field" {c} of the Philistines; hence Procopius Gazaeus observes, that none of the cities daring to receive the ark, they left it without under the open air, so thinking they should be delivered from their calamity. But the word is often used for country, and is generally so understood here; the Targum is,



"in the cities of the Philistines;''



in one or other of them, first for a while in Ashdod, and then for some time in Gath, and last in Ekron, and in all seven months from the time of its being taken; and it being in wheat harvest when it was returned, 1Sa 6:13, these seven months will carry us back to the beginning of winter, or towards the end of autumn, when the battles between Israel and the Philistines were fought, and the ark was taken. Josephus {d} says it was with the Philistines four months only, contrary to the text.



{c} hdvb en agrw, Sept. "in agro", Pagninus, Montanus. {d} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 1. sect. 4.





1 Samuel 6:2



Ver. 2. And the Philistines called for the priests and for the diviners,.... The one were skilled in the rites and ceremonies of religion, not only of their own, but of other nations, particularly of Israel; and that they were not strangers to the history and affairs of that people is plain from 1Sa 6:6 and the other were skilled in judicial astrology, and knowledge of future events, at least as they pretended to; and therefore were both thought fit persons to advise with on the occasion of the ark, and the circumstances they were in through that:



saying, what shall we do to the ark of the Lord? shall we send it back to its own land, or not? the Ekronites had moved it might be sent back, and the five lords sent for the priests and diviners to have their advice upon it, whether it was right or not, and what they should do to it, or with it; for if it was advisable to send it back, then another question follows:



tell us wherewith we shall send it to its place; whether on men's shoulders, or on horses or asses, or on a carriage; and whether just as it was taken, or with some presents with it.





1 Samuel 6:3



Ver. 3. And they said, if ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty,.... As they perceived they had either resolved upon, or at least were inclined to do; and which they also thought advisable and therefore would have them by no means send it away as it was, but with some presents along with it; for the meaning of this word "empty" is not that they should take care that all that were in it when taken should go with it, and nothing be taken out of it, or it be stripped of its contents; but that some gifts and offerings should be sent along with it: perhaps they might have some notion of, or respect unto a law in Israel, Ex 23:15 or might say this from a common principle received among Heathens, that deities were to be appeased by gifts {e}:



but in any wise return him a trespass offering; here again they seem to have some notion of the sorts and kinds of sacrifice among the Israelites; and advise to a trespass offering, to make satisfaction and atonement for the offence they had committed in taking away the ark; and that they should make restoration not only by returning the ark, but by sending an expiatory offering along with it:



then ye shall be healed; of the disease with which they were smitten; for it seems it still continued on them, at least on many:



and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you; which was because the ark was detained by them; but when that should be sent home, and they be healed upon it, then it would be a plain case that the reason why the disease was inflicted and continued was because of that.



{e} "Munera crede mihi", &c. Ovid. de arte amandi, l. 3.





1 Samuel 6:4



Ver. 4. Then said they, what shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him?.... They paid a great deference to their priests and diviners, and were willing to be directed in all things by them; being ignorant of what was most proper in this case, and might be acceptable to the God of Israel:



they answered, five golden emerods, and five golden mice; images of these made of gold, as appears from the next verse; the reason of the former is easy, from the above account of the disease they were afflicted with; but of the latter no hint is given before: indeed in the Vulgate Latin and Septuagint versions of 1Sa 5:6 is inserted a clause, that



"mice sprung up in the midst of their country;''



which is not in the Hebrew text, nor in the Chaldee paraphrase; yet appears to be a fact from the following verse, that at the same time their bodies were smitten with emerods, their fields were overrun with mice, which destroyed the increase of them; wherefore five golden mice were also ordered as a part of the trespass offering, and five of each were pitched upon:



according to the number of the lords of the Philistines; who were five, and so the principalities under them; see Jos 13:3



for one plague was on you all, and on your lords; the lords and common people were equally smitten with the emerods, and the several principalities were alike distressed and destroyed with the mice; and therefore the trespass offering, which was a vicarious one for them, was to be according to the number of their princes and their principalities; five emerods for the five princes and their people smitten with emerods, and five mice on account of the five cities and fields adjacent being marred by mice.





1 Samuel 6:5



Ver. 5. Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods,.... Which some take to be images of the five cities; others of a man at large with the disease in his back parts; others of that part of the body of a man only, in a circular form, in which the disease was, and expressing that; but the text is plain for the disease only, as high large tumours: though Maimonides {f} says of these images, that the word is attributed to them, not because of their external form, but because of their spiritual virtue and influence; whereby the damage or disease of the emerods in the hinder parts were removed: he seems to take them to be a sort of talismans, which were images of a disease or noxious creature a country was infected with, made under some celestial influence to remove it; and Tavernier {g} relates, as Bishop Patrick observes, that it is a practice with the Indians to this day, that when any pilgrim goes to a pagoda for the cure of any disease, he brings the figure of the member affected, made either of gold, silver, or copper, according to his quality, which he offers to his god. There is a tradition among the Heathens, which seems to be borrowed from this history, and serves to establish the credit of it; the Athenians not receiving Bacchus and his rites with due honour, he was angry with them, and smote them with a disease in their private parts, which was incurable; on which they consulted the oracle, which advised them in order to be rid of the disease to receive the god with all honour and respect; which order the Athenians obeyed, and made images of the several parts, privately and publicly, and with these honoured the god in memory of the disease {h}: both the disease and cure are here plainly pointed at:



and images of your mice that mar the land; that devoured the fruits of it, as these creatures in many instances have been known to do; and particularly in Palestine, the country of the Philistines, where in some places their fields were sometimes almost deserted because of the abundance of them; and were it not for a sort of birds that devoured them, the inhabitants could not sow their seed {i}: the Boeotians sacrificed to Apollo Pornopion (which signifies a mouse), to save their country from them {k}; Aristotle {l} reports of field mice, that they sometimes increase to such incredible numbers, that scarce any of the corn of the field is left by them; and so soon consumed, that some husbandmen, having appointed their labourers to cut down their corn on one day, coming to it the next day, in order to cut it down, have found it all consumed; Pliny {m} speaks of field mice destroying the harvest; Aelianus {n} relates such an incursion of field mice into some parts of Italy, as obliged the inhabitants to leave the country, and which destroyed the corn fields and plants, as if they had been consumed by heat or cold, or any unseasonable weather; and not only seeds were gnawn, but roots cut up; so the Abderites {o} were obliged to leave their country because of mice and frogs:



and ye shall give glory to the God of Israel; by sending these images as monuments of their shameful and painful disease, and of the ruin of their fields; owning that it was the hand of the Lord that smote their bodies with emerods, and filled their fields with mice which devoured them; seeking and asking pardoning of him by the trespass offering they sent him:



peradventure he will lighten his hand from you: abate the violence of the disease, and at length entirely remove it:



and from your gods; not Dagon only, but others seem to have suffered, wherever the ark came: for the Philistines had other deities; besides Dagon at Ashdod, there were Baalzebub at Ekron, and Marnas at Gaza, and Derceto at Ashkelon; and perhaps another at Gath, though unknown; and besides the gods suffered, or however their priests, by the number of men that died, and by the fruits of the earth being destroyed; which must in course lessen their revenues: and from off your land; the fruits of which were destroyed by mice.



{f} Moreh Nevochim, par. 1. c. 1. {g} Travels, p. 92. {h} Scholia in Aristoph. Acharnen. Act ii. Scen. 1. p. 383, 384. Edit. Genev. 1607. {i} Magini Geograph. par. 2. fol. 241. {k} Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 1. c. 13. {l} Hist. Animal. l. 6. c. 37. "----saepe exiguus mus", &c. Virgil, Georg. l. 1. v. 181, 182. {m} Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 65. {n} De Animal. l. 17. c. 41. {o} Justin. l. 15. c. 2.





1 Samuel 6:6



Ver. 6. Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts?.... And would not let Israel go, when their dismission was demanded by Moses and Aaron in the name of the Lord; but was refused from time to time, being given up to judicial blindness and hardness of heart: and it seems by this, that though it was proposed by some to send back the ark, and which the priests and diviners approved of; yet there were some that were against it, who, notwithstanding the plagues inflicted on them, like Pharaoh and the Egyptians hardened their hearts; which story these priests were acquainted with by the tradition of their ancestors, this being a fact then generally known in the world; or by the relation of the Israelites, over whom they had ruled many years, and were conversant with them:



when he had wrought wonderfully among them: that is, the God of Israel, though they mention not his name, who had wrought wonders in the land of Egypt; the ten plagues he inflicted on them are referred to:



did they not let the people go, and they departed? who were convinced by these plagues that they ought to let Israel go, and by them were prevailed upon to dismiss them, and the people did go out of their land; and therefore should not we let the ark go likewise, on whom plagues have been inflicted for detaining it? and may we not expect more and greater, should we refuse to dismiss it?





1 Samuel 6:7



Ver. 7. Now therefore make a new cart,.... For there were no Levites, nor priests of the Lord to carry it upon their shoulders, as it was wont to be when carried, and therefore they ordered a cart to be made; and they might know the Levites were allowed wagons to carry some of their sacred things on, Nu 7:1 and a new one for the honour of the ark, as David afterwards did, 2Sa 6:3



and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke; which also might be designed for the honour of the ark; but there was a further view in it, at least in the providence of God; since two such creatures, who had young, would be apt, if left to themselves, as these were, to return home to them, and not to proceed on a journey; and being unaccustomed to a yoke, would draw one way, and another another, in different ways; and not go on in a direct road, as such that are used to the yoke do:



and tie the kine to the cart; in order to draw it:



and bring their calves home from them; that they might not cry after them, which would cause them to turn back.





1 Samuel 6:8



Ver. 8. And take the ark of the Lord, and lay it upon the cart,.... Which was dispensed with in these uncircumcised Philistines, there being no other to do this service:



and put the jewels of gold; or rather "vessels of gold" {p}; the five golden emerods, and the five golden mice:



which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; in a basket, as the Syriac version: in a scrip, as the Arabic; in a purse, or bag, as Josephus {q}; which latter is probable enough:



and send it away, that it may go; that is, set it a going, without any driver or guide; but leave it to take its course of itself to the land of Israel. Josephus {r} says it was set in a place where three ways met, that it might take which it might; and the taking of the right way must be a strong evidence of its being under the direction of God.



{p} bhzh ylk "vasa aurea", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, &c. {q} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 1. sect. 2. {r} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 1. sect. 2.





1 Samuel 6:9



Ver. 9. And see if it goeth up by the way of its own coast to Bethshemesh,.... The nearest city to the land of the Philistines, which lay on their borders, and the borders of the tribe of Judah,

See Gill on "Jos 15:10". Now the lords of the Philistines are directed by their priests to observe, whether these kine, that drew the cart on which the ark was, took the direct road to the borders of the land of Israel, and to Bethshemesh, the nearest city that lay on that coast: if so, they might conclude then,



he hath done us this great evil; that is, the God of Israel, whose ark this was; he had inflicted the disease of the emerods on them, and sent such numbers of mice into their fields, that had destroyed the increase of them:



but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that hath smote us; but that there is some other cause of it:



it was a chance that happened to us; and so might have been the case if the ark had never been taken or detained, and to be imputed to fate, or to the stars, or some secret causes they know not of.





1 Samuel 6:10



Ver. 10. And the men did so,.... Made a new cart, not the lords of the Philistines, but workmen by their orders:



and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart; with the gear that horses, asses, or oxen, were usually fastened to a carriage they drew:



and shut up their calves at home; or, "in the house" {s}; the cow house or stable where they used to be put; this they did to restrain them from following the cows, which would disturb them in drawing the cart.



{s} tybb "in domo", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.





1 Samuel 6:11



Ver. 11. And they laid the ark of the Lord upon the cart,.... Perhaps the same men that made the cart; however they were the Philistines, yet were not punished for touching it, as Uzzah was, though an Israelite, 2Sa 6:6



and the coffer with the mice of gold, and the images of their emerods; which coffer was placed in a purse or bag hung at the side of the ark, with the golden mice and emerods in it.





1 Samuel 6:12



Ver. 12. And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh,.... Though they had none to drive, lead, or guide them, yet they steered their course to the road that led to Bethshemesh, though there were other ways they might have taken; which shows they were under the direction of God himself:



and went along the highway; or, "in one highway", or "post" {t}; though they had never been used to a yoke, they drew together in one path; and did not draw one way, and another another, as oxen unaccustomed to a yoke do:



lowing as they went; on account of their calves, which showed their sense of them, and their natural affection for them; and yet went on, did not attempt to go back to them; by which it was plain they were under a supernatural influence:



and turned not aside to the right or to the left; when other ways presented, on the right hand or on the left; they kept going straight on in the road that led to the place they were destined for; all which can be reckoned nothing less than a miracle:



and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh; not before them to guide them, or on the side of the ark to take care of it, but behind: and not at all out of respect and reverence to it, but to see what would be the issue of things, whether it would turn out an imposture or not; and that they might be able to make a true judgment of what had befallen them, as their priests and diviners had directed them to; they followed it until it was out of their territories, and in the hands of the Israelites. This place Bethshemesh is thought by some, as R. Isaiah observes, to be the same with Timnathheres, where Joshua was buried, in Jud 2:9, which signifies the figure of the sun, as this does the house of the sun; and where, perhaps, when inhabited by the Canaanites, was a temple of the sun; and it was, according to Bunting {u}, twelve miles from Ekron, from whence the ark came; and so far it was followed by the Philistines. This was a city given to the Levites, and so a proper place for the ark to come to be taken care of; hence mention is made of Levites that took it down from the cart, 1Sa 6:15,

See Gill on "Jos 21:16".



{t} txa hlomb "in via elata una", Montanus; "eadem semita", Tigurine version; so Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. {u} Travels of the Patriarchs, &c. p. 123.





1 Samuel 6:13



Ver. 13. And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley,.... Which began at Pentecost, in the month Sivan, about our May; so that there were many people in the fields, who were eyewitnesses of this wonderful event:



and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it; for though the ark while in the tabernacle was only seen by the high priest, when he went into the holy of holies; yet this having been brought out from thence, and exposed in the camp of Israel, some of this place very probably were there at that time, and had seen it, and knew it again by its form and splendour; and which gave them great pleasure to behold, which had been taken, and had been so long in the hand of the enemy, and the people of Israel deprived of it; which was the symbol of the divine Presence among them, and now restored to them again; and in this wonderful way, without seeking for it, without going to war on account of it, without paying a ransom for it; and was brought to them in a cart drawn by cattle without a driver, the lords of the Philistines with a large retinue following it. This is to be understood not of their looking "into" it, as they afterwards did, and were punished, as Kimchi; but of their looking "on" it.





1 Samuel 6:14



Ver. 14. And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite,.... In that part of the valley where they were reaping wheat which belonged to him, whom we nowhere else read; whether a priest or Levite, which is not improbable, since this was a city of the Levites, or a common Israelite, is not certain:



and stood there where there was a great stone; afterwards called the great stone of Abel, 1Sa 6:18. By the providence of God it was so ordered, that the kine made a stop just at this place; and proceeded no further, as if sensible they were come to their journey's end, and had brought the ark into the hands of its friends, and to a proper place for them to express their thankfulness for it; for this stone seemed designed to be, as it was, the altar on which the burnt offering, by way of thanksgiving for the return of the ark, was to be offered; the Jews say {w} this stone was the altar built by Abraham:



and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the Lord; the cart they cut in pieces, and laid the wood of it in order upon the stone, and slew the two cows, and laid their pieces on the wood, and set fire to it, and burnt them with it, as expressive of joy and thankfulness that the ark was returned. This was done, not by the lords of the Philistines, as some of the ancient Jews thought, as Kimchi relates, in which they are followed by some Christian interpreters; but by the men of Bethshemesh, as Kimchi, by the priests there; for though this was not the proper and usual place for sacrifice, nor were cows offered in sacrifice; yet this being an extraordinary case, and thank offerings were necessary as soon as the ark was returned, these things were dispensed with; and the rather, since Shiloh, where the tabernacle was, was destroyed; and besides, the ark of the Lord was here present, which sanctified the place, as it did the tabernacle, and made it fit for such service; and as for these cows, they had been employed in sacred service, and the Lord had a right unto them, and claim upon them; and it seemed not fitting that they should be after employed to any other use and service than his own; nor were the men of Bethshemesh blamed or punished for this, though they afterwards were for looking into the ark.



{w} Hieron. Trad. Heb. in lib. Reg. fol. 75. D.





1 Samuel 6:15



Ver. 15. And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord,.... Or, "had took it down" {x}; for this, though here related, was done as soon as the ark came into the field, or quickly after, and before the burnt offering could be made, which was burnt with the wood of the cart; and though the persons that took it down are called Levites, they were priests, who were of the tribe of Levi; for it was the work of the priests to take it down, though the Levites then might carry it; and it is remarkable that Bethshemesh was given to the Kohathite Levites, whose business it was to carry the ark on their shoulders; see

Jos 21:10



and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were; the purse or bag in which were the five golden mice, and the five golden emerods:



and put them on the great stone; both the ark and the coffer, by which the cart stood, and on which the sacrifice of burnt offering was probably offered:



and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed sacrifices, the same day unto the Lord; besides the burnt offering of the two cows, they offered others to testify their thankfulness for the return of the ark; and also peace offerings, on which they feasted with one another, to express their greater joy.



{x} wdyrwh "deposuerant", Meudoza; so Pool.





1 Samuel 6:16



Ver. 16. And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it,.... Observed all that was done, how the kine performed their journey, drew the cart in which the ark was straight to Bethshemesh, stopped in a field near it, where it was received joyfully by the people, and sacrifices offered on account of it:



they returned to Ekron the same day; as they might very well, since it was but twelve miles from Bethshemesh.





1 Samuel 6:17



Ver. 17. And these are the golden emerods, which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the Lord,.... Along with the ark:



for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon, one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; which were the five principalities of the Philistines that belonged to the five lords before mentioned; and each of these were at the expense of a golden emerod, and sent it along with the ark to make atonement for the offence they had been guilty of in taking and detaining it.





1 Samuel 6:18



Ver. 18. And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords,.... That is, as many golden mice as there were cities under the jurisdiction of the five lords, which are the same before mentioned:



both of fenced cities and of country villages; walled and unwalled towns; it seems by this, as it was but reasonable it should be, that the several villages adjacent and belonging to the five principal cities contributed their part towards the expense of the five golden emerods, and five golden mice, since they were afflicted both in their persons, and especially in their fields, as well as those in the cities; though Kimchi and others think that the country villages sent each of them a golden emerod, and a golden mouse, fearing the presents of the five cities would not serve for them; and therefore, though the priests and diviners only ordered five of each, according to the number of the principal cities, yet they of themselves sent more: all the country villages that reached



even unto the great stone of Abel; the Targum is,



"unto the great stone'';



and so the Septuagint version, reading Eben instead of Ebal; or "lamed" is put for "nun", as "nun" for "lamed", Ne 13:7. The Vulgate Latin version is unto great Abel, taking it for a city, as does Procopius Gazaeus, who calls it the great city Abel, through which they carried the ark of the Lord; so Jerom {y}, who takes it to be the same with Bethshemesh, called Abel because of the mourning in it for the men of Bethshemesh after slain; or to distinguish it from another Abel is called "great", 2Sa 20:15 but it seems plainly to be the same with the great stone, 1Sa 6:14, here called Eben Gedolah, here Abel Gedolah, by the change of a letter, having its latter name by anticipation from the great mourning hereafter made, next mentioned:



whereon they set down the ark of the Lord; when it was taken out of the cart, as also the coffer in which were the presents, 1Sa 6:15,



which: stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua the Bethshemite: the supplement, which stone remaineth, seems necessary, lest it should be thought the ark remained there unto the time of the writing this book, which was not true, for it was soon after this fetched to Kirjathjearim; but the stone remained, and might be seen; and posterity in following times were told that was the stone on which the ark was put when it returned to Israel.



{y} Trad. Heb. ut supra. (Hieron. Trad. Heb. in lib. Reg. fol. 75. D.)





1 Samuel 6:19



Ver. 19. And he smote the men of Bethshemesh,.... That is, God smote them, though they had received the ark with such expressions of joy, and had offered sacrifices on account of it; yet sinning in one particular after mentioned, which was highly resented, they were smitten by him with a thunderbolt, as Josephus says {z}:



because they had looked into the ark of the Lord; which was forbidden the Levites, Nu 4:20 out of curiosity these men opened the ark, to see whether the Philistines had taken anything out of it, or put anything into it; and this, when in the tabernacle, being only to be seen by the high priest; and supposing they should never have the like opportunity again, to look upon the tables of the law which were in it, took it; and the rather they might be emboldened to this action, since it had been in the hands of the uncircumcised Philistines, who had profaned it; and as yet not restored to its pristine purity, holiness, and place:



even he smote of the people fifty thousand and seventy men; but as Bethshemesh was but a small place, a village, as Josephus {a} calls it, and it seems not likely that there should be such a number of persons in it, and especially that should look into the ark; or that God, who is good and merciful, should destroy so large a number for this offence, however he might think fit to make an example of some, it is thought that the case was not as our version represents it. Some who think there were so many slain, yet distinguish them, seventy of the elders of the people, and 50,000 of the congregation, or common people, as the Targum; which accounts not for the difficulty at all: others think that only seventy of the men of Bethshemesh died, and that 50,000 were such as flocked out of the country on this occasion; but as this was on the same day the ark came into those parts, it can hardly be thought that so great a number should be got together so soon; and still less that they should all of them open the ark, and look into it. Abarbinel is of opinion that only seventy men of Bethshemesh were slain, and that the other 50,000 were the Philistines that died on account of the ark while it was among them; and reads the words, "with the men of Bethshemesh he smote--even he smote of the people seventy"; that is, of the men of Bethshemesh; 50,000, that is, of the Philistines, and so this gives the sum of all that died on account of the ark, both while it was in the hands of the Philistines, and when returned to Bethshemesh, which is not an improbable sense: but others, and perhaps more truly, think that only seventy persons were smitten with death; for the order in which this account is given is different from all others in the Hebrew text, the lesser number being put first with a considerable distinguishing accent upon it, whereas the greater number is always expressed first; it stands thus, "of the people seventy men; 50,000 men": 5000, according to the Syriac and Arabic versions. Josephus {b} is express for it that only seventy men were slain, and so some of the ancient Jews {c}; who say that these seventy were equal to 50,000, because of their superior excellency and dignity, as Ben Gersom observes, being the priests of the Lord, or the sanhedrim; but Bochart's {d} sense seems to be preferable to all others, that there is a defect of the particle m, "out of"; and so to be read, either seventy men out of fifty thousand; that out of the 50,000 that flocked on this occasion from various parts, seventy were smitten for the reason before given; or rather seventy men, fifty out of 1000 men; that is, a twentieth part of the number of them, so that, out of 1400, seventy men were struck with death for their curiosity {e}. Something of this story seems to be retained by tradition among the Heathens; we are told {f} that when Troy was taken an ark was found, in which was the image of Bacchus; which being opened by Eurypylus, he was struck with madness as soon as he saw the image:



and the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten [many] of the people with a great slaughter; I see no occasion for the supplement "many"; it was a great slaughter, if we consider the awful manner in which it was made, by thunder and lightning, as may be supposed; however, by an immediate stroke from heaven; and the persons on whom it was made, men of a sacred character, priests and Levites; and a great number, considering it was but a small city. Hence the place was called Abel, which signifies weeping, mourning, lamentation, 1Sa 6:18.



{z} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 1. sect. 4. {a} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 1. sect. 3. {b} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 1. sect. 3. {c} T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 35. 2. T. Hieros. Sanhedrin, fol. 20. 2. Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 5. fol. 186. 2. {d} Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 36. col. 370. {e} So Noldius, No. 779. {f} Pausan. Achaica, sive, l. 7. p. 435.





1 Samuel 6:20



Ver. 20. And the men of Bethshemesh said, who is able to stand before this holy Lord God?.... The Targum is,



"before the ark of this holy Lord God;''



which is said either by way of complaint of the severity of God, and the strictness of his justice; or in reverence of his holiness, acknowledging their imperfection, sin, and guilt, by reason of which they could not stand before him; nor can any, but on account of the mercy seat over the ark, or through Christ, his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice:



and to whom shall he go up from us? that is, the ark, the symbol of God's presence, which they seem to be desirous of parting with; being unworthy of it, and conscious of their impurity in comparison of God that dwelt in it; and of their weakness to give the honour and reverence that was due unto it; and yet they knew not who were fit for it, or would choose to receive it, because of the danger they were liable to through every inadvertency in them, and irreverence of that.





1 Samuel 6:21



Ver. 21. And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim,.... Which was a city further on in the tribe of Judah, and lay among some woods, from whence it had its name, and was formerly called Kirjathbaal, from Baal's being worshipped there; of which see

Jos 15:9, they might choose to send hither to fetch the ark from them, because it was at a greater distance from the Philistines, their city Bethshemesh being on the borders of them; and because it might be a place of greater eminence and strength, and besides lay in the way to Shiloh, whereby they might suppose it was intended to be had; unless Shiloh was before this time destroyed:



saying, the Philistines have brought again the ark of the Lord; which they doubted not would be good news to them:



come ye down, and fetch it up to you; but say not one word of the reason of this request, lest it should discourage them; but rather represent it as a favour to them, and an honour done them, as indeed it was. Kirjathjearim seems to have stood on an eminence in comparison of Bethshemesh, and therefore it is said to come down from the one, and go up to the other. That Bethshemesh was in a valley, see 1Sa 6:13 and this on a hill, 1Sa 7:1.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

1 Samuel 7:1



INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 7



This chapter gives an account of the ark being brought to Kirjathjearim, where it continued twenty years, 1Sa 7:1 of the exhortation of Samuel to the people of Israel to reform from idolatry, and which had its desired effect, 1Sa 7:3 of Samuel's praying for the people, and offering sacrifices for them, and of the success thereof, victory over their enemies, 1Sa 7:5, and of his administration of justice to them, and constancy in it, 1Sa 7:15.



Ver. 1. And the men of Kirjathjearim came and fetched up the ark of the Lord,.... From Bethshemesh, which was near unto them, as Josephus {g} says; they made no difficulty of fetching it, but gladly received it; for if they knew of what happened to the men of Bethshemesh, they knew it was not owing to the presence of the ark among them, but to their irreverent behaviour to it; and though Kirjathjearim was not a Levite city, and so the men of it could not bear the ark themselves, yet they might have proper persons from Bethshemesh to do this service:



and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill; which; hill was within the city of Kirjathjearim, and is mentioned either to distinguish this Abinadab that dwelt on it from another of the same name in the city, as Kimchi observes; or else to remark the propriety of the place, and the reason of the choice of it for the ark to be placed in; hills and high places being in those times accounted fittest for sacred services to be performed in, as well as places of safety; who this man was is not certain. Josephus {h} says he was a Levite, but if so he could only be a sojourner in this place; however he might be, as he suggests he was, a man of great esteem for religion and righteousness:



and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord; not only to watch it that it might not be taken away, but to keep persons from it, from touching it, or using it irreverently; and such as were not allowed to come nigh it; as well as to keep the place clean where it was put; and for this he was appointed by the priests, or the elders of the city; and was set apart for this service, and prepared for it by washings and sacrifices; and the rather he and not his father was invested with this office, because he was a young man, and his father might be old and decrepit; and this his son also a holy goodman, wise and prudent, and active and zealous for God, and true religion; and on all accounts a fit person for this post.



{g} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 1. sect. 4. {h} Ibid





1 Samuel 7:2



Ver. 2. And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long,.... It could not be less than between forty and fifty years, for it remained here until the times of David, who removed it from hence after he was made king over all Israel, and when he had reigned over Judah seven years; and from the death of Eli to that time, which included the government of Samuel and Saul, it could not be less than what has been hinted:



for it [was] twenty years; not that this was all the time the ark was at Kirjathjearim, but it was so long there before it was much taken notice of, and sought unto, and the Lord by it; there was a great neglect of God, and his worship, which through the means of Samuel began to revive about this time, as it follows:



and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord; became sensible of their evil doings, and repented of them, and sought the Lord with fasting, and prayer, and tears; bewailed their backslidings and revoltings from him, and cried after a departing God.





1 Samuel 7:3



Ver. 3. And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel,.... When they assembled at one of their three yearly feasts, or as he went from place to place, exhorting them to repentance and reformation; and perceiving they began to be awakened to a sense of their sins, and seemed desirous of returning to God, and restoring his worship:



saying, if ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts; truly and sincerely; for he might fear there was hypocrisy and dissimulation at least in some of them:



[then] put away the strange gods; as all but the true God are; or the gods of another people, as the Philistines, Canaanites, &c. Baalim seem chiefly intended, as appears from the following verse:



and Ashtaroth from among you; female deities, such as with other nations went by the name of Juno, Venus, &c. so the Arabic version,



"the idols of the women ye secretly worship.''



Aquila renders it, "the images of Astarte"; so they call Venus as Procopius Gazaeus observes, from "aster", a star; but the word signifies flocks of sheep, and these deities are supposed by some to be in the form of them; but be they what they may, they were to be put away out of their houses, and out of their hearts:



and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only; that is, direct your hearts to him while in his service; let it proceed from the heart, and let it be done to him only, and not to another with him; or to him in and by another, as may be pretended, and commonly is by idolaters:



and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines; under whose dominion they had been for many years; for though their power over them was weakened by Samson, yet they were not completely delivered by him; so all the time of Eli they were not wholly free from them; and especially since their last defeat by them; when the ark was taken, they had been under oppression by them; now Samuel promises them deliverance from it, in case they relinquish their idols, and served the Lord solely and heartily.





1 Samuel 7:4



Ver. 4. Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth,.... Both their male and female deities, of which see Jud 2:13



and served the Lord Only; Dr. Lightfoot {i} observes, that a spirit of repentance and conversion came generally upon all the people; a matter and a time as remarkable as almost any we read of in Scripture, one only parallel to it; and that is in Acts, chapters two and three, at the great conversion there.



{i} Works, vol. 1. p. 54.





1 Samuel 7:5



Ver. 5. And Samuel said, gather all Israel to Mizpeh,.... Not Mizpeh in Gilead, on the other side Jordan, but a city which lay on the borders of Judah and Benjamin, where the tribes met on the account of the Levite's concubine, Jud 20:1. This order Samuel gave by messengers sent to the several tribes, or the heads of them, to meet him at this place:



and I will pray for you unto the Lord; no doubt he prayed for them privately, that the reformation begun might be carried on, and appear to be sincere, and hearty, and general, and universal; but he was desirous that they might appear in a body, and join with him in public prayer for their spiritual and temporal welfare; that they might have true repentance for their sins, reform from them, and have remission of them, and be delivered out of the hands of their enemies.





1 Samuel 7:6



Ver. 6. And they gathered together to Mizpeh,.... Even all Israel, at least the heads of the people, and representatives of them:



and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord; drew it from some fountain near at hand, and poured it out as in the presence of God, who was where his people were met together. Jerom {k} relates it as tradition of the Jews, that curses were cast into this water, as in the water of jealousy, and that idolaters were tried by it; and that whatever idolater, who denied he worshipped idols, and tasted of it, his lips so stuck together that they could not be separated, and by this means was known and put to death; and therefore it is said Samuel judged now at this place: but it should be observed, this water was not drank, but poured out; and that as a token of their humiliation, as Jarchi, that they were before the Lord, as water poured out; and of the sincerity of their repentance, as the Targum, which is,



"they poured out their heart in repentance, as water;''



and of the atonement and expiation of their sins, which passed away as water to be remembered no more, as Kimchi, or rather signifying hereby that they thoroughly renounced idolatry, that nothing of it should remain; as water entirely poured out, there remains not so much as any smell of it in the cask, as does of honey or oil, or such kind of liquor; for what a learned writer {l} says, that this was in token of joy, like that at the feast of tabernacles, when they drew water out of the fountain of Siloah, seems not so agreeable, since this was a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer, as follows:



and fasted on that day, and said there, we have sinned against the Lord; Samuel prayed in public for them, with whom they joined; and they fasted in a literal sense, abstaining from food, and made a confession of their sins; this was the work of that day:



and Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh; not that he now began to judge them, but went on in a more public and vigorous manner to judge them; he sat, and heard, and tried causes that came before him; explained the laws of God to them, and enforced the obedience of them; reformed abuses that were among them, and punished idolaters.



{k} Trad. Heb. in lib. Reg. fol. 75. F. {l} L'Empereur, annot. in Misn. Middot, c. 2. sect. 5. No. 7.





1 Samuel 7:7



Ver. 7. And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh,.... Not knowing it was upon a religious account; but supposing they met to form schemes and measures to cast off their yoke, and deliver themselves out of their hands; and were preparing to take up arms, and fall upon them:



the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel; with forces out of their several principalities united to fight with them; judging it advisable to lose no time, but attack them before they were well prepared and provided to defend themselves:



and when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines; because they were unarmed, and not at all prepared for war, and having no expectation of it.





1 Samuel 7:8



Ver. 8. And the children of Israel said to Samuel,.... To whom they applied, not as the general of their forces, but as the prophet of the Lord; believing his prayers for them would be of more avail to them than an army of men ever so numerous, or so well accoutred:



cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us: he had been praying for them that day, and they desired he would continue praying for them, well knowing that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much; they knew their salvation was of the Lord, and that he only could save them, and that he must be sought unto for it; and as Samuel had an interest in him, they beg he would continue to make use of it on their behalf; in which they expressed their trust in God, their regard to means, the duty of prayer, and the high esteem they had of the prophet of the Lord, whom they entreat to pray for them:



that he will save us out of the hands of the Philistines; who were now coming up against them, and who had for a long time tyrannised over them.





1 Samuel 7:9



Ver. 9. And Samuel took a sucking lamb,.... Which it might be, and yet more than eight days old, for under that it might not be sacrificed, Ex 22:30



and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the Lord; the whole of it was burnt, skin and all, whereas the skin was the priest's in other burnt offerings; and this is remarked {m} as one of the three things in which it differed from other offerings; the word being feminine, the Jews gather from hence, as Jarchi notes, that females might be offered at a private altar:



and Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel; not only offered a sacrifice for them, but prayed for them:



and the Lord heard him; and answered him, either by causing fire to come down on the sacrifice, by which it was consumed, or by the voice of thunder, which frightened and discomfited the Philistines; and the event of things manifestly showed it.



{m} Midrash Schemuel apud Abarbinel in loc.





1 Samuel 7:10



Ver. 10. And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering.... Which he might do by a priest, as Ben Gersom suggests, he being only a Levite; though he being a prophet, and an extraordinary person, and this an extraordinary case, he might do it himself, as Gideon and others, as well as offer it in another place than where the tabernacle was; Shiloh being now destroyed, persons and places for sacrifice were now dispensed with: and before Samuel had made an end of offering the sacrifice,



the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel; and were come as far almost as Mizpeh, where Israel were, and Samuel was sacrificing:



but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines; which fulfilled Hannah's prophecy, 1Sa 2:10 and this, as Josephus {n} says, was attended with lightning, which flashed in their faces, and shook their weapons out of their hands, so that they fled disarmed; and also with an earthquake, which caused gaps in the earth, into which they fell:



and discomfited them; disturbed, affrighted them, and threw them into confusion and disorder, as well as destroyed many of them:



and they were smitten before Israel; the meaning of which is not that they fled before them, and were killed by them; but that before Israel could come out against them, and fight with them, they were smitten and destroyed, many of them by the thunder and lightning, and by the earth opening upon them, and devouring them; for this phrase, "before Israel", denotes time, as Abarbinel observes, and not place.



{n} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 2. sect. 2.





1 Samuel 7:11



Ver. 11. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh,.... To which they were encouraged by hearing or perceiving that the army of the Philistines was discomfited by the thunder, and lightning, and earthquake:



and pursued the Philistines; who, when they came out, were fleeing from the opening earth, and frightened with thunder and lightning, and many were killed, and all put in disorder; so that they stayed not to engage in battle with Israel, and who had nothing to do but to pursue their enemy:



and smote them: with what weapons of war they could get at Mizpeh, and with what some might have with them for private use, and in common wear; but more especially with the weapons of the Philistines, which they in their confusion and fright had thrown away:



until they came under Bethcar; a place so called; "car" signifies a lamb; here might be formerly a temple dedicated to the lamb, unless it had its name in memory of the lamb Samuel now offered, which was followed with such success. Josephus {o} calls this place Corraea; and in the Targum it is Bethsaron, which signifies a fruitful field or champaign country.



{o} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 2. sect. 2.





1 Samuel 7:12



Ver. 12. And Samuel took a stone, and set it,.... Not for worship, but as a monument of the victory obtained by the help of God: and this he placed



between Mizpeh and Shen; which latter signifies a tooth, and designs the precipice of a rock which juts out, and hangs over in the form of one:



and called the name of it Ebenezer; which signifies "the stone of help"; and is the same place which by anticipation has this name, 1Sa 4:1, so that in the selfsame place where the Israelites were twice beaten by the Philistines, and the ark taken, was this salvation wrought for them:



saying, hitherto hath the Lord helped us; this was but the beginning of their deliverance from the Philistines, and which was owing to the help of the Lord; and as he had begun to help them, they might hope and encourage themselves that he would go on to help them until their deliverance was completed: however, they with Samuel thought it their duty, which was right, to acknowledge what the Lord had done for them, and perpetuate the memory of it, though they could not be sure what he would do for them hereafter; yet as they were sensible of, and thankful for this instance of his goodness, they hoped for more, and had their dependence on him for future success against their enemies.





1 Samuel 7:13



Ver. 13. So the Philistines were subdued,.... Not that their country was conquered, or they made subject and become tributaries to Israel; but they were so humbled, as not to attempt to give the people of Israel any further trouble and distress, who were now delivered from their oppression and tyranny:



and came no more into the coast of Israel; at this time they did not gather together their forces dispersed, nor raise and bring a new army into the land of Israel; they contented themselves with placing garrisons on the coast, but did not attempt to enter and invade them any more; that is, for a long time, even until Samuel was grown old, and the people would have a king, and had one, which offended the Lord, and then he suffered them to be distressed by them again; but while Samuel was alone governor they came no more, though they did quickly after Saul was made king, as it follows:



the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel; not all the days of his life, but all the days of his sole government, which restrained them from making incursions into the land of Israel; and indeed in later times, when they did come forth to make war with them, the battle was against them during the times of Samuel.





1 Samuel 7:14



Ver. 14. And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel,.... We nowhere read that the Israelites went out to war with them, and took these cities from them by besieging and assaulting them; but they made a demand of them after the above victory obtained, by which the Philistines were so intimidated, that they quietly surrendered them to them:



from Ekron even unto Gath, and the coasts thereof, did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines; not by dint of sword, but by demand, to which they submitted; and though Ekron, if not Gath, fell to the tribe of Judah by lot, yet were never in their possession; and so are to be understood exclusively here, that not they, but the cities and towns that lay between them and the coasts thereof, which the Philistines had seized upon, these they were obliged to deliver up again to Israel; and if Ekron and Gath were delivered, they were not long held by them, for we soon read of them as in the hands of others:



and there was peace between Israel and the Amorites; who were a principal nation of the Canaanites, and are put for the whole of them that remained; and so Josephus {p} calls them the remnant of the Canaanites; these, finding the Philistines were subdued, were quiet and peaceable, and gave Israel no more trouble.



{p} Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 2. sect. 2.)





1 Samuel 7:15



Ver. 15. And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. Not only before Saul was made king, but afterwards; for though he had not the exercise of the supreme government of the nation, yet he might act as a judge under Saul, and hear and try causes brought before him, and execute justice and judgment; and as a prophet he taught and instructed the people, and reformed abuses among them; and besides, he held and exercised his extraordinary office, to which he was raised up of God, and even took upon him to reprove Saul himself, and to kill Agag. The Jews say {q} he judged Israel thirteen years only, eleven by himself, and two with Saul; but his government must be much larger, his with Saul is reckoned forty years, Ac 13:21.



{q} Seder Olam Rabba, c. 13. p. 35. Midrash Tillim apud Abarbinel in loc. Kimchi in loc.





1 Samuel 7:16



Ver. 16. And he went from year to year in circuit,.... As judges do; or "from the year in the year" {r} from the time of the year in the year, as the Targum, from the middle of it, that is, every half year; and so Josephus says {s}, that he went twice a year in circuit: and the places he went to, and where he held his courts of judicature, were



Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh; by Bethel is not meant Shiloh, as Abarbinel, for that was now destroyed; nor Kirjathjearim, where the ark was, for it would have been called by its name; but the same Bethel that was near to Ai, and not far from Shiloh, and was in the tribe of Benjamin, as all those places were. Gilgal was where the tabernacle, ark, and camp of Israel were first pitched, when they came over Jordan, and Mizpeh where the people used to be assembled on occasion, see 1Sa 7:5,



and judged Israel in all those places; who came from all parts hither with their causes, and for advice and counsel in all cases, at the returning periods.



{r} hnvb hnv ydm "ex anno in anno". {s} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 3. sect. 1.





1 Samuel 7:17



Ver. 17. And his return was to Ramah,.... When he had gone his circuit, he came back to this city, which was his native place, and where his father and mother had dwelt, see 1Sa 1:1



for there was his house; and his father's house before him, and perhaps the same, 1Sa 1:19 and there he judged Israel; here was his fixed residence, and here he was always to be met with, except when on his circuit; and hither the people of Israel might come from all parts, to have justice done them between man and man, or receive information in matters of difficulty and importance:



and there he built an altar unto the Lord: to offer his own sacrifices, and the sacrifices of the people, either by himself, or by a priest, when the people came to have justice administered to them; or to desire him to pray for them, teach and instruct them, or to give them advice. Shiloh being destroyed, and no place appointed for the tabernacle and altar, the Jews say, high places for a private altar were lawful, and even for one that was not a priest to offer; these things, though settled by law, yet were for a time dispensed with, until things could be fixed in their proper place and order.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

1 Samuel 8:1



INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 8



This chapter relates, how that Samuel being old, and his sons behaving ill, the people desired to have a king set over them, 1Sa 8:1, which case Samuel laid before the Lord, and he was directed by him to yield to the people's desire, but at the same time to set before them all the disadvantages and ill consequences that would arise from thence, which he did, 1Sa 8:6, but they insisting upon it, nevertheless, he gave them reason to expect that their request would be granted, 1Sa 8:19.



Ver. 1. And it came to pass, when Samuel was old,.... The common notion of the Jews is, that he lived but fifty two years {t}; when a man is not usually called an old man, unless the infirmities of old age came upon him sooner than they commonly do, through his indefatigable labours from his childhood, and the cares and burdens of government he had long bore; though some think he was about sixty years of age; and Abarbinel is of opinion that he was more than seventy. It is a rule with the Jews {u}, that a man is called an old man at sixty, and a grey headed man at seventy:



that he made his sons judges over Israel; under himself, not being able through old age to go the circuits he used; he sent them, and appointed them to hear and try causes in his stead, or settled them in some particular places in the land, and, as it seems by what follows, at Beersheba; though whether that was under his direction, or was their own choice, is not certain.



{t} Seder Olam Rabba, ut supra. (c. 13. p. 35.) {u} Pirke Abot, c. 5. sect. 21.





1 Samuel 8:2



Ver. 2. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel,.... In 1Ch 6:28 he is called Vashni; See Gill on "1Ch 6:28". This was not Joel the prophet, as some have thought, neither his parentage, nor his office, nor his times, will agree with this:



and the name of his second Abiah: which two sons seem to be all he had:



they were judges in Beersheba; in the utmost border of the land, to the south, as Ramah, where Samuel dwelt and judged, was more to the north; where they were placed by their father, for the greater convenience of the people of Israel that lived southward, to bring their causes to them, as those lived more northward might bring them to him: according to Josephus {w}, they were placed by their father, the one in Bethel, one of the places Samuel used to go to in his circuit and judge, and the other at Beersheba. But some, as Junius and others, think it should be rendered, "unto Beersheba"; and so takes in its opposite, Dan, which lay at the utmost border of the land northward; hence the phrase, "from Dan to Beersheba"; and that the one was settled at Dan for the sake of the northern part of the land, and the other at Beersheba, for the sake of the southern: or rather these sons of Samuel placed themselves at Beersheba; which was an ill judged thing, to be both in one place, and which must give the people of Israel a great deal of trouble, and put them to a large expense to come from all quarters thither, to have their causes tried; but that is not the worst.



{w} Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 3.) sect. 2.





1 Samuel 8:3



Ver. 3. And his sons walked not in his ways,.... The meaning of which is not that they did not go the circuit he did, which is too low a sense of the words some Jewish writers give; but they did not walk in the fear of God, in the paths of religion and righteousness, truth and holiness; they neither served God, nor did justice to men, as Samuel had done:



but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment; indulged to covetousness, sought to get riches at any rate, took bribes, which blind the eyes of judges; and so passed wrong judgment, and gave the cause to those that gave the largest gifts, right or wrong.





1 Samuel 8:4



Ver. 4. Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together,.... At some place of rendezvous appointed; these were the heads of the tribes, and fathers of the houses and families of Israel, the principal persons of age and authority:



and came to Samuel unto Ramah; the place of his nativity and abode, and where he now dwelt, and judged Israel; they went in a very respectable body with an address to him.





1 Samuel 8:5



Ver. 5. And said unto him, behold, thou art old,.... See 1Sa 8:1, his age was no reproach to him, nor was it becoming them to upbraid him with it; nor was it a reason why he should be removed from his office, for it did not disqualify him for it; but rather, having gained by age experience, was more fit for it, though he might not be able to ride his circuits as formerly:



and thy sons walk not in thy ways; whom he had made judges; this is a better reason than the former for what is after requested; and had they only besought them to remove him from their places, and rested content with that, it would have been well enough; but what they were solicitous for, and always had an inclination to, and now thought a proper opportunity offered of obtaining it, was what follows:



now make us a king to judge us like all the nations; to rule over them as sole monarch; to go before them in battle as their genera], as well as to administer justice to them, by hearing and trying causes as their judge; which only they mention to cover their views, and make their motion more acceptable to Samuel; what they were desirous of was to have a king appearing in pomp and splendour, wearing a crown of gold, clothed in royal apparel, with a sceptre in his hand, dwelling in a stately palace, keeping a splendid court, and attended with a grand retinue, as the rest of the nations about them had had for a long time. The first kings we read of were in the times of Abraham, but after it became common for nations to have kings over them, and particularly the neighbours of Israel, as Edom, Moab, Ammon, &c. and Cicero says {x}, all the ancient nations had their kings, to whom they were obedient: Israel had God for their King in a peculiar manner other nations had not, and stood in no need of any other; and happy it would have been for them if they had been content therewith, and not sought after another: however, they were so modest, and paid such deference to Samuel, as to desire him to make or appoint one for them.



{x} De Legibus, l. 3.





1 Samuel 8:6



Ver. 6. But the thing displeased Samuel,.... Not that they called him an old man, and suggested that he was incapacitated for his office, nor for observing the unbecoming walk of his sons, but for what follows:



when they said, give us a king to judge us; what displeased him was, that they were for changing their form of government, not only to remove it from him, and his sons, but from the Lord himself, who was king over them; the ill consequences of which, many of them at least, he easily foresaw, and which gave him great uneasiness, both on account of the glory of God, and their own good; insomuch, as Josephus {y} says, he could neither eat nor sleep, but watched all night, and spent it in prayer, as follows:



and Samuel prayed unto the Lord; to know his mind and will, and what answer he should return unto them.



{y} Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 3.) sect. 3.





1 Samuel 8:7



Ver. 7. And the Lord said unto Samuel,.... He appeared to him in a vision or dream, and by an articulate voice delivered to him what follows:



hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee; not as approving of what they said, but permitting and allowing what they asked, as a punishment of them for their disloyalty and ingratitude, and as resenting their ill behaviour to him; for it was in anger he assented to their request, Ho 13:11



for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me that I should not reign over them; most interpreters supply the word "only", as if the sense was, that they had not only rejected Samuel from judging them, but the Lord also from reigning over them; and which is spoken to comfort Samuel, and to alleviate the pressure on his mind for the ill treatment he had met with; for since they had served the Lord after this manner, it was no wonder he should be ill used, and might bear it with great patience: but I see no reason why the word may not be taken absolutely, that they had not rejected Samuel from all share in the government, at least from judging the people; for so he continued all the days of his life, even after they had a king over them; but they entirely rejected the sole and peculiar government of God over them.





1 Samuel 8:8



Ver. 8. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them out of Egypt,.... This was no new thing; all that they had done since they were wonderfully favoured of God, as to be brought out of Egyptian bondage, was all of a piece with this; one continued series of ingratitude, of rebellion against God, and against his servants, that he employed under him, as Moses, Aaron, &c.



even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods; this is what this people were always addicted to, to east off the worship and service of God, and go into idolatry:



so do they also unto thee; acted the like ungrateful part to him for all the service he had done them, from his childhood to that time; wherefore, as the disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord, if such things as before observed were done to Jehovah himself, Samuel could not expect to meet with better treatment, other than he had, see Mt 10:24.





1 Samuel 8:9



Ver. 9. Now therefore hearken unto their voice,.... And appoint them a king as they desire:



howbeit, yet protest solemnly unto them; not against the thing itself, which was permitted, but against the evil of their request, as to the unseasonable time, ill manner, and unjustifiable reason, in and for which it was made; the Lord would have Samuel lay before them their evil in requesting it, and the evils that would follow upon it to them, and faithfully represent them to them, that they might be left without excuse, and have none to blame but themselves when they, should come upon them:



and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them: or the right or judgment {z}; not a legal right or form of government, but an assumed, arbitrary, and despotic power, such as the kings of the east exercised over their subjects, a king like whom the Israelites desired to have; namely, what unbounded liberties he would take with them, what slaves he would make of them, and what of their property he would take to himself at pleasure, as is after related. The word signifies, not a divine law, according to which the king should govern, but a custom, or a custom he would introduce, as the word is rendered, 1Sa 2:13 and is different from that in 1Sa 10:25.



{z} Klmh jpvm "jus regis", V. L. Tigurine version, Munster; "judicium regis", Vatablus, Drusius.





1 Samuel 8:10



Ver. 10. And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto them,.... How he considered this request of theirs as a rejection of him as their king, and that it was acting the same ungrateful part they had always done; and since they were so importunate to have it granted, it should be done; but that he was ordered to lay before them all the inconveniences that would attend it, and the evils that would follow upon it unto them:



that asked of him a king; which is observed, not to distinguish a part of them from the rest; for this was an united request of the people.





1 Samuel 8:11



Ver. 11. And he said, this will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you,.... Not in which he ought to proceed, but what he will do: and this not the manner of one king, or of the first only, but of all of them, more or less; of kings in general, who are commonly inclined to arbitrary power. So Aristotle {a} in opposition to theocracy, describes a full and absolute kingdom, as he calls it, when a king does all things according to his will: and observes, that he that would have the mind or reason preside, would have God and the laws rule; but he that would have a man to reign, adds also a lust, or one led by his own lust: so it follows,



he will take your sons, and appoint them for himself; for his own use and service, to wait upon him, to be his pages, or grooms, or guards:



for his chariots; to take care of them, and drive them, though not without paying them for it; yet this being but a mean and servile employment, and what they should be obliged to, whether they would or no, is observed to show the tyranny and bondage to which they would be subject, when their sons otherwise might be free men, and possessed of estates and carriages of their own:



and to be his horsemen; or rather "for his horses", to take care of them, and go out along with him, and attend his person, whether when going to war, or on pleasure:



and some shall run before his chariots; be his running footmen, being swift of foot, and trained up for that service; some are naturally swift, as Asahel was 2Sa 2:18. Pliny {b} speaks of some swifter than horses; and of the swiftness of some he elsewhere gives {c} many surprising instances. It seems as if it was usual to have fifty such men to run before them, see 2Sa 15:1.



{a} In Politicis, l. 3. c. 16. {b} Nat. Hist. l. 7. c. 2. {c} Ibid. c. 20.





1 Samuel 8:12



Ver. 12. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties,.... Which though posts of honour, yet when they are not matter of choice, and especially being precarious, and depending on the arbitrary will of a prince, are not eligible, and less so to persons that choose another sort of life:



and [will set] them to ear his ground; to plough it; not the same persons made captains of thousands and fifties, but others, whom he will employ in tilling and manuring his fields, and oblige them to it:



and to reap his harvest; when it is ripe, and gather it in, and bring it home into his barns and garners:



and to make his instruments of war: as swords, spears, bows and arrows, most commonly used in those times:



and instruments of chariots; which seem to design chariots of war, and the iron spikes and scythes which were joined to them, to cut down the foot soldiers, when driven among them in battle, which are commonly called chariots of iron; see Jos 17:16.





1 Samuel 8:13



Ver. 13. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries,.... Such as deal in spices, and mix them, and make them up in various forms very agreeable to the taste. Men are commonly in our countries and times employed in such arts, but it seems this was the business of women in those times and places. Some versions {d} render it "unguentariae", makers or sellers of ointments, and such there were in some nations {e}, such was Lydia in Juvenal {f};



and to be cooks; to dress all sorts of food, especially what were boiled, as the word signifies: and to be bakers; to make and bake bread, which though with us is the work of men, yet in the eastern countries was usually done by women; See Gill on "Le 26:26".



{d} So V. L. and Tigurine. {e} Vid. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 5. {f} Satyr. 2. ver. 141. Vid. Turnebi Adversar. l. 15. c. 17.





1 Samuel 8:14



Ver. 14. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards,.... Which includes the whole increase of their land, their corn, and wine, and oil; and it is these, the fruits of their fields, vineyards, and oliveyards, which are here meant; for otherwise kings might not, and did not by their absolute authority, take away those from their subjects; otherwise Ahab would have taken away Naboth's vineyard at once, nor would Jezebel have needed to have taken such a method she did, to put Ahab into the possession of it:



even the best of them, and give them to his servants; for their service; and which some restrain to times of war, when necessity obliged to use such methods.





1 Samuel 8:15



Ver. 15. And he will take the tenth of your seed,.... When grown up and ripe, as their wheat and barley:



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



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



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



{g} Oeconomic. l. 2. p. 283. {h} Bibliothec. l. 5. p. 317.





1 Samuel 8:16



Ver. 16. And he will take your manservants, and your maidservants,.... Into his own family, for his own use and service, if he wants them, or likes them better than what he has:



and your goodliest young men: that are tall and lusty, comely and beautiful, of a proper stature and good aspect; and such in all countries used to be chosen for officers in courts, or attendants there; and so the Turks to this day pitch upon young men to attend on great personages, who are of a comely form, have admirable features, and are well shaped, See Gill on "Da 1:4",



and your asses, and put them to his work; employ them in ploughing his fields, drawing his carriages, or bearing his burdens; and so any other cattle that would serve the same purposes, as oxen, camels, &c.





1 Samuel 8:17



Ver. 17. He will take the tenth of your sheep,.... As well as of their seed and vineyards; and not the tithe of their flocks only, but of their herds also, which are here included, as Kimchi observes:



and ye shall be his servants: made slaves of by him, even as the Canaanitish servants were, according to Abarbinel; though others interpret it more mildly of their being obliged to pay tribute and taxes, for the support of his government.





1 Samuel 8:18



Ver. 18. And ye shall cry out in that day, because of your king,.... His power and pride, his oppression and tyranny, his heavy exactions, and intolerable yoke, and yet not be able to free themselves from them; all that they could do would be only to cry out under them as grievously distressed, and not knowing how to help themselves; and which would be the more aggravated, because they brought all this upon themselves, as it follows:



which ye shall have chosen you; for though the choice of a king for them, at a proper time, God had reserved to himself, yet in later times, as is here suggested, they would choose for themselves, and did, see Ho 8:4 besides, to have a king in general was at first their own choice, though the particular person was by the designation of the Lord:



and the Lord will not hear you in that day; will not regard them, have no compassion on them, suffer them to remain under their oppressions, and not deliver them out of them; because they rejected him from being their King, and put themselves out of his protection, into the hands of another, and therefore it was just to leave them to their own choice.





1 Samuel 8:19



Ver. 19. Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel,.... The advice he gave not to think of a king, but be content with the government under which they were; but to this they would not hearken, notwithstanding all the inconveniences that would attend such a change:



and they said, nay, but we will have a king over us; they would not believe what Samuel said concerning a king, even though they were the words of the Lord he delivered to them; and though they knew Samuel was a prophet, and spoke by a spirit of prophecy, and none of his words had ever fallen to the ground: but such was their stubbornness and obstinacy, and so set upon having a king, that one they would have, let them suffer what hardships, or be at what expenses they might; at all events, and against all remonstrances, they were determined to have one.





1 Samuel 8:20



Ver. 20. That we also may be like all the nations,.... Even though they were slaves, like them; a king they would have, as they had, such was their stupidity. It was their greatest honour and glory, as well as happiness, not to be like other nations; as in their religion, laws, and liberties, so in their form of government; God being their King in such a peculiar sense as he was not of others, but with this they could not be content:



and that our king may judge us; hear their causes, administer justice and judgment to them, protect their persons and properties, and rule them according to the civil laws that were given them:



and go out before us, and fight our battles; which Samuel their present judge did not, and to which perhaps they may have some respect; but then he gained more for them by his prayers, than a king or general would by his military skill or prowess, see 1Sa 7:10, and it is very remarkable, and what is observed by some, that their first king died in a battle. What made them so pressing and importunate to have a king at, this time, and not defer it to another, it is very probable was, that they understood that Nahash, king of the children of Ammon, was preparing to attack them, and therefore they were desirous to have a king also to go out before them, and meet him, and give him battle, 1Sa 12:12.





1 Samuel 8:21



Ver. 21. And Samuel heard all the words of the people,.... Patiently, and without interruption; attentively heard them, took notice of them, laid them up in his memory; but gave no answer to them, but reported them to the Lord, as in the next clause:



and he rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord; privately, in a free and familiar manner, with great exactness, as they were expressed; this he did, not before the people publicly, but in secret prayer, seeking for direction what he should further do, or what answer he should return to them.





1 Samuel 8:22



Ver. 22. And the Lord said to Samuel,.... an audible voice, or by an impulse upon his mind:



hearken unto their voice, and make them a king; since they will have a king, let them have one, and let them know that they shall have one:



and Samuel said unto the men of Israel: the elders of the people that addressed him on this occasion, 1Sa 8:4



go ye every man unto his city; signifying they might return in peace, and be assured their request would be granted, and a king would be appointed in a short time, and which they might report to their fellow citizens; and they might expect to hear from him quickly, as soon as he had instructions from the Lord who should be their king, which right he had reserved to himself; and therefore in the mean while they might rest contented that they would have one in a little time.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

1 Samuel 9:1



INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 9



This chapter gives an account of Saul, the person the Lord had appointed to be king of Israel; it relates his descent, and describes his person, 1Sa 9:1 and how seeking his father's asses, which were lost, he providentially came to the place where Samuel dwelt, 1Sa 9:3 and being advised by his servant, and approving of his advice, he concluded to go to him, and inquire the way he should go, 1Sa 9:6 and being directed by some young maidens, they found him presently in the street going to a feast, 1Sa 9:11 and Samuel having some previous notice from the Lord of such a person's coming to him that day, when he met him invited him to dine with him, and obliged him to stay with him that day, 1Sa 9:15 satisfied him about his asses, and gave him a hint of the grandeur he was to be raised to, to which Saul made a modest reply, 1Sa 9:20 and Samuel treated him at the feast in a very respectable manner, 1Sa 9:22 and privately communed with him of things preparatory to what he was about to make known unto him, 1Sa 9:25.



Ver. 1. Now there was a man of Benjamin,.... Of the tribe of Benjamin, which had its name from the youngest son of Jacob, and one of this tribe was the first king of Israel:



whose name was Kish: whom the apostle calls Cis, Ac 13:21, and Josephus {i} Cises; his name, according to Hillerus {k}, signifies "ensnared"; for what reason it was given him is not certain:



the son of Abiel; in 1Ch 8:33, he is called Ner that begat Kish; and in this book, 1Sa 14:50 Ner and Kish are represented as brethren, the sons of Abiel: to reconcile this, it may be observed, that Ner being the elder brother, on the death of his father Abiel, had the care and bringing up of his younger brother Kish; and therefore when he is said to beget him, the meaning is, not that he was the parent of him, but the bringer up of him; or rather, as Kimchi thinks, Abiel had two sons, one of which was Ner; and that he had two sons, one that was called after his own name Ner, who was the father of Abner; and the other Kish, the father of Saul:



the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite; of these persons we nowhere else read:



a mighty man of power; not a man of riches, or of authority, neither a wealthy man, nor a magistrate, for his family was mean and contemptible, 1Sa 9:21 but a man of great strength, an able bodied man, and of great natural fortitude, and courage of mind.



{i} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4. sect. 1. {k} Onomastic. Sacr. p. 405.





1 Samuel 9:2



Ver. 2. And he had a son whose name was Saul,.... Of this name was the great apostle of the Gentiles before his conversion, and was of the same tribe also; but very different in stature; he was a little man, this a large tall man, like his father perhaps;



a choice young man, and a goodly; 1Sa 2:1 of a goodly aspect, a comely man, tall and well shaped, in the prime of his age, a very agreeable person, one among a thousand:



and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he; meaning not for the endowments of his mind, or his moral character and behaviour. There might be as good, or better men than he, on such accounts, but for his outward appearance, his bodily shape, and the dignity of his person:



from his shoulders and upwards he was higher than any of the people; this description of him is enlarged upon and explained, to show that he was just such a person the people were desirous of having king over them, such an one as the nations about them had; and it was usual with the eastern people, and so with the Greeks and Romans, to choose persons to the highest offices of magistracy that made a personable appearance superior to others, and is what they often take notice of, as a recommendation of them as princes. Herodotus {l} reports of the Ethiopians, that they judged the largest of the people, and him who had strength according to his size, most worthy to be king. And the same writer observes {m}, that among the many thousands of men of the army of Xerxes, there was not one who for comeliness and largeness was so worthy of the empire as Xerxes himself; so Ulysses, because of his height, was the more acceptable to the people of Corfu {n}; so Alexander's captains, it is said {o}, might be thought to be kings for their beautiful form, height of body, and greatness of strength and wisdom. Julius Caesar is said to be of high stature; and so Domitian {p}; Virgil {q} represents Turnus as in body more excellent than others, and by the entire head above them; and Anchises as walking statelier and higher than the rest {r}; among the many encomiums Pliny {s} gives of Trajan, as to his outward form and appearance, this is one, "proceritas corporis", height of body, being higher than others; the Gentiles had a notion that such men came nearer to the deities, and looked more like them; so Diana is described as taller than any of the nymphs and goddesses {t}. Solomon, according to Josephus {u}, chose such young men to ride horses, and attend his person, when he himself rode, who were conspicuous for their height, and greatly above others.



{l} Thalia, sive, l. 3. c. 20. {m} Polymnia, sive, l. 7. c. 187. {n} Homer. Odyss. 8. ver. 20, 21. {o} Justin. e Trogo, l. 13. c. 1. {p} Sueton. Vit. Caesar. c. 45. Domitian. c. 18. {q} Aeneid. l. 7. ver. 783, 784. & 9. ver. 29. {r} Ib. l. 8. ver. 162. {s} Panegyr. c. 4, 22. {t} "Tamen altior illis ipsa dea est". Ovid. Metam. l. 3. fab. 2. ver. 180, 181. {u} Antiqu. l. 8. c. 7. sect. 3.





1 Samuel 9:3



Ver. 3. And the asses of Kish, Saul's father, were lost,.... Had got out of the stables or fields, in which they were kept, and strayed from thence:



and Kish said to Saul his son, take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses; he chose not to send his servants only, who might not be so careful and diligent in searching for them, but his son, and not him alone, but a servant with him to wait upon him, and assist him. And it was quite agreeable to the simplicity of those times for persons of equal or greater substance to be employed in such an affair; asses made a considerable part of the wealth and riches of men, were rode upon by persons of quality, and were fed and taken care of by the sons of dukes and princes; see Job 1:3. The Jews {w} have a tradition, that this servant was Doeg the Edomite.



{w} Hieron. Trad. Heb. in Paralip, fol. 83. A.





1 Samuel 9:4



Ver. 4. And they passed through Mount Ephraim,.... The mountainous part of that tribe, which lay contiguous to the tribe of Benjamin, where it might be supposed the asses had strayed to:



and passed through the land of Shalisha; a tract in the tribe of Benjamin, so called from some illustrious person, prince, and duke of it; in it very probably was the place called Baalshalisha; 2Ki 4:42 and which perhaps is the same Jerom calls {x} Bethshalisha; and says there was a village of this name in the borders of Diospolis, almost fifteen miles distance from it to the north, in the Tamnitic country; though Bunting {y} says it was situated in Mount Ephraim, eight miles from Jerusalem to the northwest:



but they found them not; the asses, neither in Mount Ephraim, nor in the land of Shalisha:



then they passed through the land of Shalim which some take to be the same with Salim, where John was baptizing, Joh 3:23 but Jerom says {z} it was a village on the borders of Eleutheropolis, to the west, seven miles distant from it:



and [there they] were not; the asses could not be found there:



and he passed through the land of the Benjamites; or rather of Jemini, which was in Benjamin, so called from a famous man of that name; for it cannot be thought they should pass through the whole tribe of Benjamin in one day. And, according to Bunting {a}, from Gibeah, the native place of Saul, through the mountain of Ephraim, and the land of Shalisha, to the borders of Shalim, were sixteen miles; and from thence to Jemini, in the tribe of Benjamin, sixteen more:



but they found them not; the asses.



{x} De loc. Heb. fol. 89. K. {y} Travels of the Patriarchs, &c. p. 129. {z} De loc. Heb. fol. 94. L. {a} Travels of the Patriarchs, &c. p. 126.





1 Samuel 9:5



Ver. 5. And when they were come to the land of Zuph,.... In which was Ramathaimzophim, the native place of Samuel, 1Sa 1:1 and so the Targum here,



"the land in which was the prophet''



Saul said to the servant that was with him, come, and let us return; home, despairing of finding the asses after so long a search in divers places:



lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us; fearing some evil should have befallen his son and his servant, in comparison of whom, and especially his son, the asses would be of no account, and so give himself no concern for them, but be in great care and uneasiness for his son and servant; wherefore Saul thought it most advisable to return home as soon as possible, lest his father should be overwhelmed with grief and trouble.





1 Samuel 9:6



Ver. 6. And he said unto him,.... That is, the servant of Saul:



behold, now, there is in this city a man of God; a prophet of the Lord, as the Targum; such were called men of God, because not only partakers of the grace of God, but of extraordinary gifts, which qualified them for the office of prophets. The city near to which they now were was Ramah, the place where Samuel lived, and he is the man of God here meant:



and he is an honourable man; of great esteem among men for his wisdom and knowledge, integrity and faithfulness, and particularly for his gift of prophecy, being a true prophet of the Lord; so the Targum,



"and he is a man that prophesies truth,''



and that made him honourable, and gave him great credit:



all that he saith cometh surely to pass; as his prophecies concerning Eli's family, and other things, which were well known to have had their accomplishment, and this had gained him universal esteem, see 1Sa 3:19,



now let us go thither; being very near it, within sight of it, insomuch that the servant could point at it, and say "this city", as in the preceding part of the verse:



peradventure he can show us our way that we should go; to find the asses; he was not certain he could or would, but thought it possible and probable he might.





1 Samuel 9:7



Ver. 7. Then Saul said to his servant, but behold, if we go,.... The Targum is,



"if he receives money,''



which it seems Saul was not clear in; some sort of persons that set up for prophets, and a sort of diviners and fortune tellers, did; but he could not tell whether so eminent and honourable a person as Samuel was, did; in as much he was not better known by him, who had been so many years a judge in Israel:



what shall we bring the man? it being usual, when persons addressed great men for a favour, to carry a present with them; or a man of God, a prophet of the Lord, to inquire of the Lord by him concerning any thing, see 1Ki 14:2,



for the bread is spent in our vessels; the food they brought with them in their bags or scrips for their journey, this was all exhausted; not that he meant by it, that if they had had any quantity, they might present it to the man of God, though yet sometimes such things were done, as the instances before referred to show; but that since their stock of bread was gone, what money they had, if they had any, must be spent in recruiting themselves, and therefore could have none to spare to give to the man;



and there is not a present to bring to the man of God; neither bread nor money, without which he seems to intimate it would be to no purpose to go to him:



what have we? Saul knew he had none, he had spent what he brought out, with him for the journey, and he put this question to try what his servant had; unless it can be supposed it was the custom now, as afterwards among the Romans {b}, for servants to carry the purse, and as it was with the Jews in Christ's time, Joh 12:6 though this may have respect not to a price of divination, but to the common custom in eastern countries, and which continues to this day with the Turks, who reckon it uncivil to visit any person, whether in authority, or an inferior person, without a present; and even the latter are seldom visited without presenting a flower, or an orange, and some token of respect to the person visited {c}.



{b} A. Gell. Noct. Attic. l. 20. c. 1. {c} Maundrell's Journey from Aleppo, &c. p. 26, 27.





1 Samuel 9:8



Ver. 8. And the servant answered Saul again, and said,.... As he had answered him before, when Saul proposed to return home, by telling him there was an honourable man of God in the city near at hand, that might possibly be able to direct them which way they should go to find the asses: so he answers him again with respect to the present it was proper to carry with them, and what he had in his hands to make:



behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: a "zuze" of silver, as the Targum, four of which made a shekel, about seven pence halfpenny of our money, and scarce so much:



that will I give to the man of God to tell us our way; that they should go to find the asses: which he would give him very freely for that purpose: both Saul and his servant must entertain a mean opinion of prophets, and men of God, and especially of so great a man as Samuel, that he should be employed at any time in directing persons in such cases, and take money for so doing, and so small a gratuity as this before mentioned; though it seems as if, at some times, something of this kind was done by prophets, and men of God, which might be permitted to keep the people from going to diviners and soothsayers.





1 Samuel 9:9



Ver. 9. Before time in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God,.... To ask doctrine of him, as the Targum, to be taught by him, to have his mind and will in any affair of moment and importance; which was usually done by applying to some man of God, eminent for grace and piety, and a spirit of prophecy:



thus he spake, come, and let us go to the seer; a man used to say to his friend, when he wanted some instruction or direction, let us go together to such an one, the seer, and ask counsel of him what is proper to be done in such an affair:



for he that is now [called] a prophet was before called a seer; for though these names are used freely of the same persons, both before and after this time; yet now the more common appellation which obtained was that of a prophet; custom, and the use of language, varied at different times, though the same was meant by the one and the other; such men were called seers, because of the vision of prophecy, because they saw or foresaw things to come; and they were called prophets, because they foretold what they saw, or delivered out their predictions by word of mouth. This verse is put in a parenthesis, and is commonly supposed to be the words of the writer of this book: hence some draw an argument against Samuel being the writer of it, as Abarbinel does, who concludes from hence that it was written by Jeremiah, or some other person long after Samuel, or that this verse was added by Ezra; but as this book might be written by Samuel in the latter part of his life, he might with propriety observe this, that in his younger time, and quite down to the anointing of Saul king, both when there was no open vision, and afterwards when there was scarce any that had it but himself, he was used to be called the seer; but in his latter days, when there were many that had the vision of prophecy, and there were schools set up, it was more common to call them prophets; though perhaps these are the words of Saul's servant, spoken to encourage Saul to go to the man of God, and inquire of him, since in former times, as he could remember, being perhaps an old servant, or he had heard his parents so say, that such men used to be called seers, because they saw what others did not, and declared and made others to see what they did; and therefore there was a probability that this man of God, who was a seer, might show them the way they should go to find the asses.





1 Samuel 9:10



Ver. 10. Then said Saul to his servant, well said,.... Or "good is thy word" {d}, thou hast well spoken; it is a good proposal thou hast made, and thou art very generous to give all thou hast to the man; and very promising it is, that since he is a seer he may inform us where the asses are, or which way we must take to find them. Things look feasible enough:



come, let us go: to the city, and to the man of God there, and hear what he will say to us, and what information he will give us:



so they went unto the city where the man of God [was]; to Ramah, where Samuel dwelt.



{d} Krbd bwj "bonum verbum tuum", Pagninus, Montanus.





1 Samuel 9:11



Ver. 11. And as they went up the hill to the city,.... For the city was built upon an hill, from whence it had the name of Ramah, which signifies high and lifted up:



they found young maidens going out to draw water: going out of the city, to a fountain which was at the bottom of the hill; and this was the usual business of maidens in those countries to fetch water for the service of the family, See Gill on "Ge 24:11",

See Gill on "Ge 24:15",

See Gill on "Ge 24:16". R. Akiba {e} makes this observation, that whenever a man meets maidens coming out of a city before he goes into it, it is a token of prosperity to him; and instances in the cases of Abraham's servant, of Jacob, and of Moses, and here of Saul, who was informed of a kingdom, and anointed for it, see Ge 24:14 Ex 2:16,



and said unto them, is the seer here? meaning, is he in the city? or is he at home? or is he in the country?



{e} In Pirke Eliezer, c. 36. fol. 39. 1. 2.





1 Samuel 9:12



Ver. 12. And they answered them, and said, he is,.... That is, he is in the city, at home, and to be spoken with:



behold, he is before you; his house is straight before you as you go along, you cannot miss of it. Some Jewish writers say {f} they gave a token to know it by, that there was a cloud at the door, and when they saw that, they might know it was the seer's house:



haste now, for he came today to the city; from the suburbs to it, or from his country house, or from the other Ramah, for there were two of them, one over against the other, see 1Sa 1:1, for that he was just now come off a circuit, is not so probable, since he was now old, and past riding his circuits; and indeed the meaning may be no more than as it may be rendered, "today he comes into the city" {g}; that is, he comes out of his own house into the city, and was then just coming out; so that, if they made haste, they might meet him in the street before he got to the place of sacrifice and feasting:



for there is a sacrifice of the people today in the high place; whether it was the new moon, or some festival they observed, though the tabernacle was not there, is not certain; at which, besides the offerings required, freewill offerings and peace offerings were brought by the people, on part of which they feasted with their friends; and very probably, as Samuel was acquainted by the Lord that he who was to be king of Israel would be with him that day, he might add to the sacrifices of the people, to make the entertainment the more grand and liberal; since he had a principal concern in ordering the guests, and dividing the portions, as well as blessing the food, which indeed he might take upon him, as being judge, priest, and prophet: this was an high place where this sacrifice or feast was; for Shiloh being destroyed, and the tabernacle removed elsewhere, and that being in one place, and the ark in another, and they not together, no distinction of places was made, none being yet chosen, all were fit; and particularly high places, which were always reckoned the most proper for divine service and sacrifice.



{f} Midrash Schemuel & Pesikta apud Abarbinel in loc. {g} ab "venit", Pagninus, Montanus.





1 Samuel 9:13



Ver. 13. As soon as ye come into the city, ye shall straightway find him,.... By which it seems that the house of Samuel was at that end of it at which they entered; and with which agrees what is observed in the preceding verse, that "he was before them", his house was in sight of them:



before he go up to the high place to eat; intimating they would, if they made haste, come up to him before he got thither to sit down and eat with the people; for if they did not, they would not be able to see him and speak with him for some time, if on that day:



for the people will not eat until he come; partly out of affection and veneration for him, being their chief magistrate, as well as seer or prophet, and partly for the reason following:



because he doth bless the sacrifice; ask a blessing upon it, upon the meat of the peace offerings before it was eaten; for as this was usually done at every common meal, then much more at such a solemn festival as this. Jarchi gives us the form of blessing used on such an occasion,



"blessed art thou, O Lord our God, the King of the world, who hath sanctified us by his commandments, and hath commanded us to eat the sacrifice:''



and "afterwards they eat that be bidden"; for when a man offered his peace offerings, he not only had his family with him, but invited his friends, and the poor, and the fatherless, the strangers, and the Levites, to partake with him, see De 12:18, the number of the guests at this time, see in 1Sa 9:22.



Now therefore get ye up; ascend the hill as fast as ye can:



for about this time ye shall find him; that is, by the time they could get up the hill into the city they would find him coming out of his house to go to the sacrifice: or "as this day" {h}; so sure as the day is, so sure shall ye find him.



{h} Mwyhk "invenietis cum tam certo quam certum est hunc diem esse", Drusius; so Jarchi.





1 Samuel 9:14



Ver. 14. And they went up into the city,.... Saul and his servant went up the hill to the city of Ramah: and



when they were come into the city; were within it, within the walls of it;



behold, Samuel came out against them; came out of a door of his house upon them, just as they came up: or "to meet them" {i}; his way to the high place lay where they were coming; unless it can be thought he went out purposely to meet them, having, as in the following verse, an intimation, that about that time one from the tribe of Benjamin, who should be king, would come to him, and so made this his way, knowing that one coming from that tribe must come that way; but it seems most likely that this was his readiest way:



for to go up to the high place; or place of sitting down, or feasting, as the Targum, See Gill on "1Sa 9:12".



{i} Mtarql "in occursum eorum", Pagninus, Montanus; "eis obviam", V. L. Tigurine version.





1 Samuel 9:15



Ver. 15. Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear,.... In a private manner, whispering in his ear, telling him in a free, familiar, friendly way, as a secret:



a day before Saul came; that he might prepare for the entertainment of him, and not be surprised at his coming, as well as hereby be assured he was the person designed to be king of Israel, when he should come:



saying; as follows.





1 Samuel 9:16



Ver. 16. Tomorrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin,.... Who without any thought or design of his own, but merely directed by the providence of God, should come to him, not expecting a kingdom; at most only to hear of his father's asses, and which way he should take to find them; missing the finding of which would and did bring him thither:



and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel; the leader, ruler, and governor of them; to which high office he was to be appointed by pouring oil upon him, and was the first king on whom this ceremony was performed, and from whence he was called the Lord's anointed:



that he may save my people out of the hands of the Philistines; who, since Samuel was grown old, made encroachments upon them, built garrisons on their borders, and made, it is very probable, incursions upon them, and ravages and oppressions of them:



for I have looked upon my people; with an eye of pity and compassion:



because their cry is come unto me; by reason of the oppressions of the Philistines, and the war they were threatened with by the Ammonites; though Abarbinel thinks this refers to their importunate cry, supplication, and request to have a king set over them.





1 Samuel 9:17



Ver. 17. And when Samuel saw Saul,.... Who could not but take notice of him for his height, and which might give him a suspicion he was the man the Lord had spoken of to him; and the rather, because this was the exact time in which he was to be sent to him, and therefore he fixed his eyes upon him: and that he might be assured it was he, and be left at no uncertainty about it,



the Lord said unto him; by a still small voice, or by an impulse upon his mind:



behold the man whom I spake to thee of; yesterday, this is he:



this same shall reign over my people; be their king, as they have desired: or "shall restrain" {k} them, keep them in due bounds, in the discharge of their duty to God and man; and keep them from doing that which is evil, or walking in evil ways, which is the business of a good king; or who shall restrain them from having their own will, but shall rule over them in an absolute manner, according to his own arbitrary will and pleasure.



{k} ruey "cohibebit", Montanus; "continebit", Tigurine version; "retinebit", Drusius; i.e. "coercebit", Piscator.





1 Samuel 9:18



Ver. 18. Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate,.... Either at the door of his own house, just as he was coming out of it, or within the gate of the city as Saul entered that, Samuel came to it, in order to go through it to the high place, which it is probable was without the city; wherefore it is very properly said that Samuel came out to meet them, 1Sa 9:14



and said, tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is; one knows not which to wonder at most, the simplicity and humility of Samuel to be in so plain an habit, unattended by servants, and yet going to a public festival, so that he seemed to be no other than a common man, to be inquired of whereabout his house was; or the ignorance of Saul, who had lived so long in the world, and so near Samuel, and yet had never seen and knew not the chief magistrate in the nation, so famous both for his civil and religious character.





1 Samuel 9:19



Ver. 19. And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer,.... For he supposed, by inquiring for his house, that his business was with him; wherefore this he said, not as boasting of his character and office, or in the pride and vanity of his mind, but merely for information sake:



go up before me unto the high place; instead of returning home with him, he invited him to go to the place of feasting, as the Targum, whither he was going to partake of the entertainment there; and he bids him go before him, either because he was an old man, and could not go his pace, or he had business to do by the way, or this was in honour to Saul, whom he knew was to be king of Israel:



for ye shall eat with me today; he and his servant, at the public feast: he insisted upon his dining, or it may be rather supping with him:



and tomorrow I will let thee go; for it being in the evening when this feast was, he could not depart that night, but must stay till morning, and then he promised to dismiss him:



and will tell thee all that is in thine heart; answer all questions he had in his mind to ask him, for which he came into the city, and inquired for his house. The Jews {l} have a tradition that it was in the heart of Saul that he should be a king, having in a vision seen himself placed on the top of a palm tree, which was a sign of royalty, and this Samuel told him.



{l} Hieron. Trad. Heb. in lib. Reg. fol. 75. G.





1 Samuel 9:20



Ver. 20. And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago,.... Which, according to Kimchi, is to be understood not of the time from whence they were lost, but to be reckoned from the time that Saul had been seeking of them; so the Targum,



"as to the business of the asses, which are lost to thee, and thou art come to seek them today, these three days:''



though it is probable enough that the same day they were lost Saul set out to seek them, Now Samuel telling him of the asses that were lost, and of the time of their being lost, or of his seeking them, so exactly, before ever he said a word to him about them, must at once convince him that he was a true prophet, and which must prepare him to give credit to all that he should hereafter say to him:



set not thy mind on them, for they are found; of the truth of which he could not doubt, after he had said the above words; and which he said to make his mind easy, that he might the more cheerfully attend the feast, and be the more willing to stay all night:



and on whom is all the desire of Israel? which was to have a king; in this they were unanimous, and who so fit and proper as Saul, it is intimated, whom Samuel knew God had chosen and appointed to be king over them?



is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house? not that the Israelites had their eye on Saul, and their desire after him to be their king, though he was such an one as they wished for; but that as this desire of theirs was granted, it would issue and terminate in him and his family; he should be advanced to the throne, which would be attended with the promotion of his father's house, as Abner particularly, who was his uncle's son, and was made the general of the army.





1 Samuel 9:21



Ver. 21. And Saul answered and said, am not I a Benjamite,.... Or the son of Jemini, the name of one of his ancestors, see 1Sa 9:1 or rather, as the Targum, a son of the tribe of Benjamin:



of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? having been greatly reduced, even to the number of six hundred men, by the fatal war between that tribe and the rest, on account of the Levite's concubine, and is called little Benjamin, Ps 68:27.



and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? the smallest in number, had the least share of authority in the tribe, and of land and cattle, wealth and substance:



wherefore then speakest thou so to me? Saul presently understood Samuel's meaning, that he should be chosen king of Israel, the affair of a king being at this time in everyone's mind and mouth; but could not believe that one of so small a tribe, and which sprung from the youngest son of Jacob, and of so mean a family, would be raised to such dignity, but that a person of great figure and character would be settled upon; and, therefore he took Samuel to be in joke, as Josephus {m} says, and not in earnest.



{m} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4. sect. 1.





1 Samuel 9:22



Ver. 22. And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the parlour,.... The dining room of the house, which belonged to the high place:



and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden; and who very probably were the principal persons in the city; and yet Saul was placed at the head of them by Samuel, to convince him that what he had said to him was in earnest, and to do him honour before all the people; and for the sake of him, and to show his respect to him, he placed his servant; his minister, also in the chief place with him; what was reckoned the highest and most honourable places at table,

See Gill on "Mt 23:6". The guests were placed by the master of the feast according to their rank; and the dignity of the person, as Jarchi observes, was known by his manners and place of sitting:



which were about thirty persons; more or less; Josephus {n} says seventy, disagreeing with the text, the Targum, Syriac and Arabic versions, but agreeing with the Septuagint.



{n} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4. sect. 1.





1 Samuel 9:23



Ver. 23. And Samuel said unto the cook,.... That dressed and prepared the food for the entertainment of the guests:



bring the portion which I gave thee; to dress; for part of the provisions of the feast was Samuel's, and the other part the people's that brought the peace offerings:



of which I said unto thee, set it by thee; do not bring it in with the rest, but keep it in the kitchen till called for.





1 Samuel 9:24



Ver. 24. And the cook took up the shoulder, and that which was upon it,.... Meaning either, as some think, some sauce that was poured on it, or garnish about it; or the thigh, as the Targum, and so Jarchi, Kimchi, and others; or rather the breast, as a more ancient Jew {o}; since this joined to the shoulder before separated, and in sacrifices went along with it; though most think this was the left shoulder and breast, because the right shoulder and breast of the peace offerings were given to the priest, to be eaten by him and his sons, Le 7:34 but in those unsettled times, with respect to sacrifices, many things were dispensed with; and Samuel, though a Levite, might officiate as a priest, and so the right shoulder and breast belonged to him as such; and this best accounts for his having the disposal of it; and upon this extraordinary occasion, Saul, though not the son of a priest, might be admitted to eat of it, it being the choicest part, and fit to be set before one designed to be king; and to show that he was to live in friendship with the priests of the Lord, and to take care of and protect the ministerial function:



and set it before Saul; by the direction of Samuel no doubt, as a token of honour and respect unto him; it being usual in other countries to commend the best dishes, or best pieces of flesh, to the more excellent and worthy persons at table {p}; and this was, as Josephus {q} calls it, a royal portion: the arm or shoulder, especially the right arm, being a symbol of strength, may denote that strength which was necessary for him to bear the burden of government, to protect his people, and fight in defence of them; and the breast being the seat of wisdom and prudence, of affection and love, may signify how necessary such qualities were for kingly government, to know how to go in and out before the people, and be heartily concerned for their good: and Samuel said,



behold that which is left; not by the guests, and what they could not eat; for till Samuel came they did not begin to eat; and as for this part, it was but just brought in, and was never set before the guests, but it was left by Samuel in the hands of the cook, and reserved for the use of Saul:



set it before thee, and eat; it was already set before him, but he would have him keep it by him, and eat of it, and make his meal of it, it being the best dish at the table:



for unto this time hath it been kept for thee; by which he gave him to understand that he knew of his coming before hand, and therefore had made this provision for him; and which might serve to persuade him of the truth and certainty of what he had hinted to him:



since I said I have invited the people; not the thirty persons before mentioned, for it does not appear that they were invited by Samuel, but rather by those who brought the peace offerings, who had a right to invite any of their friends they thought fit; but by "the people" are meant Saul and his servant; for in the eastern languages two or three persons, and even one, are called a people; and this Samuel had said to his cook, when he bid him set by the shoulder, and what was on it, because he had invited some, for whom he had designed it:



so Saul did eat with Samuel that day: they dined together.



{o} R. Eliezer in T. Bab. Avodah Zara, fol. 25. 1. {p} Vid. Diodor. Sicul. l. 5. p. 306. {q} Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4. sect. 1.)





1 Samuel 9:25



Ver. 25. And when they came down from the high place into the city,.... After the feast was ended; and though Ramah itself was situated on an eminence, yet it seems this high place was higher than that, being without the city upon an hill, and therefore they are said to come down from the one to the other; or they came down from the high place, and then ascended the hill to the city:



Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the house: of Samuel's house; when they were come thither, Samuel took Saul up to the roof of his house, which was flat, as the roofs of houses in this country were; see

De 22:8 on which they could walk to and fro, and converse together; hence you read of preaching and praying on housetops, Mt 10:27 what they communed about is not said, but may be guessed at, that it was about Saul's being made king; of the certainty of it, by divine designation; of the manner of executing that office wisely and justly; about the objections Saul had made of the smallness of his tribe and family; and of Samuel's willingness to resign the government to him, with other things of the like kind.







1 Samuel 9:26



Ver. 26. And they arose early,.... Neither of them being able to sleep, as Abarbinel supposes; not Samuel for thinking what he was to do the next morning, anoint Saul king over Israel; nor Saul for what Samuel had hinted to him about the desire of all Israel being upon him, and for the honour done him at the feast, and because of the conversation they had together afterwards:



and it came to pass about the spring of the day; or the "ascents of the morning" {x}, when day was about to break, before the sun was up:



that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house; where they had conversed together the evening before:



saying, up, that I may send thee away; meaning not rise from his bed, for he was risen; but that he would prepare to set out on his journey, that Samuel might take his leave of him for the present, when he had accompanied him some part of his way, as he intended; and he was the more urgent upon him, because there was something to be done before people were stirring:



and Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad; out of Samuel's house, without doors, into the street.



{x} rxvh twlek "circa ascendere auroram", Montanus; "quum ascenderet aurora", Junius & Tremellius.





1 Samuel 9:27



Ver. 27. And as they were going down to the end of the city,.... That end of it that led the way to the place where Saul was going. As this city was built on an hill, going to the end of it was a declivity, a descent:



Samuel said to Saul, bid the servant pass on before us; being another man's servant, he did not choose of himself to bid him go on, but desired his master to order him to go before them, that he might not hear what Samuel had to say to Saul, or see what he did unto him; for as the choice of Saul to be king was to be declared by lot, as coming from the Lord, all those precautions were taken of rising early, and going abroad, and sending the servant before them, that it might not be thought that Samuel did this of himself:



and he passed on; his master bidding him:



but stand thou still a while; that he might hear the better, and more attentively than in walking; such a posture was most fitting also for what was to be done, anointing him with oil:



that I may show thee the word of God: tell him more of the mind of God concerning his being king, and declare more fully the word, will, and decree of God about that matter, by an action which would put it out of all doubt that he was the man God designed to be king, as in the following chapter.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

1 Samuel 10:1



INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 10



In this chapter we read of Saul's being anointed king by Samuel, 1Sa 10:1, and of certain signs given as confirming the same, which should come to pass, and did, before Saul got to his father's house, 1Sa 10:2, of his arrival at his father's house, and of what passed between him and his uncle there, 1Sa 10:14, of Samuel's calling all Israel together at Mizpeh, and of the election of Saul by lot to be king, and of his being declared such, 1Sa 10:17, and of his return to his city, being respected by some, and despised by others, 1Sa 10:26.



Ver. 1. Then Samuel took a vial of oil,.... Out of his pocket very probably, which he brought along with him on purpose for the use he made of it: this, as the Jews {y} say, was not the anointing oil that was in the tabernacle, which was at another and distant place, and with which only the kings of the house of David were anointed; but common oil, or, as they say, oil of balsam; and this was not an horn, but a vial, which held a small quantity, and was brittle; and they observe that Saul and Jehu, who were anointed with a vial, their reigns were short, whereas David and Solomon, who were anointed with a horn, their reigns were long; and as oil is a symbol of the gifts and graces of the Spirit, it may denote a smaller measure conferred on Saul than on David and Solomon:



and kissed him; congratulating him on the dignity he was raised to, and in reverence and respect to him, because of the high office he was arrived to; and as a token of subjection and homage, and to testify his well pleased in his being king, and that he readily, willingly, and with pleasure resigned the government to him:



and said, is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? the people of Israel, so called, De 32:9 and which is observed here to show, that though Saul was anointed king over them, they were the Lord's possession still, and he was accountable to him for his government and usage of them, over whom he was to be a captain, leader, and commander, to go before them, and fight their battles for them, of which his being anointed with oil was a token; and therefore it is said, "is it not?" or dost thou not see by this? or knowest thou not, as R. Isaiah supplies it, that this is of the Lord? for it was the Lord that anointed him, or Samuel by his orders; and such questions as these, as Kimchi observes, are for the greater confirmation of what is spoken; and if Saul had any doubt upon his mind, as perhaps he might because of his meanness, and the high honour designed hereby, not only this question is put, but three following signs are given him, whereby he might be assured of the truth of it.



{y} T. Bab. Horayot, fol. 11. 2. & 12. 1.





1 Samuel 10:2



Ver. 2. When thou art departed from me today,.... Not as soon as he was departed, for he had some few miles to go from Ramah to Rachel's grave near Bethlehem:



thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre, in the border of Benjamin, at Zelzah; the Jews move a difficulty here, that Rachel's sepulchre should be said to be in the border of Benjamin, when it was by Bethlehemephrath, in the tribe of Judah, Ge 35:19 and which they solve by observing, that these men were now, at the time Samuel was speaking, by the grave of Rachel, but as they were coming on he would meet them at Zelzah, in the border of Benjamin {z}; but there is no need of this, Rachel's grave was not at Bethlehem, but in, the way to it; and besides, as these two tribes were contiguous, and this city being on the borders of both, it might be said at one time to be in the border of Benjamin, and at another in the border of Judah, or in Judah, without any contradiction. Of Zelzah we nowhere else read, but it is plain it was near the sepulchre of Rachel, and perhaps nearer than Bethlehem. The Arabic geographer {a} speaks of Rachel's grave as in the midway between Jerusalem and Bethlehem; and says there were twelve stones upon it, and a stone arched vault over it; and the same is affirmed by Benjamin of Tudela {b}, who makes it to be but half a mile from Bethlehem. Jarchi would have Zelzah to be the same with Jerusalem, which is not probable:



and they will say unto thee, the asses which thou wentest to seek are found; as Samuel had before told Saul they were, 1Sa 9:20



and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses; or had left all thoughts about them, and concern for them, not minding whether he heard of them or not, and this before they were found; or otherwise it would have been no strange thing to drop all thoughts about them, when they were found:



and sorroweth for you; for Saul, and his servant; such was the anxiety and distress of his mind lest any evil should befall them, having been gone so long in quest of the asses, that he had as it were forgot them, and lost all care and concern about them, in comparison of his son and servant; but especially his sorrow rose high for his son, as follows:



saying, what shall I do for my son? though he was concerned for his servant, yet most for his son; he might have another servant, and not another son, and Saul seems to be his only one, which made his grief for him the greater, see 1Ch 8:33. Now as these were contingent events here foretold, as meeting with two men at a certain place described, the words related expressly they should say to him when he met them, and these exactly coming to pass, would most clearly prove Samuel to be a true prophet, and confirm Saul in the belief of what he had said and done to him concerning the kingdom. Another sign follows.



{z} Bereshit Rabba, sect. 82. fol. 71. 4. R. Isaiah, Jarchi, Kimchi, Abarbinel, & Abendana in loc. {a} Chinat. 3. par. 5. {b} ltinerar. p. 47.





1 Samuel 10:3



Ver. 3. Then shall thou go on forward from thence,.... From Zelzah and Rachel's sepulchre there:



and thou shall come to the plain of Tabor; not that which lay at the bottom of the famous and well known mountain Tabor; for that was in the tribe of Zebulun, at a great distance from hence: but a plain, so called perhaps from the name of the owner of it:



and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel: the same with Luz, where Jacob built an altar, and called upon God; and so Elohimbethel here is the same with Elbethel, Ge 35:6. Here was an high place as at Ramah, whither in those times, when there was no fixed place for worship, the tabernacle at one place, and the ark at another, the people went up to worship; and they might the rather choose this, because it was a place devoted to the worship and service of God by their father Jacob; so the Targum paraphrases it,



"going up to worship God in Bethel;''



so Josephus {c}, they were going thither to pray, and, as it seems by what follows, to sacrifice: one carrying three kids; which were used in sacrifice, and were a pretty heavy load if carried far; though, according to Josephus {d}, it was but one kid:



and another carrying three loaves of bread; for the minchah, the meat offering, or rather bread offering, Le 2:4



and another carrying a bottle of wine; for the drink offering, the fourth part of an hin of wine being required for each kid, Nu 15:5. This bottle, Ben Melech says, was a bottle made of skin, a leathern bottle or bag, or a potter's vessel or pitcher; the Targum renders it, a flagon of wine.



{c} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4. sect. 2. {d} lbid.





1 Samuel 10:4



Ver. 4. And they will salute thee,.... Not as king, of which they knew nothing, but in a common way; and though a stranger and unknown to them, yet finding their hearts disposed and affected towards him, would inquire of his welfare, and wish him all happiness, peace, and prosperity:



and give thee two [loaves] of bread; which was pretty much that they should give him two out of three, and leave but one for themselves, and especially if they were going to sacrifice; but perhaps they knew they could buy more bread at Bethel, and so were disposed to give two of their loaves to Saul, one for himself and another for his servant; though Kimchi thinks that these are not the same before called loaves; and indeed the word "loaves" is not in the text, but cakes of bread, which were lesser than loaves, and which they carried for their own use, besides three loaves of bread:



which thou shall receive of their hands; being sent out by Samuel early that morning without eating any food, and having travelled some miles, might become weary and faint, and which the three men might discern, and so had compassion on them, and relieved them; and Saul was not to refuse the offer of them, but take them at their hands, though he was anointed to be king; and this was to teach him humility, and to be kind to the poor and needy, and relieve them when he was in more elevated circumstances. All these actions also were contingent, and when they came to pass, as they did, must be still more confirming than the former sign.





1 Samuel 10:5



Ver. 5. After that thou shall come to the hill of God,.... The Targum is, the hill in which was the ark of the Lord, and that was in the house of Abinadab, on a hill in the city of Kirjathjearim, 1Sa 7:1 and so the Jewish commentators generally interpret this hill of God of Kirjathjearim; but rather it was Geba, a city of Benjamin, partly because by this time he must have got out of the tribe of Judah into the tribe of Benjamin, and even almost to the end of his journey, and among those that were his relations, 1Sa 10:11 and partly because it is certain there was a garrison of the Philistines at Geba, 1Sa 13:3 as there was at this place, as follows:



where is the garrison of the Philistines; which they were allowed by the terms of peace made between Israel and them; or which through their growing power over them in the latter days of Samuel they placed there, and which yet they kept, without giving the people any molestation in their worship and service:



and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city; to the city Geba, or near it:



that thou shall meet a company of prophets; of Scribes, as the Targum; which were, as Kimchi observes, disciples; for the disciples of the wise men were called Scribes, and these were the disciples of prophets, the same with the sons of the prophets; and the prophets that were at this time, as he says, from Eli to David, were Elkanah, Samuel, Gad, Nathan, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun; here was a school or college of young prophets, where they were trained up, under the care and tuition of one or other of the above prophets, in the knowledge of the word of God, in psalmody, and other religious exercises; for though the word of the Lord was scarce and precious in the beginning of Samuel's time, yet through his industry, influence, and encouragement, divine knowledge was greatly promoted, and many were trained up and qualified to instruct the people; who, though they had not the gift of foretelling future events, or of the vision of prophecy, yet had gifts qualifying for the edification of the people; and out of these schools and colleges God sometimes raised up prophets in the highest sense, who foretold things to come, and to whom the Lord appeared in dreams and visions. And this company Saul would meet



coming down from the high place; where they had been to worship, to sacrifice, or to pray, for here was an high place for such service, as well as at Ramah:



with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; which were several instruments of "music" used in singing praises to God in those times:



and they shall prophesy; or praise, as the Targum, sing praises at the same time they played on their instruments of music; and singing praises is one sort of prophesying, see 1Ch 25:1, and in which sense it seems to be used in 1Co 11:4.





1 Samuel 10:6



Ver. 6. And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee,.... As a spirit of prophecy, so the Targum; whereby he would be enabled at once to compose psalms and hymns of praise, and sing them in a proper manner, though he had not been trained up in this exercise in the school of the prophets; which made it more wonderful to those that knew him:



and thou shalt prophesy with them: or "praise" with them, as the same Targum; join with them in singing praises, and perform this service in an orderly manner, as if he had been instructed in it, and used to it:



and shall be turned into another man; for the Spirit of God would not only operate on him in that way, as to fit him for composing and singing psalms and hymns, but inspire him with wisdom, and prudence, and greatness of mind, and with every qualification necessary for a king; so that he would appear quite another man than he was before, in his outward behaviour, as well as in the endowments of his mind; and from a rustic, an husbandman, a farmer's son, would appear with the air of a prince, and in the majesty of a king; and, as Procopius Gazaeus, have a royal mind or heart given him.





1 Samuel 10:7



Ver. 7. And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee,.... And are all fulfilled, especially the last:



that thou do as occasion shall serve thee: as his circumstances would require, and as he in his great wisdom and prudence, with which he should now be furnished, would see necessary to prepare for his taking upon him the kingdom he was anointed to, and would be in a little time openly chosen to, and invested with. Some understand this of royal ornaments befitting a king, or of preparing arms for the defence of the kingdom:



for God is with thee; or the Word of the Lord is thy help, as the Targum, and therefore he need not fear engaging in any enterprise that might be for the glory of God, and good of the kingdom.





1 Samuel 10:8



Ver. 8. And thou shall go down before me to Gilgal,.... Not immediately; for the first summons of the people, and of Saul, and the first meeting of them by Samuel, were at Mizpeh, where Saul was chosen by lot; nor the first time of Saul's being at Gilgal, when the kingdom was renewed; for Saul had no need to wait seven days there, since he and Samuel went together, 1Sa 11:14 rather at the second time of his being there, where not staying the time quite up, was reproved for it, which was two years after this, 1Sa 13:1, though it may be this was a general rule to be observed by Saul, that whenever anything turned up of importance to the children of Israel, and was a difficulty with him, he should go to Gilgal, and there wait seven days for Samuel, from the time he gave him notice of it, who would come at the appointed time, and would give him what advice and instructions were necessary; and this place was the rather appointed, because it was the place where the Israelites first pitched their camp when they came over Jordan, and where the tabernacle first was; and where prayer and sacrifices were wont to be made; and where the kingdom of Saul was renewed; and which lay convenient for all the tribes, both on the one and the other side of Jordan:



and, behold, I will come down to thee to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings; so he did when the kingdom was renewed, and Saul was confirmed in it, 1Sa 11:15 but two years after, Saul not staying the full time, he offered them himself by another, for which he was reproved, 1Sa 13:9



seven days shalt thou tarry till I come to thee; either from the time of the notice he should give to Samuel of his going thither, or from the time of his arrival there; for it can by no means be understood as from the time of his present departure from him, for the reasons before given:



and show thee what thou shalt do; in the then present emergency or difficulty on his hands; and this he said to encourage him under the weight and burden of government laid upon him.





1 Samuel 10:9



Ver. 9. And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel,.... When he had taken his leave of him, and set forward on his journey:



God gave him another heart; not in a moral or spiritual sense, not a new heart, and a new spirit, as in conversion, but in a civil sense, a right heart, a heart fit for government; filled with wisdom and prudence to rule a people; with courage and magnanimity to protect and defend them against their enemies, and fight for them; a heart not taken up with the affairs of husbandry, with care for his father's asses, and looking after his herds, but filled with concern for the civil welfare of Israel, and with schemes and contrivances for their good, and with warm resolutions to deliver them out of the hands of their enemies:



and all these signs came to pass that day; the two first, which are not particularly mentioned as fulfilled, being more private, as finding two men at Rachel's sepulchre, and meeting with three others going to Bethel, which came to pass just as they were described; and the third, which was more public, and gave Saul more reverence and respect among the people, is next particularly observed.





1 Samuel 10:10



Ver. 10. When they came thither to the hill,.... Or, to Gibeah, as the Targum, and so Josephus {e}:



behold, a company of prophets met him; as foretold, 1Sa 10:5,



and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he prophesied among them; the spirit of prophecy, as the Targum, and he sung praises among them; he joined with them in their psalmody, and performed it as regularly as if he had been brought up with them. The Jews say {f} he prophesied of the world to come, of Gog and Magog, and of the rewards of the righteous, and of the punishment of the wicked.



{e} Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4. sect. 2.) {f} Hieron. Trad. Heb. fol. 75. H.





1 Samuel 10:11



Ver. 11. And it came to pass, that when all that knew him before time,.... As there must be many that personally knew him, and were acquainted with him, since Gibeah, the place he was near to, was his native place:



saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets; or praised among them, as the Targum, sung psalms and hymns with them:



what is this that is come unto the son of Kish? a rustic, a plebeian, that never was in the school of the prophets, or learned music, and yet is as dexterous at it as any of them:



is Saul also among the prophets? an husbandman, an herdsman that looked after his father's farms, fields, and cattle, and now among the prophets of the Lord, bearing his part with them, and performing it as well as any of them: this was matter of wonder to those who knew his person, family, and education; and so it was equally matter of admiration that Saul the persecutor, one of the same tribe, should be among the preachers of the Gospel, Ac 9:20.





1 Samuel 10:12



Ver. 12. And one of the same place answered, and said,.... One of the same city, and in the same company, that expressed their admiration at what was come to Saul, and at what he did, and wondering how he came into such company, and to have such a gift, who was of so mean an education:



but who is their father? the father of the prophets; their fathers were not prophets, no more than Saul's was; their Father that taught them is the Lord, and he was able to teach Saul, and bestow on him the gift of prophecy, as well as on them; and so the Targum, who is their master or teacher; for though they might have an undermaster or teacher, as Samuel, or another prophet, yet their chief teacher was God; who could and did give men the gift of prophecy, and even in the highest sense, who had neither prophets for their fathers, nor were indeed trained up in any of the schools of the prophets, which was the case of Amos:



therefore it became a proverb, is Saul also among the prophets? that when a person of a mean parentage, and of a low life and education, was raised up to any degree of dignity in sacred and civil things, they used to apply this proverbial expression to him, or speak of him in this manner, is Saul among the prophets?





1 Samuel 10:13



Ver. 13. And when he had made an end of prophesying,.... For, as Procopius Gazaeus observes, he had not the gift of prophecy always; it did not continue with him, but, like that of the seventy elders in the times of Moses, it was designed to make him respectable among the people, and to be taken notice of as a person that God had honoured with a peculiar gift, that so, when he should be chosen king, they would the more readily receive him:



he came to the high place; to return thanks to God for the gift bestowed on him, and for that high honour and dignity he was raised unto, of which he had private knowledge; and to pray God to fit him more and more for government, and to, assist him in it, and help him to discharge his office in a wise and faithful manner.





1 Samuel 10:14



Ver. 14. And Saul's uncle said unto him, and to his servant, whither went ye?.... Since they had been absent so long a time. This was his father's brother, as the Targum, and so Aquila; whose name was Ner, the father of Abner, 1Sa 14:50 who met with him at the high place, or found him in the city, in his father's house it may be. Josephus {g} says, Saul went into the house of his kinsman Abner, whom he loved above all his relations, and that it was he that discoursed with Saul, and asked him, the questions before and after related:



and he said, to seek the asses: he first observes the end of their going, the business they went upon, in which not succeeding, then he answers more directly to the question:



and when we saw that [they were] nowhere; could not see them, nor find them any where, or hear of them where they went:



we came to Samuel; at Ramah, to inquire of him, if he could direct us which way to go, and what methods to take, to find the asses.



{g} Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4.) sect. 3.





1 Samuel 10:15



Ver. 15. And Saul's uncle said, &c. l On hearing he had been with Samuel, and perceiving so great an alteration in Saul, perhaps he began to suspect something about the kingdom; it being what everyone was talking of, and expecting every day to hear from Samuel who should be king, according to the Lord's appointment:



tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you; the earnestness with which he put this question seems to confirm the above conjecture.





1 Samuel 10:16



Ver. 16. And Saul said unto his uncle,.... In answer to his question:



he told us plainly the asses were found; or "in telling told us" {h}; not only plainly in so many words, but he affirmed it with the greatest certainty that the asses were found, and we need not give ourselves further trouble about them:



but of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not; he said not one word about that, which is commonly ascribed to his modesty; or he might conceal it, as Josephus {i} observes, because he thought it would not be believed by his relations, or might create in them envy to him; and besides, he knew it was the pleasure of Samuel that it should be kept a secret until the election by lot was over, lest it should be thought to proceed from Samuel himself; and Saul chose it should remain so, that it might not be thought to be of his own seeking; and by keeping it from his relations and friends, it would be a clear case that he did not make interest for it.



{h} dygh dgh "indicando indicavit", Pagninus, Montanus, &c. {i} Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4. scet. 3.)





1 Samuel 10:17



Ver. 17. And Samuel called the people together unto the Lord at Mizpeh. Not that in Gilead, but in the tribe of Benjamin, where the people had been before convened on a certain occasion, 1Sa 7:5 and the people called together could not be every individual of the nation, but the heads and elders of the people, their representatives, and who were summoned by the orders of Samuel; perhaps by an herald making proclamation and cry of the same, as the word signifies; and these were gathered together to the Lord, to have the following affair transacted before him, and under his guidance and direction; the priest perhaps being here with the Urim and Thummim, as Kimchi thinks, and who also conjectures that the ark might be brought hither at this time, the symbol of the divine Presence; though wherever the church and people of God were gathered together in his name, in a solemn manner, there the Lord was.





1 Samuel 10:18



Ver. 18. And said unto the children of Israel,.... In the name of the Lord, using the phrase which the prophets used when they spoke in the name of the Lord:



thus saith the Lord God of Israel; the great Jehovah, the Being of beings, the covenant God of his people Israel:



I brought up Israel out of Egypt; when in bondage there, with a mighty hand and outstretched arm, by means of signs and wonders done by the hands of Moses and Aaron; the Lord working mightily with them, and thereby inclining Pharaoh and his people to let them go:



and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians; at the Red sea, drowning them in it, when they threatened Israel with an utter destruction:



and out of the hand of all kingdoms, [and] of them that oppressed you; as the Arabic writers, the kingdoms of Og and Bashan in their way to Canaan, and the Mesopotamians, Moabites, Canaanites, Midianites, Ammonites, and Philistines, in the times of the judges; all which is observed to show their ingratitude, and aggravate their guilt.





1 Samuel 10:19



Ver. 19. And ye have this day rejected your God,.... As their king, by desiring another to be set over them;



who himself saved you out of all your adversity and your tribulations; that they had been in at any time in Egypt, in their passage through the wilderness to Canaan, and after they were settled there:



ye have said unto him, [nay], but set a king over us: they did as good as say God should not be their King, but they would have one set over them like the kings of the nations about them; Samuel reminds them of this their request and resolution to have a king, which they had expressed some time ago, that it might appear to them that this was wholly of their own seeking; the motion came from themselves, and not from the Lord, nor from Samuel, and therefore, whatever ill consequences might follow upon it, they had none to blame but themselves:



now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes, and by your thousands; by the heads of their tribes, and by the rulers of the thousands into which their tribes were divided, that it might be known either by Urim and Thummim, or rather by casting lots, out of which tribe, and out of which thousand, house, and family in it, their king was to be chosen; which method, an it would clearly appear to be a choice directed by the Lord, so it would prevent all contention and discord among themselves.





1 Samuel 10:20



Ver. 20. And when Samuel had caused all the tribes to come near,.... The heads and representatives of them, to the place where the lots were cast:



the tribe of Benjamin was taken; the lot fell upon that tribe for the choice of a king out of it; not the tribe of, Reuben, who was the firstborn, nor the tribe of Judah, to whom the kingdom was promised, but the tribe of Benjamin, the least of all the tribes, and which sprung from the youngest son of Jacob, contrary, as it were probable, to the expectation of all.





1 Samuel 10:21



Ver. 21. And when he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families,.... By the heads of them, to have lots cast for them, out of which of the families the king should be chosen:



the family of Matri was taken; that is, by lot; the lot fell upon that family for the choice of a king out of them: in the account of the families of the tribe of Benjamin, 1Ch 8:1 no mention is made of this family, nor any where else, and yet no doubt there was such a family, and Saul was of it; it seems to have its name from the butt or mark arrows were shot at; some of the Benjamites being famous for their skill in darting and slinging, and perhaps this family might be so:



and Saul the son of Kish was taken; the lot being cast upon the men in the family of Matri, though it is not expressed, fell upon Saul; for though he was not there, as Jarchi observes, the lot fell upon him; for their names were written on a piece of paper, and put into a box, and the prophet put in his hand and took out one, and on that was the name of Saul, and this was the manner of the lot:



and when they sought him, he could not be found; because he had hid himself, as in the next verse; it is very probable, and indeed plain, that he was in this assembly at the first opening of it; and knowing what Samuel had said and done to him, and perceiving in what way the lot was going concerning the same, the tribe of Benjamin being taken, he concluded how it would issue, and therefore left the assembly, and hid himself, as follows.





1 Samuel 10:22



Ver. 22. Therefore they inquired of the Lord further,.... Or again, by lot, by which they knew who the person was the was chosen king, but they did not know where he was, and therefore inquire further how they must come at him; and this inquiry was made either before the high priest by Urim and Thummim, or by Samuel the prophet of the Lord: and the inquiry was,



if the man should yet come thither; whether he was already come, or would come there, and if not, what methods they must take to find him:



and the Lord answered, behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff the word signifies household stuff, vessels, utensils, arms, &c. which the people had brought along with them for their use, and were laid up in some one place; and among these baggages Saul hid himself, hoping that if he was not found they would proceed to another choice, so free from ambition was he, and such was his modesty; nor does this seem to be affected and dissembled, but real; though afterwards, when he was settled in the kingdom, he did not care to part with it, and sought to kill David, whom he looked upon as his rival: there were many things which now concurred, that made him uneasy and unwilling to assume the government of the people; partly the envy and ill will of some of them, which he must expect; chiefly the sense he had of his own unfitness for such an office, being of a mean family, and having had so mean an education, and so little knowledge of the maxims of government; and besides, must at once, as soon as on the throne, enter into a war with the Ammonites; but what might most of all distress him, he perceived by Samuel's speech to the people, that the affair of a king was displeasing to the Lord, though he condescended to grant the people's request; and therefore what comfort and happiness could he expect in such a situation?





1 Samuel 10:23



Ver. 23. And they ran and fetched him thence,.... Being in haste to see their king elect, and proclaim him:



and when he stood among the people; being brought among them, and presented to them:



he was higher than any of the people, from the shoulders, and upwards; which made him look very graceful and majestic; height of stature, and a comely form, as Kimchi observes, recommend to royal dignity; and make the people stand more in awe of a prince, and have always been reckoned among all other nations to make a prince venerable,

See Gill on "1Sa 9:2".





1 Samuel 10:24



Ver. 24. And Samuel said to all the people, see ye him whom the Lord hath chosen,.... For the choice being made by lot, the disposal of which is of the Lord, it is properly attributed to him, and the people could not object to it, but must allow it was the Lord's doing. Eupolemus {k}, an Heathen writer, says, that Saul was made king by Samuel by the counsel or will of God; and Samuel appeals to their eyes for the goodness of the choice, a better could not have been made:



that there is none like him among the people? so graceful, so stately, so prince like and majestic; they wanted to have a king like such the nations had; and Saul was such an one, had all the outward appearance of grandeur that could be wished for, and which in other nations recommended persons to the imperial dignity:



and all the people shouted; made a general ado:



and said, God save the king; or "let the king live" {l}; they owned and saluted him as their king, and prayed he might live long to reign over them; the Targum is, "let the king prosper"; let his reign be prosperous and glorious, and let him enjoy all health and happiness, peace and prosperity.



{k} Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 30. p. 447. {l} Klmh yxy "vivat rex", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.





1 Samuel 10:25



Ver. 25. Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, &e.] According to Ben Gersom, he laid before them the power a king had over his people, and the punishment he might inflict upon them, if they rebelled against him; and some think this is the same he delivered in 1Sa 8:10 concerning the arbitrary power of their kings, and how they would be used by them; and which he here repeated, and then wrote it, that it might be a testimony against them hereafter; with which what Josephus {m} says pretty much agrees, that in the hearing of the king he foretold what would befall them, and then wrote it, and laid it up, that it might be a witness of his predictions; but that in 1Sa 8:10-17. Samuel said, was the manner of their king, or how he would use them, but this the manner of the kingdom, and how the government of it was to be managed and submitted to, what was the office of a king, and what the duties of the subject; and yet was different from, at least not the same with that in De 17:15, for that had been written and laid up already:



and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord; in the ark of the Lord; as Kimchi; or rather by the ark of the Lord, on one side of it, as Ben Gersom; or best of all, as Josephus {n}, in the tabernacle of the Lord, where recourse might be had to it, at any time, at least by a priest, and where it would be safe, and be preserved to future times:



and Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house; for though Saul was chosen king, he did not take upon him the exercise of government directly, but left it to Samuel to dismiss the people, who had been for many years their chief magistrate.



{m} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4. sect. 6. {n} Ibid.





1 Samuel 10:26



Ver. 26. And Saul also went home to Gibeah,.... His native place, where was his father's house, to which he retired; where were no royal palace, or princely court, nor any of the ensigns of kingly majesty; and whither it does not appear that he was followed by the nobility or princes of the tribes, only accompanied by a few men, as next observed:



and there went with him a band of men; an army, or part of one they seem to be military men, at least men of strength, valour, and courage; gallant men, who, in honour to their king elect, freely offered themselves to be his body guard, however, until he was come to his house at Gibeah; the Targum is only, "some of the people"



whose heart God had touched; and inclined to show honour and respect to their king; the Targum describes them,



"men that feared to sin, and in whose hearts the fear of God was put.''





1 Samuel 10:27



Ver. 27. But the children of Belial said,.... Wicked, dissolute, lawless persons; men without a yoke, as the word signifies, who did not care to be under the yoke of government, at least not under the yoke of Saul; and these might be men of wealth, and of larger tribes, and better families than Saul was of, and therefore envied him, and thought themselves better for government than he was; and in a jeering scornful manner said,



how shall this man save us? whose family is so mean, and whose tribe is so small, that they can give but little assistance to deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, the Philistines and Ammonites; intimating, that a king ought to have been of a rich family, and a large tribe, and a prince in it, whose interest and influence were great, not only in his own tribe, but in others, which would enable him to engage in war with an enemy, and protect the people; but what, as if they should say, can be expected from "this man?", this mean contemptible man, of no birth nor fortune, brought up in an obscure manner, and altogether inexpert in things civil and military?



and they despised him; on account of the above things, not only in their hearts, but spared not to speak out, and use opprobrious language, and with which their actions and conduct agreed:



and brought him no presents; as others did, and as it was usual when a king came to the throne; nor were any visits made unto him, in token of their subjection to him, and complacency in him, and by way of congratulation of him, see 1Ki 4:21 the Targum is, they did not salute him, or ask of his welfare:



but he held his peace, or "was as one that is deaf and dumb" {o}; took no notice of what they said, as if he was deaf and heard it not, and was as silent as if he had been a dumb man, which showed his wisdom and prudence; for had he taken notice of them, he must have punished them, and he judged it more advisable to use lenity and mildness, and not begin his reign with contention and bloodshed.



{o} vyrxmk yhyw "et fuit veluti surdus", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; "fuit quasi obmutescens", Drusius; "veluti tacens [aut] silens", so some in Vatablus; so the Targum.

 

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