John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
1 Samuel 15:1
INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 15
In this chapter are recorded the order Saul had from the Lord to destroy Amalek utterly, 1Sa 15:1 the preparation he made to put it in execution, and the success thereof, 1Sa 15:4 the offence the Lord took at his not obeying his order thoroughly, with which Samuel was made acquainted, and which grieved him, 1Sa 15:10, upon which he went out to meet Saul, and reprove him; and a long discourse upon the subject passed between them, the issue of which was, that by an irrevocable decree he was rejected from being king, 1Sa 15:12 and the chapter is concluded with an account of Samuel's hewing in pieces Agag king of Amalek, and of his final departure from Saul, 1Sa 15:32.
Ver. 1. Samuel also said unto Saul,.... When and where he said to him what follows, it is not easy to determine, perhaps at Gilgal, where they after met again:
the Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel; that is, he gave him orders to anoint him king of Israel, otherwise Saul was in providence sent to Samuel to be anointed, and not Samuel to Saul:
now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord; for so great a favour, and such high honour he had conferred on him, laid him under great obligation to obey the commands of the Lord; and whereas he had been deficient in one instance before, for which he had been reproved, he suggests, that now he should take care to observe and do, particularly and punctually, what should be enjoined him.
1 Samuel 15:2
Ver. 2. Thus saith the Lord of hosts,.... Of the celestial host of angels, and of the army of Israel, yea, of all the armies of the earth: this is premised to engage the attention of Saul:
I remember that which Amalek did to Israel; four hundred years ago:
how he laid wait for him in the way when he came up from Egypt; in the valley of Rephidim, just before they came to Mount Sinai, and fell upon the rear of them, and smote the feeble, and faint, and weary, see
Ex 17:8
1 Samuel 15:3
Ver. 3. Now go and smite Amalek,.... This was one of the three things the Israelites were obliged to do when they came into the land of Canaan, as Kimchi observes; one was, to appoint a king over them, another, to build the house of the sanctuary, and the third, to blot out the name and memory of Amalek, see De 25:19 and this work was reserved for Saul, their first king:
and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; all were to be devoted to destruction, and nothing remain to be made use of in any way, to any profit and advantage; living creatures were to be put to death, and everything else burnt and destroyed:
but slay both men and women, infant and suckling; neither sex nor age were to be regarded, no mercy and pity shown to any; they had shown none to Israel when weak and feeble, and by the law of retaliation none was to be exercised on them:
ox and sheep, camel and ass; though useful creatures, yet not to be spared; as not men, women, and children, through commiseration, so neither these through covetousness, and neither of them on any pretence whatsoever. Children suffered for their parents, and cattle because of their owners, and both were a punishment to their proprietors; an ox, or any other creature, might not be spared, lest it should be said, as Kimchi observes, this was the spoil of Amalek, and so the name and memory of Amalek would not be blotted out.
1 Samuel 15:4
Ver. 4. And Saul gathered the people together,.... Or "made them to hear" {r}, by the sound of a trumpet; or by sending heralds into all parts of the land to proclaim the above order of the Lord, and summon them to come to him, perhaps at Gilgal; so the Septuagint version, and Josephus {s}:
and numbered them in Telaim; thought to be the same with Telem, a place in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:24, the word signifies "lambs"; hence the Vulgate Latin version is,
"he numbered them as lambs;''
and the Jews {t} say, because it was forbid to number the children of Israel, which was the sin of David; therefore every man had a lamb given him, and so the lambs were numbered, by which it was known what was the number of the people; and the Targum says, this was done with the passover lambs, it being now the time of the passover; but the numbering here made was not of the people of the land in general, and so there was no occasion of such a precaution, only a numbering and mustering of the army when got together and rendezvoused in one place: the sum of which is here given,
two hundred thousand footmen and ten thousand men of Judah; which last were reckoned separately, as distinct from the other tribes of Israel, to show their obedience to Saul, who was of another tribe, though the kingdom was promised to theirs; but R. Isaiah observes, that the reason why so few of the men of Judah came, in comparison of the other tribes, was, because they envied the government being in one of the tribe of Benjamin, when they thought it should have been in one of theirs; the number is greatly increased in the Septuagint version, which makes the whole to be 400,000, and 30,000 men of Judah; and so Josephus {u}.
{r} emvyw "audire fecit", Vatablus, Drusius. {s} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 7. sect. 2. {t} T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 22. 2. Jarchi in loc. {u} Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 7. sect. 2.)
1 Samuel 15:5
Ver. 5. And Saul came to a city of Amalek,.... With his army, perhaps the nearest city of it to the land of Israel; though some think that Amalek was the name of the city, and was the metropolis of the nation, and had its name from thence: and laid wait in the valley; which was near the city, to intercept the inhabitants when they should come out against him: or "he contended" {w} as some render it, he fought with them there; the Targum,
"he ordered his army,''
set them in battle array, or pitched his camp there.
{w} bryw "et certavit Pagninus"; "ut contenderet cum eo", Junius & Tremellius.
1 Samuel 15:6
Ver. 6. And Saul said unto the Kenites,.... Who were of the posterity of Jethro the father-in-law of Moses, or related to him; why Josephus {x} calls them the nation of the Sicimites, who dwelt in the midst of the land of Midian, I know not:
go, depart, get ye down from among the Amalekites; for though some of these people came with Israel into the land of Canaan, and were first at Jericho, and then came into the wilderness of Judah, Jud 1:16 and were in other tribes also; yet as they removed from place to place, and from country to country, for the convenience of their flocks and herds, they dwelling in tents, might come into the country of Amalek and pitch there, and as they chose to dwell in rocks, and the caverns of them, to be near their flocks and herds in the valleys, they are called upon to get down from thence, see Nu 24:21
lest I destroy you with them; they dwelling among the Amalekites, might perish with them; and especially as the Amalekites, upon their being routed, would naturally flee to the rocks, hills, and mountains, where these people had their tents, they would be in the greater danger of being destroyed with them, unless they removed:
for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt; as Jethro, by the advice he gave to Moses to appoint proper officers in Israel, and Hobab, by being eyes to the people, in conducting them through the wilderness, and accompanying them to the land of Canaan:
so the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites; took the advice of Saul, and removed and pitched their tents, elsewhere.
{x} Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 7.) sect. 3.
1 Samuel 15:7
Ver. 7. And Saul smote the Amalekites,.... Engaging in battle with them, he overcame them, and beat them, and slew great numbers of them:
from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt; having routed them in the valley, or in whatsoever place the battle was fought, he pursued them from one end of their country to the other; from Havilah, which lay to the northeast, to Shur, which lay to the southwest, and destroyed all that came in his way between those two points, see Ge 25:18.
1 Samuel 15:8
Ver. 8. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive,.... This name seems to be a common name of the kings of these people, as Pharaoh was of the Egyptians, see Nu 24:2. When this king fell into the hands of Saul, he did not put him to death, as he should have done, but preserved him; for what reasons, see in the following verse:
and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword; that is, all that came in his way, or fell into his hands; all between Havilah and Shur; all excepting those that made their escape, for we after read of Amalekites, and that in large bodies, 1Sa 27:8.
1 Samuel 15:9
Ver. 9. And Saul and all the people spared Agag,.... Perhaps Saul made the motion to spare him, and the people agreed to it; it may be, out of respect to him as a king; or because of the comeliness of his person, the height of his stature, and the largeness of his body, as Josephus {y} notes; or to carry him in triumph in a public show, see 1Sa 15:12
and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings; or "of the second sort", as in the margin, the second best; or rather which shed their two long teeth, as sheep at two years old did when reckoned at their full strength, and fittest for sacrifice {z}:
and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them; as they were commanded, but kept them for their own private use and advantage, and this not only the best and fattest of the flocks and herds, but of their household goods:
but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly: such of the cattle that were poor and lean, lame or blind, or had any defect in them, and household goods that were mere rubbish and lumber; such they entirely destroyed, killed the creatures, and burnt the goods; in doing which they thought they fulfilled the will of God.
{y} Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 7.) sect. 2. {z} Bidentes, Virgil. Aeneid. l. 6. ver. 39. Vid. Servium in ib.
1 Samuel 15:10
Ver. 10. Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel,.... The word of prophecy, as the Targum; this came to him in a dream or vision, or by an articulate voice:
saying; as follows.
1 Samuel 15:11
Ver. 11. It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king,.... Which is not to be understood of any change of mind, counsel, purpose, or decree in God, which is not consistent with his unchangeable nature; but of a change of dispensation, and outward dealings, and is spoken after the manner of men, who, when they repent of anything, change the course of their conduct and behaviour; and so the Lord does without any change of his mind and will, which alters not; and though he changes the outward dispensations of his providence, yet he never changes and alters in the matters and methods of his grace; though he repented he made Saul king, he never repents of his making his saints kings and priests for himself; his outward gifts he sometimes takes away, as an earthly crown and kingdom; but his gifts and calling, which are of special grace, are without repentance, See Gill on "Ge 6:6".
for he is turned back from following me; from after my worship, as the Targum, from doing his will and work:
and hath not performed my commandments: particularly in this affair relating to Amalek:
and it grieved Samuel; that Saul should so soon be rejected from being king, and that he should do anything to deserve it; and whom Samuel had anointed king, and for whom he had a cordial respect, and to whom he wished well, both for his own personal good, and for the good of the people of Israel; so far was he from rejoicing at his fall, who came in his stead, and to whom he gave way in the affair of government:
and he cried unto the Lord all night; or prayed, as the Targum; either that the Lord would inform him of the particulars wherein Saul had done amiss, or that he would forgive his sin, and not reject him from the kingdom.
1 Samuel 15:12
Ver. 12. And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning,.... Having had no sleep since the revelation of the will of God was made unto him, and therefore rose early, being in haste to converse with Saul about it:
it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel; not to Carmel where Elijah offered sacrifice, for that was very remote from hence; but to Carmel, a city in the tribe of Judah, which lay in the way of Saul's return from Amalek, Jos 15:55
and, behold, he set him up a place; to divide his spoil in, as the Targum; or to encamp in, as Kimchi; or to build an altar on, as Jarchi, who takes it to be the same that Elisha after repaired; but, as before observed, this place was at a great distance from Mount Carmel where Elijah sacrificed. The word for a "place" signifies a hand; and, according to the Vulgate Latin version, it was a triumphal arch, and was perhaps an obelisk or pillar, a trophy or monument erected in memory of the victory he had obtained over the Amalekites. So Jerom says {a}, when a victory was obtained, they used to make an arch of myrtle, palm, and olive branches, a sign of it; these trophies were sometimes of brass, sometimes of marble; some were only heaps of stones, others a remarkable tree with the branches cut off {b} so the pillar Absalom erected is called his hand, 2Sa 18:18
and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal; he took a circuit, and moved in great pomp and parade, carrying the king of the Amalekites in triumph with him, and the spoil he had taken and reserves. To Gilgal be went, expecting to meet Samuel there, and offer up peace offerings to the Lord for the victory he had got.
{a} Heb. Trad. in lib. Reg. fol. 76. B. {b} Vid. Alex. ab. Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 1. c. 22.
1 Samuel 15:13
Ver. 13. And Samuel came to Saul,.... At Gilgal:
and Saul said unto him, blessed be thou of the Lord; signifying that he had abundant reason to bless the Lord on his account, not only that he had anointed him king, but had sent him on such an errand, in which he had succeeded so well, and it was a pleasure to him that he might report it to him:
I have performed the commandment of the Lord; either he was really ignorant that he had done amiss; and thought that his sparing Agag, when he had destroyed all the rest, and reserving some of the best of the cattle for sacrifice, could not be interpreted a breach of the orders given him; or if he was conscious he had broken the commandment of the Lord, this he said to prevent Samuel's reproof of him, and to sooth him with flattering words.
1 Samuel 15:14
Ver. 14. And Samuel said, what meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears,.... For the orders were to destroy all living creatures belonging to the Amalekites, 1Sa 15:3 if therefore Saul had performed the commandment of the Lord, as he said he had, from whence were these sheep Samuel heard bleating?
and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? where do they come from? these questions he put to convict him of the falsehood he had delivered; the bleating and lowing of these creatures proved him a liar, and were witnesses of his breach of the divine command; and one would think every bleating and lowing of these must alarm his conscience, unless dreadfully stupefied.
1 Samuel 15:15
Ver. 15. And Saul said, they have brought them from the Amalekites,.... That is, the people, laying the blame upon them, as Adam did on his wife, as if he had no concern at all in it, when it is clear from
1Sa 15:9 he was the principal one; nor is it probable the people should do this of themselves, without his consent and authority, which was so directly contrary to the express order of God; and then to excuse the people as well as he could, on whom he laid the blame, he observes this was not done for their own private profit and advantage, but for the service and worship of God:
for the people spared the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; by way of gratitude and thankfulness for the victory they had obtained; and therefore, since they had so good an end and design in sparing what they had, and those the best and fittest for sacrifice, he hoped they would easily be excused; and that the prophet would use his best interest with the Lord, who was his God, to whom they designed to do honour, that he would overlook what was amiss in them:
and the rest we have utterly destroyed; as they were commanded; but then it was only the vile and the refuse, the best they had reserved for their own use; though he now coloured it with this specious pretence of sacrificing to God, when he found it was taken notice of, and was resented.
1 Samuel 15:16
Ver. 16. Then Samuel said unto Saul, stay,.... Stop a little, do not be in haste to be gone, as he might seem to be, fearing a reproof, and that something would be said to him not very agreeable; or "suffer" {c} me, that is, to speak, give me leave to say a few words; for Saul being a king, Samuel treats him as such, and asks audience of him, or leave of him to deliver what he had to say to him:
and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night; and since it was not anything from himself, but from the Lord, he had to say, he might expect the rather to be heard, and especially since it was what had lately, even that very night, been told him:
and he said unto him, say on; he gave him leave, perhaps hoping he should hear something said in his praise, commending him for what he had done in destroying the nation of Amalek, see Lu 7:40. There is a double reading of this clause, the Cetib or textural reading is, "and they said unto him"; meaning Saul, and the elders with him; the Keri, or marginal reading is, which we follow, "and he said unto him"; meaning Saul, as Kimchi notes.
{c} Prh "permitte", Pagninus, Montanus; "sine me", V. L. so Abarbinel.
1 Samuel 15:17
Ver. 17. And Samuel said, when thou [wast] little in thine own sight,.... Humble and lowly, and had a mean opinion of himself, his family and tribe, and judged himself unworthy of the kingdom; see 1Sa 9:21 suggesting, that now he was proud and haughty, and would have his own will and way:
wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel; not of his own tribe only, which was the least, but of all the tribes, and so they were all subject to him, and at his command:
and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel; all which is observed, partly to point out unto him the high honour he was raised unto, from a low estate, which laid him under obligation to serve the Lord, and obey him; and partly as an answer to him, excusing himself, and laying the blame upon the people; whereas seeing he was made king over them, his business was to rule and govern them, guide and direct them in the right way, and restrain them from that which was evil; and since he was anointed by the Lord, and not by the people, he ought to have obeyed him, and not regarded the pleasure of them.
1 Samuel 15:18
Ver. 18. And the Lord sent thee on a journey,.... And therefore he ought to have attended to the errand sent upon, and executed the orders given; in vain, therefore, was it to lay the blame on the people:
and said, go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites; those notorious sinners, who deserve no mercy at the hands of God or men; who had so highly offended the Lord, and had been so injurious to his people at their first coming out of Egypt. The orders were plain, not to be mistaken, and full and strong for the utter destruction of them without any exception, and therefore nothing could be pleaded in excuse for the violation of them:
and fight against them until they be consumed; entirely; they were not to be left until an end was made of them; or "until they had consumed them" {d}, the people of Israel, or the soldiers with Saul.
{d} Mta Mtwlk de "donec consumant ipsi eos", Pagninus; so Vatablus.
1 Samuel 15:19
Ver. 19. Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord,.... Who had made him king, and sent him on this errand, and gave him such plain directions, and such strong orders to make an entire consumption of Amalek:
but didst fly upon the spoil; like a bird of prey, such as an eagle or vulture, not to devote it to the Lord, by an entire destruction of it, but to seize it for his own use, as being greedily desirous and covetous of it:
and didst evil in the sight of the Lord? by disobeying his commands, from whose sight nothing can be hid.
1 Samuel 15:20
Ver. 20. And Saul said to Samuel, yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord,.... Here Saul breaks in upon Samuel before he had declared all that the Lord had said unto him; for having expostulated with him for not obeying the voice of the Lord, he could not forbear interrupting him, but with the utmost assurance affirms he had obeyed the voice of the Lord; but then it was very imperfectly, and poor proof does he give of it:
and have gone the way which the Lord sent me; it is very true he went into the country of Amalek, but he did not do there all the Lord commanded him:
and have brought Agag the king of Amalek; took him alive, and brought him captive; whereas he ought to have destroyed him at once, and not have reserved him for triumph; a sad proof this of his obeying the voice of the Lord:
and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites; all that came in his way, in which he did right; but then he had not destroyed the principal of them, their king.
1 Samuel 15:21
Ver. 21. But the people took the spoil, the sheep and oxen,.... Still he continues to lay the blame on the people, when he, as king, ought to have restrained them:
the chief of the things, which should have been utterly destroyed; this betrays him, and is an evidence against him; he could not plead ignorance, he knew and he owns, that according to the command of God they were all devoted to destruction; and therefore he ought not to have suffered the people to have spared any on whatsoever pretence, but to have seen all destroyed; but he was as deeply in it as they, and therefore palliates the thing, and endeavours to excuse them by observing, that their end was good, the service and glory of God, which perhaps were never thought of till now: namely,
to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal; as peace offerings, by way of thanksgiving for the victory obtained, 1Sa 15:15.
1 Samuel 15:22
Ver. 22. And Samuel said,.... In reply to Saul:
hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? no, certainly, the one being merely ceremonial, the other moral; the one supposes sin committed, for which sacrifice is offered; the other moral, and is a compliance with the will of God, and is neither sinful, nor supposes anything sinful, and therefore must be the more acceptable:
behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams; which always was claimed by the Lord as his right and due; or the fattest rams or best sacrifices, of whatever sort, whether burnt offerings, or sin offerings, or peace offerings; for had man obeyed the will of God, and not sinned, there would have been no need of sacrifice; and that was only acceptable to God when offered with a heart truly sensible of sin, and penitent for it, and in the faith of the great sacrifice of Christ, of which all sacrifices under the law were typical, and led unto.
1 Samuel 15:23
Ver. 23. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,.... Or divination {e}, in whatsoever way it was exercised; for there were various sorts of it among the Heathens, and all condemned by the law of God, De 18:10. Now rebellion against God, or disobeying his commands, though in things otherwise, were they not forbidden by him, lawful to be done, is as heinous a sin as to be guilty of witchcraft, or any kind of divination forbidden by the law of God, and deserves as sore a punishment:
and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry: for a man, when he has committed a sin, to persist in it obstinately, or to vindicate himself in it, and insist on his innocence, which was Saul's case, is as hateful to God as any iniquity whatever; yea, as bad as idolatry, or making use of the teraphim, as is the word here; of which see Ho 3:4 than which nothing is more abominable to the Lord:
because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord; disregarded his command, treated it with contempt and abhorrence:
he hath rejected thee from being king; not actually, for he continued to exercise kingly power and authority to his death, and was treated as a king by his subjects, and even by David, though anointed by the Lord; but the sentence of rejection was pronounced upon him, and the bestowal of the government on his posterity was cut off.
{e} Moq tajx "peccatum divinationis", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; "ariolandi", V. L. "magiae", Munster, Tigurine version.
1 Samuel 15:24
Ver. 24. And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned,.... This confession of his sin does not appear to be ingenuous, cordial, and sincere, and was made chiefly for the sake of getting the sentence of rejecting him from being king reversed:
for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words; which last seems to be added to collogue with Samuel, and to ingratiate himself with him; and Abarbinel thinks that Saul suspected that Samuel had aggravated the matter of himself, and that he did not really transgress the words of the Lord, but as the words of Samuel; and therefore according to the words of Samuel he had sinned, but not according to the words of the Lord only;
because I feared the people; Doeg the Edomite, who was reckoned as all of them, Jarchi says: this was a mere excuse of Saul's, he stood in no fear of the people, he kept them in awe, and did as he would with them, as a sovereign prince:
and obeyed their voice; in sparing the best of the cattle; so be pretended, when it was his own will, and the effect of his covetousness.
1 Samuel 15:25
Ver. 25. Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin,.... It can hardly be thought that Saul was so ignorant as to imagine that Samuel could pardon his sin, as committed against God, which none but God can do, but that he would forgive it, so far as he had offended him; or rather his meaning is, that as he was a prophet of the Lord, and had great interest in him, that he would make use of it on his behalf, and pray to God that his sin might be forgiven him, and the sentence reversed concerning his rejection from the kingdom; which perhaps is the chief thing he means by the pardon of his sin, which sometimes means no more than averting a threatened judgment, or freedom from punishment:
and turn again with me; to Gilgal, for he was come out from thence to meet Samuel, having heard that he was coming:
that I may worship the Lord: by offering sacrifice, either in thankfulness for the victory obtained, or to atone for his sin, and seek pardon for it, or both; this he thought would be a motive and inducement to Samuel to go along with him.
1 Samuel 15:26
Ver. 26. And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee,.... Not being satisfied with his repentance and confession, he still extenuating his sin, and laying the blame of it on the people. This he said by way of resentment, and as expressing his indignation at him, though he afterwards did return with him on a change of his mind; which a good man may be allowed to make, without any imputation of falsehood or a lie unto him:
for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel; which is repeated from 1Sa 15:23 for the confirmation of it, and to let Saul know that his pretended confession and repentance had made no alteration in the decree and sentence of God respecting the kingdom.
1 Samuel 15:27
Ver. 27. And as Samuel turned about to go away,.... From Saul, a different way from Gilgal, perhaps towards his own city Ramah, with an intention to have nothing more to say to Saul, or to do with him, or to see his face no more; so displeased was he with him:
he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle; in order to detain him, and prevent his departure from him, and his going a different way:
and it rent; Samuel twitching away from him with great vehemence and warmth. The Jewish {f} Rabbins are divided about this, whose skirt was rent; some say it was Samuel that rent the skirt of Saul, and by this signified to him, that he that cut off the skirt of his garment should reign in his stead; whereby Saul knew that David would be king when he cut off the skirt of his robe, 1Sa 24:4, others, that Samuel rent the skirt of his own mantle himself, which is the way of good men when things are not right; but the plain sense is, that Saul rent the skirt of Samuel's mantle, which, when Samuel saw, he understood what that rent was a sign of, as expressed in the following verse.
{f} Midrash Schemuel, sect. 18. apud Jarchi, Kimchi & Abarbinel in loc.
1 Samuel 15:28
Ver. 28. And Samuel said unto him, the Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day,.... Seeing his mantle rent by Saul, he took occasion from thence to predict, and no doubt it was impressed on his mind by the Spirit of God, that his kingdom should be in a like manner rent from him, on account of his own evil conduct and behaviour; and from this day forward he might expect it; the sentence was gone forth from God, and it would not be reversed; and by a like sign was signified the rending of the ten tribes from the kingdom of Solomon in his son Rehoboam, 1Ki 11:30,
and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou; who was David, a man after God's own heart, that would fulfil his will, who was more holy, just, and wise than Saul; whose works were better and righter than his, as the Targum; who was an Israelite, of the same nation and religion as he, and so his neighbour; and though he was not of the same tribe, yet of a neighbouring tribe; Benjamin, and Judah, of which tribe David was, joining closely to one another. It is highly probable that at this time Samuel knew not personally who he was that was designed to be made king in his room, though under the direction of the Spirit of God he thus describes him; for after this he is bid to go to Jesse's family, from thence to anoint a king, and several passed before him ere the Lord pointed out the proper person to him.
1 Samuel 15:29
Ver. 29. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent,.... Neither of the evil which he had threatened to Saul in taking away the kingdom from him; nor of the good which he had promised to David in giving it to him; nor of his purpose and promise to Israel to protect and defend them, save and deliver them from the Philistines, and continue them a nation and kingdom: and for the confirmation of all this, this title or character of the Lord is given, "the Strength of Israel"; hence he cannot lie, which is the effect of weakness; nor repent or change his mind, as men do, when something unforeseen arises, which hinders the execution of their first design, and which through weakness they cannot surmount: and hence God would support Israel as a nation, and strengthen them against their enemies, and work deliverance and salvation for them: or "the victory of Israel" {q}; the author of Israel's victories, and to whom they are to be ascribed, and who is able to give them more, and would; and as he did especially by David, to whom the kingdom is promised: or "the eternity of Israel" {r}; that gives firmness, permanency, and duration to them; all which is true of Israel in a spiritual sense; he gives them spiritual strength, victory over their enemies, sin, Satan, and the world, permanent duration, everlasting salvation, immortality, and eternal life:
for he is not a man, that he should repent; men are weak and feeble, and cannot perform what they purpose or promise, and therefore repent; but God, the Strength of Israel, is able to perform whatever he has purposed or promised, and therefore repents not; men are changeable in their minds, and repent of their first thoughts and designs; but God is unchangeable, and never alters his counsels, breaks his covenant, reverses his blessings, repents of his gifts, nor changes his affections to his Israel. Abarbinel says this may be understood of Saul, and so be given as a reason why God would not repent of the evil he had threatened him with, because he was a man that repented not of his sin; but the first sense is best, and agrees with and is confirmed by Nu 23:19.
{q} larvy xun "victoria Israel", Montanus, Vatablus, Piscator; "victor Israelis", Tigurine version. {r} "Aeternitas Israelis", Junius & Tremellius.
1 Samuel 15:30
Ver. 30. Then he said, I have sinned,.... So he had said before, 1Sa 15:24 but his confession there was attended with an extenuation of his sin, pleading in excuse of it that it was through fear of the people, but here it is without any; and yet by what follows it appears to be not ingenuous and sincere, but hypocritical:
yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel; with his company; since should he be slighted openly by the Lord, and by his prophet, he would fall into contempt both with the principal men, and with the common people; wherefore he seemed more concerned for the loss of honour and reputation with the people, than for his sin against God, which is always the case of hypocrites:
and turn again with me, and worship the Lord thy God;
See Gill on "1Sa 15:25".
1 Samuel 15:31
Ver. 31. So Samuel turned again after Saul,.... Though he before said he would not, 1Sa 15:26 yet he did, changing his mind, as he might without being chargeable with a lie; and he also might have an impulse from the Lord so to do, and which he did not in order to worship with Saul, which it does not appear he did, but rather the contrary; but that Saul might not be despised by the people, and his authority lessened, while he continued king; and that he might do what Saul had neglected to do, destroy Agag: and Saul worshipped the Lord; alone, by offering sacrifice to him.
1 Samuel 15:32
Ver. 32. Then said Samuel, bring you hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites,.... This he said very probably to some of Saul's officers, and in his presence, and before all the people met together for sacrifice:
and Agag came unto him delicately; fat and plump, as the Vulgate Latin version, and yet trembling, as that and the Septuagint; well dressed, in the garb and habit of a king, and with the air and majesty of one; or with pleasure and joy, as Kimchi, choosing rather to die than to be a captive, and live in such reproach as he did; though R. Isaiah and Ben Gersom give the sense of it, that he came bound in chains, and fetters of iron, according to the use of the word in Job 38:31
and Agag said, surely the bitterness of death is past; this he said, either as not expecting to die, that since he had been spared by Saul, the king of the nation, a fierce and warlike prince, he had nothing to fear from an ancient man and a prophet, and who now bore not the sword of justice; and especially when he came into his presence, and saw his form, which showed him to be a man of clemency and mercy, as Ben Gersom observes: or as expecting it, and so Kimchi interprets it to this sense, "the bitterness of death is come"; and is near at hand, and will be soon over; or suggesting that that which was bitter, to others grievous and terrible, was to him sweet and desirable; but the former sense seems best by what follows.
1 Samuel 15:33
Ver. 33. And Samuel said, as thy sword hath made women childless,.... Or, "bereaved {s}" them, not of their children only, but of their husbands also, and so made them both childless and widows; by which it appears that he was a cruel prince, and justly died for his own barbarity and wickedness, as well as for the sins of his ancestors four hundred years ago:
so shall thy mother be childless among women; which was according to the law of retaliation, and what the Jews call measure for measure:
and Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal; either before the ark of the Lord, the symbol of the divine Presence; or before the altar, where Saul and the people had been sacrificing; this he did either himself, though an old man, or by others to whom he gave the orders; and which he did not as being the chief magistrate, and by virtue of his office, but acting as on a special occasion, at the command of God, and to show his zeal for him, and indignation at such a breach of his command. In what manner this was done, is not easy to say; he was not torn to pieces by the hand, without an instrument, as Baebius by the Romans {t}; or sawn asunder, as some by Caligula {u}; and as Isaiah the prophet is said to be by Manasseh, king of Judah, to which it is thought the apostle alludes, Heb 11:37. According to Ben Gersom, the word signifies he cleaved him, as wood is cleaved; or divided him into four parts, as Jarchi; perhaps he slew him with the sword, and then quartered him; that is, ordered it to be done.
{s} hlkv "orbavit", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, &c. {t} Flori Hist. l. 3. c. 21. {u} Sueton. in Vita ejus, c. 27.
1 Samuel 15:34
Ver. 34. Then Samuel went to Ramah,.... His native place, and where was his usual residence:
and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul; which was also his birth place, and where was his father's house, and where he had his palace, and kept his court; and took its name from him, to distinguish it from another Gibeah; and so Josephus {w} says it was called Gabathsaoule, and was about thirty furlongs or four miles from Jerusalem.
{w} De Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 2. sect. 1.
1 Samuel 15:35
Ver. 35. And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death,.... Or "added not to see him" {x}; not that he saw him no more, he saw him afterwards, 1Sa 19:24, but it was accidentally, he did not go to see him, but Saul came to him; and Abarbinel supposes he might not see him then, but hid his face from him; and he observes that it is said,
until the day of his death; which intimates, he thinks, that he saw him after his death, when raised up by the witch of Endor; but that Samuel was then really raised, and was seen, wants proof. The meaning of the expression here is no more than this, that Samuel afterwards did not visit Saul as he used to do; he did not go to him, to give him his advice and counsel, as he wonted:
nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul; because of his sin, his impenitence, and hypocrisy; and because of the loss of the kingdom to him, and to his posterity; and he might be concerned also about his eternal welfare; for he appears to have a natural affection for him, and was far from envying him as his rival, and rejoicing at his fall:
and the Lord repented that he made Saul king over Israel; nor was his mind altered, neither by the hypocritical confession of Saul, nor by the cordial prayers and heart of Samuel; see 1Sa 15:11.
{x} twarl-Poy alw "et non addidit ad videndum", Montanus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
1 Samuel 16:1
INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 16
In this chapter Samuel is ordered to anoint a king among the sons of Jesse of Bethlehem, 1Sa 16:1 all whose sons were made to pass before him, excepting David, 1Sa 16:6 who being then with his father's sheep, was sent for and was anointed, 1Sa 16:11, after which the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and he became melancholy, and it was advised to seek out a musician for him, and David was mentioned to him as a proper person, 1Sa 16:14 upon which he was sent for, and acted as a musician to Saul, and also became his armourbearer, which was the first rise of him, 1Sa 16:19.
Ver. 1. And the Lord said unto Samuel,.... In a vision or dream, or by an articulate voice: how long wilt thou mourn for Saul? he does not blame him for mourning, but for mourning so long; but how long that was cannot be said; and though his affection for him might cause him to indulge to it, yet it was in vain, seeing the sentence was irreversible:
seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? that is, his posterity; for he himself reigned as long as he lived, though in a very inglorious manner:
fill thine horn with oil; with common oil; for that this was the holy anointing oil kept in the tabernacle, as the Jewish writers generally suppose, with which they say David and Solomon, and the kings of Judah, were anointed, there is no reason to believe; since the tabernacle, where this oil was, was at a distance from Samuel, and which seems to have been only for the anointing of the priests. This was not a phial he was bid to take, as when he anointed Saul; but an horn, denoting the abundance of gifts bestowed on David, and the firmness and duration of his kingdom:
and go, and I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite; the son of Obed, whom Boaz begat of Ruth the Moabitess, Ru 4:21
for I have provided me a king among his sons; but which he says not; this was reserved for an later discovery; however God had in his own mind picked him, whom he would hereafter make known; this was a king for himself, raised up to fulfil his will; Saul was chosen by him, but then it was at the request of the people, and so he was rather their king than his; but this was not at their desire, nor with their knowledge, but of his own good will and pleasure; the one was given in wrath, and the other in love; the one was to the rejection of God as King, the other to the rejection of Saul by the will of God.
1 Samuel 16:2
Ver. 2. And Samuel said, how can I go?.... Which argues weakness of faith in Samuel, and fear of man, and a diffidence in and distrust of divine power; for otherwise he that sent him on such an errand could protect him:
if Saul hear it, he will kill me; should hear that Samuel went and anointed another king, it would so enrage him, that he would either immediately lay hands on him, and put him to death, or order him to be put to death; and indeed were it not that this was done by the command of God, he would deserve to die; it being an overt act of treason to anoint another king:
and the Lord said, take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord; a peace offering, which might be done any where in those unsettled times, the ark being at one place, and the tabernacle at another; and might be offered upon a private altar, and by a private person; and as it seems Samuel used to sacrifice at different places; see 1Sa 7:9. Ben Gersom relates it as the sense of one of their Rabbins in his age, that there was a person slain in those parts, not known by whom he was slain; and so Samuel is ordered to take an heifer to fulfil the law in De 21:1 and therefore Saul would make no inquiry into his reason of going thither with an heifer, and this is commended both by him and Abarbinel.
1 Samuel 16:3
Ver. 3. And call Jesse to the sacrifice,.... His family, both him and his sons, to partake of the peace offerings; as every offerer had a right to invite his friends, and whomsoever he pleased, to eat of those parts of them which belonged to him, as a feast before the Lord:
and I will show thee what thou shall do; when Jesse and his family were with him:
and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee; that is, anoint him to be king over Israel, whom he should point out so plainly to him, as if he called him by name.
1 Samuel 16:4
Ver. 4. And Samuel did that which the Lord spake,.... He filled a horn of oil, and took an heifer with him:
and came to Bethlehem; where Jesse and his family lived, which, according to Bunting {y}, was sixteen miles from Ramah; though it could hardly be so much, since Ramah was six miles from Jerusalem on one side, as Bethlehem lay six miles from it on the other {z};
and the elders of the town trembled at his coming; for he being now an old man, and seldom went abroad, they concluded it must be something very extraordinary that brought him thither; and they might fear that as he was a prophet of the Lord, that he was come to reprove them, or denounce some judgment upon them for their sins. The Targum is,
"the elders of the city gathered together to meet him;''
out of respect and in honour to him, and to the same sense Jarchi's note is,
"they hasted to go out to meet him'';
see Ho 11:11
and, said comest thou peaceably? the word "said" is singular; one of the elders put this question, the chiefest of them, perhaps Jesse; and the meaning of it is, whether he came with ill news and bad tidings, or as displeased with them himself on some account or another; or with a message from God, as displeased with them; or whether he came there for his own peace and safety, to be sheltered from Saul; and which, if that was the case, might not be for their peace and good; but would draw upon them the wrath and vengeance of Saul; for they doubtless knew that there was a variance, at least a shyness, between Saul and Samuel.
{y} Travels of the Patriarchs, &c. p. 125. {z} Vid. Hieron. de loc. Heb. fol. 89. F. & 94. B.
1 Samuel 16:5
Ver. 5. And he said, peaceably I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord,.... Which he could say with truth, it being one end of his coming, though not the only one for which he came, and which he was not obliged to tell:
sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice; prepare themselves for it, which was done by washing their garments, &c. and then attend with him, and assist him in the sacrifice:
and he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice; he ordered them to sanctify themselves; he distinguished them from the rest of the inhabitants, and invited them to partake of the feast, the remainder of the peace offerings.
1 Samuel 16:6
Ver. 6. And it came to pass, when they were come,.... Jesse and his sons, into the house where the entertainment was; and perhaps before they sat down, went into a private apartment by the direction of Samuel, where he acquainted Jesse with the business he came upon:
that he looked on Eliab; who was Jesse's firstborn, 1Ch 2:13, called Elihu, 1Ch 27:18
and said, surely the Lord's anointed is before him; or this is the person it is his pleasure should be anointed king.
1 Samuel 16:7
Ver. 7. But the Lord said to Samuel,.... By a secret impulse upon his mind, as if he had spoken with an articulate voice to him:
look not on his countenance; which was comely and majestic:
or on the height of his stature; which was like that of Saul's; and because the Lord had chosen him, who was superior to the people in this respect, Samuel thought he meant to have such an one now anointed king:
because I have refused him; or it is not my pleasure that he should be king; though Ben Gersom thinks this refers to Saul, that the Lord had rejected him, though of an high stature, and therefore Samuel should not look out for such a person to be king; and Abarbinel refers it to the height of stature itself, that God had rejected that, and laid it aside as a qualification of a king, or as a rule to judge of a proper person to be a king; but no doubt it respected Eliab:
for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; man only sees what is without, but the Lord sees what is within; only the outward visible form of the body is seen by man, but the inward qualifications and endowments of the mind are seen by the Lord:
for man looketh on the outward appearance; the comeliness of a man's person, the majesty of his countenance, the height of his stature, and size of his body, things which recommended men to be kings among the nations of the world; See Gill on "1Sa 9:2", or "to the eyes" {a}; the liveliness, and briskness, and sharpness of them, thereby to judge of the sagacity and penetration of the mind, as physiognomists do; who guess at the disposition of men by them, when they are small or great, watery or dry, of this or the other colour {b};
but the Lord looketh on the heart; and knows what is in that, what wisdom and prudence, justice and integrity, mercy and goodness, and other princely qualifications are in that. The Jewish writers conclude from hence that the heart of Eliab was not right; it may be, full of wrath, pride, envy, &c. which disqualified him for government.
{a} Mynyel "ad oculos", Montanus. {b} Vid. Schotti Thaumaturg. Physic. par. 4. l. 7. c. 8.
1 Samuel 16:8
Ver. 8. Then Jesse called Abinadab,.... His second son, 1Sa 17:13
and made him pass before Samuel: that he might take a full view of him:
and he said, neither hath the Lord chosen this; which he knew by a private suggestion from him.
1 Samuel 16:9
Ver. 9. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by,.... His third son, 1Sa 17:13, sometimes called Shimma, and Shimeah, 1Ch 2:13
and he said, neither hath the Lord chosen this; which he knew in the same way as before.
1 Samuel 16:10
Ver. 10. Again Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel,.... Not seven more, for he had but eight sons in all with David, 1Sa 17:12 but four more, which with the other three made seven; three of these four are mentioned by name, Nathanael, Raddai, and Ozem, 1Ch 2:14, but the fourth we nowhere read of; perhaps he died quickly after this, was an obscure person, and of no fame and note, or might be by another woman:
and Samuel said unto Jesse, the Lord hath not chosen these; not anyone of them.
1 Samuel 16:11
Ver. 11. And Samuel said unto Jesse, are here all thy children?.... For neither of these being the person God would have anointed king, and yet it was one of Jesse's sons that was to be anointed, he concluded he must have more, at least one more, and therefore puts this question to him:
and he said, there remaineth yet the youngest; or, "the little one" {c}; not of a little diminutive stature, for he was a mighty man, a man of strength, courage, and valour, 1Sa 16:18 or of a puerile age, for the Jews say {d} he was now twenty nine years of age; but that is not likely, he hardly exceeded more than twenty, or was so much; thereabout he might be; but he is so called because he was the youngest son, as we render it:
and, behold, he keepeth the sheep: and from following them, he was taken and anointed king; see Ps 78:70. Some of the greatest of men have been taken from rustic employment, as Moses, Gideon, Saul, and others:
and Samuel said unto Jesse, send and fetch him; out of the field by a messenger:
for we will not sit down till he come hither; that is, at table, to eat of that part of the peace offerings which belonged to the offerer Samuel, and which he had invited Jesse and his sons to partake of.
{c} Njqt "parvulus", V. L. {d} Seder Olam Rabba, c. 13. p. 36.
1 Samuel 16:12
Ver. 12. And he sent and brought him in,.... Sent messengers into the field and to the flock for him, and being come home Jesse introduced him into the room where Samuel was:
now he was ruddy; which some understand not of the ruddiness of his complexion, or of his cheeks, but of the redness of his hair; the former seems best:
and withal of a beautiful countenance; of comely features: or "beautiful eyes" {e}; bright, clear, and sparkling; eyes that are black or blue are reckoned beautiful:
and goodly to look to; of a pleasant countenance, delightful to behold; he carried sweetness as well as majesty in his face; in this he was a type of Christ, So 5:10. A beautiful aspect, as well as shape and height, recommended persons for government, as with the Ethiopians, as Aristotle {f} relates; so Agamemnon is represented by Priamus {g} for his personable appearance, as like a king, and fit to be one:
and the Lord said, arise, anoint him, for this is he; that he had spoken to him of, and who it was his pleasure should be anointed king; and therefore, by a secret strong impulse upon his mind, was put upon doing it immediately, without any hesitation or delay.
{e} Mynye hpy Me "simul pulcher oculis", Montanus; "cum pulchritudine oculorum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. {f} Politic. l. 4. c. 4. {g} Homer. Iliad. 3. v. 166.
1 Samuel 16:13
Ver. 13. Then Samuel took the horn of oil,.... Out of his pocket, which he brought along with him by the direction of God:
and anointed him in the midst of his brethren; not in the presence of them, they sitting around, or standing by and seeing the ceremony performed; which is not consistent with the secrecy with which Samuel was directed to manage this affair, and which was necessary to observe, to keep it from the knowledge of Saul; and with Eliab's treatment of David afterwards, who would never have addressed him in the manner he did, had he known that he was anointed king, 1Sa 17:28 but the sense is, according to Kimchi and Abarbinel, that he was selected out of them, and separated from them, and privately anointed by Samuel, and at most only his father Jesse present; wherefore some observe, that the words may be rendered, "anointed him from the midst of his brethren" {h}; that is, he took him apart from them, and anointed him:
and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward; not as a spirit of grace and holiness, which probably had come upon him before this time; but a spirit of prophecy, as did on Saul after his unction; and which particularly showed itself in music and poetry, in which he immediately became very eminent, and he was taken notice of for it, and which was the means of bringing him into Saul's court; and a spirit of wisdom and prudence, in civil as well as in sacred things; and a spirit of fortitude, as the Targum, of strength of body, and courage and valour of mind; whereby he was enabled to encounter with the lion and bear, and get the mastery of them; which, with all other gifts of the spirit fitting him for government, he was now endowed with, and which continued with him:
so Samuel rose up and went to Ramah his native place, and where he resided; that is, after the festival of the peace offerings, to which Jesse and his sons were invited; for the anointing seems to be before that.
{h} So Pool, Patrick, &c.
1 Samuel 16:14
Ver. 14. But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul,.... As a spirit of prophecy as at first, as a spirit of wisdom and prudence in civil government, and as a spirit of fortitude and courage, as the Targum:
and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him; the reverse of the former, which by the permission of God, and as a punishment to him for his sins, came upon him; he seemed to be a demoniac, as Josephus represents {i} him, as if possessed with the devil; by whom he was almost suffocated and strangled, as well as was distracted in his counsels, and became weak and foolish; lost all courage and greatness of mind, was timorous and fearful, and alarmed by everything, and was full of envy, suspicion, rage, and despair.
{i} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 8. sect. 2.
1 Samuel 16:15
Ver. 15. And Saul's servants said unto him,.... His courtiers, who observing him to act in a frantic manner, to be dull and melancholy, timorous, and irresolute, unsteady, divided, and distressed; or his physicians, who were called in to assist him, and remove his disorder from him:
behold, now an evil spirit from God troubleth thee: the disorder was not from any natural cause, or any bodily disease, and therefore out of the reach of physicians to do any service, but was from an evil spirit suffered of God to harass and disturb him.
1 Samuel 16:16
Ver. 16. Let our Lord now command thy servants which are before thee,.... Meaning either themselves, or some of a more inferior rank, who were in some post and office at court, waiters there, such as yeomen of the guards:
to seek out a man who is a cunning player on the harp: a musical instrument much in use in those days:
and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee; when in a melancholy mood, and Satan takes the advantage of it to distress and terrify, to spread the gloom, and stir up evil passions, and promote distraction and confusion:
that he shall play with his hand: upon the harp, that being not an instrument of wind, but of hand music:
and thou shalt be well: music being a means of cheering the spirits, and removing melancholy and gloomy apprehensions of things, and so of restoring to better health of body and disposition of mind; and that music has such an effect on the bodies and minds of men is certain from observation and experience in all ages. Music has been found to be medicine to various diseases, not only for the curing of the bite of vipers, and of the tarantula, but for easing the pains of the sciatica, and for helping persons labouring under the disorders of the frenzy {k}; and Pythagoras used to compose the mind, and remove the perturbations of it, by the use of the harp {l}, the thing here advised to.
{k} A. Gell. Noct. Attic. l. 4. c. 13. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 2. c. 17. Vid. Philostrat. Vit. Apollon. Tyan. l. 5. c. 7. {l} Seneca de Ira, l. 3. c. 9.
1 Samuel 16:17
Ver. 17. And Saul said unto his servants,.... Approving of, and pleased with the advice they gave:
provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me; for being a sovereign prince, he could command whom he would to attend to his person and service.
1 Samuel 16:18
Ver. 18. Then answered one of the servants,.... Which the Jews say {m} was Doeg the Edomite, who out of envy and ill will to David spake of him, that Saul might have an opportunity of slaying him; but this is not at all likely; rather it was one of David's friends and acquaintance, that was desirous of promoting him at court, and no doubt was directed to that motion by the overruling providence of God:
and said, behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite; he does not mention the name of his son, but so describes him, that he might be easily known by those who knew anything of the family of Jesse; besides it was sufficient that he was one of Jesse's sons, to find him out:
[that is] cunning in playing; that is, on the harp; has good skill in music, and is expert in it:
and a mighty valiant man; as appeared by his encountering with and slaying the lion and the bear; an event now past, as very probable:
and a man of war some think this character of him was given after the affair of his fighting with Goliath and killing him, but here put by a prolepsis or anticipation; and indeed if David had been taken into Saul's court before that affair, it is difficult to account for Saul's ignorance of him, since he must be so near him, and so often with him, as his musician and armourbearer; though that difficulty may be removed, as may be observed in its proper place:
and prudent in matters; in his talk and conversation, and conduct and behaviour; knew how to carry himself, even in a prince's court: and a comely person; which always recommended to the courts of the eastern nations; See Gill on "Da 1:4".
and the Lord is with him; prospering and succeeding him in whatsoever he is engaged; and seeing the Lord was with him, it might be expected the evil spirit would depart from Saul, when this person, with whom the Lord was, was in his presence. The Targum is,
"the Word of the Lord is for his help;''
all that is said of him showed that he was fit to be in the palace of a king, and a proper person to be with Saul in his present circumstances.
{m} T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 93. 2. So in Hieron. Trad. Heb in lib. Reg. fol. 76. C.
1 Samuel 16:19
Ver. 19. Wherefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse,.... For David; not choosing to take him without his leave, though Samuel suggests that kings would do so, 1Sa 8:11
and said, send me David, thy son, which is with the sheep; he had learnt his name, and what was his employment; and which last he mentions not by way of contempt, it not being reckoned mean and despicable even in the sons of great personages, in those times and countries, to attend flocks and herds: so with the Arabs, as Philo {n} testifies, young men and maids of the most illustrious families fed cattle; and with the ancient Romans, the senator {o} fed his own sheep. Paris, son of Priamus, king of Troy, is said {p} to feed his father's oxen and sheep; and Saul himself had done the same; but to describe him particularly.
{n} De Vita Mosis, l. 1. p. 610. {o} "Pascebatque suas", &c. Ovid. Fast. l. 1. {p} Coluthi Raptus Helenae, v. 71, 101.
1 Samuel 16:20
Ver. 20. And Jesse took an ass [laden] with bread,.... Laden with a load of bread, as the Targum; with as much as it could carry, or was used to carry; the Septuagint version is, an omer of bread, which was as much as a man could eat in one day; and, according to Kimchi and Ben Melech, it may be interpreted an heap of bread, agreeably to the use of the word in Jud 15:16, and a bottle of wine; or a skin of wine, a leather bag or sack, which held more than our bottles; the Targum is, a flagon of wine:
and a kid; of the goats, as the same Targum:
and sent [them] by David his son unto Saul; some think that Jesse suspected that Saul had known the secret of David's being anointed, and was fearful that he had a design upon his life, and therefore sent this present by his son to pacify him, and ingratiate him unto him; but rather he sent it as a token of respect and subjection to his sovereign, and according to the custom of those times, when men used to carry presents when they waited upon princes, and indeed in their common visits; and do in the eastern countries to this day;
See Gill on "1Sa 9:7".
1 Samuel 16:21
Ver. 21. And David came to Saul, and stood before him,.... As a servant, and ministered to him in the way, and for the purpose for which he was sent:
and he loved him greatly; being a comely person, and a well behaved youth, and especially as he was serviceable to him with his music, in driving away melancholy from him:
and he became his armourbearer; that is, he appointed him to this office, though we never read that he exercised it; nor did he go with Saul in this capacity to the battle related in the following chapter: it may be literally rendered: "and he was to him a bearer of vessels", or "instruments" {q}; and Abarbinel thinks this is to be understood not of instruments of war, but of instruments of music to play with; which he brought in and bare before him when he went in to the king.
{q} Mylk avn wl yhyw "et fuit ei ferens vasa", Montanus; "ferens instrumenta", Piscator.
1 Samuel 16:22
Ver. 22. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, let David, I pray thee, stand before me,.... Continue in his service; which was great condescension in him, and great respect shown to Jesse, not to detain his son without his leave, and to ask it as a favour of him:
for he hath found favour in my sight: was very acceptable to him which must be very pleasing to Jesse to hear; especially if he was in any fear that Saul had an ill design upon him, when he first sent for him.
1 Samuel 16:23
Ver. 23. And it came to pass, when the [evil] spirit from God was upon Saul,.... See 1Sa 16:14 though the word evil is not in the text here; wherefore Abarbinel thinks that this here was the Spirit of God, which stirred up in him thoughts of divine things, put him in mind of what God had said, that he had rejected him from being king, and had rent the kingdom from him; and this filled him with grief and trouble, and he became melancholy:
that David took an harp, and played with his hands; upon it; and, as Josephus {r} says, at the same time sung hymns and psalms; made use both of vocal and instrumental music:
so Saul was refreshed, and was well; became cheerful, his grief was removed, his black and gloomy apprehensions of things were dispersed, and he was cured of his melancholy disorder for the present:
and the evil spirit departed from him: at least for a while; he had his fits and intervals; of the effects of music in a natural way,
See Gill on "1Sa 16:16", though no doubt the music of David was more than natural, being attended with the power and blessing of God, in order to raise his fame and credit at court.
{r} Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 8. sect. 2.)
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
1 Samuel 17:1
INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 17
This chapter relates how the armies of Israel, and of the Philistines, prepared for battle, and where, 1Sa 17:1, describes a champion of the Philistines, who defied the armies of Israel, 1Sa 17:4, and while he was so doing, it informs us that David came into the camp, and he heard his words, and signified to one and another his inclination to fight with him, 1Sa 17:12, which being reported to Saul, David was sent for by him, and much discourse passed between them about it, 1Sa 17:31 when we are told the manner in which he engaged with the Philistine, and the victory he obtained over him, 1Sa 17:38 upon which the Philistines fled, and Israel pursued them; and on account of this action David was taken notice of by Saul, and brought to court again, as the following chapter shows, 1Sa 17:52.
Ver. 1. Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle,.... Josephus {s} says this was not long after the things related in the preceding chapter were transacted; and very probably they had heard of the melancholy and distraction of Saul, and thought it a proper opportunity of avenging themselves on Israel for their last slaughter of them, and for that purpose gathered together their dispersed troops:
and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah; a city of the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:35, which shows that, notwithstanding their last defeat, they had great footing in the land of Israel, or however had penetrated far into it in this march of theirs:
and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah; which were both in the same tribe, and near one another, of which See Gill on "Jos 10:10",
See Gill on "Jos 15:35".
in Ephesdammim; which, by an apocope of the first letter, is called Pasdammim, 1Ch 11:13 which the Jews {t} say had this name because there blood ceased.
{s} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 9. sect. 1. {t} Midrash Ruth, fol. 48. 2. Kimchi in loc.
1 Samuel 17:2
Ver. 2. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together,.... He being cured, at least being better of his disorder, through the music of David, and alarmed and aroused by the invasion of the Philistines, which might serve to dissipate any remains of it, or prevent its return, got together his forces:
and pitched by the valley of Elah; which Jerom {u} says Aquila and Theodotion interpret "the valley of the oak"; but the Vulgate Latin version, the valley of Terebinth; which, according to our countryman Sandys {w}, was four miles from Ramaosophim, where Samuel dwelt; for he says,
"after four miles riding, we descended into the valley of Terebinth, famous, though little, for the slaughter of Goliath;''
and in the Targum this valley is called the valley of Butma, which in the Arabic language signifies a "terebinth", or turpentine tree; though some translate it "the oak"; and, according to some modern travellers {x}, to this day it bears a name similar to that; for they say it is
"now called the vale of Bitumen, very famous all over those parts for David's victory over Goliath:''
and set the battle in array against the Philistines; prepared to give them battle.
{u} Deloc. Heb. fol. 91. F. {w} Travels, p. 157. ed. 5. {x} Egmont and Heyman's Travels, vol. 1. p. 305.
1 Samuel 17:3
Ver. 3. And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, &e.] Before the Israelites are said to encamp in or by the valley; but here they are said to take the higher ground, and face the Philistines, who were on a mountain or hill on the other side over against them, which Kimchi reconciles thus; the whole or the grand army lay encamped in the valley, and, they that were set in array, or the first ranks, the first battalion, ascended the mountain to meet the Philistines. Vatablus takes it to be the same mountain, that on one part of it the Philistines formed their first battalion, and the rest of the army was in the valley; and on the other part of the mountain the Israelites pitched their camp:
and there was a valley between them; the same as in the preceding verse.
1 Samuel 17:4
Ver. 4. And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines,.... Or a "middle person", or a man "between two" {y}; meaning either one that went and stood between the two armies of Israel and the Philistines, as the Jewish writers generally interpret it: or a "dueller" {z}, as others, with which our version agrees; one that proposed to fight a duel, and have the war decided by two persons, of which he would be one:
named Goliath of Gath; which was one of the places where the Anakims or giants were driven, and left, in the times of Joshua, and from whom this man descended, Jos 11:22
whose height was six cubits and a span; and taking a cubit after the calculation of Bishop Cumberland {a} to be twenty one inches, and more, and a span to be half a cubit, the height of this man was eleven feet four inches, and somewhat more; which need not seem incredible, since the coffin of Orestea, the son of Agamemnon, is said {b} to be seven cubits long; and Eleazar, a Jew, who because of his size was called the giant, and was presented by Artabanus, king of the Parthians, to Tiberius Caesar, is said by Josephus {c} to be seven cubits high; and one Gabbara of Arabia, in the times of Claudius Caesar, measured nine feet nine inches, as Pliny {d} relates, and who elsewhere {e} speaks of a people in Ethiopia, called Syrbotae, who were eight cubits high; the Septuagint version makes Goliath to be only four cubits and a span high, and so Josephus {f}; that is, about eight feet.
{y} Mynybh vya "vir intermedius", Montanus; "inter duo", Vatablus; "vir medietatum", Noldius, p. 194. No. 283. {z} "Quidam duellator", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. {a} Of Scripture Weights and Measures, c. 2. p. 57. {b} Herodot. Clio, sive, l. 1. c. 68. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 7. c. 16. {c} Antiqu. l. 18. c. 5. sect. 5. {d} Nat. Hist. ib. {e} Ibid. l. 6. 30. {f} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 9. sect. 1.
1 Samuel 17:5
Ver. 5. And he had an helmet of brass upon his head,.... This was a piece of armour, which covered the head in the day of battle; these were usually made of the skins of beasts, of leather, and which were covered with plates of iron, or brass; and sometimes made of all iron, or of brass {g}; as this seems to have been:
and he was armed with a coat of mail; which reached from the neck to the middle, and consisted of various plates of brass laid on one another, like the scales of fishes {h}, so close together that no dart or arrow could pierce between:
and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass: which made one hundred and fifty six pounds and a quarter of zygostatic or avoirdupois weight; and therefore he must be a very strong man indeed to carry such a weight. So the armour of the ancient Romans were all of brass, as this man's; their helmets, shields, greaves, coats of mail, all of brass, as Livy says {i}; and so in the age of the Grecian heroes {j}.
{g} Vid. Lydium "de re militari": l. 3. c. 5. p. 63. {h} "----Rutilum thoraca indutus a‰nis Horrebat squamis----" Virgil. Aeneid. l. 11. {i} Hist. l. 1. c. 22. {j} Pausan. Messenica, l. 3. p. 163. So Homer frequently describes the Grecians with a coat of mail of brass.
1 Samuel 17:6
Ver. 6. And he had greaves of brass upon his legs,.... Which were a sort of boots, or leg harnesses, which covered the thighs and legs down to the heels; such as Iolaus {k} and the Grecians usually wore, as described by Homer; which are supposed to be double the weight of the helmet, reckoned at fifteen pounds, so that these must weigh thirty pounds of avoirdupois weight:
and a target of brass between his shoulders; the Targum is,
"a spear or shield of brass, which came out of the helmet, and a weight of brass upon his shoulders.''
Jarchi says the same, and that it was in the form of a spear to defend the neck from the sword; it seems to be a corslet of brass, worn between the helmet and the coat of mail for the defence of the neck, supposed to weigh thirty pounds {l}
{k} Hesiod. Scutum Herc. ver. 122. {l} Vid. Hostii Monomach. David & Goliath, c. 5.
1 Samuel 17:7
Ver. 7. And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam,.... The wooden part of it, held in the hand; this for thickness was like the beam in the weaver's loom, about which the warp, or else the web, is rolled; and it is conjectured that, in proportion to the stature of Goliath, his spear must be twenty six feet long, since Hector's in Homer {m} was eleven cubits, or sixteen feet and a half:
and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; the iron part of the spear, the point of it, which has its name in Hebrew from a flame of fire, because when brandished it looks shining and flaming; and being the weight of six hundred shekels, amounted to eighteen pounds and three quarters of avoirdupois weight, and the whole spear is supposed to weigh thirty seven pounds and a half; and the whole of this man's armour is thought to weigh two hundred and seventy two pounds, thirteen ounces {n}; which was a prodigious weight for a man to carry, and go into battle with; and one may well wonder how he could be able with such a weight about him to move and lay about in an engagement; though this is nothing in comparison of the weight some men have carried. Pliny {o} tells us that he saw one Athanatus come into the theatre clothed with a leaden breastplate of five hundred pounds weight, and shod with buskins of the same weight:
and one bearing a shield went before him; which when engaged in battle he held in his own hand, and his sword in the other; the former was reckoned at thirty pounds, and the latter at four pounds, one ounce; though one would think he had no occasion for a shield, being so well covered with armour all over; so that the carrying of it before him might be only a matter of form and state. His spear is the only piece of armour that was of iron, all the rest were of brass; and Hesiod {p}, writing of the brazen age, says, their arms and their houses were all of brass, for then there was no iron; and so Lucretius {q} affirms that the use of brass was before iron; but both are mentioned together, See Gill on "Ge 4:22", hence Mars is called calceov arhv {r}.
{m} Iliad. 18. {n} Hostius, ut supra. {o} Nat. Hist. l. 7. c. 20. {p} Opera & Dies, l. 1. ver. 147, 148. {q} "De rerum natura". l. 5. & "prior aeris erat", &c. {r} Homer. Iliad. 5. ver. 704, 859, 864. Pindar. Olymp. Ode 10.
1 Samuel 17:8
Ver. 8. And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel,.... He stood in the valley between the two armies, and cried with a loud voice that he might be heard; and as he was of such a monstrous stature, no doubt his voice was very strong and sonorous; and as the battalions of Israel designed by armies were posted on the mountain or hill, his voice would ascend, and be the more easily heard:
and said unto them, why are ye come out to set your battle in array? either as wondering at their boldness, to set themselves in battle array against the Philistines; or rather suggesting that it was needless, since the dispute between them might be issued by a single combat:
am not I a Philistine, and you servants to Saul? a common Philistine, according to Jarchi; not a captain of a hundred, or of a thousand; and yet would fight anyone of them, their general officers, or be they who they would; or rather, as Abarbinel, he was a prince among the Philistines, and king of Gath; and though he was, and it was usual with great persons to engage with their equals, yet he did not insist on that; but would engage with any man, though of an inferior rank, even with any of Saul's servants; and by calling the Israelites the servants of Saul, he might have some respect to Saul's arbitrary government over them; and since they must be servants and slaves, it was as well to be servants to the Philistines as to him:
choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me; according to Jarchi and the Targumist, the challenge first respects Saul their king; that if he was a man of fortitude and courage, let him come and engage with him; if not, choose another, and send him down into the valley to fight with him. These same writers represent him as blustering and bragging that he killed the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, took the ark captive, and carried it into the temple of Dagon; that he had been used to go out with the armies of the Philistines, and had obtained victories, and slain many, and yet had never been made captain of a thousand among them; all which is improbable, and some of it notoriously false; for in every battle after the taking of the ark the Philistines had been beaten.
1 Samuel 17:9
Ver. 9. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants,.... For which it does not appear he had any commission or authority to say; nor did the Philistines think themselves obliged to abide by what he said, since, when he was slain, they did not yield themselves servants to the Israelites:
but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us; to which terms also the Israelites did not consent; nor did David, who engaged with him, enter the fray on such conditions.
1 Samuel 17:10
Ver. 10. And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day,.... Or "reproach" {s} them; that is, should they not accept his challenge, and send down a man to fight with them, he should then upbraid them with cowardice; and now he disdained them, as if there was not a man among them that dared to encounter with him:
give me a man that we may fight together; and so decide the controversy between us; such as were those duels fought between Paris and Menelaus in the Trojan war, and between the Lacedemonians and the Argives in the times of Orthryades, and between the Athenians and Romans by the Horatii and Curiatii, as Grotius observes.
{s} ytprx "exprobravo". V. L. Pagninus, Montanus; "probro affeci", Tigurine version; "probro affecero", Junius & Tremellius.
1 Samuel 17:11
Ver. 11. When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine,.... For they were delivered with such a tone and strength of voice, as to be heard very generally, at least by many, and which soon was reported through the whole army:
they were dismayed, and greatly afraid; which may seem strange, when there were so many valiant men among them, as Saul himself, who had behaved with so much courage against the Ammonites, Philistines, and Amalekites; but now the Spirit of God was departed from him, and he was become timorous and fearful; and though he was much better than he had been, yet still he was not the man of spirit and resolution as before: there was also Abner, the general of his army, a very valiant man, a great man in Israel, and yet appears not on this occasion; and, what is more wonderful, Jonathan the son of Saul was present, as appears from
1Sa 18:1 who had not only smitten a garrison of the Philistines, but with one man more only had attacked another garrison, and routed the whole army of the Philistines, and yet now shows not his head against a single man: so it is when God cuts off the spirits of princes, or takes away their courage; victory over this man, and the glory of it, were reserved for David; and all this fear and dread throughout the armies of Israel were suffered, that he might appear the more glorious.
1 Samuel 17:12
Ver. 12. Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse,.... Before made mention of, 1Ch 16:1
and he had eight sons; seven only are mentioned, 1Ch 2:13 one of them being, as is thought by some, a grandson, perhaps Jonadab the son of Shammah; or was a son by another woman, or died without children, as Jarchi, and therefore not mentioned:
and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul; the phrase, "among men", either signifies that he was ranked among old men, infirm and unfit for war, and so excused, and his sons went in his room, so Kimchi; or he was reckoned among men of the first rank, men of esteem, credit, and reputation, so Jarchi and R. Isaiah, with which agrees the Targum; or whenever he went abroad, he was attended by many men, had a large retinue, which sense Abarbinel mentions, and is that of Ben Gersom, and agrees with the Talmud {t}; but the Syriac and Arabic versions read "stricken in years", which seems most agreeable.
{t} T. Bab. Beracot: fol. 58. 1.
1 Samuel 17:13
Ver. 13. And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle,.... Either of their own accord, or rather at their father's motion, or however with his knowledge and consent, who because he could not go himself, willed them to go; and these were forward, and some of the foremost that followed Saul to the battle, being zealous and well disposed to defend their king and country:
and the names of the three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah; who are the three mentioned by name that passed before Samuel, when he came to anoint one of Jesse's sons to be king, 1Sa 16:6.
1 Samuel 17:14
Ver. 14. And David was the youngest,.... For the sake of whom this account is given of Jesse and his family, and who after this makes a considerable figure in the camp and court of Saul:
and the three eldest followed Saul; as before related, and which is repeated, that it might be observed that they only of Jesse's sons followed Saul; not David particularly, but who was providentially sent to the army at the time the Philistine was defying it.
1 Samuel 17:15
Ver. 15. But David went, and returned from Saul,.... Or "from above Saul"; Josephus {u} says, the physicians of Saul advised to get a man to stand uper kefalnv, "over his head", and sing psalms and hymns to him; and Saul being recovered from his frenzy and melancholy, by means of David's music, he was dismissed from him, or had leave to go home, or he returned upon Saul's taking the field; though one would think, if he was now his armourbearer, he would have gone with him, see 1Sa 16:21. It seems that when he was called to the court of Saul, that he did not continue there, but was going and coming, was there at certain times when Saul wanted him; and so when in the camp he might go and return as there was occasion for it:
to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem; for though he was anointed king, and was called to court, yet such was his humility, that he condescended to attend this employment of keeping sheep; and though Jesse knew all this, yet he kept him at home to this business, when it might be more reasonably thought he would have lain in the way of preferment, had he followed Saul to the camp, and appeared in the army; but he chose to leave things to the providence of God to work the way for him, and by which he was directed to take the following step, though perhaps without any design to his son's future promotion.
{u} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 8. sect. 2.
1 Samuel 17:16
Ver. 16. And the Philistine drew near morning and evening,.... Twice a day he came near the camp, within the hearing of it. The Jews {w} say, he took those seasons on purpose to disturb them in reading their "Shema", or "hear, O Israel", &c. and saying their prayers morning and evening:
and presented himself forty days; Successively, before the armies of Israel, daring them to send down a man to fight with him, and reproaching them for their cowardice in not doing it.
{w} T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 42. 2.
1 Samuel 17:17
Ver. 17. And Jesse said unto David his son,.... His youngest son, that was at home with him keeping sheep; he had three more at home, and who were elder than David, and yet he is directed by the providence of God to pick and send him on the following errand, there being work for him to do Jesse knew nothing of:
take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched [corn]; pointing to a quantity of it in a certain place; this was wheat or barley dried in a furnace or oven, and ground into meal, and being mixed with water, or milk, or butter, or honey, or oil, was eaten, and reckoned very delicious; and besides this, there was another sort of "kali", the word here used, which was parched pulse, as beans, peas, &c. parched, and which to this day is by the Arabs called by this name {x}; of both which mention is made, 2Sa 17:28. Now an "ephah" was as much as ten men could eat in a day, it consisted of ten omers, Ex 16:16, and the number ten is after used of loaves and cheese:
and these ten loaves of bread; or cakes of bread, as Kimchi interprets it; pieces or morsels of bread, as the Targum; which seems not so agreeable as loaves or cakes, which are not in the text, but to be supplied:
and run to the camp to thy brethren; which, according to Bunting {y}, was four miles from Bethlehem; and whither it seems he went on foot, and is bid to make haste, and even to run, as his brethren might be in want of provision; and Jesse was very desirous of relieving them, and hearing from them as soon as possible; it is very likely he had a servant or servants to attend him, and assist in carrying this load of provision, which, with what follows, was too much for one man to run with.
{x} Vid. Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 1. c. 7. col. 47. {y} Travels, &c. p. 135.
1 Samuel 17:18
Ver. 18. And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand,.... Their chiliarch or colonel, who had the command of 1000 men, and under whom Jesse's sons fought; Jarchi thinks this was Jonathan, who had 1000 men with him at Gibeah, and so now, 1Sa 13:2, these cheeses were sent by Jesse to the captain, to be distributed among his men, or a present to himself, that he might use his sons well who were under his command:
and look how thy brethren fare; whether in good health, in good spirits, and in safety:
and take their pledge; that is, if they had been obliged for want of money to pawn any of their clothes, or what they had with them to buy food with, that he would redeem and take up the pledge, by paying the money for which they were pawned; for it is thought that soldiers at this time were not maintained at the expense of the king and government, but at their own, and the families to which they belonged: though some are of opinion that this was some token which they had sent by a messenger to their father, by which he might know he came from them, so Ben Gersom; and which David was now to take with him, and return it; or a token that he was to bring from them, whereby he might be assured of their welfare; and so the Targum, "and bring their goodness", a token of their being in good health. The Jews {z} understand it of bills of divorce to be given to their wives, that if they should die in battle, or be taken captive, that their wives might marry after three years.
{z} Hieron. Trad. Heb. in lib. Reg. fol. 76. D.
1 Samuel 17:19
Ver. 19. Now Saul, and they,.... That is, the sons of Jesse, and brethren of David:
and all the men of Israel; the soldiers in the army:
were in the valley Elah; or "by" it, near unto it; for they were set in array on the mountain on the side of it:
fighting with the Philistines; not actually engaged in battle, but drawn up for it; prepared and in readiness to engage whenever it was necessary, or they were obliged to it; and perhaps there might be now and then some skirmishes in the outer parts of the camp.
1 Samuel 17:20
Ver. 20. And David rose up early in the morning,.... Being very ready and eager to obey his father's orders, and visit his brethren:
and left the sheep with a keeper; which showed his care and faithfulness in the discharge of his office; he was not unmindful of his father's sheep, any more than of his commands:
and took; the ephah of parched corn, the ten loaves, and the ten cheeses:
and went, as Jesse had commanded him; went and carried them to the camp, according to his orders:
and he came to the trench; foss or ditch, which was cast up all around the army, partly to prevent the enemy falling on them before, and partly to prevent deserters from them behind; or the word signifying a wagon or carriage, which is here used, this might be a fence around the camp made of wagons fastened to each other; though it may only signify, the camp itself, which lay in a circular form, with proper guards about it to watch the enemy. Now David came up to it just
as the host was going forth to the fight; preparing and getting every thing ready to the battle, and in motion, and upon the march to meet the enemy:
and shouted for the battle; which was usually done when about to make the onset, to animate the soldiers, and strike the greater terror into the enemy; and this noise was sometimes made with the voice in a hideous and howling way, and was called "barritus" {a} by the Romans; with the Trojans it was like the noise of cranes in the air {b}; it was also attended with the clashing of shields and spears {c}; with the Persians, it was a rough, boisterous, and confused noise {d}.
{a} Vid. Valtrimum de re militar. Roman. l. 5. c. 3. p. 314, 315. & A. Gell. Noct. Attic. l. 1. c. 11. {b} Homer. Iliad. 3. ver. 1, 2, 3. {c} Vid. Lydium de re militari, l. 4. c. 3. p. 158, 159. {d} Curt. Hist. l. 3. c. 10. Vid. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 4. c. 7.
1 Samuel 17:21
Ver. 21. For Israel and all the Philistines had put the battle in array,.... Both sides prepared for it, and drew up in line of battle:
army against army; rank against rank, battalion against battalion, the right wing of the one against the left of the other, &c.
1 Samuel 17:22
Ver. 22. And David left his carriage in the hand the keeper of the carriage,.... That is, he left load of provisions he brought with him in the hand of the keeper of the bag and baggage of the army, their clothes, and such like things; not having an opportunity to deliver them to his brethren, who were just going to engage in battle:
and ran into the army; which showed the valour and courage of David, who chose rather to expose himself in battle, than to abide with the keeper of the carriages:
and came and saluted his brethren; asked them of their welfare, in his father's name and his own.
1 Samuel 17:23
Ver. 23. And as he talked with them,.... About their health, and the errand he came upon, and the message of his father to them, and how it was with him, who sent them his best wishes:
behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name: of whom see 1Sa 17:4; he came out of the valley, and drew near to the mountain the Israelites were descending:
out of the armies of the Philistines: from the plains where they were encamped, as Kimchi, though they seem to have been encamped on a mountain as the Israelites were; or from the ranks of the Philistines; according to the marginal reading, he came out of one of the battalions that were set in array:
and spake according to the same words; which he had spoken time after time forty days successively, namely, what is expressed 1Sa 17:8;
and David heard [them]; and observed them.
1 Samuel 17:24
Ver. 24. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man,.... Even as it should seem before they heard him; knowing who he was, and what he was about to say, having seen and heard him forty days running:
fled from him, and were sore afraid; it is pretty much a whole army should be afraid of one man, and flee from him; they must be greatly forsaken of God, and given up by him, see De 32:30; but perhaps they were not so much afraid of personal danger from him, as that they could not bear to hear his blasphemy.
1 Samuel 17:25
Ver. 25. And the men of Israel said,.... To one another:
have ye seen this man that is come up? taken notice of him, and observed him?
surely to defy Israel is he come up; to challenge them to fight with him, and upbraid them with cowardice that they did not:
and it shall be [that] the man who killeth him; this, and what follows, they said to encourage any person to engage with him, though none of them cared to encounter him themselves:
the king will enrich him with great riches; give him a large gratuity, make a present of a great sum of money to him:
and will give him his daughter to be his wife, in like manner as Caleb promised to give his daughter in marriage to the person that should take Kirjathsepher, Jud 1:12;
and make his father's house free in Israel; from all tributes, taxes, levies, impositions, king's service, and duty; or, as the Targum,
"make his father's house freemen, nobles;''
raise it to the rank of nobility.
1 Samuel 17:26
Ver. 26. And David spake to the men that stood by him,.... Who were next to him, looking upon the Philistine, and hearing what he said,
saying, what shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine,
and taketh away the reproach from Israel? which he asked not for the sake of the reward, but to observe the necessity there was of some man's engaging with him, and killing him, or otherwise it would be a reproach to Israel, and to signify that he had an inclination to attempt it:
for who [is] this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? there were two things which provoked David, and raised indignation in him against this man; the one was, the character of the person that reproached, a Philistine, an uncircumcised person, a profane man, that had no true religion in him, an alien from the commonwealth of Israel, and a stranger to the covenants of promise; and the other was the persons whom he reproached, the armies of the living God, of the King of kings, and Lord of lords; and which in effect was reproaching the Lord himself, and which David, filled with zeal for God, and for his people, could not bear; and the consideration of these things animated him to engage with him, not doubting of success.
1 Samuel 17:27
Ver. 27. And the people answered him after this manner,.... Told him what was proposed to be done in honour to the man that should attempt to kill him, and succeed:
saying, so shall it be done to the man that killeth him; as before related, that he should be enriched, marry the king's daughter, and his family be ennobled, 1Sa 17:25.
1 Samuel 17:28
Ver. 28. And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men,.... Heard the questions he put to them, by which he perceived his inclination:
and Eliab's anger was kindled against David; because what he had said carried in it a tacit reproach of him, and others, that they had not the courage, and did not attempt to encounter with the Philistine; or the displeasure he expressed was either out of affection to him, fearing, or being assured almost he would perish in the enterprise; or rather out of envy to him, lest succeeding in so bold an action, he should gain superior glory to him, and the rest of his brethren, who yet was the youngest of them:
and he said, why comest thou down hither? for though David had talked with his brethren, or had begun to talk with them, yet he had not sufficiently explained the reasons of his coming:
and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? the wilderness of Judea, or some wilderness near Bethlehem; by this he would not only insinuate a charge of unfaithfulness, in not taking care of his father's flock committed to him; but his view was to make him look little and mean in the eyes of the people, that in the family he belonged to he was thought to be fit for nothing but to keep sheep, and those but a small flock, and in doing this was negligent and careless:
I know thy pride, and the haughtiness of thine heart; that he was too proud to keep sheep, and wanted to advance himself in the army, and make a figure there, and thereby gratify his vanity and ambition, which was the reverse of David's character; for, such was his humility, that, though he was anointed king, and had been preferred in Saul's court, yet condescended with all readiness to keep his father's sheep; and what he now proposed was not from any bad principle in his heart, but purely for the glory of God, and the honour of the people of Israel, who were both reproached:
for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle: out of curiosity, and to take every advantage and opportunity of signalizing and making himself famous.
1 Samuel 17:29
Ver. 29. And David said, what have I now done?.... That is criminal and blameworthy; as if he should say, I have only expressed an indignation against this uncircumcised Philistine, and a concern for the glory of God, and the honour of the people of Israel:
[is there] not a cause? either for his coming to the camp, being sent by his father; or of his expressing himself with indignation at the Philistine's defiance of the armies of Israel. Some take the sense to be, that he had done nothing, he had not committed any fact; it was mere words what he had said, he had attempted nothing, and therefore there was no reason to bear so hard upon him; to this purpose is the Targum,
"what have I done as yet? is it not a word "only" which I have spoken?''
but the former sense seems best.
1 Samuel 17:30
Ver. 30. And he turned from him towards another,.... From his brother Eliab, to another person right against him, and directed his discourse to him:
and spake after the same manner: as in 1Sa 17:26; inquiring what encouragement would he given to a man that should attempt to kill the Philistine, and expressing his concern to hear the armies of the living God defied by such a wretch:
and the people answered him again after the former manner; telling him what gratuities and honours would be conferred on such a person, as in
1Sa 17:25; and the design of his talking to one, and to another, was, that what he had said might spread and reach to the ears of Saul, to whom in modesty he did not choose to apply himself.
1 Samuel 17:31
Ver. 31. And when the words were heard which David spake,.... To one, and to another, and these reported to other persons, and so they went from one to another through many hands:
they rehearsed [them] before Saul; coming to the ears of some of his courtiers and counsellors, or officers about him, they told him what such an one had said:
and he sent for him; to his tent or pavilion where he was, to talk with him on this subject. The whole of 1Sa 17:11 is wanting in the Septuagint version, according to the Vatican exemplar; and these "twenty" verses are thought, by some {e}, to be an interpolation; and it must be owned there are difficulties in them, and that the connection of 1Sa 17:11 with the following is very clear and consistent, as also is 1Sa 17:50 left out in the same version; and likewise the last four of the chapter, 1Sa 17:55, and five with which the next begins, 1Sa 18:1.
{e} See Dr. Kennicott's Dissert. 2. p. 418, &c.
1 Samuel 17:32
Ver. 32. And David said to Saul, let no man's heart fail because of him,.... The Philistine, though so gigantic, mighty, and blustering: this he said within himself, so Kimchi; as David perceived the hearts of most, if not all, did, since none dared to go out and fight him, but on the contrary fled from him:
thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine; and therefore there need be no thought, care, or concern to look out for another man.
1 Samuel 17:33
Ver. 33. And Saul said to David, thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him,.... Had neither strength of body, nor skill in military affairs, to encounter with a man of his stature, and warlike genius and practice:
for thou [art but] a youth; some say about fourteen or sixteen years of age, but very probably about twenty, and not more, and so not only weak, but inexpert in the art of fighting:
and he a man of war from his youth; a gigantic man, trained up in, inured to, and expert in the affairs of war; so that David could not, on any account, be a competitor with him, and a match for him.
1 Samuel 17:34
Ver. 34. And David said unto Saul,.... In answer to his objection of inability to encounter with one so superior to him; and this answer is founded on experience and facts, and shows that he was not so weak and inexpert as Saul took him to be:
thy servant kept his father's sheep; which he was not ashamed to own, and especially as it furnished him with an stance of his courage, bravery, and success, and which would be convincing to Saul:
and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock; not that they came together; though Kimchi so interprets it, "a lion with a bear"; but these are creatures that do not use to go together; and besides, both could not be said with propriety to take one and the same lamb out of the flock: to which may be added, that David in 1Sa 17:35 speaks only of one, out of whose mouth he took the lamb; wherefore the words may be rendered, "a lion or a bear" {f}; and if the copulative "and" is retained, the meaning can only be, that at different times they would come and take a lamb, a lion at one time, and a bear at another.
{f} bwdh taw yrah "leo vel ursus", V. L. "leo aut ursus", Junius & Tremellius, Bochart. Noldius, p. 271.
1 Samuel 17:35
Ver. 35. And I went out after him,.... Whether a lion or a bear; but mention after being made of his beard, a lion rather is meant:
and smote him; with his fist, or rather with his shepherd's staff:
and delivered [it] out of his mouth; snatched it out from thence, or obliged him to drop it, by beating him:
and when he arose against me; after he had let go the lamb, threatening to tear him in pieces for attempting to disturb him in his prey, and take it away from him;
I caught [him] by his beard; such as lions have; hence a lion is often called in Homer {g} liv heugeneiov, the well-bearded lion. Kimchi thinks the beard with the nether jaw is meant, which David caught hold on:
and smote him, and slew him; tore him to pieces, as Samson did, Jud 14:5, or slew him with some weapon in his hand.
{g} Iliad. 17. ver. 109. & Iliad. 18. ver. 318.
1 Samuel 17:36
Ver. 36. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear,.... At different times, and several of them at one time or another; whenever any of them came into the flock, he used to lay hold on them and kill them, with all the ease imaginable. The Jews suppose this phrase denotes many of them {h}.
And this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them; as he was like them in nature, savage, cruel and unclean, so he would be in his end, killed as they; of this David was fully persuaded and assured in mind having an impulse from the Spirit of God, by which he was certified of it:
seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God; so that as he justly deserved to die, he made no doubt of it it would be his case.
{h} See Halicot Olam, p. 177.
1 Samuel 17:37
Ver. 37. And David said moreover,.... For the further confirmation of it, and as more strongly expressing his faith of it; not as owing to any natural strength or skill of his, but to the power of God, of whose assistance he made no question:
the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear; for to him he ascribes his deliverance from those savage creatures, and his victory over them, and on him he relied for help and salvation in the present case:
he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine; David did not go forth in his own name and strength, but in the name and strength of the Lord of hosts:
and Saul; seeing him so positive, and fully assured of victory:
said unto David, go, and the Lord be with thee; to help and assist him, to deliver him out of the hand of the Philistine, and give him victory over him; the Targum is,
"the Word of the Lord be for thy help.''
1 Samuel 17:38
Ver. 38. And Saul armed David with his armour,.... Not with what he wore himself; for it cannot be thought he would strip himself of his armour in the field of battle, and when just going to it; and besides what suited the one would not be fit for the other, their bulk and stature being different i but this was some armour Saul had brought with him, besides what he himself wore, to furnish any with that might want it:
and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; such an one, though not so large as Goliath had, these being usually made of brass;
See Gill on "1Sa 17:5";
also he armed him with a coat of mail; which probably was of brass also, and like that of Goliath's too, only lesser, 1Sa 17:5.
1 Samuel 17:39
Ver. 39. And David girded his, sword upon his armour,.... Which Saul also perhaps furnished him with:
and he assayed to go; made an attempt, and had a mind to go thus accoutred; he at first showed an inclination to go in such an habit, but afterwards would not:
for he had not proved [it]; as warriors were wont to do; so Achilles did {i}; he never made trial of such armour before, he had not been used to it, and knew not how to behave in it, or walk with it on him; it was an encumbrance to him: Abarbinel renders it, "but he had not proved [it]"; he would have gone with it but for that reason; the Targum is,
"because there was no miracle in them;''
because if he had made use of this, there would have been no appearance of a miracle in getting the victory over the Philistine, as was by using only a sling and stones:
and David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not proved [them]; he thought fit to acquaint Saul with it that he could not go thus accoutred, and his reason for it, lest he should be offended with him:
and David put them off him; took off the helmet from his head, ungirt the sword upon his armour, and stripped himself of his coat of mail, and went forth entirely unarmed.
{i} Homer. Iliad. 19. ver. 384, 385. so Theocrit. Idyll. 10. ver. 61.
1 Samuel 17:40
Ver. 40. And he took his staff in his hand,.... His shepherd's staff, which he used in keeping his father's sheep, and chose rather to appear in the habit of a shepherd than of a soldier:
and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook; which ran in the valley, which became smooth by lying in the water running over them; and which being smooth were fitter for his purpose, being the more easily cast out of the sling; though De Dieu is of opinion that these were parts or pieces of stones, cleft ones, which were rough and rugged, and which would more easily and firmly be fixed in the forehead of the Philistine:
and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; in which he had been wont to put things he needed for the good of the flock, and was such as travellers put their food in; and this might also be the use of it with shepherds; but, according to the Ethiopic interpreters {k}, it was that piece of the leather in the midst of the sling, in which the slingers used to put the stones, that they might stick the more firmly:
and his sling [was] in his hand; which he intended to use in slinging the stone or stones he had in his scrip; and which was an exercise he had been accustomed to in all likelihood, and for which the Benjaminites his neighbours, of the next tribe, were very famous:
and he drew near to the Philistine; marched towards him, thereby signifying that he accepted his challenge, and would enter the list with him.
{k} Apud Ludolf. Lexic. Ethiop. p. 84.
1 Samuel 17:41
Ver. 41. And the Philistine came on, and drew near unto David,.... By slow paces, because of the weight of his armour, and bulk of his body, yet with a haughty air, and a proud gait:
and the man that bare the shield [went] before him;
See Gill on "1Sa 17:7".
1 Samuel 17:42
Ver. 42. And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him,.... He looked about for his antagonist, to take a view of him, what sort of a man he was, expecting to see one much like himself; but observing a puny young man, he despised him in his heart, and perhaps looked upon it as an affront to him to send such a man to fight with him:
for he was [but] a youth; his age was one reason why he despised him, being, as before observed, about twenty years of age, and not come to his full strength, a stripling, as he is called, 1Sa 17:56, another reason follows,
and ruddy, and of a fair countenance; looked effeminate, had not the appearance of a soldier, of a weather beaten veteran, exposed to heat and cold, and inured to hardships.
1 Samuel 17:43
Ver. 43. And the Philistine said unto David, [am] I a dog?.... Truly David did not think him much better, because of his impudence, impurity, and barking blasphemy against God, and the armies of Israel; the Targum is,
"am I a despised dog?''
verily he was by David:
that thou comest to me with staves? or with a staff, the plural for the singular, to beat him with it as a dog is beaten, and as David used to beat his dog with, while keeping his father's sheep, when the dog he had with him did not do his business as he should; he says nothing of his sling and stones, they being out of sight:
and the Philistine cursed David by his gods: by Dagon and others; he made an imprecation by them, and wished the greatest evils might befall him from them; he devoted him to them, and doubted not to make a sacrifice of him.
1 Samuel 17:44
Ver. 44. And the Philistine said to David, come to me,.... He seems to have stood still, disdaining: to take another step towards such a pitiful combatant, and therefore bids him come up to him, and he would soon dispatch him; unless he said this, because David was light and nimble, and he heavy and unwieldy because of his bigness, and the burden of armour on him, and therefore could not make such haste as he wished to destroy his adversary, of which he made no doubt:
and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field; the wild beasts he means; though Jarchi thinks he spoke improperly, since it is not the way of the beasts of the field, as sheep, oxen, &c. to devour a man, or even to eat any flesh; and therefore he observes, when David comes, he uses another word, which signifies the wild beasts of the earth, and so we render it, 1Sa 17:46; but Kimchi shows that even these are comprehended in the word here used, see Isa 18:6.
1 Samuel 17:45
Ver. 45. Then said David to the Philistine,.... In answer to the contempt he held him in, and to the threatening words he gave him:
thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield; the word for "shield" is not the same with that so rendered, 1Sa 17:41; which his armourbearer carried before him, but with that translated a "target", which was between his shoulders, 1Sa 17:6; however, they were all weapons of war, either defensive or offensive:
but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied; the Lord of all hosts, in heaven and in earth in general, and in particular the God of the armies of Israel; which he was at the head of, led on, protected and defended, having a kind and merciful regard unto them, and which this Philistine had defied, reproached, and blasphemed; and now David was come, by a commission from this great Jehovah, to vindicate his honour, and to avenge his people on him: he had asked for a man, and now the Lord of hosts, as the Jews {l} observe, comes forth as a man of war, for the battle was his, as in 1Sa 17:47; and David was his messenger, and came in his name, and was the man into whose hands he should be given.
{l} T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 42. 2.
1 Samuel 17:46
Ver. 46. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hands,.... Of which he was assured by divine inspiration, by the impulse of the Spirit of God upon him; or otherwise he could not have expressed himself with such certainty, and have given the particulars of what he should do, as in the following clauses:
and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and yet he had no weapon in his hand to do it with, 1Sa 17:50, but it was revealed to him that he should do it, and he believed it; though the Philistine no doubt looked upon all this as romantic:
and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; not only this man's carcass, which should fall and become a prey to fowls and wild beasts, but the carcasses of the Philistine army, which fleeing upon the fall of their champion, and pursued by the Israelites as they were, would be cut off, and become the food of wild creatures, see 1Sa 17:52; though some think the plural is put for the singular, and that it only means his carcass, who was a Philistine; but the host of the Philistines, carries it to the other sense: and this would be done,
that all the earth may know there is a God in Israel; not only the land of Canaan or Palestine, but the whole earth, and all the inhabitants of it, who should hear of the fall of this giant by such means, and of the rout of the Philistine army upon it; the report of which no doubt was spread far, and near.
1 Samuel 17:47
Ver. 47. And all this assembly shall know,.... The congregation of Israel, and church of the living God, great part of which were now gathered together, and were spectators of this wonderful event:
that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear; that is, by outward means and instruments, by arms and armed men; he does not save by them only, or by them always; he can save as well without them as with them:
for the battle [is] the Lord's; it is under his direction; the issue and event of it depend on his will, and are owing to him; or, as the Targum,
"from the Lord is the victory of wars,''
it is he that gives it to whom he pleases:
and he will give you into our hands; not only this Philistine into the hands of David, but the army of them into the hands of the Israelites; David knew, and was assured of this by the Lord, and it was on this he relied, and was what animated him to engage with this champion in the manner he did.
1 Samuel 17:48
Ver. 48. And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose,.... Or prepared for the encounter, and was in all probability in great wrath and fury at hearing what David said, and which hastened him to it:
and came and drew nigh to meet David; as fast as his unwieldy body, and heavy load of armour on him, would admit of:
that David hasted and ran toward the army; the army of the Philistines, from whence this champion came:
to meet the Philistine; to get up to him before he could draw his sword, or put himself in a posture to make use of any weapon to strike at David with.
1 Samuel 17:49
Ver. 49. And David put his hand in his bag,.... The shepherd's scrip, in which he had put the five stones he took out of the brook:
and took thence a stone; and put it into his sling he had in his hand:
and slang [it], and smote the Philistine in his forehead; it is made a difficulty of how he should smite him on his forehead, when he had a helmet of brass upon his head, 1Sa 17:5; in answer to this Kimchi observes, that some say, that when David said he would give his flesh to the fowls of the air, at the mention of that he looked upwards, and what was upon his forehead fell backwards, and then David slung and smote him; or he might put back his helmet to talk with David, and hear and be heard the better; and having nothing to fear from an unarmed man, might neglect to put it forward again; or there might be some open space left in the helmet for him to look through, in at which the stone might pass; so the Targum renders it, he smote him in the house of his eyes, so the stone passed through the eye hole into his brain: but after all, supposing his forehead ever so well covered, as the stone slung by David was under a divine direction, so as to hit a person in motion, it came with a divine power, which nothing could resist; and supposing this, of which there need no doubt, it could as easily pass through the helmet of brass, as pierce into his forehead and sink there; nor can this be thought the least incredible, if what Diodorus Siculus {m} relates of the Baleares be true, that they were so dexterous at slinging, that they not only would sling stones bigger than others could, and were so directed, that they seldom missed their mark, being inured to it from their youth, but would even in battle break in pieces shields, helmets, and all kinds of armour, with which bodies were covered:
that the stone sunk into his forehead; and so into his brain, as a stone is immersed and sinks in water, when thrown into it; with such force did it go, and with so much ease did it make its way, through the direction and power of God:
and he fell upon his face to the earth; Jarchi observes, that it was most natural for him to have fallen backwards, being struck upon his forehead; but so it was, that David might have no trouble to cut off his head, for by this means he fell nearer to him.
{m} Bibliothec. l. 5. p. 298.
1 Samuel 17:50
Ver. 50. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone,.... And with them only, without any other warlike weapon:
and smote the Philistine, and slew him; smote him with the stone, which brought him to the ground, and then slew him with his own sword, as afterwards related:
but [there was] no sword in the hand of David; when he engaged with the Philistine, and smote him, for he had put off all his armour, 1Sa 17:39.
1 Samuel 17:51
Ver. 51. Therefore David ran and stood upon the Philistine,.... Upon his carcass, as it lay prostrate on the ground, and trampled on him, in just contempt of him who had defied, reproached, and despised the armies of Israel:
and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof; which no doubt was a very large one, and required a good deal of strength to unsheathe it, and use it; and therefore either David, though so very young, was naturally very strong, or he had at this time a more than ordinary measure of strength given him:
and slew him; for it seems that by the blow of the stone he was only stunned, and fell to the ground, but still had life in him, which David soon put an end to by his own sword:
and cut off his head therewith; by which it would appear to both armies looking on that his business was done, and he was thoroughly dispatched:
and when the Philistines saw their champion was dead; of which the cutting off his head was a demonstrative proof, and which they could discern at a distance:
they fled; being struck with a panic at this unexpected event, and no doubt by the Lord; for otherwise, had they given themselves the least time to reflect on their own numbers and strength, they had no just occasion to flee; their safety not depending on a single man, though ever so strong: upon this occasion David penned the ninth psalm; see Ps 9:1.
1 Samuel 17:52
Ver. 52. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose,.... From their encampment and entrenchment, or they prepared for a pursuit:
and shouted, and pursued the Philistines; shouted when they first set out, and continued shouting as they pursued, to animate their own troops, and terrify the enemy:
until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron; which was one of the five principalities of the Philistines; so that they pursued them to their own cities, and to the very gates of them:
and the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim; a city in the tribe of Judah, and seems to be the same with Sharaim,
See Gill on "Jos 15:36". Josephus says {n}, there were killed of the Philistines thirty thousand, and twice as many wounded:
even unto Gath, and unto Ekron; Josephus {o} has it, to the borders of Gath, and to the gates of Ashkelon, which were two other principalities of the Philistines; according to Bunting {p}, the whole chase was this, to the valley and river Sorek four miles; from thence to Ekron eight miles; to Ashkelon twenty miles, and to Gath twenty four miles; that is, from the place where Goliath was killed.
{n} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 9. sect. 5. {o} Ibid. {p} Travels of the Patriarchs, &c. p. 128.
1 Samuel 17:53
Ver. 53. And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines,.... The remainder that escaped having got into their fortified cities:
and they spoiled their tents; which they left in their camp, all their armour, goods, money, and provisions, they found there, they seized upon as their prey and booty; these they did not stay to meddle with as soon as the Philistines fled, but first pursued them, and slew as many of them as they could, and then returned to the spoil; which was wisely done.
1 Samuel 17:54
Ver. 54. And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem,.... After he had been introduced with it to Saul, and when he had passed through various cities in Israel, carrying the head in triumph; where he was congratulated by the women, who came out singing and dancing, and speaking highly in his commendation and praise: why he carried it to Jerusalem is not easy to say, this not being a royal city, nor was it wholly in the hands of the Israelites; part of it indeed was in the possession of Judah and Benjamin, but the stronghold of Zion was possessed by the Jebusites; and it is generally thought that it was to the terror of them that the head of Goliath was carried there. R. Joseph Kimchi thinks, that Nob, where the tabernacle was at this time, was surnamed Jerusalem, but for what reason cannot be said:
but he put his armour in his tent; not where the army was encamped before the engagement; for David had not his tent there, and beside the camp broke up upon this victory obtained; but rather in his tent or apartment at Bethlehem, when he returned thither, and where he laid up the armour he took from Goliath; though Abarbinel thinks, and so other Jews {q}, that by his tent is meant the tabernacle of the Lord, called David's, because of his attachment to it; and certain it is that the sword of Goliath was either now, or at least hereafter, laid up there, see 1Sa 21:9; where all that went to sacrifice might see it, and call to mind this wonderful instance of the power and goodness of God, and praise him for it.
{q} Hieron. Trad. Heb. in lib. Reg. fol. 76. E.
1 Samuel 17:55
Ver. 55. And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine,.... Set out to meet him, and engage with him, as he might from the side of the mountain, where he was encamped:
he said unto Abner, the captain of the host; his own cousin, whom he had raised to this high post in the army, 1Sa 14:50;
Abner, whose son [is] this youth? it is thought strange by many that Saul should not know who he was, when he had been often at his court, and served him as a musician, and had been very useful to him, and he loved him, and made him his armourbearer, and even had just now conversed with him about encountering with the Philistine, and had clothed him with his own armour: to get rid of the former part of the objection, some have supposed that this event happened before David was his musician and armourbearer, and is by anticipation spoken of in
1Sa 16:14, but that the connection with this and the following chapter will not admit of; and besides, before this event, David is said to return home from Saul, 1Sa 17:15; so that it is certain he had been at Saul's court, and in his presence before: but to remove this seeming difficulty it may be observed, that Saul, having laboured under a disorder of body and mind, might easily forget David, and his serving him in the above capacity; and to which the multiplicity of business, and of persons in a court, might greatly contribute; and what with the distance of time, and the different habits in which David appeared, sometimes as a musician, and sometimes as a shepherd, and at other times as a soldier, and always as a servant, it is no wonder the king should not know him again; though after all it is not about his person that he inquires, but whose son he was, what was his father's name, and from what family he sprung; for though Saul was made acquainted with this in the time of his disorder, and therefore sent to his father Jesse for him, and afterwards desired leave for his continuance; yet this might slip out of his memory in a course of time, he having had no personal knowledge of Jesse, nor any correspondence with him, but just at that time; and it behoved him to know the pedigree of David, since, if he was victorious, he was not only to be enriched by him, but to have his daughter for wife, and his family ennobled:
and Abner said, [as] thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell; he swore by the life of Saul, as Joseph by the life of Pharaoh, that he knew nothing of him; which need not at all seem strange, that a general of an army, always employed in military affairs, and often abroad, should know nothing of a domestic servant of Saul's, under the character of a musician, and not always at court either; and still less that he should be ignorant of his family, and know nothing of his father, who lived in obscurity in Bethlehem, and was an old man in those days.
1 Samuel 17:56
Ver. 56. And the king said, inquire thou whose son the stripling [is]. Still the question is the same, being very desirous of knowing of what family he was, for the reason before given, See Gill on "1Sa 17:55".
1 Samuel 17:57
Ver. 57. And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine,.... Carrying his head in triumph, and no doubt accompanied with the acclamations of the people:
Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand; to give an answer to the king's question concerning him, who could best do it himself; and that Saul might have the opportunity of rewarding him, according to his merit, for so great a piece of service he had done for Israel, of which the head in his hand was a sufficient proof.
1 Samuel 17:58
Ver. 58. And Saul said unto him, whose son [art] thou, [thou] young man?.... Still the question was such as did not necessarily imply ignorance of his person, but of his family:
and David answered, I [am] the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite; which doubtless refreshed the memory of Saul, and he quickly called to mind who he was. This interview was very probably at Gibeah of Saul, which was the place of his birth and residence, 1Sa 10:26, and where he kept his court, and to which he returned after the above victory was obtained.