Commentary on the Holy Bible

16 And when " the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same

17 '' And these «?'e the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass-offering" unto the Lord; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one.

longer be devoted fco any secular services; therefore, the cattle were sacrificed, and the cart was broken up for fuel to consume the sacrifice.

Verse 15. The Levites took dozeri] It appears there were some of the tribe of Levi among the people of Bethshemesh: to them appertained the service of the tabernacle.

Verse 17. These are the golden emerodsl Each of these cities, in what may be called its corporate capacity, sent a golden emerod.

Verse 18. And the golden mice'] The desolation that had been made through the land by these animals, had excited a general concern; and, it appears from the text, that all the cities of the Philistines, as well fenced as without walls, sent a golden mouse as a trespass-oflfering.

Remaineth unto this day] Some think the ark is intended, ■which continued on the stone of Abel for some considerable time after it was placed there; and that the memoranda from which this Book was afterwards compiled, were made before ft was removed: but it is not likely that it remained any time exposed in the open field. Therefore, it is most natural to suppose that it is the stone of Abel, which is here intended; and so our translators have understood the place, and have used supplementary words to express this sentiment. Which stone remaineth unto this day.

Verse 19. He smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men] The present Hebrew text of this most extraordinary reading stands thus: — ttfEffi-jTa 'Ii':s3 ^'l C'K lbt< CS'COn tt"S CD'i?3i:' ^i'3 1'1 vayach be anshey Beithshemesh — vayach buam skibeim ish, chamishim eltph ish: " And he smote among the men of Bcth-:-hemesh, (because they had looked into the ark of Jehovah;) and he smote among the people sErEsrv men, vit-iv thousand men."

From the manner in which the text stands, and from the great improbability of the thing, it is most likely that there is a corruption in this text, or that some explanatory word is lost, or that the number fifty thousand has been added by ignorance or design; it being very improbable that such a

18 And the golden mice, according Anno antei. to the number of all the cities of the "^'^"P' ^"^ Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the " great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the Lord: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Beth-shemite.

19 H And '' he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord, eyen he smote of the people fifty

small village as Beth-shemesh should contain, or be capable of employing, fifty thousand and seventy men in the fields at wheat harvest; much less that they could all peep into the ark on the stone of Abel, in the corn field of Joshua.

That the words are not naturally connected in the Hebrew text is evident; and they do not stand better in the J'ersions.

1. The Vulgate renders it thus: — Et percussil de populo Septuaginta viros; et qvinquagixta millia plebis; " And he smote of the (chief) people seventy men; and FIFTY thousand of the (common) people." This distinction, I suppose, St. Jerom intended, between plebs a.nA populus; which he might think was warranted by the a'urjK unashim, and cs ish, of the Hebrew text.

2. The Targum of Jonathan is something similar to the Vulgate: — " And he smote Nsp '2D3 besabey ama, of the eldeis of the people SErENTv men; sVnp^i ubekahala, and of the congregation fifty thousand men."

3. The Septuagint follows the Hebrew text: — Keci eirx' rajtv £y ccuroi;, £ f JojU-ij/cs vra avSpas, xai TeaYtr,y.ovroc y^iXia-ici.; aySpuiv; " And he smote of them SEfEATV men; and fifty thousand men." E>t rou accou, of the people^ is added by some copies.

wamacho Morio beamo chamesho alapin weshabein gabrin; " And the Lord smote among the people fite thousand and sEfENTY men."

5. The Arabic is nearly similar: — " And the Lord smote among the people; and there died of them ^ytj^j t_fiill <)»»»♦.»- Fi('E thousand and sErENTV men."

G. JosKiiius is different from all the rest, and htLSflfiy thousand less; for he renders the place thus, Antiq. Jud. lib. VI. cap. i. sect. 4. Opyy) Se y.M;^i5Aoj rou ©£0u f*£- ac.'ii'm: tMousand iiiid (Iirocscorc and (ni'iiiid to whom hliall lie go up VY/tno.

Kayinj;-, Tht- IMiihstincs liave broufjht a;^ain the ark of the!.,ord; come }e down, and k-uU it faXwK xireKTeiviy: " IJut (he displeasurr and wrath of God pursued tlicm so, that sLyi^NTV men of the vilhijje of IJcthshemcsh, approaching the ark, which they were not worthy to touch, (not being priests,) were struck with lightning." Hero we find the whole /?//(/ Ihuiisdnd is utnitlctl.

7. Ilubbi Sulumvn J.iitnii, giving the opinion of other Rabbin) as well us his own, says, " Our Rabbins sav sei-ENTV men, and each of them was worth fi/lj/ llwnsand luen; or Jij'lji tlwunanJ, every one of whom »vas worth the serenty of the S.inlu'drin." This only shews embarrassment, but gives very little liglit.

All these discordances, together with the utter improbability of the thing, lead ns to suppose there must be a corruption in this place, eilher by adding or omilling.

Perhaps the omission in these MSS. was occasioned by mistake of the transcriber; which might have easily happened, because of the word fK iih, which occurs both after Qiyatt^ shiheim, and after «]S« cleph; for, having written the Jil'st., and taking his eye off when he recommenced, he might have supposed he had wiittcn the latter, and so proceetl, leaving the words in qi.cstion out of his copy. Tico, three, or more persons, might have been thus deceived, and so produce the above MSS.; or the mistake, once made, all the MSS. copied from that, would show the same omission. The common reading may be defended, if we only suppose the omission of a single letter, the particle of comparison 3 ke, like, as, or cciual to, before the word CZ'wOn chaniashim: thus c:''i'?:n3 kcchamashim; the passage would then read — " And lie smote of the people seie^ty men, equal to FIFTY TiiousjsD men:" that is, they were the elders or governors of the people.

Some solve the (lifTicuWy by translating, '' lie slew st:- FENTr men ovt or Jij'ly thousand men." There are various ether methods invented by learned men to remove this difficulty, -wh.ch I shall not stop to examine: all, however, is- this is, without doubt, the most probable. 'T\\e llFTY Tuous.iMt, therefore, must be an inlerpulutiun, or be understood in some such way ^■y that mentioned above. I'ut the i omission of the particle of similitude solves every difficulty; and this would account for the reading in Joscpliut, as, in

: Ills recital, he would naturally leave out such an e;iplanalion of the tcor//i of the seventy men, as his Roman readers could not easily comprehend such coniparisoni.

1 ll'ilh a great slaughter.'] Seventy men slain, out of an inconsiderable village, in a harvest day, was certainly a great slaughter.

' tion? They knew that Clod had forbidden any to touch His ark but the priestsand Levites; but they now endravour to throw that blame on God, as a Being hard to be pleated., which belonged solely to themselves.

I Verse 21. To the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim'] They wi>hed the ark away out of their village; but shy they sent to tbis city instead of sending to Shiloh, does not appear: probabl), Shiloh had been destroyed by the Philistines, after

\ the late defeat of Israel. This is most likely, as the ark was never more taken back to that place.

! It was a very ancient usage when a plague, or other calamity, infested a country, city, &c. for the magicians to form an image of the destroyer, or of the things on which the plague particularly rested, in gold, silver, ivory, wax, clay,

I &€., under certain configurations of the heavens; and to set this up in some proper place, that the evils thus represented might be driven away. These consecrated images were the same that are called talismans, or rather tcle.'ms, among the Asiatics. Mr. Locke calls the diviners /a//.iotoij*.' but this is a pitiful mistake: the image, not the fabricator, was called by this name.

I have seen several of these talismans, of different countries; and such images were probably the origin of all the forms of gods, which, in after times, were the objects of re-

This has been attributed to a lelesm, formed with certain rites, under the sign Scorpio. Such opinions have been drawn from very ancient Pagan sources: e. g. — A stone engraved with the figure of a Scorpion, while the moon is in the sign Scorpio, is said to cure those who are stung by this animal. ApoUoniiis Ti/aneits is said to have prevenfed_/Z/ej from infesting Aiitioch; and sforks from appearing in Byzantium, by figures of those animals formed under certain constellations. A brazen scorpion, placed on a pillar in the city of Aniioch, is said to have ejspelled all such anim.Tis from that country. And a crocodile of lead is also said to have preserved Cairo from the depredations of those monsters. — See Calmel.

Virgil refers to this custom, ^Eclogue viii. v. SO. where he represents a person making two images, or telesms, one of tzax, another of clay; which were to represent an absent person, who was to be alternately fo//enef/ or hardened as the aax or clatj image was exposed to the fire.

Limits ul hie durescif, el hac lit cera liquescil Uno ct eodem igni: sic nostro Daphnis amore-

" As this clay hardens, and this wax softens, by one and the same fire; so may Daphnis by my love."

A beautiful marble figure of Osiris, about four inches and a quarter high, now stands before me, all covered over with hieroglyphics: he is standing, and holds in each hand a.?corpion and a snake by the tails, and with each foot he stands on the neck of a crocodile. This, I have no doubt, was a telesm, formed under some peculiar conJis;uration of the heavens, intended to drive away both scorpions and crocodiles. This image is of the highest antiquity, and was formed probably long before the Christian sera.

Tavernier observes, that something like what is mentioned in the text is practised among the Indians: for when a pilgrim goes to one of the idol temples for a cure, he brings t\\& figure of the member affected, made either of gold, silver, or copper, according to his circumstances, which he offers to his god. This custom was common among the Heathens; and they consecrated to their gods the monuments of their deliverance. From heathenism it was adopted by corrupt Christianilij; and Theodoret informs us that, in his time, I there might be seen about the tombs of the martyrs figures I of eyes, hands, feet, and other parts of the body, which! represented those of the offerers which they supposed had I been healed by the intercession of those holy persons! j This degrading superstition is continued among the Papists to the present day: I have seen at St. TVinifrid's zcell, in Ilolyzzell, Flintshire, several stanss, crutches, and hand-barrozcs, hung up in different places, which were reported to be the votive offerings of the maimed, the halt, the withered, &c. who had received their cure by the virtue of the saint! It is true the crutches are such as no man or woman could ever walk with; and the barrows are such as most evidently never carried any human being. But they serve the purposes of superstition, and keep up an idolatrous reverence for the well, and the legendary virgin.

After all I need not say that the system of judicial astrology is vain, unfounded, absurd, and wicked. It, in effect, presumes to take the government of the world out of the hands of an all-wise God, and to abandon it to the most fortuitous and unconnected occurrences of life: for, the stars have their influences according to this pretended science, conformably to the occurrences here below; e. g. if a child be born but one hour sooner or later than a particular configuration of the heavens, his destiny will be widely different from what it otherwise would have been; and as an almost infinite number of casualties may accelerate or retard a birth, consequently the whole destiny of the man is influenced and ruled by these casualties: to say nothing of the absurdity, that those omnipotent stars never can affect the infant while invested with a thin covering of flesh in the womb of its parent. But the whole science is a tissue of absurdities.

Tlie men of Kirjath-jearim bring the ark from Belhshemesfi, and consecrate Eleazar, the son of Ahinadab, to keep it; and there it eontinued tiacntij years, 1,2. Samuel reproves and e.xhorls the people; and gathers Ihcm tO' gether at Mizpeh, zchere thejy fast and praij, and confess their sins, 3 — 6. The Philistines go up against than; the Israelites cry unto the Lord for help; Samuel offers sacrifices; and the Lord confounds the Philistines mlh thunder; Israel discomfit, and pursue them to Belhcar, 7 — II. Samuel erects a stone for a memorial, and calls it Eben-ezer, 12. The Philistines are totally subdued, and Isi-ael recovers allits lost cities, 13,14. Samuel acts as an itinerant judge in Israel, 15 — 17.

2 And it came to pass, wliiic tln» ark abode in Kirjatii-jearini, that tlie time was Ion;;-; for it was twenty years; and all tlie house of Israel lamented after the IjOkd.

»■.('. iiS': •' ^ And Samuel spake unto all All. Kxmi. lu. tinv liousc of Israel, saying-. If ye Anno am.- 1, (lo 'rclurii uiilo tlie liOiu) with all

4 'I'lieii tlic children oi Israel did put away

I 5.\n(l.Samuel said, ' (jatlier all Israel to j!Mi'/.|)eh, and I will pray for you unto the

I drew water, and poured it out before the Lono,

and ' fasted on that day, and said there, "" NN'e

Verse 1. Fchlial up Ihc iirk] When these people received llie message of the Beth-shomites, they probably consulted Samuel, with whom was the counsel of the Lord; and he had encouraged them to no and biiii;; it up, else they might have expected such destruction as happened to the Ueth-shcmites.

Sanct/Jit'il Elcazar^ Perhaps this fanctifying signifies no more tliaii sc/liiig this man apart, simply to take care of the ark.

Verse 2. // teas tuentij ijeurf'\ This chapter contains the transactions of at least txcenly years; but we know not the date of each event.

Verse 3. And Samuel spakc^ We have heard nothing of this judge since he served in the tabernacle. He was now grown up, and established for a prophet in the land of

Put azcajj the xtrangc gods] Destroy (heir images, altars, a.nd groves: they are strange; you do not know them as helpers, saviours, or defenders.

He will deliver you] Vain are your own exertions; He will deliver you in such a way as to shew that the excellence of the power is of Himself alone.

Verse 4. Put au:ay Baalim and Ashtaroth] These were not tvo particular deities, but two genera of idols; the one masculine, Bjjli.m; ihc olher feminine, Asutarotu: both

Verse 5. Gather all Israel to Mi:j)ch] This appears to have been an err/ncr/ assembly; though, probably, collected principally for religious and political purposes: but Samuel knew that an unarmed multitude could not safely be convened in the vicinity of the Philistines.

Verse 0. Dreza Katcr, and poured li out] It is not easy to know what is meant by this: it is true that pouring out zcater, in the way o( lil/ation, was a religious ordinance among tha Ilebrezcs, Isa. xii. 3.; and among most other nations, particularly the Greeks and Romans, who used not only aater, but xcine, milk, honey, and blood; as we find by Homer, Virgil, Kuripides, Sophode-, Porphyry, and Lucian. Our Lord seems to allude to this ceremony, John vii. 37, 38.; where see the Note.

The Chaldee Parrqihrast understands the place difTerently; for he tiansiates: " And they poured out their hearts in penitence, as ir.tTERs, before the Lord." That deep penitential sorrow was represented under the notion of pouring out zcater we have a direct proof in the case of David, who says, P>a. xxii. 14. / am poured olt like itjter, my heart is like irj.x; it is melted in the midst of my bozcels. And to repentance, under this very similitude, the prophet exhorts fallen Jerusalem, Arise, cry out in the night; in the beginning of /he matches pocr ovt thine iie.irt like n-jTER before the face of the Lord. Lam. ii. 9. David uses the same image, Psa. Ixii. 8. Trust in him at all timet, ye people; povr olt your hearts before him. The same figure is used by Ilannuh, in chap. i. 16. of this Book, / am a zcoman of a sorroicful spirit; / have poured out my soul before the Lord. Perhaps, the drazcing and pouring out of zcater, mentioned in the text, was done emblematically, t* represent the contrition of their hearts. 7 C 2

of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Phihstines.

8 And the children of Israel said to Samuel, * Cease '' not to cry unto the Lord oui God for us, that he will save us out of the hands of the Philistines.

9 H ^Vud Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt-oftering wliolly unto the Lord: and ''Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel; and the Lord "heard him.

10 And as Samuel was offering up the burntoffering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: Mjut the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.

And Samuel judged] He gave them ordinances, heard and redressed grieyaiices, and taught them how to get reconciled to God. The assembly, therefore, was held for religio-politico-military purposes.

Verse 7. The Philistines went up against Israel] They went to give them battle, before that, by continual accessions of numbers, they should become too powerful.

Verse 8. Cease not to cry unto the Lord] They had strong confidence in the intercession of Samuel, because they knew he was a lioly man of God.

Verse 9. Samuel took a sucking lamb] This sucking lamb must have been eight days under its mother before It could be oflfered, as the law says, Lev. xxii. 27.

Though Samuel was not a priest, 3'et he offered this sacrifice; or, he might have ordered FJcazar to offer i(, and still be said to have done It himself — Qui facit per alteram, facit per se; " He who procures a thing to be done, may be said to do it himself.'"

His not sacrificing at the <afternac/e was justified by the necessity of the case: neither tabernacle nor ark was at

Verse 10. The Lord thundered zmth a great thunder] Literally, the Lord thundered with a grectt voice; He confounded them with a mighty tempest of thunder and lightning; aTid, no doubt, slew many by the lightning.

Verse 11. Under Beth-car.] We know not where this place was: the Sepluagint have Jleth chor; the Targum, Beth-saron; and the Syriuc and Arabic, Belh-jasan.

11 And the men of Israel went out ^r. c.im' of Mizpeh, and pursued the Pliilis- Am. Kxod. hr. tines, and smote them, until tluy Anno ante i. came under Beth-car. oiymp^344^

12 Then Samuel ^ took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it '■ Eben-ezer, saying. Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.

13 1[ 'So the Philistines were subdued, and they '' came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

14 And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amoritcs.

15 f And Samuel 'judged Israel all the days of his life.

Eben ha-ezer, " The Stone of Help:" perhaps, a p?7/ar is meant by the word stone.

Verse 1 3. They came no more into the coast of Israel] Perhaps, a more Hgnal victory was never gained by Israel: the Lord had brought them low, almost to extermination; and now, by His miraculous interference. He lifts them completely up, and humbles to the dust their proud oppressors. God often suffers nations and individuals to be brought to the lowest extremity, that He may.shew His mercy and goodness, by suddenly rescuing them from destruction, when all human help has most evidently failed.

Verse 14. The cities ichich the Philistines had taken] We are not informed of the particulars of these reprisals; but we may rest assured all this was not done in one day: perhaps, the retaking of the cities was, by slow degrees, through the space of several years.

There was peace between Israel and the Amorites.] That is, all the remaining Canaanites kept quiet, and did not attempt to molest the Israelites, when they found the Philistines, the most powerful of the ancient inhabitants of the land, broken and subdued before tlicm.

Verse 15. Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.] Samuel is supposed to have lived one hundred years: he did not begin to judge Israel till he was about/or(iy years of age; and, If he was a hundred years of age when he died, he must have been a judge sixty years, and consequently been in that office during the whole of Saul's reign! But that he had been dead before Saul's last battle Is evident, from the transactions of that king with the witch of Endorj

I(» Ami lio wcnl IVoni)Ciir to yi'iii- ' ill circiiil lo lirlli d, and (iili;iil, niul IVli'/.|)i'li, and judged Israel in all tliOHC places.

and probably not long bpfoip. Samuel u:is (!..• y// ryz/uY of that timp; (lci:larp<l llic will of the Lord, niul fr('(|UPiitly dircrfod Imtli llip cnv/iMid inili/dn/ (raiisaf ticini of tlio kingdom. Saniucd spcins, in many irspccts, to liavp bfrn ron-iilorod (lio governor of the people., while Saul was only looked on an the general of the armies.

V'pisP Hi. //(.• Kent from i/iar to year in circuiQ When ho was al lli:ril-i:i,, tlip tiihp of l''.|)liraiiii, mid all ihp iiiirtlirrn part:^ of (lie counlry, could attpiid hlni; when at Gii.n.iL, the tribe of Uoiijamin, and those beyond Jordan, might liavn easy aicoss to liini; and when at Mi/.i'i.u., he

17 And 'liJH return i/-«.s to H.iinal); for (here vuis Imh house; and there he jiidp^ed JHiael; and there he ' built ail allai uiilo Ihe liOitn.

was within riac ii of Judnh, Simpon, nin) (jad: l)ut Ramah was Ihp plarp of his ordinary abode; and thore he held hi« ronrt, frpf liicre he juilgcii Israel: and, an it is probable thai Shiloh was dpstroyod, it is 'aid, rer. 12. il-at /l,i-rr^ viz. at Ramah, he buill an altar tnito the Lord.

Ramah, which is said to be about sii miles from Jerusalem, was the seal of prophecy durio); the life of Samuel; and there, it is probable, all Israel came to consult him on matters of a spiritual nature; as there, was the only altar of God ill the land of Isra*-!.

Samuel grown n/d, makes his sons Judges in Beer-slieba, 1, 2. T/n/y pervert Judgment; and t/ir people complain., and desire a Icing, 3 — 5. Samuel is displeased, and enquires of the Lord, 6. The Lord is also displeased; but direets Samuel In appoint them a ling, and to sliezv them solrmnhy the eonsefjuenrrv oj^ their choice, 7 — P. Samuel dors so, and shen'i them icliut they maij expert from an absolute monarch, and hozr ajlicted thcij should be under his administration, JO — 18. The people refuse to recede from their demand; and Samuel la^s the matter before the Lord, and dismisses them, 19 — 22,

AND it came to pass, when Sanuiel was old, that he "made his ''sons jiulj;es over l.srael. 2 Now the name of his first-born and tlie name of his second, Abiah:

lie made his sens judges'] He appointed them as his lieutenants, to superintend certain aflairs in Beer-sheba, which he could not conveniently attend to himsplf. But they were never judges in the proper sense of the word: Samuel was the last judge in Israel, and he judged it to the day of his death. — See chap. vii. 15.

3 And bis sons ■" walked not in his ways, but turned aside ''after lucre, and ' took bribes, and perverted judgment.

4 Then all the elders of Israel j^^athered themselves together, and came to Samuel uuto Ramah,

is pointed out in three words: — 1. Thei/ turned aside after lucre: the original i*v3 batsd signifies to cut, clip, break off; and, therefore, Mr. Parkhurst thinks that it means nearly the same with our clipping of coin. It, howeTcr, expresses here the idea of avarice; of getting money by hook or by crook. The Targum says, '• They looked after ~pun jn:o mamon dishckar, the mammon of unrighteousness;" of which they did not make unto themselves yV/Vntif but enemies. — See the Note on Matt. Ti. 24. 2. They look bribes; ~na shochad, gifts or presents, to blind their eyes. 3. They pcrzerted

B.'c!io9i'. 5 And said unto him, Heboid, thou A"-i|<"''- 1'"". art old, and thy sons walk not in thy Anno ante I. ways: uow " make us a king lo oiymp. 3j.. judge US like all the nations.

6 H But the thing- ''displeased Samuel, when thev said. Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.

7 And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for " thev have not rejected thee, but ""they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them,

8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.

9 Now therefore ■" hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and "shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

judgment; they turned judgment aside., they put it out of its regular path; they sold it to the highest bidder: thus the wicked rich man liad his cause, and the poor man was oppressed and deprived of his right. This was the custom in our own country, before Magna Cuarta was obtained: he that would speed in the king''s court must bribe all the of- Jkers, and fee both the king and queen! 1 have found in our ancient records the most barefaced and shameful examples of this kind; but it was totally abolished invito rege, by that provision in the above charter, which states, Ntdli vendemus, nulli ncgubimus, uut differemus rectum aut judicium; "To no man will we sell, to no man will we deny or defer justice and right." It was customary in those inauspicious times, for judgment to be delayed, in banco regis, in the king's court, as long as there was any hope that more money would be paid, in order to bring it to issue. And there were cases, where the king did not like the party, in which he denied justice and judgment entirely! Magna Charta brought them to book, and brought the subject to his right.

'Oi fc) £iv ayopij (rxoXiOCi y.piYM(n Osfj-Kyra;, Ek Se omriv eA.a<r(y«, Ojiov oitiv oua aXiyovTi;. " Wheti guilty mortals break the eternal laws. Or judges brib'd, betray the righteous cause."

10 H And Samuel told all the %^dml' words of the Lord unto the people An. lixod. isr. that asked of him a king. Anno ante i.

11 And he said, ^ This will be the "i>"'i'- J^i^; manner of the king that shall reign over you: ' He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.

12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and tcill set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.

1.3 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.

14 And ''he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

15 And he will take the tenth of your seed^

hast solemnly protested against them, then thou shall shew, ifc. e Ver. 11.

expelled from her seat; when judges are swayed from the right; regardless of the vengeace of heaven." Or, in other words, these were times in V/liich the streams of justice were poisoned in their source; and judges neither feared God, nor regarded man.

Verse 5. Make us a king'l Hitherto, from the time in which they were a people, the Israelites were under a the' ocracy; they had no other king but God, Now, they desire to have a king like the other nations around them, who may be their general in battle; for this is the point at which they principally aim.

Verse 6. The thing displeased Samuel] Because he saw that this amounted to a formal renunciation of the Divine government.

Samuel prayed unto the Lord.] He begged to know His mind in this important business.

Verse 7. They have rejected me] They wish to put that government in the hands of a mortal, which was always in the hands of their Gon. But hearken unto their voice; grant them what they request. So we find God grants that in His displeasure, which He withholds in His mercy.

Verse 9. Shew them the manner of the king] The word QSwn mishepal, which we here render manner, signifies simply what the king would and might require, according to the manner in which kings in general ruled; all of whom, in those times, were absolute and despotic.

The whole of this manner of tiie king is well illustrated by Puflendoif. " Hitherto," says he, " the people of Israel

17 lie will lake the tenth of your slieep: and people, and he relicarscd thciii in (he ears of the

IH And yc siiall cry out in that day heeaiisc of 22 And the f^oitn said to Samuel, 'Hearken your kin;;' which yc shall have chosen you; and' unto tin ir voice, and make them a king-. And the liOKi) '"will not hear you in (hat day. Samuel said iinlo the men of Israel, (jo yc

19 T Nevertheless the people ' refused (o ohey the voice of Samuel; and tliey said, Nay;

had lived under governors r.iispd up <if God, «ho li.id exar(ed no tributo of Ihcm, nor put (hem (o niiy charge; but, little content with this form of government, they desire to have a kini; like ollirr nations, wlio should iivi? in m.igni* ficence anil pump, keep armies, and he able to ^psi^t any in- Tasion. Samuel infoims them wh.it it was (hey desired;

the king, his manner and all; notwithM-indin:; (he •.olemn warning which they here receive!

that, when they understood it, they might consider whelher H yinil fight our bailies.] [Je the general of our armieii. they would persist in their choice. If (hey would have a ' Verse 21. Rehearsed them in (lie cars oj the Lonn.] lie king splendidly aKended, he tells them, that he zcou/d take went to the al(ar; and, in his secret devotion, laid ihe uhole their sons for his chariots, &c: if they would have him keep business before CJod.

up constant /o;-ces, then he would appoint them (or colonels I Verse 22. Hearken unto their voice] Let them have and captains; and employ tliose in his nars who were ac- ■ what they desire, and let them abide by the consequences, customed to follow (heir family business: and since, after j Go ye cverij man unto his cilj/.] It seems the elders of the manner of other kings, he must keep a stafelj/ court, the people had tarried all this time with Samuel; and, when they must be content that their </«;/°-/i/crj should serve in he had received his ultimate answer from God, he told them several olTiccs, which the kinc would think below (lie dig- of it, and dismissed them.

nity of his wives and daushters, ver. 1.3.."M.uiy ministers j On this account we may observe — 1. That God did not also, in several departments, both of war and peace, must change (he government of Israel; it was the;jeo;>fc (hcmselves have salaries to support them, which must be paid nut of who changed it. — 2. That, fhon^h God permitted thpm lo have their yisW* and vineiianls, ver. 14. In one word, that, to a king, yet he did not «;)/;roi-e of him.—.!. That, notwithsustain his dignity, their king would exact the /r/fM of all standing lie did not suffer them to choose (he hiwi, He orthey possessed, and be maintained in a royal manner out of: dered His servant Samuel to choose him by lot, He disposipir their estates."' of that lot. — J. That God never gave up the supreme go-

It is perfectly vain iti arolius, or any one else, to state 1 vernment; He still was Ki.\r, in Israel; and the kiii;;, io that this shews what a king, (as king,) nuii/, any where, in | called, was only the vicegerent, or deputy, of the Lord virtue of his office, claim and exact; and that he can take; 5. That no king of Judah attempted to be supreme; therethe properly and persons of his subjects, and dispose of fore, they never made ne:c lazes, nor altered the old: which them as he may judge necessary for the exigence of the state.:| was a positive confession that (iod was the Supreme I>>gie. This was the manner of Saul; but Saul was tiot a king of lator. — 6. That an absolute monarchy is alwa\ s an e>il; and God's choosing — " Ho gave him in His wrath, and took him | is contrary to all the rights, civil and religious, of mankind: away in His displeasure:" and the manner of such a king j| a mode of government that all people should avoid, as pregshould not be arrogated by any potentate who affects to rule i naiit with evils to mankind. — 7. That, although it was a sin jure Divino, or by Divine right. The manner of the king of i in the Israelites to desire a king; that is, to change a comti- God's choice is distinrily detailed, Deut. xvii. 15 — 20. to\tutiun of which God was the Author; yet. kingly "overnwhich the Ucadcr will do well to refer, that he may have an ' mcnt, properly understood, is a good of the first magnitude to the civil hxppiness of mankind. — 8. That, by kingly government, properly understood, I mean such a monarchical- government as that of Great Britain; where the king, the nobles, and the people, are duly mixed, each having his proper part in the government; and each preventing the other from running to excess. — 9. That the three grand forms of government which have obtained among mankind; viz. monarchi), aristocracy, and democraci/, have each certain advantages, without which no state can be well preserved: bnt they have evils, by which any state may be injured. — 10. That, from a proper mixture of these, the advantages of the whole may be reaped without any of their attendant evils; and that this is the British Constitution: which, not merely the wisdom of our ancestors, but the providence of God, has given unto us, and of which no other state has had common st nse enough to avail themselves; though they see that, because of this, the British Empire is the most pozcerful, and the most happy, in the Universe; and liltely, at last, to give laws to the whole zcorld. The manner of our king i< constitutional, widely diflereut from tliat of Saul, and from that of any other potentate in the four quarters of the globe. He is the father of his people; and the people/es/and love him as such. He has all the poxrcr necpssaiy to do good; they have all theliberty necessary to their political happiness.

Saurs lineage, and description; he is sent hy his father to seek some lost asses, I — 5. Not finding them, he pur' poses to go and consult Samuel concerning the proper method of proceeding, 6 — 14. The Lord informs Samuel that he should anoint Saul hing, 15, 16. Samuel invites Saul to dine xoith him, and informs him that the asses are found; and gives him an intimation that he is to be king, 17 — 21. Saul dines with Samuel; and afterawards he is taken to the house top, where both commune together, 22—27.

OW there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was " Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, '' a Benjamite, a mighty man of " power.

2 And he had a son, whose name loas Saul, a choice younp; man, and a goodly: and there was not among- the cliikh-cn of Israel a goodlier person than he: * from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.

3 And the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son. Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.

Verse 1. A mighty man of poicer'] Literally, a strong man: this appci.rs to be the only /^oa-er he possessed; and the physical strength of the father may account for the extraordinary sire of the son. — See ver. 2.

Verse 2. From his shoulders and upwards'] It was probably from this very circumstance that he was chosen for king; for, where kings were elective, in all ancient times, great respect was paid to personal appearance.

Verse 3. The asses of Kish — zccre lost'] What a wonderful train of occurrences were coniiccled in order to bring

4 And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of "Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they zcere not: and he passed through the laud of the Benjamites, but Ihey found the^n not.

.5 ^vd when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that icas with him. Come, and let us return; lest my father kave carijig for the asses, and take liiought for us.

G And he said unto him. Behold now, there is in this city 'a man of God, and /le is an honourable man: ^ all that he saith comelh surely to

Saul to the throne of Israel I Every thing seems to go on according to the common course of events; and yet all conspired to favour the election of a man to the kingdom, who certainly did not come there by the approbation of God.

Asses grow to great perfection in the East; and at this time, as there were no horses in Judea, they were very useful; and on them kings and princes rode.

Verse 5. Were come to lite land of Zuph] Calmet sup- [)oses that Saul and iiis servant went from Gibiah to Shalisha, in the tribe of Dan; from thence to Shaalim, near to Jerusalem; and thence, traversing the tribe of Benjamin,

But. holiold, // wi';:(», ' wliat sliiill we brinf^ llic man? for llio lircinl ''Ih H|)('nl in onr vessels, aiid there in nol a present to bring' lo tlic man of God: wliat ' liavo we P

8 And (ho servant answered San! af;ain, and said, Heboid, '' I have bere ut band tlie fourtb part of a sbekel of silv«'r: lliol will 1 }^ivc lo (be man of Ciod, to lell ns onr way.

9 (neforelirno in Israel, wben n man '' went to enquire of God^ thus be (.pake. Come, and let tlioy purpnsfd (o rcliirii (o (lilirah; but |)a<;ving tlirnugh tlic loud of Ziipli, in whirli Ilnmntlia, (lie country of Samuel, was situntPfl, lliry dolprmiiird to rail on tliis prophet lo gain some, (liierlioiis from liim: the wliolc of tliis rirruit, lie supposes, to hare amoDiiled lo no more (iian about ticenlji-ftvc leagues, or three days' journey. Wo do not know where the places were situated which are here mentioned: the Targum translates Ihu'i — "And he passed through the mount of the liouse of Ej)liiaeiii, and went into the soulhcni land, but did not meet with (hem. And he passed through the land of filallibcra, but they were not there; and he passed through the land of the tribe of lienjamtn, but did not find (hem: then they came ii\to the land where the prophet of the Lord dwell, and Saul said to his servant," —

Verse 7. There is not a present to bring to the man of God] We are not to suppose from this that the prophets took money to predict future events: Saul only refers to an invariable custom, that no man approached a superior without a present of some kind or other. We have often seen this before; even God, who needs nothing, would not that His people should approach Him with empty hands.

Verse 8. The fourth part of a shekel of i;Vrcr] We find from the preceding verse, that \\\e bread ov prorisions ■which they had brought with them for their journey was expended; else apart of that would have been thought a suitable present: and here the fourth part of a shekel of silver, '< about iiincpciice of our money, was deemed sufficient; therefore, the present was intended more as a token of respect than as an emolument.

Verse 9. lieforetime in Israef] This passage could not have been a part of this Hook originally: but we have already conjectured that Samuel, or some contemporary author, wrote (lie memoranda, out of which a latter author compiled this Hook. This hypothesis, sulhcicutly reasonable in itself, solves all difficulties of this kind.

" Well said; come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God uu».

11 f And as ibey went up 'the lull to the city, ' they found younj^ maidens going out lo draw water, and said unto ibem, I'' the seer here?

12 And Ibey anfiwered them, and said, He is; bell old, lie is before you: make baste now, for he came today (o ibc city; for ^ ihirt is a 'sacrifice of the people to-day, *" in the high place:

JVas beforetimc called a seer."] The word teer, ntn roeh, occurs, for the first time, in this place: it literally signifies a person t:ho sr.rs; particularly preternatural sights. A seer and a prophet were (lie same in mo't cases; only with thif dill'erence, (lie seer was always a prophet, but the prophet was not always a seer. A seer '•eems to imply one who /)•«. quenlli/ met with, and saw, some symbolical representation of (•od. The term prophet was used a long time before (his; Abraham is called & prophet, fJen. \x. 7., and the term frequently occurs in the law. Besides, the word seer does not occur before this time; but often occurs aflcricards down through the prophets, for more than three hundred years. — See Amos vii. 12. Mic. iii. 7.

All prophets, false and true, profess to see God: see the case of Balaam, Numb. xxiv. 4, 16., and Jerero. xiv. 14. All diviners, in their enthusiastic flights, boasttd that they had those things exhibited to their sight which should come to pass. There is a remarkable account in t irgil, which may serve as a specimen of the whole: the Sibj/l professes to be a seer: —

Wars, horrid wars I vir.w; a field of blood; And Tyber rolling with a purple flood.

Verse 11. VouHg maidens going out to drazt K-ater"] So far is it from being true, that young women were always kept closely shut up at home, that we find them often in the field, drawing and carrying water, as here.

Verse 12. lie came to-day to the city'] Though Samuel lived chiefly in Ramah, yet he had a dwelling in the coun- 7 D

"'^"P- ^^^- to eat: for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice: and afterwards they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up; for about " this time ye shall find him.

14 And they went up into the city: a7id when they were come into the city, behold, Samuel! came out against them, for to go up to the high place.

15 IT ""Now the Lord had 'told Samuel in hisi ear a day before Saul came, saying, i

16 To-morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, " and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the j hand of the Philistines: for I have " looked | upon my people, because their cry is come unto me.

17 And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said unto him, ' Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall ^ reign over my

18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel ^j.f,^f in the gate, and said. Tell me, I pray An. Kxod. iir. thee, where the seer's house is. Anne ante i.

19 And Samuel answf^red Saul, "'y"''"^'^- and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me to-day, and to-morrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thine heart.

20 And as for ^ thine asses that were lost ' three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom *" /s all tlie desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house?

21 And Saul answered and said, ^ Am not I a Benjamite, of the " smallest of the tribes of Israel? and " my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin.' wherefore then speakest thou " so to me?

2,2 And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the parlour, and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden, which were about thirty persons.

23 And Samuel said unto the cook. Bring

try, at a place called Naioth, where it is probable there was a school of the prophets. — See chap. xix. IS — 24.

A sacrifice of the people^ A great feast. The animals used were first sacrificed to the Lord; that is, their blood was poured out before Him; and then all the people fed on the flesh. By high place, jirobably Samuel's altar is alone meant; which, no doubt, was raised on an eminence.

Verse 13. He doth bless the sacrifice'] He alone can perform the religious rites, which are used on this occasion.

Afterztards they eat that be biddeii] Among the Arabs, often a large feast is made of sacrificed camels, &c. and then the people of the vicinity are invited to come and partake of the sacrifice. This is the custom to which the allusion is made here.

Verse 15. Now the Lord had told Samuel'] How this communication was made we cannot tell.

Verse 16. Tlwii shalt anoint him to \)e captain'] Not to be king, but to be -|':j nagid, or captain of the Lord's host. But in ancient times no king was esteemed who was not an able warrior. Plutarch informs us, that Alexander the Great esteemed the following verse the most correct, as to its sentiment, of any in the whole Iliad of Homer: —

" The king of kings, Atrides, you survey; Great in the zsar, and great in acts of sway."

Verse 17. Behold the man whom I spake to thee of] What an intimate communion must Samuel have held with his God! A constant familiarity seems to have existed between them.

Verse 19. / am the seer] This declaration would prepare Saul for the communications afterwards made.

Verse 20. As for thine asses] Thus he shews him that he knew what was in his heart; God having previously revealed these things to Samuel.

And on zshom is all thc desire of Israel] Saul understood this as implying that he was chosen to be king.

Verse 21. Am not la Benjamite] This speech of Saul is exceedingly modest: he was now becomingly humble; — but

91 And tlie cook look up ' the shoulder, and that wliich ivas upon it, and HCt it Ijclore Saul. And Saimni said, Ik-hold that vvhicli is '' left! set /7 before (iiee, (nidvi\\.: for unto tiiis time hath it been kept for thoc since 1 said, I have invited tlic people. So Saul did cat vvilh Samuel that day. 25 H And when they were come down from the liif^h place into tiie cilv, Saiinul communed with Saul upon ' the top of the house.

who can boar elevation and prospcritij? The tribe of Benjamin bad not yet recovered its strength, after the ruinous war it had with the other tribes, Judg. xx.

Verse 11. Brought them into the parlour'] It miglit as well be called kitchen; it was the place where they sat down to feast.

Verse 23. Said unto the cook] HDU tahach, here rendered cook; the singular of n^riDa tabachoth, female cooks, chap. viii. 13., from the root tabach, to s/«//, or butcher. Probably, the hulclier is hero meant.

Verse 24. The shoulder, and that uhich was upon it] Probably, the shoulder was covered with a part of the caul, that it might be the better roasted. The Targum has it, the shoulder and its thigh; not only the,<AoM/rfcr merely, but the fore-leg bone, to the knee: perhaps, the whole forequarter. Why was the shoulder set before Saul? Not because it was the best part, but because it was an emblem

26 And they aro«c early: and it came to pass ul)out the spriiif^ rtf An. iu.hj. in the day, that Samuel called Saul Amoamri. to the top of the house, sa^in^', '"-'"f- ^'^^ Up, that 1 may send thee away-.And Saul arose, and (hey went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad.

27 And as they were pjoiii!^ down to ihc end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Mid the servant pass on before uh, (and he passed on,) but stand thou.still ''a while, that 1 may shew thee the word of (jod.

of the government to which he was now called. — Sec Iia. chap. \\. 6. And the government shall be upon his ihouldcr.

Verse 25. Upon the top of the house.] All the bousei in the East were flat-roofed; on these people walked, talked, and frequently slept, for the sake of fresh and cooling air.

Verse 26. Called Saul to the top of the house] Saul had no doubt slept there all night; and now, being the break ofdajj, " Samuel called to Saul on the fop of the house, say. ing, Up, that I may send thee away." There was no calling him to the house top a second time; he was sleeping there, and Samuel called him up.

Verse 27. As they were going doxsn] So ft appears that Saul arose immediately; and Samuel accompanied him out of the town, and sent the servant on, that h'> might shew Saul the uord, the counsel or design, of the Lord, What this was we shall see in the following chapter.

Samuel anoints Saul captain of the Lord's inheritance, 1. Instructs him concerning his return home, whom he should meet, and zshat he should do, 2 — 8. Saul meets a compani/ of prophets; the Spirit of the Lord comes on him, and he prophesies among than, f) — 13. I/c meets his uncle, and converses i^ith him, 14 — 16. Samuel calls the people together to Mizpeh, and upbraids them for having rejected the Lord as their King, 1 7 — 1 9. Lots are cast to find out the person proper to be appointed king; Saul is chosen, 20 — 24. Samuel shezcs the manner of the king, and writes it in a booli, 25. Saul goes to Gibeah; and certain persons refuse to acknowledge him as king, 26, 27.

anointed tance? 2 When thou art departed from me to-day, then thou shalt find two men by " Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin ' at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee. The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left ^ the care of the asses, and sor-

Verse 1. Took a vial of oiQ The reasons of (his rite the Reader will find largely stated in the Note on Exod. xxix. 7. The anointing mentioned here took place in the open field. — See the preceding chapter, ver. 26, 27. How simple was the ancient ceremony of consecrating a king! A prophet, or priest, poured oil upon his head, and kissed him; and said, Thus the Lord hath anointed thee to be cuptain over his inheritance. This was the whole of the ceremony. Even in this anointing, Saul is not acknowledged as king; but simply TJJ nagid, a captain, one who goes before, and leads the people.

The Hebrew rr^bvD bitseltsuch, is translated by the Heptuagint, akKoixivK; ^tyaXx, dancing greatly: now this may refer to thej'oj/ they felt and expressed on finding the asses; or, it may refer lo those religious exultations, or playing on instruments of music, mentioned in the succeeding verses

Verse 3. Three men going up to God to Beth-eQ Jacob's altar was probably there still, Gen. xxviii. 19. However this might be, it was still considered, as its name implies, the house of God; and to it they were now going to offer sacrifice.

The three kids were for sacrifice; the three loaves of bread to be oflered probably as a thank-offering; and the bottle, or skin full of icine, for a libation. When the blood was poured out before the Lord, then they feasted on the Jlesh, and on the bread; and probably had a sullicieiuy of the ui/ie left for their own drinking.

Verse 4. Jnd they tcill salute thee'] crib'tt'b p iSni:'i ve shaulu leca lesh-tlom, " And ihey will enquire of thee concerning peace," i. e. Kelfure. In the East, if this salutation {)c given, then the person or persons giving it may be reckoned friends; if (he others return if, then there is fi iend- «hrp on both sides. Salaam ulicum, Peace to you I is the

3 Then shalt thou go on forward Anno ante i. from thence, and tliou shalt come o'ji'p- J*^^- to the plain of Tabor, and tliere shall meet thee

, three men going- up '' to God to Beth-el, one carrying" three kids, antl another carry ing three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:

4 And they will ' salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands.

5 After that thou shalt come to ^ the hill of

mode of compellation: Alicum essalaam. To you be peace; is the return. If you give the former, and receive not the latter, you may expect hostility. The meaning of the prophet is, when you come to the plain of Tabor, ye shall meet three men; you need not be afraid of them, for they are friends; and they will shew this friendship, not only by bidding you good speed, but by giving you two loaves of bread, a provision which you will need for the remaining part of your journey.

Verse b. The hill of God] The Targum says, " The hill on which the ark of the Lord was." Calmet supposes it to be a height near Gibeah.

Tiie garrison of the Pliilistines] Probably, they kept a watch on the top of this hill; with a company of soldiers to keep the country in check.

A company of prophets] A company of scribes, says the Targum. Probably, (he scholars of tlio prophets; for the prophets seem to have been the only accredited teachers, at particular times, in Israel: and, at this time, there does not appear to have been any other prophet besides Samuel in this quarter. Probably, the teacher of this school was not an inspired man, but one acting under the direction of Samuel. Mr. Harmer thinks that the following custom among the Mohamm' dans greatly illustrates this obscure place: " When the children have gone through the Koran, their relations borrow a fine horse, and furniture, and carry them about the tozcn in procession, with the book in their hand, the rest of their companions following, and all sorts of music of the country going before. Dr. Shaw, in pag. 193, mentions the same custom; adding, the acclamations of their srhool-fellows, but taking no notice of the music. We have no reason, however, to doubt the fact on account of the doctor's silence; especially, as it relates to another part of Barbary, and is given us by those who resided some years in that country. The doctor makes no use of this circumstance relating to the education of youth in liarbary; but the account of the procession, above given, seems to be a lively comment on that ancient Jewish custom mentioned iu these verses. That the

CJod, • wl\('re in the niiiiisnn of tlit- of piopliPls coiniiip <l(>\vii ' lr«m llu; I'hilisliiics: and it sliall ciiiiiijlo pasH,, liii^li |)lac«? with ii pHuItery, iiiid a when llioii art conic tliither to thi- lahn-t, and a pipe, and a hiir|), lir-fore woid prophclMtcn sii^nifies sons, or scholars, of tlifi pro- |)IiPts; and tliat jiroiilirn/iii;^ ofloii iniplii's sfni^inif, lias been ulrendy remurkcil: l)ut no author, that I know of, tins)>ivpn niiy account of (ho iialurp of thU |)rocps^ioii, or its dpsinii. We are sonietiines toUl that high places were used for sncrifices; and, in one case, music, it is certain, pliiycd before them when they wiiil up lo w<>r>lii|), fsa. xxx. '29. I5iit did (lioy not also return from sacrilitc with it? We are told tliat music was used by tiie prophets, to calm and compose them, and lo invite the Divine inlluence»; which is indeed very true: — but is it to the purpose? Did they go forth in this maiinrr /'lom their collc'j^c, into the iinixc and iutcrriiplions of the world, to call down tlie |)roplietic impulse? But if we consider them as a company of the sons of the prophets, i;oins in procession with songs of praise, and tniisic In these passages the sncred historian represents Saul, wh and trill pray (SSor.'i ^i//i/)'<//<,7, will msko earnca inlcrcetsion) for Ihcc. In the common acceptation of Iho word, it in certain Abraham wa» no prvphit; but horo it Mcin* t" signify a man well acquainted with the Supreme Ik-iii.(. rapable of teaching others in Divine tliingi, and Cii|>eciuily a man of praj/er; one who had great influence with the God he worsliipppil, and whose intercessions were available in the behalf of others. And in this spii«o the original word K'Zi nubi, i.i u^ed in several places in the Old Tcilameuf.

playiii*; before llicm, and recollect that it is usual in this day for ynnnj; scholars to go in procession with acclamations and music, Iho whole m)stcry seems lo be unravelled. To which may be added, I hnt Saul was to meet them, and find himself, turned into anulher man; into a man, perhaps, who is inslanlanrously made as knowiiig in the law of (ind, as the was neither a prophet nor the son of one, associating with the prophets. iiuA prophesy in g among thcni; to which he wa» led by tlie Spirit uf the Lord i^liich came upon him.

" That this can mean no more here than prayer and sup' plication to God, accompanied probably with edifying hj/iunt of pr<tisc and lliankigiving, (for Ihey had instrumenti of i/outk to whom the above honours were doinj. or any of his music, ch. x. o.) needs, in my opinion, little (iroof. If convoy; which ai<|uaintance with the law of God was very j Saul had prophesied in the common acceptation of the word, necessary for one who was to judge nmnng his brethren as it is not likely that we should have been kept absolutely in their king. Kor this rea'-tm the Jewish kings were to write the dark concerning the subject and design of his predicout a copy of the law ot God, and read it continually, that lions; of »hicli, by the way, not one syllable is spokea ia they might be perfect masters of it, Deut. xvii. 18, 20., j the oraclei* of God. The simple fact seems to have been which accom|>lishment some youth had gained whom Saul ' this: C>od, who had chosen this man to govern Israel, de. met with, and who was honoured with the solemnity lhe| signed to teach him that the Most High alone is the Founsacred historian speaks of, if the custom of South Harbary ' tain of power; and that, by Him only, kings could reign may be suppoved to be explanatory of those of Judea." j so as lo execute justice properly, and be His ministers for

On the woid;»-o/i/tt7, and the general account given here, good lo the people. To accomplish this gracious purpose, I shall introduce the following illustrations from another he gave him another heart, (yer. 0.) a disposition totally difwork: — ■ ferent from what he had ever before possessed; and (3Ught

" The word prophet generally coavoys the idea of a person so far ac()ua:nlcd with futuritj/ as to discern some purpose of the Divine Bein;{, relative to His government of the

" Coming among the sons of the prophets, on whom the I Spirit of the Lord rested, and who were under the instiuo- iiatural and moral world; but which is not sufiicienliy ma- I tiun of Samuel, (chap. xix. 20.) while Ihey worshipped tured by the cecouomy of I'rovidcnce to make, as yet, its j (rod with music and supplication, Saul also was made a p-irpublic appearance among men: and, lo/)f'o/)/(t;$j/, is usually I laker of the same Divine inlluence, and /)ro/)/i£>ir(/; r. <;. made understood to im|>iy Ihe foretelling such an event, the (<ine 1 1 prayer and suppliaitiou among them. To see one who did of its appearance, and the place of its operation; with some |: not belong to the prophetic school thus incorporated with the precedina; and sub^cqucnt circumstances, liut that this was prophets, pouring out his soul in prayer and supplication.

the original, aud only meaning of the word prophet, or prophesy, is very far from being clear. The first place the word occurs in is Geu. xx. 7., where the Lord says of Abraham to Abimclecli, He is a prophet, (sin soj nabi hu,)

was an unusual Hght, which could not pass unnoticed, especially by those of Saul's acquaintance who probably knew him, in limes past, to have been as careless aud as ungodly as tbemielves j (for it was only nos he got thai other

6 And * the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and ^ thou slialt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. let it be, when these '' signs are come ^ that thou do as occasion serve thee;

7 And ■= unto thee for ' God is with thee.

8 And thou shalt go down before me ^ to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt-offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings: '' seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.

9 1 And it was so, that when he had turned

12. • Heb. do for thet as thine hand shall find. Judg. 9. 33

10 And 'when they came thither to the hill, behold, ""a company of prophets met him; and " the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

1 1 And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said ° one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? ^ Is Saul also among the prophets?

good spirit from Got], a sufficient proof that he had it not before.) These companions of his, being unacquainted with that grace which can, in a moment, influence and change the heart, would, according to an invariable custom, express their astonishment with a sneer: Is Saul also among the prophets I That is, in modern language, ' Can this man pray, or preach? He whose education has been the same as our own; employed in the same secular offices; and formerly companion with us in what he now affects to call folly and sin! Can such a person be among the prophets!' — Yes, for God may have given him a new heart; and the Spirit of God, whose inspiration alone can give sound understanding in sacred things, may have come upon him for this very purpose, that he might announce unto i/ou the righteousness of the Lord; and speak unto your ruined souls, to edification, and to exhortation, and to comfort.

" The history of Elijah, and the priests of Baal, mentioned in 1 Kings xviii. throws farther light on this subject. In ver. 26, it is said, ' They, (the priests of Baal,) took a bullock, and drest it, and called on the name of Baal, from morning to noon, saying, O Baal, hear us! And they leapt upon the altar, and cried aloud, and cut themselves with knives, till the blood gushed out; and they prophesied, (HOJn'l vayithnabeu, and tliey made supplication,) until the time of the evening sacrifice.' From the whole contest it is plain that earnest importunate prayer is alone what is meant by prophesying in this text. — See also 1 Cor. xiv. 3. " And as all the prophets of God, whose principal business it was to instruct the people in the way of righteousness, were men of prayer, who were continually interceding with God in behalf of those to whom they ministered, the term tcz: nabi, became their proper appellative; and thus a part of their office, intercessors for the people, might have given rise to that name by which the Spirit of God thought proper, ia after times, to distinguish those whpm he sent not only to pray for and instruct the people, but also to predict those future events, which concerned the punishment of the incorrigible, and the comfort and exaltation of His own servants." See a Sermon which I have printed on 1 Cor. xiv. 3. intituled, " The Christian Prophet and his Work:" and see the Note on Gen. xx. 7.

A psalteryl Ssj nebel. As the word signifies in other places a bottle, or Jlugon, it was probably something like the Utricidarius Tibia, or Bag-pipe. It often occurs both with the Greeks and Romans, and was evidently borrowed from the Hebrews.

A harp'] lua kinnor; a stringed instrument, similar to our harp; or that on the model of which the harp was formed. On these different instruments I shall have occasion to speak more at large when I come to the Psalms.

Verse 7. Thou do as occasion sei~oe thee] After God had shewn thee all these signs, that thou art under His especial guidance, fear not to undertake any thing that belongs to thy office, for God is with thee.

What a number of circumstances thus precisely foretold! Does not this prove that Samuel was under the continual in» spiration of the Almighty?

Verse 8. Seven days shalt thou tarry] I will come to thee within seven days, offer sacrifices, receive directions from the Lord, and deliver them to thee. It is likely that these seven days referred to the time in which Samuel came to Saul to Gilgal, offered sacrifices, and confirmed the kingdom to him, after he had defeated the Ammonites: see chap.

13 And wlicn lie had iiindc an end of pro|)liusyinpf, lie came (o the hi;;h place.

14 ^ And Saiil'H uncle haul unto liini and In his eeivunt, Whither went ye P And he said, 'J'o seek the asses: and when we saw that l/iry v)cri no where, we cunie to Samuel.

15 And Saul's iincic snid, Tell me, 1 pray tiice, what Samuel said unto you.

\Cy And Saul Haid unto Imh uncle, lie told ns plainly that the asses were found Hut of the matter of the kin^^dom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.

17 H And Samuel called the people together "unto the Loito ''to Mizpch;

18 And said unto the children of Israel, 'Thus saitli the Lord God of Israel, I hrouj^ht np Israel out of Efiypt, and delivered ytm out of liie hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, aiul of them that oppressed you:

19 'And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your Iriljulations; and ye have said unto him, J^'aj/, but set a king over us. Now

Verse 12. But tcho is their father?'] The Sepfunglnt. ID its oriiicinal editions, odds, ou Kei;; is it not Knk? Thi^ malies tlie -ense more complete.

Verse 13. He came to the high place."] I suppose tliiv to mean (he place where Saul's father lived; as it is evident the next verse shews him to be at home.

Verse 14. Said's uiiclc~\ The word nn c/of/, signifies a heloved one., love, a lover, friend, &c.; and is the same as David. It is supposed to mean uncle here; but I think it means some familiar friend.

Verse 18. / brought up Israel out of Egypt'] These are similar to the upbraidings in chap. viii. 7, &c.

Verse 19. Present yourselves — by your tribes] It appears that, in order to find out the proper person who should be made their king, they must drtermine by lot: — 1. The tribe. — 2. The thousands, or grand divisions, by families. — 3. The smaller divisions by families. — And, 4. The indi- Tidual. When the lot was cast for the tribe, Benjamin wa^ taken; when for the thousand, the divisiou of Mairi was f therefore present yourselvcK before ^uc'.iCbi!' I the Loiin by jour tiibcs, and by An. Kiod. i»r.

yj >N hen he I. ad (aused the tribe <«f I!eiijamin to come near by their faniilies, the family of.Matii was (akin, and Saul the son of Kish wag taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.

'^2 Tlieief(!re tl ey '' enquired (tf the Lokd further, if the man sliouid jet come thither. And the i>oiii> answered, IJtiiold, lie hath hid hinii-elf among the sluH.

<:'.i And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, 'he was higher than an\ of (lie people from his shoulders and upward.

24 And Samuel.said to all the people. See ye him '' whom the lorju hath diosen, that there is none like him among all tiie people r And all the people shouted, and said, 'God" save the king.

25 Then Samuel told the people " the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up lelore tlie Lokd. And Samuel sent all the people away, e\ery man to his

taken; when for the family, the family of Kish was taken; when f(ir the individual, Haul, the son of Kish, was taken.

Verse 21. IVhen they sought him, he could not be found.] Through modesty, or f»ar, he h»d secreted himself.

Verse 22. The Lord anstcered] What a continual acce.ss to God! and what condescension in Hii attention to all their requests!

The stuff among which he had secreted himself may ruean the carls, baggage, &c. brought by the people to Mirpeh.

Verse 24. God save the king.] There is no such word here; no, nor in the whole Bib'e: nor is it countenanced by any of the Versions. The words which we thus translate lure, and elsewhere, are >imp!y "^hnr'n^ yechi ham-mtlech. " May the king lire;" and so all the Icrsiom, (the Targvm excepted.) which says, May the king prosper!

Verse 25. The manner of the kingdom] It is the same word as in chap. viii. 9.; and doubtlesi the same thing is im*

26 H And Saiil also went home ^ to Gibeali; and there went with him a liand of men, whose hearts God had touched.

plied as is there relnted. But possibly (here was some kind of compact, or covenant, between them and Saul; and this was the thing that was written in a book, and laid up before the Lord, probably near the ark.

Verse 26. A band of men'] Not a militartj hand, as I imagine, but some select friends or companions, who were personally attached to him. Others (liink, that all the men fit to bear arms are intended: but this seems inconsistent with the life that Saul led for sometime afterwards; for he appears to have gone into liis agricultural concerns, and waited for a call from the Divine Providence. — See the next chap. ver. 5.

Verse 27. Brought him no presents'] They gave him po proofs that they acknowledged either the Divine appointment, or his authority. The Arab chiefs are, to this day, when on a march, or excursion of any kind, supplied with every necessary by the free'tcill offerings, or presents, of the people, in the villages or places where fhry encamp. Saul was now a public character, and had a right to support from the public. These sons of Belial refused to bear their part; they brought him no presents. He marked it; but, at present, held his peace: he zcas as if he zsere deaf; so says the text. lie was prudent, and did not immediately assume all the consequence to which his office entitled him. It is probable, however, that tribute is meant by the ■word present. The people, in general, finding they had now a king, took it for granted that they mu^t pay tribute or taxes to him. Tliis was a part of the manner of the king which Samuel had shewn them; the great majority had done so, but certain refractory people refused to pay any thing, on the pretence that such a person as Saul could not be a deliverer of Israel. — Hozo, say they, shall this man save us?

Nahash, hing of the Ammonites, besieges Jahesh-gilead; and proposes to its inhabitants the most degrading conditions of peace, 1,2. They apply to their brethren for help, 3,4, Saul hears of their distress; tal;esat/oJce ofo.ven, hews them in pieces, and sends them tliroughout the coasts of Israel, with the threat that all who did not come to his standard should have his cattle served in like manner/ in consequence of which he is soon at the head of an army 0/ three hundred and thirty thousand men, 5 — 8. He sends to Jnbesh-gilead, and promises help, 9, 10. Saul attachs the Ammonites next morning, and gives them a total overthrow, 11. The people are greatly encouraged, and propose to put to death those who were opposed to SauFs government; hut this he prevents, 12, 13. Samuel leads the people to Gil gal; they offer sacrifices, and renew the kingdom to Saul, 14, 15.

against '' Jabesh-gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash,

NOTES ON CHAP. XI. Verse 1. Nahash the Ammonite] In the Fu/ga^e this chapter begins thus: Et factum est quasi post mensem, " And it came to pass about a month after." This addition appears also in the principal copies of the Septuagint; though it is

" Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.

2 And Nahash the Ammonite answered them. On this condition will

wanting in the Complutensian edition, both in the Greek and Latin, and is not acknowledged by any of the Oriental Versions. But it is in Joscphus; and probably was inserted from him into some copies of the Septuagint, and thence into

3 And tlic eldci-H of JahoKh said nnio liim, ■■Give us seven days' respite, thai uc may send inOKscni;'(Ms unio all llic coasts ol" IsiatI: and then, if t/icrc he no man to save us, we will come out to tlieo.

4 H Tiion ramc liie n)(-<^nni;rrs ' to fiibeali of Saul, and told the lidinns in the ears ol the people: and ''ail thr jx-ople Idled ii|) their voices, and wept.

5 And, l)ehol(l, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, NVhal nib th tiie people that they weep? And they told him the tidinfjs of the men ol Jahesli.

i when he fieard tliose tidin^^s, and ^m " iiis an/;<M was kindled greatly. An.t... i

Jin 711 throughout all the cr)as(s of Israel hy the hands of messengers, saying, ' Wliosoevcr comctli not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it he done unto his oxen. Ami the fear of the

1; Loan fell on the people, and they came out '' with

\ H And when he iiUMd)er<d them in ' IJezek, the children 'of Israel were three liun-

( y And they said unto the messengers that came. Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jahcshgilead, To-morrow, by lliul time the sun he hot, yc shall have ' help. And the messengers

We know little about Nahash; there was a king of this tiamo among the Amnionitp< in the time of David, 2 Sam. X. '2., but probably not tho same person. Nahai/i might have been n rnmmon name of the.Xmmonitish kings.

Make a cuvcnant zsilh i/sj They found they were in no condition to risk a war; and they wish to have peace, and desire to know his conditions.

Verse '2. / may thrust out all your right eyes] This cruel condition would serve at once as a badge of their slavery; and a means of incapacitating them from being effective warriors. Thcodurct observes, " He who opposes his shield to the enemy with his left hand, thereby hides his left eye, and looks at his enemy with his right eye: he, therefore, who plucks out that right eye, makes men useless in war." Joscphus gives the same reason.

Verse 3. Give us seven days' respite"] Promises of this kind are frequently made by besieged places; " We will surrender if not relieved in so many days:" and such conditions arc generally received by the besiegers.

Verse 4. Then came the messengers to Gibeah'] It Joes not appear that the people of Jabesh-gilead knew any thing of Saul's appointment to the kingdom; for the message is not directed to him, but to the people.

The people lifted up their voices, and zcept.] They saw no hope of deliverance; and they expected that their reproach would be laid on all Israel.

Verse 5. Saul came after the herd] lie had been bred* up to an agricultural life; and, after his consecration, he returned to it, waiting for a call of Divine Providence, which he ronsidered he h;id now received in the message from Jabesh-t'iilead.

It has often been remarked, that mighty king', and accomplished generals, have been chosen from among those who were engaged in agricultural concerns. In these observations one fact is lost siglit of: ri:. That, in ancient times, agriculture was the only employment. Trade and commerce were scarcely known; therefore, all descriptions of othcial dignities must be chosen out of this class; there was none other to chuse them from. We need net wonder at these words of the poet: —

Jura dahat populis, posito modo consul aralro; Pascebatque suas ipse senator, «ves.

Verse 6. The Spirit of God came uj>on Snul] He felt himself strongdy excited to attempt the relief of his brethren.

And his anger zcas kindled greatly.'] I believe this me.ms no more than that his courage zcas greatly excited: he felt himself strong for fight, and lontident of succesi.

Verse 7. Jle took a yoke of oxen] The sendine the pieces of the oxen was an act siMiilar to that of the I>evite, Judg. xix. 20. where see the Note..\nd both customs.nre similar to the sending about ol' the bloody crost, to call the clans to battle, practised by the ancient Highlanders of Scotland.—-Sec at the end of this chapter.

Verse 8. The chiluren of Isiucl zccrc three hundred thousand, atul the men of Juduk thirty thousand, j Tliis was a

came and shewed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad.

10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said. To-morrow " we will come out

unto you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth

1 1 And it was so on the morrow, that *" Saul put the people ''in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.

12 H And the people said unto Samuel, * Who is he that said. Shall Saul reign over us?

Tast army; but the Sepluugint make it eren more — " All the men of Israel were sJaj-.'/triaf ^iXisiScis, six hundred thousand; and the men of Judah, e'Sooij.rjy.ovTx p^iAiaJaj, sevextv thousand. Josephus goes yet higlier with the number of the Israelites: " He found the number of those whom he had gathered together to be e^So^riKOvTo. fiu^iaJaf, sefen hundred thousand.'''' Those of the tribe of Judah he makes seventy thousand, with the Septuagint. These numbers are not all right; and I suspect even the Hebrew text to be exaggerated, by the mistake or design of some ancient scribe.

Verse 10. To-morroio we tsill come out unto you'\ They concealed the information they had received of Saul's promised assistance. They did come out unto them; but it was in a different manner to what the Ammonites expected.

Verse 11. Put the people in three companies^ Intending to attack the Ammonites in three different points; and to give his own men more room to act.

In the morning tcalch] He probably began his march in the evening, passed Jordan in the night, and reached the camp of the Ammonites by day-break.

Thai tiso of them zccre not left together.'] This proves that the rout was complete.

Verse 12. H^ho h he that said, Shall Saul reign] Now flushed with Ticfory, and proud of their leader, they wish to give him a proof of their attachment, by slaying, even in cool blood, the persons who were at first averse from his being entrusted with the supreme power! The common soldier is scarcely ever insiiired by his victory to acts of magnanimiiy; he has shed blood, he wishes to shed more!

Verse 13. There shall not a man be put to death] This was as much to Saul's credit, as the lately proposed measure was to the discredit of his soldiers.

Verse 14. Renew the kingdom] The unction of.Saul, in the first instance, was a very private act; and, his being appointed to be king, was not known to the people in ge-

* bring the men, that we may put them to death.

13 And Saul said, 'There shall not Anno ante i. a man be put to death this day: ^'^°'': _' 1 for to-day ^ the Lord hath wrought salvation in Israel.

14 H Then said Samuel to the people. Come, and let us go '' to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom tiiere.

15 And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king ' before the Lord in Gilgal; and '' there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace-offerings before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

neral. He had now shewn himself worthy to command the people; and Samuel takes advantage of this circumstance to sain the general consent in liis favour. Josephus says, that Saul was anointed a second time at this convocation.

Verse 15. There they made Saul king] It is likely, from these words, that Saul was anointed a second time: he was now publicly acknowledged, and there was no gainsayer. Thus far Saul acted well, and the kingdom seemed to be confirmed in his hand; but soon, through imprudence, he lost it.

On the custom referred to in ver. 7, I am favoured with the following observations by a learned correspondent: —

" It is considered that the authenticity of records respecting a peculiar people cannot be belter illustrated, or the fidelity of the historian more clearly ascertained, than by proving that the manners and customs recorded are in unison with, or bear a resemblance to, the manners and customs of other nations of the same antiquity; or, what may be more correct, in a similar state of improvement: and the records of such rites and customs may possibly acquire an additional mark of authenticity, when the similarity is not so exact as to admit a presumption that the customs of one nation were merely copied from the other.

" Mr. Walter Scott, in the third canto of the Lady of the Lake, describes the rites, incantations, and imprecations, used prior to the fiery cross being circulated, to summon the rough warriors of ancient times to the service of their ciiief; and, in the first note of this canto, he alludes to this ancient custom which, in comparatively modern times, has been practised in Scotland; and proves that a similar punishment of death or destruction of the houses for disobeying the summons was inliicted by the ancient Scandinavians, as recorded by Olaus Magnus, iu his History of the Goths. A custom, still more in point than the one cited, may be found to have existed in a more ancient nation j

Samuel groion old asHcinblcs

the people, and shews his inlegrily.

« liosR history is suppoiii'il (lio most, if not llic only, auliiciitir imrrutive of dfiwls of aiiciciil liinoii; iiikI which also rocardit | lli« siiiiHuiiiary maniirrs of untuilivulcil ii.itioiiH. — Seo the I |)i(M'P(liiij; chaplpr; ei^iit fust vprsps. 'I'lie tiiniiliirily of thi? custom is to be found in the srvoiith vcrsft: with tlic Ilii.-lilaiidors, a goat was slain; with the Israelites, an ox. 'J'lic pxhihition of a cross, slaiiipd with the blood of the gacrificed animal, was thi- summons of (lip former, while part of the uninial was thp mandate of (In- latter. Disobedipiice in the one nation was |)unishcd with the death of the parties; and burnini; of thrir dwplliri({s in the othpr; the |iiinishment more simple and more allusive to the sacrificed emblem, the

forfeiture or dnstruclion of tlicir ox>-n. It lit not difljcult to judge whether the comparison be correct.

" The first ver»e« record the sanguinary practice of ancient times; which, to many, apjinar merely ai the grati- (iiiiliiin of revenge, or as proofs of victory; yi-l, when it is cunsidcrcd that the right eye must chiefly aid the Marrior in aiming at his adremary, whether the weapon be of ancient or modi-rn warfare; here ariseii a military reason corroborative of the truth of history for the deprivation, and in some degree lessening the cruelty of the mutilation, «hich wnuld be increased if it were caused by revenge or wantonness; though Nahash declares it to be a reproach upon all Israel."

Samuel grown old, testi/lcs liis inlrgrilij before tliv people; lohicli tliei/ confirm, 1 — 5. J/r reproves Hum fur tlicir ingratitude and disobedicnee; and gives a summari/ of the historij of their fathers, fJ — 1 2. lie exhorts them to future obedience; and ealhfor a sign from heaven to eonfirm his aulhoritj/, and to shew them their disobedience: God sends an extraordinari/ thunder and rain, 13 — 19. lie icarns them against idolatry/; and exhorts to obedience, and promises to intercede for them, 20 — 23. Sums up their duty, and concludes with a solemn warning, 24, 25.

AND Samuel said unto all Israel, Heboid, I have hearkened unto ■' your voice in all that ye said unto rae, and "■ have made a kinj; over you.

2 And now, behold, the king- ' walkcth befoie you: '' and 1 am old and j^iayhcaded; and, heboid, my sons are with you: and 1 have

Verse 1. And Samuel said] It is very likely that it was at this public meeting that Samuel delivered the following address: no other time seems to be given for it; and this is the most proper that could be chosen.

Verse i. Mj/ sons are a///;)/o«] It is generally agreed that these words intimate that Saiiinol had deprived them ol their public employ; and reduced them to a level with the common people.

Have icttlked before you from my childhood] lie had been a long, steady, and immaculate servant of the public.

Verse 3. Witness against me'] Did ever a minister of state, iu any part of the world, resign his oflice with so much self-consciousness of integrity, backed with the universal walked before you from my cbildlinod unto litis day. 'A Heboid, "■ here I am: witness iigainst nie before the Lord, and be- •orc Miis anointed: "^ whose o.\ have I taken? or whose ass have I taken •• or whom have 1 defrauded? whom have 1 oppressed? or of whose hand have 1 received a/ij/ "■ bribe ' to ^ blind ipprobation of the public? No nj.in « i> oppressed under Ills government; no man defrauded I He had accumulated no riches for himself; he had procured none for his friends: tior had one needy dependant been provided for out of the public purse. He might have pardoned his own sons, who nad acted improperly, before he quitted the government:!)ut, though he was the most tender of parents, he would not; but abandoned them to national justice, with only a tacit solicitation of mercy: Behold my sons are zrilk you! They have acted improperly: I deprived them of their aathority; ihev are amenable to you for their (ust conduct; I have walked uprightly and disinterestedly among you; they have not followed my steps, — but can you forgive them for their father's sake? As a minister of justice, he abandons them to their fate; as a tender father, he indirectly and mo-

hast thou taken ought of any man's hand.

5 And he said unto them. The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, ''that ye have not ft)und ought ''in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.

6 H And Samuel said unto the people, " It is the Lord that '' advanced Moses and Aaion, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.

7 Now therefore stand still, that I may ^ reason with you before the Lord of all the ' righteous acts of the Lord, which he did ^ to you and to your fathers.

8 '' When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers ' cried unto the Lord, then the Lord ''sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place.

9 And when they ' forgat the Lord their God, "he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of " the Philistines, and into the hand of the king "of Moab, and they fought against them.

10 And they cried unto the Lord, and said.

destly pleads for them, on the ground of his own services. Had he not acted thus, in both these relations, he would have been unworthy of that character which he so deservedly bears.

Verse 4. They said, Thou.hasi not defrauded'] Of what minister or governor can any nation under heaven say such things!

Verse 7. Now there/ore stand still'] I have arraigned myself before God and you: I now arraign you before

Verse 8. The Lord sent Moses and Aaron] lie shews them that, through all their history, God liad ever raised them up deliverers, when their necessities required sucli interference.

Verse 9. The hand of Sisera] See these transactions in the Book of Judges, as marked in tlie margin: and see the Notes on tliose passages.

.Verse 11. Jerubbaal] i. e. Gideon, and Bedan: instead of Bedan, whose name occurs no where else as a judge

I" We have sinned, becau.se we have \!c'.m5.' forsaken the Lord, ' and have served ^n. Exod. isr. Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now 'de- Anno ante i. liver us out of the hand of our ene- "'^'°''- ^^"^ mies, and we will serve thee.

11 And the Loud sent ' Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and * Jephthah, and " Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelled safe.

\2 And when ye.saw that "^ Nahash the kingof the children of Ammon came against you, 'ye said unto me. Nay; but a king- shall reign over us: when "" the Lord your God was vour king.

13 Now therefore ^behold the king ''whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, ' the Lord hath set a king over

1-t If ye will ■* fear the LorD; and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the "commandment of the Lord, then shall both ye and also the king that reignetli over you 'continue following the Lord your God:

15 But if ye will ^ not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, '" as it was against your fathers.

or deliverer of Israel, the Septuagint have Barak; the same reading is found in the Syriac and Arabic. The Targum has Samson. Many commentators are of this opinion: hut Calmet thinks that Jair is intended who judged Israel tieenly-lhree years, Judg. x. 3.

Instead of Samuel, tl;e Syriac and Arabic have Samson: and it is most natural to suppose that Samuel does not mention himself in this place. St. I'aul's authority confirms these alterations: the time iBould fail me, said he, to tell of Gideon, of Barak, of Samson., of Jephthah, of 7)avid, &c.

Verse 12. When ye sazc that Naha.<!h] This was not the first time they had demanded a king; see before chap, viii. 5. But at the crisis mentioned here, they became more importunate; and it was in consequence of this that the kingdom was a second time confirmed (o Saul. Saul was elected at Miyieh; he was confirmed at Gilgal.

Verse 14. If ye will fear the Lord, S^c] On condition that ye rebel no more, God will take you and your king day? ' I vvill ciill unto llic Loud, and lie shall send lliuiider and laiii; that yc may pcrrcivc and sec that ''yonr wickedness i.s jircaf, wliicli yt' liavc done in the sif^lil of the Loud, in askinf^- yon a kini;'.

IH ^i So Samuel called unto the Loko; and the LoiiD sent thunder and rain that day: and " all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

I'.) And all the people said unto Samuel, 'Pray for thy servants unto the Lortn thv (J<>d, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins t/iis evil, to ask us a kinj;-.

^^0 'i And.Samuel said unto the people, Fear nut: ye have done all this wickedness: yet under His merciful proleclion; and He and His kingdom.shall be confirmed and conliiiucd.

Verse Hi. Tliis grciil thiiigj Tiii.s unusu.il occurrence. Verse 17. Is it not v:he<U harvest to-day?'\ That is, this is the time of zihcut harvest. According to St. Jerom, who spent several years in tiie Promised L:ind, this harvest conimonced about the end of June, or bej^inning of July; in M'hich he says lie never saw rain in Judea. Niiiiquaiii eiiim in fine mensis Junii, she in mense Julio, in his provinciis, miLximiquc in Judca, j)luvias vidimus. — HiEit. in Amos iv. 7. where he refers to this very liijtory. NVhat occurred no\»' haidly ever occurs there but in the winter months.

Verse 1 8. The Lord sent thunder and rain that daij] 'Yhh was totally unusual; and, as it came at the cull of Samuel, was a most evident miracle.

Greu/lj/ feared the Lono'] They dreaded His terrible majesty: and they feared Samuel, perceiving that he had so much power viith tjod.

Verse 19. Pray for thy servants — that tse die not'] As they knew tliey had rebelled against God, they saw tiiat they had every thing to fear from lii-i justice and power.

fVe have added unto all our sins this evil] It is no sin lo liavp a kii'g; a good kin;: is one of the greatest blessings of CI' lis Providrnce: hut it is a sin to put a man in the pla,0 cf God. Is it not strange that they did not now attempt to lepaii- their fault! Tliey might have done it, but they did not: they arknou lodged their sin, but did not put it nwiiy. 'I'his is the giMieral way of mankind. " God help us, we are all sinners I" is the general language of all turn not aside from followiiiij the ^i^c i''? Loi(i), hut serve the Loito witli all An i:i.«) lu yt)ur heart; Mr i.

'il And 'turn ve ikiI a'jiilc: lor "■'•• • f/um ahould yc fro after vain thin>^s, uhicli cannot pr(dil niir deliver; for lliey art: vain

2'i Fur 'the LoKD will not forsake hii |>in|)li- '' for his ijreat names sake; JK-causc ' it liaih |)leased the l..oitD lo make you his peoph;.

'^i'.i Moreover as for me, God forbid that i should sin against the Loud '" in " ceasinj^ tn pray for you: but " i will teach you tlie '' good and the rif^ht way:

24 '' <^)nly fear tiie I-oito, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for 'consider 'how ' "real ////w«s he hath done for you.

'ib But if ye shall still do wk kcdiy, " ye shall be consumed, " both yc and your king-.

people: but, though to be a sinner i* to be in the most #o- Ict/iii and azcfil circumstances; yet ihey are cooteuted to bear the character, heedless of the consequences!

Verse 20. Ve have dune all this aickedness] That i», although ye h:ive done all this wickedness: — what was past God would pass by, provided they would be obedient lu future.

Verse 21. After vain xKxn^'.'] That i.-, idols; which he calls here innn ha-tohu, the same expression found CJen. i. 2. The eurth Teas iri,-i ivhu; it was xcitsle, empti/, anil formless: si> idols; they are confusion, and things of nought; for an idol is nothing in the zcorld.

Verse 2'2. The Lord sill not forsake his people] He will not, as yet, cast you off, though j ou hare deserted it. Ilis purpose, in preserving them in their land and religion, was not yet accomplished. It was not, hov^ever, for their sake that He would not cast them otT, but/nr Ilis osn great name sake. He drew his rea^on^ from Himself.

Verse 23. God forbid that I should sin] They bad earnestly begged him, ver. 19. to pray to God for thera, that they might not die; and he tells them that he should consider himself a sinner, should he cease to be their intercessor.

But I lull teach you the good and the right say] I will shew you, as long as I am with you, what true religion is: it is the aay to happiness and heaven. It is ri^ht. there is no crookedness in it: it is good, there is no evil in it.

\c.im' 1 ' ^ And Samuel said. What hast ^•E*o''-i""- thou done? And Saul said, Because Anno ante I. 1 saw that the pcuplc Were scattered

within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash;

12 Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and 1 have not ^ made supplication unto the Lord: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt-offering.

l.S And Samuel said to Saul, ^ Thou hast done foolishly: 'thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.

14 * Bnt now thy kingdom shall not continue: ^ the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to he captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded

Verse 11. And Smil saicQ Here he offers three excuses for his conduct: — 1. The people were fast leaving his standard.— 2. Samuel did not come at the ^«>«e, "il'ioS Icmoud. At the Ttiy coinmenceinent of the time he did not come, but Kllhin that time he did come. — 3. The Phili.stines were coming fast upon him. Saul should have waited out the time; and. at all events, he should not have gone contrary to the counsel of the Lord.

Verse 12. I forced myself^ It was with great reluctance that I did what I did. In all this Saul was sincere: but he was rash, and regardless of {ha precept of the Lord; which precepl or command he most evidently had received, ver. 13. And one part of this precept wrs, that the l^ord should tell him what he should do. Without this information, in an afi'aii under the immediate cognizance of God, he should have taken no step.

Verse 14. The Lord hath sought him a man after his oxen heart] That this man was David, is sufliciently clear from tlie sequel. But, in what sense was he a man after God's oun heart? Answer — In his strict attention to the law and worship of God: in his admitting, in the whole of h»s conduct, that God was Kini; in Israel, and that hehim>^clf WH*. hut His vicegerent; in never attempting to alter any of those laws, or in the lea<t change the Isiaelitisli constitution. In ail hts public cfficiul conduct he acted according to the Di>ii>.- iiiind, n-d lu'lilled thr will of hi- Maker: thus was he a II. an ajier Ooii's uvcn heart. In reference to his private,

15 And Samuel arose, and gat him aciloVi up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Ben- An. vAoa. u». jamin. And Saul numbered the Anno ante r. \)e:n\)\& that were ^present with him, "'^"p- ^"' ^ about si.K hundred men.

16 And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in "Gibeah of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.

17? And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned unto the way that leadeth to 'Ophrah, unto the land of Shual:

18 And another company turned the way to ^ Beth-horon: and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh (o the valley of ' Zeboim toward the wilderness.

19 H Now "there was no smith found throughout ail the land of Israel: for the Philistines said. Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:

OT personal moral conduct, the word is never used. This is the sense alone in which the word is used here and elsewhere; and it is unfair and wicked to put another meaning on it, in order to ridicule the revelation of God, as certain infidels have done.

Verse 15. And Samuel arose'] Though David, in the Divine purpose, is appointed to he captain over the people, yet Saul is not to be removed from the government during his life; Samuel, therefore, accompanies him to Gibeah, to give him the requisite help in this conjuncture.

About six hundred 7nen.'] The whole of the Israelitish army at this time; and not one sword or spear among them!

Verse 17. The spoilers came o«<] The Piiilistines finding that the Israelites durst not hazaid a battle, divided their army into three bands; and sent them in tliree dill'erentdirection<, to pillage and destroy the country. Jonathan profited by this circumstance, and attacked the remains of the army at Michmash; as we shall see in the succeeding chapter.

Verse 19. Noio there zeas no smith foiind^ It is very likely that, in the former wars, the Philistines carried away all the smiths from israel, as Porsenna did in the peace which iie uranled to the Romans; not permitting any ii'>a to be.( iged except for the purposes of agriculture: Neferro, nisi in asriculltirti uierrritnr. The Chaldeans diil the same to the Jews, in the time of Nebuchailnezzar: they carricdaway all the artificers, 2 Kings xxiv. 14. Jercm. xxiv. 1. xxix. 2.

21 Yet they liad ■ a file for tlic mat locks, and for the coiiIteiH, and for tlie

Alul in llic snniR manner did Cyrus treat the Lydians. — Jfcruil. Ill), i. c. N5. Sec several rxnmplos in Calinel.;

Vorsc 20. Jiiit uU the Israelites iccnt doicn to the I'hilistines] We find from tliis that they did not grant tlipin as mucli as I'orseiina did to tlic ilomuns; he permitted the J people to manufacture the implements of hushandij/.

Verso "21. Yet they had n Jile~} The Hebrew n-i'i'D/)t7- siruh, from 1V3 pal.iar, to rub hard, is translated very dif- i fereiilly by the Versions, and by critics. Our translation I may be as liKely as any: they permitted them the use of' files, (I believe the word means ^r/n(/A/07?c,) to restore the blunted edges of their Iridcrdx. ares, and goads. I

Verse '2'1. In the day of buttle — there icas neither sicord nor spear~^ But if the Israelites enjoyed such profound peace, and undisturbed dominion under Samuel, how is it that they were totally destitufe of arms, a state which argues the lowest circumstances of oppression and vassalage? In answer to this we may observe, that the bov: and the sling were the principal arms of the Israelites; for these they necd_cd no smith: the most barbarous nations, who have never seen iron, have nevertheless bo:cs and arrou'S; the arrow heads generally made of Jlinl. Arrows of this kind are

22 So it rame to pass in the day « l. |f-,V.'

2.J 'And the • c^arrison of the I'hilistinos went out to the pah!»ag;e of.Michniash.

found among the inhabitants of the Soath*tea itUnd*; aod even axes, and difl'orent implements of war, all made of stone, cut and polishi'd by sloiie, are fre(|uent among them. The arms of the aboriginal Irish h^ive been of this kind: I have fre(iuently seen heads of axes and urrojtt of itone^ which have been dug up out of the ground; and formed with considerable taste and elegance. The former, the common people term thunder- bolt s; the latter, elf-stonct.

Now, it is possible that the Israelites bad still boxti and arrozzs; these they could have without the smith: and it is as likely that they had slinks; and for the>e they needed iion<;. Hut then these were missiles; if they came into close fight, they would avail them nothing: for attacks of this kind they would require stsordi and spears; of these none were found but with Saul and Jonathan.

We see, in this cha[)ter, Israel brought to as low a state as they were under I'll; when they were totally discomfited, their priests slain, their ark taken, aod the judge dead..'Vfter that they rose by the strong hand of God; and in this way they are now to rise, principally by means of David, whose history will soon commence.

Jonathan and his armour-bearer purpose to attack a garrison of the Philistines, I. Saul and his armj/, jcith Ahiah the priest, tarrj/ in Gibcali, 2, 'J. Jonathan plans his attack of the Philistine garrison, 4 — 10. lie and his armour-bearer climh over a rock; attack and rout the garrison, 11 — 15. Saul and his company seein" con' fusion in the Philistine host, come out against them,■ as did the men mho had hidden thcmsches,• and the Philistines are defeated, 16 — 23. Saul lat/s ever// man under a curse zcho shall eat food until the evening,- in consequence of Zihich the people arc sorely distressed, 24 — 26. Jonathan, not hearing the adjuration, eats a little honey, xchich he found on the ground, 27 — 30. The Philistines being defeated, the people seize on the spoil, and begin to eat flesh aithout previously bleeding the animals, uhich Saul endeavours to prevent, 31 — 3-1. Jle builds an altar there, 35. Inquires of the Lord if he may pursue the Philistines by night, but receives no anstcery