Exposition of the Whole Bible

‘Provifion as yet made for his fupport and! mainte: nance as a king, and no bufinels as fuch for him: to do, Samuel full acting in his office, he returned to his father’s houfe, and employed himfelf in ruftic affairs, as he ufed to do: though fome think this was cafual, that he had been in the field to recreate himielf, or to meditate onthe affairs of government, and happened to return juit as the herd came out of the field, and fo followed them; thus Jarcbi. interprets it not) of his coming. after the herd, but of his coming after the fixed and ufual time of the herd’s coming out of the field 5 but fe ephus ‘is clear for it, that..he had beea about ome ruftic bufinefs, fome part. of hufbandry in the field, and returned to the:city; nor has it-beemunufual for emperors and kings, and perfons in high offices among Greeks and Romins, and other nations, in times of peace, \to employ themfelves. in hufbandry; {o did the judges of Yrael, as Shamsr, and Gideon, and Boaz, Fudgodiiogs. and vi. » Ruth iii. 2. fo Quingius, Cinciunatus being ota from. the plough and. made dictator, after he had conquered his enemies,» returned tovhis hufbandry*:. and Saul faid, what aileth the people that they weep? he fuppofed fame evib had befallen them, and defired to know what it-was,-that if it ay in his power to help them, he might: end they a him the. tidings of the men of Fabelo the meifae they brought, and the account abe: gave of the diftrefied cafe of, their: scitys ¥. 6. And the [pirit of God came upon Soul when be beard thofe tidings, &c.} »And. filled: him with pity and compatfion to the inhabitants: of s Fabeh, and-with wifdom and prudence, and fer:his thoughts at. work to contrive. ways and means for their. relief, and with fortitude, courage and refolution: to attempt their deliverance’; ra the Targum, ‘* the Spirit of fortitude from the Lord dwelt-on ‘Sal!:” and-bis anger was kindled greatly; againtt Neba/b the Ammanite for infulting S/rael, and. threatening _ do ufe the inhabitants of abe in fuch a cruel manner, ¥. 7, And be took a. yoke of oxen, 8c.) > Of his own or ‘his father’s, which he had jutt followed out of the field, and for which.chiefly that circum:

{tance is mentioned: and hewed them invpivces, as the Levite did his concubines: Fudg. xixi2'g. ‘and!

fent them throughout. all the, coafes of: hands of meffengers; fome.carryinga piece one way; and fome another, throughout allithe tribes; for to them. all the government of Saul extended, which) by: this. “he let them know ic did: whofoever cometh not after Saul and after Samuel; he names’ both,) becaufe-he himfelf, though chofen king, was not inaugurated into his office, nor was Samuel put out of his,;:and becaufe he knew’ he was defpifed. by fome, who would not qbjeé to and.refute the authority of Samuel, and therefore if would not follow. him, ‘theyrwould follow Samuel, ‘and he mentions® him@lfi-firft, -becaufe of his fuperior dignity: fo poall it be dontinnta bisoxen', be cutto pieces as thele were's hes does ‘not to cut them in pieces, buetheir oxen, left _feem,to.¢xercife too niuch feverity at his firftcoming tothe throne: and phe feariof the Lord fell on athe peoples they feared, thould they be:difobedient, the Cord would cur them to pieces, or way dettroy them, as well as Sax/ would cut omen to pieces; ao ete Hee were imprefitd hope Ifrael by' the) with the’ greatelt heat, ‘as’ at nbd’: this ‘morrow feems not! tobe the next from their retutn home, or going | ‘from Saul,’ but the’ morrow Sfter they and) were got horpe, and fhould'deliver the’ meffage to Joving, thofe that fent them, ¥? ro! ‘and fo Fofepbus® fays, it was on’the third day the'affittance was promifed them: ye foal have: belp ¢Sanl with “his army b that*cime would come'and ‘raife the fiege + and tbe meffengers ‘came and foewed it to the mknof Saheb; what Seuh had promifed) ‘and what a numerous they, army he’hid railed, and had néw.upon’the march for their relief, and to- inértow: would’ be! with them: and whey were glad; “¥eLwas good. news and glad'tidings’to- them, it’ cheated, their hebrts, and threaten awe them: 2 fpirit. a, hethould) ¥. 10. Therefore the ae" ‘of ‘abe fata, &e. 7 To Nebafb the ‘Ammonité> tomorrow we deill ‘come out unte you's mieanin sit they had no help, which they were well adie ‘they fhould ‘haves ‘bat this inifomecondition they’ éxprefféd ‘tot,’ which ‘they were not theirtobjiged ‘to, “but left Hitt! to’ concludé they ‘had ‘no of any, the meflengers WO. requrnsds and with a fenfe of this affair Rite of the Lord’ “and they came out with one confent; or as one mun, as if they had coniulted together; being under a divine impulfe, they {et out front different parts about much the fame tithe; and “met at a place of" renidezvous’next mentioned, #9? Of (62 195) 90 2

¥. 8. And when he Hutnbered them at Bezek, be Which. was. the ‘place appointed to meet at, “the fame with that in Fady!'i 4. fee the note there’, though fome take the word’ to be an ‘appellative, and not the proper name? of ‘a place, ‘and render it, with @ fione; with wHIeR he numbered, takin a {tone from each, and! laying them ona heap, and then ‘telling them";" fo “Lizekion figinifies lithe {tones ", with the Greeks ot with a fragment; either of an earthern vefiel, or Of a’ftone, or of thé branch of ‘a_tree® they carried'in_ their ‘hands; and‘ fo the king’s fervants numbered *not the ‘men! but the branches *% ‘arid phe cdildren of lfrael*were’ 300,000 men’; who came: together’ of’ this occaffon;, ‘thefe were of ‘the eight tribes and ‘a half on this fide Fordan: and the men of Judah 30,000 5 which tribe‘is mentioned diftinély, becaule-a noble and warlike tribe; which ufually firtt went upto battle; and though the number of them at this time afJem* bled may feem: comparatively fimall, “yet this may eafily be accounted for; becaufe they bordered upon the Philipines, who watched every opportunity to take an advantage of them,‘ and therefore-could not leave their tribe deflitute, but referved 2 foficient number to guard: their coafts, and yet ‘were defirous’ to teftify their ‘obedierice to San; though chofen kine out of another tribe,’ when they. might have expected from prophécy’ that “the | dominion belonged to” them.) ‘Fofepbis™ has made’ a’ grofs rittate in‘the numbers "here, he makes the men of Jirael to be 760,000; and thémen of Frdzbh 40,000, contrary to the text, the Targum, Syrja¢ and Arabit verfions;- but the Septuagiat comes pretty near him, which has'600;609'of ‘the men ‘of I/rae/, 763000 of the-men of ‘fudah.

¥. gt And they foid unto the meffengers that tame, &e.} From Fabefo-gilead, that is,’ Sez] and Samuet faid to'them, as follows: thas fall ye ley unto’ the men of fabefh gilead,? when they “retained | unto them; as they were now upon’ the departure’: t0- morrow-by that vime the fun be bet; whenvit-fmites and by this artifice the Ammonites were fecure, and not at all upon their guard againft an approaching enemy: and ye foall do with us all that feemeth good death this day who by their appearance to his fummons had teftified their obedience, and by their: courage and valour had fhewed their attachment unto you; make fhows of them, pluck out their eyes, or put them to death, or do what they would with them.

y. 11. And it was fo on the morrow, &c.] After the meffengers were returned, and delivered their meffage, and the men of Fade/h gilead had given the Ammonites reafon to expect that they would to him, and to the intereft of their country. Ben

Gerfom take the fenfe to be, that it might be right © after, but not on this day to put them to death; or that this was an artifice of Sau/ to deliver thofe men out of the hands of the J/rae/ites, fugoefting as if it was his intention hereafter to put them to death, though not now, for the following reafon:

come out to them according to their agreement: for to-day the Lord hath wrought falvation in If- that Saul put the people into three companies; or beads*, under fo many commanders, affigning to each their number, if equally, 110,000 in each, as Gideon divided his 300 into three companies, 100 in each, Fudg. vii. 16. and Abimelech, Fudg. ix. 43. it feems to have been their way of fighting in thofe days: and they came unto the midft of the boft; that is, of the Ammonites: in the morningwatch; the third and laft watch of the night, by break of day, or before, however before the fun was up; fo quick was Saul and his men in their march, though on foot. Bunting > computes the diftance from Gibeab to Bezek 40 miles, and from thence to Fabefo 163 it is commonly reckoned that it was about 60 miles from Gibeah to Fabefb. Fofephus *fays it was 10 /cheni, each of which contained five or fix miles: aad flew the Ammonites until the beat of the day; that is, till noon, fo that from the morning-watch till noon he was making flaughter of them: and it came to pafs, that they which remained were fcattered, thofe that were not cut off by the fword of Sau/, were broken and difperfed, they could not ftand their ground againit him: fo that two of them were not left together, to flee together, but every one fhifted for himfelf, and fled alone.

y.12. And the people faid unto Samuel, &c.| By which it feems that Samuel accompanied Saul in this expedition; though it is fomewhat difficult to account for it, that a man of his years fhould be able to attend fo quick a march that Sau/ made; it may be therefore, that he might follow after him gently, and meet him quickly after the battle was fought, when the people made the following fpeech to him: who is he that faid, fall Saul reign over us? is fuch a mean unexperienced man fit to rule over us? who can bear his government, and fubmit to it? what can be expected from him, that he fhould deliver and fave us out of the hands of our enemies? in this they had refpeét to the fons of Belial, and what they faid, ch. x. 27. but now it appeared he was fufficiently qualified, and God had made him an inftrument of falvation, and was a proper perfon to be king over them: bring the men, that we may put them to death; fo tranfported were they with affection to Sau/, and. indignation againft thofe men.

¥.13. And Saul faid, &c.] Preventing Samuel from giving an anfwer, being ready to forgive injuries; as it was in his power as a king, and him only, to pardon thofe perfons that treated him in fo ill a manner, and it was policy fo to do, efpecially in the beginning of his reign; and it plainly appears, that this temper did not always continue with him; though there is no reafon to believe otherwife, that this was now owing to his lenity as rael, he does not afcribe the victory to the quick difpatch he made, to his wifdom and prudence in forming the fcheme he did, and to his valour and courage, and that of his troops, but to the power and goodnefs of God.

¥. 14. Then faid Samuel to the people, &c.] Agree-; ing to what Sau/ had faid, and in order to put them off from demanding the lives of the offenders, aad willing to take them whilft they were in a good difpofition: come, and let as go to Gilgal; which was the neareft place to them, on the other fide Fordan, from which they now were, and where the children of J/rael firft encamped when they paffed over Fordan, where the tabernacle and ark firft were, and an altar was built, and where meetings ufed to be held on certain occafions; all which might be reafons why Samuel propofed to go to this place. According to Bunting *, this place was 36 miles from Fabefb-gilead: and renew the kingdom there,; that is, recognize Sa@u/, own and declare him king of J/rael.

¥. 15. And all the people went to Gilgal, &c.] Agreed to the motion, and marched along with Saul and Samuel thither: and there they made Saul king before the Lord imGilgal, that is, they declared him to be king there; he was inaugurated into, and invefted with his office, otherwife it was God only that made him king, who only had the power of making one, fee és ii. 36. Fofepbus fays *, that Samuel anointed him with the holy oil; and fo the Septuagint verfion here renders it, ‘* and Samuel anointed Saul there to be king;” and it is not impfobable, that as he privately anointed him, he did it publickly alfo; if not at the election of him, then at this time; and it is obfervable, that in the next chapter, and not before, he is called the Lord’s anointed. Now this was before the Lerd, in this place; this being, as barbinel obferves, a fanctified place, where the tabernacle and ark of God had been; and he fuppofes it probable, that the ark was brought hither; but it was enough that the people and congregation of the Lord were here, and who, when aflembled in his name, his prefence was with them: and there they facrificed.

Jacrifices of peace-offerings before the Lord; where an altar was built, and on which they offered thefe peace: offerings by way of thank{giving, partly for the victory obtained over the Ammonites, and partly for the renewal of the-kingdom to Saul, and their unanimity in it, as well as to implore and obtain future peace and profperity: and there Saul, and all the people of Ifrael rejoiced greatly; they in their king, and he in the good-will of his people, and both in the great falvation God had wrought for them.: ~a pe the next being the laft of the feven days refpite; well as his prudence: there hall not be a man put to them, otherwife they might expect nothing but ie this chapter Samuel, refigning the govern- BE ment to Saul, afferts the integrity with which he had performed his office, and calls upon the people of J/rae/ to atteft it, who did, yy. 1—5. he then reminds them of the great and good things the Lord had done for them in times paft, ¥. 6—11. and whereas they had defired a king, and one was given them, it was their intereft to fear and ferve the Lord, if not, his hand would be againft them, ¥. 12—15. he terrifies them by calling for thunder in an unufual time, ¥. 16—19. and then comforts.and encourages them, that in doing their duty God would be with them, and not forfake be taken to make fatisfa€tion for any injuries committed by him: and I have walked before you from my childbood unto this day; his manner of life and converfation from his infancy to this time was well known to them, and he had {pent all his days in the fervice of God, and for the good of I/rael.

¥. 3. Bebold, bere I am, &c.) No longer thé fupreme governor, but a fubject, and accountable for any mifdemeanour charged upon me, and to which I am ready to give anfwer, being now at your bar to be tried and judged before you: witnels againft me before the Lord, and before bis anointed; fignifying, that if they had any thing to lay to his charge, that they would produce it, and givé proof and evidence of it in the prefence of God, in whofe name they met, and of Saul anointed king, and fupreme judge and ruler of the nation: whofe ox have I taken? by force, to employ in his own fervice in ploughing his ground, or treading out his corn: or whofe afs have I taken? to ride about on in his circuit, or to carry any burden for him: or whom have I defrauded? of their money or goods by any artifice, circumventing and cheating them: whom have I oppreffed? ftruck, beaten, broken, or caufed to be fo ufed wrongfully; to whofe perfon have I been injurious any more than to their property? Some derive the word from a root which fignifies favour and goodwill, and interpret it as fome of the Radbdins do, of his not taking money of perfons with thei good-will; or rather, that he had done nothing A a judge for favour and affection, but had acted the upright part, without regard to rich or poor, friends or foes: or of whofe hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith 2 his meaning is, that he had never taken a gift or prefent from any perfon to favour his caufe, that was to be brought before him, and give it for him right or wrong; to connive at any injury he had done, or to turn away his eyes from feeing where the juftice of the caufe lay; or that he had not received money to fpare the life of a criminal that deferved to die; for the word ufed for a bribe, fignifies a ranfom-price, fee Deut. xvi. 19. and I will reftoré it £0 you; the ox or afs, money or goods, gifts and prefents, or bribes taken, or maké compenfation for any injury done to the perfons or eftates of men- Some render it, J will anfwer you’, or give in an anfwer to any fuch charges when exhibited.

y. 4. And they faid, &c.] One in the name of the reft, or they all cried out as one man: thou haft not defrauded us, nor oppreffed us; had done: them no wrong, neither privately nor. publickly, by fraud or by force: neither haft thou taken ought of any man’s hands; as a gift, prefent or bribe, to favour his caufe. Some would infer hence, that he took nothing of them for his fupport and maintenance, and that he lived upon his own fubftance; but that is not likely or reafonable; it was but juft that they fhould {upport him and his family fuitable to his charaéter as a judge, whofe whole life was {pent in their fervice.

¥. 5. And he faid unto them, the Lord is witne/s againft you, and his anointed is witnefs this day, &c.

Should they hereafter reproach and vilify him, and charge y.1. And Samuel faid unto all Ifrael, &c.| When affembled at Gilgal, after they had recognized Saul as their king, and he was eftablifhed in the kingdom, and while in the midft of their mirth and joy: behold, I have bearkened unto your voice in all that ye have faid unto me; refpecting the affair of a king, to which it muft be limited, as appears by what follows; -otherwife it is poffible in fome things they might apply to him about, he did not think fit to hearken to them, and grant their requeft, or fpeak for them: and have made a king over you; that is, had by the direction and appointment of God chofen one by lot, anointed and declared him king; for it was the Lord alone, that, properly fpeaking, made him a king.

y¥.2. And now bebold,' the king walketh before you, &c.] He is invefted with his office, and in the exercife of it, and goes in and out as the captain, commander and leader of the people; it is expreffive of his being in the full poffeffion of regal power and authority, and therefore Samuel might fpeak the more freely, as he could not be thought to have any hope and expectation of being re inftated in his government, or to have parted with it with any regret; and he wifely took this opportunity of reproving the people for their fin of defiring a king, when Sau/ ‘was fettled and eftablifhed in his kingdom, and when they were in the, midit of all their mirth and jollity, who might from the fuccefs that had attended this firft adventure of their king, conclude that they had done a right and good thing in requefting to have one: and I am old, and grey-beaded; and fo unfit for government, and very willing to be eafed of the burden of it: he mutt furely be more than 52 years of age, as the Fews generally fay he was, fince it is not ufual at fuch an age to be greyheaded, fee the note on ch. viii. 1. however, on this account he merited reverence and refpect, and demanded attention: and bebold, my fons are with ‘you; as private perfons in the condition of fubjects, making no pretenfion to government; and if they had committed any thing criminal, they were open to the law, and might be charged, and tried, and treated acccording to their deferts; and there they were, and might be afked what queftions they thought proper with refpect to what they knew of his conduct; and to be hoftages or bail for him, if they could prove any thing againft him; or to charge him with any a€ts of corruption, injuftice, and violence: that ye have not found ought in my band, that they had nothing tp accufe him of and charge him with throughout his whole adminiftration, but had afferted his innocence and integrity, had honourably acquitted him, and given him a fair character: and they anfwered, he is witne/s 5 the omnifcient God is a witnefs againft us, fhould we depart from this teftimony, and Saw/, the Lord’s anointed, is a witnefs that we have fully cleared thee ftom any imputations of mal-adminiftration. The word is fingular, he /aid or anfwered ®, that is, I/rael {aid, the whole body of the people, they all replied as one man: the reafon why, Samuel made fuch a fpeech at this time, when he refigned his government to Sau/, was not only to fecure his own charaéter, but to fuggeft to Saul how he fhould tule and govern according-to his example; and that having eftablifhed his own character, he could the more freely, and with the better grace, reprove the people for their fin, as in fome following verfes.

¥. 6. And Samuel faid unto the people, &c.] Having cleared and eftablifhed his own character, he proceeds to lay before the people fome of the great things God had done for them formerly, and quite down to the prefent time, the more to aggravate their ingratitude in rejecting God as their king: it is the Lord that advanced Mofes and Aaron; railed them from a low eftate, the one in a foreign country in Midian, the other in bondage in Egypt, to be deliverers, guides and governors of his people Jjvael, Kimchi thinks this refers to what goes before, and that the fenfe is, that God that raifed Mofes and Aaron to great honour and dignity, was a witnefs between him and the people; in which he is followed by fome chriftian interpreters. Ben Gerfom makes mention of the fame, but rather approves of the connexion of the words with what follows, as does Abarbinel, and is doubtlefs rightett; the Zargum is, ‘* who hath done mighty things by the hands of Mofes and Aaron:” and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt; when they were in bondage there, and that by the means of Mofes and Aaron, by whofe hands he wrought figns and wonders, and inflicted plagues on the Egyptians, which made them willing at laft to let Vrael go.

¥. 7, Now therefore fiand fiill, &c.] Keep your place, and don’t as yet break up the afflembly, but wait a little longer patiently, and with’ reverence and attention hearken to what I have. farther to fay: that I may reafon with you before the Lord; as in his prefence; and which he obferves to command the greater awe upon their mind, and the greater regard to the fubjeét of his difcourfe and refolutions; which would be, of all the righteous atts of the Lord, which he did to you and to your fathers; not only in a way of judgment delivering them into the hands of their enemies, when they finned againft him, but rather in a way of mercy, and kindnefs in delivering thera out of their hands.

¥.8. When Facob was come into Egypt, &c.] With his family to fee his fon Fo/eph, and dwelt there; or rather the pofterity of facod are meant, who fettled in Egypt, and continued there many years, and at length were oppreffed by the Egyptians, and brought into hard bondage: and your fathers cried unto the Lord, by reafon of their bond age, for help and deliverance + then the Lord fent Mojfes and Aaron, which brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, after various mefflages carried by BY pty them from the Lord to Pharach king of and after many figns and wonders wrought b them, by which the heart of that king was at la brought to confent.to their difmiffion: and made them dwell in this place, the land of Canaan; they conduéted them through the Rea-/ea, guided them through the wildernefs, and accompanies 1 them, efpecially Ado/és, to the borders of the land of C2- naan; for neither of them went into it, but died before the peoples entrance there. Fo/bua, the fucceffor of Mofes, of whom Samuel makes no mention, introduced J/rael into it, conquered the land for them, and fettled them in it; tho’ W%o/es and Aaron, as they were the inftruments of bringing them out of Egypt, were the caufe, by conducting them through the wildernefs, and by their prayers, counfels and inftructions, of their entrance into and fettlement in it: befides, Mofés appointed o/bua in his ftead,and ordered him to lead the people there, and directed to the divifion of the land among them, yea two tribes and an half were fettled by him on the other fide Fordan; the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac and Aradic verfions read in the fingular number, he made them dwell, that is, the Lord.

y.9. And when they forgat the Lord their God, -

&c.] The worfhip of the Lord their God, as the Targum; that is, they fell into idolatry, which is a plain inftance and proof of forgetfulnefs of God; for fuch that neglect his worfhip, and ferve idols, may be truly faid to forget him: be fold them into the hand of Sifera, captain of the hoff of Hazor; who was general of the army of Fadin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor, Fudg. iv. 2. where they are faid to be fold into the hands of Fadin, here into the hands off Sifera, becaufe it is highly probable he was fent againft them by Fadin, and fubdued them, as he afterwards was fent by him, when they rebelled againft him, and were delivered out of his hand: and into the band of the Philiftines; as they were in and before the times of Samfon, Judg. xiii. 1. and into the hand of the king of Moab 5..as in the times of Ebud, Fudg. iii. 14, 15. the exact order of thefe things is not obferved: and they fought againft them, the king of Moab, Sifera, and the Pbilifiines, and overcame them, and fo they fell into their hands.

¥. 10. And they cried unto the Lord, 8&c.] When in the hands of their enemies, and in bondage to them, and cruelly opprefied by them: and faid, we have finned, the word for /aid is in the Cetid, or written text, fingular, and in the Keri, or marginal reading, plural; and may fignify, that every one of them had a fenfe of their fin, and made acknowledgment of it; their confeffion was univerfal as their fin was: decaufe we have forfaken the Lord; the Word of the Lord, as the Targum: and have ferved Baalim and Afbtaroth; fee the notes on Fudg. ii. 11,13. but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will ferve thee, they did not afk for a king to go before them, and fight their battles, as they did now, but applied to the Lord for deliverance, promifing to ferve him as their king and their God. a oy y. 11. And the Lord fent Jerubbaal, &c.] Or Gideon, as the Targum, for Ferubbaal was the name given to Gideon,when he firft became a judge, Fudg.

vi. 23. and Bedan, if this was one of the Judges, he muft have two names, or is one that is not mentioned in the book of Fudges; the Targum interprets it of Samfon; fo Ferom", for the word may be rendered in Dan; one in Dan, who was of the tribe of Dan, as Samfon was and it was in the camp of Dan the Spirit of God firft came upon him; and Kimchi obierves, that it is the fame as Ben-dan, the fon of Daa, that is, a Danite; and though he was after Yephthab, yet is fet before him, becaufe he was a greater man than he 3 and have chafen, and whom ye have defired, &c.] Fort though God chofe their king for them, it was at their requeft; they chofe to have a king, and defired one, and they approved of and confented to, and confirmed the choice he had made, and {0 it was in effect their own: and bebold, the Lord hath this way go the generality of Fewifh writers’; but /et @ king over you; he gratified them in their de- a man of this name being among the pofterity of Manaffeh, 1 Chron. vii. 17. Junius, and who is followed by others, thinks, that Yair is meant, and is fo called to diftinguifh him from a more ancient Fair, the fon of Manafeh, and with whom the order of the judges better agrees, fee Numb. Xxxii. 41. JFudg. x. 3, 4. but the Septuagint, Syriac and Aradic verfions read Barac; and he may the rather be thought to be meant, becaufe he was the inftrument of delivering J/rael out of the hand of Sifera, the captain of the hoft of Hazor before mentioned, y¥. 9. and agrees with the words of the apoftle, Hed. xi. 32. who mentions thofe judges much in the fame order: and Fephthah, and Samuel,; meaning himfelf, who was the laft of the indges, and who fpeaks of himfelf as of a third perfon, as Lamech does, Gen. iv. 23. andthis he did not out of oftentation, but to obferve that God had made him an inftrument of delivering them out of the hand of the Péiliflines, which muft be frefh in their memory, as he had made ufe of others before him, when he fent judges, and not kings, and therefore thef had no need to afk aking. The Syriac and Arabic verfions read Samfon inftead of Samuel, and which alfo agrees beft with Hed. xi. 32. and delivered you out of the hands of your enemies on every fide, not the judges, but the Lord; for the word for delivered is of the fingular number: and ye dwelled fafe; in the greateft fecurity and confidence, without any fear of enemies, having God their king in the midft of them, and ftood in no need of any other king to protect and defend them.

y.12. And when ye faw that Nabafh the king of the children of Ammon came againft you, &c.] - Or but yet"; however, notwithftanding though the Lord had been fo kind and gracious to them, as to raife- up judges one after another to deliver them, when they cried unto him, yet when they perceived that Nabafh the 4mmonite was preparing to make war with them, inftead af applying to the Lord for his protection, they defired to have a king to go before them, and fight their battles, as follows:. nay, but a king fhall reign over us; tho’ Samuel told'them they had no need of one: when the Lord your God was your king; and would proteét and defend them, if they applied to him, and would put their truft in him; and he himfelf Samuel was their judge, and would be their general and commander, and they had experience of fuccefs under him to the utter dettruétion of their enemies, ch. vii. 10. and yet notwithftanding all this, they infifted upon it to haveaking. According to Abarbinel, this preparation of Naba/h to war with them, was after they had afked for a king, and was a punifhment of them for their requeft; and yet they repented not of it, but in effect faid, though Nabajfb, and all the enemies in the world come againft us, we'll not go back from our re- -queft, but infift on it, that we have a king to reign over us; fuch was their obftinacy and _perverfenefs.

¥.13. Now therefore bebold the king whom ye fires, though he did not fuffer them to make themfelves a king, he fuffered them to have one, and he gave them ones this power he referved to himfelf of fetting up and pulling down kings at his pleafure,

¥.14. Jf ye will fear the Lord, and ferve him, - and obey bis voice, &c.] All worthip and fervice of God, and obedience to his word and ordinances, fhould fpring from fear and reverence of him; and therefore the whole of worfhip, both external and internal, is fometimes exprefled by the fear of the Lord: and not rebel againft the commandment of the Lord; break it, and thereby exafperate him, and provoke him to wrath and bitternefs: chen Jhall both ye, and alfo the king that reigneth over you, continue following the Lord your God; the Targum is, “‘ after the worfhip of the Lord your God;”: which was their duty to do, and is expreffed in the preceding claufes; and this therefore is rather a promife of fome benefit and privilege to their duty, and to encourage them to it, fince it ftands oppofed to the threatening of punifhment in the next verfe; and the words in the original are, then /hall ye, &c. be after the Lord your God'; that is, though they had in effect rejected the Lord from being their king, by afking and having one; yet notwithftanding, if they and their king were obedient to the commands of the Lord, he would not caft them off, but they fhould follow him as their guide, leader and director, and he would proteé&t and defend them as a fhepherd does his fheep that follow after him; fo Yarchi takes it to be a promife of long life and happinefs to them and their king, ‘¢ ye fha!l be eftablifhed to length of days, both ye and the king.” |

¥.15. But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel againft the commandment of the Lord, &c.] They and their king, by finning, difregarding his precepts, both affirmative and negative: then foall the band of the Lord be againft you; by fending fome judgments upon them, as famine, {word, or peftilence, particularly captivity and fubjection to their enemies: as it was againjt your fathers, who had no king; and itis fuggelfted that their cafe, who had one, would be ‘no better than theirs; their king would not be able ‘to fave them from the hand of God: the words in the original are, and againft your fathers”, which is interpreted in the Talmud" of their fathers dead, and in their graves, and of their enemies, digging them up, and taking them out in contempt; but much better by Kimchi, of their kings, who are, or fhould be fathers of their fubjects, as 4ugu/tus Cefar was called the father of his; and fo the Septwagint verfion renders it, and upon their king, fignifying that both they and their king fhould feel the weight of the hand of the Lord, if they rebelled againft

¥. 16. Now therefore fland, 8cc.] Which does not fo much refpect the pofition of their bodies, as the fixed attention of their minds: and fee this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes; meaning the ftorm of thunder and rain which pre- fently followed; which coming at a time when| fh king, now they were his fuch things were not ufual, and on a day when there was no appearance or likelihood of any thing of this kind, and fuddenly, at once, upon the prayer of Samuel, it was no lefs than a miracle, and might be called a great thing, new and unheard-of, and the pure effect of almighty power.

- yt. 17. Is it not wheat-barveft to-day? &c.] Of the time of wheat-harveft, fee ch. vi. 13. ufually fell in Judea only twice a year, called th former and the latter rain;

Nifan or March, to the 16th of Marchefvan or October; it was not ufual for rain to fall, and fo not in harveft, at that time efpeciaily, fee Prov. 1. Amos iv. 7. R. Fofeph Kimchi fays, in the land of Irae! rain never fell all the days of harveft; and and from the 17th ofjed by the thunder and lightening I cattle, with the fruits of the earth, be wafhed aw with the prodigious rain: for we dave added | xxvi. all our fins this evil, to afk us a king; though Samuel had laid before them the evils and inconve~ niences of having a king, and had in the name of —

Rain|was a full proof; and was fo violent, tha elcontinued, they were afraid they fhould be deft their judge and fupreme governor in defiring’ a Tanti ie himble fervants, at lea feignedly; and knowing what intereft he hack it God in prayer, they intreat him to make ule. it on their behalf, who having finned fo greatly, hat not the affurance to call the Lord their God, thi they had no doubt of his being the God of Same: whofe prayers he had heard, of which this tempef this is confitmed by Yerom, who lived long in thofe parts,; who fays®, at the end of the month of the Lord charged them with rejecting God as their king; yet nothing convinced them of their evil une, and in the month of uly, we never faw rain in thofe provinces, efpecially in Fudea. And Samuel not only by putting this queftion, would have them obferve, that it was the time of wheat-harveft in general; but on that day in particular the men were at work in the fields reaping the wheat, &&e. and fo was not cloudy, and inclining to rain, but all ferene and clear, or otherwife they would not Have been eniployed in cutting down the corn; ‘all which made the. following cafe the more re- till this ftorm-came, and then all théir fins came frefh to their minds; and this added to the weight of them, and lay heavieft on them, that they had rejected the Lord, and flighted his prophets, and, notwith{tanding all remonitrances, reiolved on haying a king. fe y. 20. And Samuel faid unto the people, fear not, &c.] Being deftroyed by the tempelt: ye Aave done all this wickednefs; in afking a king; that is, though they were guilty of fo heinous a fin, yet markable: I will call unto the Lord, and he foail fend thunder and raia; in a miraculous and preternatural way, there being nothing in nature preparatory thereunto, and this purely at the prayer of Samuel: that ye may perceive and fee that your there were grace and mercy with God, and they fhould not defpair of it, fo be it, that they did not depart from him, but cordially ferved him; the Targum is, “ ye have been the caufe of all this evil;’

wickedne/s is great, which ye have done in the fight of the Lord, in afking you a king 5 was attended ‘with ageravated circumftances, and highly offenfive to God, though he had gratified them in it, » of which this violent ftorm would be an indica- ‘tion, and might ferve to convince them of their folly, as well as of their wickednefs, and that they they had, he would not have them defpond or indulge flavifh fear: yet turn not afide from ing the Lord; the worfhip. of the Lord, as the.

Targum; provided they did not depart from the the ftorm of thunder and-rain; and though -

Lord, and forfake his worfhip, word and ordi- | nances, they need not fear utter ruin and deftruction, though they had been guilty of this fin: dat had no. need of a king, fince Samuel their judge ferve the Lord with all your heart; if their fervice could do as much or more by his prayers, than a king could do by his fword; and of which they had had fufficient proof before this, and that in the fame way, ch. vii. 10.

y.18. So Samuel called unto the Lord, &c.] Not in an authoritative way, or by way of command, but by prayer; fo the Zargum renders the claufe of God was kept up, and was hearty and fincere, they might ftill expect things would go well with them.;

y¥. 21. And turn ye not afide, &c.) From his worfhip: for ¢hen; if they turned afide from that: fhould ye go after vain things; idols which are vanity, and lefs than vanity; which canuot profit nor in the preceding verfe, ‘* I will pray before the de/zver; neither beftow good things om their vo=

Lord:” and the Lord fent thunder and rain that day; immediately, though there was no.appearance of it; it was harveft-time, and a fine harvettday. Yofepbus fays °, he fent thunder, lightening and hail, a terrible ftorm and tempeft it was: and taries, nor deliver them from evils, or from the hands of their enemies: for chey are vain; empty, ufelefs, and unprofitable; an idol is nothing in the world, 1 Cor, viii. 4. matey y¥. 22. For the Lord will not forfake bis people all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel; the Lord that fent this tempeft, and Samuel who had fuch power with God in prayer. C/ement of Alexandria * thinks, that from hence. the Greeks borrowed their fable concerning Macus invoking for his great name-fake.| For the fake of him(elf, his honour and glory; fhould he forfake his people, and fuffer them to come to ruin, his name would be blafphemed among the heathens; he would be charged either with want of power

‘God, when there was a drought in Greece; and-as foon as he prayed, immediately there was thunder, and the whole ait was covered with clouds; but

Elijah praying for rain‘, at whofe requeft it came, 1 Kengs xviii. 42.

y.19. And all the people faid unto Samuel, &c.] ‘During the tempeft, and in the midft of it; it was the general cry of the people, they were unanimous in it: pray for thy fervants unto the Lord thy God, that we di¢ not; though they had rejeéted him as to help them, or with want of faithfulnefs to his promife to them, and with inconftancy to himfelt want of kindnefs and affection for them; all w it hath pleafed the Lord to make you bis people was not owing to gny worth or worthinefs in thi that they became his people, but to his own | vereign good-will and pleafure; and therefore,; it was fothing in them that was the caufe of th being taken by him for his people, fo nothing them could be the caule of their being rejeéte perhaps they rather framed it trom the inftance of would reflect upon his honour and glory: deca

Ch. xu. ¥.43-—36. IL SAMUE L. 44% ¥.24. Only fear the Lord, and ferve him in truth with all your heart, &c] Fear him not with a fervile fear, which is before dehorted from, but with a filial fear, a revetential affection for God; and includes the whole of religious worfhip, internal and external; explained farther by ferving him iccording to the truth of his word, and in a cordial, fincere and affectionate manner; ahd if this was wanting in them, he fuggefts, that his prayers and inftructions would be of little avail, and not to be depended on: for confider how great things be hath done for you; in bringing them out of Egypt; fettling them in the land of Cayaan; giving them his laws, ftatutes, commands and ordinances; fending prophets unto them, and raifing up judges for them, and beftowing all good things on them, in nature, providence and grace; though fome re- {train this to the great thing he had done that day, to convince them of their fin, and by which they were returned to the Lord, namely, the violent ftorm of thunder; which wonderful inftance of the power of God, and token of iis difpleafure againtt them, they were to lay up in their minds, and not forget, that it might be a means of preferving them from fin for the future.

¥.25.° But if ye fhall ftill do wickedly, &c. Con- him as fuch; it was of free grace and favour that they were taken into covenant with him, and by the fame would be retained: the Vulgate Latin verfion is, ‘* the Lord hath fworn to make you a people for himielf;” fo archi interprets it, he {fwote, and takes it to have the fame fenfe as in ch. xiv. 24.

¥. 23. Moreover, as for me, &c.]. As he had given them reafon to believe, that God would forgive their fin, by which they had offended him, in rejecting him as their king, fo he likewife forgave their offence againft him in rejecting him as their governor under him, and fo neither need fear the Lord nor him with a fervile fear; and as God would ftill be gracious to them, if they abode by his fervice, fo he, Samuel, would do all the good offices for them that lay in his power: God forbid that I foould fin againft the Lord, in ceafing to pray for you, for fince they had returned to the Lord, and acknowledged their fin, it would have been an evil in him not to pray for them, that they might fhare in the pardoning grace and mercy of God, and have all good things beftowed upon them they ftood in need of; this he judged to be his duty to do, and therefore abhorréd the thought of being indifferent to it, negligent of it, or of dropping it: but I will teach you the good and the right way; would not only pray for them, but inftruct them in the way of their duty;

one, agreeable to the will and word of God, and in walking in which good things were enjoyed, and which being a good way, muft needs bea right way; though Samuel ceafed to be a judge and magiftrate among them, he fhould not ceafe to act tinue to rebel againft God, revolt from him, and depart from his worfhip, and defpife his prophets, a way that was a goodjand ferve idols: ye fhall be confumed, boih ye and your king, their king would be fo far from proteéting, that he fhould perifh with them, be killed by the fword, as Sau? their firft king was, chieflor go into captivity, as others of their kings did.

the part of a prophet to them, both by his prayers and by his inftructions.

HIS chapter relates how Saul difpofed of his|4a army, ¥. 1,2. that Fonathan his fon fmote|father a garrifon of Philiftines, which provoked them come out with a large army againft them, to the great terror of the I/raelites, many of whom fled to fecret places, and to diftant parts, ¥. 3—7. Saul tarried at Gilgal waiting for Samuel, but he not coming fo foon as expected, offered facrifice himfelf, y. 8—10. for which Samuel, when hejyear came, reproved him, and told him the kingdom fhould not continue with him, but be given to another man, ¥. 11—14. on which Saul departed to Gibeab, where he continued, the Phili/tines being encamped at Michmajfh, ¥.15,16.

went out fpoilers, in three companies, into the of I/rael, where they met with no oppofition; for there were no weapons in the hands of any but Sau and Fonathan, the Pbiliftines having taken care that there fhould be no fmith in the land of J/rael to make them any, fo that they were defencelefs, heth, and who was forty years of age when hi§ died, 2 Sam. ii. ro. others, who underftand to!the words of Sau/ himfelf, think there is an ellipsis or defect of the number, and that it may be fupjplied, that Saw/ was the fon of thirty or forty years, thatjor whatfoever age he may be fuppofed to be at when he began his reign; others take the words in a figurative fenfe, that he was like a child of a old, for purity and innocence; fo the Targum, ** as the fon of a year, in whom there are no faults, fo was Sau/ when he reigned;” or he was but a year old, reckoning from the time he was turned into another man, and had another heart, from whence!which was imrhediately after he was anointed king landJat Ramah by Samuel, or he was but a year old with refpect to his kingdom: the inauguration of ja king is natalis imperit, the birth-day of his kings dom, and therefore the words are well enough rendered by us, Saul reigned one year; which is to be reckoned either from his unction at Ramah, or

¥. 17—23- rather from his election. at Mizpeb, t6 the renewal of the kingdom at Giga: and when he bad reignyw. 1, Saul reigned one year, &c.) Or the fon of a year in bis reigning *: various are the fenfes given of thefe words; fome interpret therh, Sau fon of a yeat old when he began to reign, Jed two years over Ifrael,; which the Fewifb chronologers * make to be the whole of his reign, which had alis not probable, confidering the many things done in his reign, the many battles he fought with all his enemies on ever 7 ihe of him, and his long Gibeab of bentamie,: as Jah ry fe ae f perfecution of Davi.

three high- pricks in By reign;

firft anointing by Samuel at Sone to his fecond anointing by him at Gibeah 5 (Gilgal I fuppofe he means); and he reigned after this two years more, before the Lord caft him off, and anointed David; and the time he ruled after that, was not a rule, but a tyranny and perlecution *; but the fenfe Bem Ger fom gives: is beft of all, that Bie year had from the time of his being anointed, to the time| of the renewal of the kingdom at Gi/gal; andjthem. when he had reigned two years over J/rae/, then| he did what follows, chofe 3000 men, &c. InjatGi the firft year of his reign. was done all that is recorded in the preceding chapter, and when he had reigned two years, not two years more, but years in all, then he did what is related in this 3 pie fays a he his t roufand men where the ates by Samuel Distr vee with 4 {trong holds and garrifons in fome parts. to keep Lraeli in awe.; the Targum underf ¢ of a fingle perfon, a governor of the Pbilifiz this place, whom Fonathan. flew; ge fo Jats and according to. R. Jfaiah he was © e that was paffed pointed to gather the. tax for them; aes, Gis tines heard py hes which alarmed them, a) 2 prepare fat war: and Saul blew t.

hroughout all the land; not hein perfon,. ee gal,as the next Bi fhews;, but, he ofdeted. to be blown, being aware of the preparations " PAz/ifines were making to attack him: /a (or fe twolthe Hebrews bear; both what his~ ~fon and what the betas were doing.