XIII. (1 Samuel 13:1) Saul’s Reign — The Gallantry of Saul and Jonathan — The new King’s attempt to Rule as an Absolute Sovereign — His Disregard of the Most High — He and his House are Rejected as Kings of Israel — The Philistine War. EXCURSUS E: ON THE CITY OF GILGAL (1 Samuel 13). On the south... [ Continue Reading ]
SAUL REIGNED ONE YEAR. — The only possible literal translation of the Hebrew of this verse is, “Saul was the son of one year (_i.e.,_ one year old); he began to reign, &c.” In several places in the Books of Samuel the numbers are quite untrustworthy (we have another instance of this in the 5th verse... [ Continue Reading ]
SAUL CHOSE HIM THREE THOUSAND MEN OF ISRAEL. — This is a very important statement, as it tells us of the first beginning of a standing army in Israel. This was the first step towards the development of Israel into a great military power. It was Saul’s military genius and foresight which enabled Davi... [ Continue Reading ]
AND JONATHAN SMOTE THE GARRISON. — Jonathan throughout this history appears as the perfect type of a warrior, according to the requirements of his age; he is everywhere the first in courage and activity and speed, slender also, and of well-made figure. This personal beauty and swiftness of foot in a... [ Continue Reading ]
AND ALL ISRAEL HEARD. — Saul is put for “Jonathan,” though the bold deed had been performed by the young prince, Saul being the general-in-chief. The expression “smitten” implies that the garrison in question had been utterly routed, probably put to the sword. The intense hatred with which the Phili... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE PHILISTINES GATHERED THEMSELVES TOGETHER TO FIGHT WITH ISRAEL. — The figures here, again, of the numbers of this vast army are perfectly untrustworthy. In the rolls of ancient armies (and we possess many a one in the sacred records) the number of war chariots is always smaller than that of t... [ Continue Reading ]
SAW THAT THEY WERE IN A STRAIT. — It was evidently no ordinary Philistine foray or invasion which the Israelites had to make head against. The tradition preserved by Josephus tells us that a host of foreign allies had joined the Phœnician armies in this war. This accounts for the great numbers allud... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE TARRIED SEVEN DAYS. — When was this “set time” appointed? It seems difficult at first to refer back to the day of Saul’s mysterious prophetic consecration (1 Samuel 10:8), which took place at least some three or four years — perhaps much longer — before the event here related, especially as w... [ Continue Reading ]
BRING HITHER A BURNT OFFERING TO ME. — It has been supposed by many that the greatness of the sin of Saul consisted in his offering sacrifice with his own hand, but not a hint of this is anywhere given us. It is more than probable that the sacrifice which was offered so prematurely in the absence of... [ Continue Reading ]
BEHOLD, SAMUEL CAME. — Scarcely does the sacrificial ceremony appear to have been completed when the seer appeared on the scene. It was the seventh day, according to the solemn injunction given to the king, but Saul, in his impatience, had not waited till the end of the day. SAUL WENT OUT TO MEET... [ Continue Reading ]
WHAT HAST THOU DONE? — The deeper aspects of King Saul’s sin are discussed in _Excursus_ F. On this memorable occasion the king plainly told Samuel that though he would gratefully receive any help which the prophet of the Most High could and would bring him, still, in an emergency like the present,... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW THY KINGDOM SHALL NOT CONTINUE. — The succession was thus formally transferred elsewhere; still, when the words of doom were spoken by the prophet, David, the son of Jesse, the man after God’s own heart, could at that time have been but a mere child. Had King Saul repented what he had done, he m... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SAMUEL AROSE. — Although the close union between the prophet and the king was thus disturbed by the unhappy self-willed conduct of Saul, by which he virtually threw away the power which had been conferred on him, still Samuel does not as yet break off friendly relations with Saul. Perhaps the no... [ Continue Reading ]
GIBEAH OF BENJAMIN. — Saul and his son, uniting their sadly diminished forces, entrench themselves at Geba, in a strong position at the end of a pass, whence they could watch the movements of the Philistines. Their small number forbade any idea of an attack on the enemy. The English translators wro... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE SPOILERS CAME OUT. — The compiler of these Books of Samuel does not profess to give a detailed account of this or any of the wars of Saul It would seem that the Philistines, with their great armed demonstration (1 Samuel 13:5), had completely cowed the Israelites, certainly in the southern p... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW THERE WAS NO SMITH FOUND. — We must allow a year, perhaps two or three, to have elapsed while “Saul and Jonathan... abode in Gibeah,” during which period the Philistine raids went on unchecked, the Israelitish forces being too weak to venture with any hope of success into the open country. The s... [ Continue Reading ]
TO SHARPEN EVERY MAN HIS SHARE, AND HIS COULTER. — Porsenna, we read, in the time of the wars of the Republic, allowed the Romans iron implements for agriculture only. _Coulter. — _In Isaiah 2:4; Joel 3:10, this word is rendered “ploughshares “; so most of the older versions. We cannot now with any... [ Continue Reading ]
YET THEY HAD A FILE FOR THE MATTOCKS... — This translation, the sense of which is not very clear, is supported by the Targum and by many of the great Hebrew commentators — Rashi, for instance. Gesenius and the majority of modern scholars, however, render the word in the original translated “file” (_... [ Continue Reading ]
THERE WAS NEITHER SWORD NOR SPEAR. — These words must not be pressed too literally. The general result of the raids alluded to in 1 Samuel 13:16 was that in the open valleys of Southern Canaan, especially in the Benjamite territory, the districts whence Saul and Jonathan could most easily recruit th... [ Continue Reading ]
THE GARRISON OF THE PHILISTINES WENT OUT. — These words form an introduction to the recital of the heroic deed of Jonathan related in the following chapter. The Philistines are represented as sending forward an armed detachment, or out-post detachment, beyond the camp of Michmash, as a protection ag... [ Continue Reading ]