XIV. (1 Samuel 14:1) Saul’s War with the Philistines — Jonathan becomes the Divinely appointed Hero for the People’s Deliverance from their restless Foes — The Battle of Michmash — Saul’s Rash Oath — The House of Saul.... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW IT CAME TO PASS. — As if in strong contrast to Saul — who at Gilgal openly made light of the supernatural assistance promised by Samuel, showing plainly by his conduct on that memorable occasion that he hardly believed in the part the invisible King had laken in the history of the people — the a... [ Continue Reading ]
UNDER A POMEGRANATE TREE. — The love of Saul for trees, which was so common among the children of Israel, has been noticed. (See again 1 Samuel 22; 1 Samuel 14:6. The king is spoken of as under the tamarisk of Ramali; Deborah is specially mentioned as judging Israel under the palm-tree in Beth-el.)... [ Continue Reading ]
AHIAH, THE SON OF AHITUB. — The Chronicles, rehearsing these facts, show us what a terrible impression the last events in Eli’s reign as high priest had made in Israel. The destruction of Shiloh, the death of the high priest, the fall of Phinehas and his brother in battle, the melancholy circumstanc... [ Continue Reading ]
BOZEZ... SENEH. — These names are of extreme antiquity. Their signification is disputed. Possibly Bozez signifies “shining,” and Seneh “the accacia.” These rocks have been identified by modern travellers.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND JONATHAN SAID. — This companion in arms answered to the esquire of the knight of the middle ages. Gideon, Joab, David, and others of the famous Israelite warriors, were constantly accompanied in a similar manner by an armour-bearer. COME, AND LET US GO OVER. — Although in this history of the gre... [ Continue Reading ]
TURN THEE. — The very words of the prince’s armour-bearer seem to have been preserved; the expression is a colloquial one, and is rendered here literally. It signifies, “Go on; I will follow.” (8) BEHOLD, WE WILL PASS OVER. — The steep crag upon which the Philistine outpost was entrenched was acros... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE PHILISTINES SAID... — Easily might the sentinels of the outpost have rolled stones down the steep cliff, and hurled back the daring assailants; but they treated them with utter contempt, probably thinking to take them alive if ever they succeeded in scaling the slippery cliff.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THEY FELL BEFORE JONATHAN... — The sign he prayed for was given him. There were probably but few sentinels at their posts; the inaccessibility of the craggy fortress had lulled the garrison into security. The few watching him at first mocked, and then, as Jonathan advanced with strange rapidity,... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THAT FIRST SLAUGHTER... — Considerable doubt exists as to the exact meaning of this verse. The LXX. either had here a different text before them, or else translated, as has been suggested, “conjecturally, what they did not understand;” their rendering is “about twenty men, with darts and slings... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THERE WAS TREMBLING IN THE HOST. — The rest of the outpost garrison, panic-stricken, escaped to the other camp of the main body of the host, spreading dismay as they fled. AND THE EARTH QUAKED... — To add to the dire confusion, an earthquake was felt, which completed the discomfiture of the Phil... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE WATCHMEN OF SAUL IN GIBEAH OF BENJAMIN LOOKED... — The distance between the outposts of the little Israelite army and the vast Philistine host was only about two miles, but a deep ravine or chasm lay between them. The watchmen of Saul were well able to see the scene of dire confusion in the... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN SAID SAUL... — When this panic which was taking place in the Philistine army was reported to King Saul, he naturally inquired as to what had caused it, knowing that he, as general-in-chief, had given no directions to any of his men to attack the enemy. In the little Israelitish force, when the... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SAUL SAID UNTO AHIAH... — The LXX. renders here, “And Saul said to Ahijah, Bring hither the ephod; for he bore the ephod in those days before the children of Israel.” This is a statement easily to be understood. Saul was in doubt what to do under the present emergency. Should he — seeing the pan... [ Continue Reading ]
WITHDRAW THINE HAND. — The instinct of the general, as we should expect from the character of Saul, soon got the better of his first desire for some Divine guidance. His watchful eye saw that the confusion in the Philistine camp was increasing; now was the moment for his little compact force to thro... [ Continue Reading ]
ASSEMBLED THEMSELVES. — In the margin of the English Version we find “were cried together,” that is, “were assembled by the trumpet call.” The Syriac and Vulg., however, more accurately render the Hebrew _shouted,_ that is, raised the war-cry of Israel. EVERY MAN’S SWORD WAS AGAINST HIS FELLOW. — T... [ Continue Reading ]
MOREOVER THE HEBREWS THAT WERE WITH THE PHILISTINES. — These Israelites were, most likely, prisoners who had been compelled to fight against their countrymen, or were levies raised in those parts of the land more immediately under Philistine influence. These, we read, took the first opportunity to g... [ Continue Reading ]
SO THE LORD SAVED ISRAEL... — The identical words used at the Red Sea, after the deliverance of the people from Egypt. So the battle rolled westward through Beth-aven, past city and village, over Mount Ephraim. It was a decisive victory, crushing in its results to the Philistines, who were driven ba... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE MEN OF ISRAEL WERE DISTRESSED THAT DAY. — The LXX., between the 23rd and 24th verses, has a somewhat long addition: “And the whole people was with Saul, about ten thousand men; and the battle spread in the whole city, in the mountains of Ephraim; and Saul committed a great error.” The number... [ Continue Reading ]
AND ALL THEY OF THE LAND CAME TO A WOOD. — In the wilder parts of the land the old woods were not yet cleared. There seems to have been once in that favoured land an abundance of woods. AND THERE WAS HONEY... — The wild bees, as has been often seen in the American forests, fill the hollow trees wit... [ Continue Reading ]
BEHOLD, THE HONEY DROPPED. — Literally,. _Behold, a stream of honey. _... [ Continue Reading ]
HE PUT FORTH THE END OF THE ROD. — Most likely, with the point of his staff took up a piece of the honeycomb. Jonathan in that hurried battle and pursuit had heard nothing of his father’s rash oath, and was, no doubt, owing to his exertions in the earlier part of that eventful day, worn out with fat... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN ANSWERED ONE OF THE PEOPLE. — Most probably, in reply to Jonathan’s pointing out the plentiful supply of honey, and inviting the soldiers near him to refresh themselves with it. The words “and the people were faint,” at the close of the verse, should be rendered, _and the people are faint;_ the... [ Continue Reading ]
MY FATHER HATH TROUBLED THE LAND. — In other words, “My father’s ill-considered vow has done-grave harm to us in Israel. Had he not weakened the people, by hindering them from taking the needful refreshment, our victory would have been far more complete. Utter exhaustion has prevented us from follow... [ Continue Reading ]
FROM MICHMASH TO AIJALON. — The battle and pursuit had then extended some twenty miles of country. Again the extreme weariness of the Israelites is mentioned. Aijalon, the modern Yälo, is some eighteen or twenty miles from Michmash, where the main body of the Philistine army had been encamped.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE PEOPLE FLEW UPON THE SPOIL... — No doubt, had the men of Israel not been so faint for want of food, and utterly weary, many more of the Philistine host would have fallen: as it was, vast spoil was left behind in the hurried flight; but it was the beasts that the conquerors greedily seized, t... [ Continue Reading ]
ROLL A GREAT STONE UNTO ME THIS DAY. — The object of this was that the people should kill their beasts upon the stone, and the blood could run off upon the ground. It was a rough expedient, but it showed the wild soldiers that their king and general determined that the Law of Moses should be kept an... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SAME WAS THE FIRST ALTAR THAT HE BUILT... — More accurately, as in margin, _the same he began to build as an altar._ The great Jewish commentators are divided as to the precise meaning of the old Hebrew language of this verse. _Abarbanel_ interprets the words, “that King Saul began to build, but... [ Continue Reading ]
LET US GO DOWN AFTER THE PHILISTINES BY NIGHT. — In the depth of the night, when the rough feasting on the captured beasts was over, King Saul would have had the bloody work begun afresh, and would have hurried after the flying Philistines, and with a wild butchery have completed the great and signa... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SAUL ASKED COUNSEL OF GOD. — The same phrase is always used in the many passages in the Books of Judges, 1 Sam., 2 Sam., 1 Chron., Hosea, &c. when God was inquired of by the Urim and Thummim. It may be styled the technical term of inquiry of the Oracle of the Most High; there are, however, sligh... [ Continue Reading ]
DRAW YE NEAR HITHER. — Round that rough unfinished altar, in the dark night, King Saul hastily summoned his leading officers and the prominent chiefs of the Israelites who had joined him in the late battle. The word rendered “chief of the people” (_pinnoth_) is literally, _corner stones_ (as in Judg... [ Continue Reading ]
THOUGH IT BE IN JONATHAN MY SON. — “Were Jonathan himself the transgressor, he [Saul] would not spare his life; and so, feeling inwardly bound by his oath, presses for decision by means of the sacred lot, amid the ominous silence of the horror-stricken people.” — _Ewald. _... [ Continue Reading ]
GIVE A PERFECT LOT. — The rendering in the margin, “show the innocent,” is a better and more accurate rendering of the Hebrew. “Give a perfect lot” is the translation given by Rabbi D. Kimchi. Dean Payne Smith observes that “there are few mistakes of the English Version which have not some good auth... [ Continue Reading ]
LO, I MUST DIE. — These wild and thoughtless vows are peculiarly characteristic of this half-barbaric period. We have already observed that the age now closing had been peculiarly the age of vows. A similar terrible oath, equalling Saul’s in its rashness, had been taken by Jephthah. It is noticeable... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN SAUL WENT UP FROM FOLLOWING THE PHILISTINES. — Saul recognised now that the fault which caused the oracle of the Urim and Thummim to keep silence was his, and not Jonathan’s. He seems quietly to have acquiesced with Ahijah’s evident reluctance to countenance a public pursuit; he drew off his fo... [ Continue Reading ]
SO SAUL TOOK THE KINGDOM OVER ISRAEL. — Some expositors closely connect this verse with the successful termination of the Philistine war, considering that it was through this great victory over the nation which had so long harassed and impoverished Israel that Saul really acquired for the first time... [ Continue Reading ]
SMOTE THE AMALEKITES. — Out of the many wars the king waged, this war with Amalek is singled out, for in the new development of Hebrew power by which Saul’s reign was marked this campaign or series of campaigns was especially prominent. This war is related with some detail in the next chapter, but i... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SONS OF SAUL. — The three brave sons who perished with their father in the battle on Mount Gilboa are apparently mentioned here, the only difficulty being the middle name, “Ishui,” which occurs nowhere else, save in two genealogies as that of a son of Asher (Genesis 46:17; 1 Chronicles 7:30). It... [ Continue Reading ]
SAUL’S WIFE. — In accordance with a usual practice, the name of the most prominent of the family and royal household of the king are given. We know nothing of Saul’s queen besides her name. It has been surmised that she was of the family of Eli, the high priest, owing to the _Ah_ (brother) entering... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SON OF ABIEL. — For “son” the commentators mostly agree we must read _sons._ Kish and Ner, we know, were both sons of Abiel. (See 1 Chronicles 9:35, where, however, the father’s name is given as Jehiel.)... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THE DAYS OF SAUL. — Although after the rout of Michmash the Philistines were driven out of their fastnesses in the land of Israel back into their own coast districts, yet all through the reign of Saul they continued to be powerful, and were a constant source of danger and trouble to the people.... [ Continue Reading ]