1 Samuel 15:1--17:58
Lord ................. Lord <03068> [A.M. 2925. B.C. 1079. An. Ex. Is. 412. The Lord.]
listen <08085> [hearken.]
carefully <06485> [I remember.]
Amalekites <06002> [Amalek.]
<03212> [Now go.]
The Amalekites, a people of Arabia Petr‘a, who inhabited a tract of country on the frontiers of Egypt and Canaan, had acted with great cruelty towards the Israelites on their coming out of Egypt, and God then purposed that Amalek, as a nation, should be blotted out from under heaven; but it had been spared till it had filled up the measure of its iniquities, and now this purpose is carried into effect by Saul, upwards of 400 years afterwards! Nothing could justify such an exterminating decree but the absolute authority of God; and this was given: all the reasons of it we do not know; but this we know well, the Judge of all the earth doeth right.
Destroy <02763> [utterly destroy.]
death <04191> [slay.]
ox sheep <07794 07716> [ox and sheep.]
Telaim <02923> [Telaim.]
[Telem. two.]
ambush <07378> [laid wait. or, fought.]
Kenites ..................................... Kenites <07017> [the Kenites.]
leave .................................. withdrew <03212 05493> [Go, depart.]
<06213> [ye shewed.]
struck down <05221> [smote.]
Havilah <02341> [Havilah.]
This Havilah was probably situated in Arabia, and the district of Chaulon may mark the spot. It seems different from that encompassed by the river Pison, one of the rivers of Eden.
Shur <07793> [Shur.]
Agag <090> [Agag.]
Agag's <02763> [utterly.]
best <04315> [the best.]
fatlings <04932> [the fatlings. or, the second sort.]
regret ..... made <05162 04427> [repenteth me.]
turned <07725> [turned.]
done <06965> [hath not performed.]
angry <02734> [it grieved.]
cried <02199> [he cried.]
Carmel <03760> [Carmel.]
setting up <05324> [he set him.]
monument <03027> [a place. Yad.]
Literally as the LXX. render [cheira,] a hand; probably because the trophy or monument of victory was in the shape of a large hand, the emblem of power, erected on a pillar. These memorial pillars were anciently much in use; and the figure of a hand, by its emblematical meaning, was well adapted to preserve the remembrance of a victory. Niebuhr, speaking of the Mesjed Ali, or Mosque of Ali, says that, "at the top of the dome, where one generally sees on the Turkish mosques a crescent, or only a pole, there is here a hand stretched out, to represent that of Ali." Another writer informs us, that at the Alhamra, or red palace of the Moorish kings in Grenada, "on the key-stone of the outward arch [of the present principal entrance] is sculptured the figure of an arm, the symbol of strength and dominion."
bless <01288> [Blessed.]
done <06965> [I have performed.]
sound ......... sound <06963> [What meaneth.]
army <05971> [for.]
sacrifice <02076> [to.]
minute <07503> [Stay.]
insignificant <06996> [When thou.]
Lord <03068> [the Lord.]
sinful <02400> [the sinners.]
destroyed <03615> [they be consumed. Heb. they consume them.]
rushed .... plunder <05860 07998> [fly upon.]
done .... wrong <07451 06213> [didst evil.]
obeyed <08085> [Yea.]
brought <0935> [have brought.]
army <05971> [the people.]
Lord <03068> [Hath the Lord.]
obedience ... obedience <08085> [obey.]
rebellion <04805> [rebellion.]
divination <07081> [witchcraft. Heb. divination.]
presumption <06484> [stubbornness.]
rejected ......... rejected <03988> [thou hast rejected.]
sinned <02398> [I have sinned.]
afraid <03372> [I feared.]
followed <08085> [obeyed.]
forgive <05375> [pardon.]
back <07725> [I will not.]
rejected ........... rejected <03988> [for thou.]
Lord <03068> [The Lord.]
given <05414> [hath given.]
colleagues <07453> [a neighbour.]
Preeminent One <05331> [Strength. or, Eternity, or, Victory.]
word <08266> [will not lie.]
honor ..... elders <03513 02205> [honour me now.]
worship <07812> [that I may worship.]
said ..... Agag ...... Agag ...... thinking ... himself <0559 090> [Agag said.]
sword <02719> [As thy sword.]
Samuel ..................... Samuel <08050> [Samuel.]
It has been a matter of wonder to many, how Samuel could thus slay a captive prince, even in the presence of Saul, who from motives of clemency had spared him; but it should be remarked, that what Samuel did here, he did in his magisterial capacity; and that Agag had been a cruel tyrant, and therefore was cut off for his merciless cruelties. Farther, it is not likely that he did it by his own sword, but by that of the executioner. What kings, magistrates, and generals do, in an official way, by their subjects, servants, or soldiers, they are said to do themselves:--{qui facit per alterum, facit per se.}
hacked ... to pieces <08158> [hewed.]
Gibeah <01390> [Gibeah.]
Samuel ....... Samuel <08050> [Samuel.]
Samuel ....... Samuel .... mourn <08050 056> [Samuel mourned.]
regretted <05162> [repented.]
mourn <056> [A.M. 2941. B.C. 1063. An. Ex. Is. 428. How long.]
rejected <03988> [seeing.]
horn ... olive oil <08081 07161> [horn with oil.]
Jesse <03448> [Jesse.]
<03212> [How can I go.]
Take ... heifer <03947 01241> [Take an heifer.]
For the prudent management of the affair, and to avoid suspicion, Samuel was directed to go to Bethlehem to sacrifice, as he probably did from time to time in many different places; and the answer which he was instructed to return was strictly true though he did not tell the principal design of his coming; for though no man in any circumstances should tell a lie, yet, in all circumstances, he is not bound to tell the whole truth, though he must tell nothing but the truth, and so tell that truth that the hearer shall not believe a lie by it.
<03027> [with thee. Heb. in thine hand.]
come <0935> [I am come.]
Then invite Jesse <03448 07121> [call Jesse.]
show you what <03045> [and I will shew.]
anoint <04886> [anoint.]
afraid <02729> [trembled.]
<07125> [coming. Heb. meeting. Comest.]
come ....... Consecrate .... come ......... consecrated <06942 0935> [sanctify yourselves.]
Eliab <0446> [Eliab.]
[Elihu. Surely.]
by ... appearance <05027 04758> [Look not.]
men ... People <0120> [seeth not.]
view ........ look on ........ looks at <07200> [looketh.]
appearance <05869> [outward appearance. Heb. eyes. on the heart.]
Abinadab <041> [Abinadab.]
Shammah <08048> [Shammah.]
[Shimeah.]
[Shimma.]
seven <07651> [seven.]
still <07604> [There remaineth.]
turn <05437> [down. Heb. round.]
ruddy <0132> [ruddy.]
attractive eyes <03303 05869> [of a beautiful countenance. Heb. fair of eyes.]
Lord <03068> [And the Lord.]
anoint <04886> [anoint him.]
anointed <04886> [anointed.]
Spirit <07307> [the Spirit.]
Spirit ............. spirit <07307> [the Spirit.]
Spirit ............ evil spirit <07307 07451> [evil spirit.]
The evil spirit was either sent immediately from the Lord, or permitted to come; but whether this was a diabolic possession, or a mere mental malady, is not agreed: it seems to have partaken of both. That Saul had fallen into a deep melancholy, there is little doubt; and that an evil spirit might work more effectually on such a state of mind, there can be little question. His malady appears to have been of a mixed kind, natural and diabolical: there is too much of apparent nature in it to permit us to believe it was all spiritual; and there is too much of apparently supernatural influence, to suffer us to believe it was all natural.
tormented <01204> [troubled. or, terrified.]
before .... look <06440 01245> [before thee.]
play ................ play <05059> [play.]
warrior <01368> [a mighty.]
articulate <0995> [and prudent.]
articulate <01697> [matters. or, speech. a comely.]
Lord <03068> [the Lord.]
sheep <06629> [with the sheep.]
donkey .... bread <02543 03899> [an ass laden.]
{Chamor lechem,} literally, "an ass of bread," rendered by the LXX. [gomor arton,] a {gomor} of bread; meaning, probably, not an animal, but a vessel containing a certain measure of bread.
stood before <06440 05975> [stood before him.]
liked .... great <0157 03966> [loved him.]
spirit .............................. spirit <07307> [the evil spirit.]
Saul ............... Saul <07586> [Saul.]
gathered ....... assembled <0622> [gathered.]
Socoh .......... Socoh <07755> [Shochoh.]
[Socoh.]
[Shoco.]
[Shocho. Azekah.]
Ephes Dammim <0658> [Ephes-dammim. or, the coast of Dammim.]
[Pas-dammim.]
valley <06010> [the valley.]
arranged ... battle lines <06186 04421> [set the battle in array. Heb. ranged the battle.]
Goliath <01555> [Goliath.]
Gath <01661> [of Gath.]
tall <01363> [whose height.]
seven feet <0520 08337> [six cubits.]
According to Bp. Cumberland's calculation, the height of Goliath was about eleven feet ten inches; but Parkhurst estimating the ordinary cubit at seventeen inches and a half, calculates that he was nine feet six inches high. Few instances can be produced of men who can be compared with him. Pliny says, "The tallest man that hath been seen in our days was one name Gabara, who, in the days of Claudius, the late Emperor, was brought out of Arabia: he was nine feet nine inches." Josephus mentions a Jew, named Eleazar, whom Vitellius sent to Rome, who was seven cubits, or ten feet two inches high. Becanus saw a man near ten feet, and a woman that was full ten feet. And, to mention no more, a man of the name of John Middleton, born at Hale, near Warrington, in Lancashire, in the reign of James the First, was more than nine feet high. Dr. Plott, in his history of Staffordshire, says, that "his hand, from the carpus to the end of the middle finger, was seventeen inches, his palms eight inches and a half broad, and his whole height was nine feet three inches; wanting but six inches of the height of Goliath of Gath."
wearing <03847> [armed. Heb. clothed.]
bronze ......... bronze javelin <05178 03591> [target of brass. or, gorget.]
<06086> [the staff.]
servants ... Saul <07586 05650> [servants to Saul.]
serve <05647> [and serve us.]
defy <02778> [I defy.]
Give .... man <05414 0376> [give me.]
upset <02865> [dismayed.]
David <01732> [David.]
<0376> [Ephrathite.]
son ............. eight sons <01121 08083> [eight sons.]
names <08034> [the names.]
Shammah <08048> [Shammah.]
[Shimeah.]
youngest <06996> [the youngest.]
back <07725> [returned.]
forty days <03117 0705> [forty days.]
Take ... brothers .................... brothers <03947 0251> [Take now.]
roasted grain .... ten <07039 06235> [parched corn.]
take <0935> [carry.]
cheese <02461> [cheeses. Heb. cheeses of milk.]
officer <0505> [their thousand. Heb. a thousand. look.]
valley <06010> [the valley.]
Dr. Richardson says, that in about twenty minutes, in an easterly direction, form the cave of St. John, (which is about two hours or six miles, in a westerly direction, from Jerusalem,) they came to the valley of Elah; which position seems to agree with that of Shochoh and Azekah. He describes it as "a small valley, and the place of the encampment is pointed out where it narrows into a broad, deep ravine; part of it was in crop, and part of it was under the plough, which was drawn by a couple of oxen. A small stream, which had shrunk almost under its stony bed, passes through it from east to west, from which we are informed that David chose out five smooth stones, and hasted and ran to meet the haughty champion of Gath. A well of water under the bank, with a few olive trees above, on the north side of the valley, are said to mark the spot of the shepherd's triumph over his boasting antagonist. Saul and his men probably occupied the side of the valley which is nearest to Jerusalem, on which the ground is higher and more rugged than on the other side."
entrusted ... flock <06629 05203> [left the sheep.]
camp <04570> [trench. or, place of the carriage.]
battle lines <04634> [fight. or, battle array, or place of fight.]
cargo ....... supply <03627> [his carriage. Heb. the vessels from upon him. saluted his brethren. Heb. asked his brethren of peace.]
<0428> [according.]
presence <06440> [him. Heb. his face.]
very <03966> [sore.]
king <04428> [the king.]
Israel ................. Israel ............................... exempt ...... Israel <03478 02670> [free in Israel.]
humiliation <02781> [reproach.]
uncircumcised <06189> [uncircumcised.]
defies <02778> [defy.]
done <06213> [So shall it.]
Eliab ........ he ... angry <0639 0446> [Eliab's anger.]
entrust <05203> [with.]
familiar <03045> [I know.]
question ....... same answer <01697> [manner. Heb. word.]
overheard ....... called <03947> [sent for him. Heb. took him.]
The preceding twenty verses, from the 12th to the 31st inclusive, the 41st, and from the 54th to the end of this chapter, with the five first verses and the 9th, 10th, 11th, 17th, 18th, and 19th, of ch. 18, are all wanting in the Vatican copy of the LXX.; and they are supposed by Dr. Kennicott, and others, to be an interpolation. But, as Bp. Horsley observes, it appears, from many circumstances of the story, that David's combat with Goliath was many years prior to Saul's madness, and David's introduction to him as a musician. In the first place, David was quite a youth when he engaged with Goliath, (ver. 33, 42:) when introduced to Saul he was of full age, (ch. 16:18.) Again, this combat was his first appearance in public life, and his first military exploit, (ver. 36, 38, 39:) when introduced as a musician, he was a man of established character, and a man of war (ch. 16:18.) Now the just conclusion is, that the last ten verses of ch. 16 have been misplaced; their true place being between the ninth and tenth verses of ch. 18. Let them be removed there, and the whole apparent disorder will be removed.
anyone <0120> [Let.]
servant <05650> [thy.]
able <03201> [Thou art not.]
[for thou are but.]
sheep <07716> [lamb. or, kid.]
strike ... down ... rescue .................... strike .... kill <05221 05337 04191> [smote him.]
uncircumcised <06189> [this.]
defied <02778> [seeing.]
Lord ............................ Lord <03068> [The Lord.]
<03212> [Go.]
clothed David ..... fighting attire ............ put <03847 01732 04055> [armed David with his armour. Heb. clothed David with his clothes.]
removed <05493> [put them off.]
staff <04731> [staff.]
stream <05158> [brook. or, valley. bag. Heb. vessel.]
despised <0959> [disdained.]
boy <05288> [a youth.]
dog <03611> [Am.]
cursed <07043> [cursed.]
give <03212 05414> [Come to me.]
give <05414> [I will give.]
Parallel instances of vaunting occur in some writers of a more recent date:--The conspirators against the emperor Maximinus having slain him, his son, and several of his best friends, threw out their bodies to be devoured by dogs and the fowls of the air. This custom appears to have been frequently threatened; and, however shocking to human feelings, was often carried into effect.
coming ............. coming <0935> [Thou comest.]
name <08034> [in the name.]
defied <02778> [defied.]
Lord <03068> [will the Lord.]
deliver ..... hand <05462 03027> [deliver thee. Heb. shut thee up.]
off ... head <05493 07218> [take thine.]
corpses <06297> [carcases.]
land ..... land <0776> [all the earth.]
sword ....... saves <03467 02719> [saveth not.]
battle <04421> [the battle.]
him ... David quickly <01732 04116> [David hasted.]
striking <05221> [smote.]
David prevailed .................... David <01732 02388> [So David prevailed.]
The tradition of the combat between David and Goliath, in which the latter was killed, is preserved among the Arabs; for he is mentioned in the Koran, where he is called Galut or Jalut. The Arabs also call the dynasty of the Philistine kings, who reigned in Palestine when the Hebrews came there, Galutiah, or Jalutiah. Achmed Al Fassi says, "Those kings were as well known by the name of Jalaut, as the ancient kings of Egypt by that of Pharaoh. David killed the Jalaut who reigned in his time, and entirely rooted out the Philistines, the rest of whom fled into Africa, and from them descended the Brebers or Berbers, who inhabit the coast of Barbary." It is remarkable that the Berbers themselves should acknowledge their descent from the Philistines. "The name Goliath, which they pronounce Sghi…lud, is very common among the Brebers, and the history of the champion of the Philistines is very well known to the Moors. When children quarrel, and the bigger one challenges the smaller to fight the latter answers, 'Who will fight with you? {Enta men ulid Sgi…lud.} You are of the race of Golaith.' The Jews who dwell among them, on the mountains, all call them Philistines."
sword <02719> [but there was.]
sword <02719> [his sword.]
cut off <03772> [cut off.]
ran away <05127> [fled.]
Israel <03478 0582> [the men of Israel.]
valley <01516> [valley.]
looted <08155> [they spoiled.]
took ... head <03947 07218> [took the head.]
son <01121> [whose son.]
head <07218> [the head.]
son ........... son <01121> [Whose son.]
To account for the apparent inconsistency of Saul not knowing David, see the Note at the end of ver. 31.
son ........... son <01121> [I am the son.]
