THE FIRST BOOK
OF
THE PROPHET
Shmu'el
THE FIRST BOOK |
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CHAPTER 11. Now there was a certain man from the Ramathayim-Tzofim of the mountainous [region of] Efrayim, and his name was Elqanah the son of Y'rokham the son of Elihu the son of Tokhu the son of an Efrayimite [named] Tzuf.Ramathayim-Tzofim means "twin heights of those on the lookout". It is traditionally only a few miles north of Yerushalayim--within sight of the northen part of the city today. Jews, Christians, and Muslims all accept the site now called Nebi Samwil ("prophet Shmu'el" in Arabic) as the place of both his birth and burial (which we are told in 28:3 are the same). An elaborate tomb is there, but the problem with this is that it is not in Efrayim's tribal lands, but Binyamin's. Three other possible sites have been suggested: the modern Arabic towns of Er-Ram (also in Binyamin), Ramallah (well-known seat of "Palestinian" government, which is barely in Efrayim's territory), and Beit Rama (which is well within the territory and on the edge of the mountainous region). None of them is very far from Shiloh, where the Tabernacle was housed, or Beyth-El, Giv'ah, and Mitzpah, which were featured heavily in the book of Judges. Shmu'el may have been old enough to witness some of the events that took place in these towns as recorded in its final chapters. In verse 19 the name is shortened to simply "Ramath"--the height. In 28:3 it is called "Ramah". Elqanah means "Elohim has acquired". Y'rokham means "He will have compassion". Elihu means "He is my Elohim". Tokhu means "pressed down". Tzuf means "an overflowing honeycomb". YHWH did not simply choose Shmu'el for His purposes; He carefully chose the right family to have him born into. He has a verty well-recorded genealogy, showing that he had many prominent people in his pedigree. The Aramaic targum calls Tzuf "a man dividing a share in the holy things in the hill country of the house of Efrayim". Since he was not of the priestly tribe of Levi, but Shiloh is in the territory of Efrayim, it could be that he owned some of the land on which the Tabernacle sat or on which some of the priests dwelt.2. And he had two wives. The name of one was Khannah, and the name of the second was P'ninah. Now P'ninah had children, but Khannah had no children. Since P'ninah ("jewel") is the second wife, he probably married her because Khannah ("favor") could not have children, but, like Yaaqov, Elqanah continued to prefer the wife of his youth, though his second wife was more fruitful, and did not divorce her as many would have. This, however, did not stop her childlessness from bothering her.3. This man went up from his city year by year to worship and slaughter to YHWH [Master] of Armies in Shiloh when Eli's two sons, Khawfni and Pin'khas, were priests for YHWH. Year by year: literally, from days into days--probably meaning every one of the pilgrim feasts. Priests: literally, officiators. Eli means "my ascension". No genealogy is given showing his pedigree, but in 2:27 Aharon is alluded to as his ancestor, and he is called "YHWH's priest" in 14:3. Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews 5:9:1) places him as "governor of the Israelites" after the death of Shimshon and as a contemporary of Ruth. There he gives him the full title of "high priest", whereas our text here only calls him a "priest". Khawfni means "my fist" and Pin'has means "bronze mouth"; he was named after one of his most illustrious ancestors.4. When the day would come when Elqanah [went and] slaughtered, he would give [assigned] portions to his wife P'ninah and to all her sons, Assigned portions: of the meat of the slaughtered animals. We are commanded to eat our portion of the offerings before YHWH and rejoice. (Deut. 12:5-7) Not living very far from Shiloh, the family undoubtedly went up not only to every prescribed feast, but also to bring other thanks offering when YHWH did something extraordinary, or simply whenever they wished to slaughter an animal to eat, as it could not be consumed without giving a portion to the priests (Lev. 17:4-5). Being a wealthy family (as evidenced throughout the chapter), they must have had plenty of cattle and flocks for this purpose. There would not be enough room inside the Tabernacle courtyard to have so many people feasting, so they would probably eat within the Tabernacle's outer precincts among the Levites' homes.5. but to Khannah he would give one double portion, because he preferred Khannah, though YHWH had closed up her womb. Double: from a word meaning "a pair of nostrils"--possibly an idiom that originated with YHWH's statement that He would provide for the complaining Israelites so much meat that eat would come out their nostrils. (Num. 11:20) But the word more often refers to anger than a literal nose, so it may be that Khannah was given enough to anger P'ninah, who in turned poked back at her. (v. 6) Closed up: not rendered barren, but simply having the fruit withheld. It is as if He had reserved it for one special seed alone. There was a similar pattern seen in Sarah, Rivqah, Rakhel, Shimshon's mother, and Elisheva, mother of Yochanan the Immerser--a lifelong lack of children until one very special child was born, often very late in life. YHWH was setting the stage for someone very significant in His eyes to open their wombs.6. But her rival [wife] provoked her even to the point of anger by which she crossed over into trembling with rage since YHWH had closed up her womb to such a degree. 7. And He did the same year after year. As often as she went up to the House of YHWH, that often would she provoke her to anger, so that she would shed tears and not eat. 8. But Elqanah her husband would say to her, "Khannah, why do you keep crying? And why don't you eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I myself not better for you than ten sons?" Such modesty! He understood the stigma that childlessness brought to a woman, but was trying to cheer her up, reminding her to "count her blessings". He was also rebuking her with the reminder that they had come for the purpose of giving thanks for what she did have, not to complain about what she did not. Better: or, of more benefit.9. And Khannah got up after [they] ate in Shiloh and after [they] drank, while Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the [sanctuary] hall of YHWH Hall: the same word later used for "temple", though at Shiloh we only know that there was a foundation built for the Tabernacle, and the curtains prescribed for use in the wilderness had been replaced by stone walls. There would not have been a roof over the four prescribed coverings, but the structure was permanent enough to have left remnants visible even today--over 3,000 years later! Sitting: Based on Deut. 10:8 and 18:5, 7, priests and Levites would not sit down anywhere within the actual courtyard where they ministered to YHWH, but outside the gateway into that courtyard he could sit. We know that he was already a very elderly man and very heavy (4:18), and would have difficulty standing for long periods.10. And she was bitter of soul, and she prayed to YHWH and wept with [many] tears. 11. And she made a vow and said, "O YHWH [Master] of Armies! If you will indeed look on the misery of your bond-woman and remember me and not forget your servant-woman, and give to your bond-woman the seed of men, then I will dedicate him to YHWH all the days of his life, and no razor will come up over his head." Razor: literally, remover or changer. In other words, he would be a Nazir from birth, as Shimshon had been. (See Numbers 6:2ff.)12. Because she prayed so long before YHWH, Eli started watching her mouth. 13. Now Khannah [was] speaking in her heart; only her mouth was moving, but her voice was not heard, so Eli thought she was drunk! Based on what Elqanah had told her (v. 8), she may have been praying silently so no one else would have to hear her complaints.14. So Eli said to her, "How long will you be drunken? Put away your wine from upon you!" Aramaic targum: "Let your wine evaporate from you!"15. But Khannah answered and said, "No, my master. A woman with a burdened spirit I am, and I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but I have been pouring out my emotion before YHWH. What she had drunk (v. 9) must not have been fermented. Pouring out my emotion: Aramaic targum, I have told the sorrow of my soul in prayer.16. "Do not write off your servant-woman as the face of a daughter of worthlessness, because all along I have been speaking from the abundance of the thoughts I have put forth--and my frustration." Write off: literally, give or assign. Worthlessness: or, one who is unprofitable. The Hebrew term is Beli'al, which means "not ascending", but the term seems to have been used for a particular demon at times, and this context suggests that it may have been the equivalent of Bacchus/Dionysus, the god of wine. Thoughts: Aramaic, jealousy.17. So Eli replied and said, "Go in peace, and may the Elohim of Israel grant you the request that you have asked from Him. Or, and Elohim…will grant you. She seems to have taken this as a promise. (v. 18) The word of a high priest would be taken very seriously, and counted as a blessing. At least it gave her enough hope to escape her depression.18. And she said, "May your servant-woman find favor in your eyes." And the woman went her way and ate, and her face was not toward herself any longer. Not toward herself: the targum takes this as meaning, "her face was not sad". Ate: The first time, her husband had pressed her to eat (v. 8, 9), but this time she had the right attitude and also appears to have regained her appetite. She is no longer worried, but is concentrating again on walking in the right seaon.19. And they got up early in the morning and bowed down [in homage] before YHWH, and they went back and came into their house at Ramath. And Elqanah knew his wife Khannah, and YHWH kept her in mind. YHWH kept her in mind: or remembered; Heb., z'khreha Yahweh. A slightly different form of this phrase with the same meaning forms the name Z'kharyah, who was the husband of another woman about 1,100 years later whose womb YHWH opened when she was past normal childbearing age. She became the mother of Yochanan the Immerser, the forerunner of the Messiah.20. And it turned out that when the time came around that Khannah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she called his name Shmu'el--"because I requested him from YHWH!" Shmu'el means "Elohim has listened" or possibly simply, "El is His Name", since one letter seems to be lacking if the first is what is intended.21. So the man Elqanah and his whole household went up to slaughter unto YHWH the slaughtering of the days and [to fulfill] his vow. The days: the forty days of separation after a woman bears a male child, after which she may come to the sanctuary but in any case must bring a particular offering. (Lev. 12:2-8). In this case, her husband brought it for her. (v. 22) His vow: probably the one Khannah herself had made (v. 22), because since he had upheld it and not nullified it (Num. 30:8-14), it became his responsibility as well, as the head of the household. One had certain offerings to bring when fulfilling a vow made to YHWH. (Lev. 7:16; 22:21-23; 27:2-13)22. But Khannah did not go up, because she told her husband, "[Not] until the lad is weaned; then I will take him in so he can appear before YHWH, and remain there forever." Weaned: the Hebrew word means "ripened" or "dealt fully with". Appear: or present himself; literally, be seen. Shmu'el was born into a time when "every man did what was right in his own eyes" (a phrase used several times throughout the book of Judges). Deut. 12:8-9 said this was the way it was in the wilderness and should not be the same way once Israel was in the Land. Nevertheless, it had remained that way, and while some knowledge of the Torah survived, in most areas it was weak. There had not been a major prophet since Y'hoshua's time. (See 3:1.) So Khannah, recognizing that her son was meant to be a man of YHWH in some capacity, planned to bring him to live among the priests, the keepers and guardians of the Torah, where alone he could receive a complete education about the ways of YHWH without the pagan practices that had encrusted and obscured it in most parts of the Land.23. And Elqanah her husband told her, "Do [what is] best in your eyes; stay until you wean him. But may YHWH make His word stand!" So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him. Make His word stand: i.e., carry out His word and let it have its intended effect. His word: possibly through Eli. (v. 17) But he is probably saying, in essence, "You what you think best, but make sure that when the time comes you remember what you have promised."24. Then when she had weaned him, she took him up with her along with three bulls, an eyfah of meal-flour, and a skin-bag of wine, and she brought the lad into YHWH's house [at] Shilo while he was young. Three full-grown bulls would be between 1,800 and 2,500 pounds (800 to 1,100 kg.) of meat! It would feed many people. No such offering is ever prescribed; even the inauguration of a priest requires only one bull. The family was clearly very wealthy, but it was also a great honor to have his firstborn son fulfill his more ancient role as priest, since the Levites had been taken in lieu of the firstborn for those who chose to redeem instead of giving their own son to YHWH's service. (Ex. 13:13; Num. 3:12) Khannah chose not to substitute a Levite for her son. He was being adopted into the tribe of Levi, for later we see him not just serving Eli, but replacing him. Shilo is spelled differently here in Hebrew also.25. When they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the lad to Eli, They: Apparently his father came along as well. Since the offerer was the one who had to slaughter and prepare the animal for the altar, and the priest would only officiate and deal with the blood, it would probably have taken Elqanah and his other sons to lift the bull up onto the hooks to skin and divide. To draw near to YHWH, then, one would have to learn how to "rightly divide." (Compare 2 Tim. 2:15) Khannah could only witness it from a short distance away outside the courtyard itself.26. and she said, "Excuse me, my master! [As sure as] your soul is alive, my master, I am the woman who took my stand with you in this [place] to pray to YHWH. Excuse me: A very honorific term showing that one is aware of the higher standing of the one being addressed, and of the fact that one might be a "bother" to even speak to him. She reminds him of the last time he encountered her.27. "Toward this [very] child I was praying, and YHWH has granted me the request that I asked of Him! 28. "So I too have let him be on loan to YHWH! All the days that he will exist, he will be on loan to YHWH." And he started bowing down to YHWH right there. Let him be on loan: literally, let him be requested--a parallel with her own request to YHWH. He now belonged to the household of Eli, and would have all the rights and responsibilities that pertained to that privilege. CHAPTER 21. And Khannah prayed and said, "My heart has triumphed through YHWH; my horn has been lifted high by YHWH. My mouth has grown wide over my enemies because I have rejoiced in Your deliverance!Compare the prayer of Miryam, mother of Yahshua, when she found out that she was to become the mother of the Messiah. (Luqa 1:46ff) We know that Miryam's was based on a Hanukkah liturgy which she had probably just heard, as there are many hints in Scripture that Yahshua was born at Sukkoth, so his conception would have been at Hanukkah. Khannah's prayer also seems to prophetic to have originated with her, and is too reminiscent of Psalms 112 and 113 to ignore (with only a different order; all the elements are the same; these psalms are not credited to any particular author). This is probably an earlier version of those Psalms--a liturgy sung in the Tabernacle, and later changed to fit a new cadence or the orchestration with new instruments and larger choirs as we know the Temple had. Thus in these first ten verses we may have one of the oldest extant liturgies for the worship of YHWH! (The scribe who wrote this would not have been present to hear it, but would have been familiar with the phraseology of the liturgy and therefore could quote it all. Did it originate with Aharon himself?) Yet it applied perfectly to Khannah's life, so the thoughts were hers too, and she burst into singing this song she had memorized through repeated visits to the Tabernacle. She was no longer sad, for her emotions had now caught up with her faith. My horn has been lifted high: a symbol of power or victory. The imagery is of an animal that has defeated its rival and raises its horn(s) up into the air.2. "There is no one in the same category as YHWH, because there is none but You, and there is no rock like our Elohim! In the same category as: literally, set apart like; i.e., He is in a class of His own. None but you: or, other than You there is none. Rock: an idiom for strength and security.3. "Do not let such terribly haughty talking increase; let arrogance go from your mouths, because YHWH is the El of knowings, and abusive practices are not measured out rightly. Her rival wife (and possibly her sons as well, as this is addressed to a plurality) was mocking her because she had no child, but now Khannah is proving her wrong, so she regains her dignity quite rapidly. Arrogance: literally, forwardness. Abusive: includes the ideas of severity, ruthlessness, and making a fool of someone. Measured out rightly: or, on level; the imagery is of adjusting weights in a scale to even out the balance. In other words, someone who mocks another before the story has ended is not thinking straight and does not have his values where they should be.4. "The bows of the brave heroes are shattered, and those who are outfitted with wealth [and ability] are being made to totter! Their advantage is being undermined and what they trusted in is about to collapse.5. "Those who were sated with bread have hired themselves out, while the hungry have stopped [being that way]. Until she who was sterile has given birth to seven, the one who had an abundance of sons has grown feeble. Hired themselves out: i.e., are so impoverished that the only way to pay their debts is to work for their creditor. Given birth to seven: an idiom for completeness: until justice for the downtrodden is complete, those who are powerful for the wrong reasons are restrained--a foreshadowing of haSatan being bound during the Messianic Kingdom. (Rev. 20:2)6. "YHWH is the one who kills or keeps alive; He [is the one who] brings down to the abode of the dead or causes to ascend. 7. "YHWH brings to poverty or brings riches; He brings low, [but] all the more, He raises up! All the more: Yes, He has to cause the downfall of some, but only for the sake of exalting those in whom he delights.8. "He raises the weak from the dust; from the trash-heap He has begun to raise up the needy, to cause them to sit with nobles. He causes them to inherit a seat of honor, because the [narrow] support-columns of the land belong to YHWH, and He has set the habitable world [in place] upon them. Trash-heap: slag-pile, or, more vividly, dung-hill. Nobles: literally, those who are willing or generous--i.e., hospitable, worthy people who will receive them charitably. (Compare Mat. 10:11-13) A seat of honor: "Many who are last shall be first, and the first last." Yahshua may have been thinking of this passage when He gave the parable of the one who takes the lower place at a banquet being invited to come to a more prominent place at the table. (Luqa 14:8-11) Khannah's rival was proving to be one who had taken a seat of greater honor than she had been invited to. I.e., He has founded the world on not just wisdom (Prov. 3:19), but justice as well. He has founded Tzion as the place for the poor of His people to take refuge. (Yeshayahu/Isa. 14:32) This is part of the new moon liturgy, symbolic of the renewal that comes to one which appeared to be languishing away completely. Support-columns: or pillars; an idiom for leaders who uphold Israel.9. "He guards the feet of His pious ones, while the wicked will be silenced in dark obscurity, because a man does not prevail through force. Pious: Hebrew, hasidim. "The race is not to the swift", but to those whom YHWH chooses. (Eccles./Qoheleth 9:11).10. "YHWH--those who contend against Him will be shattered! In the skies He will thunder; YHWH judges the ends of the earth! He will both give boldness to His king, and set the horn of His anointed on high!" Give boldness to: or, allow to prevail; solidify. Anointed: Heb., mashiakh (Messiah, of which Yahshua is one particular). His king: a prophecy of the Messianic Kingdom, ultimately, but her own sons would be the one to anoint the first two kings of united Israel, the second of whom is the ancestor of the Messiah and thus made it all possible. 11. Then Elqanah went up to his house in Ramath, while the lad became established in ministering to YHWH in the presence of Eli the priest. 12. Now the sons of Eli were children of worthlessness; they did not acknowledge YHWH. Acknowledge: or, know in a very familiar manner. In other word, they did not fear YHWH, and along with this came an arrogance about their position that enable them to think they could do anything they wanted and get away with it.13. And [this was] the custom of [how the] priests made decisions with the people: [Whenever] any man would slaughter an offering, the priest's servant-boy would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand 14. and would thrust it into the pot or kettle. All that the fork would bring up, the priest would take for himself; this is how they dealt with all Israel who came there to Shiloh. The priest was only supposed to receive some specified portions of the offered animals, for this was his livelihood. Which part depended on what type of offering it was. (Compare Lev. 7:30-34 with Deut. 18:3.) But instead, they depended on "chance" to determine what they got. The term "pot luck" may have originated with this practice! They might not have even eaten it all, but instead sold the meat, as priests were permitted to do in some cases.15. Also, before they made the choicest parts smoke, the priest's servant-boy would come in and say to the man who was doing the slaughtering, "Provide the priest with meat to roast, and he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw. Before…the choicest parts: These parts were to be wholly offered to YHWH first. Raw: literally, living. It may have still had some blood remaining in it because they thought it was tastier that way. But this was in direct violation of Lev. 8:31.16. And [if] the man would say to him, "We must cause the choicest part to smoke according to [what] day [it is], then you can take whatever your appetite desires," he would say, "No, because you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force!" What day it is: in the manner prescribed in the Torah for each festival, Sabbath, new moon, or special occasion. (For example, see Lev. 23:18-20 for what was to be offered on Shavuoth.) These priests only saw their "job" as a livelihood, not a spiritual service. By force: Aramaic, against your will.17. And the sins of the young men came to be very great in the face of YHWH, because the men had spurned YHWH's tribute-portion. Spurned: or, caused it to be held in contempt. Aramaic, robbed. (Compare Mal'akhi 2:8.) YHWH's tribute: the portion that was due Him before the priests received any for themselves.18. But Shmu'el was ministering in the presence of YHWH, a lad clothed with a [white] linen efod. Ministering: serving, waiting on; the term used for the work of the high priest. (Ex. 28:35) Clothed: literally, belted. White linen: from a word meaning to divide or separate.Efod: an outer garment, somewhat like a work-apron worn over the same type of white linen garment all the priests wore, and fastened at the front to keep his other garments in place so they fit close to his body; the Septuagint (LXX) emphasizes that it had shoulder-straps. This was the garment of the high priest. Does all this mean Shmu'el was acting as the high priest? Not necessarily; David also wore an efod on at least one occasion, and it was not in a priestly role, though it had to do with praise to YHWH. But this seems to be stated in contrast to Eli's sons; they may not have even been wearing the clothes of a priest. It could be that Eli was too blind to see how to light the menorah, etc., and Shmu'el performed these tasks under his supervision. It does seem that Eli was already grooming him to take his place when he died, because he knew his sons were not worthy of that role. At least one person was focusing on YHWH in this whole scenario. 19. And his mother would make a small coat and bring it up to him year by year when she came up with her husband to offer the slaughtering of the days. Coat: or possibly, vest; it was in particular a garment worn over a tunic by men of rank, and the root meaning of the word is "to cover". This term is also used of the blue garment worn over the white robe and under the efod by the high priest. (Ex. 28:31; 29:21)20. And Eli blessed Elqanah and his wife, and said, "YHWH will ordain for you offspring from this woman to make up for the loan which [she] lent to YHWH. When they went to his place, To make up for: or, in place of.21. YHWH looked after Khannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters, while the lad Shmu'el grew up with YHWH. Looked after: or, visited. This is the same phraseology used of Sarah when she conceived Yitzhaq. (Gen. 21:1)22. When Eli had become very old, he heard all that his sons had been doing to all of Israel, as well as how they lay with the women who were waging war at the entrance to the Tent of Appointment. Compare Exodus 38:8, where we are told that the laver was made from the mirrors of the women who waged war at this very same spot. Did they use mirrors because they were vying for the attention of the men who came to slaughter offerings? Or were they women eligible to marry the young priests? (If so, they would have to be Levite.)23. And he said to them, "Why do you do such things as these--your evil deeds about which I am hearing from all these people? 24. "Don't [do them], my sons, because the report that I am hearing is not appropriate; [you are] causing YHWH's people to transgress! Could Eli not simply remove them from their position? Possibly not; he may have given them the benefit of the doubt simply because they were sons of Aharon. Nadav and Avihu, in whose footsteps they were following by doing things their own way, had to be killed by YHWH in order to be removed. But as we will see, Eli had also been lazy in training them, so he may have felt it was really his own fault so that he had no right to punish them. On the other hand, they were younger and stronger, and really seemed to have been running things, and might have actually threatened to hurt him if he even tried to reprimand them.25. "If a man sins against a man, judges can mediate for him, but if a man sins against YHWH, who could intervene for him?" But they did not listen to the voice of their father, because YHWH desired to put them to death. Judges: Heb., elohim. Desired: or, was pleased to. Was it because He wanted Shmu'el to be in their position, but he could not while they were still alive?26. And the lad Shmu'el went on to become great and was highly esteemed by both YHWH and also [by] men. Great: both larger in stature and in promotion to greater importance, as well as increasing the deeds he did to benefit Israel. Compare the description of Yahshua's growth in Luqa 2:52. Because of this, YHWH now acted:27. So a man of Elohim came to Eli and said to him, "This is what YHWH says: 'Wasn't I plainly revealed to the house of your ancestor when they were in Egypt for the household of Pharaoh, A man of Elohim: or, one of the judges.28. "'to choose him out of all the tribes of Israel as a priest to Me, to go up onto My altar, to cause incense to smoke, to bear an efod in My presence? And wouldn't I give to the house of your ancestor all the fire [offerings] of the descendants of Israel? 29. "'Why are you kicking at My slaughters and My tribute-portion about which I gave orders in My habitation, and honoring your sons more than Me to make yourselves fat with the first of all the contributions of Israel which belong to My people?' 30. "Therefore YHWH the Elohim of Israel declares, 'I indeed promised [that] your house--that is, the house of your ancestor--would walk before Me in perpetuity. But now,' says YHWH, '[it is] profane to Me! Because those who honor Me, I will honor, but those who treat Me with contempt will carry little weight. Your ancestor: not Ithamar (if he was indeed his ancestor), for he had no such promise, but Aharon (in context of v. 27; see Ex. 27:21; 29:9). The promise was made more specifically to Pin'has, his grandson, but we have no evidence that Pin'has was Eli's ancestor. Carry little weight: literally, be light--trivial, insignificant, held in low esteem, of little account. They would certainly not remain in the highest position in Israel!31. "'Indeed, the days are coming when I will chop off your arm and the arm of your ancestor's house [to prevent there] from being an old man in your house. Arm: i.e., this branch. Your ancestor's house: Josephus claims that Eli, the father of Pin'has, is a descendant of Aharon's youngest son Ithamar, and that the high priesthood, which was intended to be held by the line of Aharon's other son El'azar, was transferred at this time to the house of Ithamar. This is never explicitly stated in Scripture, but may be based on 1 Kings 2:26-27 with 1 Chron. 24:3-5, and Josephus undoubtedly had access to records that have since been lost. In any case, it remained so for four generations (14:3; Ezra 7:2-3) until King Shlomo corrected this, replacing Avyather with Tzadoq, who we know was in the right line to be high priest. (1 Kings 2:27) Eli is never actually called the high priest in Scripture, nor is his ancestry ever listed, so we can only conjecture why this shift came about. It may have been transferred to Ithamar's house simply because of the liberal spirit of the age the judges, when most were slack about the Torah. But the real question is why El'azar's sons, who had the right to the position, were not serving in it. Merayoth, the seventh high priest from Aharon (1 Chron. 6:7), seems to have been a contemporary of Eli. It could be that Merayoth became a leper or had some other deformity that prevented him from serving as priest (Lev. 21:17-21; 22:4), or that he simply did not want to take his assigned role, and Eli merely stood in for him. Eli seems somewhat tentative about his role, as if "walking on eggs", possibly indicating that he knew he should not be in this position, but someone had to, if the true high priest had ceded his right to serve. This might explain why Eli's sons were "fleecing" the people to such a degree; if they knew they were in a position that was not rightfully theirs, they would not only not take care of it as well as if it were theirs, but would also try to milk from their time in that office whatever they could while it lasted.32. "'And you will be made to behold an oppressor of [My] habitation during all the benefit that is done for Israel, and there will not be an old man in your house for all the days. Aramaic: "And you will be considering and you will be seeing the sorrow that will come upon the men of your house because of the sins that you have sinned in My Temple. And afterwards prosperity will come over Israel, but in your house…"33. "'And [any] man of yours whom I do not cut off from My altar [will be] to bring a full end to your eyes and to bring grief to your soul, and all the increase of your house will die feeble. At this point, he is cursed with a lack of longevity in any of his descendants. Yet from 14:3 and 22:9ff, it appears that Eli's descendants through Pin'has continued to act as priests for some time at Nov. Not until King Shlomo's day was the final descendant of Eli ousted from the high priestly position. Indeed, his very name, Avyathar, means "my ancestor has a remnant", possibly to mock this very prophecy. But Shlomo recalled what YHWH had said here, and acted upon it. The full lineage of priests in El'azar's historical line is listed in 1 Chron. 6:4-15.34. "'And this is the sign for you [of] what will come toward your two sons--on Khaufni and Pin'has: both of them will die on one day. 35. "'But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest, and He will do what is in My own heart and My aspiration, and I will build a stable house for him., and he will walk before My anointed one all the days. Faithful: or firm, sure, trustworthy--the same word used here for "stable" as well. In the short run, he is referring to Shmu'el himself, who would anoint Israel's first official king and advise him. He needed to be "raised up" in more ways than one, as he was only a child at this time. Could he fill this position, not being a Levite? Yes, if there was no one in Levi whom YHWH could trust with it anymore, having not kept their part of the covenant. Shmu'el is a unique individual, in whom we see a special foreshadowing of the Messiah, for he fills, in essence, all three roles of prophet, priest, and "king". But man's emergency measures cannot cancel YHWH's intentions, and He will right their wrongs. The reference also extends to the priests who will minister in the days of THE Anointed (Messiah): Y'hezq'el confirms that the descendants of Tzadoq, who replaced Eli's line, will continue to hold that position in the age to come. (40:46; 44:15; 48:11)36. "'And it will turn out that anyone who is left in your house will come and prostrate himself to him for a silver coin or a loaf of bread, and will say, "Please attach me to one of the priestly offices so [I can] eat a bit of bread!"'" This may have formed the foundation for some of the details in Yahshua's parable of the "prodigal son". CHAPTER 31. Now the lad Shmu'el [was] ministering to YHWH before the face of Eli, and the word of YHWH was rare in those days; there was no oracle breaking open.Lad: Josephus says he was 12 years old at this time. Rare: literally, precious, costly. Oracle: or, prophetic vision. Even in "Biblical days", things were not always consistent. Seasons like this when there was no word from YHWH were not unusual, so we should not find it strange that there should have been centuries after Yahshua in which the same was true. The question is, was YHWH silent because people were obeying His word and He did not need to say any more? Or because even if He did speak, we would not "get it" anyway? Was this time a test to see how faithful people would remain without the reminders of the prophets? If so, they were very near to failing the test.2. But then it came about in that day as Eli was lying down in his place. Now his eyes had begun to grow dim; he was not able to see. Came about: Did the people, noticing YHWH's withdrawal, start praying for it to return? We do tend to value more highly the things we are about to lose. See: or, perceive; both senses held true in this case. Nor did he seem to notice enough of what his sons were doing.3. But before the lamp of Elohim had gone out, as Shmu'el was lying down in the sanctuary of YHWH where the ark of Elohim was, 4. YHWH called out to Shmu'el, and he said, "Here I am!" This is how Avraham answered YHWH in Genesis 22. However, Shmu'el did not yet recognize that it was YHWH calling him. (v. 7) He was just being a dutiful servant to Eli, or so he thought. But this may be specifically why YHWH chose to continue working with him. (Compare 1 Yochanan 4:20.) He was used to answering this way, being essentially a Temple slave. When YHWH called him to something greater, he was already involved in service.5. And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am! --because you called for me!" But he said, "[No], I didn't call. Go back and lie down." So he went and lay down. Ran: Again, he proved ready to obey, not lazy or sluggish like Eli. Since he got no response to his first answer, he went to where he thought the source of the call had come from. "Because": Eli must have given him a puzzled look, so he explained himself.6. But YHWH called yet again, "Shmu'el!" So Shmu'el got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, because you called for me!" But he said, "I didn't call you, my son. Go back and lie down!" It is common to have to tell children who "heard something" at night and "cannot sleep" to go back to bed, so thus far Eli thought little of it.7. (Now Shmu'el was not yet acquainted with YHWH, as the word of YHWH had not yet been revealed to him.) Had Eli not trained him well enough? Even the priesthood, whose job it is to speak for YHWH, was slow to recognize YHWH's voice. This is shameful. Eli was not a proper example to him, for the priesthood was even out of its proper context, as everything else in this era seems to have been; they were only going through the motions. The ministry was a business to them, just as it often is today. (Y'hezq'el/Ezek. 24:2-10) Shmu'el might have learned better in his own father's household, for we know he was devout. Yet in the Tabernacle, he had all the teaching imagery--the witnesses of the Tabernacle furniture--surrounding him, apparently day and night. So he was in a better context for YHWH to reveal Himself to him further.8. But YHWH called Shmu'el again, for the third [time], so he got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, because you called for me!" Then Eli discerned that YHWH was [the one] calling the lad. The third time: Three witnesses are all that are required in Israel to establish a matter. (Deut. 7:6; 19:15) This confirmed to Eli that this was not a mere coincidence, nor was Shmu'el just imagining things.9. So Eli told Shmu'el, "Go and lie down, but here's how it must be: if He should call you again, then say, "Speak, O YHWH, because Your servant is listening!" So Shmu'el went and lay down in his place. 10. Then YHWH came and presented Himself, and called out as on [the previous] occasions, "Shmu'el! Shmu'el!" So Shmu'el said, "Speak, because Your servant is listening!" Presented Himself: or stood, stationed Himself, planted Himself there (until He would be heard). For a hort time, His presence was again established here. YHWH's Name is conspicuously missing in his response. 11. So YHWH said to Shmu'el: "Here, look at Me! I am doing a thing in Israel at which the both of the ears of everyone who hears it will shiver! Shiver: or, tingle, possibly as the blood returned to them after they had been "asleep", and they reddened with shame. This phrase is only used two other times in Scripture (2 Kings 21:12 and Yirmeyahu/Jer. 19:3), and always in connection with calamity. Yet would He hide what He was doing from one chosen to be a prophet? (Compare Gen. 18:17; Amos 3:7.)12. "On that day I will bring on the scene for Eli all that I have spoken toward his house, [both] to begin and to bring to completion. Bring on the scene: carry out, fulfill, confirm, cause to stand, make binding, raise up. Have spoken: through the "man of Elohim" who came to him previously. (2:27-36)13. "And I have made known to him that I am judging his house forever because of the crookedness about which he has known, since his sons have been bringing [it] to dishonor, but he has not restrained them. Made known: There is only one recorded occasion when YHWH told him this previously; was one warning enough to condemn him? Actually, that was already the second witness; the Torah had already warned of the consequences of turning from YHWH's specific instructions, and he had the scrolls available to be read to him. The people at large had also borne witness to the wickedness of their deeds. So since they were causing Israel to stumble, he should have known that they were to be punished. Restrained: or weakened, frowned upon. Apparently he was not even showing much disapproval, but the fact that YHWH expected at least this much of him shows that he was indeed in a position to at least lessen their influence, if not actually stone them to death as prescribed. But Josephus states the problem as, "Eli has loved his sons more than he has loved My worship."(Antiquities of the Jews 5:10:4)14. "So therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, 'If the crookedness of the house of Eli can ever atone for itself by slaughter or by tribute-gift…!'" This is an idiomatic way of saying., "The house of Eli will never…" What a frightening position to be in, to never be able to find forgiveness! Yet the very wording does leave an open door for repentance, and nearly all of the time this is His intent when He sends a prophet. 15. Then Shmu'el lay down until morning, and he opened the doors of the House of YHWH, but Shmu'el was afraid to make the vision known to Eli. Yet part of the calling of a prophet is to speak the difficult words from YHWH. Eli was not hostile, as some of his audiences might be, and so this was his initiation into that aspect of his role. Doors: This is not the typical word for the entrance to a tent, but of actual doors, which again vouches for the archaeological evidence that there were actual walls around the Tent of Appointment. This would seem like a more comfortable and secure environment, especially if it was cold in the mountains here, but very possibly they were built mainly to make it look more like the temples of the nations around Israel. 16. But Eli called Shmu'el, and said, "Shmu'el, my son!" And he said, "Here I am!" 17. And he said, "What is the word that He has spoken to you? Please do not hide it from me. May Elohim do the same to you and add [more], if you hide from me a word of anything that He said to you!" This was the moment Shmu'el dreaded. Eli had been shown much favor simply because of the position he was in; YHWH had few options of whom to work with at that time. He put His reputation in much jeopardy because He had made men responsible to uphold it. But Eli knew a change was coming, and he assumed that if YHWH was now speaking, there must be judgment involved, for he passes the curse on to Shmu'el as a threat! Apparently he assumed (as in note on v. 1) that if all was going as it should, YHWH would have no need to comment.18. So Shmu'el recounted to him all the words, and hid nothing from him. And he said, "It is YHWH. Let Him do what is right in His eyes." He does not even show any effort to repent. He is either resigned to the idea that it is simply too late to do anything about his sons at his age, or thinks it will require too much effort on his part, which he is too lazy to deliver. Even Qayin argued that his punishment was too great and YHWH mitigated it somewhat! But Eli relegates the consequences to solely punishment rather than correction. The whole climate of Israel at this time was one of apathy; righteousness was rare, and not enough people cared about upholding the sanctity of the priesthood to hold them to the standard, so Eli had no support. Those who tried to do right were simply taken advantage of. This underscores how it is imperative that we get back into the right context if we want to get back to YHWH's order. 19. Now as Shmu'el grew up, YHWH was with him, and did not let any of his words fall to the earth. Because he did not let one of YHWH's words to him fall to the ground, YHWH did the same for him. This means that even the inevitable times when he, as a man, made honest mistakes, YHWH found ways to uphold him, because his heart was right, and YHWH's heart is truly what he was after.20. And all of Israel, from Dan to Be'er-sheva', knew that Shmu'el was being established as YHWH's prophet, Dan to Be'er-sheva: the northernmost and southernmost cities in the Land, and thus everything in between. Established: confirmed, faithful, supported, upheld. YHWH used him at first because he was the only one available, but he proved faithful despite his fears, and so YHWH continued using him. He brought shame upon the whole tribe of Levi by having a mere youth fill in and do their job, but this was meant to motivate them to get back in line.21. and YHWH [began] to be seen again in Shiloh, because YHWH had revealed Himself to Shmu'el at Shiloh through the word of YHWH. Be seen: probably in the cloudy pillar that rested above the Holy of Holies. If so, this would mean it had left, and that may be the reason the proper priesthood of the descendants of El'azar had apparently left as well. This therefore ended the age when oracles were rare. A new page in Israel's history has begun. Shmu'el is the first major prophet since Moshe and Y'hoshua's era. Yet notice how YHWH revealed Himself. How does YHWH chiefly reveal Himself even now? Through His Word, just as He did then! Now the Word may be usually be the written version, but why should He give us something more before we have finished responding to what we already have? CHAPTER 41. Thus the word of Shmu'el came to all Israel. And Israel went out to encounter the Filistines for battle, and they encamped above the Stone of Help, while the Filistines encamped at Afeq.Stone of Help: Heb., even ha-ezer. The reason for this name will be explained later. Afeq: There were several towns by this name; the one cited here is probably the one in the northwestern corner of Efrayim's territory on the Plain of Sharon, close to the border of Dan's tribal land, which had been overrun by the Filistines even in Shimshon's day. Afeq is some 20 miles (32 km.) west of Shiloh.2. When the Filistines set themselves in preparation to meet Israel, the battle was dissipated, and Israel was being beaten before the Filistines when they attacked [and destroyed] the battle-line in the field--about 4,000 men. Dissipated: let drop, loosened, forsaken, spread out, abandoned, forgone. Battle-line: or, rank and file.3. When the people arrived at the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has YHWH struck us down today before the Filistines? Let us [go] get the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH for ourselves from Shiloh, so if we bring it in our midst, it might bring us deliverance from the palm of our enemies' [hands]!" They credited the defeat to YHWH, knowing that He had promised that those who are walking in His will would defeat their enemies soundly, but those who were not would flee before their enemies. (Ex. 23:22-27; Lev. 26) They therefore deduced that they were following the wrong procedures, and they remembered a precedent from Y'rikho (Y'hoshua 6):4. So the people sent [to ] Shiloh so they could carry from there the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH [Master of] Armies, on which the kh'ruvim sit, and both of the sons of Eli, Khaufni and Pin'has, were there with the Ark of the Covenant of Elohim. They also remembered that Israel had been soundly defeated one time when the Ark did not go before them into battle. (Num. 14:44-45) On which the kh'ruvim sit: or, who dwells [between] the kh'ruvim. These angelic beings were known to be guardians of the gate to Eden and of the sanctuary of YHWH, so they may have thought they would protect the army of Israel as well. Elohim: used rather than YHWH here, because these men were under judgment. Was this war a direct result of the word of Shmu'el (v. 1)? YHWH had said He intended to kill Eli's two sons, and now that Shmu'el was grown, they had had several more years to repent, and had not. Yet Shmu'el himself conspicuously did not go out with them. This foreign army was within their Land, yet Israel was in no shape to be fighting yet. They were still wanting in regard to relationship with YHWH, so they are out of season. All He wants--as always--is for them to come near to Him again, so the enemies are there as a threat to drive stubborn Israel to return. This was still a season for repentance, because no one had done anything to oust Eli's sons. Khaufni and Pin'has if indeed from the line of Ithamar, are from the right family to transport the Ark, but not the family YHWH had prescribed to minister at His altar. A priest was to be involved in the decision of who should go to battle (Deut. 20:2ff). Josephus tells us that Pin'has had already begun to act in the role of the high priest because of his father's great age. Yet the character of these two priests should have given Israel second thoughts about following them into war. Josephus also says Eli had told his sons that if they survived any battle in which the Ark was taken, they should not dare to come into his presence again.5. And as the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH came into the camp, all of Israel started shouting with a loud war-cry, and the earth was made to resound. Resound: or, move, ring, make a great noise. The term for "shouting" can include shofar-blasts as well. (See Numbers 10:9) The Ark's arrival in the camp gave them tremendous confidence.6. When [the] Filistines heard the sound of the shouting, they said, "What is this great noise of shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?" When they found out that the Ark of YHWH had come into the camp, 7. the Filistines were afraid, because they said, "An elohim has come into the camp!" And they said, "Alas for us! Because nothing like this has taken place before! Before: literally, the third yesterday. It was apparently not a common occurrence for a nation to bring its idols into battle.8. "Woe to us! Who will rescue us from the hand of these renowned elohim? These are the ones--the [same] elohim who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness! These: They had heard of YHWH before, yet, possibly because they saw two kh'ruvim on the ark, they considered YHWH a plurality. Considering the source of this idea, we should be very hesitant to credit Him with that characteristic! Renowned: majestic, mighty, principal, famous, noble.9. "Get hold of yourselves and [rise up to] be men, O Filistines, so you won't become slaves to the Hebrews as they were to you! So become men and fight!" This is the most honorable scenario in the entire chapter, even if it is credited to the uncircumcised Filistines. They would rather fight to the death than be enslaved, as the Jews at Matzada and Gamla would later decide. So they called upon all the strength they had within them, and developed a plan. If this nation brought its "idol" into battle, they were at risk of it being captured, so the Filistines calculated that the risks involved in trying to capture it were worthwhile if it would take away the enemy's confidence.10. So the Filistines fought, and Israel was beaten, and they each started taking flight to his tents, and the defeat was very severe, and 30,000 of Israel's foot [soldiers] fell. Israel rushed presumptuously into this battle because they had recently "re-acquired" YHWH's presence among them (3:21), and they took the hope of restoration as an accomplished fact just because the cloud was back over the Tabernacle. They assumed that if they did things the same way they had been done before, YHWH would have no choice but to back them. This had become their elohim! They were indeed idolatrous, not so much in trusting the Ark as in falling back on "religion" rather than the security of being in the right relationship with YHWH as He had prescribed. He will not fit into our boxes, especially when we are out of season. He follows general patterns, but the specifics are based on the condition of His people at the time. If we act in a certain way just because we are most comfortable with its familiarity, we will find ourselves without His covering. 30,000 Israelites won the battle at Ay once they were back in favor with YHWH (Y'hoshua 8), but now Israel had proven to be on the wrong side, and lost the same number, for YHWH was actually with their enemies this time. Israel scattered, leaving their brothers to die in battle, since they were not in unity to begin with. All they had was "personal religion". They were not as honorable as the Filistines, or even the builders of the Tower of Bavel, in this sense.11. And the Ark of Elohim was captured, and both of Eli's sons, Khaufni and Pin'has, died. Just as Hizqiyahu destroyed the bronze image of a snake that Moshe had made because it was beginning to be worshipped (2 Kings 18:4), Though He had commanded both to be built, they were being taken out of the context He intended for them. YHWH wanted to diminish the importance of the Ark which was competing with Himself for Israel's attention at this point. And one day, when we again have YHWH's direct presence among us, the Ark will cease to even be mentioned anymore. (Yirmiyahu 3:16) 12. And a Binyamite man ran from the battle-ranks and came to Shiloh that day with his garments torn and with soil on his head. These are very clear signs of mourning, and while he was still far off, anyone who saw him would know this deserter was bringing bad news.13. As he came in, there was Eli, sitting on the seat beside the road, keeping watch because his heart was trembling with fear over the Ark of Elohim. When the man came into the city to bring the report, the whole city was in an uproar. Keeping watch: or, waiting expectantly, since he was physically blind. He did not have the confidence the army had that the Ark would be invincible. He was, after all, a prophet and a judge, despite his own personal failings, and he knew that Israel was not in YHWH's best graces at this point. YHWH's visible presence had remained at Shiloh, with Shmu'el, though they had taken the Ark.14. When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, "What is this noise of the crowd?" So the man hurried and came and started reporting to Eli. 15. Now Eli was 98 years old, and his eyes were fixed so he was unable to see. His eyes had been growing dim for years. (3:2) Because he was not in YHWH's order, his blindness became progressively worse. He did not even develop his other senses to compensate for his loss of vision. Contrast Avraham, whose "vision" became clearer as he became older because he responded properly to what he did see--and his seed was preserved against all odds. Eli did nothing about what he learned, and thus he saw less and less, and his seed kept on being diminished.16. And the man said to Eli, "I myself am the one who has come from the battle-front, and I escaped today from the battle-line." So he said, "How did things go, my son?" Things: literally, the thing (the matter or the word).17. And the one who brought the news answered and said, "Israel has fled before the face of the Filistines, and there has also been a great blow to the people, and even your two sons Khawfni and Pin'has have died, and the Ark of Elohim has been captured!" 18. And it was as he mentioned the Ark of Elohim that he fell off the seat backwards through what held the gate [in place], and his neck broke, and he died, because the man was old and heavy. And he had governed Israel forty years. What held: literally, the hand. Was Eli just as superstitious as the people about the Ark, thinking it was a magic charm that would automatically defeat their enemies? He was probably more concerned that something holy had fallen into the hands of a wicked and profane people--the uncircumcised Filistines. This was the "last straw that broke his neck", and more significant to him, because he already knew his sons were going to die, and was somewhat better prepared for that. 19. Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Pin'has, was pregnant with a child. When she heard the news of the Ark of Elohim's capture, and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she sank to her knees and went into labor, because her contractions overcame her. Contractions: Another meaning of the word is "hinges" of a door--probably a synonym for what her father-in-law had fallen through that broke his neck! Overcame: or, turned in on. Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews 5:11:4) says she went into labor at seven months.20. But at the time of her death, the women who were appointed to stand by her said, "Don't be afraid, because you have given birth to a son!" But she did not respond or take it to heart. Don't be afraid: though she was dying, her husband had someone to pass on his name, as a male heir. They may have even thought that giving her hope would save her life. But she did not find much consolation in this, knowing that he would never be as great as his father, much less his grandfather:21. But she called the boy Ikhavod, to make [the] statement, "The honor has departed from Israel [into exile]", in regard to the capture of the Ark of Elohim, and on account of her father-in-law and her husband. Ikhavod means "no honor", "no importance", "no glory", or "no authority". The authority and glory had all been taken from her family as well as from Israel. Yet YHWH allowed them to remain in the position, possibly because Shmu'el could train the next ones, possibly because there was still some factor in the line of El'azar that prohibited them from holding the position, and possibly because it would take someone as strong as a king to finally oust them fully from their office, because the priests were still the closest thing there was in Israel to royalty at this time, and the people were still afraid to do so.22. And she had said, "The honor has departed from Israel [into exile], because the Ark of Elohim has been captured!" She was more concerned for a piece of furniture, as holy as it was in its proper context, than with her own family! They had fallen back on what had been a reality for their ancestors, because when the "box" into which they put YHWH was locked away in the sanctuary, they did not have to get close to YHWH Himself. But when the box was gone and the religion was stripped away, what did they have left? Even the Torah can become an idol. In and of itself, it is nothing but words, unless they are applied for the purpose of drawing near to Him. He did not need the box before our ancestors left Egypt, and one day it will be forgotten; what He wants is for His people to be near Him, loving one another. The Ark--and the whole Torah that was stored in it--were given to teach us that. CHAPTER 51. When Filistines captured the Ark of Elohim, they brought it from the Stone of Help to Ashdod.Ashdod means "Devastator" or "burly ravager". This was probably so named to intimidate any would-be attacker. It is a coastal city south of Yafo and nearly due west of Yerushalayim. The Stone of Help was near Afeq, northeast of Yafo. Some of the Anaqim (a race of giants) remained in Ashdod, according to Y'hoshua 11:21ff. They took it where there were stronger men to guard it.2. And [the] Filistines took the Ark of Elohim and brought it [to] the house of Dagon, and placed it in [close] proximity to Dagon. Dagon was a Filistine fertility god with the face and hands of a man and the tail of a fish, because Dagon means "the greatest fish". Since they had originally been a seafaring people, this is an understandable emphasis. But even now they were more of a land-and-agriculture-based people (though still dwelling mainly along the coast), the name seemed to still fit, because it is also very similar to the Hebrew word for grain (dagan), from the root word meaning to grow or increase. In later times it was described as the "Zeus of the plowman". This is a picture of the apparent adaptability that has earned Christianity the description "transcultural Judaism". It has also, as here, claimed the loyalty of Yehudah's Elohim without deposing its own object of worship. In taking YHWH's Ark into this Temple, they were not necessarily dishonoring it. The Filistines were not monotheists, so they actually seem to have been trying to take it into their pantheon, alongside the big fish--as if they considered them equals. They would have readily added the worship of another Elohim if they thought it could help them win their battles, especially against the ones they had taken it from. They may have simply wished to house it in a dignified setting until they could build it a temple of its own, though the rest of the chapter does hint that they may have placed it in a lower position physically than their idol.3. When [the] Ashdodites rose early the next day, lo and behold, Dagon [had] fallen on its face on the ground before the Ark of YHWH! So they took Dagon and put it back in its place. YHWH says that not only every human knee, but every idol as well, will bow to Him. (Yeshayahu/Isa. 45:23-46:5)4. And they rose early in the morning the next day, and there was Dagon, fallen to its face on the ground in front of the Ark of YHWH, and Dagon's head and both of its hands were cut off over the threshold; only the fish [portion] was left on him. Hands: literally, the palms (or "spoons") of its hands. Aside from the obvious imagery of the idol not being able to hear, speak, or act, the particular way in which the idol fell apart suggests that the forearms were raised to the same height as the head, so that both could break off when striking the threshold, which was typically raised to allow for a bowl to catch the blood of a dedicatory slaughter. Though the symbol of the fish to represent believers in Messiah originated with a Greek acrostic and is undoubtedly an allusion to Yirmeyahu 16:16 to identify one another as members of the House of Israel in exile while under persecution, it seems no coincidence that this fish-god also resembled a crucifix somewhat. Despite the impossibility of a spike staying in place if run through the palms of a crucified man's hands, crucifixes have persisted in depicting the palms as the place Yahshua was pierced. (It was actually done through the wrists.) It is even doubtful that Yahshua's hands were actually spread wide in the manner usually depicted, for Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, a standard Christian theological reference, clearly admits (s.v. "Cross, Crucify") that "both the noun (stauros, i.e., an upright stake) and the verb stauroo, to fasten to a stake or pale, are originally to be distinguished from the ecclesiastical form of a two-beamed cross. The shape of the latter had its origin in ancient Chaldea, and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of a mystical Tau, the initial letter of his name) in that country and in adjacent lands, including Egypt. By the middle of the 3rd century…in order to increase the prestige of the apostate ecclesiastical system, pagans were received into the churches apart from regeneration by faith, and were permitted largely to retain their pagan signs and symbols. Hence the Tau or T, in its most frequent form, with the cross-piece lowered, was adopted to stand for the cross of [Messiah]." Yet despite all this evidence, the image has persisted, indicating that there are other politico-religious forces that want to retain it, because it stems from something much older--an image of this sort. Since it is a demonic symbol, there is power of another sort behind it as well. In modern terms, we would call this hybrid fish with human hands and face a "mer-man", which the crucified image even resembles as well, with two legs crossed so one spike can go through them both. We therefore cannot ignore the parallels between this event and what has been done with Yahshua as he has become "Jesus" in the popular mind. Only the fish portion: literally, only Dagon; Aramaic, only his trunk. So the fish was considered the essence of the idol. The human parts were removed, just as has tended to take place as Yahshua was fused into such a hybrid "God-man". So this image, too, must fall before the symbolism that YHWH chose for Himself. It is a concept that cannot stand in the face of YHWH's word. Yahshua himself would have no problem bowing before the Father, as he very often did. The first time, YHWH had given them an open door to repent, but since they had put YHWH's rival (which He defines not as one overtly opposed to Him, but as any elohim placed in His presence) back into a position that YHWH had already shown was not valid, the head--the "principality"--of "Jesus" must be toppled. The two things improperly joined together have to be separated back out so the difference can be plainly seen. Yahshua never claimed to be YHWH's equal. But the accoutrements men have added to him, especially characterizing him as deity, must be removed so he can be seen rightly and function in his proper place beneath YHWH, though above everyone else.5. Therefore, to this day, the priests of Dagon and those who enter the house of Dagon do not step on the threshold. Another reference to how widespread this practice became can be found in Tz'fanyah 1:2-9. Other thresholds are not to be set against YHWH's. (Y'hezq'el 43:8) That it was the priests that do not tread there, this suggests that this threshold was to the holiest inner sanctuary of the temple, not that of the outer door. The idol would have been placed close to it. Since the Ark was not hit when it toppled, yet the idol fell prostrate toward it, it would seem that the Ark was beyond this threshold, i.e., in a less-revered part of the building.6. And the hand of YHWH grew heavy on the Ashdodites, and He was bringing them to ruin, and He began to afflict them--Ashdod and its territories--with hemorrhoids! Hemorrhoids: pronounced much like "awful" in Hebrew (and they were!), the term means "swellings-up", and a synonym meaning inflammation or burning is used in 6:17. YHWH "lit a fire" under them that was too painful to ignore. They had no choice but to stand up in His presence!7. When the men of Ashdod saw that it was this way, they said, "The Ark of the Elohim of Israel cannot remain with us, because His hand has been severe upon us, and upon Dagon our elohim." Saw that: or, paid attention because. Though YHWH is the one who gave Israel over to the plunderers when they did not walk in His ways (Yeshayahu 42:24), the "devastator" was now devastated, for though YHWH has proven Himself superior to Dagon, they still identify themselves with Dagon.8. So they sent and gathered to themselves all the rulers of the Filistines and said, "What should we do to the Ark of the Elohim of Israel?" And they said, "Let the Ark of Elohim be transferred to Gath." So they transferred the Ark of Elohim. They did not consider the possibility of sending the Ark back to Israel, because they thought that if they had Israel's "Elohim" in their possession, they could influence Him to let them beat the Israelites in battle. So they sent it to another of the five principal cities of Filistia. But since they were lacking a priest who knew the specifics of how YHWH wanted to be worshipped, they could not control Him. The Ark was only a box, but though it had not helped Israel win the war, YHWH did use it to make a distinction so that His Name would not be dishonored.9. But, sure enough, after they had it transferred, the hand of YHWH came onto the city [with] a very great disturbance, and He afflicted the people of the city, from small all the way to great, with hemorrhoids! 10. So they sent the Ark of Elohim to Eqron, but as the Ark of Elohim entered Eqron, the Eqronites were making an outcry, saying, "They've transferred the Ark of the Elohim of Israel to us, to cause us and our people to die!" Since Dagon had failed to protect them, they brought the Ark to a city where another elohim, Ba'al-Z'vul (seen by some as Dagon's son) was worshipped. Eqron means "eradication". The name stemmed from the Filistines having been "torn up by their roots" and having to emigrate from their original territory. But now they felt the threat of being removed yet again. So they refused to let this "hot potato" enter their city.11. So they sent and gathered all the rulers of the Filistines and said, "Send away the Ark of the Elohim of Israel, so it can go back to its own place and not put me or my people to death!" (Because there had been a deathly panic throughout the whole city; the hand of Elohim had been very heavy there.) Panic: mass hysteria; the same word as "disturbance" in v. 9.. It had taken all the soldiers had in them not to panic when the Ark arrived at the battleground, and these were civilians who were not used to forcing themselves to be brave. Some may have even committed suicide.12. so those who did not die were afflicted with hemorrhoids, and the outcry of the city went up [into] the heavens. Who did not die: apparently, under the pressure of YHWH's "heavy hand", their "hearts were failing them for fear" before they even suffered the plagues YHWH brought. (Compare Lukas 21:26) The outcry went up to the heavens: The same was said of the sinfulness of S'dom and Ghamorah (Gen. 18:20-21) and Babylon (Rev. 18:5). In this case, it is describing how loud the cry must have been. CHAPTER 61. So the Ark of YHWH ended up in the open country [belonging to] the Filistines [for] seven months.None of the cities would accept it, so they kept it within their territory but not within any of their walls.2. And [the] Filistines called for priests and diviners, to say, "What shall we do to the Ark of YHWH? Let us know what we should send it to its place with!" 3. So they said, "If you are letting the Ark of the Elohim of Israel go, you must not send it away empty, because you must certainly return a compensation to Him; then you will be healed, and it will be made known to you why His hand has not turned away from you." Empty, pointlessly, in vain, with no effect. But apparently they were "keeping" the Torah--literally! There is plenty of evidence below that they had read at least the Exodus and Leviticus scrolls, possibly in an effort to learn Israel's secrets, or possibly just to know how to deal with YHWH appropriately. Compensation: the same Hebrew word used for a "guilt" or "trespass offering" in Lev. 5:15-16 et al, for they knew they owed Him more than just to send the Ark back. They knew they needed to make restitution for stealing it. Not turned away: They must have been trying other means to alleviate the situation for all these months.4. So they said, "What is the compensation that we should return to Him?" And they said, "The number of the rulers of the Filistines: five golden hemorrhoids, as well as five golden mice, because they all had one [and the same] plague--as did your rulers. Your hemorrhoids: Particularly those of these five city-state rulers; pity the artisans who had to replicate them! Plague: or pestilence--probably related to the mice (or rats, though there is another Hebrew word for the latter, but it is used only once in Scripture). They had apparently read about the bronze serpent in Numbers 21, for they imitated the practice there of making images of what was plaguing them, but made these from a more costly metal, to show YHWH that they were doing all they could to beg Him to stop the plague.5. "So when you have made images of your hemorrhoids and images of your mice that are bringing the land to ruin, you will have paid honor to the Elohim of Israel. He may lighten His hand from [being] upon you and from [being] upon your elohim and from [being] upon your land. Your mice: This suggests that the priests or diviners may not have been Filistine. Bringing the land to ruin: or, to corruption, spoiling it. They may have been diseased and spreading something like the black plague, or simply "plaguing" the people because they were beginning to overrun their land, and this was an abomination to YHWH. (Compare Yeshayahu 66:17.)6. "And why should you make your heart heavy as Egypt and Pharaoh made their heart heavy? When He had dealt with them severely, didn't they set the people free, and they left? Heavy: or dull, insensible. They had read the account of the Israelites in Egypt, and how the plagues stopped once they let the people go. The plague of frogs (Ex. 8:4ff) was most similar to this one, and a careful reading of the Hebrew text there indicates that the frogs were actually entering bodily orifices; if the mice were doing the same, they may have been very directly related to the hemorrhoids!7. "So now take and make a wagon--a new one--and [take] two cows that are nursing young, upon which a yoke has never come, and tie the cows to the wagon, and take their offspring back home, away from them. These cows were unaccustomed to being yoked, so they would not go in a certain direction just out of habit once yoked. They had a very natural reason to refuse to leave as well. So the Filistines are asking for a miraculous sign as Gid'on had done with his fleece.8. "When you have taken the Ark of YHWH and set it onto the wagon, then you must put into a chest beside it the articles of gold that you are returning to Him as a compensation, then send it away so it will depart. Chest: the particular type is from a root word meaning to quiver as if suspended like a basket. They may have sent it on poles, as they would know from reading the Torah scrolls that they were to do to the Ark. 9. "Then watch: If it goes up in the direction of its own territory [to] Beth Shemesh, He [is the one who] has dealt us this great injury, but if not, we will know that His hand did not strike us; it [just] happened to us by accident." Beth Shemesh is in the Sh'felah (foothills) about halfway between Eqron and Yerushalayim, on the border between Yehudah's and Dan's tribal lands, and very close to Shimshon's hometown of Tzaur'ah. The wanted to get it within Israelite borders. Acccident: i.e., coincidence.10. So the men did just that: they took two cows that were nursing [young], hooked them to the cart, and restrained their offspring indoors, If cows that were still nursing their young would do such an unnatural thing and leave their calves behind, they knew that YHWH had to be in this.11. and they put the Ark of YHWH onto the cart along with the chest with their golden mice and the images of their inflammations, 12. and the cows went straight to the journey in the direction of Beth Shemesh, and proceeded [along] one highway, lowing as they walked, and did not turn aside to the right or left, with the rulers of the Filistines going after them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh. Lowing: because they were heavy with milk and in pain since their calves were not present to relieve them of it.13. And [the people of] Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat crop in the valley, when they lifted up their eyes and saw the Ark, and were they [ever] glad to see it! 14. When the wagon came to the field of Y'hoshua the Beth-Shemeshite, it stood still there where there was a big stone. So they split the wood of the cart, and made the cows go up as an ascending [offering] to YHWH. They used the large stone as an altar, since the cows had apparently chosen this spot for the Ark to stop. This is the only scenario where females of the bovine species were burnt, except the red heifer used to purify the priesthood. Did they do this to purify the Ark again after being taken outside Israelite territory?15. And the Levites took the Ark down along with the chest that was with it, in which the articles of gold , and placed them on the big stone, and the men of Beth Shemesh offered up ascendings and made slaughters to YHWH on that [same] day. The stone must have been large enough to accommodate the Ark and the "altar" at the same time. A stone of that size should be easy to locate today, since the location of Beth Shemesh is well known.16. When the five rulers of the Filistines saw [it], they returned to Eqron on that [same] day. They were satisfied that they had taken it out of their area of jurisdiction, and it was in the hands of someone who should know what to do with it.17. Now these were the golden inflammations that the Filistines sent back to YHWH as a compensation: one for Ashdod, one for 'Azzah, one for Ashqelon, one for Gath, one for Eqron. Ten generations is enough for the descendant of an illegitimate child to overcome this stigma and become part of the congregation of Israel; it seems it had been enough for the Filistines to fill up their "cup" of iniquity; here they were only doing right out of fear so they would survive. If we assume these events are contemporary with David's father, this is ten generations after Yitzhaq's day, when the Filistines were still considered a "righteous people" (Gen. 20:4; 26:28-30). But now they have come fully into idolatry. Five is the number of the Torah (five scrolls of "instruction"), and they have five rulers; they are thus are a picture of the counterfeit people of YHWH who are now being forced to give up YHWH's bride and send her back to its original context--Israel.18. And the golden mice--by count [as many as] all the cities of the Filistines, for the five rulers from the fortified city down to the rural village, including the large meadow on which they let the Ark of YHWH rest--are in the field of Y'hoshua the Beth-Shemeshite to this day. 19. But He struck some of the men of Beth-Shemesh [dead], because they looked into the Ark of YHWH. Indeed, He struck 70 men among the people, 50,000 men. And the people were mourning because YHWH was bringing chastisement among the people with a great plague. Looked into: or simply looked on; the Aramaic explains that this is because it was exposed. While the articles inside the Ark were put there as a testimony, it was to be concealed by a veil whenever it left the sanctuary (Ex. 40:3; Num. 4:5). Apparently the Filistines had read enough of the scrolls to know they had to keep it covered. It is not clear whether this means 70 out of the city's whole population of 50,000 or 70 from the leaders and 50,000 from the rest of the people (but the latter is how the Aramaic targum interpreted it). Another possibility is that "elef" (thousand) should be read as alef, meaning that the 70 who died included the 50 chief men of the city--those held responsible for this act. Despite the joyful occasion of the Ark returning from exile, people who were not to look on a set-apart object had not remedied the fact that the Filistines had profaned it by covering it up immediately, but let their curiosity have the upper hand. Tradition says the two carved figures atop the Ark represented YHWH and His people in an act of intimacy, and thus it was only to be uncovered when in the innermost room. Even those who washed the inner walls of the Holy of Holies in the Temple were lowered down in such a way that they could not see the Ark, but only a small part of the wall in front of them. These people had usurped the prerogative of the priests alone, possibly reasoning that YHWH had sent he Ark to them, and therefore they could look to see what was in it. It is the way that seems right to a man (Prov. 14:12), but He had given it to them only so they could deliver it back to the whole people. They are a picture of many Christians, who though they rejoiced to see the Jews return to the homeland, still act as if they had displaced them as YHWH's chosen people. Though Beth Shemesh was a step up from the totally pagan context of the Filistines, the Ark was really supposed to be where the Tabernacle was, at Shiloh. The Ark was now in a place where it could be restored to where it should be, but was not there yet, Like those who come out of pure Catholicism but do not come all the way back into the covenant of Israel. Beth Shemesh (the "house of the sun") is thus a picture of the early pagan churches, soon after Constantine's time, which took over buildings once used to worship the sun, and kept the disks representing the sun on their walls. They also adopted the worship on the "day of the sun" rather than the Sabbath. As the pastors went right along with this, the Levites seen in v. 15 apparently did not do their duty and stop the people from this sin. They too seemed to be keeping their distance from the Ark since they were not priests either. This shows that Israel was still in the condition found over and over in the previous 300 years, where "every man did what was right in his own eyes".20. And the men of Beth-Shemesh said, "Who can stand before YHWH, this set-apart Elohim? And to whom can He go up [away] from us?" They were so full of fear that they did not even ask what the right thing to do with the Ark was, but just wanted to get it off their own hands to somebody else's. They did not treat the Ark as set-apart, but had profaned it just as the Filistines initially had. Yet, ironically, they appeared to be worshipping it, or at least identifying it with YHWH Himself, since they though that getting rid of it would remove Him from them as well.21. So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiryath-Y'arim to say, "The Filistines have returned the Ark of YHWH; come down and take it up to yourselves." Kiryath-Y'arim ("village of forests") was further into the mountains, and so it would be better protected. But though they knew it was wrong to keep the Ark, they seem only concerned to get it off their own hands, and do not care about the brothers into whose hands they are trying to pass it off. They should be asking YHWH what to do with it, or at least sending it to Shiloh, where they would assume it belonged. There are not to be groves of trees around the sanctuary (Deut. 16:21), because they are too reminiscent of pagan fertility shrines. So a forest was not an appropriate place for the Ark. Kiryath-Ye'arim is also called Kiryath-Ba'al in Y'hoshua 50:16, and this suggests that it was indeed originally a pagan worship site. It is about seven miles closer to Yerushalayim than Beth Shemesh, and would have been on the way to Shiloh as well. It is on the border between the tribal lands of Yehudah, Binyamin, and Dan. CHAPTER 71. So men came from Kiryath-Y'arim and took the Ark of YHWH up and brought it to the house of Avinadav on the hill, and they set his son El'azar apart to guard the Ark of YHWH.Avinadav means "my father is generous/willing". Was El'azar chosen because he was a noble man, or because his name sounded priestly? This was not one of the Levitical cities, so he was apparently not a Levite and thus should not have been dealing directly with the Ark.2. And it turned out that from the day the Ark was set in Kiryath-Y'arim, the days increased; they became twenty years! And the whole household of Israel was wailing after YHWH. Out of sight and in the wrong place, it symbolized YHWH's presence being gone. They wanted His presence, but the very thing He had given to symbolize His presence was kept hidden away because it might kill them. This has been Christianity's precise attitude toward the Torah. They could have brought it back at any time; what would wailing accomplish until they did?3. But Shmu'el said to all of the household of Israel, "If you are returning to YHWH with your whole heart, [then] remove the foreign elohim and Ashtaroth from among you, and make your hearts steadfast toward YHWH, and serve Him alone. Then He will rescue you from the hand of the Filistines." Remove: put away (from oneself), abolish, reject, turn away from. Ashtaroth: fertility goddesses. This is the most common idol found in Israel by archaeologists--often in people's homes. The Ba'alim (v. 4) were often seen as their husbands. The name of one of the Ba'alim evolved into "God". Israel had started building a pantheon, lamenting YHWH's "absence" yet with hearts divided between Him and other elohim. Steadfast: i.e., resolute, unbending, firmly fixed, not wavering back and forth.4. So the descendants of Israel removed the Ba'alim and the Ashtaroth, and served YHWH alone. This is the best thing that had taken place in the last 300-odd years! Yet it only says "removed" and not "destroyed", possibly setting the stage for the idolatry to return in another form. We need to recognize other places it has infiltrated our society now: the names of months, days of the week, planets, cars, holidays, and even tennis shoes, all bear the very names of pagan deities; cross-based jewelry, especially with the crucifix, superstitions, charms, candles on a birthday cake, and homosexual priests are just a few of the ways these ancient forms of worship have come back or remained in disguise in modern times.5. Then Shmu'el said, "Gather all Israel to the observation post, so that I may intercede with YHWH on your behalf." The observation post: or watchtower, lookout point: Heb., Mitzpah, but the article appears in Hebrew, so it may not refer to the town by this name, though it is only a few miles north of Kiryath-Y'arim. Many cities in the mountains would have such observation sites. Intercede: pray, intervene, interpose, mediate.6. So they were gathered at the observation point, and drew water and poured it out before YHWH, and fasted on that day and said, "We have sinned against YHWH." So Shmu'el ruled the sons of Israel at the watchtower. Ruled: or judged. Except at Sukkoth (when it was a request for rain), pouring water out like this symbolized repentance. Compare Iyov (Job) 3:24 links it with cries of distress or groanings. This was a ceremony of confession--a graphic physical representation of their penitence.7. When the Filistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered themselves together at the observation point, the rulers of the Filistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard [it], they were terrified because of the presence of the Filistines. Filistine reconnaissance may have reported the great noise being made by all of these people gathered at what was probably often used for military purposes. They assumed they were gathering for battle, especially now that they knew they had gotten the Ark back, and so decided to preclude their attack with one of their own. Now that the Israelites were no longer serving the elohim the Filistines served, they were less hesitant to attack them. The Israelites might have been fearful because they had not brought their weapons with them to this gathering.8. So the sons of Israel said to Shmu'el, "Don't be quieter than we are from crying out to YHWH our Elohim, so He might save us from the hand of the Filistines!" Quieter than we are: and they were making lots of noise.9. So Shmu'el took one choice lamb and offered it up in its entirety as an ascending to YHWH, and Shmu'el cried out to YHWH on behalf of Israel, and YHWH responded to him. Choice lamb: or, milk lamb, possibly meaning one still nursing. It may have been a firstborn that YHWH had said to bring before it was weaned. (Ex. 23:19; 34:26) The restoration was not complete without something having to die, and this was Shmu'el's way of crying out to YHWH with more than just his voice. He first must get in touch with the reality that this is what all Israel deserved for their neglect of YHWH's presence.10. Now as Shmu'el was offering up the ascending, the Filistines approached to fight against Israel, and on that day YHWH thundered with a loud noise over the Filistines and confused them, and they were beaten before Israel, Thundered: possibly with an astronomical event much larger than ordinary thunder--like a "thunderbolt".11. and the men of Israel left the watchtower and chased the Filistines and struck them down as far as below Beyth Kar. Beyth Kar means "house of the he-lamb" or "camel-saddle" (possibly due to the shape of a geographical feature there) and was apparently in the Filistines' territory.12. Then Shmu'el took one [building] stone and set it up between the watchtower and the sharp, pointed rock, and called its name "The Stone of Help", saying, "Up to here YHWH has helped us." Sharp, pointed rock: literally, "the Tooth". The Stone of Help: Heb., Eben ha-Ezer. Up to here: or, thus far. This may have been exactly the spot at which the Filistines turned and fled or where the Israelites stopped pursuing. Or did it symbolize that the rest was now up to them to guard?13. Thus the Filistines were being brought down, and they didn't come within the border of Israel any more, and the hand of YHWH was on the Filistines all the days of Shmu'el. Brought down: or subdued, brought into subjection, lowered.14. And the cities that the Filistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel from Eqron as far as Gath; thus Israel recovered their territory from the hand of the Filistines, and there was peace between Israel and the Emorites. Eqron to Gath: the inland cities; the coastal cities apparently remained in the hands of the Filistines, for they will show up again in the next generation, though all the coastal cities in this region did belong to the tribe of Yehudah. (Y'hoshua 15:47-48) The Emorites were the only other potential threat at this time, and they were not actively threatening, so there was total quiet in the Land.15. And Shmu'el ruled Israel all the days of his life, 16. that is, he went every year and traveled in a circuit [from] Beyth-El [to] Gilgal [to] the observation point, and judged Israel in all of these places. If this observation point is indeed the same Mitzpah where Israel gathered to battle against Binyamin in Judges 20-21, then all of these cities were places where Israel had been united. Beyth-El was close to both Ramah (see v. 17) and Shiloh. The Tabernacle had been there for a short time when Israel was at war with one of its own tribes (Judges 20), and D'vorah had judged from very close to here. (Judges 5:5) Shiloh is conspicuously absent from this circuit, though it was not far away. Of what value is a sanctuary without the Ark? The Tabernacle was just a shell without it. Shmu'el may not have wanted to overstep onto priestly territory, since his ruling was of a different sort. Or the Tabernacle may have been back at Beyth-El or even moved down to Kiryath-Y'arim where the Ark was.17. When he returned to Ramah, because his home was there, he judged Israel there, and there he built an altar to YHWH. Since the Ark had not yet reached its final resting place in Yerushalayim, altars at other locations were still permitted. CHAPTER 81. Now when Shmu'el grew old, he appointed his sons as rulers for Israel.2. And the name of his firstborn son was Yo'el, and the name of his second, Aviyah. [They were] judges in Be'er-Sheva'. Yo'el means "YHWH is Elohim". Aviyah means "YHWH is my Father". Be'er-Sheva' is where Avraham and Yitzhaq had dwelt. By this time it was in Shim'on's tribal territory. (Y'hoshua 19:2) It was not on the mountaintops like the places their father had judged, but rather was on the margin of Israel. (3:20) The most likely reason they chose this location was that it was on a major trade route to Egypt and would likely be wealthy from all the merchandise that passed through, and thus the people there could pay them more for their services:3. But his sons did not walk in his ways, but began to incline after dishonest gain, take a bribe, and pervert judgment. Just like Eli's sons (2:12), they did not live up to their great names. It could be that Shmu'el was so busy with judging Israel that he failed to train his successors well. Investing in all of Israel has to be balanced with consideration for the next generation, or it will be harmful in the long run. The gains he had made could all be lost in just one generation if they did not understand their roles the way he did. We are not told anything about his wife. It could be that she was not considered worthy of mention, and that the reason his sons turned out the way they did was because their mother was not of the same caliber that Shmu'el was. Or it may simply be that Shmu'el had let people take advantage of him, so his sons, who did not really desire to serve as he did, decided that they were going to at least get something out of it for themselves. The Torah commands judges not to take bribes, because they blind the eyes of a judge. (Ex. 23:8; compare Ex. 18:21.)4. So all the elders of Israel collected themselves together and came to Shmu'el at Ramah, 5. and said to him, "Look here! You are old and your sons have not walked in your ways. Appoint a king for us now to rule us, like all the nations." They took advantage of a bad situation to push what was already their agenda. Israel has in modern times continued to have this yearning to be like all the other nations.6. But the thing was distasteful in the eyes of Shmu'el when they said, "Give us a king to rule us", so Shmu'el prayed to YHWH, 7. and YHWH told Shmu'el, "Listen to the voice of the people--to all that they say to you--because it is not you that they have rejected, because they have refused My reigning over them. Shmu'el himself was no longer even officially in power, though his influence remained great. It is really his sons that they are rejecting. But the fact that they are not as upright as Shmu'el was does not seem important to YHWH; after all, the people were in such a state that they did not deserve a perfect ruler; their actions were part of His judgment. Since he had given the responsibility to Shmu'el, those whom Shmu'el chose were still His choice, even if their heart was not where his was. This begs the question: If having a king is rejecting YHWH, why did He say in the Torah that there would one day be a king over Israel? And we are promised yet another King over Israel; will this also be rejection of the One who has appointed him to reign? It is a matter of the wrong timing. YHWH had said the scepter would belong to Yehudah, but Yehudah had a child through a forbidden marriage (Lev. 18:15), which disqualified his descendants from being part of the "congregation of Israel" for ten generations. (Deut. 23:2) At this point we had only reached the ninth. Like those who declared someone the Messiah based on his meeting some of the qualifications while they did not study the rest well enough to recognize that he did not meet the rest, these people had no right to demand a king yet.8. "Just like everything they have done since the day I brought them up out of Egypt up to this day--that is, they have forsaken Me and served other elohim--they are doing the same to you as well. Everything: There were a few exceptions, but apparently too few to count for much. Now they are rejecting the leaders He has chosen as well. Other elohim: Their wanting a king out of season is related to idolatry somehow. This is all the more reason that we must not turn the coming King of Israel into a "god". He has a very important place in Israel, but no one can take YHWH's.9. "So listen to their voice for now, but you must indeed warn them repeatedly of the privileges due the king that will reign over them." This definitely gave a new twist to His initial instruction to listen to their voice. No, they were not right; Shmu'el was. But they had to learn to be careful what they asked YHWH for, because they just might get it! He is letting them have their way so they can learn the hard way.10. So Shmu'el spoke all the words of YHWH to the people who were requesting a king from him. 11. And he said, "This will be the right of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons for himself and set them among his chariots and war-horses, and [some] will run ahead of his chariots. 12. "And he will appoint for himself captains of thousands and captains of fifties, as well as to do his plowing and reap his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and the apparatus of his [chariot] riders. Captains of thousands…fifties: assumedly, hundreds and tens as well (according to Exodus 18:21)--but maybe not, for the king might have his own system. Rulers of tens would mainly be dealing with their own relatives, but now he was going to make changes which would undermine the prescribed ways:13. "And he will take your daughters as perfume-makers and cooks and bakers. Their children would now be "federal property" and no longer available to the households where they were needed most. This would require finding help from other sources for their own farms, kitchens, etc., further mixing up the tribal inheritances as YHWH had set them up. Yes, a king would unify the nation in a way seldom known during the period of the judges, but at a very high price. Ideally, the worship of YHWH is the factor that unifies Israel, but the fact that they had not totally dispossessed other peoples from the Land thwarted the realization of that goal, for their presence drew Israelites away into idolatry. To do things any differently eventually has to undermine the Torah.14. "He will also take your fields, vineyards, and olive orchards--the best [of them]--and give them to his servants. His servants did not deserve what belonged to other people, but how else would the king pay so many people but to take from those who were not his hand-picked household? They were not really his to give. Yet because they chose this path, anything the king demanded of them would be considered rightfully his. The term translated "privilege" in v. 9 and "right" in v. 11 is mishpat,which means justice. I.e., it would be considered his just due, though it undermined much of Torah. During the Messianic Kingdom, the "Prince" will not be permitted to give to his servants or sons any land but what was deeded to him from the start. (Y'hezq'el 46:16-18)15. "And he will take ten per cent of your seeds and your vintage, and give [them] to his court officials and servants. This is not in place of the tithes commanded by the Torah, but in addition to them. With the three commanded tithes (which represented 23.33% in any given year) still in place plus this tax (which may not have even included the items taken in verse 14), the people would be left with only two-thirds of their resources. This is a very heavy burden--one that we are again faced with as part of our exile as we move back into Torah observance, as we still owe taxes to the nations where we live. Those who followed the Torah in ancient Israel could have avoided this situation, but did not see the great privilege that it was.16. "He will also take your [male] and female servants and the best of your choice young men, as well as your donkeys, and use them for his own work [as his representatives]. 17. "He will take ten per cent of your flock, and you will become servants to him. If they thought they had it bad now, this would be much worse on them than what Shmu'el's sons were doing. Verse 3 suggests that they only took one bribe--possibly a rare occasion, so it could be that the elders were looking for any excuse to push their political agenda.18. "And in that day you will cry out [for help] because of the presence of your king that you have chosen for yourselves, but YHWH will not answer you on that day." This indeed turned out to be true under King Shlomo and his son Rehav'am. The only recourse YHWH had in order to remedy the situation at that time, because of the ripple effect from this decision here, was to divide the kingdom in two--so now they would have two kings! But if Shmu'el had already been the ruler--the de facto "king" though not called by that title-- what was the difference between him and the king they were asking for? The king would be there to be served, while he had been there to serve. The priests were really intended to be those who judged Israel, but they had apparently been failing in their duty, so Shmu'el placed in position those whom he thought knew best, having seen his example of leadership. By David's time, the priests were again given their responsibility to make rulings, but they were under the supervision of the throne, and thus were accountable to him, to check and balance them in case they should abuse their great power. Yahshua emphasized that those who are given high positions in his Kingdom must have this attitude as well. (Mat. 20:25-28)19. But the people refused to listen to the voice of Shmu'el, and they said, "No, because if there will be a king over us, His fair warning was not taken. They did not see this as rejecting YHWH, but He did.20. "we, too, will be just like all the nations, and our own king will rule us and go out before us when our battles are fought." They were still smarting from the loss of the Ark, and may have even thought that having YHWH Himself go out to war for them was not enough to guarantee victory. They wanted a figurehead who would bring pomp and splendor--someone they could put out front who looked formidable to their enemies, for they were concerned with how Israel looked on the world stage. In their minds this took precedence over all these sacrifices they would have to make to support such a system of government. With a king, they could have parades and not have to be so concerned about walking in righteousness. YHWH's King, Yahshua, is not like other kings. He deliberately avoided the limelight most of the time. He was not particularly attractive. He was not a diplomat, and sometimes even seemed like a lunatic. He said people had to leave their old context to follow him. So the Romans hijacked him and turned him into something palatable to them and what they expected a king to be. They even turned him into YHWH Himself--and sometimes even considered him greater than YHWH! This they could respect. But they changed his identity and will be very surprised at what he really is when he returns.21. When Shmu'el had heard all that the people had spoken, he spoke them in the ears of YHWH. 22. And YHWH told Shmu'el, "Listen to their voice and cause a king to reign over them." So Shmu'el said to the people of Israel, "Each of you go to his own city." This way the person whom YHWH chose would be at home and able to be found when YHWH told Shmu'el who he was. Or so it should have been… CHAPTER 91. Now there was a man from Binyamin whose name was Qish [a bent lure], the son of Avi'el [El is my father], the son of Tz'ror [a packed bag], the son of B'khorath [birthright], the son of Afiyakh [I will make breathe], the son of the Man of the Right Hand--one strong in wealth.Strong in wealth: or, a capable hero, an efficient champion, powerful [in the] army. The Man of the Right Hand: Binyamin. But this juxtaposition of names tells the story of "Jesus", whose sonship is misconstrued as his being the One who made us breathe, and who is a counterfeit of Yahshua, a "strong delusion" that "lures" many to believe they have the birthright and that their "bag is packed" with heavenly wealth while they are not willing to obey YHWH's actual commands. This is the heritage of the one Israel was looking for:2. And he had a son whose name was Sha'ul--a choice, pleasant young man, and there was no man among the sons of Israel better than he, being taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. Sha'ul means "requested". In this case, it turned out to connote "You asked for it." He was a head taller than anyone else in Israel. He therefore stood out, and this was the type of person YHWH knew the people wanted. Sha'ul was a natural warrior, coming from a long line of crack warriors. (Judges 20:16) His kind of kingdom is the type the people want--one that rarely intrudes on their own priorities--and it comes at the wrong time, before the true Kingdom is fully ready.3. Now the female donkeys [belonging to] Qish, Sha'ul's father, strayed away, so Qish told Sha'ul, "Please take one of the young lads with you and get up! Go look for the female donkeys!" Again he is a picture of the church, which is looking for lost donkeys (any that might be redeemable, as per Ex. 13:13) rather than the lost sheep of the House of Israel (Mat. 10:6; 15:24).4. But as he traversed the mountainous [region] of Efrayim and crossed the land of Shalishah, but did not find them. So they passed through the land of Sha'alim [foxes], but they weren't [there]. So he crossed [back] into the land of the Yaminites, but did not find them. Shalishah: or, the third land--i.e., he started in Binyamin's territory, went all the way across Efrayim, and entered another tribe's territory. This could either be Menashe's or Dan's. Since he ends up back in Binyamin's territory (the land of the Yaminites), which also borders on Dan's, it was most likely the latter. There may also be a veiled allusion to the trinity in connection with this counterfeit king. The singular form of "fox" (or jackal) in Hebrew is shu'al, which is very similar to Sha'ul's name. He is thus on the verge of being one who steals and eats the sheep rather than feeding them--not intentionally, but doing the best he can without knowing the Torah again makes him a picture of the "man of lawlessness". Like that one, he would bring about some of the conditions necessary for the true anointed one (messiah) to arrive on the scene, but he is out of season to be the true anointed one.5. When they arrived at the land of Tzuf, Sha'ul said to his young [servant] who was with him, "Come on, let's go back, so my father won't give up on the donkeys and become concerned about us!" Tzuf was the great-great-great grandfather of Shmu'el. In 1 Chron. 6:26, he is actually traced to the Q'hathites line of Levites. Shmu'el's hometown could thus be read as "Ramathayim of the Tzufites" (1:1)6. But he said to him, "[Sir], please wait! There is a man of Elohim in this city, and the man is held in [high] honor; everything that he says really comes [true]. Let's go there now! Maybe he will let us know which way we should go!" Sha'ul's father probably knew Sha'ul was likely to give up unless he had someone else along to encourage him. This need for a "coach" continued all throughout his career as king. Any time Shmu'el was not around, he usually made the wrong decisions. Held in honor: or, considered important, taken as an authority.7. So Sha'ul told his young [servant], "We should indeed go, but what can we bring to the man? Because the bread in our containers is used up, and there's no arrival-gift to present to him. What [do we have] with us?" Sha'ul, though not the brightest man (his servant has more knowledge than he), was clearly well-schooled in manners and knew how to approach a great man. Though all he is asking for is information about where his lost donkeys might be, and though he is not coming up to the Temple, he does not dare to come empty-handed. Today it would be more common to argue that the information s provided by YHWH, so why should a man be paid? But he was the one through whom YHWH chose to speak. It appears that otherwise he would have offered him bread, a picture of the united community of Israel. But Sha'ul has none, and indeed it appears he never would reign over the southern Kingdom of Yehudah, but only the northern Kingdom. The unifying would be left to his successor.8. And the young man gave Sha'ul an additional reply, saying, "What do you know? There is found in my hand a quarter of a sheqel of silver! I'll give it to the man of Elohim so he can tell us our way." He may have brought this along in case he should have to redeem his donkeys in the process of retrieving them.9. (It used to be that in Israel when a man was going to inquire of Elohim, he would speak this way: "Come, let's go to the seer!" because the prophet of today used to be called "the seer".) This shows us that this account was not written down until there had been enough time for the language to change somewhat, or this verse was a later addition. We know from our own experience, though, that all it takes for a word preference to shift is one generation.10. So Sha'ul said to his young [servant], "What you said is appropriate; come, let's go." So they went into the city where the man of Elohim was. 11. As they were going up the ascent-ramp [to] the city, they met some young women who were going out to draw water. So they said to them, "Is there a seer in this [city]?" Ascent-ramp: Cities were usually built on a hilltop for defensive purposes, with a steep incline at the final approach to the city to slow down any enemy that might be rushing the city--or, for that matter, to give the watchmen of the city time to warn them that a royal entourage was coming so they could make the necessary preparations. Going out: A water-source or well was often located just outside the city gate to save space within the often-cramped enclosure within the walls. It would also give much more room to water the flocks and herds (as seen in Gen. 29) of the citizens and anyone else who received the city's hospitality. Shmu'el is not referred to by name--possibly an example of a prophet being without honor in his own country. (Mat. 13:57) Some of the people in this city might remember "changing his diapers" and wonder who we was to tell them what YHWH said. But he was now "retired", and may have been much more low-key than when he was actively Israel's main leader. Yet the fact that he did not act like royalty was part of the reason Israel wanted him replaced. Likewise, it is difficult for people in our democratic age to accept the fact that Yahshua is one of us, yet chosen by YHWH for a higher position. They therefore feel they have to make him more than a man in order to honor him as highly as he deserves.12. And they answered them and said, "There is; in fact, he has preceded you. Hurry, now, because today he has come to the city because there is a slaughtering for the people today at the platform! Platform: a site dedicated to ritual slaughterings. After the Temple was built, all of these were considered pagan cultic sites, but at this point they were permitted at various locations for the worship of YHWH, especially for city-wide gatherings like this one. Today: It appears he was only visiting, yet he has a place there (vv. 18, 25); it could be that this is a new moon when he is visiting his relatives here, for we see that David went back to a "family reunion picnic" once a year on a new moon. (20:6, 24-29)13. "As you go into the city, you should find him just like that--[but do it] before he goes up to the platform to eat, because the people will not eat until he has arrived, because he will bless the slaughtering. Afterward, those who are invited will eat. So now, go up, because you can find him today." It seems Shmu'el did not make this place his home, but he frequented it enough that his name was associated with this place. It was probably therefore either Beyth-El, Gilgal, or Mitzpakh/the observation point (possibly belonging to Kiryath-Y'arim, per 7:16; see also notes on v. 6 and v. 25). The travelers must have looked hungry, because the women seem to be telling them that they might be invited to eat. Eating of such a public slaughtering may have been a hospitality extended to visitors to the city. But since the animal to be slaughtered was now the prophet's property, only those whom he invited could eat of it. (v. 22) This was most likely a thanks offering, since numerous people other than the priests would partake of this kind of slaughtering. (Lev. 7:15) Or this may simply be a "barbecue" of the type of meat that is worthy of the altar, which may not be partaken of unless it is first brought before YHWH. (Deut. 12:13-18) Since Israel's worship was not yet centralized in one place (the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle were even at two different locations now), it did not necessarily have to be brought to the Tabernacle. The presence of hostile peoples still in the Land sometimes made it unsafe to travel; it was not until David was given rest from his enemies on every side that he was able to identify the Place YHWH had chosen to set His name. (2 Shmu'el 7) At this time, Shmu'el's presence was enough to represent YHWH's presence, and such localized slaughterings to YHWH were common. (10:8; 16:2; 20:6; 1 Kings 3:4).14. So they went up to the city. As they were coming inside the city, lo and behold, there was Shmu'el coming out to meet them, to go up to the platform. It seems he was inviting them up as the women had spoken about in v. 13.15. Now YHWH had uncovered the ear of Shmu'el one day before the arrival of Sha'ul, saying, 16. "Tomorrow at the same time I will send you a man from the land of Binyamin, and you must anoint him as ruler over My people Israel so that he may deliver My people from the hand of the Filistines, because I have taken notice of My people, because its outcry has reached Me." Outcry: due to oppression. While the people wanted the king as a figurehead, YHWH say Sha'ul as another judge to deliver His people from their enemies, as most of the other judges had done. The people had asked Shmu'el (7:8) not to stop asking YHWH to deliver them from the Filistines.17. When Shmu'el saw Sha'ul, YHWH responded to him, "Here is the man about whom I told you. This [one] will exercise restraint over My people." Responded: He must have been scanning the crowds, asking YHWH, "Where is that man You wanted me to anoint as king?" He had apparently walked toward the city gate to see if he was coming. "Might that be him?"18. As Sha'ul approached Shmu'el inside the gate, he said, "Please inform me where the seer's house is." Since YHWH knew that Shmu'el knew that Sha'ul was not His ideal, He did not require him to go out of his way to anoint Sha'ul; for the next king, he would have to go further, but it would be worth the trip.19. And Shmu'el answered Sha'ul to say, "I myself am the seer. Ascend the platform ahead of me, and you will eat with me today. Then I will send you away in the morning--but let me report to you everything that is on your heart: Shmu'el delayed to reveal his purpose for inviting him, possibly to have time to observe his ways first.20. "As for your lost donkeys, three days [ago] today; don't put your mind on them; they have been found. And for whom is all the desiring of Israel? Isn't it for you and for the whole household of your father?" 21. But Sha'ul responded by saying, "Am I not a Binyamite, from the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And my family is the least significant of all the clans of the branches of Binyamin, so why have you spoken to me with such a word as this?" Such denial is known to have been a polite formula for accepting an offer. But he was not exaggerating about his tribe being the smallest. Only a generation or two beforehand, the tribe of Binyamin was decimated to a mere 600 men. (Judges 19-21) Sha'ul's father was probably one of the warriors who took refuge in a cave until the rest of Israel declared a "cease-fire" and spared them. His tribe was therefore pitied, but not necessarily respected. We learn later that there was genuine humility in this. (15:17)22. But Shmu'el took Sha'ul and his young [servant] and brought them to the [banqueting] hall, and gave them a place at the head of those who were invited, they being about thirty men. The one who humbled himself (v. 21) was given a higher position. (Compare Yahshua's parable in Luqa 14:10.)23. And Shmu'el said to the butcher, "Give [him] the portion about which I told you, 'Set it [aside] near you.'" Butcher: He served as the cook as well.24. So the butcher took up the hind thigh and [the meat] that was on it, and set it in front of Sha'ul and said, "Here is what remains. Help yourself to it! Eat, because toward the appointed time I have kept it for you, saying, '[For] the people I have invited.'" So Sha'ul ate with Shmu'el on that day. The thigh normally belongs to the priest. (Ex. 29:22ff; Lev. 7:32-33) By giving it to Sha'ul, he may be cueing him in on the fact that he is about to take his position as ruler. The priesthood was the position that was to be held in highest honor in Israel, but the people had asked Shmu'el to give away the portion appointed to him by YHWH, and since YHWH gave him the go-ahead, he does so, but this is part of YHWH's discipline for their asking amiss.25. Then they came down from the platform to the city, and he spoke with Sha'ul on the roof. Thus this banqueting chamber was in the "acropolis", right at the cultic site itself.26. And they rose early, and what took place around the [time the] dawn was rising was that Shmu'el summoned Sha'ul [on] the roof, saying, "Get up, so I can send you off!" So Sha'ul got up and both of them--he and Shmu'el--went outside. Rose early: He must have pretended to be in a hurry because of another appointment later. Apparently he slept on the roof as well. Send you off: Typical hospitality included accompanying guests to the edge of one's city or property.27. As they were going down to where the city ended, Shmu'el said to Sha'ul, "Tell the young man that he can go on ahead of us and pass through [the gates], but you stay [where you are] right now, so I can let you hear the word of Elohim."
Later kings would be anointed with a horn of oil rather than a flask. A horn is symbolic of power, and Sha'ul was not to be as fully endowed as the next kings, because he would not be king over the tribe of Yehudah, but only the rest of Israel. Yehudah had not been among those asking for a king, which may be one reason the next king, who would come from Yehudah, would be rewarded by being given the whole nation of Israel to rule. He also did not anoint him publicly yet, because, as we will see, at this point he was only empowered to be a prophet. This is part of what was in his heart (9:19), which he did not yet know about. The potential was there for him to not just hear a particular message from Elohim (9:27), but to hear from Elohim himself. But he had not yet tapped this latent gift.2. "As you go from me today you will find two men with the tomb of Rakhel within the border of Binyamin at Tzeltzakh, and they will tell you, "The female donkeys that you went to look for have been found, and your father has in fact abandoned the matter of the donkeys and has become concerned about you, saying, 'What can I do about my son?' This seems out of place, since Rakhel's tomb is in Beyth-Lekhem, in Yehudah's territory, though it is not far from the border of Binyamin. Tzeltzakh means "shadow", so it may mean it was not quite within the border of Binyamin, unless that tribe had disobeyed the Torah and moved the border.3. "Then as you go on further from there, you will come to the Terebinth [Tree] of Thavor, and there you will find three men going up to the Elohim of Beyth-El, one carrying three [goat] kids, one carrying three round loaves of bread, and one carrying a skin-bottle of wine. Thavor: not related to Mount Thavor in this case. Beyth-El: This may mean the Tabernacle had been moved to the town with this name, or it may simply be referring to Shiloh, where the "House of El" had been prior to this and may still have been.4. "And they will ask you how you are faring, and will give you two [loaves of] bread, which you are to take from their hand. 5. "Afterward you will come to the Hill of Elohim where the Filistines' station is, and what will take place as you come to the city there is [that] you will encounter a band of prophets coming down from the [cultic] platform with a harp, a drum, a flute, and a lyre ahead of them, and they will be prophesying. Station: fort, garrison, post.6. "Then the spirit of YHWH will rush over you [to make you effective], and you will be transformed into a different man. Effective: or, successful. The spirit would come over David immediately after he was anointed, but Sha'ul has to follow some instructions first, since as we will see, following instructions imprecisely was Sha'ul's weakness. He would be a different man, but would he necessarily be better? Sha'ul has been humble, but soon we will see him turning arrogant, diminishing the role of Shmu'el, for, after all, if Sha'ul is a prophet, what does Shmu'el have now that he does not? One of the easiest ways to push one's agenda is to "prophesy", adding an air of authority, but if he did not know the Torah well enough (unlike David), he may think he is speaking YHWH's words, but have no way to test them. Giving the words of YHWH to Sha'ul is, we must remember, still part of the nation's punishment. This would make them think they had made the right decision, when in fact YHWH was just giving them over fully to their own wishes so that when their cup of transgression was full, it would be very clear that He was just in judging them, for rulings were to come from priests, not a king. (Deut. 17:8-9) People seem to have a need for a leader they can control, and YHWH was not that. The reason there is a pope today is because, just like back then, people could not wait for the right king to come to the throne, but wanted a figurehead "now"!7. "Then what will take place when these distinguishing signs come to you, [is that] you must do for yourself whatever your hand can attain, because Elohim is with you. Distinguishing signs: Shmu'el gave him this prophecy as proof that YHWH was indeed in this. Do…whatever your hand can attain: Aramaic, prepare for yourself the instruments of kingship.8. "Then you will go down ahead of me to Gilgal, and I will certainly come down to you to offer up ascendings, to slaughter peace offerings. You must wait seven days until I come to you and make known to you what to do." You must wait: This was part of his test. But there is another reason: Since we have apparently just passed the new moon (9:12), and Sha'ul would be given two loaves of bread, it appears that this slaughter was for Shavuoth, which usually falls within seven days of a new moon. Every household is to bring two loaves of bread for that festival (Lev. 23:17) Sha'ul, who had not yet reached home ,had run out of bread (9:7), but now he had been provided with some (v. 4), which he was given the privilege of conveying to the feast as representative of the whole nation. The feasts were still celebrated at different locations, as the worship was not yet centralized at Yerushalayim.9. And it did turn out that as he turned his back to walk away from Shmu'el, Elohim changed him to a different heart, and all of the signs came [to him] on that day. YHWH was opening up for him some understandings that he did not have before, but on nothing like the scale for which He would do so for David, who was looking not for donkeys but for intimacy with YHWH. (Psalm 119) He was already a prophet when he became king, and did not need a change of heart. Sha'ul was learning to focus more on the character he would need in order to be king, but this was still a "setup".10. When they arrived there at Giv'ah, a band of prophets [was] indeed [there] to meet him, and the spirit of Elohim rushed on him [to advance him], and he prophesied [right] among them. Giv'ah: 3 miles (5 km.) north of Yerushalayim, not to confused with Geva', which despite a similar name, was 3 miles to the northeast of Giv'ah, which simply means "hill". It had been destroyed due to a terrible event in the days of the judges, but already rebuilt. (Judges 19-21) It had apparently not been inhabited long before that, since it is not beside a natural; source of water, but depended on rainwater cisterns, which were not common until the 12th century B.C.E. It has been identified with Tel el-Ful and excavated by W.F. Albright (1922-1933) and P.W. Lapp (1964).11. In fact, all who knew him from yesterday and the day before then looked and saw him while he prophesied with the prophets, and each of the people said to his fellow, "What's going on with the son of Qish? Is Sha'ul also among the prophets?" All who knew him: Giv'ah is his hometown (v. 26). People in Yahshua's hometown reacted in the same way to him. (Mat. 13:54-56)12. And a man from there answered and said, "And who is their father?" Therefore, "Is Sha'ul also among the prophets?" came to be proverbial. I.e., all prophets have to start out as ordinary people, so why would it be so unusual that Sha'ul did? But on another level, YHWH was their father, and this was a prologue to the kings of Israel bearing the special title, "Son of Elohim" (Psalm 2:7; 2 Shmu'el 7:14)13. And when he had finished prophesying, he came to the cultic platform. He stopped prophesying the same day he had begun. Thus the spirit had been given to him to a limited degree like the elders in Numbers 11:25. His bouts with the spirit of Elohim were short-lived and not constant; David asked YHWH not to take the spirit of holiness away from him. (Psalm 51:11)14. Then Sha'ul's uncle said to him and to his young [servant], "Where did you go?" And he said, "To look for the donkeys. And when we saw that they weren't there, we went to Shmu'el." 15. And Sha'ul's uncle said, "Tell me what Shmu'el said to you!" 16. So Sha'ul told his uncle, "He informed us clearly that the donkeys had been found." But as to the matter of the kingship, he did not tell him what Sha'ul had said. Yaaqov had told his uncle too much; Sha'ul told his uncle too little. Josephus says it was because he did not wish to make him envious, knowing that even those closest to us can become unreasoning in such cases, and he thought his life might even be endangered. 17. Then Shmu'el called the people together at Mitzpah, This would have been after Shavuot, for this coronation was not worthy of that, not being one prophetic of the Messianic Kingdom, as the next kings' coronations would be.18. and he told the descendants of Israel, "This is what YHWH, Elohim of Israel, says: 'I Myself brought Israel up from Egypt and rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the dominators that oppressed you. 19. "'But today you have rejected your Elohim--the very one who delivered you from all your griefs and your tight spots--and told him, "Because [we want] a king to be appointed over us!" So now present yourselves before YHWH by your tribes and by your [groups of] thousands!'" 20. And Shmu'el brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Binyamin was taken [by lot]. 21. So he brought the tribe of Binyamin near by its clans, and the family of Matri was taken [by lot]. Then Sha'ul the son of Qish was taken [by lot], and they looked for him but could not find him. 22. So they inquired of YHWH again, "Has the man arrived here yet?" And YHWH said, "There he is! He has withdrawn himself [back] toward the equipment." If he had not already had cold feet (suggested in verse 16), when he heard what Shmu'el had to say, he realizes that he is the one the people have chosen in opposition to YHWH. The word for equipment is often translated "vessels", and he already had begun to realize that he was a vessel fit for destruction. It is hard to blame Sha'ul , since he had never even asked for fame or power. He was just minding his own business, and now he was "front and center"--a scary position indeed. It would take a very brave man to accept this position with that knowledge--yet he would be a very honorable man, knowing that it is important to surrender to YHWH's will, no matter how He wants to use us.23. So they ran and conducted him from there. When he presented himself in the midst of the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 24. And Shmu'el said to all the people, "Do you see who YHWH has chosen? Because there isn't [any] like him among all the people." And all the people cheered [loudly] and said, "[Long] live the king!" Shmu'el may have been emphasizing that YHWH's choice was better than any of theirs would have been. But it is still somewhat tongue-in-cheek because it was not YHWH's intention for them to have a king yet. But after all he has just said about their having rejected YHWH by this choice, they are still excited about having a king! One would think they would have thought twice if they knew the prophecy that the scepter belonged to Yehudah, (Gen. 49:10) But they ignored everything he said, and did not take the final open door for repentance that he was offering them.25. Then Shmu'el told the people the rightful privileges of royalty, and recorded them in the book and deposited it before YHWH [to remain there]. Then Shmu'el sent all the people away, each to his own house. Deposited it before YHWH: Josephus clarifies that he put it in the tabernacle as a witness to later generations that he had been right in his warnings. This document may have included the instructions from the Torah about how a king should behave (Deut. 17:16) and also what he had a right to demand from the people. (1 Shmu'el 8:11) It seems that Shmu'el was permitted to define the latter since he had been faithful to YHWH yet rejected by the people.26. And even Sha'ul went to his home in Giv'ah, and the capable men whose hearts Elohim had touched went with him. Touched: or reached.27. But sons of worthlessness said, "How can this one deliver us?" And they held him in contempt and did not bring him a tribute. But he became like one who is deaf. We therefore can assume that Shmu'el had told them all to bring a tribute to the king. He was not a wealthy man, or his family would not have missed a few donkeys. But a king had to represent the nation, and therefore must appear wealthy, so the people in general were willing to build up the figurehead's image in this way. Psalm 2 demonstrates that the king chosen by YHWH has not only the right but the responsibility to enforce obedience to his rule. Instead Sha'ul ignored these haranguers, possibly since he too had the same question as to how he could save the people, or possibly assuming that if YHWH had chosen him, their words could not have much effect; it was not until YHWH let him know that He would turn the kingdom over to someone else that he began to feel insecure. He may still have been hoping that all of this would blow over, since he did not want to be this vessel of judgment. He may not have wanted the first act of his kingdom to be an act of punishment, so that he would remain popular with his subjects. But he would nonetheless have a crisis immediately after his accession to the throne…
Yavesh-Gil'ad: meaning "the dry part of Gil'ad, which is otherwise quite fertile, this city lay three miles east of the Yarden in the tribal land of Gad, in modern-day Jordan south of the Yarmuq River canyon, and just three miles (5 km.) south of the Roman-era city of Pella. Nakhash means "hissing serpent" or "whisperer"--the same word used for the tempter in the Garden of Eden. 12:12 tells us more clearly that he was the king of Ammon. Since all the men of this city had been killed a generation or two prior to this (Judges 21), its population was not large enough to fight such an army, and the city may not have been strong enough to withstand a siege. Like the Amaleqites, they picked on the weakest. YHWH forbade any such covenant with the nations in the Land. (Ex. 23:32; Deut. 7:2) The Ammonites were technically not from the Land, but serving them would undoubtedly include serving their elohim. But under duress they were trying to bargain so at least their lives could be preserved.2. And Nakhash the Ammonite said to them, "With this I will cut [it] for you: when I have brought scorn on all of Israel by gouging out every right eye!" This would make it difficult for any archer to aim his arrows, having no depth perception, but if many of the men of war were left-handed slingers as their Binyamite ancestors had been (Judges 20:16), they would have an especially hard time aiming. Even if they were right-handed, their shields would then be held over their left side, giving them very little periphoral vision. Thus he would take away any military threat from this city that lay as the only defense between him and the main part of Israel. (The Ammonite territory was directly east of Gad's, and just across the Yarden was the wide Yezre'el Valley which would provide easy access for him to much of the rest of Israel.) He undoubtedly wished to continue his campaign across the Yarden once Yavesh-Gil'ad was crippled, or at least control all the territory up to the river, which would provide him with a much greater resource. Unless otherwise stated, the job of most Israelites was also shepherds, whose main task is to watch out for dangers to the sheep. With half of their range of vision gone, they would not be able to be circumspect. Interestingly, prophecy tells us that YHWH will set over the earth a worthless shepherd who will not care for the flock, and his end will be to lose the use of his arm and all vision in his right eye. (Z'kharyah 11:17) Usually if the right arm is meant, it is specified as such, but that is not the case here, suggesting that the left arm is what will be dried up (for which the Hebrew word is yavesh!) The right eye is a Hebraic idiom for generosity, whereas the left eye is a picture of looking out for self, which would certainly make them miss the target (which is what the Hebrew word for sin literally means). The right eye needs to be stronger to be able to overcome the left, and this would make them a disgrace in that they would be a picture of people completely out of balance. Adam looked at his wife with the left eye, and she in turn looked at the serpent in the same way, so the one whose name is "serpent" now wants revenge on the people whose left eye YHWH means to use to identify sin so Adam and Chawwah's error can be corrected for.3. So the elders of Yavesh told him, "Drop back from us for seven days so we can send messengers throughout the whole territory of Israel, and if there is no one who delivers us, then we will come out to you." Drop back: slack off, let rest, refrain. Of course it would be absurd to accept this proposition, so they try to buy time. They did not agree to the humiliating terms of his covenant, but rather agreed to meet them in battle, weaker though they were, because this would at least be an honorable way to die. Apparently Nakhash was decent enough (being, after all, a descendant of Avraham's nephew Lot) to allow them this respite, or he was just humoring them, assuming that no one would come to help the town that had made itself odious to the rest of Israel not very long before.4. When the messengers arrived at Giv'ah of Sha'ul, they spoke the words in the hearing of the people, all the people lifted up their voice and wailed. They went directly to Sha'ul, not only because he was the king and there was now a central authority from which an army could be commanded. All the virgins of Yavesh-Gil'ad had been married to the tribe of Binyamin in order to preserve that tribe (Judges 21), so either Sha'ul's mother or grandmother had come from that city, and he would feel a special obligation to come to their rescue. Many of those Binyamites may have taken their wives back to resettle the city. It could be that the reason Sha'ul was chosen as king was for such a time as this.5. Then there came Sha'ul from the field behind the oxen, and Sha'ul said, "What's with the people that they're weeping?" So they recounted to him the words of the men of Yavesh. Just because Sha'ul was now royalty, he did not see himself as above common labor, and he continued to support his clan by doing his part in the work when there were no national matters pressing upon him. In this respect he was not acting like a Gentile king. Was he distracted from defeating the Filistines, or in denial of who he had been made, still hoping it would all "blow over"? Did he just go back to what was most natural to him, as Keyfa would do while waiting for further instruction? (Yochanan 21:3)6. And the spirit of Elohim rushed upon Sha'ul [to make him effective] when he heard these words, and he became very angry. This is why they needed a leader, for weeping alone would do nothing about the cause of the problem. We seldom think of the "fruit of the spirit" as including anger, but it was very appropriate at this time, it being a "time for war" (Qoheleth/Eccles. 3:8) since his brothers were in danger. Elsewhere it usually says the spirit of YHWH came upon the judges and upon Sha'ul (10:6), but here it is the spirit of Elohim, which emphasizes the judging side of YHWH--the side that makes His enemies pay. Vengeance was the job that needed to get done at this time, sop we should not expect the other spirit to be in play. It was less compassion on Yavesh than hatred for the Ammonites that motivated him, though the latter accomplished the former as well. We separate justice and mercy more often than we should, for judgment on evil is mercy on the righteous. When YHWH does not let us get away with being undisciplined, He makes us better people. But we should aim to be so balanced that we need very little of either.7. And he took a yoked team of oxen and started dividing them into pieces. Then he sent them into the whole territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, "If there is anyone who does not come out [to battle] following Sha'ul and following Shmu'el, the same thing will be done to his oxen!" And the dread of YHWH fell on the people, and they came out as one man. The people are more afraid of Sha'ul than of the Ammonites.8. So he passed them in review at Bezeq, and the sons of Israel were 300,000 and the men of Yehudah 30,000. Bezeq is about twelve miles from Yavesh, nearly directly across the Yarden from it, in the land of Menashe, at the western edge of the Great Rift Valley near its widest point. It is where the wide Yezre'el Valley joins the Yarden Valley, giving all of Israel easy access to it, but there is also a side valley that joins the two of them there so that the army could be concealed from enemy reconnaissance behind a foothill of Mt. Gilboa. It is where Y'hoshua had cut off the thumbs and big toes of the king who had done the same to 70 other kings. (Judges 1:4-7) Notice that Yehudah is listed separately from Israel, since generally they were considered almost a separate nation already. We are not told that they had submitted to Sha'ul's jurisdiction, but for an occasion as urgent as this, they remembered that they were still brothers and did not fail their kinsmen in their time of need. They, too, would become a target for the Ammonites if Yavesh fell, since they, too, were accessible via the Yarden Valley.9. And they told the messengers who had come, "This is what you must tell the men of Yavesh-Gil'ad: Tomorrow when the sun is hot there will be deliverance for you." When the messengers arrived and related [this] to the men of Yavesh, they rejoiced. Until mid-day the sun would be in Israel's eyes, though if they started early the morning sun would cast a long shadow from the high eastern edge of the Rift Valley which would have allowed them to move into position to attack.10. So the men of Yavesh said, "Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you can do to us anything that seems right in your eyes." This appears to have been said to the Ammonites. If so, it reflects a very strong faith in their Israelite brothers keeping their word. But if this was the sixth day, they could have appeared to have been resigned to the original agreement, if the Ammonites were not aware of the arrival of reinforcements that now probably outnumbered them.11. And so it was that when the next day [came], Sha'ul put the people in three companies, and they came into the midst of the camp during the morning watch and struck down Ammon until the heat of the day. And there were [some who] survived, but they were scattered so that no two among them were left together. When the next day came: literally, from the morrow. Companies: literally, heads. Morning: or, daybreak. No two: Qoheleth (Eccles.) 4:9-11 tells us that there is little strength when there are not at least two operating in unity.12. Then the people said to Shmu'el, "Who is the one who says, 'Can Sha'ul reign over us?' Surrender the men so we can kill them!" Can Sha'ul rule: Aramaic, Sha'ul is not fit to rule.13. But Sha'ul said, "No man will be put to death today, because today YHWH has accomplished a deliverance in Israel!" He did not want to spoil the completeness of the joy in which the whole nation was participating in unity. The spirit of judgment had already departed from Sha'ul. He probably thought people would not understand if he killed some from within Israel too, though they did deserve it.14. Then Shmu'el said to the people, "Come, let's go to Gilgal and renew the kingship there." Gilgal is in Binyamin's tribal territory, very close to the western bank of the Yarden River some 37 miles south of Yavesh-Gil'ad. It was the camp from which Y'hoshua had commanded his campaign of conquest, so again a military victory is celebrated there and Israel is united in support of the leader YHWH has chosen. Sha'ul's popularity had skyrocketed that day, so Shmu'el capitalized on this to seal the matter while the entire nation was together. But by choosing Gilgal, he would also be giving the people one final opening to repent, since it would remind Israel of the crossing-over which took place here and Y'hoshua's injunction to fear YHWH forever since He is the one who is mighty on our behalf. (Y'hoshua 4:24) They had not been brought into the Land by this kind of king--one like the nations had. Y'hoshua the prophet had been the unofficial king then, and this should have shown the people that Shmu'el, not Sha'ul, should really be their leader until the right one for the throne came along, since Sha'ul was not a true shepherd. It appears that Yehudah did not participate in this ceremony, since they had not come out as part of Israel, but as a separate army.15. So all the people went to Gilgal and made Sha'ul king there in the presence of YHWH at Gilgal, and they slaughtered peace offerings there before YHWH, and Sha'ul and all the men of Israel rejoiced [with increasing degree] as far as excessiveness. Made Sha'ul king: but there is still no mention of his having been anointed. The presence of YHWH: This was one of the three places Shmu'el had sat to make rulings for Israel while he was official leader, and this shows that his prominence was still recognized by the whole nation despite his lack of a title like Sha'ul now had. The inhabitants of Yavesh-Gil'ad would remain grateful to Sha'ul until his death (31:11), earning them special praise from his successor. (2 Shmu'el 2:4-5)
2. "So now, here is the king, walking around in front of you, and I have grown old and grayheaded, but my sons--here they are with you. Now I have walked before you from my childhood until this day. My sons…with you: They were his seed, who would remind the people of him, even if they did not represent him perfectly. But more importantly, these sons should still be in a position to judge Israel, but the people had demoted them to laymen, not respecting the authority that they clearly still recognized in Shmu'el. From my childhood: We know that the people latched onto one single fault exhibited by Shmu'el's sons, and that was only after they were put in positions of power; how much more would they be aware of any shortcomings of someone who had been in the public eye since he was weaned?3. "Here I am! Testify against me before YHWH and before His anointed: whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken, and from whom have I been guilty of extortion? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I received a bribe, by which I might have my eyes blinded? Then I will restore [it] to you!" 4. But they said, "You have not defrauded us, nor have you oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man's hand." We can almost hear him saying, "Soon you'll be looking back on that time with nostalgia, but those days are over now. I hope you enjoyed them!"5. So he told them, "YHWH is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that you have not found anything in my hand." And they said, "Witness [he is]." His anointed: This is said tongue-in-cheek. Witness: or even, evidence. Compare Numbers 16:15.6. Then Shmu'el told the people, "YHWH [is the One] who appointed Moshe and Aharon and who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt. 7. "So now take your stand, so that I might be vindicated in the presence of YHWH [for] all the righteous acts of YHWH that He did for you and your ancestors: He is speaking in the language of a courtroom controversy. He wants to clear his name. He is making sure they recognize that when they start feeling the inevitable pinch because of their choice, they have no excuse to say they had chosen a king because Shmu'el was crooked. The guilt is all theirs; there is no blood on his hands.8. "When Yaaqov had entered Egypt, and your ancestors cried out to YHWH [for help], then YHWH sent Moshe and Aharon, and they brought your ancestors out from Egypt and made [it possible for] them to inhabit this place. 9. "When they forgot YHWH their Elohim, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the army of Hatzor or into the hand of Filistines or into the hand of the king of Moav, and they waged war against them. 10. "Then they cried out to YHWH [for help] and said, 'We have sinned, because we abandoned YHWH and served the Ba'alim and the Ashtaroth, but now let us be snatched from our enemies' hand and we will serve You!' 11. "So YHWH sent Yerubba'al and B'dan and Yifthakh--and Shmu'el--and snatched you out of the hand of your enemies from all around, and you dwelt in security. Yerubba'al is another name for Gid'on. B'dan ("the one within Dan") is a nickname for Shimshon. Shmu'el: He is speaking frankly yet somewhat scathingly when he includes his own name among the deliverers of Israel, for by not accepting his sons, they have diminished his authority which history plainly shows was up with the rest of them. Christianity also chose a "king" over a "judge", not liking anyone who will make us feel bad about what we have done wrong. Yet without judgment there can be no mercy.12. "When you saw that Nakhash the king of the sons of Ammon coming upon you, you told me, 'No, because a king should reign over us!'--when YHWH your Elohim was your King. Unlike all the precedents he cites, this time when they are in trouble, they do not follow the former pattern, but have a more "modern" solution--a king! They wanted to trust someone they could see--someone they had empowered. They thought the world had advanced, when in fact such an idea was great regression for Israel. Likewise, today, when problems arise, instead of praying, people fall back on fundraising. This also tells us that Nakhash was threatening Israel long before he attacked Yavesh-Gil'ad.13. "So now here is your king, whom you chose, whom you asked for, as YHWH indeed has appointed a king over you. 14. "If you will fear YHWH and serve Him and obey His voice, and not rebel against the mouth of YHWH, then both you as well as the king that has begun to reign over you will be following after YHWH your Elohim. YHWH grew so tired of hearing their whining that he let them have their way, but after several openings to repent, He now makes it clear that they can no longer undo that decision when their children start being drafted into the king's service. All they can do is repent in a general sense and make the most of their new situation. He makes it clear that they had better not diminish the tithes when the tax bills come. Though it will be immensely more inconvenient, if they continue to fulfill all their obligations to Him, He will still keep His promises as well. Following after: going behind, in the sense of moving in the same direction as He and receiving the benefits that result from being on His side, as contrasted with the alternative:15. "But if you will not listen to YHWH's voice and you disobey the mouth of YHWH, then YHWH's hand will be against you and against your ancestors! Can we even turn His hand against those it supported in the past by our actions today? It sounds that way!16. "Even now, present yourselves and see this great thing that YHWH is doing before your [very] eyes! 17. "Isn't today [the day for] harvesting the wheat stalks? I will call out to YHWH and He will provide thunderings and rain so that you may recognize and face [the fact] that your offense that you have perpetrated by requesting a king for yourselves is severe in YHWH's eyes." Many must have balked even at the idea of joining this gathering since they had crops to harvest before the time passed, but now YHWH will add to their chagrin by sending rain that can make the wheat, which is dry for harvest, mildew before they could bind it into sheaves. (It has to be thoroughly dry before it can be stored.) Provide: as He "provided" a king though they did not need one, just as they did not need rain at harvest-time. In Deut. 11:17, YHWH threatened to withhold rain if Israel stirred up His wrath, but rain at the wrong time is just as much of a punishment. The wheat harvest begins at Shavuoth, and the thunderings would have reminded them of the giving of the covenant at Sinai on that same day centuries before. Were the people in tune with Torah enough to even remember that this was a festival day?18. Then Shmu'el called out to YHWH, and YHWH brought thunderings and [soaking] rain that day, and all of the people became very afraid of YHWH and Shmu'el. This was Shmu'el's idea, yet, as with Y'hoshua's calling the sun to stand still, YHWH obliged. Shmu'el was YHWH's deputy; as with Yahshua, to fear him was to fear YHWH, for YHWH can only be seen by His actions through His servants. Were they afraid because they recognized that Shmu'el still had the kind of authority with YHWH that Sha'ul did not, or because if this rain continued, the crop would certainly be lost? He sent rain out of season to remind them that their desire for a king was out of season as well.19. Then all the people said to Shmu'el, "Pray to YHWH your Elohim for your servants, so that we might not die, because we have added this offense of requesting a king for ourselves to all of our [other] sins!' Your Elohim: As in Moshe's day, the thunderings and this evidence that He controlled even the crops on which they depended made them take a step back from YHWH and wonder whether they could really tolerate His presence. They ask Shmu'el to intercede, because he obviously still has favor with YHWH.20. So Shmu'el said to the people, "Don't be afraid. You have done all of this evil. Just don't turn aside from following after YHWH, but serve YHWH with your whole heart. Seeing their repentance, he brings them a message of mercy but also reminds them that the warning still stands if they change their attitude again.21. "And do not turn away in order to follow after wasteful things which cannot make you ascend and which cannot bring about recovery, because they are empty. Wasteful, empty: the same word used of the chaotic condition of the world before YHWH brought about order. (Gen. 1:2) He had already brought the best form of order for Israel through the Torah, and now we were rejecting it, desiring to go back instead into what YHWH knew was worthless.22. "Because YHWH will not be slack about His people for the sake of His distinguished reputation, because YHWH [was so "foolish" as to] take it upon Himself to make you a people for Himself. Be slack: abandon, allow to drop or hang loose, let go of, cast away. Take it upon Himself: or, willingly undertake. He knew what He was getting into, so He will keep His promises, but He wants us to see how far we fall short of what He would prefer His people to be like.23. "Myself as well! It would be a violation of honor for me if I sinned against YHWH by failing to intercede for you; rather, I will instruct you in the right and proper way. Failing: leaving a task undone, stopping, forgoing what one has begun to do. I.e., he owes it to Israel to intervene both through prayer and teaching. Proper: literally, level or straight. They are still stuck with the king, even if they repent; they will reap what they have sown, since they did not uproot it when they could, but if they get the point and go back to listening to YHWH's messengers, it will not be as bad as it would be otherwise.24. "Just fear YHWH and serve Him genuinely, with your whole heart, because look at what great things He has [done] with you! Genuinely: with stability, faithfully, reliably, in truth.25. "But if you keep doing evil, both you and your king, too, will be swept away!" Doing evil: literally, shattering (His commandments and His covenant). And your king: They have made things much harder on themselves, because even if the whole nation kept Torah but the king did not, he is the representative of the nation and the whole nation would have to suffer for his errors, and this would indeed turn out to be the case for both Yehudah (at times) and Israel. They have put themselves in a very bad place, because they are now responsible to make sure the king keeps the Torah, but they really have no control over his decisions.
This: i.e., the events of the foregoing chapter. Literally, Sha'ul was a year old when he [began to] reign, if any sense can be made of that. In any case, at least one year of his reign has passed, for Hebraically, any part of the next year would count as a second year.2. Sha'ul chose for himself 3,000 men of Israel. Now there were 2,000 with Sha'ul in Mikhmash and on the mountain of Beyth-El, while a thousand were with Yonathan in Giv'ah of Binyamin, and he sent the rest of the people away, each to his own tents. For himself: Shmu'el's predictions were beginning to prove true. Mikhmash means "from what is stored up". Now called Mukhmas, it is on the north ridge of Wadi Suweinit, some 12 km. north of Yerushalayim. It would be resettled after the Babylonian captivity (Ezra 2:27; Nekhemyah 7:31; 11:31) and later become the home of Yonathan the Maccabee around 130 B.C.E. Yonathan: First introduced as a mighty warrior. He is not identified as Sha'ul's son until verse 16. This was his identity only secondarily, for he would not lose the respect of both the people and YHWH like his father would. His name means "YHWH has provided". His own tents: The rest were not as directly under Sha'ul's command, but were still arranged by their tribal armies. These 3,000 select troops were drafted as a professional army of special forces because of their skill. They would no longer tend their own flocks or farms, but were now full-time warriors. For the first time in Israel, some people are "government property. This was the "reserve army", and though they were not actively involved yet, they did not go home, but waited in the wings, since it appeared they would be needed at some point in this war.3. Now Yonathan attacked the Filistine garrison that was at Geva', and the Filistines heard about it. So Sha'ul blew the shofar throughout the whole Land, saying, "Let the Hebrews listen!" Geva': only three miles from Giv'ah, but directly between it and Mikhmash, where Sha'ul was. Yonathan probably wanted to clear the way for messengers to safely travel between the two companies--and to obtain weapons (v. 22). Blew: Clearly Sha'ul himself did not go all across the country, but had many representatives sound the ram's horn in different locations. Hebrews: He probably knew that he would need Yehudah as well in order to defeat such a large army, so he did the politically wise thing to do in not summoning "Israel" (which had already come to mean all but Yehudah), but used a term that would include the whole nation.4. So all Israel heard it said that Sha'ul had attacked the Filistine garrison, and that Israel had been made odious among the Filistines, so all the people were summoned to Gilgal [to follow] after Sha'ul. Sha'ul had attacked: Yonathan was part of the household of Sha'ul, and therefore his noteworthy acts would be credited to the head of his household. Made odious: Prior to this, the Israelites had been docile for a long time, admitting their military inferiority to the Filistines due to less-advanced weaponry. Now, they were suddenly rebellious upstarts, and an irritation from right within the territory the Filistines occupied, just as they had become to Pharaoh before the Exodus (Ex. 5:21) and would during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.5. Then the Filistines assembled to do battle with Israel--30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and people like the sand that is on the shore of the sea for sheer numbers, and they came up and camped at Mikhmash, east of Beyth-Aven. Like the sand on the seashore: the position Avraham's descendants were supposed to be in (Gen. 22:17), and were only so described when Yehudah and Israel operated together in unity. (1 Kings 4:20) Now, someone else in the Land is given this description--a shame upon Israel, who had left some foreign nations in the Land which now became a thorn in their sides and were on the way to displacing them altogether.6. And the men of Israel saw that it was dire straits for them, because the people were hard pressed, and the people went into hiding in caves, crevices, on cliffs, in underground chambers, and in pits. Crevices: or possibly, thickets of briers. Cliffs: Hard-to-access places like Matzada. Underground chambers: One of the ways Israelite houses are identified archaeologically is by small underground food-storage "cellars" which were so effective that, when opened up after several thousand years, still had edible food in them.7. And the Hebrews crossed the Yarden [to the] territory of Gad and Gil'ad, but Sha'ul stayed in Gilgal, and all the people followed behind him, trembling. Hebrews: There is a play on words here, because Hebrew means one who crosses over. In this case, they were going backwards, crossing to the side that was less holy--the part of the Land that had not been in the original promise. But if the army itself was terrified, should we be surprised if the rest of the people fled?8. And he waited seven days to the time Shmu'el had appointed, but Shmu'el had not arrived at Gilgal, so the people started dispersing from him. The time: Sha'ul only had it half-right, for he was not only to wait at least seven days; he was not to offer this offering himself, but was to wait for Shmu'el himself to come do it. Notice that although the people have a king, they still put their confidence in Shmu'el, who had put the king in office. Sha'ul was not able to inspire enough confidence to keep the nation together as Y'hoshua had.9. So Sha'ul said, "Bring me the ascending [offering] and the peace [offering], and he let the ascending [offering] be carried upward." Sha'ul processed the command through his own filters, and had not heard what Shmu'el was actually saying. That he took it his own way would cost him and Israel everything. He did what made sense to him rather than paying attention to the subtleties of what Shmu'el had actually said.10. And it turned out that as he was finishing with [sending] up the ascending [offering], there came Shmu'el! So Sha'ul went out to meet him so he could bless him. That is, so Shmu'el, the battle priest (as per Deut. 20:2) could bless Sha'ul and his army.11. And Shmu'el said, "What have you done?" And Sha'ul said, "Because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and you hadn't arrived within the appointed [number of] days. Plus the Filistines were assembling at Mikhmash! Like Adam with Chawwah, he blames those under his authority for his sin. And it turns out that he would not learn his lesson, for he would repeat the same error. (15:15-24)12. "So I said [to myself], 'The Filistines are about to descend on me at Gilgal, and I haven't begged YHWH's presence!' So I forced myself, and offered up the ascending [offering]." Begged YHWH's presence: to appease or placate, but the term used literally means "to wear down or weaken". This is the way to prepare for battle--by lowering oneself to recognize he was not going in his own power. He decided to lead where he should have followed.13. But Shmu'el said to Sha'ul, "You have acted foolishly in not keeping the command of YHWH your Elohim about which He gave you orders, because by now YHWH could have established your throne over Israel unto perpetuity! Could have: Yaaqov had already foretold that the scepter would belong to Yehudah. (Gen. 49:10) YHWH knew Sha'ul's heart, and so chose a king whom He knew He could not give a dynasty to, since it was almost the tenth generation since Yehudah's illegitimate son, so the scepter could come to light at last. In the best case scenario, Sha'ul would have had to subservient to the king from Yehudah. YHWH, knowing Sha'ul's heart, had had Shmu'el choose him to be the one the people asked for, then "set him up" to fail so that even this would not be an issue. The command of YHWH: Shmu'el himself had given this command. (10:8) But YHWH saw it as His own command since it came through the mouth of the one He had recognized as His messenger.14. "But now your kingdom will not be confirmed. YHWH has been looking for a man whose heart is like His, and YHWH has put him in charge of being a ruler over His people, because you have not guarded what YHWH ordered you." He was trying to do the right thing (v. 8-9), but this carried no weight. Has put: Though the next king did not yet know he was chosen, and though YHWH had not told Shmu'el who he was, YHWH had already chosen him. That king would begin a tradition of attaching a priest directly to the throne so he would be always nearby to advise the king against foolish decisions like this. When confronted on his sin by a prophet, he would immediately own up to it rather than making excuses. It was not unlawful for the king to offer such a sacrifice yet, because the central place of worship had not been finalized yet. The point was that he did not respect Shmu'el's authority. YHWH had spoken directly to him since his youth, and he was obedient, so his authority increased. That is the only way to be given greater responsibility by YHWH. Eli could not hear YHWH once life "got to him", and Shmu'el proved the more faithful servant than both him and the king, so he continued to carry more weight with YHWH. Even if he had said, "Get me a toothpick!", this would have been YHWH's will because the one in authority over him had said it. Sha'ul had never asked to be in this position, and even tried to avoid it, but he had to be a vessel for destruction because the people as a whole had jilted YHWH, and He is an angry Lover who could have destroyed them all, but only chose to let the wrath fall on one man--the tallest and mightiest, since that is what they trusted in instead of Himself. He even chose to treat Yahshua in the same way because of what we neeed to learn from it. (Yeshayahu 53:10) 15. And Shmu'el got up and went upward from Gilgal to Giv'ah of Binyamin, and Sha'ul mustered the people who were found with him--about 600 men. This is all that were left of the original 3,000.16. Now Sha'ul, Yonathan his son, and the people who were found with him, were staying in Geva' of Binyamin, while the Filistines encamped at Mikhmash. Mikhmash is about two miles from Geva'.17. Then the destroyers came out from the camp of the Filistines [in] three companies. The one company turned to face toward the 'Afrah road [which leads] to Sha'ul's land. Destroyers: from a word meaning to ruin, spoil, or corrupt. Companies: literally, heads. 'Afrah means "a doe". This road would run through the mountain pass mentioned in verse 23.18. One company turned to face the road to Beyth-Horon, and one company turned to face the boundary road that overlooks the Valley of Tzvo'im in the wilderness. Beyth-Horon is to the west of the mountains in the foothills (Sh'felah). Both Y'hoshua and the Maccabees won major victories along this strategic road, which is the easiest route through the mountains to Yerushalayim from the seacoast. Valley of Tz'voim: the Great Rift Valley near where S'dom and 'Amorah had been (Gen. 10:19) So this road went toward Y'rikho. So essentially the Filistines were cutting off all the best escape routes.19. Now not a blacksmith was found in any of the land of Israel, because the Filistines had said, "Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears." No wonder the Israelites were so fearful.20. So all of Israel [had to] go down to the Filistines, each one to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle. Weapons were not issued by the government until the days of the Roman Empire. Normally there would only be one sword per household; others who joined him in war would have used such farm implements, as they were used to wielding them. They might have beaten them into swords (Yo'el 3:10) if the blacksmiths had been available.21. And there was a charge of a pim for the plowshares, the mattocks, the three-pronged pitchfork, or the axes, or to fix the goads [so they are stationary]. Pim: a weight equal to one third of a sheqel used to pay the Filistines for this service. Thus we see that what they would have used as weapons were not sharp, and probably due to the famine that resulted when their crops were lost (12:17-18), they could not afford even this amount. So the Filistines "got them coming and going." They may have gone to the Filistines for grain, and the Filistines sold it on the condition that they surrender all blacksmiths, just as in Yoseyf's day all the Egyptians had to eventually sell themselves to Pharaoh when they were starving. Undoubtedly the Filistines also confiscated the swords which had been brought to them for sharpening, and which no one could come back to pay for once they were sharpened. Like the Romans who held the high priest's garments "hostage" until they were actually needed so that the people would remain compliant, the Filistines may have held even the farm implements until the harvest time, and since the harvest had never come this year, they never received them back. The Filistines thus effectively kept the Israelites from being able to attack them on any grand scale. On of the first laws the Nazis passed when they came to power was to regulate who could have guns, for if they held control of who had guns, no one else could rise up against them once their motives became clear.22. So it turned out that on the day of battle, not a sword or spear was found in the hand of any of the people who were with Sha'ul and Yonathan, except that Sha'ul and Yonathan were able to acquire [some]. 23. So the Filistine garrison came out toward the Mikhmash pass.
This somewhat independent spirit, which shows up in several ways throughout this chapter, would later enable Yonathan to recognize YHWH's next choice of a king, though it would not be himself, when his father did not. He seems to disagree with his father often, because ein some ways he seems both more intelligent and more in tune with YHWH than Sha'ul. As David will, he sees that something needs to be done to protect the nation, and if his father knew of his plans, he might hold him back from going just because of emotional ties.2. Now Sha'ul was sitting on the outskirts of Giv'ah under the pomegranate [tree] that is on the precipice. And the people who were with him [numbered] about 600 men. He was retracing the footsteps of his ancestors, who had to be among the 600 Binyamites who took refuge in a cliff called Rimmon (which means pomegranate), per Judges 20:47. Was he trying to connect with them? As with Yaaqov in Gen. 34, Sha'ul was passive while his sons took action.3. Now Akhiyah (the son of Akhituv, the brother of Ikhavod the son of Pin'has the son of Eli the priest of YHWH at Shiloh) was wearing an efod. But the people did not know that Yonathan had gone. Had Shmu'el reinstated the priestly dynasty of Eli since Israel had rejected his sons? Probably not; they were probably just acting in the role anyway. It does not say this efod was the official high priestly one in particular.4. And between the passes [by] which Yonathan was seeking to cross over onto the Filistine garrison, there was a steep cliff on this side and a steep cliff on the side across from it. The name of the one was Botzetz [glistening beyond whiteness] and the [other] one, Seneh [thorny bush]. 5. The one sharp [crag] was a column on the north facing Mikhmash, and the [other] one on the south facing Geva'. Sharp crag: the Hebrew word is the same as for that of a tooth. Going between them would be symbolic of walking into a lion's mouth, yet still Yonathan bravely takes the initiative. It is reminiscent of when Y'hoshua brought the people between Mt. Eval and Mt. Grizim, the mountains of cursing and blessing. This was Yonathan's own "entrance into the Land", and he hopes to be favored with YHWH's blessing:6. And Y'honathan said to the young man carrying his equipment, "Come, let's go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised [people]; maybe YHWH will act on our behalf, because there is nothing preventing YHWH from bringing deliverance [whether] by many or by few!" If YHWH is on our side, natural disadvantages do not matter. Recall that when "garrison" is mentioned in this chapter, it refers to the people who have begun marching toward Israel from the outpost (13:23), not the fortress itself. Deliverance: of his father and all Israel from the impending attack.7. So his armor-bearer told him, "Do all that is in your heart. Extend yourself! I'm here for you whatever you determine!" Though young, this armor-bearer would be a very large, strong man to be able to carry the heavy armor. All that is in your heart: We may follow our hearts if they are well-trained and disciplined, as his was. Though his idea here appeared rather dangerous, it was not in violation of the Torah in any way, and is for the sake of the whole of YHWH's people, so though the armor-bearer might not do it the same way, he leaves the decision to Yonathan, assuring him that he will be loyal to his master and guard his back all the way, even if he would not want to be held responsible himself for what appeared a suicidal choice. Extend: stretch, turn, incline, or bend. He trusted Yonathan's inclinations.8. So Y'honathan said, "Here's [what we'll do]: We'll cross over to the men and disclose ourselves to them. Disclose ourselves: in a tantalizing, provocative manner. Note that his name in this verse and v. 6 has the more complete spelling by which YHWH's name is more readily discerned therein. It makes no difference to the meaning, but may indicate the scribe's intention to signify that his heart toward YHWH was complete here and that it was faith in YHWH that had motivated this seemingly-insane move. He also seems to be speaking in a prophetic role here, as he lays out a test by which to determine YHWH's will:9. "If they say this to us: 'Stand still until we can reach you", then we will stay where we are and not go up to them. 10. "But if this is how they speak: 'Come up above us!', then we will go up, because YHWH has put them into our hand; this will be our sign." Above us: i.e., come so close as to be "right on top of us". Though the garrison would change the phraseology slightly (v. 12), Yonathan would take such an answer as an actual invitation, not a taunt; if they would speak such a curse on themselves, he would gladly take them up on it.11. So both of them showed themselves to the Filistine garrison, and the Filistines said, "Well, what do you know? Hebrews are coming out from the caves where they were hiding themselves!" Apparently they had been able to hide behind the two cliffs until they got to a certain vantage point, possibly even within bowshot of the soldiers.12. So the men of the garrison responded to Yonathan and his armor-bearer by saying, "Come up to us, so we can let you know something!" So Yonathan said to his armor-bearer, "Come up after me, because YHWH has given [them] into Israel's hand!" Let you know something: i.e., "We'll teach you a lesson or two!" Note that Yonathan did not say "into my hand", though he did this almost single-handedly; he thought of it as a victory for the entire nation.13. And Yonathan climbed up on his hands and feet with his armor-bearer behind him, and they fell before Yonathan, and his armor-bearer was bringing death after him. Bringing death after him: Since they would have only had one sword with them, Yonathan must have been using his staff (v. 27) to strike them down, then the armor-bearer "finished them off" with his sword after they had fallen.14. So this was the first blow, when Yonathan and the one who carried his armor defeated about twenty men in about half the area a team of oxen could plow [in a day]. 15. Then there was an anxious trembling in the camp in the field and among all the people of the garrison, and even the destroyers themselves were shaking. The earth quaked too, and it served as a trembling of Elohim. Trembling of Elohim: Yonathan's faithfulness and bravery "lit YHWH's fire", and created such a commotion among Israel's enemies that YHWH essentially said, "I want to get in on this too!"16. And those who were spies for Sha'ul in Giv'ah of Binyamin looked, and the horde had dissipated, and they knocked [each other] down as they went. 17. Then Sha'ul said to the people who were with him, "Muster [the troops] and see who is gone from us." So they passed in review, and, sure enough, Yonathan and his armor-bearer were missing. He wanted to know whether someone from Israel or an outsider had inflicted such a condition on the Filistines, though in the back of his mind he probably suspected it was his own son who was the hero.18. So Sha'ul told Akhiyah, "Bring the ark of Elohim [here]." (Because on that day the Ark of Elohim was with the sons of Israel.) They probably assumed that since the Ark had caused so much trouble for the Filistines the last time it came near them, it might terrorize the Filistines if they saw it again.19. And while Sha'ul was talking to the priest, the confusion that was in the camp of the Filistines went on and on and increased, so Sha'ul said to the priest, "Retract your hand!" Sha'ul seems to be acting haphazardly--trying to do things by the book that Shmu'el had written about how a king should act, so he called in the priest to determine whether they should go into battle. Yet he is confused because he is really built to be a warrior, not a king. He is trying to act from his head rather than trusting what YHWH had taught in the Torah; his faith is not as simple and childlike as Yonathan's. Apparently he asked the war priest to inquire of YHWH using the urim and thummim (Ex. 28:30), but then because he heard the noise of the battle getting louder, his taste for battle prevailed and he simply stopped the process and decided on his own to go ahead, since this was his element and it had brought his confidence back to life:20. So Sha'ul and all the people who were with him assembled themselves and came to the battle, but, lo and behold, each one's sword was on his fellow--a very great panic! It seems they approached the battle but did not need to join it, because the Filistines were already killing one another in their confusion.21. Then even the Hebrews who were for the Filistines the day before yesterday, who had come up with them in the camp, came to be with Israel that was with Sha'ul and Yonathan. Hebrews: These must have traitors who were loyal to the Filistines since they followed whomever had the upper hand. (If they were prisoners of war, the Hebrew text would have called them captives.) Now they switched sides again. And Yonathan: He was almost seen as co-regent now.22. When all of the men of Israel who had been hiding themselves in the mountains of Efrayim heard that the Filistines had fled, they too followed hard behind them in the battle. 23. So YHWH delivered Israel that day, and the battle spilled over into Beyth-Aven. Beyth-Aven is east of Beyth-El.24. But the men of Israel were hard pressed that day when Sha'ul had put the people under oath, saying, "Cursed is the man who eats [any] food until the evening when I have been avenged from my enemies!" So none of the people tasted [any] food. Hard pressed: the term can mean to be driven like animals. When I have avenged: Contrast Yonathan, who gave YHWH and Israel the credit.25. And all of the land came into the forest, and there was honey on the surface of the field. 26. When the people came into the forest, indeed, there was honey dripping, yet there was no one who let his hand reach his mouth, because the people were afraid of the oath. This is an example of the land "flowing with milk and honey". (Ex. 3:8) The earthquake probably knocked the hives from the trees and frightened away the bees.27. But Yonathan did not hear when his father made the people swear [the oath], so he put out the tip of the rod that was in his hand, dipped it into a honeycomb, returned his hand to his mouth--and his eyes brightened up! Rod: or, branch. His eyes brightened up: or, lit up. He not only was pleased by its taste; he was given new energy by the rush of sweetness.28. But a man from among the people responded by saying, "Your father put the people under strict oath, saying, 'Cursed is the man who eats [any] food today!' So the people's hearts sank. Hearts sank: literally, they became weary with gloom.29. And Yonathan said, "My father has brought about calamity on the land. Just look how my eyes brightened up because I tasted this little bit of honey; On the land: in Israel, the Land is inseparable from its people. Calamity: i.e., that was a foolish move!30. "how much more could the people have [done] if only they could have eaten freely today of the plunder that they had acquired from their enemies? Because [as it is] now, there hasn't been much of a defeat of the Filistines!" YHWH had provided food right on the way that would hardly break their pace and would not distract them from the task on which Sha'ul wanted them to focus, yet he had assumed that stopping would slow them down, when in fact it could have speeded them up.31. (Now they had struck down [some] among the Filistines from Mikhmash to Ayalon, but the people were very exhausted.) Ayalon: the river valley that ran westward from the part of the mountains in which they were fighting down toward the coast at Yafo (Joppa). This is where Y'hoshua had had such a mighty defeat of the five kings that had attacked Giv'on. (Y'hoshua 10) Here YHWH had helped them with the earthquake as He had helped Y'hoshua by having the sun "stand still". The scribe thus suggests along with Yonathan that they could have had a similar victory if only they had been strengthened by food to be able to keep pressing the battle.32. When the people attended to the spoils, they took sheep, cattle, and sons of the herd, and slaughtered them on the earth, and the people ate [it] over the blood. I.e., upholding the oath, they had not eaten the honey, so their appetite got the best of them. They pounced so hungrily on it that they just left the carcass lying in the blood on the surface of the ground rather than digging a hole into which they should pour the blood and cover it (Lev. 17:13) so it would not be mixed in with the food. They were eating it randomly, wherever they found the spoils, without giving to YHWH the parts that belonged to Him or to the priests (who were right there with them) the cuts that were rightfully theirs.33. And they told Sha'ul, saying, "Look! The people are sinning against YHWH by eating the food on the blood." And he said, "You have dealt treacherously! Roll a big stone toward me today!" 34. And Sha'ul said, "Disperse yourselves among the people and tell them, 'Let each man bring near his own ox or his own lamb, and you [can] slaughter in this [place] and eat [it], so that you won't sin against YHWH by eating with the blood.'" So every man of the people brought his own ox with his hand that night and slaughtered [them] there. Though he would not always remember it, Sha'ul has already learned the hard way that it is very important to follow directions exactly as they are given by someone in authority, and has become sensitive to this. Since YHWH had given him this battle, he wanted to do things right so He would give him the next as well.35. And Sha'ul started building an altar to YHWH; it was the beginning of his altar-building for YHWH. The stone he had brought to him (v. 33) was undoubtedly the cornerstone of this altar. Beginning: i.e., it was the first of many altars he would build. Though he had slaughtered to YHWH before, it was at Gilgal, where there was already an existing altar. (13:9) YHWH had not yet "caused His name to rest" at one particular site, so since the ark and priesthood were right at hand, this was still a valid place to slaughter to YHWH until the place where His name is written right into the terrain was in Israel's hands. Also, the wrong priesthood was in place, so there was no clarity about where and how to offer slaughterings to YHWH.36. Then Sha'ul said, "Let's go down after the Filistines at night and plunder them until the light of morning, so that they won't have a man left!" So they said, "Do whatever seems best in your eyes." But the priest said, "Let's approach Elohim right here." I.e., "Not so fast! Shouldn't we ask Elohim for a ruling first?" But also, the word for "approach" is from the same root as the word commonly translated "sacrifice" or "offering", so he probably was hinting at the fact that a sin offering should be made because of the people's having eaten blood, so that they would not go out into battle still guilty before YHWH. But since Sha'ul is too proud to confess his own guilt in making the people take such a foolish vow, he is hesitant to draw near to YHWH, but instead wants to rush right into seeing what the urim and thummim tell him about the battle he is chafing to get back to, especially since he has probably heard what Yonathan had said about the defeat being so indecisive. Now that everyone has full bellies, he is eager to get back and finish the job.37. So Sha'ul inquired of Elohim, "Should I go down after the Filistines? Will you deliver them into Israel's hand?" But He did not answer that day. 38. So Sha'ul said, "Come near, all you corners of the people, and recognize and consider what kind of sin this is that has taken place today! Corners: i.e., those on which the nation is built. Josephus explains that Sha'ul assumed that since YHWH had answered readily before but on this occasion He did not, there must be some sin hidden from them that prevented Him from answering. (Antiquities 6:6:5)39. "Because [as surely as] YHWH, who delivers Israel, is alive, even if it [proves to be] Yonathan my son, [the person who is responsible] will certainly die!" But there was no one from the whole people who responded to him. Josephus says he resolved to do justice, whether the offender was his own son or someone who was a complete stranger to him. He may have already gotten wind of what Yonathan had done, but he may also simply have been trying to scapegoat Yonathan so he would look innocent himself, since Yonathan was beginning to get credit for the types of exploits Sha'ul was best at.40. So he said to all of Israel, "You will [all] be on one side, and I and my son Yonathan will be on the opposite one." So the people said to Sha'ul, "Do what is best in your eyes." I.e., "Do as you wish." The people already knew who had disobeyed his command, though no one wanted to break the news to him.41. So Sha'ul said to YHWH, "Elohim of Israel, provide a completely unimpaired [judgment]." And Yonathan and Sha'ul were captured [by the lot], while the people came out [cleared]. He wanted the white stone of the lots to fall to him, so that he would appear innocent, though he knew that it was really his own foolish command that had gotten his son in trouble.42. So Sha'ul said, "Let [the lot] fall between myself and my son Yonathan!" And Yonathan was caught. 43. So Sha'ul said to Yonathan, "Tell me, what have you done?" So Yonathan confessed to him, saying, "I did indeed taste a little honey with the tip of the branch that was in my hand. Here I am; I must be put to death!" He must have been disgusted with the whole matter, considering his words in verse 29, thinking, "What a waste of life!" So he was undoubtedly somewhat cynical about his being condemned to death for "such a major violation of Torah"! But if his father thought it was so important…44. So Sha'ul said, "May Elohim do thus and add more of the same, because you must surely die, Yonathan!" He wanted to seem strongly resolved to do the right thing no matter what, putting his vow before even his family ties, yet would not admit that he had made a foolish vow like Yifthakh did (Judges 11).45. But the people said to Sha'ul, "Must Yonathan, the one who brought about this great deliverance in Israel, die? Perish the thought! [By the] life of YHWH, if [even] one hair of his head falls to the earth…! Because he worked with YHWH this day!" Thus the people rescued Yonathan, and he did not die. Rescued: or ransomed, redeemed. Did one of them volunteer to die in his place? They probably simply justified this based on the fact that Yonathan himself had never taken the oath that Sha'ul had made the others swear, so how could he be held responsible for it? Which carried more weight, eating a little honey or his heroic triumph? They did well in restraining the king from putting one who was truly innocent to death. We see jealousy growing in Sha'ul later in his life, and this already may have been one reason he was willing even to have his own son put to death. The rabbinic writings say it is the duty of the people to correct their king if he is acting wrongly. The people also probably did not trust the judgment of priests who had already proven not to be completely above board. It may be, however, that Yonathan's condemnation was only deferred until later, since he would not outlive his father either.46. But Sha'ul went up from following after the Filistines, and the Filistines went to their own place. Yet "their own place" was still part of Israel's inheritance. Today the "Filistines" (the name the Palestinians call themselves) have again been given place in Israel's land, and they remain a thorn in Israel's side as YHWH had said. (Num. 33:55) 47. When Sha'ul had taken the office of king over Israel, he made war on his enemies on every side--with Moav, with the sons of Ammon, with Edom, with the kings of Tzovah, and with the Filistines, and wherever he turned, he caused trouble [for them]. Taken the opffice: It seems that until the people thus rebuked him, he had not really committed mentally to enforcing his reign, but now that they had told him, "You can't do this!", he was taking a tighter grip on his power. The first three are Israel's cousins. Kings of Tzovah: part of Syria northeast of Damascus. Caused trouble: or, did damage.48. And he acted efficiently and had Amaleq attacked, and snatched Israel from the hands of their plunderers. 49. Now Sha'ul;'s sons were Yonathan [YHWH has provided], Yishwi [he resembles me], and Malkhishua [my king delivers], and the names of his two daughters: the name of the firstborn was Merav [increase], and the name of the smaller was Mikhal. Mikhal seems to mean, "Who is able to endure [her]?" She would end up being bothersome to both her father and her husband, and this characteristic may have already been observable when she was named.50. And Sha'ul's wife's name was Akhinoam [my brother is pleasant], the daughter of Akhimaatz [my brother is angry], and the commander of his army was Avner, the son of Sha'ul's uncle Ner [candle]. 51. Now Qish was Sha'ul's father, and Avner's father Ner was the son of Avi'el [Elohim is my father]. 52. And the war held a firm grip over the Filistines all the days of Sha'ul. Whenever Sha'ul saw any heroic man or any capable son, he added them to himself. Capable son: or, son of wealth, soldier (son of the army), son of valor or effectiveness. Again he was fulfilling Shmu'el's warning that the king would take sons from their natural context to serve his own purposes. (8:11) Shmu'el had probably also told him that this was the way he had top act as king, so that Israel would feel her punishment more keenly.
He may simply be saying, "Remember who put you in your position; you don't have a choice but to obey me." Or he may actually be offering Sha'ul an occasion to repent of his errors that led to the rescinding of his kingdom (13:13-14). He had failed at being a king, so YHWH gives him a task that is hard to go wrong in, since he is at home on the battlefield--if he will listen carefully to every word and keep his own reasoning out of it. This is the first time Sha'ul is actually described as being anointed as king in particular.2. "This is what YHWH [Master] of Armies says: 'I will visit Amaleq [to punish it] with what it did to Israel, when it lay [in wait] for it on the way up from Egypt. What it did: This army is not rattling their sabers on Israel's border; they are only a latent threat, but centuries earlier YHWH had already declared them vessels for destruction because they provoked Israel then. (Ex. 17:14-16)3. "'Now go attack Amaleq and dedicate everything it has to destruction, and have no pity on it, but put [them] to death, from man to woman to child to nursing infant, ox as well as lamb, camel as well as donkey.'" Dedicate to destruction: based on the same word from which "harem" is derived--i.e., everything is off limits to you. It belongs to YHWH alone; don't even think about taking it for yourself. In fact, see it as deserving of destruction so your own mind will not stand in the way of carrying out His simple orders. Have no pity: just as Amaleq preyed on the weakest element of Israel with no scruples about it. The same is now turning back on their own heads. (v. 2) Why the animals as well? It could be that some of them even held the seed of Amaleq (a practice YHWH forbade for Israel in Ex. 22:19, implying that others were indeed doing this).4. But Sha'ul listened to the people and mustered them in Tela'im--200,000 foot soldiers as well as 10,000 men of Yehudah. Again we see Israel and Yehudah listed separately. The site of Tela'im in unknown, but since Amaleq and the Qeynites dwelt within Yehudah (Judges 1:16), it was probably in Yehudah's territory, which may be why Yehudah sent a force to assist in the effort.5. Then Sha'ul came to an Amaleqite city, and set an ambush in the dry river bed. 6. But Sha'ul told the Qeynites, "Go, leave! Get down from among the Amaleqites, so I won't lump you in with them, since you did kindness with all the descendants of Israel when they were coming up from Egypt. So the Qeynites departed from among Amaleq. Sha'ul knew not to destroy the righteous with the wicked (Gen. 18:25), and the Qeynites are shown to have been righteous in Judges 4:11,21; 1 Chron. 2:55.7. And Sha'ul struck down Amaleq from Khawilah as you go to Shur, which is on the face of Egypt. 8. And he seized Agag, the king of the Amaleqites, alive, while he dedicated all the people to destruction with the mouth of the sword. 9. Yet Sha'ul and the people spared Agag and the best from the flock and the herd and the seconds and the rams and anything that was useful they were not willing to dedicate to destruction, whereas any contemptible [piece of] workmanship or anything worthless, that they did dedicate to destruction. The people: Why are they allowed a say in what YHWH has commanded? This was not a democracy! He had his marching orders. Yet Sha'ul thinks he needs a consensus. The people had just spared his son, but that was from his own foolish decision, not a command from YHWH. Here, the people may not even be aware that YHWH told Sha'ul to exterminate these people. Christianity tries to continue to spare what it makes no sense to destroy since there still seems to have some potential usefulness, even when YHWH has forbidden much of it. But Sha'ul knew he was not to have mercy on any of them. Yet he found some common ground with this king. Here was someone who could understand him, and he may even think he can teach him something about all the quandaries that come with being a king. And he was impressive! What a prize to display! He was of the same quality as the fine animals they thought it would be a shame to waste. But Sha'ul failed the test. 10. Then the word of YHWH came to Shmu'el, saying, 11. "I regret that I have let Sha'ul be king, because he has turned back from following Me and not risen up to carry out My words." And Shmu'el was bothered [to the point of anger], and he cried out to YHWH the whole night. I regret: The same term He used of the whole of mankind when He decided to send the deluge in the days of Noakh. (Gen. 6:6) It literally means to sigh or deeply exhale--i.e., he is exasperated with this king who never seems to learn. Not risen: He stayed on the same level as when he began to be king--or even regressed. (v. 17) Shmu'el may have been feeling like he had lost his job all to no avail. Verse 35 suggests that he was even beginning to be fond of Sha'ul after all. But anything negative that befell Israel would be painful to him, since he truly loved YHWH's people.12. Then Shmu'el got up early to meet Sha'ul in the morning, and it was reported to Shmu'el, "Sha'ul has come to Karmel, and indeed he is erecting a monument for himself and was going around and crossing over, and was heading down to Gilgal." Erecting a monument: literally, firmly establishing a hand. Exodus 17:16 had said a "hand" would be on YHWH's throne forever because of His eternal enmity against Amaleq, and the king of Israel sat on YHWH's throne (1 Chron. 28:5), so he should have been reminded of this. But instead he put his own hand into and thought he had a right to some say in the matter. (We see the word for "hand" used in the same way even today in Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Yerushalayim.) Raising a hand means "Look at me!" and since Sha'ul had drawn such attention to himself, he was now held to a higher standard of accountability. Karmel is one of the highest mountains in the Land, so anything on top of it could be seen from a long stretch of the coastal plain as well as from the Galil. Did the monument say, "Sha'ul, conqueror of Amaleq" before the job was actually done, or did it say "Sha'ul has slain his thousands" (to which the people's praises for David would later allude)?13. So Shmu'el came to Sha'ul, and Sha'ul told him, "You are blessed by YHWH! I have fulfilled the word of YHWH." 14. But Shmu'el said, "Then what is this sound of the flock in my ears, and the sound of the herd that I am hearing?" 15. And Sha'ul said, "They have brought from Amaleq what the people spared--the best of the flock and the herd for the sake of a slaughter to YHWH your Elohim, and the rest we have dedicated to destruction." Oh, that! Like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, was he saying, "Oh, these are for you, not for me!"? Yet like Aharon who dedicated the golden calf to YHWH, even the best intentions would not negate the fact that he had disobeyed.16. So Shmu'el said, "Slack off, and let me make known to you what YHWH has told me in the night." And Sha'ul told him, "Do speak!" Sha'ul had been busy and, riding the crest of his popularity, very excited, and Shmu'el tells him to stop talking, step back, take a deep breath, and just listen for a change.17. So Shmu'el said, "Didn't you [become] head of the tribes of Israel when you were small in your own eyes? And YHWH anointed you to reign over Israel. At that time he did not trust his own judgment, and quickly acknowledged that he needed an advisor, but now the position had gone to his head, and he thought these commands were only suggestions.18. "Then YHWH sent you in a [particular] direction and said, "Go, dedicate to destruction the sinners--[that is], Amaleq--and fight against it until they finish them off." 19. "So why have you not obeyed YHWH's voice? That is, you have been pouncing on the plunder, and have done evil in the sight of YHWH." 20. "But Sha'ul said to Shmu'el, "I did so obey the voice of YHWH, and have been going in the way that YHWH sent me, and I've brought Agag the king of Amaleq, and dedicated Amaleq to destruction! Somehow Sha'ul did not consider the king of Amaleq to be part of Amaleq. He was "cut from a different cloth". Undoubtedly it was because he now saw himself as in a separate category from the rest of the people of Israel. People at this time also typically saw their kings as sons or incarnations of their nation's elohim.21. "But the people selected from the spoils the first of the flock and herd [that were] devoted to destruction to slaughter to YHWH your Elohim in Gilgal!" But just in case this excuse was not enough, he puts the blame on someone else as well. Your Elohim: He thinks this will incline Shmu'el to change his opinion.22. And Shmu'el said, "Does YHWH have [as much] pleasure in ascending offerings and slaughterings as in obeying the voice of YHWH? Look here! To obey is better than slaughtering, and to pay attention [is better] than the choicest of rams! Did He ever ask for any animals to be slaughtered to Him? If they wanted to bring a thanksgiving offering, they had to bring it from their own wealth; using the plunder of war would cost them nothing, and therefore be meaningless. (2 Shmu'el 24:24)23. "For rebellion is the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is [both] wickedness and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of YHWH, He has rejected you from [being] king." Rebellion: Even if his intentions were genuinely to honor YHWH, he transgressed his actual command, and YHWH was not impressed. That is why we need to allow His actual instructions to change our natural perception of what He truly prefers. Idolatry: specifically, t'rafim--a human-like figure associated with healing.24. So Sha'ul said, "I have sinned, because I have crossed the mouth of YHWH and your word, because I was afraid of the people and listened to their voice. Now that the consequences are revealed, he finally confesses that he was wrong. Yet in the midst of his "confession", he still blames others.25. "So now please forgive my sin and return with me so that I may worship YHWH!" He should have killed all those he was told to kill before ever asking for forgiveness. Otherwise Shmu'el is not the one who has power to pardon him.26. But Shmu'el said to Sha'ul, "No, I will not return with you, because you have rejected the word of YHWH, so YHWH has rejected you from [being] king over Israel." Sha'ul didn't seem to have heard it well the first time. He thought of his sin as a very light one. Like those who listened to the ten spies who gave the evil report about the Land, after hearing his sentence, he tries to reverse the ruling, but it is too late. He missed the open door, and now it is shut. "Depart from me; I never knew you!"27. As Shmu'el turned around to go, he caught hold of the extremity of his garment, and it was torn. 28. So Shmu'el said to him, "YHWH has torn the kingdom away from [being] upon you today, and has given it to [one of] your peers who is better than you. Peers: literally, those of the same flock. Interestingly, the person he was talking about was a shepherd (not a donkey-keeper).29. "And moreover, the Enduring-strength of Israel does not deal falsely [so that he would need to] repent, because He is not a man, to [have to] repent. If YHWH were to change His mind, it would indicate that He was either a liar, indecisive, confused, or capricious, and He is none of these. He had not made a mistake, so why should He retract what He said? Not a man: This should have refuted many of Christianity's claims before they ever got off the ground.30. And he said, "I have sinned; [yet] show me honor before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, so I can worship YHWH your Elohim!" He still just does not get it! He had probably told the people, "This time we will wait for Shmu'el before offering our slaughter, so if Shmu'el did not come back with him, the people would know something was wrong. Yet he is asking Shmu'el to attend the slaughter of contraband animals, and this would be tantamount to approving of it.31. So Shmu'el went back after Sha'ul, and Sha'ul bowed down to YHWH. Sha'ul may have bowed down because he was so thankful that Shmu'el had apparently given in to his pleading, thinking he was "off the hook". But Shmu'el has a different idea about what will be slaughtered.32. Then Shmu'el said, "Bring Agag, the king of Amaleq, near to me!" And Agag came to him readily, as Agag said [to himself], "The bitterness of death is surely past." 33. But Shmu'el said, "Just as your sword has bereaved women, so will your mother be childless more than [other] women!" And Shmu'el cut Agag in pieces in the presence of YHWH at Gilgal. He did it "right in front of YHWH", and YHWH had no problem with this. It seems he did not even kill him before he started hacking away. Now that Shmu'el had done the job Sha'ul was supposed to do, there was no way Sha'ul could repent. We have no idea how long YHWH will wait before He decides that our "cup is full", so do not test His limits. The big picture, also, is that in the book of Esther we see an Agagite named Haman appear. Apparently Sha'ul had allowed Agag to continue to enjoy some of the privileges of a king, and some woman found him appealing enough to want to carry a royal child. If Sha'ul had acted more quickly, the crisis with Haman would never have come about.34. Then Shmu'el went to Ramah, but Sha'ul went up to his own house [at] Giv'ah of Sha'ul. 35. And Shmu'el never again saw Sha'ul until the day of his death, because Shmu'el lamented Sha'ul when YHWH was sorry that He had made Sha'ul king over Israel. The day of his death: an ambiguous phrase that works both ways. Shmu'el did not see Sha'ul before he himself died, but saw Shmu'el the evening before Sha'ul died (which, Hebraically, is the same day), as seen in chapter 28.
YHWH had grieved for Sha'ul too (15:35), but for a reasonable time, and did not prolong His mourning. Shmu'el had invested much in him, and found it difficult to just let the dead bury their dead (for Sha'ul was already dead in YHWH's eyes) and get on with the new season YHWH was bringing. He was a student given to him by YHWH, and he was disappointed, and probably felt it reflected his own failures. But if Sha'ul had heeded his teacher, he could have avoided much trouble. Oil horn: possibly a cow's horn rather than a ram's. Sha'ul was anointed with only a flask. It can hold a large quantity of oil, so this was no mere drop or two. Oil is meant to make one's face shine (Psalm 104:15), and such an amount would remind the viewers of Moshe, the leader whose face shone. (Ex. 34:29-35) It was not the oil of anointing the priests, which could not be used for any other purpose, but was probably scented olive oil of a different type, to enrich the king in the people's estimation.2. But Shmu'el said, "How can I go? When Sha'ul hears [about it], he will kill me." So YHWH said, "Take in your hand a heifer of the herd, and say, 'I have come to slaughter to YHWH.' This may have seemed realistic, but if YHWH had given him a command, it only stood to reason that He would protect him. YHWH provided him with an excuse by reminding him that he was in the position of priest and could make an offering in any city. (9:12, etc.) Beyth-Lekhem was a Levitical city, though Yehudites like Yishai could live in its environs, and would already have an altar. And why would Shmu'el not just be anointing a king for Yehudah alone? Yehudah helped fight some of Sha'ul's battles, but was not necessarily responsible to him. So a kin anointed there would not actually be assumed to be Sha'ul's rival unless he specified that the king was to rule over all Israel.3. "And you can invite Yishai to the slaughter, and I Myself will let you know what to do; then you must anoint for Me whomever I tell you." He did not give Shmu'el any more details than he needed to know in order to begin to obey. He knows that if He tells an Israelite too much, we are likely to run ahead of Him and miss what He has for us in the meantime.4. So Shmu'el did what YHWH said and came to Beyth Lekhem, and the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, "Do you come in peace?" They were afraid he came to bring a message of judgment from YHWH. A heifer was a huge offering, and if it represented sin, it would be a major sin on their part. Seeing a priest coming with a heifer, they might wonder if a dead body had been found near their city and he was checking to see whether they were responsible. (Deut. 21:3-6) He was also now in Yehudah's territory, and they would think it especially serious if a prophet with jurisdiction usually only over Israel visited then. Heifers were also offered to purify the priesthood (Numbers 19) and would remind the people of the covenant of Avraham. (Gen. 15:9) A peace offering can be either male or female (Lev. 3:1), and this is what it turned out to be.5. And he said, "[In] peace. I have come to make a slaughter to YHWH; consecrate yourselves and come with me to the slaughter." And he set apart Yishai and his sons and invited them to the slaughter. Set apart: i.e., specified that they in particular (and probably they alone) were to eat of it.6. So when they entered, he saw Eliav, and said, "Surely YHWH's anointed is in front of Him." Eliav means "my Elohim is a father". He must have had the qualities that Sha'ul had, though we know no one else at that time could top Sha'ul (9:2).7. But YHWH said to Shmu'el, "Do not pay attention to his appearance or his height, because I have disqualified him, because it is not how he looks, for man looks on the outward appearance, but YHWH looks on the heart." On the outward appearance: literally, to the eyes (possibly as idiomatic of one's degree of generosity), and etymologically, what flows forth from one. The heart: what motivates him and what he desires most.8. So Yishai called for Avinadav. As he passed before Shmu'el, he said, "YHWH has not chosen this one either." Here was one whose "eye" did appear sound, for this is an idiom for generosity. Avinadav's name means "my Elohim is generous"!9. And Yishai caused Shammah to pass before Shmu'el, but he said, "YHWH has not chosen this one either." Shammah means "astonishing". He may have been very impressive as well.10. And Yishai had seven of his sons pass before Shmu'el, but Shmu'el said to Yishai, "YHWH has not chosen any of these." His other sons do not appear again in this narrative, but their names are given in 1 Chron. 2:15.11. So Shmu'el said to Yishai, "Is this the last of the lads?" And he said, "There is still the youngest, but look, he is tending the sheep." But Shmu'el said to Yishai, "Send and fetch him, because we will not turn back until he comes here." He may have considered him insignificant, or may have been hesitant to part with his youngest, either because of his skills or his affection for him.12. So he sent and had him brought, and he was ruddy, with handsome eyes, and a fine appearance. And YHWH said, "Get up and anoint him, because he is the one." Ruddy: possibly sunburned from being out with the sheep every day. Like Esau, he was a man of the field (which Yahshua says symbolizes the world), and indeed he was a man of blood, but it was for the purpose of caring for the flocks, not stalking them; his "left hand" was subjected to the service of his right. A fine appearance: YHWH included this token capitulation to Shmu'el's expectations, though He did not have to.13. So Shmu'el took the horn of oil and anointed him amidst his brothers, and the Spirit of YHWH rushed upon David [to cause him to prosper] from that day onwards. Then Shmu'el got up and went to Ramah. Amidst his brothers: Since they were NOT chosen, their actions in the next chapter are explainable as jealousy. David was thus apparently the eighth son, symbolizing a new beginning for Israel like the eighth day. However, in the 1 Chronicles version, the scribe counts David as the seventh, symbolizing completion. (He also would marry a woman whose name means "the seventh daughter"!) Either is full of imagery, and the discrepancy might be resolved by the fact that Shammah's name is slightly different there, possibly indicating that this was another son, and that Shammah did not survive the battles we see him about to fight, leaving Yishai with only seven sons in the final analysis.14. But the Spirit of YHWH turned aside from Sha'ul, and an unpleasant disposition was terrifying him. Turned aside: as it did from Shimshon at times. An unpleasant disposition: an evil spirit (as in a demon) or simply a bad mood. When YHWH left him, a vacuum was definitely created. (Compare Mat. 12:45.) This may have been merely the court's superstition, but it may be that witchcraft and idolatry (15:22) were spirits that especially oppressed him.15. And Sha'ul's servants said to him, "Please look here! A spirit of an evil elohim is terrifying you. Spirit of an evil elohim: or, an evil spirit from Elohim. As we see in the opening chapters of Iyov, even haSatan can do nothing without YHWH's permission.16. "Please let our master tell your servants in front of you [that] they may seek out a man who knows how to play a harp well, then whenever the spirit of an evil elohim comes over you, his hand can play, and it will be better for you." The saying holds true that "music calms even the savage beast".17. So Sha'ul said to his servants, "Please look on my behalf for a man who does well at playing, and bring him to me." 18. And one of the young men answered and said, "Hey, I've seen a son of Yishai the Beyth-Lekhemite who knows how to play--and [he is] a brave and able man of war, one who understands words, a man of form, and YHWH is with him." David would have had plenty of time to practice undisturbed while pasturing his father's flocks. If Yishai indeed considered this son too insignificant for consideration to be king, then this is a case of a prophet not being without honor except in his hometown.19. So Sha'ul sent messengers to Yishai and said, "Send your son David, who is among the flock, to me." Yishai may have thought Sha'ul had gotten wind of the anointing, and was intent on killing David.20. So Yishai selected a donkey, bread, and a skin-bottle of wine, as well as one of the goats' kids, and sent [them] to Sha'ul by the hand of his son David. He knew Sha'ul liked donkeys! Compare this to 10:3.21. When David came to Sha'ul, he would stand before him, and he liked him very much, and he became his armor-bearer. Unlike stereotypes, David could not have still been a child at this time, To be an armor-bearer in particular required one to be strong and robust. YHWH had a roundabout way of training him for the palace that would not raise Sha'ul's suspicions yet.22. So Sha'ul sent to Yishai to say, "Please let David stay in my presence, because he has found favor in my eyes." While anyone might be summoned (v. 19), Sha'ul had less direct jurisdiction over Yehudah than over the rest of Israel. He belonged to another household, so Sha'ul could not just conscript him.23. So whenever the spirit of an elohim would come to Sha'ul, David would take the harp and play [it] with his hand and relieve Sha'ul and it was better for him, and the evil spirit would turn away from [being] upon him.
Efes-damim is an aptly-named place 16 miles (25 km.) southwest of Yerushalayim. Its name means "edge of blood" or "end of bloodshed". It was indeed as far as the Filistines got on this military campaign.2. So Sha'ul and the men of Israel were gathered and camped in the Elah Valley, and were in place for battle against the Filistines. Elah means "oak". This is within sight of 'Azeqah, along a seasonal river bed in the Sh'felah (foothills) about halfway between Beyth-Lekhem and the Mediterranean Sea.3. And the Filistines stood on the mountain on that side, and Israel stood on the mountain on this side, with the valley between them. 4. And a mediator came out from the ranks of the Filistines, whose name was Golyath from Gath, and his height was six cubits and a span. Gath was one of the few places the race of giants called Anaqim still remained after the Israelite conquest (Y'hoshua 11:22), so this identifies his pedigree. A cubit is roughly the distance from the average man's elbow to his fingertips (about 18 inches at this time in history), and a span is the distance from thumb to little finger on an outstretched hand. He was roughly nine and a half feet (3 meters) tall!5. And on his head was a bronze helmet, and he was dressed in scaled armor, and the weight of the armor was 5,000 sheqels of bronze. 5,000 sheqels was the equivalent of three and a third talents, or 100 kg. (220 lbs.) Scaled armor might have been designed as a reminder of Dagon, the "great fish" that the Filistines worshipped.6. And he had bronze greaves on his legs and throat-armor of bronze between his shoulders. The Hebrew word for bronze, nekhoshet, comes from the word for serpent or whisperer (nakhash). And indeed, this one was tempting Israel to fear something other than YHWH.7. And the rod of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and the head of his spear [weighed] 600 sheqels of iron. And a shield-bearer walked ahead of him. 600 sheqels is the equivalent of 26 pounds (12 kg.) The shield-bearer had to be a rather large man himself to be able to wield a shield big enough to cover Golyath!8. And he stopped and called out to the battle-ranks of Israel, and said to them, "Why do you come out arranged for battle? Am I not the Filistine, and are you not servants to Sha'ul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. Choose: literally, eat or devour. He must have been telling them to pick a man they could afford to dispose of or waste! Under Sha'ul, Israel was in better military shape than it had been since Y'hoshua, but the Filistines played this "wild card" of a champion who had no single equal in Israel, so he called them to a battle of representatives. To gang up on him would violate their honor and bring a shame that would be hard to ever live down.9. "If he is able to fight with me and strike me down, we will become your slaves, but if I am able to overcome him, then you will become our slaves and will serve us." 10. And the Filistine said, "I have challenged the battle-ranks of Israel this day: yield up a man to me and let us fight together!" 11. When Sha'ul and all of Israel heard these words of the Filistine, they were confounded and very afraid. And this over just one giant; at least the spies under Moshe had reported numerous giants as a threat.12. Now David was the son of this Efrathite from Beyth Lekhem of Yehudah whose name was Yishai, and he had eight sons, and in the days of Sha'ul, the man was becoming old. Efrath: the "fruitful" part of Beyth-Lekhem, and indeed, with eight sons, Yishai was that!13. And the three eldest sons of Yishai walked; they went to battle after Sha'ul, and the names of his three sons who went into battle were Eliav [my Elohim is a father], the firstborn, and his second, Avinadav [my father is generous], and the third, Shammah [astonishment]. After Sha'ul: As men of Yehudah, they would not be officially part of Sha'ul's army, but could certainly assist him. They may have been able to enlist because of David's existing relationship with Sha'ul.14. And David was the youngest. When the eldest had gone after Sha'ul, 15. David was going back and forth from Sha'ul to tend his father's sheep at Beyth Lekhem. 16. And the Filistine approached early [in the morning] and in the evening, and presented himself for forty days. Morning and evening: These would be the times when the sun would not be so hot, with all his armor. He might have used the sun's rays to make his armor blindingly bright, or, conversely, used the lack of light to make his dark silhouette appear more ominous. Undoubtedly he could also hear thousands of Israelite men at their morning and evening prayers, and may have designed his challenges specifically as an interruption. Forty days also symbolizes a time of transition elsewhere in Scripture, and indeed it was time for a change. 17. Then Yishai said to his son David, "Please take your brothers an eyfah of this roasted grain and ten [loaves] of this bread, and run to your brothers' camp. An eyfah is a measurement that is specifically broken into thirds (of which each is a se'ah), representing the threefold cord of Israel and Yehudah fighting a common enemy for the sake of YHWH's honor. Each would receive a se'ah of grain, reminding us of the three se'im Avraham told Sarah to bake into bread for YHWH's messangers.18. "And you must take these ten wedges of cheese to the captain of the thousand, and check on your brothers' welfare and bring [whatever] they [send back in] exchange." Part of the provisions thus went to Yehudah, and part to Israel, from which Sha'ul's army had come. Whatever they send in exchange: or, their surety, pledge. Compare this to Yaaqov's sending Yoseyf to check on his brothers' condition in Genesis 37. Yahshua parallels both of them, and indeed there is a strong Jewish tradition of a Messiah ben-Yoseyf and a Messiah ben-David. Yochanan asked Yahshua if he was going to fill only one of these roles or both. (Mat. 11:3)19. Now they, along with Sha'ul and all the men of Israel, were in the Valley of the Elah [Brook], engaged in battle with the Filistines. 20. So David shouldered [the burden early] in the morning and left a keeper [in charge] over the sheep, and picked up and went as Yishai had ordered. When he arrived at the entrenchment [on the perimeter], the army was going out to the battle-line, and they raised a war-cry in the battle! 21. (Now Israel and the Filistines were preparing for battle, rank to meet rank.) 22. And David took the articles from upon himself and left them in the hand of the one who guarded the equipment, and ran to the battle-line, and came and asked his brothers how they were faring. 23. While he was speaking with them, sure enough, up came the mediator from the ranks of the Filistines, Golyath the Filistine by name, from Gath, and he spoke these same type of words, and David heard [him]. 24. When the men of Israel saw the man, they all ran away from him, being terribly afraid. 25. And the men of Israel were saying, "Have you seen this man who comes up? It is to taunt Israel that he comes up. And what will take place is that whatever man strikes him down, the king will enrich with great wealth, and give him his daughter, and will make his father's household tax-exempt in Israel." 26. And David spoke to the men who were standing with him, saying, "What will be done for the man who strikes down this Filistine and turns away this disgrace from Israel? Because who is this uncircumcised Filistine, that he could defy the [orderly] ranks of the Living Elohim?" Despite all his armor, Golyath's name comes from a root word meaning "uncovered" or "naked". This is how David saw him, for his very name gave him the key to victory. Thus he emphasized the fact that he was uncircumcised, meaning that he had no covenant with YHWH, and thus no promises of protection such as Israel had. His name is also related to the word for "exile", a reminder that the Filistines (which means "immigrants") had indeed been forced from their original territory by the Egyptians. Naming him this may have been a way of keeping this political issue alive so they would continue to be motivated warriors. But just as David stepped up to end his life when no one else would stand up, his descendant Yahshua also rose to the challenge of ending the exile of his kinsmen of the Northern Kingdom. Living Elohim: the One who is genuine, not just an image. After whatr had befallen the Filistines' idol (5:3), those who continued to worship him seem rather recalcitrant! David had YHWH's honor foremost in his mind, for the giant was essentially saying, "Where is your Elohim?"27. And the people spoke to him according to that which was said, saying, "This is what will be done to the man who strikes him down."
Few sheep: He is emphasizing how small David's responsibility has been compared to his own duties in the army. He projects his own arrogance onto his younger brother, though David had undoubtedly already demonstrated that he had no squeamishness about bloodshed, but enjoyed warfare--quite the opposite of Yaaqov--and he accuses him of just wanting to watch people die. Again notice the parallels with Yoseyf, the chosen son who was unappreciated by all his older brothers. (Mat. 13:57) Yet it was the spirit of YHWH that was motivating him. (16:13)29. But David said, "What have I done now? Isn't he a threat?" Isn't he a threat: or, isn't it [just] a word?30. And he turned around from beside him to face someone else, and said the same thing, and the people brought word back to him like the first. 31. And the words that David had spoken were heard, and they were recounted before Sha'ul, and he received him. Received: or, got, fetched, laid hold of.32. And David said to Sha'ul, "Don't let anyone's heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and engage this Filistine in battle!" Anyone's heart: literally, the heart of Adam. But David seemed naïve to them all:33. But Sha'ul told David, "You're not able to go against this Filistine to fight with him, because you are [just] a lad, and he has been a man of war since he was [as] young [as you are]!" 34. But David said to Sha'ul, "Your servant has been a herdsman among sheep for his father, and the lion and the bear have come and carried away a lamb from out of the flock, 35. "and I would go out after it and hit it and snatch it from his mouth, and when it rose up against me I would grab hold of it by its beard, and strike a blow and kill it. 36. "Your servant has struck down both lion and bear, and this uncircumcised Filistine will become like one of them, because he has brought reproach on the battle-ranks of the Living Elohim!" 37. And David said, "YHWH, who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, will Himself rescue me from the 'paw' of this Filistine!" So Sha'ul said to David, "Go, and may YHWH be with you!" Paw: literally, hand, in all cases, but he is paralleling the uncircumcised "beast" to the other animals he had killed, and thus is undoubtedly intending this as an insult. Why did Sha'ul allow someone younger than 20 years old, the minimum age one could join the army according to the Torah, go out in what looked like such a suicidal move? Partly because no one else was willing to die as painful a death as he was expected to mete out, and partly because he was fed up with this shame and simply wanted to get it all over with, even if it meant becoming the Filistines' slaves.38. And Sha'ul clothed David with his fitted garment, and put a bronze helmet on his head, and had him dressed in armor. 39. When David belted his sword onto his fitted garment and started to walk, since he had not had it tested, David said to Sha'ul, "I can't go with these, because I haven't become accustomed to them." So David took them off himself. David was Sha'ul's armor-bearer, so the problem was not that he could not bear the weight. He was not as small a boy as stereotypes would suggest. What he literally said was that he had not tested them, possibly suggesting that this armor was brand new, and neither he nor Sha'ul had had time to "break it in" or even oil it, and for the type of weapon he wanted to use, it would be too cumbersome and be more of a liability than an asset.40. And he took his walking-stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the river-bed, and put them in the shepherd's kit that he had, that is, his pouch, and drew near to the Filistine with his sling in his hand. Smooth stones would be better projectiles, causing less drag and thus traveling faster and straighter. That there were five and that they came from a place where water had done its work on them makes them a picture of the Torah, which is the tool that has been least-encumbered by the chiselings of human reasoning, because it has been less used than the later writings, as people considered it as obsolete as David's weapons of choice, when newer, apparently more advanced ones were available. He knew that "the older was better". (Luqas 5:39)41. And the Filistine came, walking and getting closer to David, with the man who carried his shield in front of him. 42. When the Filistine took a closer look at David, he held him in contempt, because he was young and red [cheeked] and appeared pleasant. He did not look like a seasonsed warrior, and apparently did not even appear mean or threatening.43. And the Filistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Filistine cursed David by his gods. Cursed: made light of, treated as trifling.44. And the Filistine said to David, "Come at me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field!" He was making fun of that "pretty" flesh of David's (v. 42) in his dare.45. But David said to the Filistine, "You come at me with sword and with spear and with javelin, but I am coming to you in the name of YHWH [Master of] Armies, the Elohim of the orderly ranks of Israel, whom you have challenged. 46. "This [very] day YHWH will shut you up into my hand, and I will beat you and remove your head from off of you, and give the corpses of the Filistine camp this [very] day to the birds of the sky and the living creatures of the earth, and the whole earth will know that Israel has an Elohim! Note the different terminology David uses from Golyath's in v. 44. Golyath has the "beasts" (a symbol of the evil rulers of the world, which the field also depicts), while David wants to feed what lives in the Land that the Filistines are usurping. Corpses: from a word often used of idol images as well, and undoubtedly it was also his plan to destroy them as well. Now he apparently turns back to face Israel's army:47. "And this whole congregation will know that it is not by sword or spear that YHWH delivers, because the battle belongs to YHWH, and He has handed you over to us!" This is a rebuke to those who assumed that one had to be bigger to fell a giant, rather than just having a skillful aim and a trust in YHWH, who can just as easily deliver by few as by many. (14:6)48. And what took place when the Filistine got up and started walking closer to encounter David, is that David hurried and ran toward the ranks to meet the Filistine, 49. and David directed his hand into his receptacle, and took a stone from there and slung it, and hit the Filistine in his forehead, and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell to the earth on his face. Sank into: or fastened onto, settled into, was planted or "drowned" in. He would fall forward because his armor was probably mostly on his front side, making him somewhat top-heavy. He may have had his helmet pushed back while strutting in his smug self-assuredness, or it may be that nose-guards were added to helmets later because of this very event, highlighting the gap that existed in their earlier design.50. Thus David prevailed over the Filistine with the sling and with the stone, and he struck the Filistine and killed him, though there was no sword in David's hand. Again we see the assumption that a battle could not be won without a sword (though it was a relative latecomer on the military scene).51. Then David ran and stood by the Filistine, and he took his sword and drew it out of its sheath, and executed him, cutting off his head with it. When the Filistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled away, Executed: He had already been killed in v. 50. This was the finishing touch. But that it says he was killed twice (as the account of Haman in the book of Esther also does) indicates that there still remains a prophetic fulfillment of these events. Cutting off his head would show the Filistines that he was not just unconscious, and would demoralize them. When the head is cut off, the body has no organization and can no longer function.52. and the men of Israel and Yehudah rose up with a shout and pursued the Filistines as far as the entrance to the valley and the gates of Eqron, and the wounded among the Filistines fell along the way to the pair of gates--all the way to both Gath and Eqron. Eqron was the chief city of the Filistines. Pair of gates: possibly a proper name, Shaarayim.53. And the sons of Israel returned from chasing after the Filistines, and plundered their camps. 54. And David took the head of the Filistine and brought it to Yerushalayim, but his weapons he put in his own tent. Yerushalayim was still a Yevusite city, but David had his eye on it because he knew YHWH had a special claim to it. So he was essentially telling these foreigners in Yehudah's midst, "You are next!"55. And when Sha'ul saw David going out to meet the Filistine, he told Avner, captain of the army, "Whose son is this lad, Avner?" And Avner said, "[As] your soul lives, O king, if [only] I knew…!" 56. So the king said, "You find out whose son this lad is!" 57. So when David returned from beating the Filistine, then Avner fetched him and brought him before Sha'ul, 58. and Sha'ul said to him, "Whose son are you, lad?" And David said, "The son of your servant Yishai, the Beyth-Lekhemite." It is unlikely that Sha'ul had such a poor memory after all the times he had met David before; rather, the emphasis is on who his father was, partly since he had promised tax exemption for the whole household (though as it turns out, Yishai had no obligations of this sort to Sha'ul since he was from Yehudah), and partly because he had to be sure of whom he would send a message asking to have his armor-bearer back permanently.
Loved: or befriended. As his own soul: In one sense, David's soul was his own, because David was the one who would fill the role expected of Y'honathan as the king's eldest son and assumed heir to the throne. They also worked very well together as a team of warriors.2. And Sha'ul took [possession of] him on that day, and would not allow him to return to his father's household. Previously he had let him come and go when he was needed at home, but he now had authority to retain him, because David had joined his army by choice.3. And Y'honathan cut a covenant with David in [that he] loved him as his own soul. 4. And Y'honathan stripped himself of the robe [of rank] that was on him and gave it to David, as well as his cloth garments and even his sword, his bow, and his belt. This robe would identify him as wealthy, if not royal. It seems as if he is conceding that David will be the next king.5. And David went out wherever Sha'ul sent him. His actions proved him to be insightful, so Sha'ul set him over the men of war, and all the people and Sha'ul's servants as well saw it as appropriate. Insightful: or circumspect; i.e., aware of his surroundings, knowing what was going on around him: where did he stand and what would he do about it? This is what makes a great warrior. When the lion attacked his sheep, he was not playing a game, but was ready to respond. He had learned to let everything teach him, and found ways to raise even a disappointing circumstance to the status of holy. He also knew what YHWH wanted. Like an owl that is "wise" because it can turn its head 180 degrees in either direction, this is the opposite of being stiff-necked, which YHWH has accused so many Israelites of being. Appropriate: It was self-evident that David fit this role, and no one complained.6. But it turned out that when they came in, as David returned from beating the Filistine [army], the women came out from all the cities of Israel to sing, and the dancers [came] to meet Sha'ul the king with drums, joyfully, with three-stringed instruments, Three-stringed instruments: or, sistrums, triangles, or three-barred instruments of some unidentified type. Note that it does not even mention that they came to meet David, but only Sha'ul. David's success enhanced the reputation of Sha'ul, who appointed him, for it proved that he had been wise in his selection of the right man for the job.7. and the women who played [them] were responding by saying, "Sha'ul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands!" Ten thousands: or possibly even millions; the term means a very large number.8. And it would vex Sha'ul very much, and this thing was bad in his eyes, and he said, "They have ascribed ten thousands to David and thousands to me! What else is there for him? The kingship [itself]?" Their praise for David was not meant as a cut for Sha'ul, but as credit to him for choosing such a general. A teccher normally rejoices when his student excels. If it had been "David his dozens", then Sha'ul himself should have been the one out on the battlefield instead. They really are giving Sha'ul the credit, but he is the only one who cannot see it. He is so confused and full of unfounded fears that he is convinced David wants to attempt a coup, despite all of David's demonstrations of his loyalty through his hard work. He was a king out of season; how could he have harmony with anything?9. So Sha'ul was eyeing David [warily] from that day onward. 10. And even on the very next day, the spirit of an evil elohim rushed onto Sha'ul, and he was prophesying [under its influence] in the middle of the house while David was playing the stringed instrument with his hand as he did day by day, and [there was] a javelin in Sha'ul's hand. With his hand…in his hand: Each had his choice of tool (reflecting where his skill lay), one for the positive and one for the negative.11. And Sha'ul hurled the javelin and said, "I will pin David right to the wall!" But twice David was turned around from his face. Was this the prophecy Sha'ul made (v. 10)? Or was it simply that David would indeed be the next king? (v. 8) An evil one can do more damage with the truth than with a complete lie. Just as Qayin was jealous and killed his brother, who was also a keeper of flocks, Sha'ul opened the door for this evil spirit to have the upper hand by yielding to his suspicion despite all the evidence against it. Thanks to YHWH, David ended up with the upper hand and proved the . Was turned around: I.e., he spun out of the way so as to avoid being hit. But the tense shows that someone else was the agent. Was it the same men who had recognized that Sha'ul was wrong to want to execute his own son (chapter 14), or was it a supernatural messenger from YHWH, unseen by Sha'ul?12. And Sha'ul was intimidated when in David's presence, because YHWH was with him, but had turned away from Sha'ul. This is the key to his problem--He was out of YHWH's favor and he knew it, and David was simply doing what Sha'ul should have been doing all along--proving loyal to YHWH.13. So Sha'ul had him go away from him and put him in the position of his captain of a thousand, and he went out and came in before the nation. Went out and came in: an idiom for military sorties. (See v. 6.) Yet notice that he has been demoted from being a general over the whole army (v. 5) to only being over 1,000 men. This was not because he had done anything wrong, but simply because Sha'ul had the right to do it. David knew this, so he remained faithful in whatever position he was put in, taking it as from YHWH. He did not just do it, but did it very, very well.14. And David's actions proved him to be insightful in all his ways, and YHWH [was] with him. Note the parallels with Yoseyf when enslaved in Egypt. (Gen. 39)15. And when Sha'ul saw that he was proving that he knew what he was doing, Proving that he knew: the term includes both considering and comprehending as well as acting prudently and prospering or having success. He demonstrated that he knew what to do in confusion situations like hand-to-hand combat where there are so many conflicting distractions. The same term is used in the Garden of Eden of what the serpent told Adam and Chawwah they could be, instead of remaining like innocent children, not self-aware and yet untaught in how things worked. Then in Genesis 48 it is used of Yaaqov, who knowingly gave the firstborn's blessing to Yoseyf's second son. David later said he had proven wiser than not only his enemies but also his teachers because he meditated on YHWH's commandments. (Psalm 119:98-99)16. And all of Israel and Yehudah loved David, since he went out and came in before them. Loved: actually a participle, which can still be read as present tense even now: they still love David! He was Yehudah's own son and one all Israel had come to appreciate. This was setting the stage for a united kingdom including both groups. Went…before them: i.e., he was their military leader.17. So Sha'ul told David, "Look, here is my eldest daughter Merav; I can give her to you as a wife. Just be a capable son for me and fight the battles of YHWH!" Now Sha'ul said, "Don't let my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Filistines be against him." I.e., "I'll put him in a position where even he will eventually be in too much danger; if my enemies kill him for me, then I won't be guilty!" David would eventually use the same tactic on a man who he wanted dead but was unwilling to kill directly because he, too, had been very faithful to him. (2 Shm. 11:15)18. But David said to Sha'ul, "Who am I, and what is my life [and who is] my father in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?" Who is my father? Yishai was well-known even in the northern kingdom, and Yishai knew he could count on David, because when he told him to go visit his brothers, he did not leave it to his father to find someone to care for his other responsibility, the sheep, but found a substitute himself. His first priority was his father's business. But David had a very high view of the one YHWH had anointed, though anyone else would have written him off as deserving no respect because of his corrupt actions and jumped at such an offer to further his own political ends. David was very hesitant to presume to step into such a favored and dignified position, knowing all the responsibilities it would hold in YHWH's eyes, even if the man Sha'ul did not live up to his position. Being aware of what was going on around him, David knew he needed to lower himself before Sha'ul to assure him that he did not see himself on this level, even though he could have claimed the position simply because he had killed Golyath. (17:25-27) He knows he has been anointed, but knows he is not yet the king, and does not act like it. He refuses to let his mind exalt itself above his master, saying, "No man is my master" as so many do today, because the kingdom is for servants, and every servant must have a master. YHWH has him in Sha'ul's household only as his servant, and he knows it would be foolish to act like anything more at this time. He is already above Sha'ul as his actions demonstrate, but he does not open his mouth about his anointing, but serves with his whole heart where YHWH has him, for the only way to serve YHWH at this point is to serve Sha'ul well. His situation is that of the least in this house until YHWH makes him something more. This is the attitude that sets true servants apart. His descendant, Yahshua, learned it from him, and told his students that they would let others attain greatness in his Kingdom by making them their own servants first. Those who learn to serve now will be great when the Kingdom comes; when it arrives, there will not be time to learn. If we are not faithful in what is least now, we will not magically be given a higher position then. Sha'ul, however, who was inclined to cast any answer from David in a negative light, simply said, "Okay, suit yourself", and went on with his political pragmatism:19. So it turned out that at the time to give Merav the daughter of Sha'ul to David, that she was given to Adri'el the Mekholathite as a wife. The time to give: i.e., the time she should have been given to David according to Sha'ul's original offer. Who was this Adri'el? Did he have some prior claim on Merav? Did Sha'ul just like him better than he liked David? Or was he just in the right place at the right time to allow Sha'ul to insult David?20. But Sha'ul's daughter Mikhal loved David, and they told Sha'ul, and the matter was straightforward in his eyes, Sha'ul would not get off so easily, for another of his daughters saw that David deserved better than he had gotten, and better than he himself admitted he should enjoy. But Sha'ul saw it as just another opportunity to further his own ends.21. that is, Sha'ul said, "I will give her to him and she can be bait for him, so the hand of the Filistines will come upon him." So Sha'ul told David, "Through the second you will make yourself my son-in-law today." Bait: a lure into a snare. How so? Would she make him so drunk with her beauty that he would forget to be watchful and let his guard down? He probably simply thought the bride price he was going to ask would be sure to get David killed, but that David would consider Mikhal worth the risk. Through the second: i.e., his second daughter; alternate reading: "…said to David a second time…"22. So Sha'ul ordered his servants, "Speak to David under wraps to say, 'Look, the king is pleased with you, and his servants love you, so now, make yourself the king's son-in-law!'" Under wraps: The term is used in Psalm 36:1-3 in the context of deceit and flattery, and elsewhere it describes enchantment. Sha'ul did not want the people to know that he was setting David up to be killed.23. So Sha'ul's servants did speak these words into David's ears. But David said, "Does it seem like a trivial thing in your eyes to become son-in-law to the king when I am impoverished and of little account?" Into David's ears: He whispered them, but it was the Whisperer (nakhash, or serpent) who was behind this. Trivial: I.e., that may be easy for you to say, but can just anyone afford the bride price of a king's daughter? My father my be wealthy, but not that wealthy! And more importantly, is this something to just jump into so quickly without pondering whether YHWH has really fitted me for such a role? I'm not sure I deserve it!24. And Sha'ul's servants made it known to him, saying, "David has spoken such words as these." 25. So Sha'ul said, "This is what you must tell David: 'The king has no desire for a dowry, except for a hundred uncircumcised of the Filistines, to take vengeance on the king's enemies!'" But Sha'ul was calculating that [he could] make David fall into the hands of the Filistines. Uncircumcised: i.e., take the lives of these covenantless people. But the phrase can just as well be simply, "foreskins of the Filistines", so David took it in both ways, literal and figurative:26. When his servants recounted these words to David, the thing seemed fair in David's eyes--to become the king's son-in-law. And the days had not [yet] reached their fulness Seemed fair: David did not "succumb" to the third offer, as was customary for someone who really wanted what was being offered but politely refused it the first few times, for this is the fourth offer, if we count the initial prize offered to the one who would kill Golyath. The days: apparently Sha'ul gave him a very near deadline so he would be more pressured and assumedly more reckless, getting himself into too much danger to survive. But he again proved circumspect and not only survived, but went the "second mile":27. when David got up and went--he along with his men--and attacked two hundred men among the Filistines, and brought their foreskins and paid them in full to satisfy [the requirement] to become the king's son-in-law. So Sha'ul gave him Mikhal, his daughter, as a wife. He continued to honor Sha'ul by thinking that his daughter was worth more than he asked, so he not only killed them, but circumcised them as well! He thus turned Filistines into Israelites, though they did better as Israelites dead than alive. But he did more than just enough to get by. Of course, he was able to take along some men (all 1,000 of them?) to minimize the risk!28. Then Sha'ul saw and recognized that YHWH was with David, and Mikhal, Sha'ul's daughter, loved him. 29. But Sha'ul's fear in David's presence increased still more, and Sha'ul became David's enemy all the time. All the time: literally, all the days or every day. He felt that David was "rubbing in" the fact that YHWH was with him, when it was actually YHWH who was doing so, not David.30. Now when the rulers of the Filistines came out, it turned out that as often as they came out, David proved himself more insightful than all of Sha'ul's servants, and his name became highly esteemed. Servants: especially his other warriors. Highly esteemed: valued, prized, well-appraised.
2. But Y'honathan the son of Sha'ul liked David a lot, so Y'honathan informed David, saying, "My father, Sha'ul, is trying to find [a way] to kill you, so now please be on your guard! In the morning withdraw to a concealed place and hide yourself 3. while I myself will go out and stand by my father's hand in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you, and see what [it is], and will report to you." David never asked Y'honathan to speak for him. Like Yoseyf in Egypt, David had friends in high places who looked out for him when he was vulnerable. By my father's hand: was it to keep his father's hand from doing anything, or was he even putting Sha'ul in a place where David could attack him? By being where David could see him without being seen, Sha'ul's facial expressions would tell David what his real intentions were. Y'honathan might also have wanted David close by in case Sha'ul should turn on him again.4. So Y'honathan spoke well of David to Sha'ul his father, and said to him, "Don't let the king sin against his servant, David, because he has not done anything wrong to you, and because his actions toward you are very proper-- His actions: constantly loyalty against all odds.5. "when he put his life in his hand and attacked the Filistine and YHWH accomplished [such] a great deliverance for all Israel! You saw it and were glad; so why would you sin against innocent blood, to have David killed for no reason?" 6. And Sha'ul listened to Y'honathan's voice, and swore, "[By] the life of YHWH, if he is put to death…" Though speaking of death, essentially calling it upon himself if he does not keep his oath, he swears by its opposite--life.7. So Y'honathan called for David, and Y'honathan told him all these things, and Y'honathan brought David to Sha'ul, and he came to be in his presence like [he had been] in previous days. In previous days: literally, the third yesterday. It seems he put him back in his previous military position as well:8. Then another battle came about, so David went out and fought against the Filistines, and attacked some of them with a great defeat, and they ran away from his face. 9. And the evil spirit [from] YHWH came onto Sha'ul while he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand while David was playing [a melody] with his hand. This seems to have been a spirit of jealousy, for it came upon Sha'ul when David had done great exploits in Sha'ul's area of expertise. Holding onto it at least keeps him fertile ground for its harassment. It was so overwhelming that he forgot his vow. As Proverbs 27:4 says, "Who can stand before envy?" Note that this is the second time the scribe makes a point of telling what each had put his hands to. He is drawing a distinction between Sha'ul, who seems paranoid (why else would he keep a spear with him within the safety of his own walls?) and David, who goes with the flow in a much more relaxed manner (for one must be at ease to play a harp well). Was Sha'ul afraid because of what he had seen befall King Agag? He saw the one who was there to bring him comfort as his enemy.10. And Sha'ul tried to run the spear through David into the wall, but he slipped out of Sha'ul's presence, and he hit the wall with the spear. David was learning to be circumspect; he sat with his back to the wall so he could see all that was going on in the room. But Sha'ul took advantage even of this position. Again he tried to pin David to the wall. Slipped out: literally, found an opening--like a loophole or keyhole. Compare Yahshua's experiences in Luqa 4:29-30 and Yochanan 8:59.11. So Sha'ul sent messengers to David's house to watch it so [as] to kill him in the morning, but his wife Mikhal informed David, saying, "If you don't let your soul escape tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death." This is the very time at which David wrote Psalm 59. Was Mikhal herself in on their plotting? Did she have her own spies who reported to her? Or did the fact that they met at night clue her in to the fact that something was going on which was not above board?12. And Mikhal let David down by way of the window, so he went ahead and hurried, and did escape. They were apparently only watching the door.13. Then Mikhal took the t'rafim and laid it on the bed, with an intertwined ball of goats' hair [as] his head-piece, and she covered it with a garment. Head-piece: since an idol made of stone would not have hair attached to it. A garment: in particular, the outer garment, which was of more thickly-woven material and often doubled as a blanket to sleep under. (Ex. 22:26-27)14. When Sha'ul sent his messengers to get David, she said, "He is sick." He probably had someone from Sha'ul's household summon him on many occasions, so they may have thought nothing would seem out of the ordinary to David, not realizing Mikhal knew of the plot.15. So Sha'ul sent the messengers to inspect David, saying, "Bring him up to me on the bed, so that I can kill him!" To inspect: i.e., look more closely; he realized they had done nothing more than ask about him at the door, and he may have suspected that David was not even really there at al1. They reported what Mikhal said, and their sense of honor must have been greater than his, for they expected that they should at least wait until he was able to defend himself before trying to kill him. Sha'ul heard them saying David couldn't get out of bed to obey his summons, so he told them to bring the whole bed along! So that I can kill him (myself): He seems to have the attitude of, "Why do I have to work with amateurs? If you want anything done right around here, you have to do it yourself!"16. So the messengers came inside, and what do you know? [It was] the t'rafim in the bed, and an intertwined ball of goats' hair [as] his head-place! T'rafim: Aramaic, statue; ironically, it was an idol associated with healing! She may have been poking fun at its ineffectiveness. Or someone may have brought it to the house after hearing David was sick. If it was not just part of the ruse of his being sick, then either Mikhal or Sha'ul (in whose household complex they would have lived, being near the palace instead of David's own inherited land, and possibly the house where Mikhal had lived before they married) owned a very large idol. This may have been another door that Sha'ul had left wide open for evil spirits to trouble him.17. And Sha'ul said to Mikhal, "Why have you tricked me like this, and let my enemy go so that he could escape?" And Mikhal said to Sha'ul, "He said to me, 'Let me go away; why should I [be the] cause [of] your death?'" Tricked: or misled, from the word for shoot or hurl, i.e., to detract attention away from where he really was. Her loyalty to her husband proved stronger than that to her father. But the last phrase could just as well translate, "Why should I kill you?" Since Sha'ul had already declared to her that David was his enemy, her ambiguous excuse could sound to him like she was siding with Sha'ul, though she herself, not David, had been the one to initiate his escape (v. 11); David seemed reluctant to go, possibly out of uncertainty whether Sha'ul would let her live, after his two attempts on her brother's life, but he took this risk.18. So David fled and got away and came to Shmu'el at Ramah and recounted to him all that Sha'ul ad done to him, so [both] he and Shmu'el went and lived at Nawith. Nawith means "beautiful habitation" or "a place to be at home". The targum interprets it as a "house of study". Shmu'el may have known that even he was not safe from Sha'ul's ravings, or he may have accompanied David as a mentor so he could have time to teach him more about YHWH.19. And it was repored to Sha'ul, saying, "David is there at Nawith in Ramah!" Nawith must have been a subdivision of the larger entity of Ramah.20. So Sha'ul sent messengers to fetch David, but when they saw the band of prophets prophesying with Shmu'el standing up, stationed over them, the spirit of Elohim came over the messengers of Sha'ul, and even they started prophesying. Band: or simply group or gathering. Prophets prophesying: Aramaic, teachers singing.21. When they reported [it] to Sha'ul, he sent other messengers, and they, too, started prophesying! Imagine Sha'ul's growing consternation, as his messengers did not come back.22. So Sha'ul himself went to Ramah, and when he came to the great cistern that is at Sekhu, he said, "Where are Shmu'el and David?" and [someone] said, "There they are--at Nawith in Ramah!" Sekhu means "to surmount" in the sense of being a watch-post or observatory. In light of this, the word for cistern is from the word for "boring into" to get clearer water, but thus also having the figurative sense of clearing things up by explanation or proof. It may have been the type of well seers look into in order to see what is going on in another location. He apparently expected Shmu'el to be here, and it may have been where Shmu'el often spent his time.23. So he went there to Nawith in Ramah, and the spirit of Elohim even came over him as well! And he kept going and prophesying until he arrived at Nawith in Ramah. This had occurred before (10:5-11). Was there such a holiness in that place because of the prophets' presence that its influence was felt even on people bent on destroying the one they harbored--and probably them as well (as we will see in chapter 22)? Or did Sha'ul just have a general weakness for music that appealed to his emotions and made him want to join in with religious hysteria? For though he prophesied, it does not say he was doing right. He prophesied under the influence of an evil spirit (18:10). He was very much in sin here.24. And even he stripped off his garments, and he himself was prophesying in the same way before Shmu'el, and, [being] naked, he fell [prostrate] all that day and all the night. On account of this they say, "Is even Sha'ul among the prophets?" This had already come to be a common adage (10:11-12), and this only added another reason to make it a cliché. This is a most unusual type of warfare, for Sha'ul is stripped down to the basics, with his marks of rank and also his deceitfulness removed, and is exposed as judged, for he has confirmed his motives through his actions. Though Shmu'el was presiding over these prophets and Shmu'el is said to be before him, apparently Shmu'el himself did not see Sha'ul, according to 15:35.
Why would David go back to where his life had been in such danger? Because he was expected there. He has a duty to be there because he has sworn allegiance to Sha'ul, whatever Sha'ul may think of him, and thus has no right to fail to be present and simply say, "the situation prevents my being there", unless he is released by someone of such rank as Y'honathan, who has authority to speak for his father the king. He could not release himself from a commitment, and he only because he expects to be killed. If the answer is no, then he has to be there, whatever the consequence may be. It is the same for those who take on the commitment of Yahshua's kingdom; our lives are not our own, and some things we can no longer decide for ourselves.2. And he told him, "May it never be! You won't die. Look, my father won't do anything--big or small--and not reveal it to my ear, so why should my father keep this matter hidden from me? This is not [the case]." In 19:1, we saw that Y'honathan knew of his father's wish to kill David, but Y'honathan has such faith in the fact that YHWH has chosen David to be king that he truly believes Sha'ul can do nothing to harm him. He may also see himself as having enough influence with Sha'ul to change his mind--or is at least willing take the spear for David.3. But David again swore an oath and said, "Your father has certainly become aware that I have found favor in your eyes, so he has said, 'Don't let Y'honathan know this, so that he won't be pained', but [as surely as] YHWH lives and your soul lives [it is true], because it's as if there's [only one] step between me and death!" One step: This was literally the case when he dodged the spear.4. So Y'honathan said to David, "Whatever your life demands, I will do for you." 5. So David said to Y'honathan, "Here. Tomorrow is the new moon, and I will be expected to sit with the king to eat, but give me leave to hide myself in the field until the third evening. New moon: The Torah only specifies certain slaughters in the sanctuary at the new moon (Num. 28:11), but by this time it was the norm for there to be a feast at this time.6. "If your father notices [and] misses me, then say, 'David begged of me to run to his city, Beyth Lekhem, because the slaughter of the days is there for the whole family.' Slaughter of the days: probably an annual event that brought the whole family together. Beyth Lekhem is a place Sha'ul does not have the same jurisdiction over, being part of Yehudah; to try to take David back from there, he might have to fight the army of Yehudah.7. "If he should say, 'Fine!', [there will be] well-being for your servant. But if it burns him up with fury, [then] be sure that evil is [being] plotted by him. 8. "Now you have dealt mercifully with your servant since you have brought your servant into a pact of YHWH with you, but if there is crookedness in me, you have me put to death [yourself], because what is the point of bringing me to your father?" He would rather suffer death at the hands of one he knew to be righteous and disinterested than one he knew to have obsessions that clouded his judgment.9. But Y'honathan said, "May it never be [so] for you! Because if I knew for sure that it was being plotted by my father for harm to come to you, then I won't report it to you!" 10. And David said to Y'honathan, "Who will report it to me? Or what if your father answers you harshly?" I.e., even though I know you would not carry out your father's order to kill me, you would still have to let me know, and what if he kills you before you can get word to me?11. So Y'honathan said to David, "Come, let's go out to the field!" So they both went out to the field. 12. And Y'honathan said to David, "YHWH is the Elohim of Israel. When I have searched my father out, about [this] time the day after tomorrow, then I will send [word] to you and reveal it in your ear whether it is indeed well with David or not. 13. "May YHWH do so to Y'honathan and more of the same, but if it seems appropriate to my father [to bring] harm upon you, I will report it in your hearing, and I will send you off, so you can go in peace, and may YHWH be with you as He was with my father. He calls a curse on himself that whatever Sha'ul wants to do to David be done to him instead. Was with my father: notice he sees this as a thing of the past already.14. And if I am still alive, not only must you treat me with the mercy of YHWH so that I will not die, 15. [but also] do not cut off your mercy from [being] with my house forever when YHWH cuts off each of David's enemies from [being] upon the surface of the ground." Y'honathan fully expects things to change for Sha'ul very soon, and he does not want his name to be obliterated. 2 Shmu'el 9 shows that David was faithful to remember this oath.16. Thus Y'honathan cut [a covenant] with the house of David that YHWH would require it from the hand of David's enemies. The historian Josephus takes this to mean he knew YHWH would make David superior to his enemies, even if they include Sha'ul or himself. (Antiquities of the Jews 6:11)17. And Y'honathan again made David swear [an oath] while he was committed to him, because he was committed to him as one loves his own soul. I.e., seal your loyalty with a promise before anything about either of our situations changes. Was committed to him: or, loved him. But this must not be looked at through modern eyes, for in ancient times it was not at all unusual for males to have such a close degree of friendship. To inject a sexual element into this would be completely foreign to the writer, or he would have put in a disclaimer here. Before the Greeks rose to prominence, homosexual acts were not considered acts of intimacy but were either done out of pure lust or malice (as in S'dom and Ghamorrah) or for pagan religious purposes, and would always have involved multiple partners, being the part of the worship of most pagan deities.18. And Y'honathan told him, "Tomorrow is the new [moon], and you will be missed, because your seat will be lacking. 19. "So on the third day, go way down to the place in which you were hidden on the day the thing was done, and stay beside the stone of Atzel, Atzel means "departing". Possibly thus named because of this event, or it may have marked the edge of Sha'ul's own property, the point to which a guest would be accompanied upon his departure.20. "and I will shoot three arrows to the side when shooting at a target for myself, Arrows: the Hebrew word is from a root meaning "to pierce". Yahshua, who could very well have asked what he had done wrong and why he had to die, was pierced in his hands, feet, and side. He, too, was a suffering servant first before being elevated to the position of king.21. "and pay attention: I will send the [servant] boy, saying, "Find the arrows!" If I specifically say to the lad, 'Look! The arrows are on this [side] of you; fetch them!', then [you can] come, because [there will be] peace for you and there is no matter, [as] YHWH lives. 22. "But if this is how I speak to the stripling: 'There are the arrows--further beyond you!', [then] go, because YHWH has impelled you to get away. Stripling: a young man, from a root word meaning "concealed or secret". In other words, this boy was his "cover" for going out to the field, for Sha'ul would only suppose that Y'honathan was going to practice his military skills. It wa common for archers to be able to shoot over a fifty- to sixty-foot wall.23. "As to the matter which you and I have discussed, indeed, YHWH is between you and me forever." 24. So David hid himself in the field when it was the new moon, and the king sat down over the bread to eat. 25. Now the king sat at his spot as he had on [previous] occasions--on a seat by the wall. And Y'honathan got up, and Avner sat at the king's side, but David's place was empty. By the wall: possibly so he would not have to "watch his back", paranoid as he was, but maybe simply to allow him to rest against it. Dining halls from this time period typically had stone benches for everyone to sit on, but they had no backs. If he was by the wall, he could relax more easily at his meal. Got up: possibly in respect when his uncle entered the room. Empty: literally, missing. His place was clearly very close to Sha'ul's, since he was, after all, his son-in-law. He may have sat at Sha'ul's left hand, because symbolically he was there to protect Sha'ul from what his "left hand" wanted to do.26. But Sha'ul did not say anything on that day, because he said [to himself], "It's a coincidence; he [must be] without ritual purity--[it's] because he is not [ritually] clean." If this was his first thought, it must have been a common enough occurrence for people to miss events related to less holy sites than the sanctuary because of ritual impurity. A coincidence: literally, he encountered something. David would have to wash his clothes and immerse himself before evening (Lev. 11:24-25; 15:16-17), and if it was something he met with just as the sun was setting, he would not have had time to get this done quickly enough to be present.27. But when, on the [morning] after the second [day of the] month [began], David's place turned out to [still] be empty, Sha'ul said to Y'honathan his son, "How come [that] son of Yishai has not come to the meal either yesterday or today?" Second day of the month: or, second day of the new moon. Because preparations for the feast took so long, they would have to begin before the evening of the day when the moon was calculated to be visible. If there was cloud cover, the moon might not be visible the first night it was expected, meaning the month would not be declared until the following night, but by then it would be too late to stop preparations for the feast, so it was simply scheduled to be held both evenings. Son of Yishai: he does not want to call him by name anyone, since David means "beloved".28. So Y'honathan answered Sha'ul, "David begged me for a leave of absence to go to Beyth-Lekhem, 29. "and he said, 'Please let me go, because we have a family slaughter in the city, and he--my brother--gave me a responsibility, so now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.' That's why he has not come to the king's table." 30. And Sha'ul's anger heated up against Y'honathan, and he said to him, "[You] son of a perverted [woman] of rebelliousness! Don't [you think] I know that you are choosing the son of Yishai to your shame and the shame of your mother's nakedness? Perverted woman: Because Y'honathan did not share the same mindset as his father, he is calling into question whether he really was his father, saying his wife must have been unfaithful. Nakedness: particularly the exposure of private parts, i.e., at his birth. Right in public, he lets his anger outweigh every other consideration.31. "Because as long as the son of Yishai is alive on the [surface of the] earth, [neither] you nor your reign can be assured! So now, send and have him brought to me, because he is a son of death!" As long as: literally, all the days that. Assured: stabilized, secure, established, firm, settled. Since chapter 16, Sha'ul has known that YHWH had taken away any dynasty from his throne, yet he is still trying to assure it.32. But Y'honathan answered Sha'ul his father and said to him, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?" 33. And Sha'ul hurled the spear against him to hit him, so Y'honathan realized it was fully [determined] with his father to have David killed. Determined: in the sense of the root, terminated--there was no changing his mind now. Having no valid a reason with which to answer him, he simply uses force, the coward's response.34. So Y'honathan got up from [being] at the table in burning anger and did not eat food on the second day of the month, because he was pained toward David, since his father had insulted him. 35. So [what] Yehonathan [did] in the morning [was] go out to the field for David's appointment, and there was a little lad with him. 36. And he said to his [servant] boy, "Run! Please find the arrows that I am shooting." [As] the boy was running, he shot the arrow so it would go past him. Shooting: literally, directing. Could this be the background for David's not fearing "the arrow that flies by day" in his own Psalm 91?37. When the lad got to the place where the arrow that Y'honathan had shot [was], Y'honathan called out after the lad and said, "Isn't the arrow [further] beyond you?" 38. Then Y'honathan called out after the lad, "Hurry! Get a move on! Don't stand still!" So Y'honathan's [servant] boy picked up the arrow and came [back] to his master. Stand still: or, stay--a double meaning that would raise no suspicions for the boy but would communicate clearly to David.39. And the lad didn't notice anything, but Y'honathan and David certainly understood the situation. 40. So Y'honathan gave his weapons to the lad who belonged to him, and told him, "Go, bring them into the city!" 41. The boy having left, David got up from the south side and fell down so that his nose was on the ground, and prostrated himself [in obeisance] three times, and each kissed his fellow, and each bewailed his fellow until David grew louder. Grew louder: or simply, became greater--metaphorically as well. It was as if they were competing for who could cry harder, but it was as genuine as it could be.v 42. So Y'honathan said to David, "Go to peace, as we have both sworn in YHWH's name, saying, 'May YHWH be between me and you and between my seed and your seed forever.'" So there remains a special pact between Yahshua and a specific part of the tribe of Binyamin. Who is that today? One theory is that it is some of those who have come to be known as "Messianic Jews".
2. while David came to Akhimelekh the priest at Nov. And Akhimelekh was startled to encounter David, and said to him, "Why are you by yourself, and there isn't a man with you?" Akhimelekh's name means "the king is my brother", but as we shall see, the incumbent king did not share this opinion. He is mentioned nowhere else but here and in the next chapter. Another Akhimelekh turns out to be his grandson. He may be the brother of the Akhiyah mentioned in 14:3 (compare 22:11-12), or this may have been another name name for Akhiyah (possibly to tone down the audacity of that name, which means "YHWH is my brother", or possibly as a reminder that, as Shmu'el knew, YHWH was the real King, and Sha'ul needed to be reminded of that). Nov means "to bear fruit" or "flourish". This city was situated on a prominent hill between Yerushalayim and Sha'ul's capital, Giv'ah, in Binyamin's territory--only about two miles from each. Apparently the Tabernacle had been moved there. Why would he come here when, as we will see, Sha'ul could easily find out he had been there? Because his life had just been turned upside down. He was on his own for the first time, and he needed direction from YHWH. Startled: or, afraid, nervous, trembling. He was used to seeing this man with an army, and recognized him as a powerful man.3. So David told Akhimelekh the priest, "The king has given me orders concerning a matter, and he told me, 'Don't let anyone know anything about the matter [for] which I am sending you and [about] which I have given you orders.' So I have made my young [servants] acquainted with such and such a place. He certainly said a lot about this "confidential" matter! Of course, it is all a ruse because he assumes the priests are loyal to Sha'ul, or he may simply be trying to protect them from knowing too much about his real position so that if questioned, they will not knowingly have been aiding one who was out of the king's favor. The priest assumes he is talking about Sha'ul, but David may be saying, "This is where YHWH has me for now." That is the King whose business he is really on. He actually has no one with him, for he ran for his life with nothing in hand. (Others did not join him until later.) He needs supplies of food:4. "So now, what is there beneath your hand? Hand over to me five [loaves of] bread, or [whatever can be] found." Beneath your hand: i.e., within your power to provide. Five: he does not know how long he may need to be on the run, and probably did not have much stored energy because theirs was not the sedentary life so common today, so though it sounds like he has more people to feed, he is really asking for more than one day's worth for himself since he does not know who else might feed him along the way. Yahshua speaks of those who were with him also being hungry, but he must be citing some midrashic writings, since this text does not actually say anyone was with him, whereas the next thing Yahshua cites is directly from the Torah (Mat. 12:4), so he seems to be reminding us that the latter is more authoritative and must be given more weight. Five loaves: Previously he had chosen five smooth stones, so five seems to be a favorite number of his, probably because of its correlation to the Torah. His life has been marked by "fives". As David enters a new season in his life, the five stones are "turned into" five loaves of bread--a picture of living out the Torah in community, and probably the background for haSatan's temptation of Yahshua (Mat. 4:3), for haSatan knows Scripture well, and even studies it in a rabbinic manner! If David could do this, Yahshua should certainly be able to; he was telling him to prove he was the king in the Davidic line, not just to satisfy his hunger. (This link between bread and stones seems to have been a common one; compare Mat. 7:8.) Five loaves of bread were also handed over to Yahshua, and with them he provided food for many people. He, too, was all alone at the time of his greatest trial, and we who have left behind Sunday, Christmas, Easter, and unclean foods suddenly found ourselves with very few allies at first.5. But the priest answered David and said, "There is no ordinary bread toward the underside of my hand, except that there is holy bread--as long as the young men have been kept from a woman." They could not eat of it if ritually defiled. (See Leviticus 15.) He wanted to be sure the men eating it would not profane it. The reason they would have no ordinary bread was because that would not be baked on the Sabbath, nor could David go buy some anywhere else on that day.6. And David answered the priest and said to him, "Rather, a woman has been withhold from us since the day before yesterday, when I came out, and the young men's articles have been holy, though it is an ordinary journey, especially since it is dedicated in the vessel today." A woman: singular. This may mean that Sha'ul had already taken Mikhal back from being David's wife, as will be stated more directly in 25:44. Articles: or vessels (as in the next phrase), possibly a reference to their reproductive organs in the first context. In the last phrase, the reference appears to be that the fresh batch of the bread of the presence had been prepared that day, which would mean it was the Sabbath. (Lev. 24:8) This is hinted at in Luqa 6:2-5, where Yahshua draws an analogy with the event recounted here, and seems confirmed by the next verse:7. So the priest gave David the holy bread, because there was no bread there except the bread of the presence which had been removed from before YHWH to replace [it with] hot bread on the day it was taken away. David asked for five loaves, and was apparently given twelve--at least symbolically (as the priests would need to eat some of this bread as well)--a definite parallel with the twelve baskets full left over from Yahshua's distribution of the five loaves. This was not the bread that was in the sanctuary itself, but that which had been traded out after being in the sanctuary the week before; still, it was only for the priests to eat from, and they could only eat it in this place. (Lev. 24:9) One could argue that David had been anointed a priest after the order of Melkhitzedeq (that is, to be king in Yerushalayim). It had to be eaten in a set-apart place, but the phrase "such and such a place" (as also used of the nearer kinsman in Ruth 4:1) actually means "distinguished and forsaken place of binding"--a possible reference to the "place" Yaaqov had dreamed of the messengers on the stairway--the very direction in which David was heading. So he could possibly have gotten away with taking it with him only if it was to be eaten there. No one is innocent in this situatin, but YHWH favors the one He wants to favor. But then again, the text never tells us that David actually ate it. However, the guilt of Akhimelekh's giving away something that only Aharon's sons were permitted to eat would not go unpunished. Uriah the king tried to act in the role of a priest, and YHWH struck him with leprosy. (2 Chron. 26) The context in which Yahshua cites this as an "if this, how much more that?" argument is one of the hungry being fed. Preserving life can take precedence over the letter of the Torah if that is what is genuinely at stake.8. Now there was a man from Sha'ul's servants there that day, who had been detained before YHWH, and his name was Do'eg the Edomite, the strongest of the shepherds who belonged to Sha'ul. Doeg means "fearing", "anxious", "concerned"--essentially paranoid! He assumes David is up to mischief. He may have had a special jealousy for David because they were both shepherds.9. And David said to Akhimelekh, "Isn't there either a spear or a sword here beneath your hand, because I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons in my hand, because the king's business was urgent." 10. And the priest said, "Indeed, the sword of Golyath the Filistine, whom you defeated in the Elah Valley--it's wrapped in a cloth behind the efod! If you want to take it for yourself, take it, because there's no other except it in this [place]." And David said, "There's none like it! Give it to me!" The sword might have been there for special safe-keeping, or the efod itself might have been in storage, only used on festivals or other special occasions, in almost a museum-like setting. David had a right o this sword in particular, having won it in battle, and this may have been another reason he went first to Nov. None like it: most swords at this time were what we would consider daggers, and if this was like a dagger to Golyath, it must have been the length of typical medieval swords of which we first think today when hearing the word "sword". It would thus have not been too difficult for David to wield, but would definitely give him the advantage of distance in hand-to-hand combat.11. Then David got up and hurried away that day from the presence of Sha'ul, and came to Akhish the king of Gath. He ran right into the heart of Filistine territory! He may have thought this was one place Sha'ul would not dare chase him, or he may have finally resigned himself to needing help to keep him safe from Sha'ul (though he still would not set his hand against him). Who could be a better ally than those whom Sha'ul had specifically been targeting for extermination? Akhish’s name was pronounced Ikausu in the Filistine language, which was utilizing Hebrew script by this time.12. And the servants of Akhish said to him, "Isn't this David the king of the Land? Isn't this the one to whom they responded with dances to say, 'Sha'ul his thousands, and David his ten thousands?' These exploits were directly against these very Filistines! Despite the war between the peoples, merchants would no doubt have continued traveling between them and spreading reports about the heroes on the other side. Even an enemy warrior would still be considered great or at least noteworthy by any nation. If they could kill him, they would truly conquer Israel. Yet David even seems to be recognized by face, unless he directly said he was seeking refuge there, which we could only assume at best. King of the land: as was probably the case with Akhish, those with the greatest military prowess usually became the de facto ruler, so he assumes that David has already surpassed Sha'ul even in rank.13. And David took these words to heart, and was very afraid of the face of Akhish, the king of Gath. Did he realize that Akhish thought his plea for asylum was only a bluff and that he suspected he was there as a spy? Possibly, but from another angle, up to this point (as evidenced by the fact that he still felt he needed a pretext even to ask for emergency assistance), David did not seem to recognize how much of a threat people saw in him. (Consider Akhimelekh's response to seeing him, and the fact that he thought he had to do whatever David asked just because he was David and might kill him if he refused to help him.) He knew he would have a hard time hiding, because he was too well known and thus too easily recognized.14. So he altered his behavior while in their sight and pretended to be a raving lunatic, scribbling [graffiti] on the doors of the gate and letting his drool run down into his beard. Behavior: literally, judgment, reason, taste, discretion, or understanding. Scribbling: or possibly only scratching. Raving lunatic: From the same roo word as the first part of hallelu-Yah. I.e., it literally means, "Go crazy over YHWH!" He may have been rather obviously nervous already in his desperation upon arrival. After all, he was alone, unguarded, bringing Golyath's own sword back into Golyath's own hometown, which must have seemed a ridiculous risk in itself. So maybe it was not such a great leap in the Filistines' eyes that he should now act this way.15. Then Akhish said to his servants, "Just look at that! The man is showing himself to be an imbecile! Why would you bring him to me? 16. "Do I have a shortage of madmen that you have brought this [one] to go insane [right] on top of me! Should this [one] come into my house?" The last phrase reads more like a positive statement, so we might surmise that if David heard it, he might have thought the king meant to imprison him. It is more likely just a facetious comment, "He should come into my house!" I.e., he would fit right in. There must have been a substantial number of insane Filistines! But in ancient times (and even today in Bedouin circles), deranged people are generally given immunity to mistreatment, because they are even honored to some extent, because they are seen as having some special connection to what is holy, much like a prophet, whom we have seen in chapter 19 did engage in some rather "odd" practices.
Adullam: the place Yehudah had gone away from his family after Yoseyf was sold into slavery, and where he settled and had his children. (Gen. 38) It is in the tribal land of Yehudah, where the foothills meet the mountain range about halfway between Gath and Beyth Lekhem, from whence David's family was coming. Here David's family is making a tikkun (reparation) for their ancestor's deed by reuniting their family at the same location. But this must have created a stir, for the news of his whereabouts got out:2. Then every man who was in dire straits, every man who was in debt, and every man [with a] bitter life collected themselves together to him, and he came to serve as a captain to them. Now there were about 400 men with him. Dire straits: or, a tight spot. Was in debt: literally, had a creditor; Aramaic, against whom owners had a claim. Life: literally, soul. His "motley crew" sounds much like the types that are attracted to a pirate or a Robin Hood--or a lawyer! And David knew the Law (Torah) well, as Psalm 119 reveals. There are clear parallels with his descendants, Yahshua the Messiah, who attracted those who were out of favor with those in power--tax collectors, prostitutes, revolutionaries, or fishermen who worked hard with meager results. These people were oppressed by the king's regime and angered with all its taxation, and wanted to be free men in their own land again. "About 400 men" is also an idiom for an army (Gen. 33:1), giving Sha'ul all the more reason to be suspicious. (v. 8) They must have assumed David would try to stage a coup d'êtat against Sha'ul. But he only saw himself as a fugitive. They were feeling the pain of the promises Shmu'el wrote in his book of what the king of the people's own choice would require of them. (8:11-18; 10:25) They were awaiting David's return, because they saw him as the real hero.3. So David went from there to the observation point of Moav, and said to the king of Moav, "Please let my father and mother come out with you, until I know what Elohim will do for me." His family would have been in danger from Sha'ul as well. Moav is just across the Dead Sea from the territory of Yehudah, as by this time it had taken over Re'uven's tribal land. If the tradition that his great-grandmother Ruth was from the royal family of Moav, he might have been able to claim this distant relationship with the king as reason enough to ask for his hospitality. It is possible that this ruler of Moav was actually descended from Yehudah's own son Shelah. (1 Chron. 4:21-22) In any case, he was in better standing with him than with the Filistines, as there was at present no active war between the two peoples. He might have been sending messages from a border-post to the king rather than speaking directly to the king himself.4. And he had them brought to the presence of the king of Moav, and they remained with him the whole time David was in the stronghold. In the stronghold: probably located at the observation point; or possibly, as long as he was being hunted.5. But the prophet Gad told David, "Don't stay in the stronghold; go and enter for yourself into the land of Yehudah." So David started walking, and came into the Forest of Khareth. Khareth means "engraving". The site is uncertain. It must have been even more dangerous for David to stay in Moav than in an area where Sha'ul had spies. Since YHWH had already promised him the throne, was He just want more drama in David's life, to build within him wisdom and leadership skills before he took the throne?6. Then Sha'ul heard that David and the men that were with him had been recognized. Now Sha'ul was sitting under a tamarisk tree in Ramah with his spear in his hand, and all of his servants were stationed over him. Ramah is on the opposite side of Giv'ah from Nov.7. So Sha'ul said to all of his servants who were stationed over him, "Now hear [this, you] Binyamites! Will the son of Yishai give any of you fields or vineyards as well? Will he make any of you captains of thousands or captains of hundreds, As well: i.e., either "Will he give them to anyone but those from Yehudah?" or, "Will he do as much as I have done for you?" He is appealing to the Binyamites' military pride and the fact that they had been so soundly defeated a few generations earlier, so his words would fall on their ears like Hitler's to the Germans after World War I.8. "since you all conspired against me, and no one uncovered my ear when my own son cut [a covenant] with the son of Yishai?! And there is no one who feels sorry [enough] for me to uncover my ear when my own son stirred up my servant against me, to ambush me like today!" Y'honathan himself must have let on that he had done this. There is a time to remain silent, and Sha'ul's servants had done better to refrain from talking about this. But Sha'ul was very unstable, and though he was really showing signs of weakness by whining, his servants took it as a threat, since previously when he had kept a spear in his hand while on his throne, he had tried to use it against those most loyal to him. So, like Yoseyf's brothers when he called them spies, they let their words flow too freely. An outsider who has risen high in the ranks, yet whose name means "fearful", and thus may want to do all he can to keep his position (knowing that if he lost it, he would probably be regarded as a traitor if he returned home) offers some especially juicy "intelligence":9. Then Do'eg the Edomite--the one appointed [deputy] over Sha'ul's servants--responded and said, "I saw the son of Yishai come to Akhimelekh the son of Akhituv at Nov. Do'eg is a political chameleon--a prefiguring of Christianity--for when we first encounter him he is worshipping YHWH and keeping the Sabbath, but now that he feels he has a lot to lose, he tries to cast Sha'ul's battle as being not against David but against YHWH Himself.10. "And he inquired of YHWH for him, and gave him provisions. He also gave him the sword of Golyath the Filistine!" 11. So the king sent to summon Akhimelekh the son of Akhituv, the priest, along with all of his father's household, the priests who were at Nov. So they all came to the king. While they may have had an inkling that they were in trouble, when the king called, they came.12. And Sha'ul said, "Listen, now, son of Akhituv!" And he said, "Here I am, my master!" 13. So Sha'ul said to him, "Why have you [gone] over me to conspire with the son of Yishai by giving him bread and a sword, and inquired of Elohim for him so [he could start] an insurrection against me to ambush [me] like [he is doing] today?" 14. But Akhimelekh responded to the king by saying, "But who among all your servants is like David--faithful, son-in-law of the king, who turns aside to do your bidding and is honored by your household? 15. "Is it [only] today that I began to inquire of Elohim for him? [That would be] a violation [of honor] for me! Don't let the king set on his servant [any] thing in the whole house of my father, because your servant didn't know a thing of this, small or large!" Violation of honor: also an idiom for, "May it never be! He presents himself as not having known David was out of favor with Sha'ul, but all the rest of the people seemed to be aware of it (v. 2), so Sha'ul considers him a liar.16. But the king said, "You will die for sure, Akhimelekh--you and the whole household of your father!" 17. And the king said to the runners who had been stationed about him, "Go around and kill the priests of YHWH, because even their hand is with David, and because they knew that he was fleeing, and did not reveal [it to] my ear." But the king's servants were not willing to put their hand forward to attack the priests of YHWH. They feared YHWH more than they feared the king.18. So the king said to Do'eg, "You go around and get the priests!" So Do'eg the Edomite went around and attacked the priests himself, and on that day he killed 85 men that bear a [white] linen efod. Sha'ul's instability shows up again in that in a sense he is following the letter of the Torah--that the one who makes an accusation against someone is the first one to cast the stone (Deut. 13:8-9)--but it is in the wrong context.19. And he had Nov, the city of the priests, attacked with the mouth of the sword, from man to woman, even infants and nursing babies, as well as ox, donkey, and lamb--with the mouth of the sword. He: apparently Do'eg, though Sha'ul is still credited with the deed. (v. 21) Sha'ul was unwilling to kill the king of another nation, but seems to have no hesitation about killing YHWH's priests! And he is almost mocking YHWH by doing the same to His priests that He had told Sha'ul to do to Amaleq. This was a very poor political move on Sha'ul's part. On the other hand, these priests are from the line of Eli, whose line YHWH had cursed. (2:27-36) For some reason the priesthood had been transferred from the line of El'azar to the line of Ithamar, possibly due to an emergency situation, but long after YHWH expressed distaste for Eli's family, it had not yet reverted to those to him the position had been given. So this might not be as evil a development as it first appears. The "last straw" may have been that these who were direct servants of YHWH were not calling Sha'ul by name, but called him "the king" (vv. 14-15), thus crediting him with what was rightfully YHWH's.20. But one son belonging to Akhimelekh the son of Akhituv, Evyathar by name, escaped and ran away after David. Like Gid'on's son and those of the children and servants of Iyov who likewise underwent such decimations, he is the lone survivor.21. And Evyathar told David that Sha'ul had murdered YHWH's priests. David wrote Psalm 52 at this time. It emphasizes that YHWH would have the last word in this matter, and almost sounds as if he plans to be the one to avenge the priests. But in any case he says that despite this tragedy, he will keep the praise of YHWH alive in the world. Notice that this one survivor did not call Sha'ul "the king" as Akhimelekh had. But though he proved an exception to the curse on Eli's line by living a long life and was loyal to David, 2:33 even accounts for such a one, saying that he would become an irritant. Indeed, in the end he would use this same ability to be "slippery" to side with Adoniyah against Shlomo when the former claimed the throne for himself, ultimately proving ungrateful for David's mercy.22. And David said to Evyathar, "That day when Do'eg the Edomite was there, I knew he would report it to Sha'ul for sure; I have brought this on every soul in your father's household. I have brought this on: I have turned, or, I have occasioned--i.e., I am responsible for their deaths.23. "Stay with me; don't be afraid, because the one who is seeking [my] life is seeking your life [as well], but with me you will be kept [safe]." Since he was responsible, he took responsibility to prevent the same from taking place again with the only one left. Interestingly, Avyathar means "my father has someone remaining".
Qe'ilah: Its ruins are known today as Khirbet Qila. Its name means "an enclosed fortress", and if the Filistines captured this, they would have a fortification in Yehudah. Qe'ilah also commanded the road connecting Hevron to Sokhoh, meaning they could also force a trade embargo on the former, a large city. They were wise in that they would wait until the grain had reached the threshing stage to plunder it, because they would have all the less work to do in order to eat of it, but this showed how unscrupulous and lazy they were as well. But they were undoubtedly watching the infighting between the leaders of Israel, and attacked when they saw that their enemy was distracted.2. So David inquired of YHWH, saying, "Should I go and attack these Filistines?" And YHWH said to David, "Go and attack the Filistines and save Qe'ilah." 3. But David's men said to him, "We're already afraid here in Yehudah, yet [you expect us] to go to the Filistine battle-lines at Qe'ilah!" Afraid: of Sha'ul. They thought he wanted to take them "out of the frying pan into the fire".4. So yet again David inquired of YHWH, and YHWH answered him and said, "Get up! Go down to Qe'ilah, because I am handing the Filistines over to you!" David inquires again because of his men's doubts. It may be that he did not simply tell them to go despite their fear because some of them may have been his close senior relatives and therefore he was expected to respect him. This time YHWH overtly tells them what the outcome will be, so these fearful men will have more confidence, though David undoubtedly understood it this way the first time he received an answer.5. So David and his men went to Qe'ilah and fought against the Filistines, and brought away their possessions and struck some of them down with a great defeat. Thus David delivered the inhabitants of Qe'ilah. Possessions: the word usually refers to livestock, but why would the Filistines bring their cattle to a battlefield? They may have brought some in order to pull the wagons full of stolen grain back to their homes. But "their possessions" may simply refer to the things belonging to Yehudah that he had recovered from the Filistines.6. Now it turned out that when Evyathar, the son of Akhimelekh, had fled to David, an efod had come down in his hand. Efod: the special garment that identified him as a priest. Unless some other Levites had come in to take up the slack, he was the only priest left, and therefore had to function as high priest. The sanctuary slaughters had probably ceased, but people would still enquire of YHWH mainly through the constituted priesthood. This efod may or may not have included the breastplate, but it apparently at least held the urim and thummim by which questions could be answered. Some tribes in India who trace their roots to the tribe of Menashe have had Levites among them who each carry a pouch that has stones in it for a similar purpose, though none has the full high priestly regalia.7. And it was reported to Sha'ul that David had come to Qe'ilah. And Sha'ul said, "Elohim has [honored me by] acknowledging that he is in my hand, because he has become closed in by entering into a city with gates and a bar!" Acknowledging: Sha'ul read the signs very wrongly, claiming that YHWH was supporting his cause.8. So Sha'ul summoned all the people to the battle--to go down to Qe'ilah to lay siege to David and his men. 9. But David recognized that Sha'ul was plotting harm against him, so he said to Evyathar the priest, "Bring the efod near!" 10. And David said, "[O] YHWH, Elohim of Israel, Your servant has indeed heard that Sha'ul is trying to come to Qe'ilah to ruin the city on account of me! 11. "Will the [land]owners of Qe'ilah shut me up into his hand? Will Sha'ul come down, as Your servant has heard? [O] YHWH, Elohim of Israel! Please tell Your servant!" And YHWH said, "He will come down." David had already asked a second question before YHWH answered the first, so he asks the first question again:12. And David said, "Will the [land]owners of Qe'ilah cause me to be enclosed in Sha'ul's hand along with my men?" And YHWH said, "They will have you closed off." How ungrateful of them, since he had just rescued them from the Filistines. They never actually got to carry this out, and so may never have been punished for it, but YHWH knew the fickleness of their hearts would prevail if they had to choose between a possible reward from a king who had the means and one who appeared to be a renegade, even if they owed him their lives.13. So David and his men--about 600 of them--got up and left Qe'ilah, and were going around wherever they could walk. And it was reported to Sha'ul that David had been allowed to slip away from Qe'ilah, so he [decided to] forego the sortie. His following had grown considerably by now. Forego: leave off, desist, leave undone. But David rightly assumed he was not yet safe:14. But David remained in the wilderness at the strongholds, then he stayed in the mountainous [part] of the wilderness of Zif, and every day Sha'ul searched for him, but Elohim did not give him into his hand. Why would he leave a stronghold? Because word was getting back to Sha'ul of his whereabouts, so he had to keep changing his location. He is thus a foreshadowing of his descendant Yahshua, who, though already anointed as rightful king, did not overthrow the existing framework of authority since he had other work to do first, and since his "fans" overwhelmed him, felt compelled to keep on the move as well. Being between Qe'ilah and Zif, these strongholds may have been at Hevron itself, from which David would later begin his reign. They may have been designed specifically to guard the tombs of the patriarchs.15. And David saw that Sha'ul had come out to seek his life. While David was in the wilderness of Zif, in a wooded area, Wooded area: Even with such cover, it is difficult to keep 600 men hidden!16. Y'honathan the son of Sha'ul got up and went to David in the woods, and was making his hand firm in Elohim. Y'honathan was probably on the move with his father, but moved more quickly because his motive was to save David's life, and Sha'ul was probably still unsure his motives were right. Y'honathan knew David's ways, and was thus more easily able to determine where he would be hiding. Firm: with a strong grip. He was encouraging him, but probably also providing him with supplies.17. And he said to him, "Don't be afraid, because the hand of my father Sha'ul will not attain to securing you, and you will reign over Israel, and I will serve as a second [in rank] to you, and even my father Sha'ul knows so." He is probably implying that he will throw enough confusion into his father's camp to make sure Sha'ul would not locate David. His confidence was still strong, while Sha'ul's was weakening further. Y'honathan knew David was both a better warrior and a better leader than he, and thus more worthy of the top position. He knew his place as part of David's reign and welcomed it rather than fighting it. He probably envisioned a unified kingdom, possibly with himself as king over the northern tribes but still under David, since, being the king's son, he assumed he was to be a ruler of some sort, though YHWH ultimately did not allow this to be worked out as he foresaw it.18. And they both cut a covenant before YHWH, but David stayed in the woods while Y'honathan went to his house. 19. But [some] Zifites went up to Sha'ul at Giv'ah to say, "Isn't David concealing himself with us in the strongholds in the wooded area on the hill of Hakhilah, which is on the right hand of the wasteland? The men of Yehudah seem to have been feeling more and more obligated to Sha'ul, possibly because he could reward them for betraying their brother. Hakhilah means "dark", possibly due to the contrast of the forest with the surrounding desert, or possibly because late each day it was in the shadow of the mountain range directly to its west. Right hand: the south side, when truly oriented eastward.20. "So now, as your whole soul is longing to come down, come on down, and it is our [responsibility] to have him delivered up into the king's hand. 21. So Sha'ul said, "You are blessed to YHWH, because you have had compassion on me! Had compassion: or, spared me (much trouble). What audacity, to use YHWH's name for his own purposes, and to act as if he was one of the priests that he had just murdered. Truly Sha'ul is in a very bad place. Power had brought out the latent corruption in him, to correct the old adage, and his bad decisions were stacking the deck against him.22. "Please go again to make sure, and find out and note his location--where his foot will be who has seen him there--because I've been told he will take great care to be shrewd. Where his foot will be: i.e., where the informer "stands"--whose side he is really on. Shrewd: crafty, subtle, prudent. He himself knows that David is a true warrior and thus very circumspect.23. "And observe and be familiar with all the hiding places into which he withdraws himself, and come back to me with established [evidence], and I will go with you, and [if] it turns out that he is there in the land, I will [disguise myself and] search him out among all the thousands of Yehudah." I.e., do the groundwork for me, so I can just do the mop-up. He was sending spies, but sounds as if he may also go incognito, probably dressed in the garb of Yehudah, which may have differed from that of Binyamin. At the very least, he would go looking like a civilian rather than a king. Thousands: groupings under a head of 1,000 men.24. So they got up and went to Zif ahead of Sha'ul while David and his men were in the uninhabited land of Maon in the Aravah on the right hand of the wasteland. Maon must have been the nearest city to where he was, though to be in the Aravah (the Great Rift Valley), he could not have been less than 10 to 12 miles from the city proper. Maon, 6 miles south of Zif and surrounded by pasturelands, is known as Khirbet al-Ma'in today. It was named after a descendant of Kalev (1 Chron. 24:5), having previously been associated with Amaleq. (Judges 10:12)25. Then Sha'ul and his men went to search, and David was informed, so he went down to Sela and remained in the wilderness of Maon. When Sha'ul heard it, he chased after David in the wilderness of Maon. Sela: the Hebrew name for Petra, but this is not likely to be the same place, though Petra is far down the same Rift Valley and there is an area named Ma'an (note the similarity to Ma'on) just to its southeast. Generically, the word denotes a crag or cliff. It apparently did not have a specific name until this event. (See v. 28.)26. Now Sha'ul was walking on this side of the mountain and David and his men on [the other] side of the mountain, so David started moving quickly to get away from Sha'ul's presence. But Sha'ul and his men were surrounding David and his men to capture them. Only now does David feel threatened enough to actually run. But just as the suspense has reached its zenith…27. Then a messenger came to Sha'ul to say, "Hurry and go, because the Filistines have invaded the Land!" Invaded: made a dash on to raid, spread themselves out on, stripped off. This may have been a rumor started by Y'honathan to throw Sha'ul off David's trail, but since Sha'ul was actually out of the territory of Israel and in Yehudah's land, it would be an ideal time for an enemy to attack.28. So Sha'ul turned back from chasing after David and went to meet the Filistines. For the same reason they called that place "the cliff of the dividing-out". 29. But David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of Eyn-Gedi.
2. So Sha'ul took 3,000 men selected from all of Israel and went to search for David and his men at the front of the Rocks of the Mountain Goats. 3. When he came to the sheepfolds on the way, there was a cave there, and Sha'ul went in to cover his feet. Now David and his men were dwelling in the extreme recesses of the [very same] cave! Cover his feet: a euphemism for defecating--a very vulnerable position! There are many caves in the rock walls at Eyn-Gedi, but many, being hard to reach (and for this reason they made excellent hiding places during the uprisings against Greece and Rome), would not be easily accessible for this purpose. This one seems to have been at or near the top of the escarpment, the direction from which Sha'ul would have been approaching, and indeed there is one there which some have identified as this particular cave.4. So David's men said to him, "Here is the day of which YHWH has told you, 'I Myself will deliver your enemy into your hand, and you can do to him whatever is appropriate in your eyes.'" But David got up and secretly cut off the extremity of the [long outer] robe that [denoted] Sha'ul's [rank]. There seems to have been no such prior promise to David recorded, though Sha'ul was told his fellow would be given his crown. (15:26-28) In fact, in that very context, Sha'ul had torn Shmu'el's robe in his effort to get the prophet to reconsider. (Compare another incident in 1 Kings 11:29ff.) More likely, the men were just saying, in effect, "It's obvious that YHWH is telling you through this sign that your enemy is fair game." Extremity: literally, wing; the part of the garment onto which his tzitzith would have been affixed. (Num. 15:38) It is likely that he had laid it aside while he did his "business" out of respect for the tzitziyoth that fulfilled one of YHWH's commandments, so that David would not have had to be so close that Sha'ul could hardly avoid noticing him. In some ancient cultures marks of one's rank were also worn on the fringe of the garment, and this may be part of the symbolism David intended to portray as well.5. But after this, it turned out that David's heart started chastising him over [the fact] that he had cut off the extremity that belonged to Sha'ul. His conscience was bothering him because of Sha'ul's position, no matter whether his behavior merited such honor.6. So he said to his men, "[It would be] a violation [of honor] for me from YHWH if I were to do this thing to my master--to YHWH's anointed--to stretch out my hand against him, because he is YHWH's anointed." Violation of honor: or, desecration, pollution, defilement, wounding, piercing through. I.e., such behavior would besmirch the measure of honor that YHWH has already given me. Anointed: the same Hebrew word as elsewhere translated "Messiah". The fact that YHWH had given approval of his kingship in some sense meant he could not simply be "impeached".7. And David held back his men by [these] words, and did not permit them to rise up [and go] toward Sha'ul. So Sha'ul got up from the cave and went onto the road. Held back: An idiomatic use of the same word used of cloven-hoofed animals. The word also means to "tear" or "divide", so the sense seems to be that he "tore into them"--i.e., took command somewhat angrily and forbade any but himself to get near the king. But "a word to the wise" proved sufficient, for these profound words showed them that David was not only a strong leader, but also had deeper understanding than most other men.8. And after the same, David got up and went out of the cave and called out after Sha'ul, saying, "My master the king!" When Sha'ul looked [carefully] behind him, David bowed with his nose to the ground and prostrated himself. 9. And David said to Sha'ul, "Why do you listen to human words that say, 'David is indeed trying to harm you'? Human words: literally, the words of Adam. It was logical to assume that this was the case because of what Sha'ul was doing to him and men's natural penchant for power. But this was fleshly reasoning, and not at all true in David's case.10. "Look here! This day your eyes have seen how YHWH has delivered you into my hand today, and [some] said to kill you, but I spared you and said, 'I will not stretch out my hand against my master, because he is YHWH's anointed.' Delivered you into my hand: He thus agreed with the first part of what his men credited to YHWH in verse 4, but "what was appropriate in his eyes" was not what they expected.11. "So my father, [both] look and see the extremity of your robe in my hand, because by my cutting off the extremity of your robe and not murdering you, [you can] recognize and consider [the fact that] I have neither hurtfulness nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you, yet you are hunting down my life to take it! He got this close to Sha'ul and could easily have done him in, but he did not; if he really wanted to kill him, why would he waste this occasion? What stronger evidence could he have given him that he meant him no harm?12. "May YHWH judge between me and you, and YHWH will avenge me of you, but my hand will not be against you! I.e., you are in the wrong and you know it, but I am not yet the constituted authority to pronounce your judgment.13. "As the ancient adage says, 'Wickedness proceeds from the wicked." But [again] my hand will not be against you! I.e., Your actions are proving what is really in your heart (compare Mat. 15:18-20), but your downfall will not be my doing.14. "After whom has the king of Israel come out? Who are you chasing after? A dead dog? A single flea? I.e., Why are you wasting your time on something that is as much a threat as these things, when you have so many more important things to do as king?15. "So YHWH will be the judge, and will execute justice between me and you, and will inspect and plead my case, and vindicate me from out of your hand." I.e., truth is on my side; you have much to lose if YHWH inspects you as closely as He is observing me! 16. Now when David had finished speaking these words to Sha'ul, the result was that Sha'ul said, "Is that your voice, my son, David?" And Sha'ul lifted up his voice and started wailing. My son: David had also called him "father" in v. 11. To a modern mind, this was a great "healing experience", with forgiveness flowing freely. But Sha'ul has already stacked the deck against himself, and it is too late for David to really trust him. It would indeed take evidence even more vivid than this to make him finally stop pursuing David.17. Then he said to David, "You are more righteous than I [am], because you have treated me well, and I have paid you back badly. 18. "And today you have made it obvious that you have done me right with [the fact] that YHWH had closed me up into your hand, and you did not kill me! Closed me up into your hand: as if presenting him to him in a package from which he could not escape.19. "And if a man should find his enemy, would he let him go [free] in a pleasant way? May YHWH compensate you with kindness to replace [what I've repaid you with] this day, [because of] what you have done for me. I.e., would he leave him uninjured? Would that be wise? Sha'ul still has some sense of what is right and proper, and is grasping for whatever may be left of it. He wishes for YHWH to exchange the payment he has offered David (v. 17) for a better reward, which he knows David deserves.20. "So now--look here--I know for sure that you will become king, and that the sovereignty of Israel will be raised up [established and confirmed] in your hand! 21. "So swear to me now by YHWH, 'If you cut off my seed after me and if you should make my name perish from my father's household…'" I.e., swear that you will not do these things. This is the idiomatic format an oath takes in Israel: "If I do this… (may YHWH do the same or worse to me)."22. So David swore [the oath] to Sha'ul, and Sha'ul went home, while David and his men went up into the stronghold. The stronghold: Probably the one from which he had come at Eyn-Gedi. Sha'ul seems to have shown genuine remorse, but David did not let his guard down, though he was safe for the moment. He knew how fickle Sha'ul was, and how driven by whatever emotion swept over him at the moment, as we saw here on the positive side, but as he had seen go the opposite direction so many times. He would honor him as king, but notice that he did not go back to work directly for him this time. Things would never be the same between them again, because Sha'ul was too unstable. If Sha'ul had asked him to come back, David probably would have, but to voluntarily do so would probably have been suicidal. This would indeed turn out to not be the last time he had to prove to Sha'ul that he would not kill him, though he easily could. However, David was faithful to keep this oath (2 Shmu'el 9:3,7) even when he was suspicious of the behavior of one of Sha'ul's descendants. (2 Shmu'el 21:7) And for this, YHWH spared David's descendants some of what they deserved as well. (1 Kings 11:12-13)
It is not clear whether David was among those who went to Shmu'el's "funeral". Pa'ran either means "place of caverns" or "gloriously beautified". It is south of the inhabited part of Israel. Yishma'el was living here when his mother took an Egyptian wife for him. (Gen. 21:21) Under Moshe all Israel camped here twice (Num. 12:16; 13:3), and from here the twelve spies were sent to search out the Land and bring back samples of its fruit. David may have been going here in part to walk in the footsteps of his ancestors and regain perspective on what it would mean to be king over this great Land.2. Now there was a man in Maon, and his business enterprise was in Karmel. Now the man was very wealthy--that is, he had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats--and he was [involved in] shearing his sheep at Karmel. These towns are only about a mile apart, and both are only a few miles south of Hevron and Zif at the summit ridge near the southern end of the mountain range that forms Israel's "backbone".3. Now the man's name was Naval, and his wife's name was Avigayil, and the woman had excellent sense and a beautiful figure, but the man was harsh and injurious in his dealings, and he was a Kalevite. Sense: understanding that comes from being aware of what is going on around oneself. Kalevite: His ancestor's name means "like the heart"--for like David, Kalev was a man after YHWH's own heart. But here the other way of reading his name comes out, for "Kalevite" is spelled literally like "his dog". Naval's heart was not where it should have been, and so he was indeed acting like a dog. But nearby Hevron had indeed been given to Kalev as his inheritance. (Y'hoshua 14) His descendants had now spread out to several towns.4. When David (in the wilderness) heard that Naval was shearing his sheep, 5. David sent ten young [servants], and said to the young [men], "Go up to Karmel and approach Naval, and ask him in my name about his welfare. In my name: This would give him reason to pay attention to these strangers who otherwise might just seem to be more of the beggars who probably swarmed him every day.6. "And say [something] like this: 'To life and peace for you! And peace to your household! And peace to all that belong to you! 7. "'Now then, I have heard that you have shearers. When shepherds who belong to you were [once] with us, we did not insult them, nor was anything of theirs missing the whole time they were in Karmel. Insult: or put to shame, taunt, humiliate, dishonor. David's men would have appeared to be bandits, and human experience even as recently as the days of the "wild west" shows that when bandits came upon cowboys (who were much like these shepherds--the weak and lowly who worked for someone wealthy), they would often, starving for entertainment, "make them dance" by firing bullets near them just for a laugh, like cats that play with their wounded prey before devouring them. After all, they had swords and the shepherds probably did not. The Romans did the same with Yahshua. David's men had done them no such cruelty. After all, David had been a shepherd, so he probably found it rather calming to be back among shepherds after all he had been through, like Shim'on Keyfa, who went fishing a few days after the trauma of Yahshua's crucifixion.8. "'Ask your young [servants], and they will tell you. And may the young [men] find favor in your eyes, because we have come around a festival-day. Please donate to your servants and your son David whatever you can afford.'" Whatever you can afford: literally, what your hand finds. 9. So David's young [men] came and spoke to Naval in David's name in accordance with all these words, then remained quiet. They did not say any more than David did, but stopped and waited silently for Naval's response.10. But Naval answered David's servants and said, "Who is David and who is the son of Yishai? These days there are a growing number of servants who are breaking away from their respective masters! Not that he did not know who David was; he was the equivalent of a movie star today! His wife realized he had already been chosen by YHWH to be king. (v. 30) He is intentionally insulting David, considering himself to be a king (v. 36) because he was so wealthy. He saw David as a Robin Hood, for he'd heard what type of people were joining David, who had also run from his master. Being on the other end of the economic scale than those who fled oppression, he knew he stood to be hurt by this trend, so he did not want to encourage its continuation.11. "So should I take from my bread, my water, and my meat that I have butchered for my shearers, and give it to men whom I have never met, [nor do I] know where they come from?" It should have been enough to know they were fellow Israelites who wanted to keep a feast properly but were not in a position to do so. David was not begging for a "free lunch", but calling in a favor Naval owed him for having already guarded his servants, even if Naval had not asked him to do so, or written him a contract for this service. He had been in a position to rob Naval of all he had, and did not, so it was the least Naval could do to, out of gratitude, give him a small portion of what he had kept others from stealing. Like the man Yahshua told to prepare the place for his students to keep the Passover with him, he was saying, "You owe me one." This is not arrogance, for he was the man's teacher. It was true humility for him to expect his students to do what he needed in return. It will take a strong king to enforce righteousness, for people by and large do not voluntarily choose the right way. YHWH envied the Rekhavites' ancestor (Yirmeyahu 35), for they at least respected him enough to honor his wish, even though the prophet told them to do the opposite, because they knew they had no choice but to do so, while Israel at that time was generally thinking obedience to YHWH's Torah was optional.12. So David's young [men] turned around to the way they [had come], and returned, then came and recounted to him, in so many words, all of these things. 13. So David said to his men, "Each [of you] buckle your swords on!" So each of them buckled his sword on, and David also buckled his sword on, and about 400 men went up after David, while 200 remained [stationed] over the equipment. In chapter 30, we will see that David considered those who stayed behind to guard what belonged to the whole community as valuable and essential as those who went out to fight.14. But one lad from among the young [men] told Avigayil, the wife of Naval, "Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to salute our master, but he screamed at them! Salute: or bless, but the most common greeting of welcome in Hebrew is "Blessed is the one who comes!"15. "And the men have been very kind to us, and have not insulted us, and we haven't been missing anything the whole time we were going around with them, when we were in the field. 16. "They were a wall [closed up] around us both night and day, the whole time we were with them feeding the sheep! Wall: in this case, from a word for "joining together"--i.e., they protected us on every side and didn't leave any gap by which we would be vulnerable.17. "So now, discriminate and consider what you can do, because harm has been determined toward our master and in regard to his whole household, because he is too much a son of worthlessness to speak to!"
Five se'im would equal about 67 liters in dry measure. In modern terms, that's over 33 Coke bottles full of ready-to-eat "trail mix". She is literally feeding an army! She did not merely send him five sheep, but those that were already butchered and divided up, and possibly even already cooked for Naval's own feast; Naval could wait, in her opinion, but she would be hospitable! So she sent him not just raw materials, but catered food! Mere provision is a gift from YHWH; hospitality is putting some of oneself into it. Avigayil is acting like her ancestresses Sarah and Rivqah, feeding not just David, but his servants as well. What she could get away with was not enough, for this was Israel! Yahshua said that if we do not go above and beyond what is required to do our job adequately, we are worthless servants. So she feeds David like the king that he is, though he has not yet been declared so.19. and she said to her young [servants], "Go on ahead of me; I'm right here behind you." But she did not tell her husband Naval. 20. And it turned out that as she was riding the donkey and coming down [under] cover of the mountain, sure enough, David and his men were coming down to take her by surprise, when she encountered them. 21. And David was saying, "It's nothing but in vain that I've guarded all that belongs to this man in the wilderness, so that of all that belonged to him, not a thing was missing, and he's [paid] me back viciousness for kindness! 22. "Let Elohim do the same to the enemies of David and add more of the same, if, out of all who belong to him, I leave one of those who urinate against a wall [alive] until the light of the morning!" I.e., if even one male from his household survives. David was fed up with people returning evil for the benefits he had brought them. Sha'ul was his master, so he had put up with him, but this man was simply an idiot, and David had run out of patience and mercy. Kalevites were even attached to the tribe of Yehudah, so there was all the more reason for Naval to treat his fellow Judahite well. 23. When Avigayil saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell down on her face before David, and bowed herself to the ground. She was not only recognizing him as king, but humbling herself before one who had the power to destroy her whole household.24. And she fell at his feet and said, "On me--myself--[is] the guilt, my master! And please let your female servant speak in your ears, and listen to the words of your female servant! 25. "I beg you, don't let my master set his heart toward this worthless man--on Naval--because as his name is, so he is--that is, there is foolishness in him. And I, your female servant, did not see the young [men] , my master, whom you sent. As his name is: Naval's name means "fool".26. "So now, my master, [as surely as] YHWH lives and your soul lives, [in] that YHWH has held you back from coming in with blood and delivering yourself with your own hand, so now let your enemies be like Naval, along with those who are seeking to harm my master. 27. "So now let this blessing which your female servant has brought to my master be given to the young [men] who are going around at the feet of my master. 28. "Please forgive where your female servant has crossed the line, because YHWH will certainly bring about a well-established [lasting] household for my master, because my master has fought the battles of YHWH, and wickedness will not be found in you from your days. Forgive: literally, lift off. Did she think she was at fault for failing to influence Naval to be more hospitable? What part of the guilt was hers? None, but being Naval's wife, she cannot be separated from his household, and everyone in a household is guilty by association when one is.29. "Now a human being has risen up against you to pursue you or seek your life, but my master's soul has been bound up in the bundle of life with YHWH your Elohim, and he will hurl the soul of your enemies from within the hollow of the sling! She not only shows great deference--possibly out of fear--but also shows that she knows much about what David enjoys.30. "And may it be, when YHWH does for my master according to all the benefits He has promised concerning you, and has put you in charge as ruler over Israel, 31. "that this will not become something that makes you stagger or an occasion for my master's heart to stumble--that is, to spill blood for no reason or for my master to deliver himself. And when YHWH has treated you well, then remember your female servant!" Delivering yourself with your own hand: literally, delivering your own hand for yourself. Is she referring to David's decision to spare Sha'ul and not make himself the king? Or his not taking matters into his own hand regarding Naval? Probably both. A fellow Israelite should be judged by a court according to Torah before being executed. Stumble: an idiom for causing someone to sin. Being the highest-ranking man in Yehudah at this time, David might have thought he could kill whomever he decided, but she reminded him that this would be sin. Naval certainly deserved punishment for his failure to show hospitality, but his servants were certainly not deserving of death. They actually did speak up on his behalf, so to kill the innocent with the guilty would certainly be out of character for him and at the very least dampen his reputation after his record of righteousness. Killing a man for simply being a fool would not be honorable.32. Then David said to Avigayil, "Blessed is YHWH, Elohim of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today. 33. "And blessed is your discretion, and blessed are you, in that you have held me back this day from coming in with blood or delivering myself [by] my own hand! Discretion: better judgment or tastefulness.34. "Because it is very certain that YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, who has kept me from doing you harm, is alive, because if you had not hurried and come to meet me, certainly not one of those belonging to Naval who urinates against a wall would have been left [alive] until the light of morning!" 35. So David accepted from her hand what she had brought to him, and said to her, "Go up to your house in peace; see, I have listened to your voice and will let your face endure." Let your face endure: David had not seen how beautiful Naval's wife was, and realized what a work of art she was, and was glad he had neither killed her nor even brought to her the indirect harm that would have come from being widowed with no male heir, for whatever was Naval's would go to his brothers or other male relatives of his, and she would have no one left to provide for her.36. When Avigayil came to Naval, there he was at a drinking-banquet in his own house like a feast of the king, and a pleasant heart came over Naval, and he had become excessively drunken, so she did not tell him a word, small or large, until the light of morning. Because he was not generous in sharing his plenty with those who deserved to be fed, his table became a snare! (Psalm 69:22) Yahshua might have built his parable of "the rich fool" who was "not rich toward YHWH" () around this story.37. But in the morning, when the wine had gone out from Naval, his wife did tell him these things, and his heart died within him and he became like a stone. Or, he turned into a stone. Did he have a paralyzing stroke?38. And then about ten days [later], YHWH struck Naval down so that he would die. It seems the festival he was celebrating must have been Yom T'ruah. This also explains why David said the feast was nearing (v. 8), but he was uncertain of the exact day and wanted to be prepared when the moon would be sighted. By the time Avigayil got back, the feast day must have been declared. The news he heard from her struck him like the awakening blast of the shofar, and his already-hardening heart became completely so, and the final opening to repent was not presented to him, for he was counted altogether wicked at the very beginning of the time of judgment, since he had not repented during the time given him prior to the feast day to do so. Now, on Yom Kippur, the finalization of his judgment takes place. The only question was why he would be shearing his sheep that late in the summer. He may have had long-haired sheep that may have needed more frequent shearing, or he may simply have been preparing a large number of sheep for slaughter for all his servants to eat at the feast. Or it may simply be that this was not the feast being mentioned, but the analogy merely follows the same progression.39. When David heard that Naval was dead, he said, "Blessed is YHWH, who has contended for the cause of my disgrace from the hand of Naval, and has held His servant back from doing wrong, and has caused Naval's wickedness to turn back on his own head!" Then David sent and spoke with Avigayil, to take her for himself as a wife. Contended for the cause: or pleaded the case, terminology of a lawyer in a courtroom. He has rendered a decisive judgment on David's behalf, vindicating David for being in the right though he had not taken justice into his own hands. David realized that Avigayil had compensated for his blind spots, and therefore would be a worthwhile complement to have as personal advisor!40. So David's servants came to Avigayil at Karmel and spoke to her to say, "David has sent us to you to take you for himself as a wife!" 41. So she got up and bowed down [with her] nostrils to the ground, and said, "Here is your female servant as a slavegirl to wash the feet of my master's servants!" She humbles herself and says she does not deserve such an exalted place, so that he can raise her to a higher position. (Luqa 14:10) The term for "slave-girl" is related to the Hebrew word for "family".42. Then Avigayil got up and mounted a donkey, with five of her young women who walked at her feet, and she followed David's messengers, and she became his as a wife. To complete the festival picture, Sukkoth, the season of joy, followed Naval's judgment day. Because she "set the table" so well, she got to marry the "Messiah" (anointed one) of her day.43. He also took Akhinoam from Yizre'el, so both of them became his wives, This wife would bear him his first son. (2 Shmu'el 3:2) Avigayil would not be far behind. This is a picture of YHWH taking two peoples as His bride. Avigayil means "my Father is glad"; since the Ba'al Shem-Tov taught that one is not serving YHWH with joy, he is not serving Him at all, most of orthodox Judaism has been built on this principle. Akhinoam means "my brother is pleasant", and Yizre'el means "those YHWH has scattered", an in Hoshea 1:4-11 it is clearly used to denote the Northern Kingdom, whose brother from Yehudah has acted as redeemer to bring us back from this very exile. This time in David's life is also prophetic of the time Yahshua is "on the run" from the one who is recognized as king, with a band whom he protects and who protect him.44. as Sha'ul had given his daughter Mikhal, David's wife, to Palti, the son of Layish, who was from Gallim. Since she was still living near her father, as part of his insult to David, pretending to think that he had abandoned her. David would later right this wrong, but it would not be easy to undo, because Sha'ul had tied a convoluted knot through this injustice.
Zifites: This is the second time they have betrayed their brother to the northern king. The term "Zifites" means "smelters", so they were probably metallurgists who supplied King Sha'ul with weaponry, which is probably why they were so loyal to Sha'ul, though they were from the tribe of Yehudah, which he does not seem to have ruled directly. They were thus protecting their business interests. If Sha'ul has another reason to go to war, he will need more weapons, so they stir his jealousy back up after it has died down. David has little money, so they are afraid he might come steal the swords they have made, so they appeal to Sha'ul for protection from this bogus threat. It is a win-win situation for them. As long as his regime remains stable, so will their business. If David were to overthrow him, he would hardly buy weapons from them because of what they had already done to him in chapter 23. The face: i.e., the edge; the Aramaic targum takes it as the "front", or east side. Some read it as "overlooking".2. So Sha'ul rose up and went down to the wilderness of Zif, and with him were 3,000 men, the select of Israel, to search for David in the wilderness of Zif. 3. And Sha'ul encamped at the hill of Hakhilah, which is on the face of the desert--on the road, while David was staying in the wilderness. When he saw that Sha'ul had come into the wilderness after him, 4. David sent out spies and ascertained that Sha'ul had in fact arrived. Spies: literally, footmen, i.e., people to go around on foot and explore. He wanted to confirm how far they had come and if it was truly against him. Psalm 54 was written either at this time or the previous time the Zifites betrayed him. His prayer therein that he be avenged of his enemies was soon to be answered.5. So David got up and came to the place where Sha'ul had encamped, and David discerned the spot where Sha'ul as well as Avner, the son of Ner, the captain of his army, had lain down. Now Sha'ul was lying down within the entrenchment, with the people encamped all around him. Entrenchment: or, barricade, enclosure, track, something that encircles, possibly a temporary embankment; Aramaic, encampment. The historian Josephus explains that the armed men were lying around Sha'ul in a circle.6. And David responded by saying to Akhimelekh the Hittite and Avishai the son of Iruyah, the brother of Yoav, "Who will go down into the camp with me--to Sha'ul?" And Avishai said, "I will go down with you." Iruyah: evidently a misspelling of Tz'ruyah ("balsam"), the name of Yoav's mother according to 2 Shmu'el, Kings, and Chronicles. The letter ayin is very similar to the tzadhe, the initial letter of the name. Avishai means "my father is a gift offered as homage", or simply "Yishai is my ancestor", which would be fitting since Tz'ruyah was David's sister (1 Chron. 2:16). Avishai was thus David's nephew. This seemingly simple request for a volunteer turned out to be a defining moment for Avishai, for he turned out to be one of David's right-hand men, while this Akhimelekh is never again mentioned in Scripture. One who was faithful in the least matter was rewarded by being given much responsibility. David probably actually wanted both of them to go with him as witnesses of what he was going to do--and what he was not going to do. Tz'ruyah had a third son, Asahel, who would also become a war hero. Their father is mentioned only anonymously in a curse when relations between them went bad. (2 Shmu'el 3:29; the matter was resolved by Shlomo in 1 Kings 2:31)7. So David and Avishai came to the people at night, and there was Sha'ul lying within the entrenchment asleep. Now his spear was stuck in the ground near his head, and Avner and the people were lying all around him. Verse 12 explains why no one encamped around the entrenchment was alert to the fact that outsiders were arriving in their camp and making their way toward the king.8. And Avishai said to David, "Today Elohim has closed up your enemy into your hand! So now let me strike him with the spear right into the earth one time, and I will not do it to him a second time." 9. But David said to Avishai, "Do not injure him, because who can stretch out his hand against YHWH's anointed and be guiltless?" On another occasion, Avishai was eager to kill one who insulted David, but David, though a killer of tens of thousands, was not as bloodthirsty as he. (2 Shmu'el 16:9; 19:21) In fact, he wanted to kill Avshalom, David's son, as well. (2 Shm. 18:5) So we might say he was more loyal than David wanted him to be.10. David also said, "[As surely as] YHWH lives, unless YHWH strikes him down or his day comes to die, or he goes down in battle and is swept up, YHWH had been responsible for putting Sha'ul in power, and had not told David to dispossess him. He still respects Sha'ul's abilities as a fellow warrior, and that goes a long way in his willingness to spare him over and over. He also would not want to be accused of killing Sha'ul to take his place. He is not forgiving Sha'ul, for Sha'ul has not made restitution of any type--a mechanism the Torah has put in place to ensure a platform for justice and renewed brotherhood when wrongs are done to a fellow Israelite.11. "it would be a violation [of honor] from YHWH for me to stretch out my hand against YHWH's anointed. But now, please do take the spear that is by his head and the jug of water, so that we can go!" Jug: from a word meaning to expand, so it was probably made from an animal skin, though a different term is often used for that in Hebrew.12. So David took the spear and the jug of water from by Sha'ul's head and they left, and no one saw, and no one knew; no one even woke up, because they were all asleep, since a deep sleep from YHWH had fallen on them. Deep sleep: The same word used for the sleep YHWH put Adam into when He took Chawwah from his side.13. Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on the top of the mountain in the distance; there was a wide space between them. The other side: Josephus says there was a brook between Sha'ul and where he went.14. Then David called to the people and to Avner the son of Ner, saying, "Won't you answer, Avner?" And Avner responded, "Who are you who has called out to the king?" Was Avner reprimanding him for waking the king up from his sleep? But he in turn reprimands Avner for his negligence. He called Avner, but was really wanting to show Sha'ul that Avner, the one Sha'ul had put in the position David used to have, was not doing his duty as well as David had.15. And David said to Avner, "Aren't you a man? And who is like you in Israel? But why haven't you been guarding your master, the king? Because one of the people came to injure the king--your master! Who is like you: David had respect for Avner despite his incidental enmity, because he knew he was just doing his job and being faithful to his master. David would later make him one of his own generals. One of the people: David was rubbing in the fact that it was Avishai, not himself, who wanted to kill the king.16. "This thing that you have done is not right, [as surely as] YHWH lives, because you are sons of death who have not kept guard over YHWH's anointed! And take a look! Where are the king's spear and the jug of water that was by his head right now?" He probably held them up for him to see as he spoke, as if to say, "Look what I got past you!" But he was not satisfied to get the best of them unless they would recognize it and learn from it. Sons of death: the Aramaic explains this as an idiom meaning men who deserve to die for what they have done.17. And Sha'ul recognized David's voice, and said, "Is this your voice, my son David?" So David said, "My [very own] voice, O my master the king!" This parallels 24:16. My son: Sha'ul calls him this because he had joined himself to Sha'ul's household.18. And he said, "Why is it that my master is chasing down his servant? What have I done, and what guilt is in my hand? 19. "So now, please let my master the king listen to the words of his servant. If [it is] YHWH [that] has incited you against me, then let Him [smell and] accept a tribute-gift! But if [it is] the sons of Adam, they are cursed before YHWH, because they have driven me out today from being joined to YHWH's inherited possession, saying, 'Go, serve other elohim!' I.e., if it is YHWH who sent you to kill me, allow me an occasion to repent and make things right with him. YHWH's inherited possession: the congregation of Israel. He recognizes that he cannot properly worship YHWH in isolation. Sha'ul has kept him on the run so that he is unable to visit the sanctuary, and it would bring him great shame to die in exile before being able to go back there again. Though Sha'ul had killed all the priests at Nov, there must have been others who had come in to fill the gap. There is still apparently an active sanctuary. We know there was one priest with an efod with David, but it is not necessarily the high priest's efod. There may have been many at that time, without the full breastplate--possibly one for each household who might qualify to be priests. In any case, David feels that Sha'ul is trying to drive him to be a pagan, because the only other temples available are pagan ones. This is what is most important to David:20. "So now, don't let my blood fall to the earth [while I am away] from [being] in YHWH's presence, because the king of Israel has come out to look for a flea, as one hunts a partridge in the mountains!" Flea: Aramaic, one weak man. He calls himself insignificant, yet is also demonstrating that he is a far more skillful warrior than any of them are.21. And Sha'ul said, "I have missed the target! Come back, my son David, because I will never again do you harm, owing to the fact that my life has been highly valued in your eyes this [very] day. Look, I have acted foolishly and made a very big mistake!" David's voice brings him out of his delirium just as it had when he was playing the harp. Might he have sung out his "greeting" to Avner, and Sha'ul recognized the melody? It is as if he keeps being awakened from a dream, saying, "Where am I? What am I doing here? How did I get here?" If he had continued in the vein of thought that analyzed how he got to this point when he clearly still has some love for David, he might have done better. There had to be something there that the evil spirit from YHWH was latching onto, because the spirit needs something to build with. When YHWH brought out the latent wish in David to number his people because he really trusted in that for his security (2 Shmu'el 24), he responded in the right way, despite the need for punishment, because he ended up gaining the Temple Mount in the process.22. So David responded by saying, "Here is the king's spear! Let one of the young men come over and get it! This is enough to remind Sha'ul of why David cannot take him up on his offer. The last few times David saw that spear, it was aimed at him. But the fact that David will not even kill the servant who comes to get it should confirm to Sha'ul that David has no malice toward him.23. "And may YHWH return to each his righteousness and hid faithfulness, in that YHWH gave you into my hand today, yet I would not consent to stretch out my hand against YHWH's anointed. 24. "And indeed, just as your life was magnified in my eyes today, let my life be likewise magnified in the eyes of YHWH so that He may snatch me out of every tight spot!" It might make more sense to say, "May my life be magnified in your eyes", but David knows it is more important that YHWH be the one to compensate him for the right attitude he demonstrated.25. And Sha'ul said to David, "You are blessed, my son David; you will certainly both accomplish [this] and be able to prevail [much further]!" So David went on his way, and Sha'ul returned to his place. Aramaic, "You will indeed rule and you will indeed be successful." This time Sha'ul did turn out to be right in that he would never harm David again, though this may not have been to his credit, as he did not have much longer to live and no one got to see whether he would go back to his old ways again. David wisely did not feel it was safe to return home yet, but stayed "on the road".
David was probably not acting chiefly from fear. He may simply have not wanted to tempt YHWH; since YHWH had not specifically told him not to leave the Land at all, he took wise steps toward safety and YHWH took care of the part he could not guarantee. This appeared to be his best option, because he has had two close calls with Sha'ul, and it seemed foolish to stay there. His own countrymen have betrayed him twice, YHWH has told him not to stay in Moav to the east. To the north was Sha'ul's kingdom, and to the south, desert. There was only one place left--the territory to the west. Sha'ul was probably not strong enough without David to follow him into Filistine territory. But the mere fact that this is called Filistine territory is tragic, for it was deeded to the Israelite tribe of Yehudah. But because it was not guarded, it became in fact someone else's. This is a sobering warning to us about our stewardship of the things YHWH "talents" us with.2. So David (he and the 600 men who were with him) arose and went over to Akhish, the son of Maokh, the king of Gath, Akhish was a Filistine king. Again David seeks refuge right in the very hometown of Golyath!3. and David remained with Akhish in Gath--he and his men (each with his household, and David with both of his wives, Akhinoam the Yizre'elitess and Avigayil the wife of Naval the Karmelitess). With the prospect of settling down for a change, David's men can all bring their families.4. When it was reported to Sha'ul that David had gotten through to Gath, he no longer searched for him any more. 5. And David said to Akhish, "Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the countryside so I can live there, because why should your servant live in the royal city along with you?" In the countryside: i.e., away from the main hubs of Filistine life. There was undoubtedly a large bounty on his head in Gath. This may have been one reason David did not stick around there, and he also would not have wanted those under his charge to be unduly influenced by Filistine ways. But he is the master diplomat in the way he presents his request. Josephus says he was ashamed to be a burden to one who had received him so hospitably.6. So Akhish gave him Tziqlag on that [very] day; therefore Tziqlag has belonged to the kings of Yehudah to this day. I.e., to the day this historybook was written, apparently a substantial number of generations after David. Now he has a place to call "home" again. Note that hereby David is already being called the king of Yehudah. Everyone he meets seems to be convinced that he will one day be king--even Sha'ul! As a foreshadowing of Yahshua, then, his kingdom is being established from outside his territory, while he is surrounded by foreigners. He is essentially already a king in exile, and now he has a city-state full of subjects already. Akhish has unwittingly arranged for this to be facilitated by their seclusion there. Tziqlag means "winding", and is located east of the area more densely populated by the Filistines, and about 8 miles (13 km.) north of Be'er-Sheva.7. Now the [total] amount of time David lived in the Filistine countryside was [a full year of] days and four months. Days: often an idiom for a full year in Hebrew, but Josephus has "four months and twenty days".8. Then David and his men went up and raided the G'shurites, the Girzites, and the Amaleqites, because they had been the inhabitants of the land for ages as you come to Shur and the land of Egypt. The Geshurites had not been fully defeated after Y'hoshua began the conquest. (Y'hoshua 13:2, 13) Girzites: thought to be a variant of Gezerites, the Kanaanite inhabitants of a city between Dan's and Efrayim's tribal territories, just north of where the Filistines lived. YHWH had specifically targeted the Amaleqites for annihilation. (Ex. 17:14-16; Deut. 25:17-19) So David was not wasting his time while in exile. He did not let self-pity or thoughts of revenge against Sha'ul clutter his plans, so he could clearly see how he could best serve Israel's interests even while he could not live there himself. After Y'hoshua, Israel had left the Torah's command to rid the Land of its Kanaanite inhabitants unfinished, so he picks up where they left off.9. And David attacked the land and left neither man nor woman alive, and he took sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing. Then he returned and approached Akhish, He apparently gave some of the spoils to Akhish.10. and Akhish said, "Didn't you make a raid today?" And David said, "On the south [side] of Yehudah, and on the south [side] of the Y'rakhme'elites, and to the south of the Qenites." Didn't you…? The implication seems to be, "Where did you…?" The Y'rakhme'elites are a branch of the tribe of Yehudah (1 Chron. 2:9ff), and the Qenites were the tribe from which Moshe's in-laws had come, and had been allied with Israel to varying degrees ever since. (15:6; Judges 4:11) David was clearing the extremities of Yehudah of the remnants of the pagan Kanaanite nations, preparing it for when he would reign over it, while reporting to the Filistine king that he was attacking his own people, apparently to ingratiate himself to Akhish so he could continue to live in a place that was under his jurisdiction.11. But David did not leave [either] a man or a woman alive to bring [word] to Gath, saying, "…Lest they bring a report concerning us, saying, 'This is what David did.'" And this was his practice the whole time he lived in the Filistine countryside. If he left any survivor to escape, Akhish might found out that he had lied to him about where he was making the raids. He had no qualms about committing what would today be considered war crimes, for this is exactly what YHWH had said to do to the Kanaanites living within the actual Land of Israel, without asking any questions. (e.g., Deut. 7:2)12. And Akhish believed David, saying, "He has caused [too big a] stink among his people in Israel, and he has become a permanent servant to me!" He may have assumed Naval's attitude toward David was more widespread, since most people preferred peace and stability, everything else being equal. Though he knew David was powerful, he thought David had overdone things to the point of falling out of favor with his own people, not just with the king, probably because he was now a renegade, which only appeals to a certain few. We have already seen with the Zifites that people who are interested in protecting their interests prefer stability even if it is not ideal over too much upheaval, and David, he thought, was just too unpredictable for most peace-loving people to tolerate. Surely he would not consider himself welcome back in his own land, and where else could he go? Akhish thought he had him "all sewn up in the bag"! But this was the same attitude the Sh'khemites had about Israel when it was still a tiny nation, and look what became of them. We are not told that Akhish met a similar end, but note how everyone wants David to be their servant! Sha'ul had a legitimate claim to him, albeit temporary, but no one else but YHWH does. But the fact that David is so tuned in to serving is what would make him such a great king.
This was no small matter, for, though they were from different tribes than his own, these were still his brothers he would be asked to kill. But David seems to have little choice at this moment but to take the next step and go along with Akhish, who has been more of a benefactor to David than his own countrymen, and see what doors YHWH might open.2. So David said to Akhish, "Therefore you know what your servant will do." So Akhish said to David, "For [doing] the same I will appoint you as permanent guardian of my company." You know what your servant will do: i.e., "Then I'll be there for you." Alt., "This way you will know what your servant can do", as if to demonstrate his skill. Company: idiomatic in military settings where two or more divisions are present; literally, head. He could be saying, "You will be my personal bodyguard." And essentially there would be little difference, because the king's personal guard would be second in rank in the nation anyway. This was designed to give David added incentive to do a job he knew would have to be distasteful to him. 3. Now when Shmu'el had died and all of Israel were mourning him and burying him in Ramah (his [home]town), Sha'ul had banished from the Land all who evoked the dead and [all] mediums. All who evoked the dead: the term is a feminine one, implying that only women normally filled this role. Mediums: literally, knowers--necromancers, wizards, soothsayers, those with familiar spirits. This term is a masculine one. Both of these are punishable by stoning in the Torah. (Lev. 20:27) Because one should seek YHWH for such matters instead (Yeshayahu/Isa. 8:19), He considers going to such soothsayers or fortune-tellers an abomination (Deut. 18:10-13) and a form of prostitution, saying He will cut off from their people those who do so. (Lev. 20:6) Had Sha'ul banished them at this time because Shmu'el's trainees were not as strong as Shmu'el had been against his counterparts on the dark side? Were they less able to counter their influence? Was he rising to the challenge because he had no prophet left to counsel him to keep Torah and so he had to act on his own? Or did he simply want no one to be able to divine what he was up to?4. When the Filistines were in the process of assembling and coming to encamp at Shunem, Sha'ul assembled all of Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. 5. When Sha'ul saw the Filistine camp, he was afraid and his heart was extremely anxious. Anxious: literally, trembling, being full of terror. This intimidation was the effect the Filistines intended in moving their army in such an open and obvious way. Because David was with them, they knew Sha'ul was no longer a match for them, and did not need to come stealthily. Their army may also have been much larger than he anticipated, so this mighty warrior was now cowering. The first time we find the word "afraid" in Scripture, it is immediately after Adam had disobeyed YHWH. (3:10) Avram was told not to fear because YHWH would be his shield. (15:1) Because Sha'ul was inconsistent in his obedience to YHWH's instruction, he had no such confidence. If we are walking in Torah, we have nothing to fear.6. So Sha'ul inquired of YHWH, but YHWH did not answer him, either by dreams, by urim, or by prophets. This tells us that these were the ways YHWH normally did answer inquiries. There was not a question of whether to defend Israel or not, so he is probably mainly interested in what the outcome will be for himself personally, or he may have been asking for a particular strategy. The priests were probably unwilling to seek an answer for Sha'ul since he had killed so many of them. Shmu'el was gone, and the other prophets were probably still occupied with mourning for him. So when Sha'ul needs light, none is offered. Urim: the special form of lots that the high priest (and possibly other priests at this time) carried in the pocket behind their efod by which YHWH gave some form of answer, either "yes/no" or possibly somehow spelling out words by reflecting a gleam on the letters of the names of the tribes of Israel on the breastplate. The exact method is not known. But it may be significant that there is only one other passage in which urim ("lights") are mentioned without their counterpart, thummim ("perfections"), and that is in Numbers 27:17-21, where YHWH was about to take Moshe from Israel. The urim speak of YHWH's revelation. The root meaning behind thummim is "integrity" or "innocence". In 14:41, Sha'ul had used it to try to prove his innocence. That he knew he was no longer innocent may be why he did not even ask for the thummim here. He wanted YHWH's revelation for a specific situation, but did not want YHWH's intervention in every aspect of his life--the "completeness" the thummim represent. He has not taken the time to know the Torah well, because he is used to depending on someone else to know it for him, so he wants a quick fix--a sign rather than understanding. But YHWH's people perish for lack of knowledge. (Hoshea 4:6) He is not prepared, so he needs a plan. He is lost without a guide, and unlike David, who is able to go with the flow because he has the underlying preparation of a strong knowledge of the Torah, Sha'ul is so unprincipled that he even breaks the rules he himself has correctly made:7. So Sha'ul said to his servants, "Search out for me a woman possessing a familiar spirit so that I can go to her [as a last] resort." And his servants told him, "Here at Eyn Dor is a woman possessing a familiar spirit!" 8. So Sha'ul disguised himself and put on other clothing, and went--he and two of the men with him. And they came to the woman at night, and he said, "Please divine for me by the familiar spirit, and bring up for me whomever I tell you!" Clothing: the particular word itself means "a cloak", from a root word meaning "treachery" or "deceit".9. But the woman told him, "Look, you know what Sha'ul has done--how he has cut off from the Land all who evoke the dead and [all] mediums! So why are you laying a snare for my life, to have me executed?" At least she was obeying the law, however unwillingly it might have been.10. But Sha'ul swore to her by YHWH, saying, "[As surely as] YHWH lives, if any consequence [for wrongdoing] befalls you for this matter…" Not only does he go to a woman for advice; he promises not to punish her for something the Torah says must be punished.11. So the woman said, "So whom shall I bring up for you?" And he said, "Bring up Shmu'el for me!" 12. When the woman saw Shmu'el, she started crying out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Sha'ul to say, "Why have you set me up, when you [yourself] are Sha'ul?" Set me up: beguiled, misled, betrayed, hurled upward. When she recognized that this was the real Shmu'el, as opposed to whatever impostor-spirits she was used to calling up, she knew this was no ordinary session with her clientele. This time she heard a real voice. Did she know it was Sha'ul because no one else would be foolish enough--or have the clout--to call up the real prophet? She then deduced that Sha'ul was conducting a "sting" in person to hunt out the mediums who were still willing to use their "art" when paid enough.13. And the king said, "Do not be afraid, because--what did you see?!" And the woman said to Sha'ul, "I saw elohim coming up out of the earth!" It seems he realizes it is not only himself that is terrifying her. Elohim: "mighty ones", a term used for human judges and quite often of YHWH himself. This may give some indication of how awe-inspiring a righteous person would look to mortals after they have put on immortality! It may give us a hint as to why Thomas reacted like he did upon seeing the resurrected Yahshua, and why so many have been tempted to worship him. Yahshua was therefore not the first to be thought of in this way, for elohim often means "mighty ones" or "judges", but in a Hebraic context, there are clear limits on how far the concept of a man as elohim can be taken.14. And he said to her, "What does he look like?" And she said, "An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in an outer garment [bespeaking rank]!" When Sha'ul recognized that it was Shmu'el, he stooped with his nostrils to the earth and prostrated himself. What does he look like: literally, What is his shape, form, figure, or outline? Garment: specifically of the type a high priest would wear over his robe and under his efod--the one with the bells and pomegranates on it. (Ex. 28:4ff) Y'honathan also wore a similar garment (18:4) and gave it to David, and Sha'ul himself had been wearing such a garment when David cut off its corner. (24:4) Shmu'el's mother had made one for him each year (2:19), and it was this type of garment that Sha'ul had torn when he was begging him not to let YHWH forsake him. (15:27) No wonder Sha'ul recognized it!15. But Shmu'el said to Sha'ul, "Why have you bothered me, to bring me up?" And Sha'ul said, "I am in dire straits, and the Filistines are engaging me in battle, and Elohim has turned away from being upon me, and has not answered me anymore, either by the hand of prophets or by dreams, so I summoned you to let me know what I should do." Bothered me: It is as if his rest is being disturbed.16. But Shmu'el said, "Why would you ask me, when YHWH has turned away from you and become the one who is irritating you? Irritating you: as an adversary; from a root word meaning to arouse, awaken, or incite. He had done just that to Shmu'el! YHWH had turned away from him long ago (14:37; 15:23-26), but he was still answering David. (23:4; 30:8)17. "And YHWH has accomplished for Himself what He spoke through my hand--that is, YHWH will tear the dominion out of your hands, and give it to your fellow [citizen]--to David. Fellow: though Sha'ul was from Israel and David from Yehudah, they are counted members of the same nation.18. "As you did not obey the voice of YHWH or carry out the full fury of His anger on Amaleq, on account of the same, YHWH is doing this thing to you this day. David had not been told directly to destroy Amaleq as Sha'ul had, but because he knew the Torah (Ex. 17:14; Deut. 25:17-19), he was doing so anyway. (27:8)19. "And YHWH will deliver Israel along with you into the hand of the Filistines, and tomorrow you and your sons [will be] with me; YHWH will also give the camp of Israel into the hand of the Filistines." With me: that is, in the ground. Shmu'el had warned Sha'ul once (15:23) that rebellion was as bad as witchcraft in YHWH's eyes, and since he did not deal with that in himself, he comes fully into witchcraft, filling up the cup of YHWH's wrath toward him.20. And Sha'ul quickly fell his full height to the earth and was greatly frightened by Shmu'el's words. Also, there was no strength left in him, because he had not eaten any bread the whole day or the whole night. Apparently he did not kneel down slowly, but fell on his face from the full extent of his stature, which was great.21. Then the woman came to Sha'ul, and saw that he was very harried. And she said to him, "Look, your maid-servant has obeyed your voice, and I have been putting my life in my own hands when I listened to your words which you spoke to me. 22. "So now, please, you listen to the voice of your maid-servant too, so that I can set before you a piece of bread, and eat, so there will be strength in you when you walk on the road!" 23. But he started to refuse and said, "I'm not going to eat!" But when both his servants and the woman got through to him, so he listened to them and got up from the ground and sat on the couch. Got through to him: i.e., compelled him, prevailed on him; literally, broke in on him. He had been offered bread on several occasions (10:4; 16:20), but then it was always accompanied by wine--a symbol of joy, which he is not meant to have at this time. But bread is a picture of community (1 Qorinthians 10:17), and it is designed to strengthen a man's heart (Psalm 104:15). This was to remind him that though he now knew that neither he nor his sons would survive another day, he still had the responsibility to motivate his army to be heroic in battle, so he had to rally his energies for their sake, despite his personal grief. (Proverbs 31:4-5 also says it is not fitting for kings to drink wine at times when they need to exercise judgment, and leading his whole army into battle was definitely one of those times.)24. Now the woman had a stall-fattened calf at home, so she hurried and slaughtered it, and took some flour and kneaded it, and baked it into unleavened loaves. As at the Passover, there was no time to let the bread rise. And the death angel would indeed meet him that very day (as the Hebrew day begins at sunset, which had already passed). But though leaven is a picture of sin during that week, when it is not the feast of Unleavened Bread, leaven is a picture of the permeation of the kingdom (Mat. 13:33), so this is symbolic of the fact that the kingdom is being taken from Sha'ul.25. And she presented it before Sha'ul and before his servants, and they ate, and got up and went during that night. One would expect her to be paid by Sha'ul for her services, but she is the one giving to him. Whether her motivation was pure or out of fear of being slaughtered herself, it is noteworthy that in Israel, even the condemned show hospitality after the fashion of Avraham; how dare we do any less?
Afeq is in the westernmost part of Efrayim's territory about 8 miles north of today's Ben Gurion Airport and ten miles from the coast. To get to Shunem, they would cross the pass over Mt. Karmel at Megiddo into the Yizre'el Valley. At this point they were still 35 miles away from Shunem, so this is apparently a flashack. Yizre'el would later be King Akhav's capital. It is located, as one would suppose, right on the southern edge of the Yizre'el Valley near the end of Mt. Gilboa barely three miles from Shunem, where the Filistines would camp. (28:4)2. And the rulers of the Filistines were traveling by hundreds and thousands, but David and his men were traveling the furthest to the rear with Akhish. 3. But the captains of the Filistines said, "What's with these Hebrews?" And Akhish said to the Filistine captains, "Isn't this David, the servant of Sha'ul, king of Israel, who has been with me these days--or [rather] these years? And I have not found anything [wrong] with him since the day he fell [away to me] until this day!" Though there were only 600 with David, these thousands of soldiers still felt threatened by David's presence. They must have continued to dress as Hebrews--with untrimmed beards and tzitziyoth--to still be recognizeable as such. Hebrews literally means "those on or from the other side", so their very ethnicity sounded foreboding to these Filistines. However, they were hypocrites, because the word for "traveling" in v. 2 is from the same root word as "Hebrews", so they too had just been Hebrews in the loosest sense. But in Scripture when people are called Hebrews, it is often in the context of being servants (e.g., Gen. 39:14; 41:12; Ex. 1:15; Deut. 15:12) Thus what we cross over from is self--into servanthood.4. But the captains of the Filistines were displeased with him. So the captains of the Filistines said to him, "Make this man go back so he can return to his place where you have assigned him [to be], and he can't go down to war with us, so he won't turn into an adversary to us in the battle, since with what could he get himself [back] in favor with his master? Wouldn't it be with these men's heads?! Displeased: the term does not mean "mildly"! They were seeing the obvious, which Akhish was blissfully ignoring. They have the same type of concern that the Pharaoh of the Exodus had when the Israelites were multiplying in their midst. It seems there was somewhat of a democracy among the Filistines, that the king could not overrule the rulers of smaller groupings within his kingdom.5. "Isn't this David, to whom they respond with dances, saying, 'Sha'ul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands?'" Respond: Possibly singing antiphonally. It does not escape them that it was tens of thousands of Filistines in particular that he had been killing when this song made its rounds among Israel. But Akhish is so oblivious to David's tricking him (28:7-12) that the obvious irony is lost on him.6. So Akhish called David and said, "[As surely as] YHWH lives, though you are straight up, and as I see it your going out and coming in with me in the camp [has been] valuable (because I haven't found [any] mischief in you since the day you came to me until this day)--still, the way the rulers of the Filistines see it, you're not appropriate. As YHWH lives: It was in YHWH's name that Golyath has been killed, so even Akhish knows He is indeed alive, though he is probably just playing to David's beliefs, knowing that it would be offensive to him if he said, "Ad=s Dagon lives…"! Haven't found: David kept his mischief well-hidden.(28:7-12), as it was not directed against Akhish in particular, but neither were his actions on his behalf, but rather for YHWH and Israel.7. "So now, go back--and go peacefully so the rulers of the Filistines won't see anything wrong with your behavior." If David left quietly, the king insinuates that next time he might be able to go to battle with them. Or he may be saying they will let David live if he does not show himself upset over this ruling.8. But David said to Akhish, "But [why?] What have I done? And what have you found [wrong] with your servant since the day I came to be in your presence until this day, that I shouldn't go and fight against the enemies of my master, the king?" David does not specify which king he is talking about, thus added to the Filistines' uncertainty about him. He is intentionally vague so that Akhish does not have too much information to work with.9. And Akhish replied and said to David, "I know--because, as I see it, you're as valuable as an angel of Elohim! It's just that the captains of the Filistines have said, "He can't go up with us into battle!" Angels of Elohim won many battles for Israel! (e.g., 2 Kings 6:17; 2 Chron. 32:21) He was probably just speaking flattery in order to make his excuse, but he knows David could help him win his battles as well. However, his men prefer to be certain about the loyalties of all who are with them, even if it diminishes their numbers. This story is a picture of the fact that in the Church, some think Yahshua will belong to them forever, while in fact he is only exiled among them. Others, who notice that he still does resemble a Hebrew, are aware that he is not really one of them, and that he can only be tolerated if he stays in the place they have assigned to him (v. 4); of course, he will do no such thing. Over 600 years after Yahshua they were still some who saw past the Roman smokescreen to what he had really been like, and they were called "neo-Jews". It is the same for those who are returning to Torah today.10. "So now, bite the bullet! You and the servants of your master who have come with you get up early in the morning [as soon as] there is light for you, and go." Bite the bullet: literally, shoulder the burden, but often also an idiom for "rise early" (as the same phrase is translated later in the sentence).11. So David arose early--[both] he and his men--to leave in the morning to go back to the territory of the Filistines, while the Filistines proceeded up to Yizre'el. Thus David was not with Akhish by the time Sha'ul could literally see the armies assembling, though certainly his watchmen would have reported the Filistines' positions to him long before that. Things might actually have turned out better for Sha'ul if David had been with Akhish; he might have only been taken prisoner of war. YHWH got David off the hook from being in the position to have to choose between two loyalties--one to a benefactor and one to his flesh and blood. Imagine how much harder it would have been for David to win the hearts of the northern kingdom if he had been fighting against Israel in Sha'ul's last battle; he would have indeed been suspected of trying to take his throne forcefully after all. This was not his battle; it was topave the way for him to step into the role already promised him. (Compare Yeshayahu/Isa. 26:20.) But He also had another reason David needed to be back at Tziqlag…
2. But they took the women who were in it captive, from the least to the greatest; they did not kill anyone, but led them away and went on their way. Did not kill anyone: literally, did not kill a man. Yet they only took women, because the men were all with David. This was only a raid for plunder, not a militarily-motivated attack, although it might have been for the purpose of revenge against David, who had raided some of the Amaleqite towns.3. So while David and his men were coming toward the city, lo and behold, it had been burned with fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive! They could probably see the smoke still going up while they were at a distance, though most of the city would have been constructed of stone and would not burn well.4. Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept until there was no strength left in them to weep. 5. Now the two wives of David had been taken captive–Akhinoam the Yizreelitess and Avigayil the wife of Naval, the Karmelitess, 6. and it put David in dire straits, because the people were talking about stoning him [to death], since the soul of all the people was embittered--[each] man about his sons and daughters. But David [started] taking a firmer hold on YHWH his Elohim. This raid added injury to the insult of being excluded from the battle, and to top it off, the men were blaming him that it had taken place! Remember that besides his own brothers, many of the people who joined themselves to David's army were of the bandit or pirate sort, running from their responsibilities. They were not the cream of society's crop! David, however, had channeled their energies in a positive direction, but it is not surprising that when the protection he had seemed to promise was removed, they became mutinous. Taking a firmer hold: or, strengthening himself, encouraging himself. This is the best thing we can do in any such situation. He knew his own limits and the limits of human strength or comfort, and went to the true source of help. He did not let the distress overpower him. He knew YHWH had a purpose even in this, and that he belonged to YHWH. He undoubtedly drew on his reserve of Torah knowledge to recall what YHWH had done for all of Israel in the past, and what He had done in his own life. He may have written a psalm in the vein of Psalm 42:5. It is to our shame that we often wait until all our other resources run out to remember to call on YHWH, but because David habitually turned to Him, he was able able to keep his head about him when everyone else was speaking out of their emotions. The army was no longer unified, so he chose not to remain in depression, but did something about the problem so that they would not all begin killing one another. When we strengthen ourselves in YHWH instead of buckling under pressure, we strengthen ourselves in other men's eyes as well, as David did here, recovering his control of those under his leadership.7. And David said to Evyathar the priest (the son of Akhimelekh), "Please bring the efod near to me." So Evyathar brought the efod to David, Part of strengthening himself in YHWH was simply remembering that he had at his disposal the ability to inquire of Him rather than be left to his own devices alone. Since Sha'ul had gone to another priest to inquire, this seems to be evidence that there were more than one set of urim and thummim in use throughout the Land--or at least urim, as Sha'ul had not mentioned thummim among his means of seeking YHWH's revelation. (28:6)8. and David inquired of YHWH, saying, "Should I chase after this band of marauders? Can I overtake it?" And He said to him, "Pursue, because you will certainly overtake and fully recover [everything]." 9. So David went--he and 600 men who were with him. When they came to the seasonal torrent of the B'sor, those who had been left behind remained [there], Who had been left behind: apparently those whom the Amaleqite raiders did not consider valuable enough to take across the deep canyon. (see note on v. 10.)10. but David [kept up the] chase--he and 400 men, while 200 men who were too exhausted to cross over the torrent of the B'sor stayed [behind]. B'sor: the wadi that runs past Be'er-sheva' to the Mediterranean south of 'Azzah (Gaza). On the other side was the Amaleqite territory. Being a seasonal streambed, it was dry most of the year, but now it may have been in its flood stage and too dangerous to cross if one was not strong. Even if it was dry, because of flash floods, such valleys became deeper with each rainy season, and had high cliffs on both sides so that they had to descend a steep bank and ascend another after crossing the possibly-raging river. So this was no easy feat.11. Then they found an Egyptian man in the field and took him to David, and they gave him bread, and he ate it, and they had him drink water. Most of the others left behind would have been women, children, or the aged. This man was young, so he stood out as one who was not taken in the raid and likely to know of the marauders' route. Had him drink: or, made him drink. They needed to revive him to be able to get information from him.12. And they gave him a piece [they] sliced off a lump of pressed figs and two raisin clusters, and when he had eaten, his spirit came back to him, because he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. Spirit: breath or vigor. It seems he was very near death, as this is about the limit of how long one can go without water. They gave him bread and water, symbols of community and the Torah, as well as figs and the fruit of the vine, symbols of the Kingdom, and he was "resurrected".13. And David said to him, "To whom do you belong? And where are you from?" And he said, "I am an Egyptian youth, a servant belonging to an Amaleqite man, but my master abandoned me because I became sick three days [ago]. Belong: He must have had some mark of being a slave. Knowing the Amaleqites' cruelty, he may have even been branded. Youth: often another term for a low-ranking servant. Three days ago: literally, the day three or today three. The Amaleqites were best known for preying on the weakest, who straggled behind (Deut. 25:17-18)--omething YHWH especially hated them for--but now they were leaving some of their own behind to be prey for others!14. "We stripped the Negev of the Kherethites and [made raids] on what belongs to Yehudah and on Kalev's Negev, and we burned Tziqlag with fire." Kherethites: or, executioners; another name for the proto-Filistines. The Egyptians or Amaleqites may still have called the Filistines by this name. They later became mercenary soldiers who served as a bodyguard for David. When he heard him mention Tziqlag, he had David's full attention.15. So David said to him, "Can you bring me down to this band of raiders?" And he said, "Swear to me by Elohim [that you will] neither have me killed nor deliver me, bound, into the hand of my master, and I will bring you down to this raiding band." He expected David to want to kill him since he had destroyed his home. He used what leverage he had to benefit himself as well as David. Apparently David did swear not to return him to a master who did not care enough for him to treat him when ill. David did as much as he could; he would have been able to follow the tracks of so many people and cattle until they came to the river, where the Amaleqites could have gone upstream or downstream to "lose" anyone who might follow their trail. But now YHWH had provided guidance in the form of a guide.16. When he brought them down, there they were, hanging loose over the whole surface of the land, eating, drinking, and staggering in dance [at a feast] with all the great plunder that they had taken from the land of the Filistines and from the land of Yehudah. Apparently David did swear to it, whether out of compassion or because he had little choice. Hanging loose: having let down their guard completely, assuming there was no one who would bother them, since the Filistines, Sha'ul's army, and supposedly David, were all occupied elsewhere. They were also engaged in loose living. Josephus adds the details that they lay scattered all over the ground, some drunk, and all divested of their armor, some asleep because of their full bellies, so that even those who had time to put their armor back on were easy to kill.17. So David attacked them from the [first] breeze [of morning] all the way up to the evening twilight of their next day, and not a man of them escaped, except 400 young men who mounted the camels and fled. It sounds as if they might have fought them for two whole days. This must have been a very large army, if 400 is a mere "drop in the bucket" that is hardly worth mentioning. Yet 400 is still an idiom for an army, indicating that there were still enough to recover their strength and remain a threat. These 400 were young--possibly the only ones not too drunk to keep their balance on camels! One of these Amaleqites who survived may have been Agag's son, from whom Haman would later have been born. Sha'ul must have spared more than Agag, too, unless this particular clan of Amaleqites had not been among those present when Shmu'el told him to annihilate them.18. Thus David recovered all that Amaleq had taken, and David rescued both of his wives, 19. and nothing of theirs was missing from the insignificant to the important--both sons and daughters, neither spoils nor anything that they had taken for themselves--David brought it all back. "The blessing of YHWH enriches, and He adds no hardship with it." (Prov. 10:22)20. And David seized the whole flock and the whole herd that they drove ahead of these possessions, and they said, "This is David's spoil." Had David been off battling with Akhish, he probably would never have caught up with the Amaleqites before the women were ravished, so though he was disappointed that he could not go to war, it was a blessing after all to be sent back. Possessions: or, cattle/herds. 21. When David came to the 200 men who followed David who had been too exhausted to go [on]--those whom they had let stay at the seasonal torrent of the B'sor, they came out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. So David approached them and asked about their welfare. This was his welcoming party. Making sure they had recovered their strength was more of a priority to him than telling them what YHWH had allowed them to do in the battle.22. But every evil and worthless man [among] the people who had gone with David responded by saying, "Because they did not go with us, we won't give them any of the plunder that we have snatched, except [to give] each man his wife and children, and they can lead them away and go!" Some of the stronger ones may have been Shim'onites, known for their military prowess, and who lived among the tribe of Yehudah. In any case, they despised their weaker brothers, forgetting that it was YHWH who had given them any strength they had to go on. Josephus says they accused those who had stayed behind of pretending to be weak because they did not want to go on and fight, and said they should be glad to just have their families back!23. But David said, "My brothers, you'll do no such thing with what YHWH has given us, when He has protected us and given the band of raiders that came over us into our hands! 24. "So who should listen to you in this matter? Because the share of the one who goes down into battle is the same as the share of the one who stays with the equipment. They will [all] divide the plunder together." This way they could all give tithes to the priest among them. David recognized that both roles were integral to an army's smooth functioning. If they were not fit for one aspect of the battle, they could be faithful in another, and so they proved to be. Knowing the Torah, he recognized that if their minds were elsewhere, they would not be able to focus on fighting. None of them had houses or wives to go back to (cf. Deut. 20:5-8), but the stress of their loss coupled with their anger and the strenuous chase must have "taken the fight out" of some, and only those with more natural endurance were able to keep going, aided onward, no doubt, by YHWH's promise of success. This would have channeled their remaining energy into this more profitable goal than that of killing David. What a wise and benevolent king he would make! He proved he deserved to be a leader of all of YHWH's people, not just those who were as strong or adept at battle as himself.25. And so it was from that day forward that he made it a decree and a ruling for Israel to this day. Forward: literally, "and upward". Note that he was already enacting laws in Israel, though he did not yet wear the crown, for he knew he had the right to do so. At this point it only applied to those who were with him, but now, if our king's ancestor has established this decree, it applies to us as well, since it does not contradict the Torah. He trusted his people to know the Torah well enough to be honorable and not hope for the easier task each time. 26. When David arrived at Tziqlag, he sent some of the spoils to the elders of Yehudah--his fellows--saying, "Look! Here's a blessing for you from the plunder of YHWH's enemies!" His fellows: literally, those of the same flock--i.e., those who supported him and would not betray him. Before he even rebuilds his city, he sends a tribute to those who rule over him, out of gratitude for shaping him into what he is. He was also a masterful politician; knowing that the throne would soon be his, he endeared himself to those he would soon need to rule, while they still ruled over him, showing that he valued the advisory role they would have toward him. These were the "dividends"--the literal "shares" of "stock" from YHWH's "profits". What looked like a very bad situation actually turned out to be an occasion to bless his friends as well.27. [He sent it] to those who were in Beyth-El ["house of Elohim"], to those in the Negev Heights, to those in Yathir ["plenty"], He gave a share to those who already had plenty, because, as with the half sheqel Temple tribute, rich and poor alike have a part in what belongs to YHWH.28. to those in Aroer ["ruins"], to those in Sifmoth ["fruitful"], to those in Eshtemoa ["I will make myself heard"], 29. to those in Rakhal ["trade/traffic"], to those in the cities of the Y'rakhme'elites, to those in the cities of the Qeynites, Y'rakhme'elites, Qeynites: These are the peoples he told King Akhish he had plundered (27:10); instead, he was actually enriching them! Some of these peoples might have been others who had been raided at the same time as Tziqlag.30. to those in Hormah ["devotion"], to those in Khor-Ashan ["smoky furnace"], to those in 'Atakh ["lodging place'], 31. to those in Hevron ["best friend"], and to all the places where David had gone along with his men. He was repaying their hospitality as soon as he was able. Hevron would soon become David's "best friend", and YHWH's best friend, Avraham, was buried there.
2. and the Filistines pursued Sha'ul and his sons closely [and overtook them], and the Filistines struck down Y'honathan, Avinadav, and Malkhishua, Sha'ul's sons. We now resume the story of Sha'ul and his army at Yizre'el. The historian Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews 6:14:7) says they fought bravely and killed many men in the process, knowing all they could hope for was to die honorably. Avinadav: seems to be the same as the Yishwi of 14:49.3. And the battle was heavily-weighted against Sha'ul, and the shooters--men with bows--found him, and he was badly wounded by [these] archers. Wounded: literally, made to writhe in anguish. Sha'ul was recognizable because he had his crown on (2 Shmu'el 1:10), and may have been the only Israelite with a chariot. David fought YHWH's battles (25:28; 27:8), so YHWH fought his. (17:47-50; 25:39) The day had finally come when David's request that YHWH judge between himself and Sha'ul (24:12) was being granted. Shooters: from the same root word from which "Torah" stems, so Sha'ul was now being judged by the Torah that he had not learned well! Found him: i.e., hit their target.4. So Sha'ul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and run me through with it, lest these uncircumcised [ones] come and thrust me through and make a fool of me." But his armor-bearer was not willing [to do so], because he was very afraid. So Sha'ul took the sword and fell on it. Make a fool of me: or, abuse me, deal severely with me, play with me like a child. His worst fear was of not being quite killed by the Filistines. The term has the sense of inserting something, and some have even rendered it "roll themselves on me", hinting that the Filistines might sodomize him. (It is used in a similar way in Judges 19:25.) The fact that they were uncircumcised made the thought even worse. So he robbed the Filistines of the occasion for their games. A precedent for this type of suicide is found in Gid'on's son Avimelekh. (Judges 9:54) Afraid: David confirmed that he very well should have been. (2 Shmu'el 1:14) Sha'ul was supposed to kill the king of Amaleq, but since he did not, he ended up killing the king of Israel instead.5. When his armor-bearer saw that Sha'ul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. Was this to honor his master with the idea that "If I can no longer serve you I no longer wish to live"? The practice of a widow dying with her husband has survived in the east until very recently, and this may be another instance of the same basic sentiment. Egyptian pharaohs have been known to have had up to 400 of their servants sealed into their tombs with them. The servant may have been desperate, fearing abuse by the enemy as Sha'ul had, but he may simply have felt that he had nowhere else to go now that his master, who had been providing for him, was dead. Despite how difficult it must have been to work for Sha'ul, this man showed devotion to him until the end.6. So Sha'ul, three of his sons, his armor-bearer, and all of his men died together that day. He lost his entire army. Should he, upon knowing that he was going to die that day, have dismissed his men to a safer place and hoped salvation would come for them from some other source, or did he do the only thing that could be done by trying to defend the rest of his nation, even though it would cost him his life? Shmu'el had told him twice that his army would be lost with him (28:19), indicating that it would be very difficult to change, but the fact that it was not said three times might have still left the door open for Sha'ul to repent. But he did not. Not all of his sons died with him (2 Shmu'el 2:8; 21:8), so David would still have some intrigues to deal with from would-be heirs to Sha'ul's throne. But the only son who would be truly worthy of the position (even if not as militarily savvy as David) had died with him, due to no fault of his own, but simply because of his father's failures.7. When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and who were on the other side of the Yarden saw that that the men of Israel had fled and that Sha'ul and his sons had died, they abandoned the cities and escaped, and the Filistines came and lived in them. "Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered." (Zkh. 13:7) They no longer had a professional army to defend them. This had only become the norm since Sha'ul came to power; prior to that the people of each city or even each wealthy landowner defended his own territory. Since there had been a full-time army to represent them, most people had probably become lazy about their military skills and thus had no confidence about attacking such a large army. So the Filistines greatly expanded their holdings and cut Israel's territory in two--the very thing a "covenant cutting" specifies as the penalty for the party that fails to keep its side of the agreement. David was the reason they had been doing so well prior to this; with him away from the army, they could not expect YHWH's favor, just like those who think they are doing well enough in Torah to be able to dispense with Yahshua altogether.8. And it turned out that on the next day when the Filistines came to strip the slain, they found Sha'ul and his three sons fallen at Mount Gilboa. 9. So they cut off his head and stripped off his weapons, and sent them all around the territory of the Filistines, to announce the glad news to the house of their carved [idols] and to the people [as a whole]. Most ancient cultures (other than Israel) saw great warriors as semi-divine, so to defeat them would be considered a great feat. Cutting off his head may have been a direct retaliation for what Israel did to Golyath. 1 Chron. 10:10 adds the detail that they fastened his head in the temple of Dagon. Verses 13 and 14 of that chapter clarify that Sha'ul died specifically for his sin of consulting the medium instead of YHWH.10. And they put his weapons in the house of Ashtaroth, and fastened his corpse to the wall of Beyth-Shan. 11. And when the inhabitants of Yaveysh-Gil'ad heard about what the Filistines had done to Sha'ul, 12. all the capable men rose up and walked all night and took the body of Sha'ul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beyth-Shan. When they came to Yaveysh, they burned them there, 13. and took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Yaveysh, and fasted for seven days. Sha'ul had been under a tamarisk tree when he decided to pursue David. (22:6) The term may sometimes refer to a grove of trees at a pagan cultic site. These men who had been spared a terrible humiliation by Sha'ul's military action (chapter 11), and were probably his relatives (Judges 21:1-14), showed their tremendous gratitude to him by this great act of bravery to rescue his memory in turn from this humiliation. They "owed him one" for saving their dignity, not to mention their peripheral vision, and demonstrated their mourning through more extreme measures than most. Despite his many failures, Sha'ul's right choices lived on, bearing fruit worthy of honor in the eyes of those they had benefited. A rabbinic adage says that the greatest act of love for a friend is to bury him, since he could never pay one back for this. His body would later be returned to his own tribal land. (2 Shmu'el 21:14)
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Lamp of Elohim: Apparently Eli was not tending the literal menorah as he was supposed to. (Ex. 27:20) YHWH made it clear that even "from evening until morning" (Lev. 24:2-3), when the Temple was closed to the public, the lamps still were to be in order and burning constantly. Apparently Shmu'el was tending it for him since he was going blind and his sons were more interested in what was outside than in what really mattered most. It was meant to be snuffed out for cleaning (Ex. 37:23), but only one lamp at a time, never all of them at once. But there is again a double meaning here. Before the light of the Torah had been thoroughly extinguished by the actions of Eli's sons (as seen in the previous chapter), YHWH intervened to fan the flame and keep it alive. In the sanctuary: not the Holy of Holies, where the ark was, but possibly in the Holy Place, so he could monitor the condition of the menorah so it would not go out altogether; there is not evidence that there were other rooms around the periphery as in the Temple, though permanent walls had been built around the Tabernacle. (See photo above and note on verse 15.)
The pass between Mikhmash and Giv'ah, one of the few north-south routes through the hill country of Binyamin and Efrayim. Aside from the summit ridge line itself, is the only easily-traversed north-south route through the mountains, because of the many side canyons which make travel difficult anywhere else.
This valley is approximately half a mile or one kilometer wide--broad enough to fight a battle in, but narrow enough to be able to hear communications from one side to the other.
Up: He had been below the escarpment that runs all along the edge of the Rift Valley, and now begins moving up the steep slope again. Eyn-Gedi, or "spring of the goat", is along the cliff line about halfway down the western side of the Dead Sea. It is an oasis in a very dry area, and now is a national park/nature preserve with beautiful waterfalls. But there were substantial settlements and various sorts of plantations along the rivulet in ancient times.
1. But it turned out that when Sha'ul had returned from going after the Filistines, that they reported to him, "Look! David is in the wilderness of Eyn-Gedi!"
Eyn-Gedi
All of Israel: This may have included Yehudah this time, since he now had some allies in that otherwise-separate tribe. Front: literally, faces. Mountain goats: specifically the ibex, from whose horns small shofars are often made. The Hebrew name for it is yael, for which the woman who killed Sisera (Judges 4:17ff) was named. It is still common to see ibex climbing the cliffs in this area.
Familiar spirit: or, a bottle made of animal skins--possibly just a homonym, but possibly an essential part of the trade of necromancy (calling up the dead) as practiced at that time. It may have been filled halfway and the noises it made interpreted as voices telling one what to do, just as some in the church have used the sound of the shofar in our own day. The exact nature of how it worked is deliberately left vague, because we are not meant to know how this works. We are not to get anywhere near it. Eyn Dor ("wellspring of a generation") is just across the Yizre'el Valley, 4 miles (6.5 km.) north of Mt. Tavor (others say 6 km. south of Mt. Tavor), the highest mountain that sits in isolation in the middle of the wide valley that runs from the Yarden River all the way to the Mediterranean. (See photo.) It is right along the main trade route from Egypt to Mesopotamia. But though Eyn Dor was assigned to the tribe of Menashe, they were unable to subdue it except to make the Kanaanite inhabitants pay tribute. (Y'hoshua 17:11-13), so the reason this woman to which he resorted had not already been stoned for such activity was that she was probably a Kanaanite, not an Israelite.
Photo: Mount Gilboa from the gates of Beyth-Shan. Ashtaroth: a plural feminine term for a fertility goddess--or possibly even trinity of goddesses. The name is based on the word for "increase", associated in particular with sheep-breeding, and its name also came to imply wealth, flocks, ewes, or young in a more generic sense. Also known as Ashtoreth, Ishtar, or Astarte (from all of which the term "Easter" is derived), she was also a goddess of love and war, hence their honoring her in this way. This temple is thought to have been located among the ruins of Beyth-Shan. Fastened: implying to stick on with a strong thrust or blow. Josephus says they were hung on "crosses" by the wall--a common form of execution in his own day, but seemingly anachronistic here. The term might also refer to their being impaled, a known practice of the Assyrians only 300 years after this time. Beyth-Shan: often alternately called Beyth-She'an (ironically meaning "house of ease or security"), located right at the juncture of the Y'zre'el and Yarden valleys' trade routes (the probable reason for their normally "easy" life), would have been one of the cities taken by the Filistines, unless this was a gesture much like David's sending Golyath's head to Yerushalayim (17:54), to strike fear into the remaining residents and remind them "who was in charge". 