1 Samuel · Chapter 11

V. 1. Then-That is, about that time; for that this happened before, and was the occasion of their desire of a king, may seem from 1 Samuel 12:12, although it is possible, that Nahash’s preparation, might cause that desire, and that he did not actually come ‘till their king was chosen. Will serve-The occasion of this offer was, that they saw no likelihood of relief from their brethren in Canaan.

Verse 1. Nahash the Ammonite] In the Vulgate this chapter begins thus: Et factum est quasi post mensem, “And it came to pass about a month after.” This addition appears also in the principal copies of the Septuagint; though it is wanting in the Complutensian edition, both in the Greek and Latin, and is not acknowledged by any of the Oriental versions. But it is in Josephus, and probably was inserted from him into some copies of the Septuagint, and thence into the Vulgate. It appears to be of very little authority.

We know little about Nahash; there was a king of this name among the Ammonites in the time of David, 2 Samuel 10:2, but probably not the same person. Nahash might have been a common name of the Ammonitish kings.

Make a covenant with us] They found they were in no condition to risk a war; and they wish to have peace, and desire to know his conditions.

Verse 1. Then — That is, about that time; for that this happened before, and was the occasion of their desire of a king, may seem from 1 Samuel 12:12; although it is possible that Nahash’s preparation might cause that desire, and that he did not actually come till their king was chosen. Will serve — The occasion of this offer was, that they saw no likelihood of relief from their brethren in Canaan.

Verse 1. Then Nahash. Septuagint: “Then within about a month Nahash, &c.”

SAUL’S VICTORY OVER THE AMMONITES, 1-11.

The fact that Saul was permitted to return again to private life after all Israel’s clamour for a king, and notwithstanding the enthusiasm that prevailed at his election at Mizpeh, shows that there was considerable disaffection and disappointment among the people over his appointment. The salutations of royalty that at first greeted him on that proud occasion soon died away. There was, probably, a feeling that he was too obscure a person, and of insufficient age and experience, to be suddenly advanced to the head of the nation. But we must not judge the tastes and ideas of that more simple age altogether by the standard of our own times. In the old Roman Republic it is said that Cincinnatus was called from the plough to lead the army against the enemy, and, after having conquered, and having held the dictatorship only sixteen days, he returned to his farm again. It was no easy matter to establish a monarchy over a people that had never hitherto been subject to a human king; and, to do it successfully, it was necessary that he who was to be ruler should signalize his martial prowess and heroic daring by going out before the people and fighting for them victorious battles against their enemies. An attempt of the Ammonites to avenge themselves of the defeat they had suffered at the hands of Jephthah (Judges 11:33) gave to the regal Saul an opportunity to secure for himself a more worthy recognition.

1. Nahash the Ammonite — From 1 Samuel 12:12, we learn that he was king of the children of Ammon, and also that a knowledge of his warlike intentions was one reason of Israel’s urgent request for a king to fight their battles for them. For the origin of the Ammonites see Genesis 19:38; and for their subsequent history, Judges 11:4-33. Jabesh-gilead — Gilead was the mountainous tract east of the Jordan bounded on the north by Bashan and on the south by the land of the Ammonites. Of this district Jabesh was the chief city, and is first mentioned Judges 21:8, in connexion with the vengeance wrought on its inhabitants for not participating in the tribal war against Benjamin. It was situated on the Wady Yabes, some six or eight miles east of the Jordan. The inhabitants must have been at this time in a very defenceless condition, as is manifest from their desire to make a covenant with the invaders.

V. 2. Thrust out, &c.-Partly for a reproach, as it here follows; and partly, to disable them. He leaves them one eye, that they might be fit to serve in any mean and base office.

Verse 2. I may thrust out all your right eves] This cruel condition would serve at once as a badge of their slavery, and a means of incapacitating them from being effective warriors. Theodoret observes, “He who opposes his shield to the enemy with his left hand, thereby hides his left eye, and looks at his enemy with his right eye; he therefore who plucks out that right eye makes men useless in war.” Josephus gives the same reason.

Verse 2. And lay it for a reproach upon all Israel — That is, disgrace the whole Hebrew nation, by serving some of their people in this opprobrious manner; for it must necessarily have reflected great dishonour upon the whole state, that they should suffer any of their people to be served so. He probably meant also to disable them for war, in which the right eye was of most use, their shields, which they carried in their left hands, in a great measure covering their left eyes. He proposes, however, to leave them one eye, that they might be fit to serve in any mean and base office.

Ver. 2. That I may thrust out all your right eyes. This was a cruel reply to men who solicited a covenant. Josephus remarks, that this would disqualify them for every thing, except taking care of their flocks and agriculture, because in war they almost veiled the left eye with their shields; and the right eye being lost, they could not keep their guard against a foe. This is much the same as the cutting off the right thumbs. Such is man, devoid of revelation, religion, and the grace of God.

2. Thrust out all your right eyes — This would incapacitate them for war, because the shield was carried on the left arm, and would thus partially be in the way of the left eye; but this loss of one eye would not render them unfit for other service, and the conqueror might still use them as slaves. A reproach upon all Israel — Because they were unable to defend a part of their nation from such a barbarous treatment; and also to remind Israel that the Ammonites still claimed, as they did in the days of Jephthah, that a part of their land had been unjustly taken from them. Judges 11:13.

Verse 3. Give us seven days respite] Such promises are frequently made by besieged places: “We will surrender if not relieved in so many days;” and such conditions are generally received by the besiegers.

Verse 3. Give us seven days respite — It may seem strange, either that they should propose to submit so soon to such base conditions, if they did not receive help, or that Nahash should grant them so much respite when he saw them so abject and inclined to yield to him. But the reason of both is evident; for the elders of Jabesh thought Saul was not able to help them, having not yet taken upon him the government, but living privately, verse 5; and Nahash, it is probable, was loath to drive them to desperation by denying them this short space wherein to expect relief, which he thought they could not possibly obtain in the time, even if Saul should endeavour to levy an army and come to their aid, for that, he would naturally suppose, could not be done in so few days.

3. Give us seven days’ respite — Literally, Let us alone seven days. They deemed this a sufficient length of time to ascertain whether help could be obtained for them beyond the Jordan. But why, it may be asked, would Nahash, who could dictate such barbarous terms of surrender, allow the defenceless town such an opportunity to strengthen itself? He probably supposed that the tribes on the west of the Jordan were in no condition to render Jabesh any considerable aid, and that it would add all the more to Israel’s reproach to have it said that the inhabitants of Jabesh implored their aid in vain. Josephus tells us that the besieged had already sought in vain for aid from the tribes on the east of the Jordan, and this fact may have made Nahash feel all the more secure. Then, perhaps, he was not just at that time in a condition to take the city easily, in case the besieged should offer a fierce resistance; nor must we forget that Jehovah designed, by this war with the Ammonites, to magnify Saul in the eyes of Israel.

Verse 4. Then came the messengers to Gibeah] It does not appear that the people of Jabesh-gilead knew any thing of Saul’s appointment to the kingdom, for the message is not directed to him but to the people. The people lifted up their voices and wept.] They saw no hope of deliverance, and they expected that their reproach would be laid on all Israel.

Verses 4, 5. To Gibeah of Saul — So called, because it was the place where Saul was born and brought up, and where he had hitherto dwelt. Behold Saul came after the herd — For, being only anointed king, and not publicly inaugurated, nor having yet had opportunity of doing any thing worthy of his place, he thought fit to forbear all royal state, and to retire to his former private life, which, howsoever despised in these latter ages, was anciently in great esteem. Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? — Let me know, that if it be a grievance that can be redressed, I may endeavour to help them. “Good magistrates,” says Henry, “are in pain if their subjects be in tears.”

4. Messengers to Gibeah — Gibeah was nearly sixty miles southwest of Jabesh, and it would have taken a day and a night for the messengers to reach it. But why were these messengers sent to Gibeah? We most naturally suppose that the elders of Jabesh knew that Saul had very recently been elected king, and therefore dispatched their messengers to his place of residence. When they arrived at Gibeah they found no regal court, and no king, for Saul was away in the field attending to the cattle. What then could they do but utter the tidings in the ears of the people? All the people… wept — For they saw no prospect of saving their brethren from this cruel infliction, and their nation from foul reproach.

V. 5. After the herd-For being only anointed king, and not publickly inaugurated, nor having yet had opportunity of doing any thing worthy of his place, he thought fit to forbear all royal state, and to retire to his former private life, which, howsoever despised in this latter ages, was anciently in great esteem. Good magistrates are in pain, if their subjects are in tears.

Verse 5. Saul came after the herd] He had been bred up to an agricultural life, and after his consecration he returned to it, waiting for a call of Divine providence, which he considered he had now received in the message from Jabesh-gilead.

It has often been remarked, that mighty kings and accomplished generals have been chosen from among those who were engaged in agricultural concerns. In these observations one fact is lost sight of, viz., that in ancient times agriculture was the only employment. Trade and commerce were scarcely known; therefore all descriptions of official dignities must be chosen out of this class, there being no other to choose them from. We need not wonder at these words of the poet:—

Jura dabat populis posito modo consul aratro;

Pascebatque suas ipse senator oves.

“The consul, having now laid aside his plough,

gives laws to the people;

And the senator himself feeds his own sheep.”

OVID, Fast. lib. i., v. 204-207.

Verses 4, 5. To Gibeah of Saul — So called, because it was the place where Saul was born and brought up, and where he had hitherto dwelt. Behold Saul came after the herd — For, being only anointed king, and not publicly inaugurated, nor having yet had opportunity of doing any thing worthy of his place, he thought fit to forbear all royal state, and to retire to his former private life, which, howsoever despised in these latter ages, was anciently in great esteem. Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? — Let me know, that if it be a grievance that can be redressed, I may endeavour to help them. “Good magistrates,” says Henry, “are in pain if their subjects be in tears.”

SAUL’S VICTORY OVER THE AMMONITES, 1-11.

The fact that Saul was permitted to return again to private life after all Israel’s clamour for a king, and notwithstanding the enthusiasm that prevailed at his election at Mizpeh, shows that there was considerable disaffection and disappointment among the people over his appointment. The salutations of royalty that at first greeted him on that proud occasion soon died away. There was, probably, a feeling that he was too obscure a person, and of insufficient age and experience, to be suddenly advanced to the head of the nation. But we must not judge the tastes and ideas of that more simple age altogether by the standard of our own times. In the old Roman Republic it is said that Cincinnatus was called from the plough to lead the army against the enemy, and, after having conquered, and having held the dictatorship only sixteen days, he returned to his farm again. It was no easy matter to establish a monarchy over a people that had never hitherto been subject to a human king; and, to do it successfully, it was necessary that he who was to be ruler should signalize his martial prowess and heroic daring by going out before the people and fighting for them victorious battles against their enemies. An attempt of the Ammonites to avenge themselves of the defeat they had suffered at the hands of Jephthah (Judges 11:33) gave to the regal Saul an opportunity to secure for himself a more worthy recognition.

1. Nahash the Ammonite — From 1 Samuel 12:12, we learn that he was king of the children of Ammon, and also that a knowledge of his warlike intentions was one reason of Israel’s urgent request for a king to fight their battles for them. For the origin of the Ammonites see Genesis 19:38; and for their subsequent history, Judges 11:4-33. Jabesh-gilead — Gilead was the mountainous tract east of the Jordan bounded on the north by Bashan and on the south by the land of the Ammonites. Of this district Jabesh was the chief city, and is first mentioned Judges 21:8, in connexion with the vengeance wrought on its inhabitants for not participating in the tribal war against Benjamin. It was situated on the Wady Yabes, some six or eight miles east of the Jordan. The inhabitants must have been at this time in a very defenceless condition, as is manifest from their desire to make a covenant with the invaders.

Verse 6. The Spirit of God came upon Saul] He felt himself strongly excited to attempt the relief of his brethren.

And his anger was kindled greatly.] I believe this means no more than that his courage was greatly excited-he felt himself strong for fight, and confident of success.

Ver. 6. The Spirit of God came upon Saul. Sacraments and ordinances are not in vain; the Lord had given the Spirit with the anointing oil.

6. The Spirit of God came upon Saul — As it came on the ancient judges. See the marginal references. As the judges of former times had undertaken their great exploits by special inspiration from the Almighty, so also Saul. When he departed from Samuel, that prophet told him after certain signs came to pass to follow the openings of Providence, (see note on 1 Samuel 10:7,) and here was presented a manifest occasion for him to rise in the dignity of his power and his royal office, and call the nation to arms. His anger was kindled greatly — At the thought that the children of Ammon would dare threaten Israel with such barbarity.

V. 7. Sent them-Wisely considering, that the sight of mens eyes does much more affect their hearts, than what they only hear with their ears. Samuel-Whom he joins with himself, both because he was present with him; and that hereby he might gain the more authority. Fear-A fear sent upon them by God, that they should not dare to deny their help. The fear of God will make men good subjects, good soldiers, and good friends to their country. They that fear God will make conscience of their duty to all men, particularly to their rulers.

Verse 7. He took a yoke of open] The sending the pieces of the oxen was an act similar to that of the Levite, Judges 19:29, where see the note. And both customs are similar to the sending about of the bloody cross, to call the clans to battle, practised by the ancient Highlanders of Scotland. See at the end of this chapter. See Clarke “1 Samuel 11:15”

Verse 7. Sent them throughout all the coasts — Wisely considering that the sight of men’s eyes does much more affect their hearts than what they only hear with their ears. After Saul and after Samuel — He joins Samuel with himself, both because he was present with him, and that hereby he might gain the more authority. The fear of the Lord fell on the people — A fear was sent upon them by God, so that they did not dare to deny their help. The fear of God will make men good subjects, good soldiers and good friends to their country. They that fear God will make conscience of their duty to all men, particularly to their rulers. They will honour the king, and all that are in authority under him. They came out with one consent — God, who put courage into Saul, and now induced him to assert his royal authority over the people, influenced them with a fear of offending him, so that they readily came and joined him at his call.

7. Took… oxen, and hewed them in pieces — Lucian says that among the ancient Scythians, when any great injury called for punishment, an individual who was deeply interested in the matter cut an ox in pieces and sent it round, whereupon all who would help avenge the wrong that had been done took a piece, and swore by it to do his utmost to punish the offender. The import of this symbolical act the words of the messengers explained. It was the king’s prerogative to call the people out to battle; this act showed that he was terribly in earnest. Saul’s conduct could not but remind the people of the similar act of the Levite of Mount Ephraim, (Judges 19:29,) and also of the bitter vengeance wrought on the inhabitants of this same Jabesh-Gilead for their refusal to respond to that call. Judges 21:10. After Saul and after Samuel — He adds the name of Samuel to his own in order to strengthen the authority and influence of his command. Fear of the Lord fell — A fear inspired by Jehovah. The people were made to feel that a most important movement for the honour of all Israel was at hand.

V. 8. Men of Judah-Who are numbered apart to their honour, to shew how readily they, to whom the kingdom was promised, Genesis 49:10, submitted to their king, though of another tribe; and how willing they were to hazard themselves for their brethren although they might have excused themselves from the necessity of defending their own country from their dangerous neighbours the Philistines.

Verse 8. The children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.] This was a vast army, but the Septuagint make it even more: “All the men of Israel were exakosiav ciliadav, SIX HUNDRED thousand; and the men of Judah ebdomhkonta ciliadav, SEVENTY thousand.” Josephus goes yet higher with the number of the Israelites: “He found the number of those whom he had gathered together to be ebdomhkonta muriadav SEVEN HUNDRED thousand.” Those of the tribe of Judah he makes seventy thousand, with the Septuagint. These numbers are not all right; and I suspect even the Hebrew text to be exaggerated, by the mistake or design of some ancient scribe.

Verse 8. The men of Judah thirty thousand — They were numbered apart to their honour, to show how readily they, to whom the kingdom was promised, (Genesis 49:10,) submitted to their king, though of another tribe, and how willing they were to hazard themselves for their brethren, although they might have excused themselves from the necessity of defending their own country from their dangerous neighbours the Philistines.

Ver. 8. Bezek, a town in Judah, where the tyrant Adoni-bezek had reigned. And here we ask, where was there a nation on earth that could raise 330,000 men in three days, except among the Hebrews? Their civil polity was mild and good.

8. Bezek — At this place Judah had defeated Adoni-bezek. Judges 1:4. When Saul issued his call to all the tribes he probably designated this place as the rendezvous, where every warrior must report himself without the least delay. No traveller has yet satisfactorily identified Bezek with any modern site. From the next verse we infer that it was within a day’s journey of Jabesh, and therefore a very proper place to muster the army into battle array. Israel… three hundred thousand… Judah thirty thousand — This distinction between Judah and Israel is considered by many as clear evidence that this narrative was written after the division of the nation into two kingdoms; but it may also indicate that long before that division was completed there were growing rivalries and jealousies that silently prepared the way for it, so that in Saul’s time Judah and Israel began to reckon themselves apart, as if they were two different states. Compare 2 Samuel 2:10; 19:41; 20:1, 2. Three hundred thousand men was indeed a vast army, but there is no sufficient reason to believe that the number is exaggerated. At the time of the march through the desert all that were able to go forth to war in Israel were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty, (Numbers 1:46,) and it would have been exceedingly strange if now, from all the coasts of Israel, the call of Saul had brought together less than half that number.

9. They said unto the messengers that came — These messengers were the ones that came from Jabesh to Gibeah. They had repaired to Bezek to wait to see the result of Saul’s call for the people to assemble there. To-morrow, by that time the sun be hot — That is, about noon. Whether this “morrow” was the last day of the seven granted by Nahash to the elders of Jabesh cannot be certainly decided by any thing here recorded. But on the supposition that it was, the question has been raised: Was a period of seven days sufficient time for all these things to be done? It would require at least a day for the messengers to reach Gibeah, and it would seem at first sight that a week would be barely sufficient to notify the tribes, much less to get together an army of three hundred and thirty thousand men in readiness for battle. Indeed, with our modern ideas and methods of raising and marshalling an army, it would be utterly impossible for the most experienced general to get together, without any previous arrangement, so large an army in so short a time. But we must divest our minds of our modern notions of warfare, and remember that in ancient Israel every able-bodied man was made familiar from his childhood with the implements of war. A bow, a sword or a spear, and a shield, or simply a sling, were the weapons most commonly used. From 1 Samuel 13:22, it appears that swords and spears were scarce among the people, but at such a time the sling was probably regarded as a much more serviceable weapon. Compare the feat of David, 1 Samuel 17:49, and the statement of Judges 20:16, that the little tribe of Benjamin had seven hundred chosen men, each of whom could sling stones at a hair-breadth and not miss. Accordingly, when summoned out to battle, every man would provide his own weapons and his own food, and hasten at once to the place of rendezvous. No great length of time would be necessary, under such circumstances, for the mustering of an army. A man notified in the morning, might equip himself and travel forty or fifty miles before night, and in circumstances of great peril he would probably travel in the night time also. Joshua 10:9. Then we must not imagine that the roads of Palestine were, at that time, in the ruined and neglected state in which the modern traveller finds them: nor should we obscure the subject by the supposition that the summons of Saul was carried through the coasts of Israel by a few slow-footed travellers. Doubtless every town had one or more swift-footed runners, who, like Asahel, (2 Samuel 2:18,) were as light of foot as the wild roe; and as the tidings reached one town, swift messengers would fly forth in different directions; and the alarm might spread still more rapidly by the erection of ensigns on the tops of the high hills. Such tidings, of course, would spread by night as well as by day, and thirty or forty hours would be sufficient to send the call of the king through all the coasts of Israel. Saul probably sent forth ten swift runners, (for it is hardly likely that the tribes on the east of the Jordan were summoned,) each bearing a piece of the slaughtered oxen to the chief city of each tribe; and from such central city of every tribe the call rapidly flew to all the surrounding country. Attention to all these circumstances will show that a vast army might, without great difficulty, be mustered in a few days.

Verse 10. To-morrow we will come out unto you] They concealed the information they had received of Saul’s promised assistance. They did come out unto them; but it was in a different manner to what the Ammonites expected.

Verse 10. Tomorrow we will come out unto you — They spoke this by way of stratagem, to make the Ammonites easy and secure.

10. To-morrow we will come out unto you — By this guileful message they sought to make the enemy feel all the more secure and confident of success, and thus subject them to a more humiliating defeat.

Verse 11. Put the people in three companies] Intending to attack the Ammonites in three different points, and to give his own men more room to act.

In the morning watch] He probably began his march in the evening, passed Jordan in the night, and reached the camp of the Ammonites by daybreak.

That two of them were not left together.] This proves that the rout was complete.

Ver. 11. Three companies. This was wise, for immense armies obstruct their own movements; they are also soon dispersed by the want of water and food, and by their irregular supplies. A handful of Greeks at the pass of Thermopylæ stopped half a million of Persians.

11. Saul put the people in three companies — Perhaps about one hundred and ten thousand in each company. But we need not suppose that the whole three hundred and thirty thousand were at one time engaged in the fight. In the morning watch — Between three and six o’clock in the morning. So Saul had evidently marched from Bezek during the night. Two of them were not left together — Their army was utterly demoralized and scattered.

THE REACTION IN FAVOUR OF SAUL, AND RENEWAL OF THE KINGDOM AT

Verse 12. Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign] Now, flushed with victory and proud of their leader, they wished to give him a proof of their attachment by slaying, even in cool blood, the persons who were at first averse from his being intrusted with the supreme power! The common soldier is scarcely ever inspired by his victory to acts of magnanimity; he has shed blood-he wishes to shed more!

Verses 12, 13. The people said unto Samuel — Who, it appears from hence, accompanied Saul in this expedition, to encourage him with hopes of good success. Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day — Saul had prudently dissembled his knowledge of their despising him before the kingdom was confirmed to him. But the moderation which he now manifested, after he had been so wonderfully victorious, argued still greater nobleness of mind, and benevolence, and mildness of disposition. For nothing is more glorious than to be humble and meek in the height of power.

GILGAL, 12-15.

The aged Samuel, whose name had gone forth with Saul’s call to arms, (verse 7,) was with the army at the time of Saul’s triumph over the Ammonites, and when he saw the mighty host all flushed with the glory of their triumph, and all with one accord extolling Saul, he deemed it a most appropriate time to establish the new king in all the powers and prerogatives of the government, and secure for him national recognition.

12. Bring the men, that we may put them to death — The reference is to the outspoken disloyalty that showed itself at Mizpeh. 1 Samuel 10:27. But the new king’s magnanimity and piety forbade the shedding of Israelitish blood on that day of victory.

Verse 13. There shall not a man be put to death] This was as much to Saul’s credit as the lately proposed measure was to the discredit of his soldiers.

Verses 12, 13. The people said unto Samuel — Who, it appears from hence, accompanied Saul in this expedition, to encourage him with hopes of good success. Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day — Saul had prudently dissembled his knowledge of their despising him before the kingdom was confirmed to him. But the moderation which he now manifested, after he had been so wonderfully victorious, argued still greater nobleness of mind, and benevolence, and mildness of disposition. For nothing is more glorious than to be humble and meek in the height of power.

GILGAL, 12-15.

The aged Samuel, whose name had gone forth with Saul’s call to arms, (verse 7,) was with the army at the time of Saul’s triumph over the Ammonites, and when he saw the mighty host all flushed with the glory of their triumph, and all with one accord extolling Saul, he deemed it a most appropriate time to establish the new king in all the powers and prerogatives of the government, and secure for him national recognition.

12. Bring the men, that we may put them to death — The reference is to the outspoken disloyalty that showed itself at Mizpeh. 1 Samuel 10:27. But the new king’s magnanimity and piety forbade the shedding of Israelitish blood on that day of victory.

V. 14. Then-While the people were together by Jabesh-gilead, wherein Samuel’s great prudence and fidelity to Saul is evident. He suspended the confirmation of Saul at first, whilst the generality of the people were disaffected, and now when he had given such eminent proof of his princely virtues, and when the peoples hearts were eagerly set upon him, he takes this as the fittest season for that work. Renew-That is, confirm our former choice.

Verse 14. Renew the kingdom] The unction of Saul, in the first instance, was a very private act; and his being appointed to be king was not known to the people in general. He had now shown himself worthy to command the people; and Samuel takes advantage of this circumstance to gain the general consent in his favour. Josephus says that Saul was anointed a second time at this convocation.

Verse 14. Then said Samuel — While the people were together by Jabesh-gilead. Come, and let us renew the kingdom — That is, confirm our former choice, and more solemnly and unanimously inaugurate Saul for our king. Herein Samuel’s great prudence and fidelity to Saul appeared. He suspended the confirmation of Saul at first, while the generality of the people were disaffected, and now, when he had given such eminent proof of his princely virtues, and when the people’s hearts were eagerly set upon him, he takes this as the fittest season for that work.

14. Let us go to Gilgal — The ancient sacred camping ground of Israel, where, after the long exile in the wilderness, the reproach of Egypt was rolled away. Compare Joshua 5:2-9, notes. Appropriately now, after long years of varied fortune, may the nation assemble, in the persons of its warriors, on that hallowed spot, and there recognise their new leader, who has shown himself to be another conqueror of Israel’s foes. Renew the kingdom there — At Mizpeh he had only been designated as the chosen of the Lord, but not formally recognised as king, or set apart by solemn ceremonies as the Lord’s anointed. Such more solemn and impressive inauguration was reserved for this occasion, when, as Israel’s honoured and victorious chieftain, no envious tongue would dare malign him.

V. 15. Made-They owned and accepted him for their king.

Verse 15. There they made Saul king] It is likely, from these words, that Saul was anointed a second time; he was now publicly acknowledged, and there was no gainsayer. Thus far Saul acted well, and the kingdom seemed to be confirmed in his hand; but soon through imprudence he lost it. ON the custom referred to in 1 Samuel 11:7 I am favoured with the following observations by a learned correspondent:—

“It is considered that the authenticity of records respecting a peculiar people cannot be better illustrated, or the fidelity of the historian more clearly ascertained, than by proving that the manners and customs recorded are in unison with, or bear a resemblance to, the manners and customs of other nations of the same antiquity; or, what may be more correct, in a similar state of improvement; and the records of such rites and customs may possibly acquire an additional mark of authenticity, when the similarity is not so exact as to admit a presumption that the customs of one nation were merely copied from the other.

“Sir Walter Scott, in the third canto of the Lady of the Lake, describes the rites, incantations, and imprecations, used prior to the fiery cross being circulated, to summon the rough warriors of ancient times to the service of their chief; and in the first note of this canto he alludes to this ancient custom which, in comparatively modern times, has been used in Scotland, and proves that a similar punishment of death or destruction of the houses for disobeying the summons was inflicted by the ancient Scandinavians, as recorded by Olaus Magnus, in his history of the Goths. A custom still more in point than the one cited may be found to have existed in a more ancient nation, whose history is supposed the most, if not the only authentic narrative of deeds of ancient times, and which also records the sanguinary manners of uncultivated nations; see the preceding chapter, first eight verses. { 1 Samuel 10:1-8} The similarity of the custom is to be found in the seventh verse; with the Highlanders a goat was slain; with the Israelites, an ox. The exhibition of a cross stained with the blood of the sacrificed animal was the summons of the former, while part of the animal was the mandate of the latter. Disobedience in the one nation was punished with the death of the parties, and burning of their dwellings; in the other, the punishment was more simple, and more allusive to the sacrificed emblem, the forfeiture or destruction of their oxen. It is not difficult to judge whether the comparison be correct. “The first verses record the sanguinary practices of ancient times, which to many appear merely as the gratification of revenge, or as proofs of victory; yet when it is considered that the right eye must chiefly aid the warrior in aiming at his adversary, whether the weapon be of ancient or modern warfare, here arises a military reason, corroborative of the truth of history, for the deprivation, and in some degree lessening the cruelty of the mutilation, which would be increased if it were caused by revenge or wantonness; though Nahash declares it to be a reproach upon all Israel.” I SAMUEL

Verse 15. There they made Saul king — Owned and accepted him for their king. Saul had been anointed in Ramah, and chosen by lot in Mizpeh; but still some disdained to acknowledge him for their king, which made him content himself for a time with a private life. But now, after this signal token of God’s presence with him, in the late victory, he was, by common consent, received by all the people for their king. Before the Lord — Not before the ark, the symbol of God’s presence, as the expression sometimes means; for the ark was now at Kirjath-jearim, and not at Gilgal; but in a solemn manner, as in God’s presence, appealing to him as a witness of their sincerity in this transaction, and with solemn sacrifices and prayers for his blessing upon it.

Ver. 15. There they made Saul king. This was equivalent to a coronation: it was done with very solemn religious services.

15. There they made Saul king before the Lord — Whether Samuel anointed him again on this occasion we are not told, but it is certain that by some formal ceremony he was set apart and recognised as king. Samuel’s speaking of him as Jehovah’s anointed (1 Samuel 12:3) makes it probable that the public anointing was done at this time. One prominent ceremony of the occasion was the sacrifices of peace offerings. In these the worshipper himself received the greater part of the animal slain, and with it held a feast of thanksgiving; an appropriate service for that proud occasion, when all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.