17 And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled. 18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away and David rescued his two wives. 19 And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them. David recovered all. 1 Ver. 16; 2 Sam. viii. 18; 1 Kings i. 38, 44; Ezek. xxv. 16; Zeph. ii. 5. Josh. xiv. 13; xv. 13.- 1 Thess. v. 3. • Heb. their morrow.P Ver. 8.- Ver. 10. 20 And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David's spoil. 21 And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them.. r 22 Then answered all the wicked men, and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went, not with us, we will not give them aught of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart. 23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. 24 For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but " as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike. Y 25 And it was so from that day ▾ forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day. Or, asked them how they did; Judg. xviii. 15. Deut. xiii. 13; Judg. xix. 22. Heb. men.- u See Num. xxxi. 27; Josh. xxii. 8; 2.Mac. viii. 28. Heb. and forward, and others, in order, the better to vindicate the character of David. Verse 14. Upon the south of the Cherethites] Calmet and others maintain, that the kerethi, which, without the points, might be read Creti, were not only Verse 17, There escaped not a man of them] It is at this time Philistines, but that they were aborigines well known to every careful reader of the Bible, that of Crete, from which they had their name Cherethites the Amalekites were a proscribed people, even by God or Cretans, and are those of whom Zephaniah speaks, himself, and that in extirpating them it has been supchap. ii. 5 Wo to the inhabitants of the sea-coasts, posed David fulfilled the express will of God. the nation of the Cherethites. And by Ezekiel, chap. all this depends on whether he had an express commisxxv. 16: Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon sion to do so, received from God himself, as Saul had. the Philistines, and will cut off the Cherethim. In 2 Sam. xv. 18 we find that the Cherethites formed a part of David's guards. South of Caleb] Somewhere about Kirjath-arba, or Hebron, and Kirjath-sepher; these being in the possession of Caleb and his descendants. Verse 15. Swear unto me] At the conclusion of this verse, the Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic add, that David swore to him. This is not expressed in the Hebrew, but is necessarily implied. Verse 16. Out of the land of the Philistines] That these Amalekites were enemies to the Philistines is evident, but it certainly does not follow from this that those whom David destroyed were enemies also. This, I think, has been too hastily assumed by Dr. Chandler But Verse 20. And David took all the flocks] He and his men not only recovered all their own property, but they recovered all the spoil which these Amalekites had taken from the south of Judah, the Cherethites, and the south of Caleb. When this was separated from the rest, it was given to David, and called David's spoil. Verse 22. Men of Belial This is a common expression to denote the sour, the rugged, the severe, the idle, and the profane. Verse 23. That which the Lord hath given us] He very properly attributes this victory to God; the numbers of the Amalekites being so much greater than his own. Indeed, as many fled away on camels as were in the whole host of David. Verse 25. He made it a statute and an ordinance He takes much spoil, and A. M. 2948. 435. Anno ante CHAP. XXXI. b shares it with different towns. 26 And when David came to 29 And to them which were in An. Exod. Isr. Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto Rachal, and to them which were the elders of Judah, even to his in the cities of the Jerahmeel1. Olymp. 280. friends, saying, Behold a "present ites, and to them which were in for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD; the cities of the Kenites, " 27 To them which were in Beth-el, and to them which were in south Ramoth, and to them which were in y Jattir, 28 And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in a Eshtemoa, Heb. blessing; Gen. xxxiii. 11; chap. xxv. 27.- : for Israel] Nothing could be 'more just and proper than this law he who stays at home to defend house and property, has an equal right to the booty taken by those who go out to the war. There was a practice of this kind among the Israelites long before this time; see Num. xxxi. 27; Josh. xxii. 8; and the note on this latter verse. Unto this day.] This is another indication that this book was composed long after the facts it commemorates. See the hypothesis in the preface. Verse 26. Unto the elders of Judah] These were the persons among whom he sojourned during his exile, and who had given him shelter and protection. titade required these presents. Gra A. M. 2948. An. Exod. Isr. 30 And to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Chor-ashan, and to them which were in Athach, 31. And to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt. a Josh. xv. 50.- b Chap. xxvii. 10. Judg. i. 16.- d Judg. The cities of the Jerahmeelites] See before, chap. xxvii. 10. And the cities of the Kenites] A very small tract on the southern coast of the Dead Sea. ·Verse 30. Hormah] The general name of those cities which belonged to Arad, king of Canaan; and were devoted to destruction by the Hebrews, and thence called Hormah. See Num. xxi. 1-3. In Chor-ashan] Probably the same as Ashan in the· tribe of Judah: see Josh. xv. 42. It was afterwards ceded to Simeon, Josh. xix. 7: To them which were in Albach] Probably the same as Ether, Josh. xix. 7. Verse 31. To them which were in Hebron] This Verse 27. To them which were in Beth-el]. This was a place strongly attached to David, and David to was in the tribe of Ephraim. it, and the place where he was proclaimed king, and where he reigned more than seven years previously to the death of Ish-bosheth', Saul's son, who was, for that time, his competitor in the kingdom. David's having sent presents to all these places, not only shows his sense of gratitude, but that the booty which he took from the Amalekites-must have been exceedingly great. And we learn from this also that David sojourned in many places which are not mentioned in the preceding history; for these are all said to be places where David and his men were wont to haunt. We are not to suppose that the transactions mentioned here and in the preceding chapter took place after Saul's interview with the woman of En-dor; they were considerably antecedent to this, but how long we do not know. What is recorded in the following chapter must have taken place the next day after Saul left En-dor. CHAPTER XXXI. A battle in Mount Gilboa between Israel and the Philistines; in which the former are defeated, and Saul's three sons slam, 1, 2. Saul, being mortally wounded, and afraid to fall alive into the hands of the Philistines, desires his armour-bearer to despatch him; which he refusing, Saul falls on his sword, and his armour-bearer does the same, 3-6. The Israelites on the other side of the valley forsake their cities, and the Philistines come and dwell in them, 7. The Philistines, finding Saul and his three sons among the slain, strip them of their armour, which they put in the house of Ashtaroth, cut off their heads, send the news to all the houses of their idols, and fasten the bodies of Saul and his three sons to the walls of Bethshan, 8-10. Valiant men of Jabesh-gilead go by night, and take away the bodies; burn them at Jabesh; bury their bones under a tree; and fast seven days, 11-13. 1 In a battle with the Philistines A. M. 2948. B. C. 1056. An. Exod. Isr. in Mount Now" a the Philistines fought | Saul was dead, he fell likewise Philistines, and fell down slain 2 And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchishua, Saul's sons. 3 And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore ;wounded of the archers. 4 Then said Saul unto his armour-bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armour-bearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and m fell upon it. 1 Anno ante 6 So Saul died, and his three I. Olymp. 280. sons, and his armour-bearer, and all his men, that same day together. 7 And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were on the other side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the, cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. 8 And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in Mount Gilboa. 9 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to " publish it in the 5 And when his armour-bearer saw that house of their idols, and among the people. .C al Chron x. 1-12. b Or, wounded. Chap. xxviii. 4. d Chap. xiv. 49; I Chron. viii. 33.— e See 2 Sam. i. 6, &c. Heb. shooters, men with bows. NOTES ON CHAP. XXXI. Verse 1. Now the Philistines fought] This is the continuation of the account given in chap. xxix. The men of Israel fled] It seems as if they were thrown into confusion, at the first onset, and turned their backs upon their enemies. 26. Heb. found him. So Judg. ix. 54.- n 2 Sam. i. 20. Chap. xiv. 6; xvii. 2 Samuel i. 10. Now that is, his armour-bearer's, 1 Chron. x. 4, 5. Verse 2. Followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons] They, seeing the discomfiture of their troops, were determined to sell their lives as dear as possible, and therefore maintained the battle till the three bro-bed Dio." thers were slain. Verse 3. He was sore wounded of the archers.] It is likely that Saul's sons were slain by the archers, and that Saul was now mortally wounded by the same. Houbigant translates, The archers rushed upon him, from whom he received a grievous wound. He farther remarks, that had not Saul been grievously wounded, and beyond hope of recovery, he would not have wished his armour-bearer to despatch him; as he might have continued still to fight, or have made his escape from this most disastrous battle. Some of the versions render it, He FEARED the archers greatly; but this is by no means likely. Verse 4. Draw thy sword, and thrust me through] Dr. Delaney has some good observations on this part of the subject: "Saul and his armour-bearer died by the same sword. That his armour-bearer died by his own sword is out of all doubt; the text expressly tells us so; and that Saul perished by the same sword is sufficiently evident. Draw THY sword, says he to him, and thrust me through; which, when he refused, Saul, says the text, took THE sword, ( ♫ eth hachereb, the very sword,) and fell upon it. What sword? Not his own, for then the text would have said so; but, in the plain natural grammatical construction, the sword before mentioned must be the sword now referred to, Verse 6. And all his men] Probably meaning those of his troops which were his life or body guards: as to the bulk of the army, it fled at the commencement of the battle, ver. 1. Verse 7. The men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley] They appear to have been panicstruck, and therefore fled as far as they could out of the reach of the Philistines. As the Philistines possessed Beth-shan, situated near to Jordan, the people on the other side of that river, fearing for their safety, fled also. Verse 8. On the morrow] It is very likely that the battle and pursuit continued till the night, so that there was no time till the next day to strip and plunder the slain. Verse 9. And they cut off his head] It is possible` that they cut off the heads of his three sons likewise; for although only his head is said to be cut off, and his body only to be fastened to the walls of Beth-shan, yet we find that the men of Jabesh-gilead found both his body and the bodies of his three sons, fastened to the walls, ver. 12. Perhaps they only took off Saul's head, which they sent about to their temples as a trophy of their victory, when they sent the news of the defeat of the Israelites through all their coasts, and at last placed it in the temple of Dagon, 1 Chron. x. 10. The men of Jabesh-gilead recover A. M. 2948. B. C. 1056. An. Exod. Isr. 435. Anno ante I. Olymp. 280. CHAP. XXXI. the bodies of Saul and his sons. A. M. 2948. B. C. 1056. An. Exod. Isr. 435. Anno ante 10 And they put his armour | night, and took the body of 11 And when the inhabitants of Jabesh S gilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul, V 13 And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted Verse 10. They put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth] As David had done in placing the sword of Goliath in the tabernacle. We have already seen that it was common for the conquerors to consecrate armour and spoils taken in war, to those who were the objects of religious worship. They fastened his body to the wall] Probably by means of iron hooks; but it is said, 2 Sam. xxi. 12, that these bodies were fastened in the STREET of Beth-shan. This may mean that the place where, they were fastened to the wall was the main street or entrance into the city. Verse 11. When the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard] This act of the men of Jabesh-gilead was an act of gratitude due to Saul, who, at the very commencement of his reign, rescued them from Nahash, king of the Ammonites, (see chap. xi. I, &c.,) and by his timely succours saved them from the deepest degradation and the most oppressive tyranny. This heroic act, with the seven days' fast, showed that they retained a due sense of their obligation to this unfortunate monarch. Verse 12. And burnt them there. It has been denied that the Hebrews burnt the bodies of the dead, but that they buried them in the earth, or embalmed them, and often burnt spices around them, &c. These no doubt were the common forms of sepulture, but neither of these could be conveniently practised in the present case. They could not have buried them about Beth-shan without being discovered; and as to embalming, that was most likely out of all question, as doubtless the bodies were now too putrid to bear it. They therefore burnt them, because there was no other way of disposing of them at that time so as to do them honour; and the bones and ashes they collected, and buried under a tree or in a grove at Jabesh. Verse 13. And fasted seven days.] To testify their sincere regret for his unfortunate death, and the public calamity that had fallen upon the land. THUS ends the troublesome, and I had almost said the useless, reign of Saul. A king was chosen in opposition to the will of the Most High; and the goverhment of God in effect rejected, to make way for this king. Saul was at first a very humble young man, and conducted himself with great propriety; but his elevation made him proud, and he soon became tyrannical in his private conduct and in his political measures. His natural temper was not good; he was peevish, fretful, VOL. II. ( 20 ) See chap. xi. 1-11; 2 Sam. ii. 4-7.-2 Chron. xvi. 14; Jer. xxxiv. &; Amos vi. 10.- - 2 Sam. ii. 4, 5; xxì. 12, 13, 14. * Gen. 1. 10... and often outrageous; and these bad dispositions, unchecked by proper application to the grace of God, became every day -more headstrong and dangerous. Through their violence he seems at times to have been wholly carried away and deranged; and this deranges ment appears to have been occasionally greatly exacerbated by diabolical influence. This led him to take his friends for his foes; so that in his paroxysms he strove to imbrue his hands in their blood, and more than once attempted to assassinate his own son; and most causelessly and inhumanly ordered the innocent priests of the Lord at Nob to be murdered. This was the worst act in his whole life. Saul was but ill qualified for a proper discharge of the regal functions. The reader will remember that he was chosen rather as a general of the armies than as civil governor. The administration of the affairs of the state was left chiefly to Samuel, and Saul led forth the armies to battle. As a general he gave proof of considerable capacity; he was courageous, prompt, decisive, and persevering; and, except in the last unfortunate battle in which he lost his life, generally led his troops to victory. Saul was a weak mạn, and very capricious;, this is amply proved by his unreasonable jealousy against David, and his continual suspicion that all were leagued against him. It is also evident, in his foolish adjuration relative to the matter of the honey (see chap. xiv.) in which, to save his rash and nonsensical oath, he would have sacrificed Jonathan his son! The question, "Was Saul a good king ?" has already in effect been answered. He was on the whole a good man, as far as we know, in private life; but he was a bad king; for he endeavoured to reign independently of the Jewish constitution; he in effect assumed the sacerdotal office and functions, and thus even changed what was essential to that constitution. He not only offered sacrifices which belonged to the priests alone; but in the most positive manner went opposite to the orders of that God whose vicegerent he was. Of his conduct in visiting the woman at En-dor I have already given my opinion, and to this I must refer. His desperate circumstances imposed on the weakness of his mind; and he did in that instance an act which, in his jurisprudential capacity, he had disapproved by the edict which banished all witches, &c., from Israel. Yet in this act he only wished to avail himself of the counsel and advice of his friend Samuel. To the question, "Was not Saul a self-murderer. ?” I scruple not to answer, "No." He was to all appear305 b ance mortally wounded, when he begged his armourbearer to extinguish the remaining spark of life; and he was afraid that the Philistines might abuse his body, if they found him alive; and we can scarcely say how much of indignity is implied in this word; and his falling on his sword was a fit of desperation, which doubt less was the issue of a mind greatly agitated, and full of distraction. A few minutes longer, and his life would in all probability havé ebbed out; but though this wound accelerated his death, yet it could not be and conduct of Saul. properly the cause of it, as he was mortally wounded before, and did it on the conviction that he could not survive. Taking Saul's state and circumstances together, I believe there is not a coroner's inquest in this nation that would not have brought in a verdict of derangement; while the pious and the humane would everywhere have consoled themselves with the hope that God had extended mercy to his soul. MILLBROOK, June 11, 1818. Ended this examination August 13, 1827.-A. C. b 306 (20* |