A Brighter Day Begins with His Word.

PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible — I Samuel

Gill, John, 1697-1771 · 188,900 words · 450 reading sections

SECTION 61

1 Samuel 4:13

1 Samuel 4:13 Ver. 13. And when he came,.... To Shiloh; he either passed by Eli, who being blind could not see him, 1Sa 4:15 or he came in at another gate of the city on the other side of it, as Abarbinel thinks; though the former seems more likely by what follows, he not choosing to deliver the bad news to Eli first,…

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SECTION 62

1 Samuel 4:14

1 Samuel 4:14 Ver. 14. And when Eli heard the noise of the crying,.... The shrieks of the men and women, which were very clamorous and terrible. Eli had his hearing, though not his sight; he could not see the distress in their countenances, but he heard the lamentations they made: and said, what meaneth the noise of …

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SECTION 63

1 Samuel 4:15

1 Samuel 4:15 Ver. 15. Now Eli was ninety eight years old,.... Which is very properly observed, he being now come to the end of his days, and which also accounts for his blindness after mentioned: and his eyes were dim, that he could not see; could not see the messenger, and read in his countenance, and perceive by h…

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SECTION 64

1 Samuel 4:16

1 Samuel 4:16 Ver. 16. And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army,.... It is very probable that the people Eli inquired of told him there was a messenger come from the army, though they did not choose to relate to him the news he brought: and I fled today out of the army; so that as he was an eyewit…

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SECTION 65

1 Samuel 4:17

1 Samuel 4:17 Ver. 17. And the messenger answered and said,.... He delivered his account gradually, beginning with generals, and then proceeding to particulars, and with what he thought Eli could better bear the news of, and so prepared him for the worst; in which he acted a wise part: Israel is fled before the Phili…

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SECTION 66

1 Samuel 5:1

1 Samuel 5:1 INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 5 This chapter relates how that the ark being brought by the Philistines to Ashdod, and placed in the temple of their idol, that fell down before it, 1Sa 5:1, that the hand of the Lord was upon the men of Ashdod, and smote them with emerods, 1Sa 5:6 and being carried to Gath,…

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SECTION 67

1 Samuel 5:2

1 Samuel 5:2 Ver. 2. When the Philistines took the ark of God,.... And had brought it to Ashdod: they brought it into the house of Dagon; a temple dedicated to that idol, and in which his image stood; of which See Gill on "Jud 16:23", and set it by Dagon; by the side of him, either in honour to the ark, as Abarbinel…

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SECTION 68

1 Samuel 5:3

1 Samuel 5:3 Ver. 3. And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, &e.] Either the people, the inhabitants of the place, who came early to pay their devotions to their idol, before they went on their business; or the priests of the idol, who came to sacrifice in the morning: and, behold, Dagon was fallen upon hi…

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SECTION 69

1 Samuel 5:4

1 Samuel 5:4 Ver. 4. And when they arose early on the morrow morning,.... For the same purpose as before; unless they had any curiosity to indulge, to see whether the ark and Dagon agreed better together, if they had any suspicion that the former mischance was to be attributed to some variance and disagreement between…

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SECTION 70

1 Samuel 5:5

1 Samuel 5:5 Ver. 5. Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house,.... Neither the priests that continually attended the worship and service of Dagon, nor the people that came there to pay their devotions to him: tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day: but used to leap…

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SECTION 71

1 Samuel 5:6

1 Samuel 5:6 Ver. 6. But the hand of the Lord was heavy on them of Ashdod,.... Not only on their idol, but on themselves; it had crushed him to pieces, and now it fell heavy on them to their destruction: and he destroyed them; either by the disease after mentioned they were smitten with, or rather with some other, si…

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SECTION 72

1 Samuel 5:7

1 Samuel 5:7 Ver. 7. And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so,.... That many of their inhabitants were taken away by death, and others afflicted with a painful disease; all which they imputed to the ark being among them: they said, the ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us; like the Gergesenes, who be…

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SECTION 73

1 Samuel 5:8

1 Samuel 5:8 Ver. 8. They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them,.... The other four lords, for there were five with this; see Jos 13:3, and said, what shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? they no doubt told them what they and their idol had suffered on account of it, and the…

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SECTION 74

1 Samuel 5:9

1 Samuel 5:9 Ver. 9. And it was so, that after they had carried it about,.... And at last placed it in the city of Gath; the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction: greater than that at Ashdod, more persons were destroyed; the distemper sent among them was more epidemic and mortal: and h…

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SECTION 75

1 Samuel 5:10

1 Samuel 5:10 Ver. 10. Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron,.... Another of the five principalities of the Philistines, about ten miles from Gath, where Baalzebub, or the god of the fly, was worshipped: and it came to pass, that as the ark of God came to Ekron; and had been there some little time: that the Ek…

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SECTION 76

1 Samuel 5:11

1 Samuel 5:11 Ver. 11. So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines,.... As the men of Ashdod had done before on the same account, 1Sa 5:8 and said, send away the ark of the God of Israel; as these lords were united in their government, and made one common cause of it against Israel, one could …

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SECTION 77

1 Samuel 5:12

1 Samuel 5:12 Ver. 12. And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods,.... As the inhabitants of Ashdod and Gath had been; this shows that those that died did not die of that disease, but of some other; very likely the pestilence: and the cry of the city went up to heaven; not that it was heard and regarded …

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SECTION 78

1 Samuel 6:1

1 Samuel 6:1 INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 6 In this chapter we are told the Philistines advised with their priests what to do with the ark, and wherewith to send it home, 1Sa 6:1 whose advice was to send with it a trespass offering, golden images of emerods and mice, and to put it on a new cart, and the images in a c…

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SECTION 79

1 Samuel 6:2

1 Samuel 6:2 Ver. 2. And the Philistines called for the priests and for the diviners,.... The one were skilled in the rites and ceremonies of religion, not only of their own, but of other nations, particularly of Israel; and that they were not strangers to the history and affairs of that people is plain from 1Sa 6:6 a…

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SECTION 80

1 Samuel 6:3

1 Samuel 6:3 Ver. 3. And they said, if ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty,.... As they perceived they had either resolved upon, or at least were inclined to do; and which they also thought advisable and therefore would have them by no means send it away as it was, but with some presents along…

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SECTION 81

1 Samuel 6:4

1 Samuel 6:4 Ver. 4. Then said they, what shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him?.... They paid a great deference to their priests and diviners, and were willing to be directed in all things by them; being ignorant of what was most proper in this case, and might be acceptable to the God of Israel:…

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SECTION 82

1 Samuel 6:5

1 Samuel 6:5 Ver. 5. Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods,.... Which some take to be images of the five cities; others of a man at large with the disease in his back parts; others of that part of the body of a man only, in a circular form, in which the disease was, and expressing that; but the text is plain …

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SECTION 83

1 Samuel 6:6

1 Samuel 6:6 Ver. 6. Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts?.... And would not let Israel go, when their dismission was demanded by Moses and Aaron in the name of the Lord; but was refused from time to time, being given up to judicial blindness and hardness of heart…

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SECTION 84

1 Samuel 6:7

1 Samuel 6:7 Ver. 7. Now therefore make a new cart,.... For there were no Levites, nor priests of the Lord to carry it upon their shoulders, as it was wont to be when carried, and therefore they ordered a cart to be made; and they might know the Levites were allowed wagons to carry some of their sacred things on, Nu 7…

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SECTION 85

1 Samuel 6:8

1 Samuel 6:8 Ver. 8. And take the ark of the Lord, and lay it upon the cart,.... Which was dispensed with in these uncircumcised Philistines, there being no other to do this service: and put the jewels of gold; or rather "vessels of gold" {p}; the five golden emerods, and the five golden mice: which ye return him fo…

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SECTION 86

1 Samuel 6:9

1 Samuel 6:9 Ver. 9. And see if it goeth up by the way of its own coast to Bethshemesh,.... The nearest city to the land of the Philistines, which lay on their borders, and the borders of the tribe of Judah, See Gill on "Jos 15:10". Now the lords of the Philistines are directed by their priests to observe, whether the…

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SECTION 87

1 Samuel 6:10

1 Samuel 6:10 Ver. 10. And the men did so,.... Made a new cart, not the lords of the Philistines, but workmen by their orders: and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart; with the gear that horses, asses, or oxen, were usually fastened to a carriage they drew: and shut up their calves at home; or, "in the ho…

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SECTION 88

1 Samuel 6:11

1 Samuel 6:11 Ver. 11. And they laid the ark of the Lord upon the cart,.... Perhaps the same men that made the cart; however they were the Philistines, yet were not punished for touching it, as Uzzah was, though an Israelite, 2Sa 6:6 and the coffer with the mice of gold, and the images of their emerods; which coffer …

84 words
SECTION 89

1 Samuel 6:12

1 Samuel 6:12 Ver. 12. And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh,.... Though they had none to drive, lead, or guide them, yet they steered their course to the road that led to Bethshemesh, though there were other ways they might have taken; which shows they were under the direction of God himself: …

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SECTION 90

1 Samuel 6:13

1 Samuel 6:13 Ver. 13. And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley,.... Which began at Pentecost, in the month Sivan, about our May; so that there were many people in the fields, who were eyewitnesses of this wonderful event: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to s…

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SECTION 91

1 Samuel 6:14

1 Samuel 6:14 Ver. 14. And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite,.... In that part of the valley where they were reaping wheat which belonged to him, whom we nowhere else read; whether a priest or Levite, which is not improbable, since this was a city of the Levites, or a common Israelite, is not certa…

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SECTION 92

1 Samuel 6:15

1 Samuel 6:15 Ver. 15. And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord,.... Or, "had took it down" {x}; for this, though here related, was done as soon as the ark came into the field, or quickly after, and before the burnt offering could be made, which was burnt with the wood of the cart; and though the persons that too…

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SECTION 93

Jos 21:10

Jos 21:10 and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were; the purse or bag in which were the five golden mice, and the five golden emerods: and put them on the great stone; both the ark and the coffer, by which the cart stood, and on which the sacrifice of burnt offering was probably offered: and t…

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SECTION 94

1 Samuel 6:16

1 Samuel 6:16 Ver. 16. And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it,.... Observed all that was done, how the kine performed their journey, drew the cart in which the ark was straight to Bethshemesh, stopped in a field near it, where it was received joyfully by the people, and sacrifices offered on account of…

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SECTION 95

1 Samuel 6:17

1 Samuel 6:17 Ver. 17. And these are the golden emerods, which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the Lord,.... Along with the ark:for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon, one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; which were the five principalities of the Philistines that belonged to the five lords befor…

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SECTION 96

1 Samuel 7:1

1 Samuel 7:1 INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 7 This chapter gives an account of the ark being brought to Kirjathjearim, where it continued twenty years, 1Sa 7:1 of the exhortation of Samuel to the people of Israel to reform from idolatry, and which had its desired effect, 1Sa 7:3 of Samuel's praying for the people, and …

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SECTION 97

1 Samuel 7:2

1 Samuel 7:2 Ver. 2. And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long,.... It could not be less than between forty and fifty years, for it remained here until the times of David, who removed it from hence after he was made king over all Israel, and when he had reigned over Judah seven …

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SECTION 98

1 Samuel 7:3

1 Samuel 7:3 Ver. 3. And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel,.... When they assembled at one of their three yearly feasts, or as he went from place to place, exhorting them to repentance and reformation; and perceiving they began to be awakened to a sense of their sins, and seemed desirous of returning to God, a…

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SECTION 99

1 Samuel 7:4

1 Samuel 7:4 Ver. 4. Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth,.... Both their male and female deities, of which see Jud 2:13 and served the Lord Only; Dr. Lightfoot {i} observes, that a spirit of repentance and conversion came generally upon all the people; a matter and a time as remarkable as al…

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SECTION 100

1 Samuel 7:5

1 Samuel 7:5 Ver. 5. And Samuel said, gather all Israel to Mizpeh,.... Not Mizpeh in Gilead, on the other side Jordan, but a city which lay on the borders of Judah and Benjamin, where the tribes met on the account of the Levite's concubine, Jud 20:1. This order Samuel gave by messengers sent to the several tribes, or …

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SECTION 101

1 Samuel 7:6

1 Samuel 7:6 Ver. 6. And they gathered together to Mizpeh,.... Even all Israel, at least the heads of the people, and representatives of them: and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord; drew it from some fountain near at hand, and poured it out as in the presence of God, who was where his people were met toge…

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SECTION 102

1 Samuel 7:7

1 Samuel 7:7 Ver. 7. And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh,.... Not knowing it was upon a religious account; but supposing they met to form schemes and measures to cast off their yoke, and deliver themselves out of their hands; and were preparing to take up arms, a…

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SECTION 103

1 Samuel 7:8

1 Samuel 7:8 Ver. 8. And the children of Israel said to Samuel,.... To whom they applied, not as the general of their forces, but as the prophet of the Lord; believing his prayers for them would be of more avail to them than an army of men ever so numerous, or so well accoutred: cease not to cry unto the Lord our God…

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SECTION 104

1 Samuel 7:9

1 Samuel 7:9 Ver. 9. And Samuel took a sucking lamb,.... Which it might be, and yet more than eight days old, for under that it might not be sacrificed, Ex 22:30 and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the Lord; the whole of it was burnt, skin and all, whereas the skin was the priest's in other burnt offering…

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SECTION 105

1 Samuel 7:10

1 Samuel 7:10 Ver. 10. And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering.... Which he might do by a priest, as Ben Gersom suggests, he being only a Levite; though he being a prophet, and an extraordinary person, and this an extraordinary case, he might do it himself, as Gideon and others, as well as offer it in another…

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SECTION 106

1 Samuel 7:11

1 Samuel 7:11 Ver. 11. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh,.... To which they were encouraged by hearing or perceiving that the army of the Philistines was discomfited by the thunder, and lightning, and earthquake: and pursued the Philistines; who, when they came out, were fleeing from the opening earth, and fri…

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SECTION 107

1 Samuel 7:12

1 Samuel 7:12 Ver. 12. And Samuel took a stone, and set it,.... Not for worship, but as a monument of the victory obtained by the help of God: and this he placed between Mizpeh and Shen; which latter signifies a tooth, and designs the precipice of a rock which juts out, and hangs over in the form of one: and called …

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SECTION 108

1 Samuel 7:13

1 Samuel 7:13 Ver. 13. So the Philistines were subdued,.... Not that their country was conquered, or they made subject and become tributaries to Israel; but they were so humbled, as not to attempt to give the people of Israel any further trouble and distress, who were now delivered from their oppression and tyranny: …

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SECTION 109

1 Samuel 7:14

1 Samuel 7:14 Ver. 14. And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel,.... We nowhere read that the Israelites went out to war with them, and took these cities from them by besieging and assaulting them; but they made a demand of them after the above victory obtained, by which the P…

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SECTION 110

1 Samuel 7:15

1 Samuel 7:15 Ver. 15. And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. Not only before Saul was made king, but afterwards; for though he had not the exercise of the supreme government of the nation, yet he might act as a judge under Saul, and hear and try causes brought before him, and execute justice and judgment;…

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SECTION 111

1 Samuel 7:16

1 Samuel 7:16 Ver. 16. And he went from year to year in circuit,.... As judges do; or "from the year in the year" {r} from the time of the year in the year, as the Targum, from the middle of it, that is, every half year; and so Josephus says {s}, that he went twice a year in circuit: and the places he went to, and whe…

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SECTION 112

1 Samuel 7:17

1 Samuel 7:17 Ver. 17. And his return was to Ramah,.... When he had gone his circuit, he came back to this city, which was his native place, and where his father and mother had dwelt, see 1Sa 1:1 for there was his house; and his father's house before him, and perhaps the same, 1Sa 1:19 and there he judged Israel; her…

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SECTION 113

1 Samuel 8:1

1 Samuel 8:1 INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 8 This chapter relates, how that Samuel being old, and his sons behaving ill, the people desired to have a king set over them, 1Sa 8:1, which case Samuel laid before the Lord, and he was directed by him to yield to the people's desire, but at the same time to set before them …

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SECTION 114

1 Samuel 8:2

1 Samuel 8:2 Ver. 2. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel,.... In 1Ch 6:28 he is called Vashni; See Gill on "1Ch 6:28". This was not Joel the prophet, as some have thought, neither his parentage, nor his office, nor his times, will agree with this: and the name of his second Abiah: which two sons seem to be all he …

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SECTION 115

1 Samuel 8:3

1 Samuel 8:3 Ver. 3. And his sons walked not in his ways,.... The meaning of which is not that they did not go the circuit he did, which is too low a sense of the words some Jewish writers give; but they did not walk in the fear of God, in the paths of religion and righteousness, truth and holiness; they neither serve…

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SECTION 116

1 Samuel 8:4

1 Samuel 8:4 Ver. 4. Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together,.... At some place of rendezvous appointed; these were the heads of the tribes, and fathers of the houses and families of Israel, the principal persons of age and authority: and came to Samuel unto Ramah; the place of his nativity and abo…

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SECTION 117

1 Samuel 8:5

1 Samuel 8:5 Ver. 5. And said unto him, behold, thou art old,.... See 1Sa 8:1, his age was no reproach to him, nor was it becoming them to upbraid him with it; nor was it a reason why he should be removed from his office, for it did not disqualify him for it; but rather, having gained by age experience, was more fit f…

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SECTION 118

1 Samuel 8:6

1 Samuel 8:6 Ver. 6. But the thing displeased Samuel,.... Not that they called him an old man, and suggested that he was incapacitated for his office, nor for observing the unbecoming walk of his sons, but for what follows: when they said, give us a king to judge us; what displeased him was, that they were for changi…

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SECTION 119

1 Samuel 8:7

1 Samuel 8:7 Ver. 7. And the Lord said unto Samuel,.... He appeared to him in a vision or dream, and by an articulate voice delivered to him what follows: hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee; not as approving of what they said, but permitting and allowing what they asked, as a punishme…

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SECTION 120

1 Samuel 8:8

1 Samuel 8:8 Ver. 8. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them out of Egypt,.... This was no new thing; all that they had done since they were wonderfully favoured of God, as to be brought out of Egyptian bondage, was all of a piece with this; one continued series of ingratitude…

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Source & rights

Public domain; John Gill (1697–1771). Source item is marked Public Domain on Internet Archive.

Project Gutenberg source record →

Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.