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 181

1 Samuel 12:9

1 Samuel 12:9 Ver. 9. And when they forgat the Lord their God,.... The worship of the Lord their God, as the Targum; that is, they fell into idolatry, which is a plain instance and proof of forgetfulness of God; for such that neglect his worship, and serve idols, may be truly said to forget him: he sold them into the…

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SECTION 182

1 Samuel 12:10

1 Samuel 12:10 Ver. 10. And they cried unto the Lord,.... When in the hands of their enemies, and in bondage to them, and cruelly oppressed by them: and said, we have sinned; the word for "said" is in the Cetib, or written text, singular, and in the Keri, or marginal reading, plural; and may signify, that everyone of…

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SECTION 183

1 Samuel 12:11

1 Samuel 12:11 Ver. 11. And the Lord sent Jerubbaal,.... Or Gideon, as the Targum, for Jerubbaal was the name given to Gideon, when he first became a judge, Jud 6:32 and Bedan; if this was one of the judges, he must have two names, or is one that is not mentioned in the book of Judges; the Targum interprets it of Sam…

379 words
SECTION 184

Heb 11:32

Heb 11:32 and delivered you out of the hands of your enemies on every side; not the judges, but the Lord; for the word for "delivered" is of the singular number: and ye dwelled safe; in the greatest security and confidence, without any fear of enemies, having God their King in the midst of them, and stood in no need …

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SECTION 185

1 Samuel 12:12

1 Samuel 12:12 Ver. 12. And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you,.... Or "but yet" {k}; however, notwithstanding though the Lord had been so kind and gracious to them, as to raise up judges one after another to deliver them, when they cried unto him, yet when they perceived that N…

2,894 words
SECTION 186

1 Samuel 13:1

1 Samuel 13:1 INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 13 This chapter relates how Saul disposed of his army, 1Sa 13:1 that Jonathan his son smote a garrison of Philistines, which provoked them to come out with a large army against them, to the great terror of the Israelites, many of whom fled to secret places, and to distant pa…

767 words
SECTION 187

1 Samuel 13:2

1 Samuel 13:2 Ver. 2. Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel,.... Out of the 300,000 that went with him to fight the Ammonites, and returned with him to Gilgal, where he now was, and had stayed as may be supposed about a year, since now he had reigned two years. These 3000 men some of them doubtless were appointe…

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SECTION 188

1 Samuel 13:3

1 Samuel 13:3 Ver. 3. And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba,.... Not the same with Gibeah of Benjamin, as Jarchi; for it can hardly be thought that Jonathan should place himself with his thousand men where the Philistines had a garrison; or that if this was the same with that in the prece…

261 words
SECTION 189

1 Samuel 13:4

1 Samuel 13:4 Ver. 4. And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines,.... For though it was smitten by Jonathan, yet it was by the order of Saul, and so ascribed to him; it seems to be a concerted thing to fall upon the garrisons of the Philistines, and get them out of their hands, and so…

185 words
SECTION 190

1 Samuel 13:5

1 Samuel 13:5 Ver. 5. And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel,.... To prevent their further encroachments on them, and designs against them; for they perceived they intended to cast off their yoke, and free themselves entirely from them: thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horseme…

724 words
SECTION 191

1 Samuel 13:6

1 Samuel 13:6 Ver. 6. When the men of Israel saw they were in a strait, for the people were distressed,.... By reason of the vast army that the Philistines brought into the field, greatly superior to theirs, and were likely to be encompassed by them on every side; so that nothing but destruction was expected, which ga…

267 words
SECTION 192

1 Samuel 13:7

1 Samuel 13:7 Ver. 7. And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead,.... As far off as they could from the Philistines, who lay on the west of the land of Israel, and these countries were to the east. Kimchi observes, that the land of Reuben is not mentioned, which was on the other side Jordan…

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SECTION 193

1 Samuel 13:8

1 Samuel 13:8 Ver. 8. And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed,.... He tarried to the seventh day, but not to the end of it, or towards the close of it, as he should have done: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; so soon as Saul expected: and the people were scattered from him; many …

84 words
SECTION 194

1 Samuel 13:9

1 Samuel 13:9 Ver. 9. And Saul said,.... Being impatient, and seeing the people deserting him apace, and unwilling to engage in a battle without first sacrificing to God, and imploring his help and assistance: bring hither a burnt offering to me; that is, a creature for a burnt offering, a bullock, sheep, goat, or la…

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SECTION 195

1 Samuel 13:10

1 Samuel 13:10 Ver. 10. And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burn offering,.... And before he could offer the peace offerings: behold, Samuel came; and it was told Saul that he was come: and Saul went out to meet him; left off sacrificing, and would proceed no further, leaving the …

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SECTION 196

1 Samuel 13:11

1 Samuel 13:11 Ver. 11. And Samuel said, what hast thou done? This question he put to bring him to a confession of what he had done, otherwise he guessed at it by his countenance; or rather, by the prophetic spirit he was endowed with, he knew it certainly that he had offered the sacrifices without waiting for him: a…

204 words
SECTION 197

1 Samuel 13:12

1 Samuel 13:12 Ver. 12. Therefore said I..... That is, within himself:the Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal; on a sudden, unprepared for them, especially in a religious way:and I have not made supplication to the Lord; for his direction and assistance, and for success in the war; which it seems went alo…

2,523 words
SECTION 198

1 Samuel 14:1

1 Samuel 14:1 INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 14 This chapter gives an account of an adventure of Jonathan and his armourbearer smiting a garrison of the Philistines, 1Sa 14:1, which with other circumstances struck terror into the whole army; which being observed by Saul's spies, he and his men went out against them, an…

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SECTION 199

1 Samuel 14:2

1 Samuel 14:2 Ver. 2. And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah,.... Not daring to go out against the Philistines, but remained in the furthest part of Gibeah, at the greatest distance from the camp of the Philistines, in the strongest part of the city, or deeply entrenched in the outer, part of it in the field…

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SECTION 200

1 Samuel 14:3

1 Samuel 14:3 Ver. 3. And Ahiah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother,.... Ichabod was the child that Phinehas's wife bore prematurely on hearing the news of the ark being taken and of the death of her husband and father-in-law, which name she gave him on that account, and died; see 1Sa 4:19, he, it seems, had an elder…

306 words
SECTION 201

1 Samuel 14:4

1 Samuel 14:4 Ver. 4. And between the passages by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines' garrison,.... One of which is called the passage of Michmash, 1Sa 13:23 and was that by which they went from Gibeah to Michmash; the other, which might be called the passage of Gibeah, was that by which they went f…

390 words
SECTION 202

1 Samuel 14:5

1 Samuel 14:5 Ver. 5. The forefront of the one was situate northward, over against Michmash,.... The northern precipice of this rock was towards Michmash, where the Philistines lay encamped, and where was the passage of Michmash the garrison went into and possessed: and the other southward, over against Gibeah; the s…

100 words
SECTION 203

1 Samuel 14:6

1 Samuel 14:6 Ver. 6. And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour,.... A second time, as Abarbinel thinks; the young man giving no answer to him the first time, perhaps through fear, he repeats it, and enlarges upon it for his encouragement: come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcise…

247 words
SECTION 204

1 Samuel 14:7

1 Samuel 14:7 Ver. 7. And his armourbearer said unto him,.... Very readily and cheerfully: do all that is in thine heart; whatever is thy pleasure, that thou hast a mind to do, that is upon thy heart, and thou art desirous of, and strongly inclined and affected to: turn thee; which way thou wilt, towards the garriso…

116 words
SECTION 205

1 Samuel 14:8

1 Samuel 14:8 Ver. 8. Then said Jonathan, behold, we will pass over to these men,.... Over the precipices to them, as steep and as cragged as they are: and we will discover ourselves to them; present themselves to them at daylight, and let them know plainly who they were, that they were Hebrews.…

55 words
SECTION 206

1 Samuel 14:9

1 Samuel 14:9 Ver. 9. If they say thus unto us,.... By this and what follows he gives his man a sign by which both might know how they should conduct themselves in this expedition, and what would be the issue, whether they should succeed or not: should they say, tarry until we come to you; this, as it would express b…

170 words
SECTION 207

1 Samuel 14:10

1 Samuel 14:10 Ver. 10. But if they say unto us, come up unto us,.... Which however spoken in contempt of them, yet would discover some fear, that they did not care to come out of their hold to them, and expose themselves to any danger; and besides being bid to come up, though it might be in a sneering ironical way, a…

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SECTION 208

1 Samuel 14:11

1 Samuel 14:11 Ver. 11. And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines,.... They passed over the valley that lay between Michmash and Gibeah, and presented themselves at the bottom of the hill or rock on which the garrison was, to the open view of it; and who might easily discern who they …

108 words
SECTION 209

1 Samuel 14:12

1 Samuel 14:12 Ver. 12. And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer,.... The guards that were set to watch the garrison, who descrying them, called to them, and said: come up to us, and we will show you a thing; we have something to say to you, a pretty thing to show you, when you shall pay dea…

235 words
SECTION 210

1 Samuel 14:13

1 Samuel 14:13 Ver. 13. And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet,.... He did not attempt to go up the way or pass the Philistines kept, but turned aside and climbed up a precipice thought inaccessible, and came upon them unseen, and at unawares; for had he attempted to come up in any part where he was …

8,363 words
SECTION 211

1 Samuel 15:1

1 Samuel 15:1 INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 15 In this chapter are recorded the order Saul had from the Lord to destroy Amalek utterly, 1Sa 15:1 the preparation he made to put it in execution, and the success thereof, 1Sa 15:4 the offence the Lord took at his not obeying his order thoroughly, with which Samuel was mad…

284 words
SECTION 212

1 Samuel 15:2

1 Samuel 15:2 Ver. 2. Thus saith the Lord of hosts,.... Of the celestial host of angels, and of the army of Israel, yea, of all the armies of the earth: this is premised to engage the attention of Saul: I remember that which Amalek did to Israel; four hundred years ago: how he laid wait for him in the way when he ca…

96 words
SECTION 213

1 Samuel 15:3

1 Samuel 15:3 Ver. 3. Now go and smite Amalek,.... This was one of the three things the Israelites were obliged to do when they came into the land of Canaan, as Kimchi observes; one was, to appoint a king over them, another, to build the house of the sanctuary, and the third, to blot out the name and memory of Amalek,…

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SECTION 214

1 Samuel 15:4

1 Samuel 15:4 Ver. 4. And Saul gathered the people together,.... Or "made them to hear" {r}, by the sound of a trumpet; or by sending heralds into all parts of the land to proclaim the above order of the Lord, and summon them to come to him, perhaps at Gilgal; so the Septuagint version, and Josephus {s}: and numbered…

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SECTION 215

1 Samuel 15:5

1 Samuel 15:5 Ver. 5. And Saul came to a city of Amalek,.... With his army, perhaps the nearest city of it to the land of Israel; though some think that Amalek was the name of the city, and was the metropolis of the nation, and had its name from thence: and laid wait in the valley; which was near the city, to intercep…

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SECTION 216

1 Samuel 15:6

1 Samuel 15:6 Ver. 6. And Saul said unto the Kenites,.... Who were of the posterity of Jethro the father-in-law of Moses, or related to him; why Josephus {x} calls them the nation of the Sicimites, who dwelt in the midst of the land of Midian, I know not: go, depart, get ye down from among the Amalekites; for though …

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SECTION 217

1 Samuel 15:7

1 Samuel 15:7 Ver. 7. And Saul smote the Amalekites,.... Engaging in battle with them, he overcame them, and beat them, and slew great numbers of them: from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt; having routed them in the valley, or in whatsoever place the battle was fought, he pursued them fr…

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SECTION 218

1 Samuel 15:8

1 Samuel 15:8 Ver. 8. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive,.... This name seems to be a common name of the kings of these people, as Pharaoh was of the Egyptians, see Nu 24:2. When this king fell into the hands of Saul, he did not put him to death, as he should have done, but preserved him; for what reaso…

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SECTION 219

1 Samuel 15:9

1 Samuel 15:9 Ver. 9. And Saul and all the people spared Agag,.... Perhaps Saul made the motion to spare him, and the people agreed to it; it may be, out of respect to him as a king; or because of the comeliness of his person, the height of his stature, and the largeness of his body, as Josephus {y} notes; or to carry…

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SECTION 220

1 Samuel 15:10

1 Samuel 15:10 Ver. 10. Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel,.... The word of prophecy, as the Targum; this came to him in a dream or vision, or by an articulate voice: saying; as follows.…

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SECTION 221

1 Samuel 15:11

1 Samuel 15:11 Ver. 11. It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king,.... Which is not to be understood of any change of mind, counsel, purpose, or decree in God, which is not consistent with his unchangeable nature; but of a change of dispensation, and outward dealings, and is spoken after the manner of men, wh…

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SECTION 222

1 Samuel 15:12

1 Samuel 15:12 Ver. 12. And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning,.... Having had no sleep since the revelation of the will of God was made unto him, and therefore rose early, being in haste to converse with Saul about it: it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel; not to Carmel where Elijah offere…

339 words
SECTION 223

1 Samuel 15:13

1 Samuel 15:13 Ver. 13. And Samuel came to Saul,.... At Gilgal: and Saul said unto him, blessed be thou of the Lord; signifying that he had abundant reason to bless the Lord on his account, not only that he had anointed him king, but had sent him on such an errand, in which he had succeeded so well, and it was a plea…

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SECTION 224

1 Samuel 15:14

1 Samuel 15:14 Ver. 14. And Samuel said, what meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears,.... For the orders were to destroy all living creatures belonging to the Amalekites, 1Sa 15:3 if therefore Saul had performed the commandment of the Lord, as he said he had, from whence were these sheep Samuel heard ble…

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SECTION 225

1 Samuel 15:15

1 Samuel 15:15 Ver. 15. And Saul said, they have brought them from the Amalekites,.... That is, the people, laying the blame upon them, as Adam did on his wife, as if he had no concern at all in it, when it is clear from 1Sa 15:9 he was the principal one; nor is it probable the people should do this of themselves, wit…

4,459 words
SECTION 226

1 Samuel 16:1

1 Samuel 16:1 INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 16 In this chapter Samuel is ordered to anoint a king among the sons of Jesse of Bethlehem, 1Sa 16:1 all whose sons were made to pass before him, excepting David, 1Sa 16:6 who being then with his father's sheep, was sent for and was anointed, 1Sa 16:11, after which the Spiri…

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SECTION 227

1 Samuel 16:2

1 Samuel 16:2 Ver. 2. And Samuel said, how can I go?.... Which argues weakness of faith in Samuel, and fear of man, and a diffidence in and distrust of divine power; for otherwise he that sent him on such an errand could protect him: if Saul hear it, he will kill me; should hear that Samuel went and anointed another …

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SECTION 228

1 Samuel 16:3

1 Samuel 16:3 Ver. 3. And call Jesse to the sacrifice,.... His family, both him and his sons, to partake of the peace offerings; as every offerer had a right to invite his friends, and whomsoever he pleased, to eat of those parts of them which belonged to him, as a feast before the Lord: and I will show thee what tho…

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SECTION 229

1 Samuel 16:4

1 Samuel 16:4 Ver. 4. And Samuel did that which the Lord spake,.... He filled a horn of oil, and took an heifer with him: and came to Bethlehem; where Jesse and his family lived, which, according to Bunting {y}, was sixteen miles from Ramah; though it could hardly be so much, since Ramah was six miles from Jerusalem …

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SECTION 230

see Ho 11:11

see Ho 11:11 and, said comest thou peaceably? the word "said" is singular; one of the elders put this question, the chiefest of them, perhaps Jesse; and the meaning of it is, whether he came with ill news and bad tidings, or as displeased with them himself on some account or another; or with a message from God, as dis…

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SECTION 231

1 Samuel 16:5

1 Samuel 16:5 Ver. 5. And he said, peaceably I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord,.... Which he could say with truth, it being one end of his coming, though not the only one for which he came, and which he was not obliged to tell: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice; prepare themselves for it, whic…

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SECTION 232

1 Samuel 16:6

1 Samuel 16:6 Ver. 6. And it came to pass, when they were come,.... Jesse and his sons, into the house where the entertainment was; and perhaps before they sat down, went into a private apartment by the direction of Samuel, where he acquainted Jesse with the business he came upon: that he looked on Eliab; who was Jes…

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SECTION 233

1 Samuel 16:7

1 Samuel 16:7 Ver. 7. But the Lord said to Samuel,.... By a secret impulse upon his mind, as if he had spoken with an articulate voice to him: look not on his countenance; which was comely and majestic: or on the height of his stature; which was like that of Saul's; and because the Lord had chosen him, who was super…

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SECTION 234

1 Samuel 16:8

1 Samuel 16:8 Ver. 8. Then Jesse called Abinadab,.... His second son, 1Sa 17:13 and made him pass before Samuel: that he might take a full view of him: and he said, neither hath the Lord chosen this; which he knew by a private suggestion from him.…

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SECTION 235

1 Samuel 16:9

1 Samuel 16:9 Ver. 9. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by,.... His third son, 1Sa 17:13, sometimes called Shimma, and Shimeah, 1Ch 2:13 and he said, neither hath the Lord chosen this; which he knew in the same way as before.…

45 words
SECTION 236

1 Samuel 16:10

1 Samuel 16:10 Ver. 10. Again Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel,.... Not seven more, for he had but eight sons in all with David, 1Sa 17:12 but four more, which with the other three made seven; three of these four are mentioned by name, Nathanael, Raddai, and Ozem, 1Ch 2:14, but the fourth we nowhere rea…

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SECTION 237

1 Samuel 16:11

1 Samuel 16:11 Ver. 11. And Samuel said unto Jesse, are here all thy children?.... For neither of these being the person God would have anointed king, and yet it was one of Jesse's sons that was to be anointed, he concluded he must have more, at least one more, and therefore puts this question to him: and he said, th…

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SECTION 238

1 Samuel 16:12

1 Samuel 16:12 Ver. 12. And he sent and brought him in,.... Sent messengers into the field and to the flock for him, and being come home Jesse introduced him into the room where Samuel was: now he was ruddy; which some understand not of the ruddiness of his complexion, or of his cheeks, but of the redness of his hair…

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SECTION 239

1 Samuel 16:13

1 Samuel 16:13 Ver. 13. Then Samuel took the horn of oil,.... Out of his pocket, which he brought along with him by the direction of God: and anointed him in the midst of his brethren; not in the presence of them, they sitting around, or standing by and seeing the ceremony performed; which is not consistent with the …

2,263 words
SECTION 240

1 Samuel 17:1

1 Samuel 17:1 INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 17 This chapter relates how the armies of Israel, and of the Philistines, prepared for battle, and where, 1Sa 17:1, describes a champion of the Philistines, who defied the armies of Israel, 1Sa 17:4, and while he was so doing, it informs us that David came into the camp, and…

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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.