The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Samuel — Section 227

it means simply their dispersion home- still, shin, the numeral for 300, has been wards ; and .so the Syriac translates, " He read with two dots, and so changed into dismissed them each to his house" (see Ps. 30,000. They came up, and pitched in Mich- lxix. 26). mash. Saul had withdrawn eastward to Ver. 3.-In Oeba. By this garrison the Gilgal, and the Philistines had thus placed Philistines commanded the further end of themselns between him and Jonathan. the defile, and they had also another outpost There is n difficulty, however, in the words beyond it near Gibeah itself (eh. x. 5). Pro- eastward from Beth-aven; for as this, ai(ain, bably neither of these garrisons was very was east of Bethel, it puts the Philistines' strong, allll Saul may have intended that camp too much to the east. As it is not, Jonathan should attack them while he held however, the regular phrnse for eastward, the northern end of the pass, which would some commentators render, " in front of be the first place assailed by the Philistines Beth-aven." "It means 'the house of in force. As regards the word translated naught,' and was the name originally given garri8on, attempts have been made to render to the desert east of Bethel, because of its it pillar, and to represent it as a token of barren character" (Conder, 'Tent Work,' ii. Philistine supremacy which Jonathan threw 108). The Philistines, however, had come in down, while others, with the Septuagint, take such numbers that their camp must have it as a proper name ; but the word smote is occupied a large extent of ground. strongly in favour of the rendering of the Ver. 6. -The people were distressed. A. V. Let the Hebrews hear. Saul must Literally, were squeezed, pressed together, have intended war when he thus posted him- were in difficulties. The Philistines had so self and Jonathan in such co=anding spots, promptly answ·ered Saul's challenge, that the and probably all this had been sketched out Israelites, forgetting their victory over Na- by Samuel (see on oh. x. 8). He now sum- hash, whose men, however, had probably mons all Israel to the war. It is strange very inferior arms to those -worn by the that he should call the people "Hebrews," Philistines, lost courage; and even the picked tb6 Philistine title of contempt; but it is band of 2000 men dwindled to 600. As for used again in ver. 7, and of course in ver. the mass of the people, they acted with the l 9. The Septuagint reads, "Let the slaves most abject cowardice, hiding themselves in revolt," but though followed by Josephus, caves, of which there are very many in the the change of text is not probable. lbnestone ranges of Palestine. David sub- Ver. 4.-That Saul had smitten. Thou~h sequently found safety in them when hWlted the achievement ·was actually Jonathan s, by Saul. Also in thickets. The word as yet it belonged to Saul as tlie commander- spelt here occurs nowhere else, nor do the in-chief, and probably had been done under versions agree as to its meaning. l\Iost pro- his instJ:uctions. Israel was had in abomin- bably it signifies clefts, rifts or fissures in the ation with the Philistines. They must have rocks. The next word, rocks, certainly means viewed with grave displeasure Israel's gather- precipitous cliffs; and thickets or thorn- ing together to choose a king, and Saul's sub- bushes would scarcely be placed between sequent defeat of the Ammonites, and reten- caverns and cliffs, both of which belong to tion with him of n large body of men, and so mountains. In high places. This won! probably they had been for some time making occurs elsewhere only in Judi,'s ix. 46, 49, preparations for war. Saul, therefore, know- where it is rendered hold. But this mean- ing that they were collecting their forces, ing is not supported by the ancient versions, -does the same, and the people were called and it more probably signifies a vault or together after Saul. Litemlly, "were cried crypt, which better suits the hiding-place after him," i. e. were summoned by proclam- next mentioned, pits, i. e. tanks, artificial ation (comp. Judges vii. 23, 24; x. 17, reservoirs for ,rnter, with which most dis- where see margin). For Gilgal see eh, vii. 16; tricts were well supplied in Palestine, even xi. 14. This place hod boon selected because, before its conquest by Israel. They were as the valley opens there into the plain of absolntely necessary, ns the rains fall only at Jordan, it was n fit spot for the assembling stated periods, am! the chalky soil will not of a large host. For i~s identification see hold water; when dry they would form fit Conder, 'Tent Work,' ii. 7-12. places for concealment. Ver. 6.-Long before Saul could gather Ver. 7.-Some of the Hebrews. A con- Israel the Philistines ha,l completed their temptuous name for Israel (see vcr. 3). If 'Preparations, and invadecl the country in the reading is correct, it must be usecl here overwhelming numbers ; but thirty thousand of a cowardly portion of the people (as in eh. ohariots compared with six thousand horse- xiv. 21), for the insertion of some of in t!ic men is out of all proportion. Possibly the A. V. is unjustifiable. But by a vc1·y sli~ht final l in Isrnel has been taken by some copy- change, simply lengthening the stalk of one ·ist for a numeral, and as it signifies thirty, it letter, we get a very good sense : "Ancl they ihas chaage-1 1000 into 30,000. Or, simpler went over the fords of t be Jordan to the la :id Q2  TllE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. [CR. XIII, 1-28.