By John Litteral Ps. JEROME HEBREW QUESTIONS ON 1 SAMUEL
CHAPTER 1 (1:1). There was a man from Ramathaim Sophim, and the mountain of Ephraim. His name was Elcama, son of Jeroam, son of Elin, son of Thu, son of Suph, Ephratean. Ramathaim means two heights; and these two heights designate two tribes, the royal tribe and the priestly tribe. That the father of Elcana was of the tribe of Levi, is on which we build completely the book of Chronicles, which gives his genealogy by adding to Levi (1 Chron. 6). As to his mother, it is said that she was of the tribe of Judah in that she is called Ephratean, a qualification which comes to him from Ephrata's wife Caleb, who is believed to have been of the tribe of Judah. If we were astonished that Ephrateanus came from Ephrata, and not from Ephraim, we have only to see in the following of these books that David is described as the son of the throne while his father is manifestly was not from the tribe of Ephraim, but from that of Judah, which proves that the same Ephratean qualification given to Elcana came to him from Ephrata, and not from Ephraim, Sophim means observer; denotes the prophets whose Elcana descended. "Of the mountain of Ephraim." This is said because his habitation was in Ephraim, which among all the tribes was the Levites' abode, as no one knows. (1:3-4). And this man, in the appointed days, ascended from his city to the temple. To the three solemnities of obligation, the Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles, he ascended to the house of the Lord. "And he gave their shares to Phenenna his wife and all his sons and daughters." These parts are the garments which, in these three solemnities, according to the custom of the nation, were distributed to wives, children, and servants. (1:5). It was sad to give Anna only one part. We read in Hebrew: "But he gave Anna two shares because he loved her." (1:16). Do not look at your servant as one of the girls of Belial, because so far my words have been inspired by the greatness of my sorrow and grief. Belial indeed means "without yoke," and it must be noted that all those who indulge in drunkenness are called Belial sons. (1:24). She took her with her, after she had fed three calves, and filled three measures of flour and an amphora of wine; and she took him to the Lord's house in Shiloh. In Hebrew one does not read "three measures of flour," but a measure; This passage was obviously disfigured by the fault of the Latin copyist. For if with three calves he offered three measures of flour, he set it against the precept of the law, which is the commandment: "The first day of the seventh month you will do no servile work; it is the day of the sounding of the trumpets; and you shall offer to the Lord a burnt offering, the smell of which will be very pleasant to him: a calf of your flock, a ram, seven immaculate lambs born in the year, and during this sacrifice you shall sprinkle with the oil of the flour of wheat, three tenths for each calf, two tenths for the ram, one tenth for each lamb (Lev. 23:34, and Num. 29:1), "and etc. . Now this tenth was the tenth of the Ephi. From it follows that Elcana would not have offered three measures of flour with three calves, but nine tenths which, according to the Hebrew measure, make an Ephi.
CHAPTER 2 (2:1). My heart was filled with joy in the Lord, and my horn was exalted in the Lord. She calls her son horn, because when she was without him, it seemed to her that she was without strength. (2:3). Let the old words depart from your mouth. Hebrew speaks: "Let old words come out," etc. And the meaning is this: How many ugly words come out of your mouth, which once spoke of pride. This is the one reproach to Phénenna and. his sons, because this one, to. because of the godly feast which God had given him, rose up against Anna. (2:4). The bow of the forts has been surpassed, and the weak have been girded. The bow of the Egyptians, that is to say the strength and the power, was surpassed, and the weak ones, that is to say the Israelites, were comforted. Otherwise: The bow, that is to say, the pride and strength of Phenenna, who glorified in her sons, has been surpassed; and Anna, who was weak because of her infertility, was surrounded by the strength of her sons. (2:5). Until the sterile spawn several children, while the one who had many sons, was weakened. In the Hebrew and the Septuagint version, there are not many, but seven. The Jews comment on this passage by saying that, at the birth of Samuél, Phénenna's firstborn died, and that he was born at birth. Anna's children, those of Phenenna, died. But one wonders how it can be, since Phenenna had seven sons, when Anna had only five. To overcome the difficulty, the Hebrews count both sons of Samuel with those of Anna. (2:8). To the Lord indeed belong the poles of the earth, and on them he has placed the universe. The Hebrew conveys. "To the Lord indeed belong the afflicted of the earth;" and by afflicted with the earth, he designates the poor of spirit and the humble of heart. The Hebrews say that the Lord posited these saints to the universe, in that they presume that the earth subsists by their merits. (2:10). The adversaries of the Lord will fear him, and from heaven he will make their thunder burst against them. The Lord will thunder from heaven against his adversaries; This is how it is read in the book of Joshua: "And as they were fleeing from Israel, and were on the descent of Bethoron, the Lord from heaven sent great stones upon them to Azecha and he died much more of the blows of the hail, than the sword of Israel's sons struck (Josh. 10:11). " (2:22). Now Eli was very old, and he learned all that his sons did in all Israel, and how they slept with the women, who watched at the entrance of the tabernacle. The Hebrews say that they slept with women, because after the time of flow or childbirth, without having accomplished the sacrifice ordered by law, they advised them to return to their husbands and resume the conjugal work. And Scripture accuses them of sleeping, because they allowed them to share the same layer, contrary to the precept of the law. From there the words of Eli a little lower: (2:24). It is not a good name that I am told about your account; you make the people of God transgress. The people transgressed, in that the husbands knew their wives, without the prescribed sacrifice being accomplished. The sons of Eli, just as they detour violently the meats that were to be sacrificed, diverted the sacrifice that was to be offered. In the meats, which would have been offered, they made men limit in the sacrament of the Lord; and in the copulation of the wives, they made the people of God transgress. (2:25). If a man sins against a man, God can appease himself to him, because by appeasing the man against whom we have sinned, we are ready to appease God against whom we have sinned in this man. But if a man sins against God, who will pray for him? One does not sin in the same way against a man as against God. Sin against a man is an ordinary mistake, and forgiveness is easy. But sinning against God, that is to say, getting away from his worship, is the sin of impiety, and forgiveness is most difficult, why when one man offends another, he suffers from it. to appease him also to appease God, but whoever says God, who will pray for him, as if it were said: By whom shall he be able to make himself propitious to God, against whom he has sinned? (2:27). A man of God came to Eli, and said to him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I not openly revealed unto you unto thy father's house, when he was in Egypt in the house of Arahon? and I chose him from among all the tribes of Israel to be my priest. This man of God, the Jews call him Phinees; they also assume it was Elijah. It is said that the Lord revealed himself at his father's house, that is, at Aaron, as this passage brings him: "The Lord said to Aaron, Go and meet Moses in the wilderness," (Ex. 4:27) etc. This is the testimony that God revealed himself to him. He was also chosen as priest among all the tribes of Israel, as evidenced by Ellé Smoth or Va'jecra. As for these words: "A man of God came to Eli," and what follows, it is believed that they were uttered before the time of Elcana, but that they are reported here for the glory of Samuel. (2:31-32). Behold, the days will come when I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father's house. He calls the arms, the ark and the dignity of the priesthood. "So that the old man is no longer in your house." The old man, that is, the high priest. "And thou shalt see thy rival thy place in the temple and in all the jewels of Israel." This rival of the house of Eli was the priest Sadoc, who, after Abiathar was expelled by Solomon, received the pontificate, as it is read in Malachi: "Solomon chases, Abiathar who was no longer priest of the God, so that the word pronounced by God on the house of Eli may be fulfilled (2 Sam. 27).” (2:32-36). However, I will not remove your descendants altogether from your altar, so that your eyes will fail, and your lover will wither. The Lord announces that he will not remove altogether from his altar any descendant of Eli, so that there is always a member of this family in the holy house, who will see the one who has been substituted for him in the dignity of the priesthood; and this sight will disturb his eyes and make his soul dry with envy. Hence, what is said below: "Let him come to venerate him," that is, venerate the high priest, "and receive from him the piece of money and the pie of bread, saying: Send me, I pray you, to a part of a priest, so that I may eat a mouthful of bread."
CHAPTER 3 (3:1). And the word of the Lord was precious in those days. It is qualified as valuable, because it is very rare, and all that is rare is precious. His "vision was not manifest," in that the prophecy was not fully manifested. (3:2). It happened that one day Eli was lying in her room, her eyes were dark and could not see. It is here that we must stop the connotation, and then resume: And before the lamp of God was extinguished, but Samuel slept in the temple, where was the ark of God. What must be understood thus: And before the lamp of God was extinguished, Samuel slept in the temple, where was the holy ark. For these words: "And before the lamp was extinguished," they signify: Before the light of day was made; indeed, it was then that the lamp was extinguished, which, according to the command of God transmitted by Moses, was to shine until the morning, as the report of the Exodus: "Order with Israel, says the Lord, to bring you the purest oil made of crushed olives with the grinder, so that a lamp always shines in the tabernacle of the Lord, and Aaron and his sons will put it in the shade that it shines in the morning in the presence of the Lord (Ex 27:20-21). " (3:7). Samuel did not yet know the Lord. He did not know the Lord, in the sense that the word of God had not yet been revealed to him in the mystery of the prophecy. (3:11). The Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I make my word on Israel resound; whoever will hold it will experience a clang of the two ears. There is a threat from the Lord against Eli and against his house; because of the sin of the children of Eli, they will perish, the ark of God will be taken, Israel will be defeated, and the house of Eli will be deprived of the priesthood of the house of the Lord; it is because of these events that the ears will clink and the Israelites will be amazed. (3:15). The door of the Lord's house was open, and Samuel did not dare tell Eli his vision. The meaning is not that Samuel opened the door of the temple; it was the priest who opened it. (3:19-21). And not one of the words of Samuel fell on the earth. It is said that none of his words fell on the earth, because all that he prophesied was verified by the event. And the word of Samuel arrived at Israel. The word that went to all Israel was that they must be struck by the Philistines because of the sins of the sons of Eli; what the outcome of things proved later. Now there was a great stone there; and they smashed the woods of the chariot. By this stone, the Hebrews hear the altar raised by Abraham.
CHAPTER 4 (4:14). Now there was a great stone there; and they smashed the woods of the chariot. By this stone, the Hebrews perceive the altar raised by Abraham. (4:17-18). But here are the golden anuses that the Philistines offer to God for their sins: Azot one, Gaza one, Ascalon one, Geth one, Acharon one. These five cities gave five anuses and five rats. The other cities of the provinces, and those without walls, gave only rats. So is it written: Since the city with walls to the one that did not have one. As for the following: "And unto Abela the great, near which they put the ark of the Lord;" Abela the Great is a city on the border of Israel. It is given the name of Abela the Great, whereas previously it was commonly called Bethsamis, either because of the mourning spread over the Baths, or to distinguish it from the Ahel Bethmaca city, about which the wise woman said to Joab, "Let those who question, question in Abela." It must be understood, then, that from the cities with ramparts to those that had none, and even to Abela the Great, the Philistines gave golden rats. Above Abela, that is to say, beyond their mourning, they laid down the ark of the Lord, which up to this day was in the territory of Joshua of Bethsamis. She was on this territory until she was brought to Carlath-Jarim. (4:16). And he smote seventy men of the people, and fifty thousand of the multitude. Hebrew bears: "And he struck seventy men and fifty thousand men." The Hebrews, by these seventy-two men, hear the seventy-lugges. Because of their merit and dignity they are compared to fifty thousand of the others. So it is said of David, Thou alone shall be numbered for ten thousand.
CHAPTER 7 (7:2). And it came to pass that from the day that the ark of the Lord dwelt in Carath-jerim, the days were multiplied, that is to say, it was twenty years, since the time when the priesthood of Eli until the rule of Samuel, it was twenty years full of calamities. At the end of the twentieth, Samuel transported the ark to Masphat, Samuel and Saul then transported it from Masphat to Galgala, from where Saul led him to Nohab, and Nobah at Gabaa where David carried her into the house of Obed Edom, and from there to Sion, whence Solomon finally carried it to the Holy of Holies. And all Israel rested after the Lord. They rested after the Lord, in the sense that, after having rejected the defilements of liberty, they devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the service of God. This is attested below. (7:4). The sons of Israel took away Baal and Astaroth, and served God alone; they assembled with Masphat, drew water and spread it in the presence of the Lord. The Hebrews report that in the presence of the Lord the curses were thrown into that same water; and as in the Law the jealous woman is subject to the test of water, so in this circumstance the idolaters were subjected to this test. No doubt those who absolutely denied having followed the cult of idols. They also report that any idolater who tasted of this water saw his lips adhere so much to each other that he could no longer separate them from each other. At this mark the idolatrous was recognized and put to death. This is evidenced by the following: (7:6). Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Moshathat. In this passage, by "judging the idolaters" one must deliver them to death according to the law. It is also said that Moses submitted to the same trial the idolaters who had made the golden calf, when, having seized this idol, he burned it, and, having reduced it to ashes, he threw them into the water which he gave to the sons of Israel.
CHAPTER 9 (9:7). And Saul said to his servant, We will go; but what shall we bring to man? It was because Saul thought that Samuel was pointing to the donkeys as the price of divination, that he was saying, "What shall we bring to man?" (9:12). Hurry now; today, indeed, he will come to the city, because the people must now offer a sacrifice on the height. In this place, sacrifice means the meal that Samuel had prepared for the people for the calendars. (9:16, 20). And I will send you back in the morning; and I will reveal to you all the desires of your heart; and I will make you not be anxious about the donkeys that you have lost, because they are found. Saul's thought, according to the interpretation of the Hebrews, was that he would be king, because he had seen himself, in a dream, placed on a palm tree. This vision was a sign of royalty. CHAPTER 10 (10:3). After you have gone from there, and pass by, you will have arrived near the oak of Thabor, three men going up to the Lord at Bethel will meet you there. These men were going to pray at Bethel, where Jacob had raised an altar. (10:5). After that, you will arrive at the hill of God, that is to say, at the place where the Prophets lived, and the spirit of the Lord will be separated from you, and you will prophesy with them. The Jews say that he prophesied in this place in the future era, in Gog and Magog, and the reward of the righteous and the punishment of the wicked. (10:7). As these signs come to you, do all that your hand will find, because God is with you. As if he were saying: At these signs you will recognize that God wanted you to be king. That is why you act as king in all your actions, because God is with you. (10:7). You will come down before me to Galgala, because I will go to you so that you offer the oblation and immolate the peaceful victims. You will wait seven days before I go to you, and I will show you what you should do. Some think that Saul was safe from reproach when he offered the holocaust, whereas, while waiting for Samuel, he did not come at the end of the seven days, according to his promise, only to deepen this passage to convince himself that Saul was guilty and rightly accused of disobedience. Let the Hebrews do in this place: "Thou shalt go down before me to Galgala, because I must then descend unto you." Then we repeat: "To offer the oblations and to immolate the peaceful victims, you shall wait seven days, until that I come to you, and show you what you must do.” Indeed, Samuel did not ask Saul to wait for his arrival for seven days, but he wanted Saul to wait until after those seven days to offer the oblations and sacrifice the peaceful victims. Saul did not, and that's in on this ground that he is accused and receives reproach for foolishness. (10:12). And he said to him, Who is their father? As if saying, "Who is greater than him in dignity and wisdom?” He may indeed be ranked among the prophets, and he who is so wise and prudent, to be called their father, that is to say, their master. The name of father was given to his teacher. This is how Elisha does with regard to Elijah; "My father, my father, chariot of Israel and his coachman;" (2 Kings 11:12) And again, in the book of Job, Heliu spoke to EIiphaz: "My father, let Job be tested till the end (Job 34:36)." (10:25). Samuel told the people the law of the kingdom; (in Hebrew: the judgment of the reign), and placed it in the presence of the Lord, that is, in the presence of the ark of the Lord, who was at Masphat.
CHAPTER 12 (12:11). The Lord sent Jerubaal, and Bedan, and Jephta, and Samuel, and delivered you from the hand of your enemies around you. Jerubaal is the same as Gideon, and Bedan the same as Samson. (12:14). If you fear the Lord, and serve him, if you listen to his voice, and if you do not put anger in his mouth. "The mouth of the Lord" is put for "the mouth of the prophets," who spoke according to the Lord.
CHAPTER 13 (13:1). Saul was a child of a year old when he began to reign; and he reigned two years over Israel; and this is not Isboseth, son of Saul, but of Saul himself. He was, at the beginning of his reign, as innocent as a child of a year, and Scripture says he persisted in this innocence for two years of reign in Israel. (13:3-4). When the Philistines heard it, Saul sounded the trumpet in all the earth saying, Let the Hebrews hear. And all Israel heard the news that Saul had smitten the Philistines. It is necessary to clarify the meaning by implying "they were troubled" after these words: When the Philistines had learned this. "Saul's resounding the trumpet." This trumpet was a sign of victory and encouragement, to make the Hebrews understand and hear that the Philistines had been frightened and vanquished. From the following: "And all Israel heard this news: Saul smote the Philistines." A news of this nature was very good to comfort Israel. And the Scripture continues: "Israel stood up against the Philistines," that is to say, began to act virile against them. (13:6). The sons of Israel were reduced to despair, for the people were in affliction, hid in the caves, in the woods, in the mountains, in the other places, in the cisterns. But the Hebrews passed Jordan over the land of Gad and Galaath. Since Israel hid in the places mentioned, how is it said, "The Hebrews passed the Jordan?" Those who hid themselves were some Israelites who had abandoned Saul and the people who followed him; A part of these Israelites, struck with terror, began the army of Saul and their compatriots, and took refuge in the camp of the Philistines. The meaning of this passage is clearly explained by what we read below:
CHAPTER 14 (14:21-22, 35). "The Hebrews themselves who had gone with the Philistines the day before and for three days, and went with them to their camp, returned to be with Israel, who followed Saul and Jonathan. Moreover, all the Israelites who had been hiding on the mountain of Ephraim, hearing that the Philistines had run away, gathered to fight. As for booty, sheep, bullocks, and oxen, which were astounded, were taken away, and the people ate with their blood. The people did not make vain the oath by which Saul had committed it, saying, “Cursed the man who will eat bread before the evening, before I am avenged on my enemies,” since they had then gained the victory; but it is said that they filled of the Lord and ate with the blood, because, contrary to the precept of the Law, they took food before the evening sacrifice was done. The custom was that when they had killed either theirs or strangers, they should not eat until the evening sacrifice was offered to them. Otherwise, they held God and ate with the blood; the victims being sacrificed, they did not bring fat and blood to the sanctuary for the priests, according to the precept of the law, when they had the saucer with them. When the sanctuary was far away, it was (elsewhere, it was) prescribed to spread the blood of the victims on the ground, whose meat was being prepared for eating. If the sanctuary was on the spot, the command is to shed blood on the altar of the Lord, as the book of the Deuteronomy says: "You shall sprinkle the blood of your victims on the altar, and you shall feed on their meat." This is what the people do not do in this circumstance, and that is why he is accused of sin, and having eaten with blood. Saul raised an altar to the Lord, and it was for the first time that he raised an altar to the Lord (v. 35). The Hebrew text does not bear "for the first time." One must therefore ask why because he raised an altar, when he was reprimanded by Samuel, it says here: "So for the first time he raised an altar to the Lord.” No doubt he had previously raised an altar; but as he had done contrary to obedience, it was as if he had not raised it. This time, Scripture relates that he raised the altar, because he did it according to obedience and rite. (14:38). Saul said: Apply to it all the angles of the people. The angles of the people are the princes of the people, to whom the people adhered.
CHAPTER 15 (15:3). Go now, strike Amalec and sow ruin throughout his territory. Do not spare him, put to death men and women, the child and the baby, the ox and sheep, the camel and the donkey, and all his animals. The Lord commands destruction to the animals Amalec uses, so that his memory will not live even in them. The Lord had indeed said that he would make Amalec's memory under heaven. This is why Saul receives the order to annihilate him from the man to the beast of burden. And because the memory of Amalec was not completely abolished, Saul was accused of sin and disobedience. This is what the book of Deuteronomy says about Amalec: "Remember what Amalec did to you on the road when you came out of Egypt; how he went to meet you and put to pieces your rear guard who had stopped by fatigue.” In these tired men, the Hebrews see the filthy who remained outside the camp according to the law. It is said that the Amalekites threw them to pieces, because according to the report of the same interpreters, they cut off their circumcision and hurled it at the sky, as a sign of derision against God. (15:6). Saul said to the Kenites: Go, leave, go away, lest I enclose you in his loss. You have indeed acted in mercy with all the sons of Israel when they came from Egypt. This is the same as Jethro, Moses' parent; from him descended the Kenites, who had come to Amalec with whom they lived, and who was besides their partner by the blood; so they had their inheritance on the same territory. The Scripture says that Ceni acts in mercy with the sons of Israel, either because he welcomed Moses well in the land of Lebanon, or because he gave him advice as to how to govern the multitude of the people. (15:12). Samuel received the news that Saul had come to Carme and had erected a triumphal arch. After the victory, as a sign of this victory, raised an arch of branches of myrtle, palm and olive. (15:21). The people brought oxen and sheep, the first fruits of the slain ones. First of all we mean here the main and the best parts. (15:29). Now the triumphant in Israel will not be painted miserly, and will not be bowed by regret; for he is not a man, so that he may repent. We read in the Hebrew; "But the triumphant will not deceive Israel." This triumphant is God. He will not deceive, because he is prodigal of goods which he promises to those who serve him. He will not regret it, because he has no regrets for the goods he gives. (15:30). Now honor me before the elders of my people, and before Israel. Honor me as king, so that I will go before you as king, and you will follow me, so that I may adore the Lord your God. The elders of his people designate his tribe, and the words "in the presence of Israel," the other tribes.
CHAPTER 16 (16:13). And the Spirit of God was in David from that day and onward. The spirit of God was directed at him, because it was then that he began to sing the Psalms. (16:18). One of the children answered, "I saw the son of Bethlehem," and so on. It is reported that this child was Doeg the Edomite, enemy of David; and all that he appears to have said to David's praise, he said hating him, because, driven by hatred and envy, he wanted him to go to Saul, where he would find death in any way.
CHAPTER 17 (17:4). And an unclean man named Goliath came out of the camp of the Philistines. He was impure because he had a giant father and a Gethean mother. (17:12). Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Juda before mentioned, whose name was Isai, and had eight children. One wonders why the number of children is increased to eight in this passage, when Chronicles say only seven. This is explained as well. Among the children of Isai is the prophet Nathan, born of his son Sammaa, and raised and fed as his own son. The Scripture says that seven of these children were led to Samuel, the eighth to pasture. Of course, one of these children is Nathan, also called Jonathan, who is said at the end of the book of Samuel, "He was struck by Jonathan, son of Sammaa, David's brother." (2 Sam. 18:21) It is to be noted that wherever he is called Prophet, it is under the name of Nathan, and not of Jonathan. (17:18). You will visit your brothers to know if they are doing well and learn in which company they live. The Hebrew text reads: "You will visit your brethren to know whether they are doing well, and you will take their pledges." By wages in this place, the Hebrews hear the act of repudiation. They report that the custom of their nation was that a Hebrew, when he left for the war, gave his wife an act of repudiation, so that if it happened to her husband to be caught in the fight and carried into captivity, the woman, after waiting in vain for his return during three years old, could remarry. Why did you come and leave your little flock in the desert? I know the pride and wickedness of your heart. He says that he knows the pride and wickedness of his heart, because in his mind David is angry at what Samuel has given him the royal anointing. (17:54). David, taking the head of the Philistine, carried it to Jerusalem; he laid down Goliath's weapons in his tabernacle. It is by anticipation that David is announced to have carried Goliath's head to Jerusalem, which he later did. Nor should it be understood that he laid down the arms of his enemy in his house, but in the tabernacle of the Lord, from which they were later returned to him by the high priest Abimelech. (17:55). Abner says: Long live your soul, O king, if I know. It is a way of speaking in accordance with that phrase: "Naboth Blesses God and the King;" (1 Kings 21:13) as if he were saying: Perish your soul, o king, if I know. Otherwise: That I see your death, if I know.
CHAPTER 18 (18:10). After another day an evil spirit of God invaded Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of his house. He prophesied in the manner of the plagiarists; it must be understood that in that he was prophesying, he was only reporting the words of others. (18:13). And David went out, and he returned to the people. When one went to battle he walked in the head and returned in the same way according to the royal custom. (18:21). Saul said, I will give it to her, that she may be scandalized for him, so that the hand of the Philistines may lurk on him. Saul thought that David might succumb to these two dangers: either in the pitfalls of his daughter, who was very devoted to him, or because of the foreskins of the Philistines, whom David could only procure by entering the war with these Philistines. "Saul therefore said to David, You will be my great consideration today." In two respects because David had already brought the Philistine foreskins to obtain Merob that Saul gave to the Moholathite Adriel, and that he later brought two hundred to obtain Michael, although Saul does not speak openly of the first contribution made by David, however, by reading attentively what precedes and what follows, it will be recognized that there were two contributions made by David. In two respects you will be my son-in-law today, because I have asked you for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, and you have brought me two hundred.
CHAPTER 19 (19:3). I will go out, I will stand with my father in the field where you will be, I will speak to you about my father and all that I will see, I will annunciate it to you. David had said that Saul would come down to the same field as Jonathan, and he had agreed with him to hide there. In this field Saul used to come often to take counsel and he had resolved to have David put to death, which Jonathan had revealed to him. (19:24). Saul also stripped himself of his garments and prophesied before Samuel. There arises a great question, since it is read above that Samuel did not see Saul until the day of his death, and it is said here that Saul prophesied beforehand. The Hebrews solve the difficulty in two ways: or he saw it because when Saul had joined the troop of prophets, Samuel hid himself not to be seen. Or he did not see him wearing the royal insignia he wore when he was told: "He did not see him until the day of his death," implying: Coat of a royal mantle. It must be understood that Saul does not deprive himself of all his clothes, but only of his insignia of king.
(20:1-2). May the Lord be with you, as he was with my father. And if I live, show me the mercy of the Lord. "May the Lord be with you as he was with my father,” make your reign great, as he did with my father's. "And if I live, show me the mercy of the Lord," No doubt that of living according to God under your scepter. "And if I die, you will never remove your miserable rope from my house." David came to Nobah to the high priest Ahimelech, who is the same as Aja, son of Ahitob, son of Phinehas, son of Heli.
CHAPTER 21 (21:5). And the vessels of the children were holy. Ahimelech asks if David and his children, whom he said he had led from one place to another, were pure. But David hides several mysteries about himself in his answer: "The vases of the children were holy" of any conjugal bond. The passage: "Now this way is soiled," which is in these terms in the Hebrew text: "Now this way is secular," must be so explained: This way is nonclerical, it is as if he said: The law prescribes that strangers must not eat of this, and ask if these children are pure when they cannot feed themselves, even though they are pure. This is why this path is secular, since you question in the manner of the laity. For the following: "But she herself shall be sanctified today in these vessels:" This way shall be sanctified in the vessels, that is, in his spirit, because he would not eat these loaves, he was constrained by the necessity and danger of his life. However, Scripture does not expressly say that David ate these loaves. The Hebrews claim that he did not eat of it, but it was otherwise according to the word of the Lord in the Gospel. (Mt 12:4) (21:7). On that day, there was inside the tabernacle one of Saul's servants, an Edomite named Doeg (elsewhere, Dog). The Hebrew text reads: "Bind in the presence of the Lord." This Doeg the Edomite was bound by the wish he had made to spend a few days in the tabernacle of the Lord and to go to prayer.
CHAPTER 22 (22:5). The Prophet Gad said to David: Do not remain in Pars and go to the land of Judah. The Prophet Gad is admirably introduced in this passage, while no mention has been made of it in the foregoing. It comes about as Elijah when it says, "And the Elijah Thesbite says about the inhabitants of Gilead." (1 Kings 17:4) From the Lord, the Prophet Gad therefore says to David to no longer dwell among the Gentiles on unclean ground, but to return to Judah and suffer the persecution of his enemies according to the will of God. (22:18). And the Edomite Doeg slew eighty-five men dressed in linen ephod that day. The Hebrew says, "Wearing the flax ephod:" The Hebrews say that they did not all wear the flax ephod, but that they were all fit and fully fit to wear it.
CHAPTER 23 (23:11). Will the men of Ceila deliver me into the hands of Saul, and will he come, as your servant has heard? Lord God of Israel, let your servant know about it. And the Lord says, He will come. As if he said: If you reside here, he will come. As for these words, "Will the men of Israel deliver me?" And the Lord says, "They will deliver you," This is the meaning: If Saul comes and finds you here, they will deliver you. Now when Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, fled to David at Ceila, he came there carrying the ephod; it was the ephod which Moses had made, at the command of the Lord; in him was doctrine and truth, and the priest confined in him. (23:18). The one and the other, that is, Jonathan and David, therefore, made a covenant before the Lord. Before the Lord, that is, in the presence of the Prophet Gad and the priest Abiathar who was wearing the ephod. (23:25). So Saul and his companions went in search of David. The latter, at this news, immediately descended to the stone, and he was staying in the desert of Maon. He went down to the stone, that is, to a more secure place, where he laid down his heavy burden. And he wandered in the desert of Maon, which opened to him as a refuge.
CHAPTER 25 (25:2). Now there was a man in the Maon desert. The Hebrew text does not say "in the desert." This man indeed lived in the city of Maon and was not in the desert. (25:21). In vain did I preserve all that belonged to him, and nothing of all that was to him perished, and he rendered me evil for good. He gave him evil for good, when he blasphemed against him with insults, and said, "What is David, and what son of Isai today have increased the servants who have fled their masters (1 Sam. 25:10)." (25:26). And now let them become like Nabal, your enemies, and those who seek evil against my Lord. Let them become, he says, like Nabal, so that they may perish like him in their stupidity. (25:30). When, therefore, the Lord has done unto you my Lord all the good which he has promised concerning you, and he hath made you ruler in Israel, this shall not be an occasion of sobbing to you. This, he says, shall not be an occasion of sobbing, that you will still shed the blood of Nabal, and that you must then weep and repent. (25:44). But Saul gave Michol his daughter David’s wife to Phalti, the son of Lais, who was of Gallim. At the report of the Hebrews, Phalti did not know it, because if it had been otherwise, David would never have given it as his companion, the law absolutely forbidding such a cohabitation. The same Phalti was from Gallim, that is to say, from the flood. The flood, that is to say Gallim means for the law. He was indeed a doctor of the law of Bathurim, that is to say, of the chosen ones. When Michol the daughter of Saul is given to him, she is interpreted as Phalti, that is to say, who escapes. And when the same Michol is taken away from him, she is interpreted as Phalti, that is to say, who escapes from God. It is said that she escapes from God, because he prevents him from touching her, lest he become a transgressor of the law.
CHAPTER 26 (26:6). David spoke to Ahimelech the Hetheit, and Abisai the son of Seruia the brother of Joab, saying: Who will go down with me? Ahimelech is the same as Uri. But Uri means "God my light," and Ahimelech, "my brother king."
CHAPTER 27 (27:8). And David and his companions went up, and they took away spoil of Gassuri, Gethri, and Amalekites. These countries indeed were inhabited of all antiquity. These countries were not under the power of Achis. It is said that they were inhabited of all antiquity, because they had been in peace and in safety, and had never been looted by any of them.
CHAPTER 28 (28:3). But Samuel died, and all Israel wept for him. He was buried in Rama, his hometown. Above (1 Sam. 25:1), it is said that he was buried in his house at Ramah. In his house, that is, in the middle of his family and his household. One wonders why, since already higher one reads that he was dead, one repeats here that he died. It is repeated here, in the report of the Hebrews, because of his resurrection. (28:6). He consulted the Lord, who answered him neither by dreams nor by priests. The Hebrew text reads: "Neither by doctrine nor by prophets." The Lord answered with dreams, as the Hebrew interpreters affirm, that prayer and fasting solicited a divine oracle, and God revealed in dreams what was to come; it did not happen to Saul on this occasion. "By doctrine," that is, by the ephod that the priest carried on his breast. "Neither the prophets," Because those questioning heaven for Saul God did not answer them. These prophets are said to be the same disciples of Samuel, whom David joined when he prophesied. (28:7). Seek me a woman that hath a divining spirit, and I will go to her, and will ask by her. Saul receiving no answer by legitimate means, turns to diviner. The Scriptures report that before that, Saul himself had destroyed in Israel all the wise men and all the diviners; but the Hebrews think that the woman in question here was the mother of Abner, son of Ner, in consideration of whom she was hidden and put in safety, when the massacre of the other diviners took place. (30:24). No one will listen to what you say, and whoever remains in the baggage will also share with the one who fought. One reads in the Latin codices: "Some tired stayed near the luggage;" but the Hebrew text states that "they were ordered to remain in charge of the baggage." This passage shows that we must follow the Hebrew version, which says that these people remained in the baggage, not out of fatigue, but on the order given. Indeed, we read here: "The share will be equal for the one who fought, and for the one who remained with the luggage." One does not say: "Those who by fatigue have remained in the baggage," but in an absolute way: "From one who has remained to the baggage." To those who would have remained there by fatigue, he would not be on any account of the spoils.
CHAPTER 31 (31:2). The squire seeing that Saul was dead, threw himself on his sword, and died with him. This squire, at the report of the Hebrews, was Edomite Doeg, who, seeing Saul dead, killed himself for fear of David. (31:6). Saul died, and with him his three sons, his squire, and all his men. By these men is meant the servants of Saul. The three sons killed with him are Jonathan, Melchisua and Abinadab, also called Jesui. Isboseth remained at home. He was born, it is said, the year of the establishment of Saul on the throne, and he was forty years old when he tried to succeed his father; from which we deduce that Saul reigned forty years. One wonders where it comes from reading in many places Jesui, in others Abinadab. Jesui translates as equal. He is so named because, according to tradition, he was equal in merit to his father. Abinadab translates as "my father willingly;" it is in fact, and deliberately, that Saul, his father, by acting badly, deserved to perish so miserably with his sons. |