they brought it into the house of " Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

3 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and P set him in his place again.

4 And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon, and both the palms of his hands, were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day. 6 But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod, and the coasts thereof.

u

7 And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel

n Judg. 16. 23-0 Isai. 19. 1. & 46. 1, 2-p Iani. 46. 7.-q Jer. 50. 2. Ezek. 6. 4, 6. Mic. 1. 7.-r Or, the fishy part-s See Zeph. 1. 9.-t Ver. 7. 11. Exod. 9. 3. Psa. 32.

Verse 2. The house of Dagon] On this idol, which was supposed to be partly in a human form, and partly in that of a fish, see the note on Judges xvi. 23. Some think that this idol was the same with Directo, Attergatis, the Venus of Askelon, and the Moon. See Calmet's Dissertation on the gods of the Philistines.

The motive which induced the Philistines to set up the ark in the temple of Dagon may be easily ascertained. It was customary in all nations to dedicate the spoils taken from an enemy to their gods:-1st, As a gratitude-offering, for the help which they supposed them to have furnished; and, 2dly, As a proof that their gods, i. c. the gods of the conquerors, were more powerful than those of the conquered. It was, no doubt, to insult the God of Israel, and to insult and terrify his people, that they placed his ark in the temple of Dagon. When the Philistines had conquered Saul, they hung up his armour in the temple of Ashtaroth, chap. xxxi. 10. And when David slew Goliath, he laid up his sword in the tabernacle of the Lord, chap. xxi 8, 9. We have the remains of this custom in the depositing of colours, standards, &c. taken from an enemy, in our churches; but whether this may be called superstition, or a religious act, is hard to say. If the balile were the Lord's, which few battles are, the dedication might be right.

Verse 3. They of Ashdod arose early on the morrow] Probably to perform some act of their superstition in the temple of their idol.

Dagon was fallen upon his face] This was one proof, which they little expected, of the superiority of the God

of Israel.

Set him in his place again.] Supposing his fall might have been merely accidental.

Verse 4. Only the stump of Dagon was left] Literally, only "dagon (i. e. the little fish,) was left." It has already been remarked, that Dagon had the head, arms, and hands, of a man or woman; and that the rest of the idol was in the form of a fish, to which Horace is supposed to allude:

Desinat in piscem, mulier formosa superne.

"The upper part resembling a beautiful woman, the lower a fish."

All that was human in his form was broken off from what resembled a fish. Here was a proof that the affair was not accidental; and these proofs of God's power and authority prepared the way for his judgments.

Verse 5. Tread on the threshold] Because the arms, &c. of Dagon were broken off by his fall on the threshold, the threshold became sacred, and neither his priests nor his worshippers ever tread on the threshold; thus it was ordered, in the divine providence, that, by a religious custom of their own, they should perpetuate their disgrace, the insufficiency of their worship, and the superiority of the God of Israel.

It is supposed that the idolatrous Israelites, in the time of Zephaniah, had adopted the worship of Dagon and that, in this sense, chap. 9. is to be understood, In the same day will I punish all those who leap upon the threshold. In order to go into such temples, and not tread on the threshold, the people must step or leap over them; and in this way the above passage may be understood. Indeed, the thresholds of the temples, in various places, were deemed so sacred that the people were accustomed to fall down, and kiss them. When Christianity became cor

shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.

8 They sent therefore, and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.

9 And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, w the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts. 10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.

11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to

4. Acts 13. 11-u Ch. 6. 5.-v Deut. 23. 27. Pra. 73. 66.-w Deut. 2. 15. Ch. 7. 13. & 12. 15.-x Verse 11-y Verse 6. Psa. 78. 66.-2 Heb. me, to slay me and my.

rupted, this adoration of the thresholds of the churches took place.

Verse 6. Smote them with emerods] The word boy âpalim, from Spy âphal, to be elevated, probably means the disease called the bleeding piles; which appears to have been accompanied with dysentery, bloody flux, and ulcerated anus.

The Vulgate says, Et percussit in secretiori parte natium: "And he smote them in the more secret parts of their posteriors." To this the Psalmist is supposed to refer, Psa. lxxviii. 66. He smote all his enemies in the HINDER PARTS; he put them to a perpetual reproach. Some copies of the Septuagint have εξέζεσεν αυτοις εις τας ναυς, “he inflamed them in their ships;" other copies have is ras idpas, "in their posteriors." The Syriac is the game. The Arabic enlarges: "He smote them in their posteriors, so that they were affected with a dysenteria." I suppose them to have been affected with enlargements of the hæmorrhoidal veins, from which there came. frequent discharges of blood.

The Septuagint and Vulgate make a very material addition to this verse; Kat peσov тns xwpas avrns avε VETIV μυες και εγενετο συγχυσις θανατου μεγάλη εν τη πολει --Ει ebullierunt ville et agri in medio regionis illius; et nati sunt mures, et facta est confusio mortis magnæ in civitate. "And the cities and the fields of all that region burst up, and mice were produced, and there was the confusion of a great death in the city." This addition, Houbigant contends, was originally in the Hebrew text; and this gives us the reason why golden mice were sent, as well as the images of the emerods, chap. vi. 4. when the ark was restored.

Verse 7. His hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.] Here the end was completely answered: they now saw that they had not prevailed against Israel, because their god was more powerful than Jehovah; and they now feel how easily this God can confound and destroy their whole nation.

Verse 8. The lords of the Philistines] The word sarney, which we translate lords, is rendered by the Chaldee tureney, tyrants. The Syriac is the same. By the Vulgate and Septuagint, satrapas, satraps. Pales tine was divided into those five satrapies; Ashdod, Ekron, Askelon, Gath, and Gaza. See Josh. xiii. S. But these were all federates; and acted under one general government, for which they assembled in council.

Let the ark-be carried about] They probably thought that their affliction rose from some natural cause; and, therefore, they wished the ark to be carried about from place to place, to see what the effects might be. If they found the same evil produced wherever it came, then they must conclude that it was a judgment from the God of Israel.

Verse 9. The hand of the LORD was against the city] As it was at Ashdod, so it was at Gath. The Vulgate says, Et computrescebant prominenter extales eorum ; which conveys the idea of a bloody flux, dysentery, and ulcerated anus: and it adds, what is not to be found in the Hebrew text, nor many of the versions, except some traces in the Septuagint, Et fecerunt sibi sedes pelliceas, “And they made unto themselves seats of skins;" for the purpose of sitting more easy, on account of the malady already mentioned.

13 And they of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat-harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.

14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt-offering unto the LORD.

15 And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt-offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD.

16 And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

x Josh. 13. 3.—y Verse 4.-z Or, great stone.

Verse 12. Lowing as they went] Calling for their calves. To the right hand or to the left] Some think they were placed where two roads met, one going to Ekron, the other to Beth-shemesh. It is possible that they were put in such circumstances as these, for the greater certainty of the affair: to have turned from their own home, from their calves, and known pasture, and to have taken the road a strange country, must argue supernatural influence. The lords of the Philistines went after] They were so jealous in this business, that they would trust no eyes but their own. All this was wisely ordered, that there might be the fullest conviction of the being and interposition of God.

17 And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass-offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;

18 And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Beth-shemite. 19 And he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.

a See Exod. 19. 21. Numb. 4. 5, 15, 20. 2 Sam. 6, 7.

Verse 14. They clave the wood of the cart] Both the cart and the cattle, having been thus employed, could no longer be devoted to any secular services: therefore, the cattle were sacrificed, and the cart was broken up for fuel to consume the sacrifice.

Verse 15. The Levites took down] It appears there were some of the tribe of Levi among the people of Bethshemesh: to them appertained the service of the tabernacle. Verse 17. These are the golden emerods] Each of these cities, in what may be called its corporate cupacity, sent a golden emerod.

Verse 18. And the golden mice] The desolation that had been made through the land by these animals, had excited a general concern; and, it appears from the text, that all the cities of the Philistines, as well fenced as without walls, sent a golden mouse as a trespass-offering. Remaineth unto this day] Some think that the ark is intended, which continued on the stone of Abel for some considerable time after it was placed there; and that the memoranda, from which this book was afterward compiled, were made before it was removed: but it is not likely that it remained any time exposed in the open field. Therefore, it is most natural to suppose that it is the stone of Abel, which is here intended; and so our translators have understood the place, and have used supplementary words to express this sentiment. Which stone remaineth unto this day.

4. The SYRIAC has forty-five thousand less! It is as follows: 1200 mall helen Holo wise

*wamacho Morio beâmo chamesho alapin weshabêin gabrin; "And the Lord smote among the people FIVE thousand and SEVENTY men."

5. The ARABIC is nearly similar:-"And the LORD smote among the people; and there died of them all FIVE thousand and SEVENTY men.

We have no other versions from which we can receive any farther light.

6. JOSEPHUS is different from all the rest, and has fifty thousand less: for he renders the place thus, Antiq. Jud. lib. vi. cap. i. sect. 4. Opyn de kaι XOXOS TOV DEOV μετεισιν, ώσε εβδομήκοντα των εκ της Βηθσαμης κώμης βαλων απέκτεινεν. "But the displeasure and wrath of God pursued them so, that SEVENTY men of the village of Beth-shemesh, approaching the ark, which they were not worthy to touch, (not being priests,) were struck with lightning." Here we find the whole fifty thousand is omitted.

7. Rabbi Solomon JARCHI, giving the opinion of other rabbins as well as his own, says, "Our rabbins say SEVENTY men, and each of them was worth fifty thousand men; or fifty thousand, every one of whom was worth the seventy of the Sanhedrim." This only shows embarrassment, but gives very little light.

All these discordances, together with the utter improbability of the thing, lead us to suppose there must be a corruption in this place, either by adding or omitting.

From the manner in which the text stands, and from the great improbability of the thing, it is most likely that there is a corruption in this text, or that some explanatory word is lost, or that the number fifty thousand has been added by ignorance or design; it being very improbable that such a small village as Beth-shemesh should contain, or be capable of employing fifty thousand and seventy men in the fields at wheat harvest; much less that they could all peep into the ark on the stone of Abel, in the cornfield of Joshua.

That the words are not naturally connected in the Hebrew text is evident; and they do not stand better in the versions.

1. The VULGATE renders it thus:-Et percussit de populo SEPTUAGINTA viros; et QUINQUAGINTA MILLIA plebis; "And he smote of the (chief) people SEVENTY men; and FIFTY THOUSAND of the (common) people." This distinction, I suppose, St. Jerom intended, between plebs and populus; which he might think was warranted by the anashim, and ww ish, of the Hebrew text.

Perhaps the omission in these MSS. was occasioned by a mistake of the transcriber; which might have easily happened, because of the word wish, which occurs both after ya shibeim, and after eleph; for, having written the first, and taking his eye off when he recommenced, he might have supposed he had written the latter, and so proceed, leaving the words in question out of his copy. Two, three, or more persons might have been thus deceived, and so produce the above MSS.; or the mistake, once made, all the MSS. copied from that, would show the same omission. The common reading may be defended, if we only suppose the omission of a single letter, the particle of comparison > ke, like, as, or equal to, before the word on chamashim: thus on kechamashim; the passage would then read-" And he smote of the people SEVENTY men, equal to FIFTY THOUSAND men: that is, they were the elders or governors of the people."

Some solve the difficulty by translating, "He slew SEVENTY men OUT or fifty thousand men.' "There are various other methods invented by learned men to remove this difficulty, which I shall not stop to examine: all, however, issue in this point, that only SEVENTY men were slain; and this is, without doubt, the most probable. The FIFTY THOUSAND, therefore, must be an interpolation, or be understood in some such way as that mentioned above.

21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, saying, the Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.

CHAPTER VII.

The men of Kirjath-Jearim bring the ark from Betb-shemesh, and consecrate Eleazar, the son of Abinadab, to keep it; and there it continued twenty years, 1, 2

Samuel reproves and exhorts the people; and gathers then together at Mizpeh, where they fast and pray, and confess their sins, 3-6 The Philistines go up against them; the Israelites cry unto the Lord for help; Samuel offers sacrifices; and the Lord confounds the Philistines with thunder; Israel discomfit, and pursue them to Beth-car, 7-11. Samuel erects a stone for a memorial, and calls it Ebenezer, 12. The Philistines are totally sublued, and Israel recovers all its lost cities, 13, 14. Samuel acts as an itinerant judge in Israel, 15—17. An. Exod. Isr.

351. Anno ante

L. Olymp. 361.

AN

ND the men of Kirjath-jearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house

b 2 Sam. 6. 9. Mal 3. 2- Josh. 18. 14. Judg. 18. 12. 1 Chron. 13. 5. 6-d Ch. 6. 21. Psa. 132. 6.-e 2 Sam. 6. 4.-(Deut. 30. 2-10. 1 Kings 8. 43. Isaiah 55. 7. Hos. 6. 1.

But the omission of the particle of similitude solves every difficulty; and this would account for the reading in Josephus, as, in his recital, he would naturally leave out such an explanation of the worth of the seventy men, as his Roman readers could not easily comprehend such comparisons.

With a great slaughter.] Seventy men slain, out of an inconsiderable village, in a harvest day, was certainly a great slaughter.

Verse 20. Who is able to stand] Why this exclamation? They knew that God had forbidden any to touch his ark but the priests and Levites; but they now endeavour to throw that blame on God, as a being hard to be pleased, which belonged solely to themselves.

Verse 21. To the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim] They wished the ark away out of their village: but why they sent to this city instead of sending to Shiloh, does not appear probably, Shiloh had been destroyed by the Philistines, after the late defeat of Israel. This is most likely, as the ark was never more taken back to that place.

It was a very ancient usage when a plague, or other calamity, infested a country, city, &c. for the magicians to form an image of the destroyer, or of the things on which the plague particularly rested, in gold, silver, ivory, wax, clay, &c. under certain configurations of the heavens; and to set this up in some proper place, that the evils thus represented might be driven away. These consecrated images were the same that are called talismans, or rather telesms, among the Asiatics. Mr. Locke calls the diviners talismans! but this is a pitiful mistake: the image, not the fabricator, was called by this name.

I have seen several of these talismans, of different countries; and such images were probably the origin of all the forms of gods, which, in after times, were the objects of religious worship. It is well known that Ireland is not infested with any venomous creature; no serpent of any kind is found in it:

"No poison there infects, no scaly snake

Lurks in the grass, nor toad annoys the lake." This has been attributed to a telesm, formed with certain rites, under the sign Scorpio. Such opinions have been drawn from very ancient Pagan sources: c. g. A stone engraved with the figure of a scorpion, while the moon is in the sign Scorpio, is said to cure those who are stung by this animal. Appollonius Tyaneus is said to have prevented fies from infesting Antioch; and storks from appearing in Byzantium, by figures of those animals formed under certain constellations. A brazen scorpion, placed on a pillar in the city of Antioch, is said to have expelled all such animals from that country. And a crocodile of lead is also said to have preserved Cairo from the depredations of those monsters. See Calmet.

Virgil refers to this custom, Eclogue viii. v. 80. where he represents a person making two images, or telesms, one of war, another of clay; which were to represent an absent person, who was to be alternately softened or hardened as the war or clay image was exposed to the fire.

Limus ut hic durescit, et hæc ut cera liquescit
Uno et eodem igni: sic nostro Daphnis amore.

"As this clay hardens, and this wax softens, by one and the same fire; so may Daphnis by my love."

A beautiful marble figure of Osiris, about four inches and a quarter high, now stands before me, all covered over with hieroglyphics: he is standing, and holds in each hand a scorpion and a snake by the tails, and with each foot he stands on the neck of a crocodile. This, I have no doubt, was a telesm, formed under some peculiar configuration of the heavens, intended to drive away

2 And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.

A. M. 3894.

371

L. Olymp 344

3 And Samuel spake unto all the B. C. 11:30 house of Israel, saying, If ye do re- An Exod. Iz. turn unto the LORD with all your Anno ante hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.

i

4 Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only.

Joel 2. 12-g Gen. 35. 2. Josh 24. 14, 23-h Judg. 2 13-i 2 Chron. 30. 19. Job 11. 13, 14-k Deut. 6. 13. & 10. 20. & 13. 4. Matt. 4. 10. Luke 4. 8.- Judg. 2. 11.

both scorpions and crocodiles. This image is of the highest antiquity, and was formed probably long before the Christian era.

Tavernier observes, that something like what is mentioned in the text is practised among the Indians: for when a pilgrim goes to one of the idol temples for a cure, he brings the figure of the member affected, made either of gold, silver, or copper, according to his circumstances, which he offers to his god. This custom was common among the heathens; and they consecrated to their gods the monuments of their deliverance. From heathenism it was adopted by corrupt Christianity; and Theodore informs us that, in his time, there might be seen about the tombs of the martyrs figures of eyes, hands, feet, and other parts of the body, which represented those of the offerers which they supposed had been healed by the intercession of those holy persons! This degrading superstition is continued among the Papists to the present day: I have seen at St. Winifrid's well, in Holywell, Flintshire, several staves, crutches, and handbarrows, hung up in different places, which were reported to be the votive offerings of the maimed, the halt, the withered, &c. who had received their cure by the virtue of the saint! It is true the crutches are such as no man or woman could ever walk with; and the barrows are such as most evidently never carried any human being. But they serve the purposes of superstition, and keep up an idolatrous reverence for the well, and the legendary virgin.

After all, I need not say that the system of judicial astrology is vain, unfounded, absurd, and wicked. It, in effect, presumes to take the government of the world out of the hands of an all-wise God, and to abandon it to the most fortuitous and unconnected occurrences of life: for, the stars have their influences according to this pretended science, conformably to the occurrences here below; e. g. if a child be born but one hour sooner or later than a particular configuration of the heavens, his destiny will be widely different from what it otherwise would have been; and as an almost infinite number of casualties may accelerate or retard a birth, consequently the whole destiny of the man is influenced and ruled by these casualties: to say nothing of the absurdity, that those omnipotent stars never can affect the infant while invested with a thin covering of flesh in the womb of its parent. But the whole science is a tissue of absurdities.

NOTES ON CHAPTER VII. Verse 1. Fetched up the ark] When these people received the message of the Beth-shemites, they probably consulted Samuel, with whom was the counsel of the Lord; and he had encouraged them to go and bring it up, else they might have expected such destruction as happened to the Beth-shemites.

Sanctified Eleazar] Perhaps this sanctifying signifies no more than setting this man apart, simply to take care of the ark.

Verse 2. It was twenty years] This chapter contains the transactions of at least twenty years; but we know not the date of each event.

Verse 3. And Samuel spake] We have heard nothing of this judge since he served in the tabernacle. He was now grown up, and established for a prophet in the land of Israel.

If ye do return] From your backsliding and idolatry. With all your hearts] For outward services and professions will avail nothing.

Put away the strange gods] Destroy their images, altars, and groves; they are strange; you do not know them as helpers, saviours, or defenders.

5 And Samuel said, m Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD. 6 And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, P We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh. 7 And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hands of the Philistines.

r

13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

14 And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

b

15 T And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.

2947. 1057.

ra Judges 20. 1. 2 Kings 25. 23.-n 2 Sam. 14. 14.-o Neh. 9. 1, 2 Dan. 9. 3, 4, 5. Joel 2. 12-p Judges 10. 10. 1 Kings 8. 47. Psa. 106. 6.-q Ecclus. 46. 14.-r Heb. Be not silent from us from crying.-s Isai. 37. 4.-t Ecclus. 46. 16.- Psa. 99. 6. Jer. 15. 1.-v Or, answered.

Prepare your hearts] steady. And serve him only] Have no other religious service but his; and obey his laws. He will deliver you] Vain are your own exertions: he will deliver you in such a way as to show that the excellence of the power is of himself alone.

Let your hearts be straight and

Verse 4. Put away Baalim and Ashtaroth] These were not two particular deities, but two genera of idols; the one masculine, BAALIM: the other feminine, ASHTAROTH: both the words are in the plural number, and signify all their gods and goddesses.

Verse 5. Gather all Israel to Mizpeh] This appears to have been an armed assembly: though, probably, collected principally for religious and political purposes: but Samuel knew that an unarmed multitude could not safely be convened in the vicinity of the Philistines.

355-281.

17 And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the LORD.

w See Josh. 10. 10. Judg. 4. 15. & 5. 20. Ch. 2. 10. 2 Sam. 22. 14, 15. Ecclus. 46. 17.-x Gen. 28. 18. & 31. 45. & 35. 14. Josh. 4. 9. & 24. 26.-y That is, The stone of help. Ch. 4. 1.-z Judg. 13. 1-a Ch. 13. 5-b Ver. 6. Ch. 12. 11. Judg. 2. 16. e Heb. and he circuited-d Ch. 8. 4.-e Judg. 21. 4.

Though Samuel was not a priest, yet he offered this sacrifice; or, he might have ordered Eleazar to offer it, and still be said to have done it himself-Qui facit per alterum, facit per se; "He who procures a thing to be done, may be said to do it himself."

His not sacrificing at the tabernacle was justified by the necessity of the case: neither tabernacle nor ark was at hand.

Verse 10. The LORD thundered with a great thunder] Literally, The Lord thundered with a great voice; he confounded them with a mighty tempest of thunder and lightning; and, no doubt, slew many by the lightning.

Verse 11. Under Beth-car.] We know not where this place was: the Septuagint have Beth-chor; the Targum, Beth-saron; and the Syriac and Arabic, Beth-jasan. Verse 12. Called the name of it Eben-ezer] Eben ha-êzer, "The Stone of Help:" perhaps a pillar is meant by the word stone.

The Chaldee Paraphrast understands the place differently; for he translates: "And they poured out their hearts in penitence, as WATERS, before the Lord." That deep penitential sorrow was represented under the notion of pouring out water we have a direct proof in the case of David, who says, Psa. xxii. 14. I am POURED OUT LIKE WATER, my heart is like wax; it is MELTED in the midst of my bowels. And to repentance, under this very similitude, the prophet exhorts fallen Jerusalem. Arise, cry out in the night in the beginning of the watches POUR OUT thine HEART LIKE WATER before the face of the Lord. Lam. ii. 9. David uses the same image, Psa. Ixii. 8. Trust in him at all times, yc people; POUR out your hearts before him. The same figure is used by Hannah, in chap. i. 16. of this book, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit; I have POURED OUT my soul before the Lord. Perhaps the drawing and pouring out of water, mentioned in the text, was done emblematically, to represent the contrition of their hearts.

And Samuel judged] He gave them ordinances, heard and redressed grievances, and taught them how to get reconciled to God. The assembly, therefore, was held for religio-politico-military purposes.

Verse 7. The Philistines went up against Israel.] They went to give them battle, before that, by continual accessions of numbers, they should become too powerful. Verse 8. Cease not to cry unto the LORD] They had Etrong confidence in the intercession of Samuel, because they knew he was a holy man of God.

Verse 9. Samuel took a sucking lamb] This sucking larnb must have been eight days under its mother before it could be offered, as the law says, Lev, xxii. 27.

Verse 13. They came no more into the coast of Israel] Perhaps a more signal victory was never gained by Israel: the Lord had brought them low, almost to extermination; and now, by his miraculous interference, he lifts them completely up, and humbles to the dust their proud opbrought to the lowest extremity, that he may show his mercy and goodness, by suddenly rescuing them from destruction, when all human help has most evidently failed.

Verse 14. The cities which the Philistines had taken] We are not informed of the particulars of these reprisals; but we may rest assured all this was not done in one day: perhaps, the retaking of the cities was, by slow degrees, through the space of several years.

There was peace between Israel and the Amorites.] That is, all the remaining Canaanites kept quiet, and did not attempt to molest the Israelites, when they found the Philistines, the most powerful of the ancient inhabitants of the land, broken and subdued before them.

Verse 15. Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.] Samuel is supposed to have lived one hundred years: he did not begin to judge Israel till he was about forty years of age; and, if he was a hundred years of age when he died, he must have been a judge sixty years, and consequently been in that office during the whole of Saul's reign! But that he had been dead before Saul's last battle is evident, from the transactions of that king with the witch of En-dor; and probably not long before. Samuel was the prophet of that time; declared the will of the Lord, and frequently directed both the civil and military transactions of the kingdom. Samuel seems, in many respects, to have been considered the governor of the people, while Saul was only looked on as the general of the armies.

Verse 16. He went from year to year in circuit] When he was at BETH-EL, the tribe of Ephraim, and all the northern parts of the country, could attend him; when at GILGAL, the tribe of Benjamin, and those beyond Jordan, might have easy access to him; and when at MIZPEн, he was within reach of Judah, Simeon, and Gad; but Ramah