*H And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered together their armies, to be prepared for war against Israel: And Achis said to David: Know thou now assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to the war, thou, and thy men.
Ver. 1. Israel. God made use of the ill-will of the Philistines to punish Saul, and to make way for David to the throne. Salien. — Each of the five lords brought their armies into the field, where they were united. Achis, placing the greatest confidence in David, requires his attendance. C.
*H And David said to Achis: Now thou shalt know what thy servant will do. And Achis said to David: And I will appoint thee to guard my life for ever.
Ver. 2. Do; or "can do." Thou wilt be convinced of my valour and fidelity. H. — But could David lawfully fight against his brethren? or could he desert Achis in the heat of the engagement? His answer is ambiguous. C. — He prudently committed his cause into the hands of Providence, resolved to do nothing contrary to his duty, and to abide by God's decision, in this critical juncture, so that Cajetan blames him unjustly. Salien. M. T. — Guard. Sept. "captain of my body guard."
*H Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel mourned for him, and buried him in Ramatha, his city. And Saul had put away all the magicians and soothsayers out of the land.
Ver. 3. Samuel. His death is here recorded, as well as the abolition of magic, to explain what follows, when Saul, not being able to obtain an answer from God, as his prophet had been withdrawn in anger, had recourse to the devil. H. — Land, while he reigned virtuously, (M.) according to the law. Lev. xix 31. Deut. xviii. 11.
*H And the Philistines were gathered together, and came and encamped in Sunam: and Saul also gathered together all Israel, and came to Gelboe.
Ver. 4. Gelboe. So that he occupied the parts south of the vale of Jezrahel, while the Philistines were encamped on the north, in the tribe of Issachar. M.
*H And Saul saw the army of the Philistines, and was afraid, and his heart was very much dismayed.
Ver. 5. Dismayed. It was so numerous, while his own conscience upbraided him with being at enmity with God, who increased his fears. Salien.
*H And he consulted the Lord, and he answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by priests, nor by prophets.
Ver. 6. Dreams. During which God often revealed his will. See Deut. xiii. 3. — Priests. Heb. "nor by Urim." It seems Saul had appointed some priests, and had fabricated a fresh ephod, with the Urim, &c. after the departure of Abiathar. C. — But Salien calls this in question, and there might neither be priests nor prophets for Saul to consult. H. — God despised a man, who had slain so many of his sacred ministers. M.
*H And Saul said to his servants: Seek me a woman that hath a divining spirit, and I will go to her, and enquire by her. And his servants said to him: There is a woman that hath a divining spirit at Endor.
Ver. 7. Spirit. Heb. "an ob," or vessel distended, as such impostors seemed to swell at the presence of the spirit. Sept. "a belly talker." They endeavour to speak from that part. We read of some who, without magic, have possessed the art in great perfection, so as to deceive the company, and make them think that some one was calling them from a great distance; as was the case with one Farming in England, 1645. Dickenson, c. 9. — Brodeus mentions that the valet of Francis I. could thus counterfeit the speech of people deceased, and by these means prevailed upon a rich young woman to marry him, and a banker of Lyons to give him a large sum of money. James Rodoginus, a possessed person in Italy, 1513, could make articulate sounds from the hollow of his belly, when his lips and nostrils were closed up. The oracles of idols were generally given in a low tone, as if they proceeded from the earth. Submissi petimus terram & vox fertur ad aures. Virg. — Those of Apollo were the most famous, and hence a divining spirit is called a Python. Saul must have been stupidly blind, thus to depend on what he had formerly banished with such care. C. — He flattered himself that some would still be left, especially among the women, who are most addicted to superstition, as well as to religion. M. — Endor was distant from Gelboe about four hours' walk. Adrichomius. — But Saul made a long circuit to avoid the enemy. Salien, v. 20.
* Footnote * Leviticus 20 : 27
A man, or woman, in whom there is a pythonical or divining spirit, dying let them die. They shall stone them. Their blood be upon them.* Footnote * Deuteronomy 18 : 11
Nor charmer, nor any one that consulteth pythonic spirits, or fortune tellers, or that seeketh the truth from the dead.* Footnote * Acts 16 : 16
And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain girl having a pythonical spirit met us, who brought to her masters much gain by divining.*H Then he disguised himself: and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night, and he said to her: Divine to me by thy divining spirit, and bring me up him whom I shall tell thee.
Ver. 8. Clothes, that he might not fill the woman or his army with dismay. C.
*H And Saul swore unto her by the Lord, saying: As the Lord liveth, there shall no evil happen to thee for this thing.
Ver. 10. Thing. He adds this crime of swearing unjustly, to all the rest. Saline.
*H And the woman said to him: Whom shall I bring up to thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.
Ver. 11. Samuel. Here we behold the antiquity of necromancy, which is a proof that people believed the soul's immortality; animas responsa daturas. Horace i. sat. 8. C. — Protestants sometimes deny (H.) that souls appear again, contrary to this history and Mat. xvii. S. Aug. W.
*H And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice, and said to Saul: Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.
Ver. 12. Woman. The Rabbins pretend that she was Abner's mother, (C.) which is extremely improbable, as he was of the tribe of Benjamin, and a man of such renown. Salien. — Theodoret follows their opinion, in supposing that the woman was startled, because Samuel appeared in a standing posture, and not with his feet upwards, or lying down on his back, as in a coffin, which they say (C.) is the usual manner of spirits appearing to people of her character. Bellarm. Purgat. ii. 6. — She cried out, because he appeared before she had begun her incantations, and was arrayed like a priest, according to Josephus, (H.) in great majesty, or she pretended to see him, the better to impose upon the king; for some think that all was a delusion. C. — Saul. This she learnt either from Samuel, (Josephus) or from her familiar spirit. M.
*H And the king said to her: Fear not: what hast thou seen? and the woman said to Saul: I saw gods ascending out of the earth.
Ver. 13. Gods, or one venerable and divine personage. W. — Elohim, is applied to Samuel for greater honour. It is a title given to the true God, to idols, and people in dignity. C.
*H And he said to her: What form is he of? And she said: An old man cometh up, and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul understood that it was Samuel, and he bowed himself with his face to the ground, and adored.
Ver. 14. Understood that it was Samuel. It is the more common opinion of the holy fathers, and interpreters, that the soul of Samuel appeared indeed; and not, as some have imagined, an evil spirit in his shape. Not that the power of her magic could bring him thither, but that God was pleased for the punishment of Saul, that Samuel himself should denounce unto him the evils that were falling upon him. See Ecclesiasticus xlvi. 23. Ch. — The passage is decisive; (T.) he slept and he made known to the king, and shewed him the end of his life, and he lifted up his voice from the earth, in prophecy, &c. Those who have called in question the reality of Samuel's apparition, seem not to have remembered this passage. H. — Yet his soul was not united to his body, (Salien) nor was he adduced by the power of the devil, but (D.) by a just judgment of God, to denounce destruction to the wicked king. S. Aug. &c. T. — The woman, beholding Samuel, fled out of the place, to Saul's companions, and left him alone with the king, v. 21. — Adored Samuel with an inferior honour, as the friend of God, exalted in glory. Salien. — That Samuel really appeared, is the more common opinion of the fathers. S. Aug. Cura. xv. W.
*H And Samuel said to Saul: Why hast thou disturbed my rest, that I should be brought up? And Saul said: I am in great distress: for the Philistines fight against me, and God is departed from me, and would not hear me, neither by the hand of prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayst shew me what I shall do.
Ver. 15. Up. To inform a person of something very terrible, is distressing; and though the saints deceased cannot partake in the afflictions of mortals, yet we read that "the angels of peace will weep, but they will approve of the just sentence of the judge" against the reprobate. H. — The Scripture language conforms itself to the opinions of the people, who thought that such avocations disturbed the soul's repose. Hence the fathers at Elvira (C. xxxi.) forbid "the lighting of wax candles in church-yards during the day, for the spirits of the saints are not to be disquieted." Isaias (xiv. 9,) represents hell all in commotion, at the approach of the king of Babylon. These expressions are figurative. C. — God does not encourage magical arts, on this occasion, but rather prevents their operation, as he did, when Balaam would have used some superstitious practices. Num. xxiv. D.
*H And Samuel said: Why askest thou me, seeing the Lord has departed from thee, and is gone over to thy rival?
Ver. 16. Rival. How vain is it to expect that a prophet can give an answer, when the Lord is silent! Heb. "is become thy enemy." H.
*H For the Lord will do to thee as he spoke by me, and he will rend thy kingdom out of thy hand, and will give it to thy neighbour David:
Ver. 17. To thee. Heb. "to him." This was only a repetition of what Samuel had before denounced. C. xv. 28. If the evil spirit spoke this, he was not guilty of falsehood, no more than Mat. viii. 29. C. — But would he dare so often to repeat the name of the Lord? H. — Could he know what would happen to Saul, &c. the next day? W.
*H And the Lord also will deliver Israel with thee into the hands of the Philistines: and to morrow thou and thy sons shall be with me: and the Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.
Ver. 19. To-morrow. Usher supposes some days afterwards. But all might take place the day after this was spoken. C. — Sons, except Isboseth, who enjoyed, for a time, part of his father's kingdom. H. — With me. That is, in the state of the dead, and in another world, though not in the same place. Ch. — Saul was guilty of suicide, so that he could not be with Samuel in happiness, (C. xxxi. 4. T.) though he was in the other world. W. — See S. Aug. ad Simp. ii. 3. Cura pro mort. c. xv. S. Justin. Dial. Origen, &c.
*H And forthwith Saul fell all along on the ground; for he was frightened with the words of Samuel, and there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all that day.
Ver. 20. Day, through excessive anguish. H. — He fainted away; upon which his attendants and the woman rushed in. Salien.
*H And the woman came to Saul, (for he was very much troubled) and said to him: Behold thy handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand: and I hearkened unto the words which thou spokest to me.
Ver. 21. Hand, in the most imminent danger. See Judg. xii. 3.
*H Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she made haste and killed it: and taking meal, kneaded it, and baked some unleavened bread,
Ver. 24. Calf, destined for a victim or feast. Luke xv. 23. Prov. xv. 17. C. — The generosity of this woman deserves commendation. Josep. vi. 15. H.