Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 26:11
The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’s anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that [is] at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go.
11. cruse ] A small cup or jar. The word is found in Icelandic, Danish, and other languages, and is probably akin to crock and crucible.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Take thou now the spear, which will show where we have been, and what we could have done.
The cruse of water might be put there, either to wash himself, in case of any accidental pollution, which oft happened in the night; or to refresh him, and quench his thirst in that hot climate and season; or for divers other uses.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
11. the spear that is at hisbolster, and the cruse of waterThe Oriental spear had, andstill has, a spike at the lower extremity, intended for the purposeof sticking the spear into the ground when the warrior is at rest.This common custom of Arab sheiks was also the practice of the Hebrewchiefs.
at his bolsterliterally,”at his head”; perhaps, Saul as a sovereign had thedistinguished luxury of a bolster carried for him. A “cruse ofwater” is usually, in warm climates, kept near a person’s couch,as a drink in the night time is found very refreshing. Saul’s crusewould probably be of superior materials, or more richly ornamentedthan common ones, and therefore by its size or form be easilydistinguished.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord’s anointed,…. Or suffer any about him to do it; he speaks of it with the utmost detestation and abhorrence:
but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that [is] at his bolster; not to smite him with, as he desired, but to carry off, and was no other than his sceptre; [See comments on 1Sa 20:33];
and the cruse of water; which stood in the same place, as appears by
1Sa 26:12. Some take this to be a pot to make water in; others an hourglass, to know the time of night, in which not sand, but water, flowed for that purpose: but rather this was for his refreshment should he be hot and thirsty in the night, or to purify him from any nocturnal pollution that might happen; for, according to Clemens of Alexandria m, it was a custom of the Jews often to purify themselves in bed: though Fortunatus Scacchus n thinks Saul had this pot or cup for a religious use; which he had with him, and with it gave thanks to God, the author of all good, whenever he sat down to a meal; such as the golden cup Philip king of Macedon always had under his pillow when he slept o:
and let us go; and do nothing more; which would be sufficient to convince they had been there, and to show what was in their power to do, had they been so inclined.
m Stromat. l. 4. p. 531. n Elaeochrism. Myrothec. l. I. c. 44. col. 224. o Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 33. c. 3.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(11) The spear.The spear was Sauls especial sign of royalty. This taking away of the spear from Sauls head as he slept was an omen of the transfer of his royalty to David.Bishop Patrick, quoted by Wordsworth.
And the cruse of water.A very ancient usage explains why the cruse of water is here brought into such special prominence. According to this custom, some high dignitary always had in keeping a costly ewer for the kings necessary ablutions, and it was specially his duty to take it with him, and present it to the king during campaigns or other journeys, so that its disappearance would involve almost as great a disgrace to the king as the loss of his sceptre (Ewald, in reference to Psa. 60:8, states his belief that this custom existed in the time of David).Ewald, History of Israel, David, ii. 3 (Note). The same scholar also writes that there are many other instances of similar stories, in which the future conqueror and founder of a new dynasty is represented as having received at first some symbol of royalty from his predecessors by accident, as it were, or in sport. Thus Alexander at first takes the royal divining cup from Dr as if in sport: a story which in the Shhnmeh no longer appears in its original light; and in nothing was the belief in omens so strong as in the high affairs of state.David, ii. 3 (Note).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
11. The cruse of water Of which the king might drink if he awoke thirsty. “The cruse of water at Saul’s head.” adds Thomson, “is in exact accordance with the customs of the people at this day. No one ventures to travel over these deserts without his cruse of water, and it is very common to place one at the bolster, so that the owner can reach it during the night.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
(11) The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’S anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go. (12) So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul’s bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them.
This last verse becomes a clue for explaining this wonderful transaction, a sleep, from the Lord had sealed up their senses. Oh! what a volume of comfort ariseth out of this view, in the Lord’s watchfulness over his people. How can the Lord seal, or how can the Lord open the faculties of our enemies, when either operation shall best promote the purposes of his glory and his people’s welfare. See a sweet promise to this effect: Isa 54:16-17 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Sa 26:11 The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’S anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that [is] at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go.
Ver. 11. And the cruse of water. ] Clepsydram, the hour glass, as some render it; others understand it of a bottle of rose-water standing there to refresh him. But probably it was a cruse of common water to be used either for drink or for washing. Iudaei etiam in lecto purgantur, saith Clement of Alexandia. a The Jews wash by night many times. The Turks also are much in this ceremony.
a Strom., lib. iv. cap. 7.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
cruse, or, flask.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
that I should: 1Sa 24:6, 1Sa 24:12, 2Sa 1:14, 2Sa 1:16
Reciprocal: 1Sa 10:1 – a vial 1Sa 26:16 – Lord’s 1Sa 26:23 – I would not 2Sa 23:17 – Be it far Psa 17:3 – shalt Psa 94:23 – cut them Luk 18:7 – avenge
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
KINGLY BEHAVIOUR
The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lords anointed.
1Sa 26:11
I. Here we have another instance of David acting on high principles (cf. 24).Make this the chief point in the sermon. When feeling, and even policy, urged him to the wrong, principle kept him right. Compare Josephs temptation. However bewildered we may be we can always ask, What is right? And once apprehending the right we must do it, whatever we have to suffer. The principles David fell back on were loyalty and piety.
However Saul might be injuring him he was his king, his life was sacred in his eyes. Some of the later kings were assassinated by their officers. True loyalty always guards the person and property of the king. Ambition may destroy loyalty; and so may unworthy brooding over wrongs received. David had a further strengthening of his loyalty in the assurance that Saul was Jehovahs anointed one. So loyalty to God made him loyal to the king.
But it was Davids piety that really kept him. He would not force his own way to the throne, because he trusted in God, committed all his affairs into Gods hands, and tried willingly to wait Gods time. To kill the king would have been to take his life into his own hands, and fail to wait on God. Show how genuine piety will ever help us in the endeavour to find out what is right to do. And show also that piety makes us kind, considerate, and forbearing.
II. Notice Davids device to win reconciliation.In those days there was a sense of humour, and this, as well as the desire to have some proof of the peril the king had been in, led David to take the spear and the cruse. See Davids humoursome taunt of Abner. Easterns are quick to take a joke: and we should call this device of Davids a practical joke. But it was skilfully planned to meet the feelings of Saul, and contrast the care David, whom he persecuted, took of him, with the apparent neglect of Abner and his army. Nothing could more effectively prove that David was not the rebel Saul tried to regard him as being.
When innocent we may properly do all that is in our power to prove our innocence, and we ought to do all we can to conquer the enmity of those who hate us. Illustration from the well-known tract, The man that killed his neighbour.
III. Notice, lastly, how Saul was won by Davids forbearance.The conviction that his life had been spared moved Sauls heart, and led him to respond at once and heartily to David; even giving him his blessing, and admitting that he would ultimately prevail.
Lead on to show our Lords teaching about the treatment of our enemies. He says we are even to love them, and pity them, and earnestly try to win them. See also the Apostles teaching, If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink, for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Illustrations
(1) Some think that the narrative given in (3) The deepest and sincerest emotion may be transient in its moral effects. We may hope something even of the worst, and, consequently, it is our duty to do something in the negative work of sparing even when we cannot do anything in the positive work of reclaiming. There is a time to fight, as when David fought Goliath; there is a time to spare our enemies, as when David spared Saul. There are differences of conquest; David conquered Saul as surely as he conquered Goliath. There is an infinite superiority of the power that is moral, as compared with the power that is physical. Moral power places restraints upon the wicked, whereby the good man is saved from his perils.