Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 7:5
And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD.
5. to Mizpeh ] Mizpah, (in Heb. always with the definite article, as retaining its meaning, “the watch-tower,”) was the meeting-place of the national assembly on two other important occasions in this period: ( a) when war was declared against Benjamin (Judges 20); ( b) when Saul was elected king (ch. 1Sa 10:17); and ( c) once in later times, on an occasion not unlike the present, when Judas Maccabaeus mustered Israel to revolt against the tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes ( 1Ma 3:42-46 ). It belonged to the tribe of Benjamin (Jos 18:26). Its site has not been identified, but is conjectured to be either (a) Neby Samwl, a conspicuous hill rising to the height of 2935 ft., about 5 miles N.W. of Jerusalem: or ( b) Scopus, the broad ridge immediately north of Jerusalem. In favour of the latter site are ( a) the similarity of the name ( = watchman): ( b) the description of the place in 1Ma 3:46 as “over against Jerusalem.”
It must be carefully distinguished from Mizpah in Gilead (Jdg 10:17; Jdg 11:11).
I will pray for you unto the Lord ] Other instances of Samuel’s prayers are mentioned in 1Sa 8:6, 1Sa 12:17-19 ; 1Sa 12:23, 1Sa 15:11. He is quoted as the type of successful intercessors in Psa 99:6; Jer 15:1.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And Samuel said, gather all Israel to Mizpeh,…. Not Mizpeh in Gilead, on the other side Jordan, but a city which lay on the borders of Judah and Benjamin, where the tribes met on the account of the Levite’s concubine, Jud 20:1. This order Samuel gave by messengers sent to the several tribes, or the heads of them, to meet him at this place:
and I will pray for you unto the Lord; no doubt he prayed for them privately, that the reformation begun might be carried on, and appear to be sincere, and hearty, and general, and universal; but he was desirous that they might appear in a body, and join with him in public prayer for their spiritual and temporal welfare; that they might have true repentance for their sins, reform from them, and have remission of them, and be delivered out of the hands of their enemies.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Victory obtained over the Philistines through Samuel’s prayer. – 1Sa 7:5, 1Sa 7:6. When Israel had turned to the Lord with all its heart, and had put away all its idols, Samuel gathered together all the people at Mizpeh, to prepare them for fighting against the Philistines by a solemn day for penitence and prayer. For it is very evident that the object of calling all the people to Mizpeh was that the religious act performed there might serve as a consecration for battle, not only from the circumstance that, according to 1Sa 7:7, when the Philistines heard of the meeting, they drew near to make war upon Israel, but also from the contents of 1Sa 7:5: “ Samuel said (sc., to the heads or representatives of the nation), Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the Lord.” His intention could not possibly have been any other than to put the people into the right relation to their God, and thus to prepare the way for their deliverance out of the bondage of the Philistines. Samuel appointed Mizpeh, i.e., Nebi Samwil, on the western boundary of the tribe of Benjamin (see at Jos 18:26), as the place of meeting, partly no doubt on historical grounds, viz., because it was there that the tribes had formerly held their consultations respecting the wickedness of the inhabitants of Gibeah, and had resolved to make war upon Benjamin (Jdg 20:1.), but still more no doubt, because Mizpeh, on the western border of the mountains, was the most suitable place for commencing the conflict with the Philistines.
1Sa 7:6-9 When they had assembled together here, “ they drew water and poured it out before Jehovah, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the Lord.” Drawing water and pouring it out before Jehovah was a symbolical act, which has been thus correctly explained by the Chaldee, on the whole: “They poured out their heart like water in penitence before the Lord.” This is evident from the figurative expressions, “poured out like water,” in Psa 22:15, and “pour out thy heart like water,” in Lam 2:19, which are used to denote inward dissolution through pain, misery, and distress (see 2Sa 14:14). Hence the pouring out of water before God was a symbolical representation of the temporal and spiritual distress in which they were at the time, – a practical confession before God, “Behold, we are before Thee like water that has been poured out;” and as it was their own sin and rebellion against God that had brought this distress upon them, it was at the same time a confession of their misery, and an act of the deepest humiliation before the Lord. They gave a still further practical expression to this humiliation by fasting ( ), as a sign of their inward distress of mind on account of their sin, and an oral confession of their sin against the Lord. By the word , which is added to , “they said “ there,” i.e., at Mizpeh, the oral confession of their sin is formally separated from the two symbolical acts of humiliation before God, though by this very separation it is practically placed on a par with them. What they did symbolically by the pouring out of water and fasting, they explained and confirmed by their verbal confession. is never an adverb of time signifying “ then;” neither in Psa 14:5; Psa 132:17, nor Jdg 5:11. “ And thus Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpeh.” does not mean “he became judge” (Mich. and others), any more than “he punished every one according to his iniquity” (Thenius, after David Kimchi). Judging the people neither consisted in a censure pronounced by Samuel afterwards, nor in absolution granted to the penitent after they had made a confession of their sin, but in the fact that Samuel summoned the nation to Mizpeh to humble itself before Jehovah, and there secured for it, through his intercession, the forgiveness of its sin, and a renewal of the favour of its God, and thus restored the proper relation between Israel and its God, so that the Lord could proceed to vindicate His people’s rights against their foes.
When the Philistines heard of the gathering of the Israelites at Mizpeh (1Sa 7:7, 1Sa 7:8), their princes went up against Israel to make war upon it; and the Israelites, in their fear of the Philistines, entreated Samuel, “ Do not cease to cry for us to the Lord our God, that He may save us out of the hand of the Philistines.” 1Sa 7:9. “ And Samuel took a milk-lamb (a lamb that was still sucking, probably, according to Lev 22:27, a lamb seven days old), and offered it whole as a burnt-offering to the Lord.” is used adverbially, according to its original meaning as an adverb, “ whole.” The Chaldee has not given the word at all, probably because the translators regarded it as pleonastic, since every burnt-offering was consumed upon the altar whole, and consequently the word was sometimes used in a substantive sense, as synonymous with (Deu 33:10; Ps. 51:21). But in the passage before us, is not synonymous with , but simply affirms that the lamb was offered upon the altar without being cut up or divided. Samuel selected a young lamb for the burnt-offering, not “as being the purest and most innocent kind of sacrificial animal,” – for it cannot possibly be shown that very young animals were regarded as purer than those that were full-grown, – but as being the most suitable to represent the nation that had wakened up to new life through its conversion to the Lord, and was, as it were, new-born. For the burnt-offering represented the man, who consecrated therein his life and labour to the Lord. The sacrifice was the substratum for prayer. When Samuel offered it, he cried to the Lord for the children of Israel; and the Lord “ answered,” i.e., granted, his prayer.
1Sa 7:10 When the Philistines advanced during the offering of the sacrifice to fight against Israel, “ Jehovah thundered with a great noise,” i.e., with loud peals, against the Philistines, and threw them into confusion, so that they were smitten before Israel. The thunder, which alarmed the Philistines and threw them into confusion ( , as in Jos 10:10), was the answer of God to Samuel’s crying to the Lord.
1Sa 7:11 As soon as they took to flight, the Israelites advanced from Mizpeh, and pursued and smote them to below Beth-car. The situation of this town or locality, which is only mentioned here, has not yet been discovered. Josephus ( Ant. vi. 2, 2) has .
1Sa 7:12 As a memorial of this victory, Samuel placed a stone between Mizpeh and Shen, to which he gave the name of Eben-ha-ezer, i.e., stone of help, as a standing memorial that the Lord had thus far helped His people. The situation of Shen is also not known. The name Shen (i.e., tooth) seems to indicate a projecting point of rock (see 1Sa 14:4), but may also signify a place situated upon such a point.
1Sa 7:13 Through this victory which was obtained by the miraculous help of God, the Philistines were so humbled, that they no more invaded the territory of Israel, i.e., with lasting success, as they had done before. This limitation of the words “ they came no more ” ( lit. “they did not add again to come into the border of Israel”), is implied in the context; for the words which immediately follow, “ and the hand of Jehovah was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel,” show that they made attempts to recover their lost supremacy, but that so long as Samuel lived they were unable to effect anything against Israel. This is also manifest from the successful battles fought by Saul (1 Samuel 13 and 14), when the Philistines had made fresh attempts to subjugate Israel during his reign. The defeats inflicted upon them by Saul also belong to the days of Samuel, who died but a very few years before Saul himself. Because of these battles which Saul fought with the Philistines, Lyra and Brentius understand the expression “all the days of Samuel” as referring not to the lifetime of Samuel, but simply to the duration of his official life as judge, viz., till the commencement of Saul’s reign. But this is at variance with 1Sa 7:15, where Samuel is said to have judged Israel all the days of his life. Seb. Schmidt has given, on the whole, the correct explanation of 1Sa 7:13: “They came no more so as to obtain a victory and subdue the Israelites as before; yet they did return, so that the hand of the Lord was against them, i.e., so that they were repulsed with great slaughter, although they were not actually expelled, or the Israelites delivered from tribute and the presence of military garrisons, and that all the days that the judicial life of Samuel lasted, in fact all his life, since they were also smitten by Saul.”
1Sa 7:14 In consequence of the defeat at Ebenezer, the Philistines were obliged to restore to the Israelites the cities which they had taken from them, “ from Ekron to Gath.” This definition of the limits is probably to be understood as exclusive, i.e., as signifying that the Israelites received back their cities up to the very borders of the Philistines, measuring these borders from Ekron to Gath, and not that the Israelites received Ekron and Gath also. For although these chief cities of the Philistines had been allotted to the tribes of Judah and Dan in the time of Joshua (Jos 13:3-4; Jos 15:45-46), yet, notwithstanding the fact that Judah and Simeon conquered Ekron, together with Gaza and Askelon, after the death of Joshua ( Jdg 1:18), the Israelites did not obtain any permanent possession. “ And their territory ” (coasts), i.e., the territory of the towns that were given back to Israel, not that of Ekron and Gath, “ did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites;” i.e., the Canaanitish tribes also kept peace with Israel after this victory of the Israelites over the Philistines, and during the time of Samuel. The Amorites are mentioned, as in Jos 10:6, as being the most powerful of the Canaanitish tribes, who had forced the Danites out of the plain into the mountains (Jdg 1:34-35).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
CRITICAL AND EXPOSITORY NOTES
1Sa. 7:6. Drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, etc. It is remarkable that two rites are brought together here which belong respectively to the Feast of Tabernacles and the Day of Atonement. The first is not, indeed, prescribed by the law, but it was the custom for the High Priest to fill a golden vessel with water drawn from the fountain of Siloam, and to pour it over the sacrifices on the Feast of Tabernacles. Allusions to this, which was a joyful act, are supposed to be made in Isa. 12:3, and Joh. 7:37-38. The only fast enjoined by the law of Moses was on the Day of Atonement, upon the 10th Tisri. It is likely, as in Ezr. 3:4; Ezr. 3:6, and in Neh. 7:73; Neh. 8:1-17, that Samuel also chose the Feast of Tabernacles, and the fast which preceded it, as the occasion for assembling the people. The drawing water being mentioned before the fasting is, it is true, rather against this view, though not conclusively, as the mention of the fasting may be supplemental; the real order being that they first fasted and confessed their sins on the Day of Atonement, and then joyfully kept the Feast of Tabernacles. If the fast here mentioned is not that of the 10th Tisri, it may be compared with that of Ezr. 10:6, and those alluded to in Zec. 7:5, and perhaps the pouring out of water (which is variously explained), may be taken in connection with the fasting (as Ezra did eat no bread, and drink no water). Other explanations of the act are (with the Targum), they poured out their hearts in penitence as it were water, or that it was a symbolical act of expressing their ruin and helplessness, according to the saying in 2Sa. 14:14, or that the water typified their desire that their sins might be forgotten as waters that pass away (Job. 11:16).(Biblical Commentary.)
And Samuel Judged Israel. With respect to the position of the judges, it is generally estimated falsely when they are looked upon as proper judicial personages in our sense. This error has been occasioned by the assumption that the Hebrew word is perfectly synonymous with our judging, while in reality it has a much wider signification. In the Book of Judges it generally denotes the exercise of authority and superiority. Only of Deborah do we read, in Jdg. 4:5, that the Israelites went up to her for judgment. But she cannot be placed upon a level with the judges throughout. She pronounced judgment as a prophetess in matters where no confidence was placed in the ordinary judicial jurisdiction, and a judgment of God in the proper sense was desired, just as, according to Exodus 18, the nation leaving their natural judges, thronged to Moses, to draw justice immediately from its source. Samuels position was exactly similar to that of Deborah, he was judge in another sense than the judges of the Book of Judges.(Hengstenberg.)
(See also on 1Sa. 7:15).
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.1Sa. 7:5-6; 1Sa. 7:15-17
THE GATHERING AT MIZPEH
I. If a nation is to have strength and liberty it must have unity. Gather all Israel to Mizpeh. If a human body is to be strong, and consequently free to act, there must be a united action of all its members. Every limb and organ must work harmoniously together. So with the human soul. All its powers must gather themselves togetherthere must be a concentration of all its forcesif there is to be any result of worth. Hence the Psalmists prayerUnite my heart to fear Thy name (Psa. 86:11), and the Apostles declaration, This one thing I do (Php. 3:13). And the same thing is true of any corporate body, whether it be large or small. It will not have power unless its action is united, and if a nation is not strong by unity it will not long be free. Samuel here aims at the united action of the whole nation. This unity
1. Is often brought about by a common calamity. Common afflictions and dangers have a wonderful power to bring men together. If the reputation of a family is attacked from without, all its members will forget little differences, and unite to attack a common foe. The Church of God needs nothing but a return of the days of persecution to bring all its members into such a unity of spirit as would astonish all her foes. It would then be seen how strong is the unseen bond which unites them all to a common head. When a nation arrives at a great crisis in its historyespecially when it is threatened by a common foeall minor differences of opinion are forgotten for the timeall party distinctions are laid aside and the nation acts as one man. It was the Philistine oppression which brought the Israelites at this time to such unanimous action. They felt that this was not the time for Ephraim to envy Judah, nor Judah to vex Ephraim (Isa. 11:13).
2. Such unity can only be real and lasting by being founded on right relations to God. The fear of God is the only solid ground of national unity. When each man is governed by a desire to serve God, a oneness of aim and purpose in the nation must be the result, and in proportion as such feelings sway a people, in such proportion will there be concord in their assemblies, and unanimity in their actions. The unity of Israel at this time was based upon a common conviction of transgression against God, and a desire to return to Him; and in proportion as these feelings were deep and heartfelt, there was ground upon which to build a real and permanent union of the people.
3. It is good for such a national unity to find expression in a national assembly. Such a gathering increases the feeling of unity, and encourages the spirit of the nation by giving it an opportunity of feeling its strength. It likewise intimidates its foes. The national gathering at Mizpeh was helpful to the Israelites themselves, and was a just ground of apprehension to their oppressors.
II. It is a great blessing to a nation to have a head who is both intellectually and morally great. Men must have leaders, and it matters little by what name a national leader is calledwhether king, president, or prime minister, provided he exercises his power with intellectual ability and for moral ends. Such a man should, like Samuel, combine in himself something of the prophet, the judge, and the priest. He teaches by his life, and by his words, he is a judge inasmuch as he is a stern reprover of all wrong, and fails not to enforce penalty for transgression of national law, and he is also a priest, for such a man will not fail to bear on his heart before God in prayer those who look up to him for guidance. Such a man is a true king of his nation, whether he wears a crown or not. Samuel was such an uncrowned kinga true father of Israel, a true shepherd of his people. As a prophet, he made known to them the will of Jehovah; as judge, he kept pure the fountains of justice; and as at Mizpeh he cried unto the Lord for Israel (1Sa. 7:9), we may be sure that upon the altar at Ramah he offered sacrifices, not only for his own sins, but also for those of the people.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
1Sa. 7:5. Intercession to the Lord for the salvation of others. l. Its exercise unlimited, the individual as well as the whole people being its subject (comp. 1Ti. 2:1-2).
2. Its answer conditioned by the need of salvation, and the capacity for salvation of those for whom it is made.
1Sa. 7:6. The penitent confessionWe have sinned against the Lord.
1. Who has to make it, the individual, family, congregation, church, the whole people.
2. How is it to be made, with attestation of its truth and uprightness by deeds of repentance.
3. What are its consequences, forgiveness of sin, deliverance from the power of the wicked one, salvation.Langes Commentary.
1Sa. 7:16-17. Simply the vice-regent of God, and no king, Samuel had no palace in Israel. No armed guards protected the person, nor gorgeous retinue attended the steps of Samuel. No pomp of royalty disturbed the simple manner of his life, or distinguished him from other men; yet there rose by his house in Ramah that which proclaimed to all the land the personal character of its ruler, and the principles upon which he was to conduct his government. In a way not to be mistaken, Samuel associated the throne with the altar, earthly power with piety, the good of the country with the glory of God. That altar had a voice no man could mistake. In a manner more expressive than proclamation made by royal heralds with painted tabards and sounding trumpets, it proclaimed to the tribes of Israel that piety was to be the character, and the will of God the rule, of his government.Guthrie.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(5) Mizpeh.Or, as it should be spelt, Mizpah, a common name for lofty situations. It signifies a watch-tower, a place where an outlook could be kept against an advancing enemy.
Now the assembly of the tribes at Mizpeh marked a new departure for Israel. It was the result of more than twenty years of toil undertaken by the greatest reformer and statesman the chosen race ever knew. The great gathering belonged both to religion and to war. Its first object was solemnly to assure the Lord that the heart of His people, so long estranged from Him, was again His. Its second was to implore that Jehovah might again restore a repentant and sorrowful people to the land of their inheritance. What more likely than that the prophet-statesmanwho in that solemn juncture represented priest and judge and seer to Israeldevised on that momentous day new symbolic rites, signifying Israels new dedication to the Eternal for the future, Israels repentance for the sad past? The solemn pouring out of water before the Lord symbolised, to a people trained so carefully to watch the meaning and signification of symbols and imagery, the heart and whole inner life poured out before the Lord; the fasting represented the repentant humble sinner bowed down in grief before the one true God. Is it not at least probable that the strange, mysterious custom which we hear of in after daysthe high priest filling the golden vessel with the waters of Siloam, and then pouring it out silently before the Lordwas the record of one of the holiest memories of the peopletheir reconciliation with their God-Friend at Mizpeh? Now, after years of estrangement, they repented and were forgiven. The fasting of Mizpeh being a favourite practice, ever much observed by the worshippers in the Temple and synagogue, needed no special record or reminder.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. Mizpeh A city of Benjamin, (Jos 18:26,) principally celebrated for the events recorded in this chapter, and for the inauguration of Saul. 1Sa 10:17. At this place, also, the tribes had once before assembled to counsel revenge on Gibeah for the abuse of the Levite and his concubine, (Jdg 20:1,) and here Gedaliah briefly ruled as governor of the Jews left in the land after the Babylonian exile. 2Ki 25:23. Its site is a point yet in dispute. Robinson and others place it at the modern Neby Samwil, five miles northwest of Jerusalem; but Thomson has doubts of his correctness, (“Land and Book,” vol. ii, p. 545,) and more recently Stanley has suggested Scopus, a height about a mile north of Jerusalem. This latter position is advocated by Dr. Bonar and George Grove, (in Smith’s Dictionary,) but Neby Samwil is best supported by all the evidence in the case.
I will pray for you The penitence and obedience shown by their putting away the false gods (1Sa 7:4) encouraged the holy prophet to intercede for them, and the result showed that the inworking prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Jas 5:16.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Ark Having Been Restored, Israel Defeat the Philistines Through The Prayers of Samuel, YHWH’s Representative ( 1Sa 7:5-14 ).
Analysis.
a
b And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines (1Sa 7:7).
c And the children of Israel said to Samuel, “Cease not to cry to YHWH our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines” (1Sa 7:8).
d And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a whole burnt-offering to YHWH, and Samuel cried to YHWH for Israel, and YHWH answered him (1Sa 7:9).
c And as Samuel was offering up the burnt-offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel, but YHWH thundered with a great thunder on that day on the Philistines, and discomfited them, and they were smitten down before Israel (1Sa 7:10).
b And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth-car (1Sa 7:11).
a Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, “Up to now has YHWH helped us”. So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more within the border of Israel, and the hand of YHWH was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and its border did Israel deliver out of the hand of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites (1Sa 7:12-17).
Note that in ‘a’ the people fast and pray and admit their sinfulness and Samuel act as their Judge in Mizpah, and in the parallel they are seen to be living in peace under Samuel’s judgeship with all their lands restored. In ‘b’ the Philistines invade Israel, and in the parallel the Israelites defeat the Philistines. In ‘c’ the children of Israel ask Samuel not to cease praying for them that YHWH will deliver them out of the hands of the Philistines, and in the parallel Samuel offers up a burnt offering and YHWH does deliver them. Centrally in ‘d’ Samuel offers up a burnt offering and cries to YHWH and YHWH answers him.
1Sa 7:5
‘ And Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray for you to YHWH.
Then Samuel gives the command that all Israel might be gathered to Mizpah, where he would pray for them. This was probably a call to all the tribes to provide warriors in order that they might defeat the Philistines. It was a requirement of the tribal league (the amphictyony) that all tribes who could would respond to such a call. If it was so then it was a clear act of war. The word of the newly arrived prophet, and his promise to pray for them was clearly sufficient to gain a reasonable response to the call. At last there was a recognised prophet who could intervene with YHWH on their behalf. Samuel is elsewhere constantly seen as a mighty man of prayer. See 1Sa 8:6; 1Sa 12:17-19; 1Sa 12:23 ; 1Sa 15:11. Compare also Psa 99:6 and Jer 15:1 where the power of Samuel’s intercession is emphasised.
1Sa 7:6
‘ And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before YHWH, and fasted on that day, and said there, “We have sinned against YHWH.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.’
So Israel gathered at Mizpah. And there they drew water and poured it out before YHWH, and fasted and declared how they had sinned before YHWH. The pouring of water may have been intended to denote a recognition of their dependence on YHWH (indicating that the very water on which their lives depended came from Him, and was being returned to Him in symbolic gratitude) or it may have symbolised the pouring out of their weeping hearts in repentance before YHWH (compare Psa 22:15; Lam 2:19), or it may have indicated a cry for YHWH to open the heavens on the enemy, as He had on Sisera (Jdg 4:15; Jdg 5:20-21; compare Jos 10:10-11) and subsequently did on the Philistines. We can compare with the example here how David poured out ‘to YHWH’ the water that brave men risked their lives for, because he would not ‘drink their blood’ (2Sa 23:16-17). It is clear from the example here that by this act David was not just getting rid of the water, even by giving it to YHWH, but was to be seen by all as making an actual offering to YHWH Who alone was worthy of such sacrifice. The Aramaic Targum paraphrases the verse here as, ‘and they poured out their heart in repentance before YHWH’. Whichever it was, it was a plea to YHWH to recognise their need. The fasting was an indication of their mourning for sin, along with which went their confession of sin (compare Jdg 10:10), which would go well with a symbolic act of repentance.
“And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.” For the first time Samuel was appointed as their ‘judge’ and ‘war leader’, and acted in sorting out their differences and taking up the leadership role in readiness for what lay ahead. They would need a lot of guidance and a lot of encouragement, as well as organisation for the battle ahead. Perhaps they went through the ritual of Deu 20:1-9. He has become their general and their acknowledged spiritual and moral guide.
1Sa 7:7
‘ And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.
When the Philistines heard that the call had gone out to the tribes of Israel to gather at Mizpah they naturally took alarm and the Philistine Tyrants gathered an army and set off for Mizpah. When scouts arrived at Mizpah warning of their approach, the children of Israel were terrified. It was one thing to plan a military operation, and another to face a Philistine fighting force. They had been hoping to take the Philistines by surprise, not to find them on their doorstep.
1Sa 7:8
‘ And the children of Israel said to Samuel, “Cease not to cry to YHWH our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.” ’
In panic they came to Samuel and called on him to continually intercede for them before YHWH, asking YHWH their God to deliver them out of the hand of the Philistines. They seemingly had great faith in their new prophet and his God, even if they had little faith in themselves .
1Sa 7:9
‘ And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a whole burnt-offering to YHWH, and Samuel cried to YHWH for Israel, and YHWH answered him.’
Samuel’s response was to take a lamb of over seven days old, and offer it for a whole burnt offering before YHWH. This was an act of total consecration. Perhaps such a young lamb was chosen in order to symbolise that the nation had just been ‘reborn’. Then Samuel prayed to YHWH for Israel, and YHWH answered him.
1Sa 7:10
‘ And as Samuel was offering up the burnt-offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel, but YHWH thundered with a great thunder on that day on the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten down before Israel.’
As Samuel offered the burnt offering the Philistines approached Mizpah, arrayed for battle. But then to their great horror the heavens thundered with a great thunder. God had spoken. But the mention of the thunder would seem to indicate that it was accompanied by an equally great storm, with plenty of lightning, and the result was that the Philistines were discomfited and put into a panic (compare the use of the word in Exo 14:24; Jos 10:10; Jdg 4:15; 2Sa 22:15). The awesome thunder may well have reminded them of previous experiences of YHWH, and the driving rains soaking the ground would clog up their chariot wheels and encumber their horsemen, whose horses may well also have been terrified at the continual thunder and difficult to control. Thus the Israelites, arriving on foot, were easily able to smite them down.
1Sa 7:11
‘ And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth-car.’
The men of Israel then pursued the fleeing Philistines in their clogged chariots and on their encumbered horses and smote them all the way to Beth-car (‘the house of the lamb’, a name which would remind the reader of the sacrificed lamb).
1Sa 7:12
‘ Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, “Up to now has YHWH helped us.” ’
Victory assured Samuel set up a memorial stone between Mizpah and Shen (‘the tooth’). This latter may have been a conspicuous spire of rock (compare 1Sa 14:4). Thus at the very spot where the Philistines had previously humiliated them in 1 Samuel 4 (see 1Sa 5:1), the Israelites gained their revenge, and Samuel named the spot ‘Eben-ezer’ signifying ‘the stone of help’, acknowledging that ‘up to now YHWH has helped us’.
1Sa 7:13
‘ So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more within the border of Israel, and the hand of YHWH was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.’
The victory was so final, and Samuel’s leadership from then on so effective, that all the while that he was the Judge of that part of Israel the Philistines did not again succeed in crossing the border. Whether actual attempts were made we do not know, but if so they were driven back because ‘the hand of YHWH was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel’. Against that hand they could do nothing.
1Sa 7:14
‘ And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and its border did Israel deliver out of the hand of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.’
And not only that but Samuel was also able to free the cities which had been taken over by the Philistines and permanently held by them, right up to the borders of the districts of Ekron and Gath. Furthermore he was strong enough to be able to make peace with the Amorites who dwelt in the hill country and had no doubt taken advantage of Philistine oppression to constantly spoil Israel. Compare the problems that they had caused to Dan in Jdg 1:34-35. Thus peace was maintained with all their enemies. All recognised that while Samuel ruled Israel they were invulnerable.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
(5) And Samuel said, 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, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.
There is somewhat very interesting in this account, because here we see Samuel as the type of Jesus in his mediatorial character as the intercessor. Oh! how sweet and refreshing it is to view even the most distant shadows of him whose glorious office as the advocate and intercessor, is the sure hope and confidence of his people in all ages! Psa 110:4 . The ceremony of pouring out water before the Lord, probably carried with it the idea of real sorrow and weeping of the soul by reason of transgression.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Sa 7:5 And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD.
Ver. 5. Gather all Israel to Mizpeh. ] Heb., In that Mizpeh; famous formerly for the slaughter of those kings of Canaan there, Jos 11:3 but henceforth more famous for this memorable meet at Mizpeh; which they turned into a Bacha, and God afterwards turned into a Beracha. a
a Kimchi. Vatab.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Leading the Nation in Gods Ways
1Sa 7:5-17
We are here taught the successive steps that must be taken if revival is to be granted to either Church or individual.
1.Unity. All Israel was gathered. The divisions and jealousies of preceding years were renounced.
2.Confession. The people poured out their hearts before the Lord.
3.The abandonment of false gods. They put away the Baalim and Ashtaroth and served the Lord only.
4.Intercessory prayer. The one condition of revival is to get back to prayer. Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us.
5.Full surrender, as set forth in Samuels burned-offering. Yield thyself to God, and thy Philistine sins, stealing up the valleys, will fall back discomfited, and thou shalt raise thine Ebenezer.
So Israel proved. There was immediate evidence that God had accepted them. Natural phenomena fought on their side. The very spot which had been the scene of defeat became the scene of glorious victory. Compare 1Sa 4:1; 1Sa 7:12. Here is great encouragement for us, for at certain spots in our life-experience we have been defeated; but just in these same spots, when the barriers which have intercepted Gods help are leveled, we shall become more than conquerors.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Gather: Neh 9:1, Joe 2:16
Mizpeh: 1Sa 7:12, 1Sa 7:16, 1Sa 10:17, Jos 15:38, Jdg 20:1, 2Ki 25:23
I will pray: 1Sa 12:23
Reciprocal: Gen 20:7 – pray Gen 31:49 – Mizpah Jos 11:3 – land 1Sa 12:19 – Pray for thy 1Ki 15:22 – Mizpah Jer 40:6 – Mizpah Luk 1:17 – to make
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
7:5 And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to {c} Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD.
(c) For Shiloh was now desolate, because the Philistines had taken the ark from it.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. National repentance and deliverance 7:5-14
Mizpah (lit. watchtower, indicating an elevated site) was about two miles northwest of Samuel’s hometown, Ramah, on the central Benjamin plateau. [Note: On the significance of the six-fold repetition of Mizpah in this story, see John A. Beck, "The Narrative-Geographical Shaping of 1 Samuel 7:5-13," Bibliotheca Sacra 162:647 (July-September 2005):299-309.] Pouring out water symbolized the people’s feeling of total inability to make an effective resistance against their enemy (cf. Psa 62:8; et al.). The people showed that they felt a greater need to spend their time praying to strengthen themselves spiritually than eating to strengthen themselves physically. They did this by fasting (skipping a meal or meals). [Note: On the practice of fasting, see Kent D. Berghuis, "A Biblical Perspective on Fasting," Bibliotheca Sacra 158:629 (January-March 2001):86-103.] They admitted that what they had been doing was a sin against God (cf. 1Jn 1:9). The writer described Samuel as one of Israel’s judges similar in function to Gideon, Samson, and others, at this time (cf. Jdg 6:25-27).
The Israelites sensed their continuing need for God’s help and appealed to Samuel to continue to intercede for them (1Sa 7:8). Samuel gave intercession priority in his ministry because he realized how essential it was to Israel’s welfare (cf. 1Sa 12:23). All spiritual leaders should realize this need and should give prayer priority in their ministries. The suckling young lamb he sacrificed for the people represented the nation as it had recently begun to experience new life because of its repentance (1Sa 7:9). The burnt offering was an offering of dedication, but it also served to make atonement for God’s people (cf. 1 Samuel 24:25; Lev 1:4; Job 1:5; Job 42:8).
After the tabernacle left Shiloh, the Israelites may have pitched it at Mizpah. Since Samuel offered a burnt offering there (1Sa 7:9), perhaps that is where the tabernacle stood. Nevertheless at this time the Israelites made offerings to God at other places too (cf. 1Sa 7:17).
God’s deliverance was apparently entirely supernatural (1Sa 7:10), probably to impress the people with His ability to save them in a hopeless condition and to strengthen their faith in Him. Baal was supposedly the god of storms, but Yahweh humiliated him here. [Note: See Robert B. Chisholm Jr., "The Polemic against Baalism in Israel’s Early History and Literature," Bibliotheca Sacra 151:603 (July-September 1994):277; and idem, "Yahweh versus the Canaanite Gods: Polemic in Judges and 1 Samuel 1-7," Bibliotheca Sacra 164:654 (April-June 2007):165-80.] The location of Bethcar is still uncertain, but most scholars believe it was near Lower Beth-horon, about 8 miles west of Mizpah toward the Philistine plain.
Scholars also dispute the site of Shen (1Sa 7:12). The Israelites memorialized God’s help with a stone monument that they named Ebenezer (lit. stone of help). This Ebenezer is quite certainly not the same as the one the writer mentioned in 1Sa 4:1 and 1Sa 5:1. It was another memorial stone that marked God’s action for His people (cf. Gen 35:14; Jos 4:9; Jos 24:26). [Note: See Carl F. Graesser, "Standing Stones in Ancient Palestine," Biblical Archaeologist 35:2 (1972):34-63.] It announced the reversal of previous indignities and was a symbol of reintegration. [Note: Gordon, pp. 107-8.] This victory ended the 40-year oppression of the Philistines (1124-1084 B.C.; cf. Jdg 3:30; Jdg 8:28). However, the Philistines again became a problem for Israel later (cf. 1Sa 9:16).
The memorial stone bore witness to the effectiveness of trusting the Lord and His designated judge. If the Lord had helped the people thus far, what need was there for a king? This incident shows that the people should have continued following the leadership of the judges that God had been raising up for them. This was not the right time for a king.
The concluding reference to peace with the Amorites may imply that this victory began a period of peace with the Amorites as well as with the Philistines. The Amorites had controlled the hill country of Canaan, and the Philistines had dominated the coastal plain. The native Canaanites, here referred to as Amorites, would have profited from Israel’s superiority over the Philistines since the Philistines were more of a threat to the Canaanites than were the Israelites. [Note: Norman K. Gottwald, The Tribes of Yahweh, a Sociology of the Religion of Liberated Israel, 1250-1050 B.C.E., p. 418. ] Often in the Old Testament "Amorites" (Westerners) designates the original inhabitants of Canaan in general.