18<\/strong>. Bring hither the ark of God<\/em> ] Saul wished to “inquire of God” before going to battle. See Num 27:21<\/span>. But apart from the fact that we have no mention of the transportation of the Ark from Kirjath-jearim, it was not the Ark, but the Ephod with Urim and Thummim which was the proper instrument for ascertaining the will of God. Moreover “bring hither” is a term applied to the Ephod (1Sa 23:9<\/span>, 1Sa 30:7<\/span>) but not to the Ark. It seems best therefore to follow the reading of the Sept.; “And Saul said to Ahia, bring hither the Ephod: for he wore the Ephod at that time before the children of Israel.”<\/p>\n For the ark, some read the ephod, owing to the improbability of the ark being with Saul at this time, and from the verb Bring hither being never applied to the ark, but regularly to the ephod 1Sa 23:9<\/U><\/span>; 1Sa 30:7<\/span>. Moreover, not the ark, but the ephod with Urim and Thummim, was the proper instrument for inquiring of the Lord. If, however, the Hebrew text is correct, they must have brought the ark into Sauls camp from Kirjath-jearim 1 Sam. 7<\/span>, possibly to be safe from the Philistines.<\/P> <\/p>\n Verse 18<\/span>. Bring hither the ark of God<\/B><\/I>] He wished to inquire what use he should make of the present favourable circumstances, and to proceed in the business as God should direct.<\/P> <\/p>\n That the priest may put on the ephod, and may inquire of the Lord before the ark what the occasion of this tumult among our enemies is, and what we shall do. <\/P> With the children of Israel, <\/B>to wit, in the camp, whither sometimes it was brought; as 1Sa 4:5<\/span>; and now the rather, partly because it was now in an unsettled condition, and without the tabernacle, and therefore easily removed from place to place; and partly because Saul thought to compensate Samuels absence with the presence of the ark. <\/P> <\/p>\n 18. Saul said unto Ahiah, Bringhither the ark of God<\/B>There is no evidence that the ark hadbeen brought from Kirjath-jearim. The Septuagint<\/I> version ispreferable; which, by a slight variation of the text, reads, “theephod”; that is, the priestly cape, which the high priest put onwhen consulting the oracle. That this should be at hand is natural,from the presence of Ahiah himself, as well as the nearness of Nob,where the tabernacle was then situated.<\/P><\/p>\n And Saul said unto Ahiah, bring hither the ark of the Lord<\/strong>,…. That he, the high priest, might put on the ephod, with the Urim and Thummim, and inquire by them of the Lord before it, concerning the affair of Jonathan, what he had done, and the agitation that was in the host of the Philistines; so the Septuagint version, “bring the ephod”, of which, with the Urim and Thummim, Kimchi interprets it; and ask, whether it was right for him to go out unto them, or continue where he was:<\/p>\n for the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel<\/strong>; and so it always was, except a few months it was in the hands of the Philistines; so it was at Kirjathjearim, where it was last. Jarchi thinks a word is wanting, and to be supplied thus,<\/p>\n “the ark of God was [there] at that time with the children of Israel,”<\/p>\n at Gibeah; perhaps it might be removed first to Gilgal, when Saul and Samuel were there, and when they came to Gibeah it was brought along with them; but the last words may be considered as a distinct clause, and, literally tendered, are, “and the children of Israel”: which Abarbinel accounts for thus, and Saul said this,<\/p>\n bring hither the ark of the Lord<\/strong>; and the children of Israel said so likewise, joined with him in it: though the ark had been with Saul, and the people, some time, and also the high priest, yet we do not find that Saul in all his straits and difficulties consulted the Lord before; but perceiving something extraordinary was doing, and might turn to his advantage, he begins to inquire.<\/p>\n (18) And Saul said unto Ahiah . . .<\/strong>The LXX. renders here, And Saul said to Ahijah, Bring hither the ephod; for he bore the ephod in those days before the children of Israel. This is a statement easily to be understood. Saul was in doubt what to do under the present emergency. Should heseeing the panic that was evidently increasing in the Philistine camp, and knowing nothing of the cause, only that his son and the armour-bearer were missingshould he risk his little force, and, leaving his strong position, attack that great host of apparently panic-stricken enemies? So he sent for the high priest Ahijah, and bade him consult the Urim and Thummim in his ephod.<\/p>\n But the Hebrew and all the versions read as in our English Version, Bring hither the Ark of God What does this mean? Was the Ark, then, with that little band of Saul? We never before, or after, find the slightest hint that the sacred coffer ever left the city of woods (Kiriath-yearim) until David bore it to Zion. Then, again, the word preceding Bring hither is never used in connection with the Ark. No question or oracle could be asked of the Ark or by the Ark. The Urim and Thummim, whatever these mysterious objects were alone were used to give answers to questions solemnly asked by king and people, and this Urim and Thummim were connected, not with the Ark, but with the high-priestly ephod. On the whole, the reading of the LXX. probably represents the original Hebrew. The present Hebrew text, with the word Ark, is, however, clearly of extreme antiquity; the second part of the verse is most likely an explanatory gloss of some ancient scribe. Josephus account of this transaction shows us that he had before him a text corresponding to the LXX. His words are, He bid the priest take the garment of his high priesthood and prophesy (Antiq., <\/em>6 3). Maurer prefers the present Hebrew text, for he says, At that supreme moment of danger Saul wanted not the advice of an oracle, but rather the help and encouragement which the presence of the sacred Ark would give to his handful of soldiers. But this would rather degrade Saul to the level of the superstitious Hophni and Phinehas, the wicked sons of Eli. who, it will be remembered, exposed and lost the sacred Ark in the fatal battle in which they perished. Saul, with all his faults, was a far nobler type of man than those profligate, though brave, priests.<\/p>\n 18<\/strong>. <\/strong> Bring hither the ark of God <\/strong> In his excitement and alarm on finding Jonathan and his armourbearer gone, Saul is about to commit as grievous a blunder as did the elders of Israel in a former war with the Philistines. 1Sa 4:3<\/span>. <\/p>\n For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel <\/strong> That is, it was at Kirjath-jearim, (1Sa 7:1<\/span>,) and in the possession of the Israelites, from whom it had not been taken since its return from the land of the Philistines. The Hebrew text , and the children of Israel, <\/em> gives no sense, and must be an error of the copyist for or , to <\/em> or among <\/em> the children of Israel. This need not be understood as meaning that the ark was with Saul’s six hundred at Gibeah, but, as explained above, in the possession of the Israelites. This seems to us the most satisfactory way of explaining this verse as it stands in the present Hebrew text. But there are grave reasons for doubting the integrity of this text, and for adopting the reading of the Septuagint, which has ephod <\/em> instead of ark. <\/em> The ephod, not the ark, was used for inquiring of God, and the expression, bring hither the ark, <\/em> is strange in this connexion, but bring hither the ephod <\/em> is common. See 1Sa 23:9<\/span>; 1Sa 30:7<\/span>. The Septuagint reads: Bring hither the ephod, for he (<\/em> Ahiah) bore the ephod in that day before Israel.<\/p>\n (18) And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel. (19) And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n I cannot omit remarking to the Reader, in the history of Saul, how alike, unmoved by affliction or prosperity, this man’s heart appears to have been towards the Lord. He set up indeed an enquiry, in commanding the priest to bring the ark; but receiving further conviction that the army of the Philistines were in distress, whatever the cause was which induced it, he waits not for direction from the Lord. Alas! to what a sad degree of degeneracy is the heart capable of ripening void of grace!<\/p>\n 1Sa 14:18 And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel.<\/p>\n Ver. 18. And Saul said unto Ahiah.<\/strong> ] See 1Sa 14:3<\/span> . Hypocrites in a strait repair to God, not so much to serve him, as to serve themselves upon him: for at another time they think themselves men good enough; and act as if they were petty gods within themselves.<\/p>\n the ark of God. The word rendered “bring” (nayash) inappropriate for the Ark, which was at Kirjath-jearim (Jdg 20:27, and compare 2Sa 11:11; 2Sa 15:24). The Septuagint reads “the ephod, for he bare the ephod at that time before Israel”. Compare 1Sa 14:3. The context shows that inquiry of the LORD by Urim and Thummim was in Saul’s mind. See 1Sa 14:18 and note on Exo 28:30, and compare 1Sa 28:6, 1Sa 28:9; 1Sa 30:7, 1Sa 30:8, where the same word is used for “bring”. <\/p>\n God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4. Literally “the God”. <\/p>\n children = sons. <\/p>\n Bring hither: The Septuagint reads , . “Bring hither the ephod; for he bore the ephod on that day before Israel,” which Houbigant and others think is the true reading. Finding that his son Jonathan and his armour-bearer were absent, Saul wished to consult the high-priest; but the tumult increasing, he says to him, “Withdraw thine hand:” i.e., desist form consulting the ephod on the present occasion, and immediately hastened to make the best use he could of this astonishing victory. 1Sa 4:3-5, 1Sa 30:8, Num 27:21, Jdg 20:18, Jdg 20:23, Jdg 20:27, Jdg 20:28, 2Sa 11:11, 2Sa 15:24-26 <\/p>\n For the ark: 1Sa 5:2, 1Sa 7:1 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Num 31:6 – the holy instruments Deu 20:2 – General Jos 9:14 – asked not 1Sa 13:9 – he offered 1Sa 23:6 – an ephod 1Sa 23:9 – Bring 1Ki 22:5 – Inquire 1Ch 13:3 – we inquired<\/p>\n 1Sa 14:18-19. Saul said, Bring hither the ark of God Finding only Jonathan and his armour-bearer missing, Saul did not know what to conclude, and therefore called in all haste for Ahiah the priest, to inquire of the Lord concerning it, and in what manner he and the people with him were to act. But before the priest had performed his office, the rout and flight of the Philistines were perceived so plainly that Saul called to the priest to desist, or, as it is expressed, to withdraw his hand, as there was no occasion for further inquiry, it being plain what the matter was, and what they had to do.<\/p>\n And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel. 18. Bring hither the ark of God ] Saul wished to “inquire of God” before going to battle. See Num 27:21. But apart from the fact that we have no … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 14:18”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7538\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"