12<\/strong>. to Carmel<\/em> ] Carmel (= “park” or “garden”) was a city in the mountainous country of Judah, about seven miles S.S.E. of Hebron. Saul would naturally pass through it in returning from the war. The site is marked by the ruins of a large town bearing the name Kurmul<\/em> (Robinson, Bibl. Res<\/em>. I. 495 ff). Here dwelt Nabal (ch. 25), and in its neighbourhood much of David’s outlaw life was spent.<\/p>\n he set him up a place<\/em> ] He erected for himself a monument<\/strong>, or trophy of his victory. The Vulg. has “fornicem triumphalem;” and according to Jerome it was an arch of myrtles, palms, and olives. The Heb. word, literally meaning “hand,” is applied to Absalom’s pillar, which was called “Absalom’s place” or “monument” (2Sa 18:18<\/span>).<\/p>\n The Sept. has some doubtful additions, which partly appear in the ordinary text of the Vulgate. “And Samuel rose early and went to meet Israel in the morning. And it was told [Samuel] saying, [Saul] came to Carmel, and hath set him up a monument, and he turned his chariot and went down to Gilgal. [And Samuel came to Saul], and behold he was offering a burnt-offering to the Lord, the first-fruits of the spoil, which he brought from Amalek.” The names Saul and Samuel have been confused in the text of B, and the clause “And Samuel came to Saul” must be transposed to make sense.<\/p>\n to Gilgal<\/em> ] In the same place where Saul’s kingdom had been confirmed it was to be taken from him: and where the warning of the consequences of disobedience had been uttered (1Sa 13:13-14<\/span>), the sentence on disobedience was to be pronounced.<\/p>\n A place – <\/B>Rather, a monument. The Hebrew word <\/span> yad<\/I> means a hand, but is used in the sense of monument, or trophy, in 2Sa 18:18<\/span>, where we are told that the marble pillar which Absalom set up in his lifetime, was called Yad Absalom.<\/P> Carmel – <\/B>(see the marginal reference) would be on Sauls line of march on his return from the country of the Amalekites, more especially if he came from the neighborhood of Akaba.<\/P><\/p>\n Verse 12<\/span>. He set him up a place<\/B><\/I>] Literally, a hand<\/I>, yad. Some say it was a monument<\/I>; others, a triumphal arch<\/I>: probably it was no more than a hand<\/I>, pointing out the place where Saul had gained the victory. Absalom’s pillar<\/I> is called the hand of<\/I> Absalom<\/I>, 2Sa 18:18<\/span>.<\/P> <\/p>\n Carmel; <\/B>not Mount Carmel, of which Jos 12:22<\/span>, but another mountain or town in the tribe of Judah, of which see Jos 15:55<\/span>. A place, i.e. a monument or trophy of his victory, as the same Hebrew word is used, 2Sa 18:18<\/span>. And this may be here noted by way of censure, that he set it not to Gods honour, but to himself, i.e. to his own praise; which he minded in the first place, and afterwards went to Gilgal, as it here follows, to offer sacrifice to God. <\/P> <\/p>\n 12. Saul came to Carmel<\/B>in thesouth of Judah (Jos 15:55<\/span>;1Sa 25:2<\/span>). <\/P> he set him up a place<\/B>thatis, a pillar (2Sa 18:18<\/span>);literally, a hand,<\/I> indicating that whatever was the form ofthe monument, it was surmounted, according to the ancient fashion, bythe figure of a hand, the symbol of power and energy. The erection ofthis vainglorious trophy was an additional act of disobedience. Hispride had overborne his sense of duty in first raising this monumentto his own honor, and then going to Gilgal to offer sacrifice to God.<\/P><\/p>\n And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning<\/strong>,…. Having had no sleep since the revelation of the will of God was made unto him, and therefore rose early, being in haste to converse with Saul about it:<\/p>\n it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel<\/strong>; not to Carmel where Elijah offered sacrifice, for that was very remote from hence; but to Carmel, a city in the tribe of Judah, which lay in the way of Saul’s return from Amalek, Jos 15:55<\/span><\/p>\n and, behold, he set him up a place<\/strong>; to divide his spoil in, as the Targum; or to encamp in, as Kimchi; or to build an altar on, as Jarchi, who takes it to be the same that Elisha after repaired; but, as before observed, this place was at a great distance from Mount Carmel where Elijah sacrificed. The word for a “place” signifies a hand; and, according to the Vulgate Latin version, it was a triumphal arch, and was perhaps an obelisk or pillar, a trophy or monument erected in memory of the victory he had obtained over the Amalekites. So Jerom says a, when a victory was obtained, they used to make an arch of myrtle, palm, and olive branches, a sign of it; these trophies were sometimes of brass, sometimes of marble; some were only heaps of stones, others a remarkable tree with the branches cut off b so the pillar Absalom erected is called his hand, 2Sa 18:18<\/span><\/p>\n and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal<\/strong>; he took a circuit, and moved in great pomp and parade, carrying the king of the Amalekites in triumph with him, and the spoil he had taken and reserves. To Gilgal be went, expecting to meet Samuel there, and offer up peace offerings to the Lord for the victory he had got.<\/p>\n a Heb. Trad. in lib. Reg. fol. 76. B. b Vid. Alex. ab. Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 1. c. 22.<\/p>\n The next morning, after receiving the revelation from God (1Sa 15:11<\/span>), Samuel rose up early, to go and meet Saul as he was returning from the war. On the way it was told him, “ Saul has come to Carmel<\/em> ” – i.e., Kurmul<\/em>, upon the mountains of Judah to the south-east of Hebron (see at Jos 15:55<\/span>) – “ setting himself a memorial<\/em> ” ( , a hand, then a memorial or monument, inasmuch as the hand calls attention to anything: see 2Sa 18:18<\/span>), “ and has turned and proceeded farther, and gone down to Gilgal<\/em> ” (in the valley of the Jordan, as in 1Sa 13:4<\/span>).<\/p>\n (12) And when Samuel rose early . . .<\/strong>After the revelations of that sad night, the prophet rose, and at once went to seek the guilty king. He was told Saul was come to Carmel, identical with Kurmul in Judah, to the south-east of Hebron; there the victorious monarch had erected a monument of his victory, literally, a hand. <\/em>In 2Sa. 18:18<\/span>, Absaloms Pillar is styled Absaloms Hand (yad<\/em>), <\/em>not place, as in the English Version. It has been suggested that very likely these victory cairns or columns erected by the Hebrews had a hand engraved upon them.<\/p>\n 12<\/strong>. <\/strong> Carmel <\/strong> This was one of the cities of Judah, (see on Jos 15:55<\/span>,) and has been identified with the modern Kurmul, six miles south of Hebron. <\/p>\n Set him up a place <\/strong> That is, say some, for the purpose of giving his army rest and dividing the spoils. The Vulgate translates, He erected for himself a triumphal arch. <\/em> But the word translated place <\/em> means a hand, <\/em> ( ,) and is used of Absalom’s pillar. 2Sa 18:18<\/span>. Such is its meaning here. Saul erected at Carmel a monument as a memorial of his victory over the Amalekites. It may have been an elevated hand, serving as an index to attract the attention of the passing traveller. <\/p>\n Gilgal <\/strong> Here Samuel had before solemnly announced to the disobedient king his fall. 1Sa 13:14<\/span>.<\/p>\n Samuel Seeks Saul Out In Order To Give Him A Stern Rebuke And Declare That YHWH Has Withdrawn From Him His Support ( 1Sa 15:12-31<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ). <\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n We do not know for sure where Samuel was at this time although the last that we heard of him he was in Gibeah (1Sa 13:15<\/span>). However much had happened since that time and this may have been years later. Perhaps he was in fact in or near Carmel awaiting news of the raid. <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:12<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, and it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a monument, and turned, and passed on, and went down to Gilgal.” <\/p>\n Next morning Samuel rose early and went to meet Saul. Carmel was in the mountains of Judah, about seven miles south-south-east of Hebron, and was on Saul’s expected route from the Negeb. And on arrival there he learned that Saul had already set up a monument in Carmel and had moved on to Gilgal. The monument was probably a token of victory. Why he had set it up in Carmel we do not know, unless it was because it was the first large town through which he had passed on re-entering Israel, but in view of what we are shortly to learn it was hardly appropriate. Saul, like Samuel, should have been mourning because of his own failure. <\/p>\n Gilgal was probably the place where the Tabernacle now was, or alternately was simply seen as the Central Sanctuary in lieu of the Tabernacle. As we have seen it was regularly the place for offering offerings and sacrifices on important occasions (1Sa 10:8<\/span>; 1Sa 11:15 ; 1Sa 13:4<\/span>; 1Sa 13:8<\/span>). Saul had clearly gone there in order to offer thanks for his victory to YHWH and presumably thought that YHWH would be pleased. He had become so blase that he had not yet realised how great a sin he had committed, one that was in fact worse than that of Achan (Joshua 7<\/span>). <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:13<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of YHWH, I have performed the commandment of YHWH.” ’ <\/p>\n When Samuel arrived Saul greeted him warmly and declared that he had done what YHWH had commanded. He was feeling pleased with himself. He had largely destroyed the Amalekites in the southern area of Israel, and in the wilderness beyond, and had returned with great booty. <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:14<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And Samuel said, “What means then this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” ’ <\/p>\n But Samuel was not to be taken in. He knew what Saul had done, and so he asked, ‘What then means this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen?’ He wanted to face Saul up to his sin. It is probably difficult for us to realise how great a sin Saul’s was. It was the kind of sin that would even have horrified Israel’s neighbours. It was a sin against the ‘most holy of things’. It is evidence of the arrogance and careless attitude that Saul now had towards YHWH that he did not realise it. He was beginning to think that he could do what he liked. <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:15<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice to YHWH your God, and the remainder we have utterly destroyed.” ’ <\/p>\n Saul began to make excuses and tried to assure Samuel that they had brought these animals from the Amalekite encampment and had kept the best in order to present them to YHWH, having destroyed everything else as YHWH had commanded. He did not seem to realise that for them to eat them as peace and thanksgiving offerings would be to transgress against what was most holy, against what had already been devoted to YHWH. He should have known that if they were to offer peace and thank offerings they should have taken them from their own resources, not from these. These were already YHWH’s. <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:16<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stay, and I will tell you what YHWH has said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Say on.” ’ <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:17<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And Samuel said, “Though you were little in your own sight, were you not made the head of the tribes of Israel? And YHWH anointed you king over Israel,” ’<\/p>\n Samuel reminds Saul of what YHWH had done for him. When he was but little in his own sight, God had shown him great favour. He had made him the head of the tribes of Israel. He had anointed him as king over Israel. There is a reference back here to Saul’s own words in 1Sa 9:21<\/span>. <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:18<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> And YHWH sent you on a journey, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed’.” <\/p>\n And it was this same YHWH Who had sent him on this expedition and had said to him, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites.’ Note the emphasis on their sinfulness. These were no ordinary enemy, they were ‘the sinners’. They had been particularly evil. And that was why they had been ‘devoted to YHWH’ so as to remove this evil from the earth for the good of all. And that was why YHWH had told him to fight against them until all were consumed. <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:19<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> For what reason then did you not obey the voice of YHWH, but flew on the spoil, and did what was evil in the sight of YHWH?” <\/p>\n The question then was, why had he not obeyed YHWH when He had spoken to him so clearly? Why had he flown like a great vulture on the spoil in order to keep it for himself, thereby doing evil in the sight of YHWH? <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:20<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And Saul said to Samuel, “Yes, I have obeyed the voice of YHWH, and have gone the way which YHWH sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.” <\/p>\n Saul’s reply was that he had done what YHWH had said. He had obeyed the voice of YHWH. He had gone the way in which YHWH had sent him. But then he convicted himself out of his own mouth, for while he claimed to have ‘devoted to YHWH’ the whole of the Amalekites, he admitted that he had actually not done so, because here was Agag, the king of Amalek, the one who above all represented Amalek, still alive. So Saul was admitting that he had failed to ‘devote’ all Amalek to YHWH. He had ‘devoted’ only what was right in his own eyes. He had kept back part of the spoil. He had appropriated what was YHWH’s for himself. <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:21<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice to YHWH your God in Gilgal.” <\/p>\n And then he took the age-old path of sinners. While admitting that some of the sheep and cattle, the very ‘chief of the devoted things’, had not been slain, he put the blame on the people. It was not his fault, he claimed, it was theirs. It was they who had taken the best of the spoil in order to bring it to Gilgal and offer it to YHWH. But what he knew perfectly well in his heart was that what already belonged to YHWH because it had been devoted to Him, could not be offered as an offering. What had been devoted to Him was ‘holy to YHWH’ and had to be put to death, not sacrificed (Lev 27:28-29<\/span>; Deu 13:15-17<\/span>). And it had been his solemn responsibility as YHWH’s anointed to ensure that that was done. God would not accept half-measures. <\/p>\n Note Saul’s emphasis on ‘YOUR God’. He wanted Samuel to recognise that this great offering was to be to Samuel’s own God. It was He Who was to be honoured. But he was prevaricating, for in his heart he knew the clear regulation that what was ‘devoted’ could not be offered, and this especially so as they would also partake of it. For what was ‘devoted’ was already totally set apart as His. <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:22<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And Samuel said, “Has YHWH as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of YHWH? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” ’ <\/p>\n Samuel’s reply, which would be regularly echoed by later prophets, was that while offerings and sacrifices might delight YHWH when they were evidence of, and came from, an obedient and loving heart, without that they were meaningless. It was not offering and sacrifice and ritual that lay at the heart of religion, but faithfulness and obedience. The former only had meaning if they resulted from the latter. Obedience to God and listening to His commands were what was at the heart of true religion. <\/p>\n This in fact was the difference between Yahwism and all the religions round about. In all the other religions what mattered was to carry out the ritual correctly, while the way in which men lived was of secondary importance. Their gods were seen as having to be pacified and fed and bribed and persuaded by religious manipulation. In contrast what God required was a faithful and obedient heart, a continual response to His covenant. The whole purpose of the ritual in Yahwism was as an expression of love and faithfulness. See Psa 40:6-8<\/span>; Psa 50:8<\/span> ff; Psa 51:16-17<\/span>; Isa 1:11-15<\/span>; Jer 6:20<\/span>; Hos 6:6<\/span>; Amo 5:21-24<\/span>; Mic 6:6-8<\/span>; Mat 9:17<\/span>; Mat 12:7<\/span>. <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:23<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because you have rejected the word of YHWH, he has also rejected you from being king.” <\/p>\n Samuel then brings home the seriousness of disobedience. It is rebellion against God. It is thus as bad as using witchcraft and manipulating evil spirits, something for which men and women should be put to death (Exo 22:18<\/span>;, Lev 19:26<\/span>; Lev 19:31<\/span>; Lev 20:27<\/span>; Deu 18:10-12<\/span>. And the same is true of stubbornness in the face of God’s commandment. It is as bad as idolatry and resorting to the teraphim (superstitious images). For both disobedience and stubbornness exalt the self above God. <\/p>\n And then Samuel delivered the final blow. Because by his flagrant disobedience to a most sacred command of God Saul had rejected the word of YHWH, so now had YHWH rejected him from being king over Israel. In YHWH’s eyes he was king no longer. He might still bear the trappings, but that was all. YHWH might still assist His people, but it would not be through Saul or because of Saul. Saul was a reject. <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:24<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of YHWH, and your words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.” <\/p>\n Saul’s resistance now collapsed. He acknowledged that all his excuses had simply been hypocrisy. He admitted that he had disobeyed YHWH’s strict commandment, and the words of Samuel, because he had been swayed by the people and had done what they had said. He was still seeking to shift the blame onto the people. But we should note that his great concern was concerning what he had lost by it, not about how much he had sinned against God. David in a similar situation would have fallen on his face and cried, ‘Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight’ (Psa 51:4<\/span>), expressing his deep regret that he had offended against the God Whom he loved. That above all was what mattered to him. But Saul’s concern was more about the fact that he had lost status and position. <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:25<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> Now therefore, I pray you, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship YHWH.” <\/p>\n We should note Saul’s approach here. Rather than being down on his face before God in utter despair over how he had grieved Him, he was more concerned about his sin against Samuel, and looked for Samuel’s intervention with God. His faith was not direct, it was second hand. His concern was to be accepted back cultically, so that he might be seen to be worshipping YHWH correctly, not on how his behaviour had broken his own personal relationship with God. <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:26<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And Samuel said unto Saul, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of YHWH, and YHWH has rejected you from being king over Israel.” ’ <\/p>\n But Samuel would have none of it. He would not return with him to the Sanctuary at Gilgal, because he had rejected the word of YHWH, and thus YHWH had rejected him from being king over Israel. He would thus no longer acknowledge him before the people. As far as he was concerned as the prophet of YHWH he had no further responsibility towards Saul. <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:27<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And as Samuel turned about to go away, Saul laid hold on the hem of his robe, and it tore.’ <\/p>\n Saul was desperate. He was afraid that without Samuel’s support his whole status and acceptability might collapse. So in his desperation he reached out to grab the robe of the departing prophet in order to prevent him from leaving. But all that he managed to lay hands on was the very hem of the robe which spoke of the commandments of YHWH, and on which were the tassels that depicted the commandments of YHWH (Num 15:38-40<\/span>). And the hem tore. This might suggest that in fact one of the tassels was torn loose, symbolic of his own breach of the commandments, but even if not it was symbolic of his breach of the commandments. <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:28<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And Samuel said to him, “YHWH has torn the kingship of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbour of yours who is better than you.” <\/p>\n Then Samuel basically said to him, ‘Just as that hem has been torn, so has YHWH torn from you the kingship of Israel this day.’ Both recognised the significance of the torn hem. Disobedience and breach of YHWH’s commandments had brought separation from God, and in Saul’s case that included the matter of the kingship. And inevitably, as his family’s succession had already been ruled out (1Sa 13:14<\/span>), that involved another Israelite replacing him, someone who was better than he was. <\/p>\n This is the second time that Samuel has indicated that YHWH now has his replacement in mind. In 13:14 he had said, ‘YHWH has sought a man after His own heart, and YHWH has commanded him to be war-leader over His people’. Here it is to ‘one of your neighbours — someone who is better than you’. Samuel did not yet know who it was. But he did know that YHWH had someone in mind. We note here that Saul’s punishment now exceeds Eli’s. Rather than lifting Israel higher, Saul has brought them even lower. <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:29<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent, for he is not a man, that he should repent.” <\/p>\n Samuel then stresses the finality of YHWH’s verdict. YHWH is the very foundation and strength of Israel, its very backbone, the unchanging One, the eternal One, God and not man. He is totally steadfast and sure. In a word used elsewhere He is their Rock (1Sa 2:2<\/span>). And because His desire is for the very best for His people, nothing less than the best for them can finally satisfy Him. Thus once YHWH has determined on something which He knows is for their benefit it will come about, and nothing will change His mind or make Him regret it, because it will have been purposed for the very best. And all this because He is the Unchanging One (compare Jas 1:17<\/span>). <\/p>\n This is not a contradiction of what is said in 1Sa 15:11<\/span>. The appointment of Saul there had not been ‘within the eternal will of God’. It had not been purposed from the beginning. It had not been for the very best. Indeed He had warned the people from the very start that to have a king would be very much second best. It had not been something that He had wanted for them. It had simply been something that He had allowed because He was ready to give the people what, of their own free will, they wanted so that they might learn by it. But once He had felt that the consequences were becoming too grave He was ready to alter them. He was ready to go back on what He had allowed. While He had allowed it because of the persistence of their demands He did not now want them to suffer too much from it. And so He altered course. But that was not to change in regard to something that He had purposed because it was for the very best. That was simply the alteration of a course that had been set by men because it had proved unsuitable. <\/p>\n So Saul can be sure now that YHWH will not change His mind about what He has determined. He can be sure that He will not withdraw from His rejection of Saul. It should be noted that this did not necessarily mean that he had lost the ability to find personal forgiveness. It was indicating his loss of privilege, not of his final salvation. That last would be determined by the true state of his heart. It is a reminder to us too that if we are not fully obedient we will lose the privileges that God wants to give us, possibly even irrevocably if it is in a case like this. We need to be aware that there comes a time when, if we keep saying ‘no’ we lose the opportunity to say ‘yes’. <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:30<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> Then he said, “I have sinned. Yet honour me now, I pray you, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship YHWH your God.” ’ <\/p>\n Saul’s defence now collapses. He ceases defending himself and acknowledges that he has sinned. Perhaps had he at this time flung himself down before God and repented as David repented in Psalms 51<\/span> God might have shown him more mercy. But he did not. That was not Saul’s way. He rather settled for what seemed to be the inevitable. His one desire now was not that he might be restored to YHWH’s favour as something that he could not bear to be without (which is what David would have wanted), but to be honoured before the people so that he might not lose their respect. <\/p>\n So he calls on Samuel to uphold his honour among the people and their leaders, by going with him to the Sanctuary at Gilgal so that they may together take part in the worship of YHWH. He knew at this point that, because Samuel was held in such high honour, if Samuel did not do so, his own position might well become unstable. <\/p>\n We note that Saul still wanted to worship YHWH ritually in the time honoured way. Indeed throughout his life he demonstrates his loyalty to Yahwism. But what he lacked was that personal sense of the need to be completely responsive to God. To him his religion was a useful crutch, and something that sustained him in a general kind of way. But it was not something intensely personal <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:31<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> So Samuel turned again after Saul, and Saul worshipped YHWH.’ <\/p>\n Samuel then revealed his compassion by following Saul to Gilgal and enabling him to worship YHWH. But it was the last thing that he would do for him. From then on Saul was on his own. <\/p>\n 1Sa 15:12<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>Behold, he set him up a place<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> Where he erected a monument or trophy of victory to himself. That the word , iad, <\/em>signifies a monument, we learn from 2Sa 18:18<\/span> where Absalom is said to have erected a pillar, <\/em>and to have called it iad Abshalom, <\/em>the monument of Absalom: <\/em>by which is signified either the space <\/em>or area <\/em>where the monument was erected, or the thing itself which was erected; as matzab, <\/em>a pillar; <\/em>which name, in the above-quoted place, is synonimous with iad. <\/em>Houbigant. St. Jerome says, that Saul erected a triumphal arch.<\/em> <\/p>\n (12) And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n It should seem, from this account, that Saul was so flushed with his victory, he was regardless of the divine favor, and in the pride of his heart had set up a place, perhaps a pillar of triumph, by way of publishing and perpetuating his conquest. Alas! what blindness, and presumption, and sin, is there in the human heart.<\/p>\n 1Sa 15:12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.<\/p>\n Ver. 12. Saul came to Carmel.<\/strong> ] A town of Judah that was in his way as he returned from Amalek. Jos 15:55 <\/p>\n <\/p>\n And, behold, he set him up a place.<\/strong> ] Heb., A hand: that is, say some, a trophy or monument of triumph like a hand; as who should say, By mine own hand have I achieved this victory. So Sesostris, king of Egypt, not long before Saul’s days, when he had conquered any country, was wont to set up pillars there; and thereon to engrave these words, T ; With mine own hands did I get this land. This is taken for a vain glorious vaunt of Saul’s, and an aggravation of his sin. He goeth on to boast in the next.<\/p>\n behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6. <\/p>\n place. Hebrew a hand. Either to mark his claim to the place, or a monument, as in 2Sa 18:18. <\/p>\n on = over. <\/p>\n Carmel: 1Sa 25:2, Jos 15:55, 1Ki 18:42 <\/p>\n he set him: 1Sa 7:12, Jos 4:8, Jos 4:9, 2Sa 18:18 <\/p>\n a place: Yad, Literally as the LXX render , a hand; probably because the trophy or monument of victory was in the shape of a large hand, the emblem of power, erected on a pillar. These memorial pillars were anciently much in use; and the figure of a hand, by its emblematical meaning, was well adapted to preserve the remembrance of a victory. Niebuhr, speaking of the Mesjed Ali, or Mosque of Ali, says that, “at the top of the dome, where one generally sees on the Turkish mosques a crescent, or only a pole, there is here a hand stretched out, to represent that of Ali.” Another writer informs us, that at the Alhamra, or red palace of the Moorish kings in Grenada, “on the key-stone of the outward arch – of the present principal entranceis sculptured the figure of an arm, the symbol of strength and dominion. <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Num 31:13 – went forth Jos 19:26 – Carmel 1Ki 18:19 – mount Carmel Psa 49:11 – they call<\/p>\n 1Sa 15:12-13. Behold, he set him up a place That is, a monument or trophy of his victory; perhaps a column, or barely a large heap of stones, as was the custom of those early ages. I have performed the commandment of the Lord He makes so little account of the fault he had committed, that he even boasts of his performance.<\/p>\n And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. 12. to Carmel ] Carmel (= “park” or “garden”) was a city in the mountainous … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 15:12”<\/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-7584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7584","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=7584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7584\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7584"}],"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: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/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: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/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":"