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1 SAMUEL 7

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

 NASB  NKJV  NRSV  TEV   NJB
(MT versing)
Deliverance from the Philistines Samuel Judges Israel Samuel As Judge of All Israel Samuel Rules Israel Samuel, Judge and Liberator
7:1-2
7:2-8 7:2 7:2 7:2-4
7:3-6 7:3-4 7:3-4
7:5-6 7:5-6 7:5-6
7:7-11 7:7-11 7:7-11 7:7-12
7:9-12
7:12-14 7:12-14 7:12-14
Samuel's Ministry 7:13-14 7:13-14
7:15-17 7:15-17 7:15-17 7:15-17 7:15-17

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

  1. First paragraph
  2. Second paragraph
  3. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:1-2
  1And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the ark of the Lord and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord. 2From the day that the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, the time was long, for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.

7:1 "house of Abinadab on the hill" The Hebrew term "house" (BDB 108) can refer to

  1. private house ‒ 1 Sam. 1:19; 2:11; etc.
  2. temple
    1. of YHWH ‒ 1 Sam. 1:7,24
    2. of Dagon ‒ 1 Sam. 5:2,5

It seems unlikely that the ark would be brought to a private residence. The phrase "on the hill" implies a prominent place, possibly the site of an ancient place of worship.

It also does not appear that this man, or his son, was a Levitical priest, though they may have been associated with the ancient shrine on the hill.

Apparently the ark and the tent of meeting were separated during this period.

7:2-3 Why did Israel lament? Was it because their central shrine was disrupted during this period?

Verse 3 seems to imply that Israel's fertility worship with its consequences was the reason for the lament (cf. Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28).

SPECIAL TOPIC: ISRAEL'S MANDATED RESPONSE TO CANAANITE FERTILITY WORSHIP

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:3-6
  3Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If you return to the Lord with all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your hearts to the Lord and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines." 4So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the Lord alone. 5Then Samuel said, "Gather all Israel to Mizpah and I will pray to the Lord for you." 6They gathered to Mizpah, 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 sons of Israel at Mizpah.

7:3 "If you return" This VERBAL root (BDB 996, KB 1427, Qal PARTICIPLE) is often used of repentance (i.e., turning back to God).

SPECIAL TOPIC: REPENTANCE (OT)

▣ "with all your heart" This was an idiom of total commitment (i.e., 1 Kgs. 8:18; 2 Kgs. 23:25; 2 Chr. 6:38). No half-hearted gestures of religious activity would do!

▣ "Ashtaroth" This name (BDB 800) of the female consort of Ba'al is PLURAL (BDB 127). These Canaanite deities were worshiped in every village and town. There were numerous special places of worship (i.e., a raised platform with two symbols):

  1. a live or carved tree (female)
  2. a raised pillar or phallic symbol

▣ "direct your hearts to the Lord and serve Him" These commands denote a reverent attitude and prescribed worship activities.

  1. direct ‒ to direct one's attention to ‒ BDB 465, KB 464, Hiphil imperative (i.e., 1 Chr. 29:18; 2 Chr. 20:33; also note 2 Chr. 19:3; 30:19)
  2. serve ‒ BDB 712, KB 773, Qal IMPERATIVE implies sacrifices, rituals, special days, pilgrimages, liturgy (i.e., Exod. 3:12; 4:23; 7:16; 8:1; 10:26)

▣ "Remove the foreign gods" Exactly which ones is not specified. The fertility poles (i.e., Ashtaroth) are mentioned as a separate category. Asherah, Astarte, Anath were names for the female fertility goddess of Cannan. Ba'al was the male counterpoint.

SPECIAL TOPIC: FERTILITY WORSHIP OF THE ANE

▣ "He will deliver you" This VERB (BDB 664, KB 717, Hiphil JUSSIVE, cf. vv. 3,8,14) means to deliver.

  1. rescue, recover ‒ Jdgs. 11:26; 1 Sam. 30:8; 18:22
  2. deliver from enemies ‒ 1 Sam. 12:21
  3. deliver from the power of ‒ Exod. 18:10; 2 Sam. 14:16; 19:10; 22:1; 2 Kgs. 20:6
  4. deliver from death ‒ Ps. 86:13; Pro. 11:6; 12:6; 23:14
  5. deliver from sin ‒ Ps., 39:9; 51:16

In this context #3 fits best.

7:4 "the Baals and the Ashtaroth" See SPECIAL TOPIC: FERTILITY WORSHIP OF THE ANE.

▣ "served the Lord alone" YHWH is a jealous God. He and He alone must be worshiped (cf. Exod. 20:5; 34:14; Deut. 4:24; 5:9; 6:15; 32:16,21; Ps. 78:58).

SPECIAL TOPIC: MONOTHEISM

SPECIAL TOPIC: WORSHIP

7:5 Samuel prays for gathered Israel.

SPECIAL TOPIC: INTERCESSORY PRAYER

7:6 Notice the three worship acts.

  1. "drew water and poured it out before the Lord"
    1. this unknown physical act may somehow be related to the rejection of Ba'al as the provider of rain
    2. this VERBAL is used often for spiritual prayer (cf. 1 Sam. 1:15; Ps. 42:4; 62:8; Lam. 2:19)
  2. "fasted on that day" ‒ this was an outward symbol of grief or repentance (cf. 1 Sam. 31:13; 2 Sam. 1:12; 12:16,21,22; see NIDOTTE, vol. 3, pp. 780-782; see SPECIAL TOPIC: FASTING)
  3. "We have sinned" ‒ an act of corporate prayer (see SPECIAL TOPIC: INTERCESSORY PRAYER)

▣ "Samuel judged Israel" Usually the action of a judge in Israel in this period involved

  1. sacrifice (vv. 9,10)
  2. prayer (vv. 8, 9)
  3. military action (vv. 7,11)
  4. memorial acts (v. 12)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:7-11
  7Now when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8Then the sons of Israel said to Samuel, "Do not cease to cry to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines." 9Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel and the Lord answered him. 10Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day against the Philistines and confused them, so that they were routed before Israel. 11The men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and struck them down as far as below Beth-car.

7:7 "the lords of the Philistines" The Philistines were from the Aegean Islands. They brought their form of government with them (i.e., city-states, like Greece). There were five main cities and five "kings" of these city-states (i.e., Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath, Ekron).

7:8 "He may save us" See SPECIAL TOPIC: SALVATION (OT).

▣ "the hand of the Philistines" See SPECIAL TOPIC: HAND.

7:9 "whole burnt offering" See SPECIAL TOPIC: BURNT OFFERING.

For a good brief article on the changing meanings of the term "Levite" see G. B. Caird, The Language and Imagery of the Bible, pp. 68-72.

7:10 Notice the two specific things YHWH did for Israel in battle.

  1. thundered with a great thunder (cf. 1 Sam. 2:10; 2 Sam. 22:14; Ps. 29:3-4)
  2. confused them (cf. Exod. 23:27; Deut. 7:23; Josh. 10:10; Jdgs. 4:15; Ps. 18:14)

This is reminiscent of the language of "holy war" in Joshua. It is possible that these two things represent one act.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:12-14
  12Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the Lord has helped us." 13So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

7:12 "Ebenezer" This is a compound word.

  1. stone ‒ BDB 6
  2. help ‒ BDB 740
  3. Josephus, Antiq. 6.2.2, calls it "the stone of power"

It was a memorial stone raised up to commemorate YHWH's acts of deliverance (cf. Gen. 28:18; 35:14-15; Josh. 4:9; 18:17; 24:26; 1 Sam. 20:19)

This is not the same place by this same name mentioned in 1 Sam. 4:1.

▣
NASB, NKJV, NRSV, LXX  "Thus far"
TEV  "all the way"
NJB  "as far as this"
JPSOA  "For up to now"
Peshitta  "Hither to"
NET  "Up to here"

The MT has the PREPOSITION (BDB 723 III) "as far as" and the ADVERB (BDB 244 I) which could have

  1. a temporal concept ‒ "up to now"
  2. a geographical location ‒ "up to this place"

The UBS Handbook, p. 100, supports the first option, thinking it refers to Saul's later rejection by YHWH.

▣
NASB, NKJV, TEV, JPSOA, NET  "Shen"
NRSV, REB, JPSOA footnote  "Jeshanah"
NJB  "the Tooth"
LXX  "the old city"
Peshitta  "Beth-jashan"

The MT has "Shen" (BDB 1042 II, KB 1593-1595), which means "ivory" or "tooth." This seems to be an unknown location of a rock outcropping.

"Jeshanah" is a city in Benjamin mentioned in 2 Chr. 13:19, close to Bethel.

7:13 "all the days of Samuel" This is an idiom for the life of Samuel.

SPECIAL TOPIC: DAY (yom)

7:14 "So there was peace between Israel and the Amorites" This seems like a misplaced summary statement. The context is dealing with Philistines not the Amorites.

Probably here it is a collective term for all the inhabitants of Canaan.

SPECIAL TOPIC: PRE-ISRAELITE INHABITANTS OF PALESTINE

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:15-17
  15Now Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16He used to go annually on circuit to Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. 17Then his return was to Ramah, for his house was there, and there he judged Israel; and he built there an altar to the Lord.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

  1. What are the connotations of "house" in v. 1?
  2. Define "return" (i.e., repentance).
  3. Are "the foreign gods" and "the Ashtaroth" the same?
  4. Who was Ba'al?
  5. Why did Samuel pour water before the Lord? v. 6
  6. Was Samuel a priest?
  7. How is v. 10 related to the conquest?
  8. What is an Ebenezer? v. 12
  9. Why are "Amorites" mentioned in v. 14 when the context is all about Philistines?

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