There was a certain man from Ramatayim Tzofim, from the highlands of Ephraim, and his name was Elkana, son of Yeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Tzuf, a nobleman [Efrati]. According to tradition, Elkana was a Levite who lived in the hills of Ephraim. The title Efrati, literally Ephraimite, was a general term for one with elevated social status. Since Ephraim was considered a superior tribe, certainly in their own eyes and perhaps by others as well, the label Ephraimite connoted an individual from a good family.

He had two wives; the name of the first, Hannah, and the name of the second, Penina. Since not many men at that time married two women, there must have been a special reason for Elkana to have done so. Penina had children, but Hannah had no children. Hannah was Elkana’s first wife. When it became apparent that she was not bearing children, Elkana married a second woman so that he could have children. This explains the great difference in his relationships with his two wives.

This man ascended from his city from year to year, or from one festival to another, to prostrate himself and to present offerings to the Lord of hosts in the Tabernacle which was currently situated in Shilo. Apparently, Shilo was not a pilgrimage site for all Israel. Rather, it was mainly frequented by local residents who required its services. There, the two sons of Eli the elderly High Priest, Hofni and Pinhas, were priests to the Lord. In practice, they were the ones in charge of the Tabernacle.

It was on the day, on a certain day, that Elkana presented offerings [vayyizbah·]; he brought peace offerings, which are generally offered on festivals and other times of joy. A portion of these offerings was burned on the altar, another part was given to the priests, while the rest was eaten by the owners. And he, Elkana, in accordance with his practice, gave portions to Penina his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters. The term vayyizbaĥ derives from the root zayin-beit-ĥet, which usually appears in the context of a celebratory public or private meal.

But to Hannah he would give a choice portion, a large, significant portion. Some explain that he gave her some of his own choice portion. For he loved Hannah, and he wished to express publicly his preference for her over his other wife, but the Lord had closed her womb, and she had not borne children. Consequently, he gave her only one portion, unlike Penina, to whom he gave multiple portions, for herself and her children. It was not uncommon for there to be some sort of rivalry between two women married to the same man.

Her rival, the other woman in the house, Penina, provoked her again and again in order to upset her, for the Lord had closed her womb.

So he, Elkana, would do year after year, keeping up his practice of giving Hannah a choice portion, each time she ascended to the House of the Lord, so she, Penina, would provoke her, and she, Hannah, would weep and would not eat. Hannah felt humiliated and had no appetite. Even if Penina did not engage in blatant mockery, in Hannah’s sensitive state any derisive remark, like: Perhaps share some of your large portion with your child, would inevitably lead to tears.

Elkana her husband said to her: Hannah, why do you weep, and why do you not eat, and why is your heart grieving? I love you and am devoted to you. Am I not better to you than ten sons?

Hannah arose after eating in Shilo, and after drinking, when the tense family meal had ended. And Eli the priest was sitting on the chair near the doorpost of the Sanctuary of the Lord, not in the Tabernacle itself. Perhaps Hannah greeted him, but in any case she did not pay much attention to him,

Hannah went inside as she was embittered, hurt, and forlorn, and prayed to the Lord, and was weeping.

She vowed, saying: Lord of hosts, if You see the suffering of Your maidservant, and you remember me and not forget Your maidservant, and You give Your maidservant substantial offspring, a worthy, strong child, then I will give him, consecrate him, to the Lord all the days of his life, and a razor will not come upon his head. Hannah vowed that the son born to her would be a nazirite, for whom it is prohibited to cut his hair or shave his beard. The mention of a strong child is perhaps an indication that Hannah had previously miscarried, which is why she now specifically requested a healthy baby.

And it was as she was praying extensively before the Lord, Eli was watching her mouth. Apparently, there were not many people in the vicinity, and Eli, who was sitting nearby, noticed her.

Hannah, she was speaking quietly in her heart, as she did not want anyone to hear her expressing her innermost feelings; only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard; and Eli therefore thought her to be drunk, as drunkards sometimes talk to themselves, or think that they are speaking when they are actually not saying anything. When Eli saw a woman moving her lips as though she was talking, but emitting no sound, he assumed that she was intoxicated.

Eli said to her: Until when will you become drunk and act in an intoxicated manner? And if you are already drunk, remove the influence of your wine from yourself. It is unfitting to be drunk anywhere, certainly not in the house of God.

Hannah answered and said: No, my lord, you mistake me. I am an embittered woman; I did not drink wine or intoxicating drink at all, but instead I poured out my soul before the Lord. Since I was talking to God, there was no need for me to raise my voice.

Do not deem your maidservant to be a wicked woman. Do not think of me as an immoral woman who came drunk to the Tabernacle, for it is due to the extent of my grievance, the bitterness of my soul, and my anger that I have spoken at great length until now. Apparently, it was unusual at the time to recite such a long prayer.

When Eli heard her answer given in an entirely sober manner, he regretted his accusation. Eli answered and said: Go in peace. Eli immediately added words of encouragement for the future: And may the God of Israel grant your request that you requested of Him. I do not know what you requested, but I bless you that God should give you your wish. With regard to this verse, the Talmud states that Rabbi Elazar said: From here the halakha is derived that one who suspects another of something that he has not done, he must appease him. Moreover, the one who suspected him must bless him.

She said: May your maidservant find favor in your eyes. May your words come to pass. This was the polite response of one who had received a blessing or a compliment: I sincerely thank you for treating me favorably. The woman went on her way, and she ate as usual, and her face was no longer downcast as it was. The feelings of sorrow, anger, and heartbreak that had accompanied her to Shilo now dissipated, perhaps due to her earnest prayer and the special blessing she had received from the High Priest. Now she had renewed confidence and hope. The last phrase in the verse literally means “and she had no more face,” as the term “face” in the Bible can refer to anger.

They, the whole family, arose early in the morning, and prostrated themselves before the Lord upon their departure from the Tabernacle, and they returned, and came to their house to Rama. Elkana was intimate with Hannah his wife and on this occasion the Lord remembered her.

It was with the passage of the seasons, when another year had passed, that Hannah conceived and bore a son; she called his name Samuel [Shemuel], for she explained: I requested him [she’iltiv] from the Lord.

The man Elkana and his entire household, his family, ascended to present the annual offering, or the appropriate offerings for those dates, perhaps the festival offerings to the Lord, and the offerings for his vow, which he had pledged to bring over the course of the year.

But Hannah did not ascend with her son; as she said to her husband: When the child will be weaned from my milk and will be able to eat food, I will bring him to the Tabernacle, and he will appear before the Lord, and he will reside there forever. In the meantime, I will leave him at home and enjoy him. When he grows a little, I will bring him to Shilo and give him to God.

Elkana her husband said to her: Do that which is good in your eyes, remain here with the boy until you wean him; but may the Lord fulfill His word, that the child should mature and thrive. The woman remained and nursed her son, until she weaned him.

When she had weaned him she took him up with her to the Temple, at the age of two or three, or perhaps a little older, to mark the occasion in a celebratory fashion with three bulls, and one ephah of flour, an ancient measure of volume, roughly equivalent to 22 g, perhaps slightly more, and a skin of wine, possibly an earthenware container, and she brought him to the House of the Lord in Shilo, and the child was young. He would act in the immature manner of a young child. Perhaps he was mischievous or precocious; in any case, his presence was felt in the Temple, which was a place mainly frequented by adults.

They slaughtered the bull as an offering, and they brought the child to Eli the priest.

She, Hannah, said to Eli: Please, my lord; by your soul, my lord, I am the same woman who stood with you here to pray to the Lord. Hannah had not previously told Eli the object of her prayer; now she revealed it to him:

For this child I prayed; and the Lord granted me my request that I requested of Him.

Since God has fulfilled my request, I too have granted him to the Lord, as my part of the petition; all the days that he will be, he is granted and handed over to the Lord. He, Samuel, prostrated himself there to the Lord, along with all those present.

Hannah prayed, and said: My heart exults in the Lord, my glory is exalted, my strength has increased and I have risen to a position of greatness, in, by the assistance of the Lord. My mouth is opened wide against my enemies; I can say what I wish to them and they have no response; because I rejoice in the revelation of Your salvation. I believed in You even beforehand, but now I can exult at seeing the open display of Your deliverance.

There is none who is holy like the Lord, as there is none who responds and rescues besides You; and there is no powerful rock like our God. Despite God’s transcendence, He does not remain distant from the world, but is constantly active in human affairs.

Hannah addressed her enemies: Do not exceed, speaking with extreme haughtiness, pretentiousness and conceit, as though you know and understand everything, letting words of arrogance, or false statements, emerge from your mouth, as in truth the Lord is the God of knowledge, He possesses all knowledge; and only by Him the exploits of the world are assessed and judged.

On the one hand, the bow of the mighty men is broken, and on the other hand, those who faltered are girded with strength.

The sated were hired for bread. They do not even receive a wage for their labor, but merely bread to eat; but in contrast, the hungry have ceased to want food; to the extent that while the barren has borne seven, the one with many children is miserable. The word ad could also mean behold.

The Lord puts to death and brings to life; He lowers to the netherworld and He also raises people up from there.

The Lord impoverishes, and also makes rich; He humbles, and yet He also elevates.

He raises the impoverished from dust, He elevates the indigent, the destitute who have nowhere to go, from refuse heaps, places of garbage and scraps, to seat them, the poor and needy, with nobles, and He will bequeath them a throne of glory; for the pillars, the foundations, of the earth are the Lord’s, and He established the world upon them. The foundations of the world are in the hands of God, who can do with them as He wishes. He can raise up the world or bring it down, and render it a comfortable place for certain people and less so for others.

He protects the feet of His holy ones so that they will not stumble, but the wicked will be lost in darkness, due to their evil ways; alternatively, they will disappear and be lost in darkness; for not through strength does man prevail, but rather, the world is ruled by God’s kindness, goodwill, and His special providence over His pious ones.

The Lord, His opponents, those who rise up against Him, will be broken; He will thunder in the heavens against him and strike him; the Lord will administer judgment to the ends of the earth. Hannah concludes her prayer with a prophetic hope: And He will give strength to His king, and exalt the glory of His anointed. Perhaps my son will prepare the world for the forthcoming monarchy of Israel. Hannah is considered one of the seven prophetesses in the Bible.

Elkana went to Rama to [al] his house. Although al generally means “upon” or “with,” here it means “to.” Alternatively, this phrase means: With his wife, in accordance with the statement of the Sages: His house, that is a reference to his wife. After staying with his family in Shilo, Elkana departed and Hannah went with him. The lad, Samuel, was serving the Lord before Eli the priest. Samuel sought to assist Eli as best he could. Naturally, as a small child there was very little that he was able to do. However, he could be useful in performing various minor tasks.

The sons of Eli were wicked men; they did not know the Lord, and they had no wish to know Him. They did not follow in their father’s path.

This was the practice of the priests, Eli’s sons, with the people: When any man would present a peace offering, which was divided into three parts, some of it was for the altar, some for the priests, and the rest for the owners, the lad of the priest would come while the flesh was cooking, with a three-pronged fork, a kind of pitchfork used for lifting up meat, in his hand.

He would thrust it, the pitchfork, into the pan [kiyor], a large vessel for rinsing and cooking meat. See Zechariah (12:6): “Like a pan [kiyor] of fire among the wood.” This may be the source for the rabbinic Hebrew word kira, a stove. Or he would strike the pitchfork into the kettle, or into the caldron or into the pot, various types of cooking utensils, the precise difference between which is unclear; whatever the fork would bring up, the priest would take with it, without discriminating between the portions. This is contradictory to Torah law, whereby the priest is entitled to only specific portions of the offering, and the remainder belongs to the owner. Here the sons of Eli did what they wished and took any portion they chose. So they would do to all Israel who would come there, to Shilo. The worshippers, who respected the priests, or at least treated them with courtesy, felt unable to object.

Furthermore, even before the fat was burned upon the altar, the priest’s lad would come and say to the man presenting the offering: Give flesh to roast for the priest, as he will not take cooked flesh from you but rather raw. A peace offering was first slaughtered, and then it was cut into portions and its fat was burned on the altar, only after which the rest was permitted for consumption. These priests did not have the patience to wait.

The man would say to him: Let them burn the fat today, now, and take for you as your soul desires, but he would say: No, for you shall give it to me now, and if not, I will take by force. If someone would object that just as he does not taste from the meat until the fat has been burned on the altar, the priest should likewise wait until the conclusion of the offering before taking what he chooses, the priest’s servant would respond that he is the one in charge and he will decide when he may take the meat.

The sin of the lads, perhaps this is referring to the sons of Eli themselves, or the priests’ servants, who were possibly their own sons, was very great before the Lord, as the men scorned the gift offerings of the Lord. They would not even eat the meat of the offerings as a proper meal, but in the manner of a group of bandits. The behavior of the priests conveyed disdain not only for those who came to the House of God but for the service of the Tabernacle itself.

In the meantime Samuel was serving before the Lord in the Tabernacle, a lad, and he was girded with a linen ephod, a kind of apron that covered the lower part of the body, to the feet.

His mother would make him a small robe, and she would take it, a robe of this kind, up to him from year to year, when she ascended with her husband to Shilo to present the yearly offering in the House of God.

Eli would bless Elkana and his wife, when they came to the Tabernacle, and say: May the Lord grant you offspring from this woman in place of the gift that he, Elkana, granted to the Lord. You have given your son to God, and therefore you are unable to raise him yourselves. Consequently, may God bless you with more children. And they would go to his place.

For indeed, the Lord remembered Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters, and the lad Samuel grew with the Lord.

The chapter returns to the events in the Tabernacle at Shilo: Eli was very old, and he heard everything that his sons would do to all Israel. Due to his advanced age, he was not always present in the Tabernacle, and therefore he did not witness all that went on there. However, he heard rumors of his sons’ behavior. Perhaps he also heard the cries, shouts, and arguments going on there. And he also heard that they would lie with the women who would assemble at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

He, Eli, said to them, his sons: Why do you act in this manner, as I hear of your evil actions from all these people?

Do not, my sons; do not act in this manner; as the report that I hear that the people of the Lord are disseminating about you is not good.

If a man sins against a man, the judge will try and convict him, but if a man sins against the Lord, who will try him; alternatively, who shall entreat forgiveness for him? But his sons remained stubborn, and they would not heed the voice of their father because the Lord wished to put them to death. It was decreed that they had to die for their sins. Perhaps their deaths would atone for all their sins, but in any case, their presence in this world was no longer wanted.

In contrast to them, the lad Samuel was steadily growing and improving both toward the Lord and toward people.

A man of God, a prophet, came to Eli, and he said to him: So said the Lord: Did I not appear to your father’s house, when they were in Egypt under the house of Pharaoh? Did I reveal Myself to them so that they should be priests for Pharaoh and his type of service? Alternatively, this question is connected to the verses below: Did I reveal Myself to them so that they should treat My offerings with contempt? Some explain this as a statement: Indeed I revealed Myself to them, as Aaron served as a prophet to Israel in Egypt before Moses arrived to redeem the nation.

And did I choose it, the house of your forefather Aaron, from all the tribes of Israel to be priests for Me, to ascend upon My altar, to burn incense, to bear an ephod before Me, and I gave to your father’s house all the fire offerings of the children of Israel? These are either rhetorical questions or statements of fact.

Why do you kick at My feast offerings and at My gift offerings, which I commanded to be performed in My abode, this Tabernacle; and you honor your sons more than you honor Me, to fatten yourselves from the first of all the gift offerings of Israel that are brought for the atonement of My people?

Therefore – the utterance of the Lord, God of Israel: I had said in the past that your house and your patrilineal house would walk before Me forever, but now – the utterance of the Lord – it is inconceivable for Me to let you serve as priests for all time: For those who honor Me, I will honor, but in contrast, those who scorn Me will be lowly.

Behold, days are coming, in the near or distant future, and I will cut off your arm, your strength, and the arm of your patrilineal house, your family that rules with a firm grip over the Tabernacle and takes its consecrated items with force, from there being an old person, or a dignified man, in your house.

You will look upon a rival, an alternative priestly family, which will serve in the abode; alternatively, you will watch from a narrow, congested place, upon all the good that He will perform for Israel, but you will have no share in that good; and there will not be an old person in your house all the days.

But I will not eliminate for you any man from My altar. Your descendants will continue to serve upon the altar, but they will be forced to watch as all the important roles are given to others. This will serve to cause your eyes to yearn, as you look on with impatience, and your heart to become desolate and saddened; and furthermore, all of the majority of your house, or those who grow and mature in your home, will die as men, at the height of their strength, without growing old.

This will be the sign for you that this prophecy is true, that which will come upon your two sons, upon Hofni and Pinhas; on one day they will both die. Then you will know that your family will no longer be the leaders in the Tabernacle.

I will establish for Me a faithful priest, who will act in accordance with that which is in My heart and in My soul. He will follow My wishes; and I will build a faithful house for him, and he will walk before My anointed, the king, all the days, forever.

It will be that all who remain of your house will come to prostrate themselves before him, the High Priest serving at that time, for a gera of silver and a loaf of bread, and he will say, submissively: Please append me to one of the priestly services; let me join them; alternatively, let me participate in some sort of service of God, in order to eat a portion of bread.

The lad Samuel was serving the Lord before Eli. It can be inferred from the previous section that the House of God did not function in an organized manner. It is also possible that the Levites did not have any defined status at that time. Although Samuel himself was a Levite (see commentary on 1:1), he was sent to the Tabernacle by his mother as a young child, and he served as a personal assistant to Eli the High Priest. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days, in contrast to later historical periods; visions were not widespread. Prophecy was very rare and absent from the public consciousness, which explains the misunderstanding described in the following verses.

It was on that day, on a certain day, that Eli was lying in his place, near the Sanctuary; and his eyes had begun to dim; he could not see.

The lamp of God was not yet extinguished. As the lamps of the candelabrum were not supposed to be extinguished at night, it is possible that the verse is referring to some other lamp that illuminated the area, which did not have the laws and regulations attributed to the candelabrum. And Samuel was lying in the Sanctuary of the Lord, in which the Ark of God was. Samuel presumably slept in an area of the Sanctuary in which sleep was permitted, rather than in the actual chamber where the Ark of God was situated. According to some commentaries, the phrase “in which the Ark of God was” is not referring to the location where Samuel was sleeping, the subject of the immediate preceding clause, but rather to the location of the lamp. This interpretation is supported by the cantillation of the verse: There is a pause right after the phrase “And Samuel was lying down to sleep,” which indicates that the subsequent clause is not referring to that location. Among other reasons, Samuel lay adjacent to the sanctum because Eli too, was lying in the Sanctuary compound, and it was incumbent upon Samuel to remain near him.

The Lord called to Samuel by name; and he, Samuel, said: Here I am; I am prepared and ready.

As Samuel was convinced that it was Eli who had called him, he ran to Eli and said: Here I am, as you called me. He, Eli, said: I did not call you; you are mistaken. Return; lie down again. And he went and lay down.

The Lord continued to call again: Samuel. Samuel rose once more and went to Eli, and he said: Here I am, as you called me. On the first occasion, Samuel, as a devoted assistant, immediately rose and ran to Eli. By contrast, this time he was uncertain whether he had heard correctly and whether the voice might be a figment of his imagination. Consequently, he did not run, although he approached Eli again, as he could see by the light of the lamp that no one else could have called him. He, Eli, said: I did not call, my son; perhaps you were dreaming. Return and lie down.

Samuel had not yet known the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him, and therefore at this stage he was unable to discern the difference between the voice of God and that of Eli, or even from where the voice was coming. Furthermore, as this occurred while Samuel was attempting to sleep, it no doubt made the matter more confusing, as he may not have been fully alert. Moreover, as mentioned in the commentary in verse 1, at that time people did not usually entertain the possibility that they might receive a prophecy.

The Lord continued to call: Samuel, for the third time. He rose and went to Eli, and he said: Here I am, as you called me. After the third occurrence, Eli understood that the Lord was calling the lad, and Samuel was not merely imagining the voice. The elderly Eli was familiar with the concept of prophecy, despite not having merited it himself. He was therefore capable of instructing Samuel of his proper response.

Eli said to Samuel: Go, lie down, and it shall be if He calls you by the same voice, you shall say: Speak, Lord, as Your servant is listening. Samuel went and lay down in his place.

The Lord came and stood, and He called like the other times, but more vigorously: Samuel, Samuel. Samuel said: Speak, as Your servant is listening.

Now that Samuel was listening, he was informed of the content of the prophecy. The Lord said to Samuel: Behold, I am performing a matter in Israel that anyone who hears of it, his two ears will tingle. This is an exaggeration, which serves to emphasize the severity of the tragedy: The news will be so terrible that those who hear the report will shudder as though the words are forcibly entering their ears.

On that day, I will fulfill for Eli everything that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.

I have told him that I am administering judgment upon his house forever for the iniquity that he knew that his sons were belittling themselves; this is a euphemism, i.e., they were belittling God or the Tabernacle through their conduct. Even if they acted appropriately in Eli’s presence, he was certainly aware of their general conduct, and yet he did not rebuke them, and did not prevent them from behaving in that manner.

Therefore, I have taken an oath concerning the house of Eli that the iniquity of the house of Eli will surely not be atoned for with feast offerings or with meal offerings ever. Even if they bring offerings in the proper manner, they will not escape punishment, as they have profaned the name of God by demeaning the sanctity of the Tabernacle, and such transgressions are not subject to atonement in one’s lifetime.

Samuel lay until the morning, shaken by the harsh prophecy, and then he opened the doors of the House of the Lord. In the morning, Samuel unlocked the doors to the complex surrounding the Tabernacle, so that visitors could enter and the service could begin. Samuel was fearful of telling the vision to Eli, as the High Priest took care of him, and Samuel honored him and possibly revered him as well.

Eli summoned Samuel and said: Samuel, my son, and he, Samuel, said: Here I am.

He said: What is the matter of which He, the speaker, whose identity I already know, spoke to you? Please, do not withhold from me. So shall God do to you, and so shall He continue, if you withhold from me anything of all the matters of which He spoke to you. This is a way of encouraging someone to reveal information, as well as a form of oath. Its literal meaning is: Such and such evil will befall you if you refrain from telling me, without an explicit mention of the consequences.

Samuel told him all the matters and did not withhold from him. He, Eli, said: He is the Lord who spoke to you; therefore, that which is good in His eyes, He will do. Eli was familiar with the content of this prophecy even before Samuel’s vision (see 2:27), but now the impending punishment was repeated to him by someone with whom he maintained a close relationship. He understood that in his current state he would have no positive influence upon his sons.

Samuel grew in age and reputation, as it became publicly known he had received a prophecy. It is possible that Eli did not hide this fact from others, and once Samuel became known as a prophet, people would approach him with queries. And the Lord was with him and did not let any of his words fall to the ground. Nothing that Samuel proclaimed was later revealed to be inaccurate. The fulfillment of one’s predictions is the indication that he is a prophet.

All Israel, throughout the Land of Israel, from Dan in the far North to Beersheba in the South, knew that Samuel was faithful and chosen as a true prophet of the Lord.

The Lord continued to appear in Shilo, as the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shilo with the word of the Lord. From this time forward, Samuel received many prophetic visions, some of which he related to private individuals who sought his counsel, while others he relayed to the entire nation and its leaders.

The word of Samuel was to all Israel. Although the verse does not specify the content of his statement, it can be inferred from the context that he instructed the nation to go to war, despite the fact that Eli was still the official leader, and Samuel was probably still quite young. Others maintain that this sentence means that Samuel earned the reputation of a prophet among the people. Alternatively, the verse is saying that the word of God that was given to Samuel with regard to the death of the sons of Eli was about to come to pass. Israel went out to war against the Philistines, and they encamped at Even HaEzer, perhaps identical to the location of the same name mentioned later in the book, where the source of the name is explained. And the Philistines encamped in Afek. The preparations for battle in those times were extremely formal: One side would issue an invitation to the other to engage in combat, and the time and place of the conflict would be arranged in advance.

The Philistines deployed against Israel and the war spread; Israel was struck down before the Philistines, and they, the Philistines, smote during the battle in the field some four thousand men. Although the Israelite forces did not suffer a total defeat, as only some of their soldiers were harmed, the Philistines definitely emerged victorious.

The people came to the camp, and the elders of Israel said: Why did the Lord cause us to be struck down today before the Philistines? There is only one option available to us: Let us take to us from Shilo, which was located about 30 km from the battleground, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and He will come in our midst, and save us from the hand of our enemies.

The people sent messengers to Shilo, and they carried from there the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of hosts who is seated amidst the cherubs; and there were the two sons of Eli, Hofni and Pinhas, with the Ark of the Covenant of God. Only priests who served in the Tabernacle, and later in the Temple, were permitted to carry the ark.

It was with the arrival of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord to the camp; all Israel cheered with a great cheer, and the earth quaked. It seemed as though the whole area was shaking.

The Philistines heard the sound of the cheer, and they said: What is the sound of this great cheer in the camp of the Hebrews? And they, the Philistines, knew, from their familiarity with Israel or through spies (see 13:5, 14:21), that the Ark of the Lord had come to the camp.

The Philistines were afraid, as they said: God has come to the camp. They said: Woe to us, for there was nothing like this previously, in our earlier battles with the Hebrews.

Woe to us. Who will deliver us from the hand of this mighty God? This is the God who smote the Egyptians with every plague in Egypt and in the wilderness, at the Red Sea. The Philistines were not surrendering; they were merely privately expressing their fears to one another.

Be strong and be men and fight with courage, Philistines, lest you serve the Hebrews as they served you. Be men and fight. This is no minor skirmish. Rather, its outcome will have long-term political repercussions, since if you are defeated in a major battle against the Israelites, they will rule over you. Therefore, be men and fight.

The Philistines fought aggressively, and Israel was struck down, and they fled, each man to his tents. The blow was very great. This time, the outcome was decisive. Since this was not a local conflict over territorial borders but a comprehensive war with the participation of the entire Philistine military force, when Israel lost they did not simply return to their camp as they did after the first battle, but rather they all fled. And in this battle thirty thousand foot soldiers fell from Israel. Even if not all of these casualties were fatalities, this was still a major defeat.

The Ark of God was captured. When the Israelite camp dispersed, the ark, which was very heavy, was left behind and taken by the Philistines. And as a result, the two sons of Eli, Hofni and Pinhas, died. Perhaps they died heroically in an attempt to defend the ark, which was a national symbol. The sons of Eli, as priests, were certainly not military commanders or soldiers. Instead, they came to the battlefield to assist in the transportation of the ark. They probably stood next to the ark and attempted to prevent the Philistines from touching it, which resulted in their deaths.

A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battle, when all the fighters fled to their homes, and he came to Shilo on that day to report the results of the war, and his garments were torn in mourning, and earth was on his head, as a sign of the terrible tragedy.

He came and behold, Eli was sitting on the chair near the way, anticipating, waiting to hear news of the battle; as his heart was trembling for the Ark of God, which was the innermost and holiest of the sacred vessels, and which had never previously been removed from its place in the Holy of Holies. It is unclear whether Eli supported the decision to take the ark to the war; in any case, he was extremely nervous about the situation. The man came running to tell about the tragedy, in the city, and the entire city cried out. The news caused a great commotion.

Eli heard the sound of the cry, and he said: What is the sound of this uproar? The man hastened, and he came and told Eli. The man had intended to deliver his report straight to Eli, as in his position as the High Priest, he was the leader of the people. In addition, he was the father of the two slain priests. Nevertheless, as his news was not a private affair but a public tragedy, he had related the tidings to others on the way.

Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were dimmed and were no longer functional, and he was unable to see.

The man said to Eli: It is I who came from the battle, and from the battle I fled today. It was already clear from this last comment that he was not bearing good news. He, Eli, said: What was the occurrence, my son? Despite his age, Eli was alert and aware of what was going on around him, and even at such a terrible moment he treated the messenger with respect.

The bearer of the tidings answered and said: Israel lost the battle and has fled before the Philistines; moreover, there has been a massive blow against the people with many victims, and moreover on a personal note, your two sons, Hofni and Pinhas, have died, and worst of all, the Ark of God has been captured.

It was when he mentioned the capture of the Ark of God, he, Eli, fell backward in shock from upon the chair in the place of the gate. Since the gate was open, it provided no support. And his neck, the cervical vertebrae, broke and he died, as the man was old, and his body was no longer agile, which meant that the breaking of any bones could injure him fatally; and furthermore, he was heavy, and therefore his fall caused serious injuries and ultimately his death. He had judged Israel forty years.

His, Eli’s, daughter-in-law, the wife of Pinhas, was with child, soon to give birth. She heard the tidings concerning the capture of the Ark of God and that her father-in-law and husband were dead, and she crouched and gave birth, as her pangs of labor overcame her. The capture of the Ark of God was a major national tragedy. The death of Eli, the pregnant woman’s father-in-law, affected her even more, as he was both the leader of the nation and the most respected individual of the family. Finally, the death of her husband was the final blow. Her anguish upon hearing of all these tragedies caused the onset of labor, and due to her weak emotional state, the contractions occurred so quickly and strongly that her body was incapable of withstanding them.

At the time of her death, the women standing around her to assist her spoke to her: Fear not, for you have given birth to a son. They endeavored to console her somewhat by informing her that despite the terrible events, she had given birth to a son. But she did not answer and did not pay attention, because in her state of grief, she no longer desired to live.

She called the boy Ikavod, meaning lack of glory, a fitting name for the occasion, saying: Honor [kavod] has departed from Israel, because of the capture of the Ark of God, and because of the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband.

She said only the following: Honor has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.

The Philistines took the Ark of God and brought it from Even HaEzer, where they were encamped, to Ashdod, one of the large Philistine cities.

The Philistines took the Ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon their idol, and set it near Dagon. By doing so, they attempted to treat the ark in a somewhat respectful manner, although they considered it a defeated power.

The Ashdodites arose early the next day, and behold, Dagon was fallen on its face to the ground, as though it were prostrating before the Ark of the Lord, and they took Dagon, and restored it erect to its place, under the assumption that this had occurred by accident.

They arose early in the morning on the next day, and behold, Dagon was again fallen on its face to the ground before the Ark of the Lord, and this time, the head of Dagon and both of its hands were severed on the threshold; only the body of Dagon remained upon it. Some commentaries explain that Dagon’s body was in the form of a fish [dag], with a human head and hands or feet. When the head and palms of the idol’s hands were removed, only the form of the fish remained. Others explain that Dagon was a Canaanite god associated with grain [dagan] and that it did not have the appearance of a fish. Either way, the phrase “only Dagon remained upon it,” serves to stress that an idol has no need for sensory limbs or a head, which is why the verse still refers to the body as Dagon even without them.

Therefore, as the limbs of Dagon were found there, or due to the idol’s fall, the priests of Dagon and all those who come to the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

The hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Ashdodites. God treated them harshly and in a very exacting manner, and He devastated them [vayeshimem]; alternatively, He terrified them, and smote them with hemorrhoids, Ashdod and its environs.

The people of Ashdod saw that it, the situation, was so, and they said: The Ark of the God of Israel shall not remain with us, as His hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god.

They sent and gathered all the Philistine governors to them, and they said: What shall we do with the Ark of the God of Israel? They said: Let the Ark of the God of Israel be relocated to Gat, and they relocated the Ark of the God of Israel.

It was after they relocated it to Gat; the hand of the Lord was against the city, and there was a very great panic, and He smote the people of the city, from small to great with various types of plagues, and hemorrhoids erupted [vayisateru] upon them. Some commentaries associate vayisateru with seter, hidden, as the hemorrhoids struck them in the concealed areas of the body.

They, the inhabitants of Gat, sent the Ark of God to Ekron, another important Philistine city. It was with the arrival of the Ark of God in Ekron, the Ekronites cried out to their lords, saying: They have relocated the Ark of the God of Israel to me, to put me and my people to death, as this ark brings nothing but misfortune.

They, the inhabitants of Ekron, sent and gathered all the Philistine governors, and they said: Send forth the Ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its place, that it not put me and my people to death, for there was a panic of death, or a great confusion, in the entire city; the hand of God was very heavy there, in the form of the plagues that had struck the city.

And the people who did not die were smitten with hemorrhoids, which meant that all of the residents of the city were beset with some type of affliction; and the plea of the city ascended heavenward.

The Ark of the Lord was in Philistine territory seven months.

The Philistines summoned the priests and the diviners, saying: What shall we do with the Ark of the Lord? Inform us how we should send it to its place. We will certainly return it, but that is likely to be insufficient. We must also express our submission in some form, as otherwise who knows what else God will do to us?

They, the priests and diviners, said: If you are sending the Ark of the God of Israel forth, do not send it with nothing. Rather, return the gift of a guilt offering to Him, as an indication that you wish to be forgiven for your sin. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why at this stage His hand would not yet be removed from you.

They said: What should the guilt offering that we shall return to Him be? They, the priests, said: According to the number of the Philistine governors, five golden images of hemorrhoids and five golden mice, as one plague is upon everyone and upon your governors, including the rulers of other cities to which the ark was not brought.

You shall make images of your hemorrhoids and images of your mice that are destroying the land; and you shall give honor to the God of Israel; perhaps He will ease His heavy hand from upon you and from upon your gods and from upon your land.

Why should you harden your hearts, like Egypt and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? Was it not that when He harried them, they perforce sent them and indeed they went? Since a similar event occurred to a greater king than you, why would you repeat the mistakes of the past?

Now, take and fashion a single new wagon, as a mark of honor for the ark, and two nursing cows, young cows that have just given birth, upon which a yoke for threshing was not placed, and tie the cows, who are unaccustomed to bearing a burden, to the wagon, and return their recently born calves home from behind them. In the natural order of things, such cows would not venture far from their calves.

Take the Ark of the Lord and place it on the cart, and place the gold objects, the images that represent the plagues which afflicted you, that you are returning to Him as a guilt offering in a box at its side, of the ark, and send it and it will go.

You will see, if it takes a route that ascends in the direction of its boundary, to Beit Shemesh, it will be known that He has done this great evil to us, but if not, and the cows return home or turn off in any other direction, then we will know that it was not His hand that afflicted us; it was happenstance that befell us. They sensed that the Ark of God had wrought all of the afflictions they had experienced, and they therefore treated it with honor. Nevertheless, they still wished to test whether it was simply a series of coincidences.

The men did so; they took two nursing cows and tied them to the wagon, and they shut their calves at home.

They placed the Ark of the Lord on the wagon with the box and the golden mice and the images of their hemorrhoids.

The cows went directly on the way on the path to Beit Shemesh; the cows traveled directly toward Beit Shemesh; on one highway they went, lowing as they went, and they did not turn right or left. The cows walked straight to a place where they had never been before; and the Philistine governors were walking after them, accompanying the ark and watching it as it reached until the border of Beit Shemesh.

The town of Beit Shemesh was reaping the wheat harvest in the valley, and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, which stood out, as it was made entirely of gold, with the cherubs on top, and they rejoiced to see it.

The wagon continued until it came to the field of someone named Yehoshua the Beit Shemeshite and stood there, and there was a large stone there. They split the wood of the cart and offered up the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.

The Levites took down the Ark of the Lord from the cart, and the box that was with it, in which there were objects of gold, and they placed them on the large stone. The men of Beit Shemesh offered up burnt offerings and presented feast offerings on that day to the Lord, in gratitude for the return of the Ark of the Covenant.

The five Philistine governors who had accompanied this procession from afar saw what took place, and they returned to Ekron, their place of origin, on that day, as it was clear by then that this was a miraculous occurrence, and that the afflictions suffered by the Philistines were not coincidental. From their perspective, the matter was concluded.

These are the golden hemorrhoids that the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gat, one for Ekron. Each of the main Philistine cities brought one of these gifts for God.

As for the golden mice, they gave far more than the amount the diviners had suggested. Instead, they were according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines, of the five governors, both fortified cities and unwalled villages. These gifts came until the great stone [avel] upon which they placed the Ark of the Lord, which is in the field of Yehoshua the Beit Shemeshite until this day. Alternatively, avel means a large valley.

He smote among the people of Beit Shemesh because they gazed at the Ark of the Lord, which was generally concealed from view in the Holy of Holies. During their celebrations, the people of Beit Shemesh did not conduct themselves with the appropriate respect. Instead, they allowed the ark to remain exposed, so that curious onlookers could see it. Some danced, others sang, while certain people might even have engaged in excessive frivolity at the triumphal return of the ark. The Sages describe in more detail the types of frivolity to which the verse alludes. With regard to the word “gaze” as the act of looking at an object frivolously and disrespectfully. He smote among the people seventy men, fifty thousand men; and the people mourned, for the Lord had smitten the people with a great blow.

The people of Beit Shemesh said: Who can stand before the Lord, this holy God? Evidently, we do not know how to conduct ourselves appropriately in the presence of the ark. Therefore, to whom will it ascend from among us? To where can we transfer it? This statement of the men of Beit Shemesh parallels the earlier declaration of the Philistines when they sought to remove the ark from their possession.

They, the men of Beit Shemesh, sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiryat Ye’arim, saying: The Philistines returned the Ark of the Lord; descend to us, and bring it up to you. Your city is more important and respectable than ours, and therefore you are more worthy than us of retaining it in your possession.

The people of Kiryat Ye’arim came, and they brought up the Ark of the Lord, and they brought it into the house of Avinadav, apparently a Levite, who lived on the hill, in Kiryat Ye’arim; and they designated and sanctified Elazar his, Avinadav’s, son to watch over the Ark of the Lord. He was not required to do anything specific in caring for the ark, but merely to ensure that it was placed in a dignified spot and was not neglected.

It was from the day that the ark resided in Kiryat Ye’arim, the days accumulated, a long time passed; and became twenty years, and the entire house of Israel was drawn [vayyinnahu] after the Lord, which was undoubtedly largely due to Samuel’s guidance. Some associate vayyinnahu with nehi, bemoaning and misery, as Israel lamented its sins, or wept over the lack of a permanent resting place for the ark.

Samuel said to the entire house of Israel, stating: If with your whole heart you are returning to the Lord, remove the foreign gods from your midst and these include the Ashtarot, and direct your hearts to the Lord, and worship Him alone, and not any other gods; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.

The children of Israel removed the Be’alim and the Ashtarot and worshipped the Lord alone. Samuel was successful in this mission, as Israel indeed cleansed the land from idol worship.

Samuel said: Gather all Israel to the Mitzpa, and there I will pray on your behalf to the Lord. The Mitzpa was a notable ancient site for large, important gatherings of the people.

They gathered together to the Mitzpa, drew water, and poured it before the Lord. This rite symbolized pouring out one’s heart like water, or it signified that the people had submitted themselves to God and wished to detach themselves from worldly concerns and accept the yoke of Heaven. And they fasted on that day, and they said there: We have sinned to the Lord. Here they publicly declared that which was stated above: We will return to worshipping God, and we regret our former deeds. Samuel judged, led, the children of Israel in the Mitzpa. He took charge and instructed them on how they could best return to God.

The Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered to the Mitzpa, and although the Israelites had assembled solely for a religious purpose, the Philistine governors ascended against Israel, as they considered this large gathering a military threat. The children of Israel heard, and they were afraid of the Philistines.

The children of Israel said to Samuel: Do not be silent from calling on our behalf to the Lord our God, and He will save us from the hand of the Philistines.

Samuel took one suckling lamb, and offered it up in its entirety as a burnt offering to the Lord, and Samuel called to the Lord on behalf of Israel, and the Lord answered him. God accepted his prayer.

It was as Samuel was presenting the burnt offering that the Philistines approached to the battle with Israel. The Lord thundered with a great sound against the Philistines on that day and confounded them. The loud noises of the thunder frightened the Philistines and sowed confusion in their midst; and they were routed in the battle before Israel.

The men of Israel came forth from the Mitzpa and pursued the Philistines, and then smote them until below Beit Kar, which was in the direction of the land of the Philistines.

Samuel took one stone and set it between the Mitzpa and Shen, the name of a specific rocky crag, shen sela, as shen means a cliff, and the place was named after a certain cliff in that place; and he called its name Even HaEzer, saying: This stone is a sign that the Lord has helped us [azaranu] until here.

The Philistines were subdued and did not continue to come as large, organized raiding parties into the border of Israel any longer, and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel and which they ruled over, and where some Israelites remained, were restored to the sovereignty of Israel, from Ekron in the North to Gat in the South; and Israel delivered their boundaries, the area surrounding the cities, from the hand of the Philistines. Since Ekron and Gat were the easternmost Philistine cities, they effectively marked the border between Israel and the Philistines. There was peace between Israel and the Emorites. A certain number of Emorites remained in the land, and while they did not entirely submit to Israel’s rule, in this new order they did not dare to fight it. Alternatively, Emorites is a general term for all the local nations, including the Philistines. In rabbinic Hebrew, the word “Emorite” is a general term for gentile nations, for example in the expression “the ways of the Emorites,” which refers to all idolatrous peoples.

The chapter provides a kind of interim summary of Samuel’s achievements in a different area of activity: Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.

He would go each and every year and make the rounds of Beit El, Gilgal, and the Mitzpa, and he would judge Israel in all those places.

The place to which he would return was always to Rama, as his home was there, and there he would judge Israel. This was Samuel’s main place of residence, and he built an altar there to the Lord.

It was when Samuel was old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. Since the status of a judge and the framework of his society were not well defined, as the judge was a charismatic leadership role, it was only natural that a highly successful judge would wish to appoint his sons to continue his path.

The name of his firstborn son was Yoel and the name of his second son was Aviya, and they were judges in Beersheba. Samuel sent them to the south of the land, perhaps because Beersheba was far away from his own theater of activity. Apparently, Samuel would travel with all his belongings and equipment, and therefore such a long journey was difficult for him personally.

His sons did not follow his ways, and they turned to greed; they took bribes and distorted justice.

All the elders of Israel gathered and came to Samuel to Rama.

They said to him: Behold, you have grown old, and your sons have not followed in your ways. It is possible that Samuel was aware of what was going on, but he did not have the power to oppose his sons. Now, after we have seen that the rule of judges is unstable and national leadership has begun in Israel, appoint a king for us to judge us like all the surrounding nations. The elders did not wish to dismiss Samuel from his position, but they wanted to regularize and facilitate the continuation of a central authority. They turned to the prophet because he had the power to decide on behalf of all Israel.

Nevertheless, the matter was very grave in the eyes of Samuel, when they said: Give us a king to judge us, and Samuel prayed to the Lord with regard to this matter.

The Lord said to Samuel: Heed the voice of the people with regard to everything that they will say to you, for it is not you whom they have despised; rather, they have despised Me from reigning over them. Their desire for a king is not due to any flaw they might have found in your leadership, but rather they seek the ritualistic, idolatrous aspects of a king. The effective meaning of their request is that they no longer want My rule.

Like all the deeds that they committed from the day that I brought them up from Egypt until this day, that they forsook Me and worshipped other gods, so they are doing to you, as well. Do not be offended that they have abandoned you, as they have also abandoned Me, and, in the words of the Sages, a servant should be no better off than his master.

Now, heed their voice; however, you shall forewarn them and tell them the practice of the king who will reign over them. Since for centuries they have not been subject to a stringent regime, you must first explain to them how they are apt to be treated by a king.

Samuel said all the words of the Lord to the people who were requesting a king of him.

He said: This will be the practice of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint for him to his chariot and to his horsemen, as his own private guard; and your sons to run before his chariot, in order to honor him.

And to appoint for him leaders of thousands and leaders of fifties. Your sons will be made captains of his army. And the king will also take your sons to plow his furrows, and to reap his harvest, and to craft his weapons of war and the gear of his chariots, for all his private needs as well as for national requirements.

Furthermore, he will not recruit the men alone, but your daughters he will take to serve in the royal household, as perfumers, or those who prepare medicinal beverages, and as cooks, and as bakers of bread and the like.

As for your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, the fine ones will he take, confiscate some of them, and give them to his servants. Even if he is not a wicked king, he will require appropriate living quarters and surroundings for both himself and his ministers, and you will have to pay the price.

Your seed and your vineyards he will tithe and give to his officers and to his servants.

Your slaves and your maidservants, your fine young men and your donkeys he will take and utilize for his labor. He will use them for his own purposes.

He will also tithe your flock, and in general, you will be slaves to him. He will subjugate your bodies, and in addition to the standard taxes that must be paid in every country, he will impose arbitrary levies upon you.

You will cry out on that day, when you are suffering from all the tasks and impositions placed upon you, because of your king whom you will have chosen for you, but the Lord will not answer you on that day. You will be unable to restore matters to their former state.

The people refused to heed the voice of Samuel, and they said: No; rather, there shall be a king over us. Until now we were not really a nation, but more of a collection of tribes without a defined leadership. Occasionally, the head of a tribe would take a leadership role for certain public matters, but he did not have the authority or title of a king. Now we wish to establish a national political structure;

and we too will be like all the nations, whose king heads an orderly regime and state; our king will judge us, and he will go out before us as our commander, and wage our wars.

It is evident from the people’s response that they understood the ramifications of the appointment of a king, and yet they accepted all those hardships upon themselves. Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he spoke them in the ears of the Lord. As the mediator between God and the nation, he first informed the people of the nature of a king, and subsequently relayed their response to God.

The Lord said to Samuel: If so, heed their voice, and crown a king for them. Samuel said to the men of Israel: Go, each man to his city. I accept your proposal. I do not know of a fitting man for this role, and therefore I must search for a suitable candidate for the monarchy. When I find him I will call you, and then we will hold a coronation ceremony.

There was a man from the tribe of Benjamin, and his name was Kish, son of Aviel, son of Tzeror, son of Bekhorat, son of Afiah, son of a Benjamite man. Kish could trace his lineage back to one of the ruling dynasties of the tribe, and he himself was a valiant and capable man, a powerful, or wealthy and well-respected, individual.

He had a son, and his name was Saul, a distinguished and fine person in appearance, and there was no man among the children of Israel who was better than he; from his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people. Saul was tall; he stood prominently above his peers. Apparently, he was also outstanding in his handsome looks and other fine qualities, in addition to his height.

The donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, became lost, and Kish said to Saul, his son: Please, take one of the lads with you and rise; go seek the donkeys. This was probably a herd of donkeys, and therefore, whether the animals were lost or stolen, it was likely that they would all be found together.

Saul obeyed his father; he passed through the highlands of Ephraim, and he passed through the land of Shalisha, but they, he and his servant, did not find; they passed through the land of Shaalim, and there was nothing, and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find.

They had come to the land of Tzuf, which was back in the territory of Ephraim, and Saul said to his lad who was with him: Let us go and return home; lest my father forget the donkeys and worry about us.

He, the servant said to him: Behold, now, a man of God, a holy man, a prophet, is in this nearby city, Rama in the land of Tzuf, elsewhere called Ramatayim Tzofim, and the man is esteemed; everything that he speaks occurs. Now, let us go there; perhaps he will tell us our way upon which we have been going. He might inform us of the path to follow to find the donkeys.

Saul was not enthusiastic about the idea. Saul said to his lad: Behold, were we to go, what gift would we bring to the man? It was obvious to Saul that one who comes to request a service or assistance must have something to offer in exchange. As the bread, the food we took for several days, when we thought that the donkeys would be found quickly, has been exhausted from our vessels, and there is with us no other gift to bring to the man of God. What is with us that we can give him?

The lad continued to answer Saul, and said: Behold, I have a quarter of a silver shekel in my possession, which was certainly not a large sum; I will give to the man of God, and he will tell us our way.

The chapter adds a parenthetical observation in order to help the reader understand the continuation of the story: Previously in Israel, so would a man say when going to seek God: Come, let us go to the seer, as the prophet today would previously be called the seer. In olden times, people would not commonly use the word prophet. Rather, they would call such an individual a seer, due to his ability to see the future.

Saul said to his lad: Your words are good; come, let us go. They went to the city in which was the man of God.

They were ascending the ascent to the city, since like many cities at the time, it was built on a hilltop, for reasons of security, and they encountered young women going out to draw water from the spring, which, as was usually the case, flowed at the foot of the city, and they said to them: Is the seer, the prophet, found here? Perhaps they were unsure that this was the city they had been looking for, or they wanted to know whether Samuel was present at that time or if he was on one of his travels (7:16–17).

They answered them and said: He is here; behold, he is before you. Quickly now, as today, this very day, he came to the city, as there is a feast offering, a festive meal, today for the people at the shrine. Offerings to God would be sacrificed on tall mounds or raised structures.

Upon your arrival in the city, so you will find him before he ascends to the shrine to eat, for the people will not eat until his arrival, because he will bless upon the feast offering; only thereafter, the invitees will eat. The Sages cite this verse as one of the sources for reciting a blessing before eating. Now ascend, for today you will find him, the man whom you seek.

They ascended to the city. They were entering within the city, and behold, Samuel was going out toward them to ascend to the shrine, as the young maidens had said.

The Lord had revealed to Samuel’s ear one day before Saul’s arrival, saying:

At this time tomorrow, I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him as ruler, the king, over My people Israel, and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines, the primary enemy of Israel at that time. Indeed, when Israel later spoke of David’s deeds on their behalf, they stressed that he saved them from the hands of the Philistines. God added: For I have seen My people, for its cry has come to Me. In one respect, Israel is right. They need a leader to wage wars against their enemies who continually harass them.

Samuel saw Saul entering the city, and the Lord proclaimed to him, the prophet: Here is the man of whom I said to you: This one will rule over My people.

Saul approached Samuel within the gate. The gate was considered the center of the city, as the public representatives and dignitaries would gather at or near the city gate to discuss important matters. And when Saul saw Samuel, who had the appearance of a distinguished man, he turned to him and said: Please tell me which is the house of the seer.

Samuel answered Saul and said: I am the seer. Ascend before me to the shrine, and you, in the plural, you and your servant, shall eat with me today in the public festivities. I will send you in the morning, and as a seer, everything that is in your heart I will tell you; I will answer the questions that preoccupy you.

As for your donkeys that have been lost to you three days today (see 30:13), do not pay heed to them; you do not need to worry about them or continue looking for them, for they have been found. Already, Samuel had provided Saul with the answer to the main question he was going to ask him, thereby proving that he was indeed a seer. Samuel added a compliment that alluded to forthcoming events: And to whom is all the treasure of Israel? Isn’t it for you and for all your father’s house? In other words, as all the property and honor of Israel is destined for you, do not bother yourself with a few missing donkeys.

Saul obviously understood Samuel’s statement about the donkeys, but his last comment caught him completely off guard. Saul answered, and said: Am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest of the tribes of Israel? In the incident of the concubine at Giva, the tribe of Benjamin was almost destroyed. Many years had passed since then, and in the meantime the tribe had recovered, but it still remained very small. Saul added: And isn’t my family the youngest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why did you speak of such matters to me? Saul’s reaction was a polite response to Samuel’s lavish praise.

Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the chamber, and he provided them with a place next to him, at the head of the invitees, and they, the invitees present, were some thirty men.

Samuel said to the cook: Set forth the portion that I gave you earlier, of which I said to you: Keep it with you.

The cook lifted, or set aside, the animal haunch and a piece of that which was attached to it [vehe’aleha]. Some interpret vehe’aleha as veha’alya, the tail. And he set it before Saul. He said: Behold, that portion which was reserved has been set before you. Now eat, for this portion is not a leftover, as it was reserved for you by Samuel for the appointed time, saying: I have invited the people. From the moment I invited the public, I kept the best portion for you. In fact, this entire celebration is for your sake. Some explain that this statement was said by the cook, in reference to Samuel, and not by the prophet himself. In any case, Saul, who considered himself a simple guest from the tribe of Benjamin who had happened to arrive at that place, had no idea why Samuel, who had never seen him before, was paying him such respect. Nevertheless, he accepted the offer. So Saul ate with Samuel on that day.

They descended from the shrine to the city, and he spoke with Saul on the roof. In those days, the tops of houses were flat, broad, and generally open, and therefore it was possible to stroll and engage in a conversation upon them.

They arose early, and it was at dawn that Samuel called Saul to the roof, saying: Rise, and I will send you. Saul rose, and the two of them, he and Samuel, went outside, with the servant following them.

They were descending at the end of the city, with the prophet accompanying his guest out of the city, and Samuel said to Saul: Say to the lad that he should pass before us, as I wish to convey a private matter to you, and he, the servant, passed. But you, Samuel continued to Saul, stay now, and I will let you hear the word of God.

When they were alone, Samuel took the flask of oil that was in his hand, and poured onto his, Saul’s head and kissed him, and he said: Truly, for the Lord has anointed you as ruler over His heritage. Nothing had prepared Saul for this moment. It can be assumed that he was a relatively young man, although he was probably already married and a father. He had almost certainly never imagined becoming king.

Samuel provided Saul with instructions for his next steps, which, among other purposes, were meant to prepare him for his important role. Upon your departure from me today, you will find two men, who are currently located in Bethlehem in Judah, by the tomb of Rachel; you will meet them at the border of Benjamin at Tzeltzah. And they will say to you: The donkeys that you went to seek have been found, and behold, your father has abandoned the matter of the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying: What shall I do about my son? You will discover that indeed, as you feared, your father has begun to worry more about you than the donkeys, as he has not seen nor heard from you for several days now.

You shall pass on from there and beyond, and you will come to the plain of Tavor, and three men who are going up to God, to Beit El, will meet you there. You will identify them by the fact that one of them will be carrying three kids and one carrying three loaves of bread and one carrying a jug full of wine.

They will greet you, and they will give you two loaves, which you shall take from their hand.

Thereafter you will come to the hill of God, which was perhaps called by this name because a prophet, or the Ark of the Covenant, was located there (see 7:1), where the Philistine governors are. It shall be upon your arrival there, at the city, that you will encounter a band of prophets descending from the shrine, and before them will be a lyre, a drum, a flute, and a harp, and they will be prophesying. You will encounter them at the height of an ecstatic prophetic experience.

The spirit of the Lord will rest upon you, and you will prophesy with them, and you will be transformed into another man.

It shall be when these signs will come to you, do for you that which will be in your power, as God is with you. I cannot give you more precise instructions, but when you feel that the hand of God is upon you, act as you see fit.

Then you shall go down before me to Gilgal, and behold, I will go down to you, when you are there, to offer up burnt offerings, and to present peace offerings, in a large, public ceremony. Seven days shall you wait until I come to you, and I will tell you that which you shall do. At that stage you will receive further instructions.

It was as he, Saul, turned his shoulder to go from Samuel; God transformed him with another heart. He already felt like a new person. And all these signs came to pass on that day.

They, Saul and his lad, came there, to the hill, and behold, a band of prophets was approaching him, and the spirit of God rested upon him, and he too prophesied in their midst.

It was that all who knew him previously saw, and behold, he was prophesying with the prophets, and the people said one to another: What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul among the prophets too?We have known Saul for a long time; how did he suddenly become a prophet? Apparently, the prophets and their pupils were conspicuous in their ascetic, lonely way of life.

A man from there replied to those who posed that question, and said: But who is their, the prophets’, father? Prophecy is not an inherited trait, and it is not confined to specific families. Rather, prophets actively choose their way of life. Why, then, are you so astonished that Saul is also prophesying? Therefore, over the generations, it, the above comment, became a proverb, stated in reference to someone who has suddenly risen to a position of greatness: Is Saul among the prophets too? Indeed, Saul was among the prophets.

He concluded prophesying and came to the shrine, from where the prophets had descended.

Saul’s uncle [dod] said to him and to his lad: Where did you go? He, Saul, said: To seek the donkeys, but we saw that they were nowhere to be found and came to Samuel to ask about them. This uncle was possibly Ner, whose son Avner would become Saul’s loyal companion (see 14:50–51). Alternatively, perhaps the term dod in this context means a friend rather than a family relative.

Saul’s uncle said: If you met the prophet, tell me, please, what Samuel said to you.

Saul said to his uncle: He told us that the donkeys had been found, which Samuel had indeed said. But the matter of the kingship that Samuel had also said he did not tell him. Saul did not relate that Samuel had anointed him, as he was still confused about the incident, and had yet to fully grasp its implications. Despite the appointment, he still felt like a private individual returning to the daily routine of his father’s home.

Now that Samuel had found a king, he wished to inform the people of this development, for which they had been waiting. Samuel mobilized the people to gather together to the Lord, to the Mitzpa, a sacred, well-known meeting place.

He said to the children of Israel: So said the Lord, God of Israel: I took up Israel from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of Egypt and subsequently from the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.

But today you have spurned your God, who Himself saves you from all your calamities and your troubles, and you have said to Him: Rather, appoint a king over us. The meaning of your request for the reign of a human king is that you do not accept God as your exclusive ruler, as was the case until now. Nevertheless, God has granted your request. Now, stand before the Lord to receive His command and to cast a lot according to your tribes and according to your thousands.

Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was indicated by the lot.

He brought the tribe of Benjamin near according to its families, according to their division into families, and in another lot, the family of the Matrite was indicated, and Saul son of Kish was indicated from that family. They sought him, but he was not found.

They inquired of the Lord again: Did the man come here yet? The Lord said: Behold, he is hidden among the baggage, between the vessels or the garments in the wardrobe.

They ran and took him from there, and he reluctantly stood among the people, and he was found to be taller than any of the people from his shoulders up.

Samuel said to the entire people: Have you seen he whom the Lord has chosen, for there is no one like him among the entire people? His appearance is a sign of his chosen status. All the people cheered in joy, and said: Long live the king.

Samuel spoke to the people of the practice of the kingship, the laws of the king and the proper attitude toward the institution, and he wrote it in a book and placed it before the Lord. Samuel sent all the people, each man to his home. The formal process of selecting a king was thereby concluded. All had witnessed that the lot had fallen upon Saul, and that he had been chosen by the prophet. His appointment became an established fact before their eyes.

Saul too, went to his home, to Giva, later called Givat Shaul; (see 11:4, 15:34) and with him went the host whom God had touched their heart.

Others reacted differently: But wicked people said: How will this one save us? Who is this king? What is the use of an unfamiliar youth, this lanky, shy fellow? They wanted a king, but they expected someone very different, to whom they could look with pride. They scorned him and did not bring him a tribute, but he was as one who remains silent. Saul did not react to their provocations, which is not the normal behavior of a king.

Nahash the Amonite king came up and encamped against Yavesh Gilad, but had not yet begun fighting against the city; and all the men of Yavesh said to Nahash: Establish a covenant with us, and we will serve you. We are willing to accept your rule.

Nahash the Amonite said to them: I will establish it with you in accordance with this: When you gouge out for you every right eye; and I will set it, the gouged out eyes, as a disgrace upon all Israel.

The elders of Yavesh said to him, Nahash: Please, let us be for seven days, to discuss the matter, and we will send messengers throughout the borders of Israel, and if there is no one to save us we will go out from the city and surrender to you.

The messengers came to Givat Shaul, the city of Giva in the portion of Benjamin, which is here called after Saul, and they spoke these words in the ears of the people, and all the people raised their voice and cried over the apparently hopeless situation.

And behold, Saul came home from his daily labor, after the oxen from the field. Although he had been anointed king, this appointment had no immediate practical effect, and therefore Saul continued to work in the field. And Saul said: What is with the people that they are crying? They related to him the words of the men of Yavesh.

The spirit of God, a spirit of strength and leadership, rested upon Saul when he heard these words, and his wrath was greatly enflamed.

He took a pair of oxen, a pair of animals tied together with a yoke, and cut them in pieces and sent those pieces in the hand of messengers throughout the border of Israel, saying: He who does not go forth to war after Saul and after Samuel, so shall be done to his oxen. This would be a heavy financial penalty. Fear of the Lord fell upon the people, and they emerged as one man. For many years, leaders of Israel had at most recruited volunteers to go to war; whereas Saul issued threats with the full force of law, based on the premise that now there was a government and a king in charge of Israel.

Saul had to gather his men to a single place where he could form them into an army. He counted them at Bezek, the name of a place. Alternatively, he numbered them by means of bezikim, gravel stones, in order to avoid counting the people directly. Each brought a small stone, and these were counted instead of the soldiers themselves. The children of Israel were three hundred thousand and the men of Judah, thirty thousand. Due to their size, ability, and geographical distance from the battlefield, the men of Judah were counted separately.

When this very large army had been counted, they said to the messengers who had come: So you shall say to the men of Yavesh Gilad: Tomorrow there will be salvation for you as the sun grows hot, toward noon. The messengers came and told the men of Yavesh, and they rejoiced.

The men of Yavesh said to the Amonites: Tomorrow we will go out and surrender to you, and you will do to us in accordance with everything that is good in your eyes. This deliberate deception was designed to take advantage of the element of surprise, as well as to play for time, as the men of Yavesh knew that help would arrive only the following day.

It was on the next day; Saul arranged the people of his army in three separate companies, and they came into the midst of the Amonite camp at the morning watch, the last third of the night. The journey to Yavesh Gilad, east of the Jordan was not that long. They apparently traveled by night and were already marching in the vicinity of the Amonite camp toward morning. And they smote Amon until the heat of the day. It never occurred to the Amonites that preparations for battle were underway, or indeed that there would be resistance of any kind. Therefore, the Amonites had camped complacently, in full confidence of their superior strength, under the impression that the residents of Yavesh Gilad were in the depths of despair. Consequently, the early attack took them utterly by surprise, to the extent that the Israelites were still slaughtering their men several hours later. It was those who remained scattered, and there did not remain among them two together. Each Amonite soldier fled alone to his land, which was not far away.

After the triumph that Saul had wrought for Israel, which greatly raised their prestige, the people said to Samuel, who was present: Who was it who said: Shall Saul reign over us? Give the men who disparaged our king over, and we will put them to death for rebelling against the monarch.

But Saul said: Let not a man be put to death on this day, as today the Lord has performed salvation for Israel. Certainly those base fellows had acted improperly, but Saul was satisfied upon seeing that his authority had been accepted by all. Now he wished to rejoice rather than take revenge.

Samuel said to the people: Come, let us go once again to Gilgal, and let us renew the kingship there. We already established the monarchy in principle, but it was not completely established. Now they can invest it with the appropriate legitimacy.

The entire people went to Gilgal, and there they crowned Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal, and there they presented peace offerings before the Lord. Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly there, as everyone had now accepted Saul’s kingship.

Samuel said to all Israel at Saul’s coronation ceremony: Behold, I have heeded your voice with regard to everything that you have said to me, and I have crowned a king over you. Now you all agree that he is a worthy king.

Now behold, the king is walking before you; he has assumed his position of leadership over you, having acted as commander-in-chief in war. And I have grown old and gray; although I am not of old age, I look old, and no longer have much strength (see 8:1). And behold, my sons are here with you; they are not leaders like me, but regular citizens like you. Alternatively, this means: My sons are available to assist you with various issues. It is also possible that Samuel was hinting to the people that although he did not need their assistance personally, they should take care of his sons, who would have inherited his position had the people not rejected them. I have walked before you as a leader from my youth to this day.

Here I am before you; now testify against me before the Lord, and before His anointed, Saul, the king who was anointed by His command: Whose ox did I take for my own benefit? Whose donkey did I take? Whom did I exploit in any manner? Whom did I pressure, oppress, or bribe for a favor? Or from whose hand did I take a bribe to consequently avert my eyes from him, from convicting him in court? Alternatively, this means: From whom have I taken collateral and not returned it to him on time? Tell me, and then I will return it to you. I have been a judge and a leader my entire life, and if I caused anyone injustice, we can now settle the matter.

They said: You did not exploit us, and you did not pressure us, and you did not take anything from the hand of any man.

He said to them: If so, the Lord is witness for you, and His anointed is witness this day, that you did not find anything in my hand. They said in unison: He is witness, i.e., they are witnesses.

After dealing with the technical issues pertaining to the transfer of power, Samuel addresses the more important matter. Samuel said to the people: It is the Lord who appointed [asa] Moses and Aaron to lead the people, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt, before whom you have now declared that you have no claims against me. The use of the term asa, literally “made,” to denote appointment indicates that these leaders were appointed not by the people but by God.

Now stand, and I will enter into judgment, examine with you before the Lord with regard to all the righteous acts of the Lord that He performed for you and for your fathers. This trial will encompass the entire history of our people until this day.

When Jacob and his family came to Egypt, your fathers cried out to the Lord due to the hardships of slavery, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, and they took your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.

But they, your ancestors, forgot the Lord their God, and consequently He delivered them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hatzor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moav, and they made war against them. These were perhaps the most prominent of Israel’s enemies during that era.

They cried out to the Lord, and said: We have sinned, for we forsook the Lord, and worshipped the Be’alim and the Ashtarot, but now, deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will worship You. This was a repetitive cycle during the era of the judges; whenever trouble would befall the people of Israel, they would return to God. They would commit to abandoning their idol worship, and would request that God save them.

The Lord sent Yerubaal, Gideon; and Bedan, son of Dan [ben dan], a reference to Samson, who was the most prominent member of the tribe of Dan; and Yiftah of Gilad; and Samuel, referring to himself in third person because now he was no longer discussing his personal affairs but the history of Israel; and He rescued you from the hand of your enemies all around, and you dwelled in security.

When you saw that Nahash king of the children of Amon was coming against you, and you said to me: No, we reject your warnings, for a king shall reign over us. But you did not need a king; the Lord your God is your king. He fought for you and saved you from all your oppressors.

Now, since you insisted on appointing a human king, behold, the king whom you have chosen, and whom you have requested, and behold, the Lord has appointed a king over you.

If you fear the Lord, and you serve Him and heed His voice, and you do not defy the directive of the Lord, and both you and the king who reigns over you will be following the Lord your God, then God will lead you, and you will enjoy His patronage.

But if you will not heed the voice of the Lord, and you will defy the directive of the Lord, the hand of the Lord will be against you and against your fathers.

This will be verified not only in the future; now, too, stand and see this great matter that the Lord is performing before your eyes.

Is it not wheat harvest today, the middle of the summer? Although rain does not fall at this time, I will call to the Lord and He will dispatch thunder and rain, and you will know and see that your evil that you have performed is great in the eyes of the Lord, to request a king for yourselves. This will be a divine sign that my statement is correct.

Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord gave thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. This rare occurrence caused them to panic.

All the people said to Samuel: Pray on behalf of your servants to the Lord your God, that we will not die, for we have added evil upon all our sins in requesting a king for ourselves, as the heavens are now demonstrating.

Samuel said to the people: Do not fear, although you have done all this evil, but do not stray away from following the Lord, and worship the Lord with all your heart.

Do not stray away from the path of God; for if you do so, then it would be following the emptiness and idolatry that will not avail and will not bring deliverance, for they are emptiness.

For the Lord will not forsake His people for the sake of His great name, as the Lord decided, God wished, to make you His people.

I too, far be it from me to sin against the Lord, to cease to pray on your behalf; I will continue to pray for you, as you have requested, and I will instruct you on the good and right path. Although you have a king, I will remain your spiritual guide.

Only fear the Lord, and serve Him truly with all your heart, for see that which He has done greatly for you.

But if you do evil, both you and your king will perish. Your fate depends entirely on your connection to God. Although you have sinned, you need not change anything; simply conduct yourselves according to the right path, and God will continue to assist you.

Saul was one year into his reign, and two years he reigned over Israel.

Saul chose for him three thousand men from Israel to form an initial small, organized army. This would serve as a permanent core for a larger reserve force. The reason that the Israelite army was established specifically at this time is that such a process was not possible in the pre-monarchic era. Two thousand soldiers were with Saul in Mikhmas and on the mountain of Beit El, and one thousand were with Yonatan, Saul’s firstborn son, in Givat Binyamin, the city of Giva in the land of Benjamin, also known as Givat Shaul. And the rest of the people he sent, each man to his tent, his home. The majority of the soldiers in the Israelite army were reserve soldiers, who were called up only in times of emergency.

Yonatan smote, killed, the Philistine governor who was in Geva, and the Philistines heard of it and considered it a declaration of war. Concurrently, Saul issued the command, and they sounded the shofar throughout the land, saying: Let the Hebrews hear. Saul drafted the entire nation, declaring that war was imminent.

All Israel heard, saying: Saul smote the Philistine governor. Although Yonatan perpetrated it, since the act was viewed as sponsored by the king, it was considered as though Saul killed the governor himself. And moreover, Israel has become abhorrent among the Philistines; the relationship between the peoples has soured. The people mobilized, following Saul to Gilgal.

The Philistines assembled to battle with Israel: Thirty thousand chariots, an enormous number. Perhaps the verse means that the military force of chariots included thirty thousand men; and among them six thousand horsemen, and people like the sand that is on the seashore in plenitude. They ascended and encamped in Mikhmas, which was east of Beit Aven.

The men of Israel saw that it was in dire straits, as the people were hard-pressed by the enormous Philistine army, and the people hid in caves and in small crevices, among the rocks, in citadels, fortified towers, and in pits.

And Hebrews crossed the Jordan and escaped to the land of Gad and Gilad, but Saul was still in Gilgal, and all the people, the army, hastened after him.

He, Saul, waited seven days for the designated time of Samuel, but the appointed time passed, and Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people dispersed from him. People began to scatter and return to their homes.

Saul therefore said: Bring to me the burnt offering and the peace offering. Before going to war, we must bring an offering with a prayer. And he offered up the burnt offering. Since there was no Temple at the time, it was permissible for anyone to sacrifice an offering, just as Samuel, who also was not a priest, sacrificed offerings.

It was as he concluded to offer up the burnt offering, and behold, Samuel finally came, and Saul went out toward him to greet him.

Samuel said: What have you done? We agreed that you would wait for me. Saul said: For I saw that the people had dispersed from me, and you had not come on the designated day, and the Philistines were assembling at Mikhmas,

and therefore I said to myself: The Philistines will now descend upon me to Gilgal, and I have not implored the Lord, I have not asked God for guidance; and I marshaled my strength and offered up the burnt offering.

Samuel said to Saul: You have been foolish; you did not observe the commandment of the Lord your God that He commanded you. For had you kept His commandment, the Lord would have now established your kingship over [el] Israel forever, for many generations. Although the monarchy was promised to Judah by the patriarch Jacob, Saul’s family may have been able to rule over some of the tribes for generations to come. The word el, which literally means to, not upon, may allude to this, indicating that the reference is not to all of Israel.

But now that you have not kept the commandment, your kingship will not endure; the Lord has sought a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded concerning him that he will be appointed to be ruler over His people, as you did not observe that which the Lord commanded you. You have not passed the test.

Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal back to Givat Binyamin. Saul counted the people who were found with him, some six hundred men. Most of his men had fled or were hiding in caves; even his regular army of two thousand men had disappeared.

Saul, Yonatan his son, and the few people who were found with them were staying in Givat Binyamin, and the Philistines encamped in Mikhmas. There was no set time for the war to begin; perhaps both sides were waiting for a sign from heaven or some other signal.

In the meantime, the raiders, military units whose function was to cause damage in the enemy’s land and take spoils, went out from the camp of the Philistines in three companies: One company would turn to the way to Ofra, to a place called the land of Shual,

and one company would turn to the way to Beit Horon, and one company would turn to the way of the border that overlooks the valley of Tzevo’im, toward the wilderness. Not all of the army emerged; these units alone were sent on a mission of retaliation and plunder, in order to strike fear within the camp of Israel.

Another important detail is mentioned: A smith, or blacksmith, could not be found throughout the territory of Israel at the time, as the Philistines said: Lest the Hebrews craft a sword or spear. The Philistines were among the first to introduce the iron industry to the Middle East, initiating the Iron Age, a new cultural era. They maintained a monopoly on the blacksmithing industry, and did not allow Israel to develop this technology, lest they use it to create weapons.

All the Israelites would go down to the Philistines for each man to hone his iron implements, a generic name for iron tools, or alternatively, a sharp blacksmith’s instrument; his spade, his axe, and his coulter, used for plowing the ground and softening it.

And the price of the filing or cutting that the Israelite customer would pay was a pim, a measuring unit that was used for weighing silver, for the coulters, for the spades, for the three-pronged forks, for the axes, and to set, to fix, the goad, a kind of nail that was fixed at the top of a shepherd’s staff. The price for fixing any of these tools was one pim of silver.

It was on the day of battle that neither sword nor spear of iron was found in the hand of all the people who were with Saul and Yonatan. Perhaps they used copper swords, or different types of wooden weapons and slings. But a rare sword was found with Saul and with Yonatan his son. Only the two main commanders of the army managed to attain swords.

Meanwhile, the Philistine garrison, their camping force, improved their position, and went out to, in the direction of, the pass of Mikhmas.

It was on the day, Yonatan son of Saul said to the lad, the servant bearer of his armor: Come, let us cross to the Philistine garrison that is on the other side. But he did not tell his father.

While this was happening, Saul was staying at the edge of Giva beneath the pomegranate tree that was in Migron; and the people that were with him, who loyally remained with him, were some six hundred men.

With Saul was Ahiya son of Ahituv, who was a brother of Ikavod. Ikavod was the youngest son of Pinhas son of Eli the priest of the Lord in Shilo. Ikavod was born during the great defeat at the end of Eli’s lifetime (see chap. 4). His nephew Ahiya served as a priest in Saul’s camp and was bearer of an ephod, to which the breast piece, with the Urim and Tumim, was connected, through which divine instructions would be transmitted. The people did not know that Yonatan had gone, as he went on his own initiative, without asking for permission.

In the pass through which Yonatan sought to cross to the Philistine garrison, which was apparently in an elevated area, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side; the difficult pass was between two sharp, stone cliffs. The name of the one crag was Botzetz and the name of the other was Seneh.

The one crag stood on the north opposite Mikhmas and the other to the south opposite Geva.

Yehonatan said to the lad, the servant bearer of his armor: Come, let us cross to the garrison of these uncircumcised people, a derogatory nickname used in particular for the Philistines; perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf, will give us salvation; for nothing prevents the Lord from saving with many or with few.

His armor-bearer said to him: Do all that is in your heart; turn, you toward them; behold, I am with you after your heart, your will.

Yehonatan said: Behold, we are passing over to the men, and we will necessarily be revealed to them, as they are above us, and we will have to cross between the cliffs down below. It is possible that Yonatan’s plan was to pretend that he was defecting to the enemy and revealing Saul’s plans to them.

Like Gideon and many others, Yonatan employed a sign to determine his course of action: If they say to us so: Halt until we reach you, we will stand in our place and will not ascend to them to fight.

But if instead so they say: Come up to us, then we will ascend to fight, as the Lord has delivered them into our hand, and this will be the sign for us. The Philistines would see that they were only two men, and even if there was another man hiding, it was certainly not a large force. Consequently, there was no reason to worry that their invitation would be for tactical reasons. The type of response would therefore serve as the sign of whether to attack.

They were both revealed to the Philistine garrison, and the Philistines said: Behold, Hebrews are emerging from the holes in which they hid.

The men of the garrison spoke out, shouted, to Yonatan and his armor-bearer, and said menacingly and scornfully: Come up to us, and we will inform you of something, teach you a lesson. Yonatan said to his armor-bearer: Ascend after me, for this is the sign that the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Israel.

Yonatan ascended on his hands and on his feet, as the ascent was very steep, and his armor-bearer went after him. When they reached the Philistine camp, the two began to fight; and they, the Philistines, fell before Yonatan, and his armor-bearer was slaying after him. Yonatan would deliver an initial stab to each of the first few Philistines they encountered, and his armor-bearer would immediately finish them off.

The first strike that Yonatan and his armor-bearer dealt was some twenty men. The Philistine soldiers sat on guard on the cliff and were not on high alert. They treated the two Hebrews who went out alone with disdain and probably astonishment. They did not take into account that Yonatan was an elite, sword-wielding warrior. Yonatan managed to kill about twenty men within a space of half a furrow of a pair in the field, the ground that a pair of cattle typically plows in a field. Yonatan continued to attack, and the Philistines did not realize what was happening, or they simply did not manage to organize their forces.

However, after a short period of time the Philistines were terrified, and there was panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the raiders, they too panicked, and the earth quaked, and it became utter panic, a great terror.

Saul’s camp, which was much more fearful and cautious than that of the Philistines, had appointed watchmen. Saul’s sentinels in Givat Binyamin saw, and behold, the Philistine multitude was dissipating, and they were going and becoming confounded, or they rushed away. The watchmen saw the Philistines fleeing and retreating.

Saul said to the people who were with him: Count yourselves now and see who went from among us. They counted and behold, Yonatan and his armor-bearer were not there.

Saul said to Ahiya the priest: Bring forth the Ark of God, to inquire via the Urim and the Tumim about our next moves, as the Ark of God was with the children of Israel on that day.

The ceremony of inquiring via the Urim and the Tumim took time. The Sages describe the process of this ceremony, which included the proper positioning of the one inquiring as well as the priest who would receive the question; the order of the questions, etc. It may be assumed that the priest’s preparation for this process took time as well. It was while Saul was speaking to the priest, and the tumult that was in the camp of the Philistines was going and becoming greater, and Saul said to the priest: Withdraw your hand. We have no time for questions; now we must fight.

Saul and all the people who were with him mobilized and came into the site of the battle, and behold, each man’s sword was against his neighbor, a very great panic. Since the Philistine soldiers did not know what was happening, some of them started to run, others tried to stop them, and all the chaos caused them to fight one another.

And the Hebrews who had been with the Philistines, enslaved to them as previously, who had gone up with them to the camp all around, on the outskirts of the camp, as an auxiliary military force under Philistine command, they too went to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Yonatan. They took advantage of the commotion in the camp and the Israelite attack to switch to the Israelite side.

All the men of Israel who were hiding in the highland of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, and they too pursued them closely, chased and caught up to them, in the battle.

The Lord saved Israel on that day, and the battle passed Beit Aven. The battle was wide-ranging and disorganized.

The men of Israel were hard-pressed [nigas] from fasting on that day. Alternatively, this means they came forth [nigash] and gathered together someplace. Saul administered an oath to the people. In this small camp, Saul’s height was an advantage; he was conspicuous among the soldiers, and therefore it was easy for him to gather his troops. He then administered the oath, saying: Cursed is the man who will eat food until the evening, and I will be avenged of my enemies. Although the Philistines were fleeing, the battle was not decided yet. Saul was worried that if his men would stop to rest and eat something, the Philistines’ panic would subside and they would prepare for a counterattack. Israel would then lose their advantage. Therefore, they had to move quickly and assertively. And all the people did not taste food. They continued to fight, and put their efforts into defeating the Philistines.

All the people of the land, the Israelites, came into the forest on their way; and there was honey on the surface of the field. This honey may have come from beehives that were turned over or broken during the commotion, and the honey flowed from them.

The people came into the forest, and behold, there was a seepage of honey, but there was no one who put his hand to his mouth to taste any of it, as the people feared the oath.

But Yonatan had not heard when his father administered the oath to the people, and he extended the end of the staff that was in his hand, and he dipped it in the honeycomb and returned his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened and he was invigorated, as honey provides immediate energy.

One of the people spoke up and said: Your father administered an oath to the people, saying: Cursed is the man who will eat food today, and everyone is adhering to the oath and not eating, and the people have wearied because of it.

Yonatan said: My father has troubled, contaminated, or caused confusion to, the land. His move was mistaken; see now that my eyes have brightened because I tasted a bit of this honey.

For certainly, had the people eaten today from the spoils of their enemies that they found, would there not have now been a greater blow against the Philistines? All the men should have eaten, as they would have then defeated the Philistines more soundly.

They smote the Philistines on that day from Mikhmas to Ayalon, and the people wearied greatly, to the point of exhaustion.

The people pounced upon the spoils, and they took sheep and cattle and bullocks. Apparently, the Philistines had animals in their camp for food; presumably, some of them were previously plundered from Israel. And they, the people, slaughtered them to eat them, such that the blood flowed on the ground with the meat; and the people ate them over the blood. In their rush to eat, they did not allow the blood, whose consumption is forbidden, to be completely extracted. Another explanation is that they ate next to the spilled blood, in accordance with the pagan custom of spilling the blood of animals and eating next to it as a form of offering to the demons. This action thereby violated the prohibition recorded in Leviticus: “You shall not eat over the blood.”

They told Saul, saying: Behold, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating over the blood. Saul responded strongly. He said: You have been treacherous. Roll a large stone to me today, now.

Saul said: Disperse among the people and say to them: Let each man bring his bull to me, and each man his sheep, and you shall slaughter them on this stone and eat, and you shall not sin against the Lord by eating over the blood. Supervise each other to make sure that none of you eat over the blood. Indeed, all the people brought each man his ox with him during the night, and they slaughtered there.

Saul built an altar to the Lord; with this one he commenced to build an altar to the Lord. This altar was the first one that Saul built. Alternatively, this means that the above stone was used to begin the construction of an altar, and all the animals were brought there as offerings to God.

After his men had eaten and recuperated, Saul said: Let us go down after the Philistines at night, and we will plunder them until the morning light; we shall not leave any man among them. Since the Philistines are fleeing, we can defeat them completely. They said: Do whatever is good in your eyes. The priest said: Let us approach there, to the Ark of God. Now we have time to inquire via the Urim and the Tumim.

Saul inquired of God: Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You deliver them into the hand of Israel? But He did not answer him on that day.

Saul was sure that the lack of an answer was due to the guilt of one of the warriors. Saul said: Approach here, all the chiefs of the people, the commanders and individuals of senior status; and know and see concerning what was this sin today.

He added an oath with an expression of exaggeration: For, as the Lord, who delivers Israel, lives, even if it, the guilt, is with Yonatan, my beloved son and heir, he shall be put to death. But there was no one answering him among all the people. Some knew that Yonatan had tasted from the honey, but they hid this fact from Saul.

He, Saul, said to all Israel: You will be on one side, and I and Yonatan my son will be on another side, and we will draw lots to determine on which side the fault is, the people or the leadership. The people said to Saul: Do that which is good in your eyes. You are the king and the commander-in-chief; we cannot refuse you. Apparently, they were not enthusiastic about the lottery since they knew the result.

Saul said to the Lord, God of Israel: Give forth that which is flawless [tamim], cast a true lot. Alternatively: Bring the Tumim, in order to inquire of God and receive His answer. Yonatan and Saul were indicated, and the people were cleared.

Saul said: Cast between me and Yonatan my son; clearly one of us is guilty. Perhaps Saul still felt uncomfortable for not having listened to Samuel, and he was worried that he was the guilty one. And Yonatan was indicated.

Saul said to Yonatan: Tell me what you did; confess your deeds. Yonatan told him, and he said: I tasted a bit of honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am, I will die, I am ready to die.

Saul said in the words of an oath: So may God do and so may He add, for you shall die, Yonatan, because you violated the oath and are responsible for the fact that God is not answering Israel.

The people said to Saul: Shall Yonatan die, who performed this great salvation in Israel? Due to him we have won the war against all odds. Far be it, as the Lord lives, surely not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, as he acted heroically with God this day. His actions were favorable to God, and he certainly has no guilt. The people redeemed Yonatan, and he did not die. It is unclear what exactly they did in order to redeem him. Perhaps every one of them gave a sum of money to redeem Yonatan’s life, or gave their life instead of his in some other symbolic form.

Saul withdrew from pursuing the Philistines; since he had not received instructions to continue the battle, he refrained from pursuing the Philistines any further, and the Philistines went to their own place.

An intermediate summary of Saul’s reign is given: And following his victory over the Philistines, Saul secured the kingship over Israel, and he fought against all his enemies all around: against Moav, against the children of Amon, against Edom, against the kings of Tzova, and against the Philistines. Although he previously had not taken the offensive, now he initiated wars against all the enemies that bordered Israel, thereby strengthening the kingdom. Wherever he turned in war, he would inspire terror in their hearts, or would harm the wicked.

He was successful, and he smote Amalek, as is related in the next chapter, and he rescued Israel from the hand of its plunderers.

The sons of Saul at the time were Yonatan, the firstborn, and Yishvi and Malki Shua, though more sons were born to him later. And the names of his two daughters: The name of the elder was Merav, and the name of the younger, Mikhal.

And the name of Saul’s wife, the mother of his sons, was Ahino’am daughter of Ahimaatz. It is related below that he also had at least one concubine, from whom he had sons as well. And the name of the loyal commander of his army was Aviner son of Ner, who was Saul’s uncle.

Other members of Saul’s family included Kish, who was the father of Saul, and was apparently involved in the kingdom as well, and Ner, who was the father of Avner, who is the same as the Aviner mentioned in the previous verse, and Ner was also the son of Aviel. These were the core members of Saul’s staff, which grew over time.

The war against the Philistines was intense all the days of Saul. Perhaps if the first battle against them had been decided definitively this would not have been the situation. Given the current conditions, Saul saw any mighty man or any man of valor, and he recruited him to him to join his permanent army. Saul ensured that his men would be the best of Israel.

Samuel said to Saul: The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel. You do not rule by your own right, but as God’s emissary; now, heed the sound of the words of the Lord.

So said the Lord of hosts: I have remembered that which Amalek did to Israel, that it situated itself in ambush and waged war against Israel on the way, when it came up from Egypt. This eternal remembrance of Amalek is mentioned in the Torah as well.

Now, go and smite Amalek and utterly destroy everything that it has; do not have pity on it; you shall put to death both men and women, both infants and suckling babes, both oxen and sheep, both camels and donkeys. Nothing of Amalek may remain, in accordance with the commandment: “You shall expunge the memory of Amalek from under the heavens.”

Saul summoned the people, and he counted them in Tela’im, the name of a place or a region. Alternatively, he counted them using lambs [tela’im]; each person gave a lamb, so that the lambs could be counted instead of the people. The tally was two hundred thousand infantrymen from tribes other than Judah and ten thousand men of Judah.

Saul came to the main city of Amalek, and he attacked in the ravine near the city.

Saul said to the Kenite, the tribe of Yitro’s descendants: Go, withdraw and come down, distance yourselves, from the midst of the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them during the battle, a result that I do not want, and you, your forefather Yitro, acted with kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up from Egypt. The Kenites withdrew from the midst of Amalek.

Saul smote Amalek from Havila as you come to Shur, which is before Egypt. Apparently, Amalek had become a large people during this period, and was scattered over vast areas in the southern Negev and perhaps even in modern-day Jordan.

He, Saul, apprehended Agag king of Amalek, took him captive, alive, but all the people he utterly destroyed by sword, as Samuel had commanded him.

Saul and the people spared Agag. It is unclear what unique quality of Agag caused Saul’s men to spare him; perhaps they were impressed by his fighting in battle. And they also spared the best of the flocks, the cattle, the second best, or the second-best sheep and oxen, or the fat ones; the fatted sheep, and all that was good, and they were unwilling to destroy them, even though they were commanded to destroy everything. But all the spurned and contemptible animals, produce, or other property of little value, that they utterly destroyed.

The word of the Lord was to Samuel, saying:

I have regretted that I crowned Saul as king, because he has turned from following Me, he has not followed Me, and did not fulfill My words. Samuel was distressed, and he cried out, implored and argued to the Lord all night.

Nevertheless, Samuel arose early in the morning to meet Saul. It seems he did not reveal his feelings and his inner turmoil at all; he was quick to fulfill his duty. It was told to Samuel, saying: Saul came to Carmel, a locale in the south of the land of Judah, and behold, he is establishing for himself a monument for the great victory over Amalek. He, Samuel, turned and passed, and descended to Gilgal.

Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him: Blessed are you to the Lord, welcome; I have fulfilled the word of the Lord. I have waged war against and defeated Amalek.

Samuel said: But what is this sound of the flocks in my ears, and the sound of the cattle that I hear? Where do all these animals that I hear come from?

Saul said: They brought them from the Amalekites; as the people spared the best of the flocks and the cattle, not for plunder, but rather in order to present offerings to the Lord your God. The people spared some of the animals because they preferred to use them for offerings rather than just to kill them. But the rest we utterly destroyed. Saul justified their actions by saying that even if they did not fully obey the instructions, their intentions were for the sake of Heaven.

Samuel said to Saul: Desist, allow me, or: Stop giving excuses, and I will tell you that which the Lord spoke to me this night. He, Saul, said to him: Speak.

Samuel said: Truly, although you are small in your eyes, and therefore you are not firm enough, you are still the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed you as king over Israel. Even according to your justification that the breach was not your initiative, but rather you succumbed to the people’s pressure, you are still responsible, as you are the leader and the mission was given to you. Do not excuse your behavior by citing the wishes of others.

The Lord sent you upon a path, a specific task, and He said: Go and utterly destroy the sinners, Amalek, and make war against it until you, Israel, annihilate them.

Why did you not heed the voice of the Lord? You pounced upon the spoils, and you did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

Saul immediately said to Samuel in protest: Indeed, I heeded the voice of the Lord, and I went on the path that the Lord sent me. I obeyed God’s command by initiating a war against Amalek, even though they were not currently preparing to attack Israel. And I brought Agag king of Amalek as a captive, and I utterly destroyed Amalek, as you commanded. This was an absolute victory.

The people took from the spoils, flocks, and cattle, the choicest of the proscribed, the spoils, to present offerings to the Lord your God in Gilgal. We completed the mission; we won the war and killed the entire nation. The men simply thought it was preferable to make use of these animals.

Samuel said: Does the Lord desire burnt offerings and feast offerings like He desires heeding the voice of the Lord? The value of sacrificing offerings cannot be compared to the importance of listening to God; whereas fulfilling God’s command is mandatory, offerings have no inherent value, and God does not need them. Behold, to obey is better than a fine offering, and to heed God is better than the fat of rams.

For the sin of sorcery is defiance. Like sorcery, the severity of your sin is due not to the act itself but rather to the rebelliousness inherent in disobeying God’s command. And wrongdoing, futility or sin; and teraphim, household idols, are your stubbornness. Your excuses and your refusal to admit your sin are as grave a sin as idolatry. Some commentaries explain that the common denominator of sorcery, idolatry, and Saul’s sin is a lack of complete trust in God. Because you spurned the word of the Lord, you disobeyed Him and followed the will of the people or your own will, He has spurned you as king. As far as God is concerned you are no longer the chosen king; although you are still in power, you are now like any other person.

Saul said to Samuel: I have sinned, for I violated the directive of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people, and I heeded their voice. Similar occurrences transpired previously as well where Saul was subject to pressure from the people (see 10:27, 13:14).

Now please, forgive my sin, and return with me, and I will prostrate myself before the Lord with you, so that people will see that you still support me.

Samuel said to Saul: I will not return with you, as you spurned the word of the Lord, and the Lord has spurned you from being king over Israel.

Samuel turned to go, and he, Saul, seized the edge of his, Samuel’s, robe in order to impede him, and it tore as a result of Saul’s pulling it.

Samuel said to him: This tear symbolizes that the Lord has torn the kingship of Israel from you today, and has given it to your counterpart, who is better than you.

Moreover, the Eternity of Israel, God, will not lie and will not regret, change His mind, after stating to you that you have lost your status. You cannot appease Him and request that He retract His decision, as He is not like a man that regrets.

He, Saul, said again: I have sinned; I accept the reproach and the decree. Now please, honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, and I will prostrate myself before the Lord your God. Please come with me to pray and bring an offering, so that at least it will not publicly appear that you are abandoning me. Otherwise, the private prophecy that you related to me will be misunderstood by the people as a tragic event.

Although Samuel had already turned to leave, he acquiesced to Saul’s pleading. Samuel returned, following Saul, and Saul prostrated himself before the Lord. Although Samuel did not retract his statement, he agreed to Saul’s request to prevent his humiliation.

Samuel said: Bring to me Agag king of Amalek. Samuel wanted to finish the job. Agag went to him falteringly [ma’adanot]. Other commentaries explain that Agag came to him in chains. This interpretation is based on transposing the letters of the word ma’adanot, from ayin-dalet-nun to ayin-nun-dalet, meaning chained. Other commentaries say Agag came proudly. Agag said: Indeed, the bitterness of death is at hand. He understood that Samuel intended to kill him immediately.

Samuel said: Just as your sword rendered women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women. You have no legitimate claim in your defense. Samuel slashed Agag before the Lord in Gilgal. Samuel did not kill Agag in an honorable way, but in the manner in which wild animals are exterminated.

Samuel went to Rama, his home, and Saul went up to his house in Givat Shaul.

Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his, Samuel’s, death, as Samuel mourned for Saul, not because he was angry with Saul; but the Lord regretted that He had crowned Saul king over Israel.

The Lord said to Samuel: Until when will you mourn over Saul, and I have spurned him from reigning over Israel? As far as I am concerned, Saul’s status as king is no longer tenable, and it remains your responsibility to ensure the continuation of the monarchy. Therefore, fill your horn, probably the horn of a cow, with oil, and go; I will send you to Yishai the Bethlehemite, from the city of Bethlehem, as I have seen among his sons a king for me.

Samuel said: How will I go? If it becomes known that I have gone to anoint another king, Saul will hear of it, and he will kill me. There is no clearer act of rebellion than this. It is uncertain whether Saul would have actually sought to kill the prophet, but no king could possibly allow the appointment of a different king during his reign. The Lord said: Take a calf with you, and say, as a cover story: I have come to present a peace offering to the Lord.

As part of the preparations for the feast, you shall invite Yishai to the feast, and I will tell you that which you shall do, and you shall anoint for Me whom I will say to you.

Samuel did that which the Lord had spoken, and he came to Bethlehem, which was not too far from his hometown. The elders of the city hastened toward him. They rushed out to meet him nervously, as the arrival of the leader of Israel to their unimportant city puzzled and possibly even frightened them. And they, literally he, perhaps the most senior of the elders, said: Do you come in peace? Or has something untoward occurred?

He, Samuel, said: In peace; I have come to present an offering to the Lord. The sacrifice is the reason for my arrival. Prepare yourselves, and come with me to the offering. He told Yishai, one of the elders and most important residents of the city, and his sons to prepare, and he invited them to the feast.

It was when they, the sons of Yishai, came, that he saw Eliav, the firstborn, and he said, probably to himself: Indeed, before the Lord is His anointed. This young man must be worthy in God’s eyes to be His anointed.

The Lord said to Samuel: Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, as I have spurned him. He is not great in My eyes; for it, reality, is not as man sees; for man sees into the eyes, the outward appearance, but the Lord alone sees into the heart. You are impressed by his looks, but God has not chosen him.

Yishai summoned Avinadav and passed him before Samuel. It is unclear whether Samuel had informed Yishai of why he had called him and his sons. Perhaps he told him that he required one of his sons to assist him in the sacrifice of the offering, as in that period it was permitted to sacrifice offerings anywhere, and even those who were not descendants of Aaron could participate in the ritual. He, Samuel, said: This one too, the Lord has not chosen.

Yishai passed Shama, his third son, before Samuel. He, Samuel, said: This one too, the Lord has not chosen.

Yishai passed his seven sons before Samuel. Samuel said to Yishai: The Lord has not chosen these.

Samuel said to Yishai: Is that the last of the lads? Do you have no more sons? He said: There is yet the youngest remaining, and behold, he is herding the sheep. It is unclear whether David was the very youngest son or one of the youngest. In any case, he was not considered important enough to be suggested as a possible contributor to the sacrifice, and was left to tend the flock. Samuel said to Yishai: Send and fetch him here, as we will not recline to eat; alternatively, we will not move from here, until he comes here.

He sent and brought him. He, this as yet unnamed young shepherd, was ruddy, with beautiful eyes, and in general he had a fine, beautiful, appearance. The Lord said: Rise, anoint him, as this is he.

Samuel took the horn of oil, and he anointed him as king in the midst of his brothers, but not in the presence of strangers; and the spirit of the Lord, a spirit of strength and holiness, rested upon David, who is here named for the first time, from that day onward. The effect of his anointment gradually became more pronounced with the passing of time. Samuel rose and went to his home in Rama, having fulfilled his mission.

But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and instead an evil spirit of madness from the Lord terrified him.

Saul’s servants said to him: Behold, now, it is evident that an evil spirit from God is terrifying you.

Let our lord say to us, as your servants are before you: Let a man be sought who knows to play the harp. Although Saul’s problems were not widely known, his close advisors, who were loyal to him and cared for him, were aware of his attacks and wished to help him. It is also likely that they had observed that music eased his spirits. And it will be, when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play with his hand and then it will be well for you.

Saul said to his servants: Now find for me a man who plays well, and bring him to me.

One of the lads answered and said: Behold, I have seen a son of Yishai the Bethlehemite. Bethlehem is not far from Givat Shaul. Apparently, David had gained a reputation as one who knows to play, and furthermore, of one who is a mighty warrior and a man of war. The young man sought to stress that David was not merely a talented musician, but also one who would be suitable to accompany the king for his other qualities. In addition, he is one who is discerning of matters and a man of form, and the Lord is with him. Such an individual is worthy of joining your entourage, and when necessary he can also play music for you.

The king accepted the suggestion. Saul sent messengers to Yishai, and said: Send David, your son who is with the sheep, looking after them, to me. This was a very natural request for Saul, who would regularly draft men for his wars and his court (see 14:52).

Yishai took a donkey laden with bread, a wineskin, and one kid, and he sent them with David his son to Saul.

David came to Saul and stood before him, and he, Saul, loved him greatly, and he, David, became an armor-bearer for him.

When the king realized David’s fine character, Saul sent to Yishai, saying, either as a request or as an announcement of the new permanent appointment to the king’s court: Please, let David stand, remain, before me, as he has found favor in my eyes.

In addition to David’s daily function as one of the king’s armor-bearers, or a member of his court, every so often it was when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, David would take the harp, and play with his hand, and Saul would be relieved from his discomfort, and it would be well for him, and when he heard the music the evil spirit would depart from him.

The Philistines gathered their camps for war, and they gathered at Sokho, which is of Judah, and they encamped between Sokho and Azeka, in a place called Efes Damim.

Saul and the men of Israel gathered, and they encamped in the Valley of Ela, and they deployed for battle against the Philistines.

The warriors of the Philistines were standing on the mountain on this side, and Israel, its fighters, was standing on the mountain on that side, and the valley was between them, as during war forces seek to establish themselves on high ground.

The champion, the warrior who was selected for a preliminary duel between the two armies, came out from the Philistine camps, his name was Goliath, of the city of Gat; his height was six cubits and a span. He was a giant of a man.

A bronze helmet was on his head, and he was clad with armor of mail, small metal chains placed one over the other; the weight of the armor was five thousand shekels of bronze. The coat was large and heavy, as befitting the man’s size.

Bronze greaves, protective armor, were on his legs, and a bronze javelin borne between his shoulders.

The shaft of his spear was large, like a weavers’ beam, upon which the threads of the warp are stretched out, and the blade of his spear was a weight of six hundred shekels, and was made of iron. This was clearly a large and heavy man, but his maneuverability was questionable. His shield-bearer was walking before him. The shield was large and broad, surrounding the fighter from several sides.

He, Goliath, stood and called to the armies of Israel, and he said to them: Why do you go out to do battle? Am I not a Philistine, a member of a free nation that is subject not to overbearing kings, but to local leaders, and by contrast, you are servants of Saul? Choose a man for you, and let him come down to me, so that we can face off in combat.

If he is able to battle with me and he smites me, we will be slaves to you, but if I overcome him and smite him, you will be slaves to us and serve us instead of Saul.

The Philistine said: I have reviled the armies of Israel on this day. If you wish to remove your shame, give me a man and let us fight together. He may have hurled insults at the Israelite camp that are not specified here, but in any case, his main taunt was his scornful challenge to a one-on-one duel, in which he showed that they had no one who was prepared to fight him.

Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, and they were dismayed and greatly afraid, as Goliath’s comments were serving to encourage and strengthen the Philistines.

Now David was the son of that aforementioned nobleman [efrati], a person of distinguished lineage, or from the family of Efrat, or from the land of Efrat, from Bethlehem of Judah, whose name was Yishai. Bethlehem was in the land of Efrat, and it too was called Efrat. And he, Yishai, had eight sons; the man in the days of Saul was elderly and no longer fit for battle, and he would come among men; people surrounded him wherever he went.

As this was a time of emergency, the three eldest sons of Yishai went; they now followed Saul to war; alternatively, they had followed Saul in previous military drafts, The names of his three sons who went to war were Eliav, the firstborn; Avinadav, the second to him, and the third, who was called Shama.

David was the youngest of all of them, or one of the youngest, and therefore he did not go out to the war; only the three eldest followed Saul.

At that time, David was constantly going and returning from Saul, as his youthful assistant and musician, occasionally returning home to herd his father’s sheep in Bethlehem.

The Philistine approached and proclaimed his challenge every morning and evening and stationed himself in this manner for forty days.

During that period, Yishai said to David his son: Please, take to your brothers this ephah, a large unit of volume, more than 24 L in modern measurements, of roasted grain. These were eaten as sweets, since the kernels sweeten as they are parched. And also take these ten loaves of bread, and hurry to the camp to your brothers.

And bring these ten pieces of cheese to the leader of the thousand, the man in command of your brothers, as a gesture of courtesy, or to find favor with him, and inquire about the welfare of your brothers, and take, redeem, their collateral, which they hand over for their expenses. Some maintain that this means: Give me a sign of their welfare, or that Yishai was saying: Deliver me a report of their well-being, their doings, and their needs.

Saul and they, David’s brothers, and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Ela, preparing themselves for fighting with the Philistines. It is likely that throughout those days there were constant minor skirmishes between the rival camps.

David arose early in the morning, and he left the sheep with a keeper, and he carried the provisions and he went as Yishai had commanded him. He came to the circle, the central gathering place of the army (see 26:5), and arrived just as the army that was going out to the battle line shouted in battle.

Israel and the Philistines deployed, in a threatening stance, one army against the other.

David left the baggage that was upon him in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, the man in charge of guarding the equipment of those who had left for the battlefield, and ran to the battle line, and he came and inquired after his brothers’ well-being.

He was speaking with them, and behold, again the champion came up, Goliath the Philistine was his name, from Gat, from the armies of the Philistines, and he spoke according to those words, the taunts and invective, and David heard them. It is possible that the repetition of the name of the champion, as though he is presented here for the first time, indicates that David had not seen or heard the man before, which explains his emotional response.

All the men of Israel, when they saw the man approaching them, fled before him, and they were greatly afraid of his monstrously tall appearance. Goliath was probably of broad girth and appeared powerful as well.

The men of Israel said to one another: Did you see that man who comes up? For he comes up to revile Israel, and it shall be that the man who smites him, the king will enrich him with great wealth, and he will give him his daughter as a wife, and he will make his father’s house free from paying taxes and the like, in Israel.

Seeking to enter the warriors’ conversation, David said to the men who stood near him, saying: What will be done to the man who smites this Philistine and thereby removes the disgrace from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, of what importance is he, that he has reviled the armies of the living God by saying that there is no strong warrior in Israel?

The people said to him according to that matter. They repeated to him the terms of the king’s promise, stating: So will be done to the man who will smite him.

Eliav, his oldest brother, heard when he, David, spoke to the men, showing interest in what they were saying; and Eliav’s wrath was enflamed against David, and he said: Why did you descend here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your mischievousness, your lack of discipline, and the evil of your heart, for in order to see the battle you descended. You are nothing more than a curious, irresponsible child. It is possible that Eliav had not seen the provisions David brought from their father, as they had been left in the camp with the keeper of the baggage.

David said: What did I do now? Is it not merely talk? What do you want from me? I have not done anything wrong. Why are you pouncing on me?

He, David, turned away from him, Eliav, and went toward another man, and he, David, said according to these same words: How is it that nobody is prepared to oppose this inciting Philistine? And the people answered him according to the previous words, with the same reply, again repeating the king’s message.

The words that David had spoken were heard; they, men from the camp, told them before Saul, that there is one man who is not afraid of the giant, and is apparently willing to confront him, and when Saul heard the story, he took him, David.

David said to Saul: Let no person’s heart fall within him; do not be afraid. David was referring to the king indirectly, as a respectful form of address. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine. I am prepared to take up the challenge.

Saul said to David: You will be unable to go against this Philistine to fight with him, as you are an inexperienced lad and he is a man of war from his youth.

David said to Saul: Your servant was a shepherd for his father among the sheep, and when I was out shepherding, my usual task, the lion, or even the bear would come and carry off a lamb from the flock.

I would go out to chase after it, smite it, and save it, the lamb, from its mouth. It, the beast, did not flee, but rose against me to attack me, but I grabbed its beard, the animal’s face or fur, smote it, and killed it. Therefore, although I am not a warrior in the usual meaning of the term, I have fought hard and emerged victorious.

Both the lion and the bear, your servant smote, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, as he has reviled the armies of the living God.

David further said: The Lord who delivered me from the hand of the lion and from the hand of the bear, He will come to my aid and deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. Saul said to David: Go, and may the Lord be with you. Saul agreed to send the young David because he could think of no other way of stopping Goliath, who was sowing fear and confusion among his men.

Saul dressed David with his garments, a uniform fit for battle, placed a bronze helmet on his head, and dressed him in armor.

David girded his sword over his garments, and he endeavored, or began, to walk, but he was inexperienced; he was not used to this military uniform. David said to Saul: I will be unable to walk with these garments, as I am inexperienced. I am unused to them, and I must be nimble for the fight. David removed them from upon him.

He took his shepherd’s staff in his hand, and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the stream, and he placed them in his shepherd’s pouch, in his sack, and his slingshot was in his hand. He approached the Philistine.

When Goliath saw that someone was finally coming to fight him, the Philistine went and gradually approached David, and the man bearing the shield was before him.

The Philistine looked and saw David, and he scorned him. David appeared to him as a creature who had no chance of opposing him, because he was a ruddy lad with a fair appearance. His reddish cheeks and beautiful appearance made him look like a child, even younger than his actual age.

The Philistine said to David: Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks? The staff in your hand might be useful against a dog, but I am a Philistine giant. The Philistine cursed David by his gods. Some explain that this means he cursed David and his God.

The Philistine said to David: Come to me and I will give your flesh to the birds of the heavens and to the animals of the field. Soon you will be killed and your flesh will be eaten by wild beasts.

David said to the Philistine: You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, God of the armies of Israel, whom you reviled.

This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will smite you, and I will remove your head from upon you, and I will give the carcasses of the Philistine camp this day to the birds of the heavens and to the beasts of the earth, and the entire land will know that God is among Israel.

And furthermore, all this assembly will know that not with the sword and with the spear will the Lord rescue, for the war is the Lord’s, and He will deliver you into our hand.

It was when the heavy Philistine rose and he came slowly, cumbersomely, and approached toward David in an open area, probably in the valley between the two camps, that David hastened, and he ran to the battleground toward the Philistine.

David extended his hand into the shepherd’s pouch into which he had placed the stones, and took a stone from there, and he slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead, which was insufficiently protected. The stone penetrated his forehead. Since it was slung with great force, the stone sunk deep into his forehead. And he, the Philistine, fell upon his face to the ground, as he lost his balance.

David overpowered the Philistine with merely the slingshot and with the stone, and he smote the Philistine and killed him, but there was no sword in David’s hand.

David ran and stood over the Philistine, and he took his, Goliath’s, sword, and drew it from its scabbard, and he killed him. He stabbed the giant to death with his own sword, and then severed his head with it. The Philistines saw that their hero was dead, and they fled. Their flight was not necessarily due to Goliath’s terms of combat (see verse 9), but in fear over what might happen to them now that their great hero had been killed.

The men of Israel and Judah rose, and they shouted a cry of war, and they pursued the fleeing Philistines until your approach to Gai, and until the gates of Ekron, a fortified city. The Philistines’ slain fell along this entire route, on the way to Shaarayim, until Gat and until Ekron.

The children of Israel returned from pursuing the Philistines, and they plundered their now empty camp. Since the Philistines had stayed there for at least forty days, it would certainly have been well-equipped.

David took the head of the Philistine, and he brought it, probably a long time later, to Jerusalem, and he placed his, Goliath’s, gear, which was initially left in Saul’s camp and subsequently transferred to various other temporary quarters, in his tent. David ultimately placed some of Goliath’s equipment in the Temple.

When Saul saw David going forth against the Philistine, he said to Avner, the commander of the army: Avner, whose son is this valiant and determined lad? Avner said: As your soul lives, King, surely, I swear that I do not know.

The king said: You ask, find out whose son is this youth.

When David returned from smiting the Philistine, Avner took him and brought him before Saul, and the head of the Philistine, which was very large and impressive, was in his hand.

Saul said to him: Whose son are you, lad? David said: I am the son of your servant Yishai the Bethlehemite, and you can investigate my lineage. Presumably, David provided other details in addition to his father’s name.

Until now, David would play music for Saul until the king would be relieved of his melancholy. Consequently, Saul’s officers and even Saul himself, who met David only when his spirit was disturbed, did not really get to know David. This was the first encounter in which Saul and his inner circle could get an impression of David’s character. It was as he finished speaking to Saul that the soul of Yehonatan became attached to the soul of David, and Yehonatan loved him as his own soul.

Saul took him, David, on that day, and he did not permit him to return to his father’s house.

In light of the great love of Yehonatan for David, and the fact that each fully identified with the other, Yehonatan established an eternal, unbreakable covenant with David, as he loved him as his own soul.

Yehonatan stripped off the robe that was upon him and gave it to David with his garments, and even his sword, even his bow, and even his belt, as a sign of their unity as expressed by their covenant.

David went forth, primarily on military missions; in everything that Saul would send him he would succeed. Since it became clear that David was not only successful in a one-on-one confrontation, but was consistently reliable and successful, Saul appointed him as an officer over the men of war, and he was pleasing in the eyes of all the people and also in the eyes of Saul’s servants. David enjoyed the respect and admiration of everyone.

It was upon their arrival, of the soldiers, from the Valley of Ela, when David returned from smiting the Philistine on that first occasion, and possibly on other occasions, the women came out from all the cities of Israel that the king passed, to sing, and with dances came toward King Saul and his entourage as they returned home, with drums, with joy, and with triangles [shalishim]. Alternatively, some translate the verse to mean that the women came out singing and with instruments, and some interpret shalishim to mean rhymed verse.

The rejoicing women who went out to greet the victorious soldiers proclaimed and said: Saul smote his thousands, and David his tens of thousands. This was obviously an exaggeration, which may have stemmed from their desire to flatter the handsome young man, whom they must have favored.

Saul was very incensed over what he perceived to be a slight to his stature, and this matter was displeasing in his eyes, and he said: They ascribed tens of thousands to David, but to me they ascribed thousands. Next for him is only the kingdom. What advantage do I have over him? My kingdom may very well pass to him.

Saul was hostile to David from that day onward.

It was on the next day, an evil spirit from God rested upon Saul; he became depressed, and he raved inside the house; he acted insane, or foresaw a gloomy future for himself. David was playing music with his hand like every day, in order to soothe Saul, and the spear was in Saul’s hand.

In his melancholy state, Saul cast the spear. He said to himself: I will smite David to the wall. David eluded him twice. This was not a planned attack but rather an impulsive act initiated by a tortured mind. David, who was young and agile, and was aware of Saul’s unstable mental condition, was able to escape.

When his depression lifted, Saul feared David, as the Lord was with him, and He had departed from Saul. Saul was suffering from his own deteriorating condition, and was envious of the young and talented David, who was becoming ever more successful and prominent before his very eyes.

Saul removed him from being with him, as David’s presence disturbed Saul’s peace of mind and, concomitantly, Saul appointed him leader of one thousand for him, a very high ranking officer, perhaps even the second highest rank in the army; and he went and came before the people in battle.

David was successful in all his ways; and the Lord was with him.

Saul saw that he, David, was very successful in all his endeavors, and he was alarmed by him. This may have been due to the lack of self-confidence that plagued Saul from the time he was initially anointed as king (See 9:21, 10:22, 10:27). Now, David represented everything that Saul wished he were himself.

But all Israel and Judah loved David, as he would go and come before them. They all saw his great success as a warrior and in his management of other affairs.

The verse presents a parenthetical comment: When it came time for Saul to fulfill his promise to give his daughter as a wife to the man who would kill Goliath, Saul said to David: Behold, my eldest daughter Merav, I will give her to you as a wife; this was the ultimate manner in which the king could bring someone close. However, you must be a man of valor for me, and fight the wars of the Lord. Saul said to himself: Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.

David said to Saul: Who am I, and what is my life, or my father’s family in Israel, that I should become son-in-law to the king? I do not deserve this great honor.

It was when Merav, Saul’s daughter, was to be given to David that she was given to Adriel the Meholatite as a wife. Saul had changed his mind and given her to someone else.

Mikhal, Saul’s younger daughter, loved David; she knew him from his time in the king’s palace and perhaps from his semi-official visits to her older sister. They told Saul that Mikhal was interested in David, and that David was possibly interested in her too; and the matter was fitting in his eyes. Saul was pleased with the opportunity to marry a daughter to David, and may have even preferred that it was his younger daughter, who was of lesser stature.

Saul said to himself: I will give her to him, and she will be a snare for him, and let the hand of the Philistines be against him. This thought did not leave Saul, even though he knew that as long as David was striking the Philistines they were in a defensive posture and would refrain from launching attacks. Saul said to David: Through the second one of my two daughters will you become my son-in-law today. Some maintain that Merav was also married to David, and was given to Adriel in a sinful manner.

David did not respond to Saul’s failure to fulfill his promise to give him Merav. It is also possible that he was not sure Saul actually intended to give him Mikhal; he may have thought that Saul was simply trying to appease him. Consequently, Saul commanded his servants: Speak to David discreetly, saying: Behold, the king really desires you, and all his servants love you. Now, you should take the opportunity to become son-in-law to the king.

Saul’s servants spoke these words in the ears of David. David said: Is becoming son-in-law to the king trivial in your eyes? And I am a poor and insignificant man. One who marries must give a dowry, and it is customary to give fifty silver shekels even for a regular woman, not to mention what the proper dowry would be for the king’s daughter.

Saul’s servants told him, saying: David spoke with these words. David is not making demands or issuing complaints; on the contrary, he says that he is not fit to become the king’s son-in-law.

Saul said: So you shall say to David: You say that you are not able to pay a fitting dowry, but the king has no desire for a dowry; rather, for one hundred Philistine foreskins, to exact vengeance upon the enemies of the king. He wants you to kill a hundred Philistines and to bring their foreskins as proof that you killed them; this act of valor will be esteemed more highly by the king than any sum of money. Saul thought to cause David to fight the Philistines again, this time at his own initiative, hoping that David would fall by the hand of the Philistines.

His servants told these words to David, and the matter was fitting in David’s eyes to become son-in-law to the king. The days, the time limit for David to bring the foreskins, had not yet elapsed,

and David arose, and he and his men went and smote among the Philistines two hundred men, rather than the one hundred that Saul requested. David brought their foreskins and delivered them in full to the king, to become son-in-law to the king, and since David had fulfilled the stipulation, Saul gave him Mikhal, his daughter, as a wife. Apparently, all were pleased with this union.

Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David in all he did; and that Mikhal, Saul’s daughter, loved him. David had a loving wife.

Saul continued to fear David, as he witnessed David’s success in every area, whereas Saul was unable to approximate that success; and Saul was forever an enemy to David. This was not a clearly formulated or rational thought, as David had not shown any indication that he was interested in taking over the kingship. However, this obsessive concern did not cease to torment Saul.

The commanders of the Philistines went forth from time to time to fight against Israel, and it was that whenever they went forth, David was more successful, acting prudently and experiencing success, than all the other servants of Saul, and his name became greatly honored. David’s reputation soared, and Saul was deeply resentful.

Saul spoke to Yonatan his son, and to all his servants, to cause David’s death, but Yehonatan son of Saul was very fond of David, and wanted David to remain alive and successful and to maintain their relationship.

Yehonatan told David, saying: Saul my father seeks to have you put to death; now, therefore, please be on your guard in the morning, stay in concealment and hide.

I will go out and stand by my father in the field where you are, and I will speak openly of you to my father, and I will see something, what his reaction will be, and I will tell you.

Yehonatan spoke well of David to Saul, his father, and he said to him: Let the king not sin against his servant, against David, for he has not sinned against you, and because his actions, in war and in playing music, are very good for you.

He, David, took his life in his hands, put his life in danger, and smote Goliath the Philistine, and the Lord performed great salvation for all Israel; you saw and you rejoiced. And why should you sin with innocent blood, to put David to death for nothing?

Saul heeded Yehonatan’s voice, and Saul took an oath: As the Lord lives, he, David, will surely not be put to death.

Yehonatan called David, and Yehonatan told him of all these matters. Yehonatan brought David to Saul, and he was before him as previously.

The war against the Philistines continued to be, an ongoing succession of mutual raids in which neither side decisively defeated the other. And David went forth and fought with the Philistines, and he smote them a great blow, and they fled before him. David continued to be successful in battle.

An evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, and he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and as opposed to Saul, who had his hand on a spear, David was playing music with his hand in order to soothe Saul.

Saul sought to smite David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, and he struck the spear into the wall, and David fled, and he escaped during that night.

Saul knew that David had gone to his house. Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, and to put him to death in the morning, but Mikhal his wife told David, saying: If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death.

Mikhal lowered David through the window, which was on an upper floor, on a side of the house where there were no guards; and he went and fled, and he escaped.

Mikhal took the teraphim, figurines in the shape of a person, and placed them in the bed, and she placed the braid of goat hair, or the hide with the hair, at its head, like a pillow, and covered it with the cloth so that it would look as though a person was lying in bed.

Saul sent messengers to take David, but she, Mikhal, said: He is ill and is lying in bed.

Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying to them: Bring him up to me in the bed, to put him to death.

The messengers came, and behold, instead of David, the teraphim were in the bed, and the braid of goat hair was at its head.

Saul said to Mikhal: Why did you deceive me so, and you released my enemy, and he escaped? Mikhal said to Saul: He said to me: Release me; why should I put you to death? She told her father that David had threatened her and therefore she had let him escape.

David fled and he escaped, and he came to Samuel to Rama, and he told him of everything that Saul had done to him. He and Samuel went and stayed in Nayot, in Rama, Samuel’s city. This was probably a quiet place where they rested, or studied and meditated.

It was told to Saul, saying: Behold, David is in Nayot in Rama.

Saul did not hesitate to take David even from there, and so he sent messengers to take David. They, each of Saul’s messenger’s, saw the band of prophets prophesying, and Samuel, their mentor, was standing presiding over them to ensure that they would act properly, and a spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they too prophesied. When the messengers saw the prophets, they too became swept up in the spirit of prophecy.

They told Saul and he sent other messengers, but they too prophesied. Saul sent a third group of messengers, and they too prophesied. Prophecy was being made available to large numbers of people; all of Saul’s messengers were swept up in the prophetic experience.

Saul could find no other solution, so he too went to Rama, and he came to the great cistern that was in a place called Sekhu. He asked and said: Where are Samuel and David? One said: Behold, they are in Nayot in Rama.

He went there, to Nayot in Rama, and the spirit of God came upon him too, and he went and prophesied continuously until he came to Nayot in Rama.

He too, stripped off his garments, like the others that experienced prophecy, and he too, prophesied before Samuel, and he fell naked all that day and all the night. During that time, David was able to escape. Therefore, they say: Is Saul among the prophets too? This phrase, which had been stated before in astonishment, now became a common aphorism. In terms of his personal attributes Saul was fit to receive prophecy. Consequently, he too was seized by the spirit of prophecy, and he lay on the ground unable to free himself from the experience.

When David realized that he was not safe in Nayot and that Saul would not hesitate to seek him there despite Samuel’s presence, David fled from Nayot in Rama, and he came and said before Yehonatan: What did I do? What is my iniquity and what is my sin before your father that he seeks my life?

He said to him: Far be it; you will not die. Behold, my father would not do something great or something small without disclosing it to my ear, as I am the crown prince, and his beloved and most honored son; why would my father conceal this matter from me? This is not so. He is not trying to kill you.

Moreover, David took an oath, and he said: Even if the king trusts you in all matters, in this case your father knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he, no doubt, said: Let Yehonatan not know this, lest he be saddened. However, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, for there is but a stride between me and death. Again and again I find myself at the verge of death.

Yehonatan said to David: Whatever you desire I will do for you.

David said to Yehonatan: Behold, the New Moon is tomorrow, and I typically would be sitting with the king to eat. But this time send me away, and I will hide in the field until the third evening.

Your father might not say anything, but if your father mentions me and inquires about my whereabouts, then say: David requested of me to run to Bethlehem his city, as there is an annual or seasonal feast offering there for the entire family.

If so he, Saul, says: Good, indicating that he accepts this, that means that there is peace for me, your servant. That is the reasonable reaction, for even if I did not turn to him directly, that is because of my friendship with you and my assumption that you would immediately pass on this information to the king. But if he will be incensed, know that harm has been resolved with him. If mention of my name causes an outpouring of negative emotion even during an enjoyable, festive meal, that means that Saul is irreversibly antagonistic toward me and I will find no peace as long as he lives.

Act with kindness for me, your servant, as you have brought your servant into the covenant of the Lord, a covenant of everlasting love and support, with you. If there is iniquity in me and you think that I am worthy of death, put me to death yourself; for why should you bring me to your father so that he should kill me?

Yehonatan said: Far be it from you; do not suspect me of wanting you to be killed, or that I would know that harm has been resolved with my father to come upon you, and I would not tell you of it. I would certainly inform you.

David said to Yehonatan: Who will tell me if that which your father answers you is harsh? We must have a method of communication.

Yehonatan said to David: Come, let us go out to the field so that we can speak freely without concern that someone will see us or hear us. The two of them went out to the field.

Yehonatan said to David: I swear by the Lord, God of Israel, for I will investigate my father at this time tomorrow, or by the third day, and behold, if it is good for David, will I not immediately send for you then and disclose it to your ear? I certainly shall.

Yehonatan continued his oath: So may the Lord do to Yehonatan, and so may He continue, for if it pleases my father to bring harm upon you, I will disclose it to your ear, and I will send you away, and you will go in peace, and may the Lord be with you, as He was with my father.

I will not need to enter into a covenant with you. If you become king when I am still alive, won’t you act with the kindness of the Lord with me, and I will not die? I am confident that you will do so.

But I request that may you not cut off your kindness from my house, my family, forever; not even when the Lord eventually cuts off the enemies of David, each from upon the face of the earth.

Yehonatan established a covenant with the house of David: May the Lord seek from the hand of the enemies of David. The Lord should punish them as they deserve. Some explain this latter phrase as a parenthetical remark by the author stating that, contrary to Yehonatan’s belief, God sought to punish the house of Saul.

Yehonatan continued to administer an oath to David, in his love for him, as he loved him as he loved himself. Yehonatan administered another oath to David due to his love for him. Alternatively, this may mean that he swore upon the truth of his love, as though he were swearing upon his life.

Yehonatan formulated a plan: Yehonatan said to him: Tomorrow is the New Moon, and you will be remembered, because your seat will be vacant.

Wait three days, lie very low, and come to the place where you hid previously, on the day of the incident, and remain near the Ezel stone. The day of the incident may refer to the day of the military victory over the Philistines (see 18:30–19:2). Alternatively, it may refer to a regular weekday as opposed to during the New Moon, when they would abstain from labor; or to the day when they would carry out their plans.

And I will go out into the field and shoot the three arrows to the side of the stone,as though sending them for me to a target. I will make it seem as though I am practicing archery.

Behold, I will send the lad that I will take with me, and tell him: Go, find the arrows. If I say to the lad: Here are the arrows, they are on this side of you; they are close by and you do not need to go far; you, David, may emerge from your hiding place and take it, the arrow, and come and bring it to me yourself, then peace is with you and there is no concern, as the Lord lives.