1 Samuel 7

The men of Kiriath-jearim came and got the ark of the LORD. They brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill. They set apart his son Eleazar for the special job of guarding the ark of the LORD.

1And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.

NoteThe ark was a gold-covered wooden chest, the most sacred object of Israel's worship, understood as the place where the LORD was present among the people. The Philistines had captured it in battle and then sent it back after a plague broke out among them (chapters 4-6). "Sanctified" in the King James means set apart for a sacred duty; it does not mean Eleazar was made morally pure. "In the hill" may be a place name, Gibeah, which is simply the Hebrew word for hill.

2The ark stayed at Kiriath-jearim a long time. Twenty years went by. During that whole time, all the people of Israel mourned and longed for the LORD.

2And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.

NoteThe King James "lamented after the LORD" translates a rare Hebrew verb whose sense is disputed; it suggests something between grieving, yearning, and being drawn back toward him. Twenty years is counted from the ark's arrival at Kiriath-jearim, not from the end of the events told here.

3Samuel spoke to all the people of Israel. He said, "If you are really coming back to the LORD with all your heart, then get rid of the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth that you have. Set your hearts on the LORD and serve only him. Then he will rescue you from the power of the Philistines."

3And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.

Note"Strange gods" in 1611 English means foreign gods, gods belonging to other nations, not gods that are odd. Ashtoreth was a Canaanite goddess associated with fertility and war; the King James form "Ashtaroth" is the plural, meaning either her images or the local versions of her worshiped in different towns.

4So the people of Israel got rid of the images of Baal and Ashtoreth, and they served only the LORD.

4Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only.

Note"Baalim" is the plural of Baal, the Canaanite storm and fertility god. The plural refers to his images or to the many local Baals, each attached to a particular town or shrine. Baal also means simply "lord" or "owner" in ordinary Hebrew.

5Then Samuel said, "Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you."

5And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD.

NoteMizpah, whose name means "watchtower," was a hilltop town a few miles north of Jerusalem that served as a national gathering place. Israel had no capital at this time, so assemblies met at recognized sites like this one.

6They gathered at Mizpah. They drew water and poured it out in front of the LORD. That day they went without food, and there they admitted, "We have sinned against the LORD." And at Mizpah, Samuel served as judge over the people of Israel.

6And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.

NoteDrawing water and pouring it out before the LORD is not explained anywhere else in the Hebrew Bible; ancient and modern readers have guessed at a sign of self-emptying, of repentance, or of a poured offering. Going without food was a standard way of showing grief or remorse in public. "Judged" covers both settling legal disputes and leading the nation, the role held by the figures in the book of Judges.

7The Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, so the Philistine rulers marched out to attack Israel. When the people of Israel heard about it, they were afraid of the Philistines.

7And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.

NoteThe King James "lords of the Philistines" renders a special Hebrew title, seranim, used only of the rulers of the five Philistine cities. It is not the ordinary word for lord. The Philistines were a people settled on the coastal plain southwest of Israel, with their own language and gods, and were Israel's main military rivals in this period.

8They said to Samuel, "Don't stop calling out to the LORD our God for us. Ask him to save us from the power of the Philistines."

8And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.

9So Samuel took a young lamb that was still nursing and offered it whole to the LORD as a burnt offering. Samuel called out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him.

9And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the LORD: and Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him.

NoteA burnt offering was consumed entirely by fire on the altar, with no part eaten by the worshipers or the priests, which is why the King James adds "wholly." A lamb still nursing was very young, under a year old.

10While Samuel was offering the burnt offering, the Philistines came close to fight Israel. But that day the LORD thundered loudly against the Philistines. He threw them into confusion, and they were beaten back in front of Israel.

10And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.

NoteThe Hebrew says the LORD thundered "with a great voice," thunder being spoken of as his voice. "Discomfited" in 1611 English means thrown into panic and routed, far stronger than the modern word; it is the standard term for the confusion sent on an enemy army in Israel's battle accounts.

11The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and chased the Philistines. They struck them down all the way to a place below Beth-car.

11And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Bethcar.

12Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, and said, "The LORD has helped us all the way to this point."

12Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.

NoteEbenezer means "stone of help," which is why Samuel's saying is attached to it. "Hitherto" means up to this point. Shen means "tooth" and probably refers to a tooth-shaped rock; some ancient copies read a different name here.

13So the Philistines were beaten down, and they stopped invading Israel's land. The LORD's power was against the Philistines as long as Samuel lived.

13So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

Note"Coast" in the King James means border or territory, not seashore. The claim that the Philistines came no more is limited by the clause that follows it, "all the days of Samuel"; later chapters describe further Philistine wars.

14The towns the Philistines had captured from Israel, from Ekron to Gath, were given back to Israel. Israel also took back the land around those towns from Philistine control. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

14And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

NoteEkron and Gath were two of the five main Philistine cities, marking the northern and southern ends of the recovered strip. "Amorites" is used broadly in the Hebrew Bible for the peoples living in Canaan before Israel, rather than for one single nation.

15Samuel served as judge over Israel for the rest of his life.

15And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.

16Every year he traveled a regular route to Bethel, then Gilgal, then Mizpah, settling disputes for Israel in all those places.

16And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places.

NoteBethel, Gilgal and Mizpah were long-established places of assembly and worship in the central hill country; Samuel's yearly loop took him to each in turn to hear cases. The King James "circuit" means a fixed route traveled again and again.

17Then he would go back to Ramah, because that is where his home was. There too he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the LORD.

17And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the LORD.

NoteRamah was Samuel's home town, where his parents had lived (chapter 1). Building an altar there means setting up a place of sacrifice outside the main sanctuary, which was normal in this period, before worship was centralised.