6 And Samuel H8050 said H559 unto the people, H5971 It is the LORD H3068 that advanced H6213 Moses H4872 and Aaron, H175 and that brought H5927 your fathers H1 up H5927 out of the land H776 of Egypt. H4714
For I brought thee up H5927 out of the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 and redeemed H6299 thee out of the house H1004 of servants; H5650 and I sent H7971 before H6440 thee Moses, H4872 Aaron, H175 and Miriam. H4813
These H1931 are that Aaron H175 and Moses, H4872 to whom H834 the LORD H3068 said, H559 Bring out H3318 the children H1121 of Israel H3478 from the land H776 of Egypt H4714 according to their armies. H6635
And didst see H7200 the affliction H6040 of our fathers H1 in Egypt, H4714 and heardest H8085 their cry H2201 by the Red H5488 sea; H3220 And shewedst H5414 signs H226 and wonders H4159 upon Pharaoh, H6547 and on all his servants, H5650 and on all the people H5971 of his land: H776 for thou knewest H3045 that they dealt proudly H2102 against them. So didst thou get H6213 thee a name, H8034 as it is this day. H3117 And thou didst divide H1234 the sea H3220 before H6440 them, so that they went through H5674 the midst H8432 of the sea H3220 on the dry land; H3004 and their persecutors H7291 thou threwest H7993 into the deeps, H4688 as a stone H68 into the mighty H5794 waters. H4325 Moreover thou leddest H5148 them in the day H3119 by a cloudy H6051 pillar; H5982 and in the night H3915 by a pillar H5982 of fire, H784 to give them light H215 in the way H1870 wherein they should go. H3212 Thou camest down H3381 also upon mount H2022 Sinai, H5514 and spakest H1696 with them from heaven, H8064 and gavest H5414 them right H3477 judgments, H4941 and true H571 laws, H8451 good H2896 statutes H2706 and commandments: H4687 And madest known H3045 unto them thy holy H6944 sabbath, H7676 and commandedst H6680 them precepts, H4687 statutes, H2706 and laws, H8451 by the hand H3027 of Moses H4872 thy servant: H5650
Thy way H1870 is in the sea, H3220 and thy path H7635 in the great H7227 waters, H4325 and thy footsteps H6119 are not known. H3045 Thou leddest H5148 thy people H5971 like a flock H6629 by the hand H3027 of Moses H4872 and Aaron. H175
Marvellous things H6382 did H6213 he in the sight H5048 of their fathers, H1 in the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 in the field H7704 of Zoan. H6814 He divided H1234 the sea, H3220 and caused them to pass through; H5674 and he made the waters H4325 to stand H5324 as an heap. H5067 In the daytime H3119 also he led H5148 them with a cloud, H6051 and all the night H3915 with a light H216 of fire. H784 He clave H1234 the rocks H6697 in the wilderness, H4057 and gave them drink H8248 as out of the great H7227 depths. H8415 He brought H3318 streams H5140 also out of the rock, H5553 and caused waters H4325 to run down H3381 like rivers. H5104 And they sinned H2398 yet more H3254 against him by provoking H4784 the most High H5945 in the wilderness. H6723 And they tempted H5254 God H410 in their heart H3824 by asking H7592 meat H400 for their lust. H5315 Yea, they spake H1696 against God; H430 they said, H559 Can H3201 God H410 furnish H6186 a table H7979 in the wilderness? H4057 Behold, he smote H5221 the rock, H6697 that the waters H4325 gushed out, H2100 and the streams H5158 overflowed; H7857 can H3201 he give H5414 bread H3899 also? can H3201 he provide H3559 flesh H7607 for his people? H5971 Therefore the LORD H3068 heard H8085 this, and was wroth: H5674 so a fire H784 was kindled H5400 against Jacob, H3290 and anger H639 also came up H5927 against Israel; H3478 Because they believed H539 not in God, H430 and trusted H982 not in his salvation: H3444 Though he had commanded H6680 the clouds H7834 from above, H4605 and opened H6605 the doors H1817 of heaven, H8064 And had rained down H4305 manna H4478 upon them to eat, H398 and had given H5414 them of the corn H1715 of heaven. H8064 Man H376 did eat H398 angels' H47 food: H3899 he sent H7971 them meat H6720 to the full. H7648 He caused an east wind H6921 to blow H5265 in the heaven: H8064 and by his power H5797 he brought in H5090 the south wind. H8486 He rained H4305 flesh H7607 also upon them as dust, H6083 and feathered H3671 fowls H5775 like as the sand H2344 of the sea: H3220 And he let it fall H5307 in the midst H7130 of their camp, H4264 round about H5439 their habitations. H4908 So they did eat, H398 and were well H3966 filled: H7646 for he gave H935 them their own desire; H8378 They were not estranged H2114 from their lust. H8378 But while their meat H400 was yet in their mouths, H6310 The wrath H639 of God H430 came H5927 upon them, and slew H2026 the fattest H4924 of them, and smote down H3766 the chosen H970 men of Israel. H3478 For all this they sinned H2398 still, and believed H539 not for his wondrous works. H6381 Therefore their days H3117 did he consume H3615 in vanity, H1892 and their years H8141 in trouble. H928 When he slew H2026 them, then they sought H1875 him: and they returned H7725 and enquired early H7836 after God. H410 And they remembered H2142 that God H430 was their rock, H6697 and the high H5945 God H410 their redeemer. H1350 Nevertheless they did flatter H6601 him with their mouth, H6310 and they lied H3576 unto him with their tongues. H3956 For their heart H3820 was not right H3559 with him, neither were they stedfast H539 in his covenant. H1285 But he, being full of compassion, H7349 forgave H3722 their iniquity, H5771 and destroyed H7843 them not: yea, many a time H7235 turned H7725 he his anger H639 away, H7725 and did not stir up H5782 all his wrath. H2534 For he remembered H2142 that they were but flesh; H1320 a wind H7307 that passeth away, H1980 and cometh not again. H7725 How H4100 oft did they provoke H4784 him in the wilderness, H4057 and grieve H6087 him in the desert! H3452 Yea, they turned back H7725 and tempted H5254 God, H410 and limited H8428 the Holy One H6918 of Israel. H3478 They remembered H2142 not his hand, H3027 nor the day H3117 when he delivered H6299 them from the enemy. H6862 How he had wrought H7760 his signs H226 in Egypt, H4714 and his wonders H4159 in the field H7704 of Zoan: H6814 And had turned H2015 their rivers H2975 into blood; H1818 and their floods, H5140 that they could not drink. H8354 He sent H7971 divers sorts of flies H6157 among them, which devoured H398 them; and frogs, H6854 which destroyed H7843 them. He gave H5414 also their increase H2981 unto the caterpiller, H2625 and their labour H3018 unto the locust. H697 He destroyed H2026 their vines H1612 with hail, H1259 and their sycomore trees H8256 with frost. H2602 He gave up H5462 their cattle H1165 also to the hail, H1259 and their flocks H4735 to hot thunderbolts. H7565 He cast H7971 upon them the fierceness H2740 of his anger, H639 wrath, H5678 and indignation, H2195 and trouble, H6869 by sending H4917 evil H7451 angels H4397 among them. He made H6424 a way H5410 to his anger; H639 he spared H2820 not their soul H5315 from death, H4194 but gave H5462 their life H2416 over H5462 to the pestilence; H1698 And smote H5221 all the firstborn H1060 in Egypt; H4714 the chief H7225 of their strength H202 in the tabernacles H168 of Ham: H2526 But made his own people H5971 to go forth H5265 like sheep, H6629 and guided H5090 them in the wilderness H4057 like a flock. H5739 And he led H5148 them on safely, H983 so that they feared H6342 not: but the sea H3220 overwhelmed H3680 their enemies. H341 And he brought H935 them to the border H1366 of his sanctuary, H6944 even to this mountain, H2022 which his right hand H3225 had purchased. H7069 He cast out H1644 the heathen H1471 also before H6440 them, and divided H5307 them an inheritance H5159 by line, H2256 and made the tribes H7626 of Israel H3478 to dwell H7931 in their tents. H168 Yet they tempted H5254 and provoked H4784 the most high H5945 God, H430 and kept H8104 not his testimonies: H5713 But turned back, H5472 and dealt unfaithfully H898 like their fathers: H1 they were turned aside H2015 like a deceitful H7423 bow. H7198 For they provoked him to anger H3707 with their high places, H1116 and moved him to jealousy H7065 with their graven images. H6456 When God H430 heard H8085 this, he was wroth, H5674 and greatly H3966 abhorred H3988 Israel: H3478 So that he forsook H5203 the tabernacle H4908 of Shiloh, H7887 the tent H168 which he placed H7931 among men; H120 And delivered H5414 his strength H5797 into captivity, H7628 and his glory H8597 into the enemy's H6862 hand. H3027 He gave H5462 his people H5971 over H5462 also unto the sword; H2719 and was wroth H5674 with his inheritance. H5159 The fire H784 consumed H398 their young men; H970 and their maidens H1330 were not given to marriage. H1984 Their priests H3548 fell H5307 by the sword; H2719 and their widows H490 made no lamentation. H1058 Then the Lord H136 awaked H3364 as one out of sleep, H3463 and like a mighty man H1368 that shouteth H7442 by reason of wine. H3196 And he smote H5221 his enemies H6862 in the hinder parts: H268 he put H5414 them to a perpetual H5769 reproach. H2781 Moreover he refused H3988 the tabernacle H168 of Joseph, H3130 and chose H977 not the tribe H7626 of Ephraim: H669 But chose H977 the tribe H7626 of Judah, H3063 the mount H2022 Zion H6726 which he loved. H157 And he built H1129 his sanctuary H4720 like high H7311 palaces, like the earth H776 which he hath established H3245 for ever. H5769 He chose H977 David H1732 also his servant, H5650 and took H3947 him from the sheepfolds: H4356 H6629 From following H310 the ewes great with young H5763 he brought H935 him to feed H7462 Jacob H3290 his people, H5971 and Israel H3478 his inheritance. H5159 So he fed H7462 them according to the integrity H8537 of his heart; H3824 and guided H5148 them by the skilfulness H8394 of his hands. H3709
He sent H7971 Moses H4872 his servant; H5650 and Aaron H175 whom he had chosen. H977
He opened H6605 the rock, H6697 and the waters H4325 gushed out; H2100 they ran H1980 in the dry places H6723 like a river. H5104
I will mention H2142 the lovingkindnesses H2617 of the LORD, H3068 and the praises H8416 of the LORD, H3068 according to all that the LORD H3068 hath bestowed H1580 on us, and the great H7227 goodness H2898 toward the house H1004 of Israel, H3478 which he hath bestowed H1580 on them according to his mercies, H7356 and according to the multitude H7230 of his lovingkindnesses. H2617 For he said, H559 Surely they are my people, H5971 children H1121 that will not lie: H8266 so he was their Saviour. H3467 In all their affliction H6869 he was afflicted, H6862 and the angel H4397 of his presence H6440 saved H3467 them: in his love H160 and in his pity H2551 he redeemed H1350 them; and he bare H5190 them, and carried H5375 them all the days H3117 of old. H5769 But they rebelled, H4784 and vexed H6087 his holy H6944 Spirit: H7307 therefore he was turned H2015 to be their enemy, H341 and he fought H3898 against them. Then he remembered H2142 the days H3117 of old, H5769 Moses, H4872 and his people, H5971 saying, Where is he that brought them up H5927 out of the sea H3220 with the shepherd H7462 of his flock? H6629 where is he that put H7760 his holy H6944 Spirit H7307 within H7130 him? That led H3212 them by the right hand H3225 of Moses H4872 with his glorious H8597 arm, H2220 dividing H1234 the water H4325 before H6440 them, to make H6213 himself an everlasting H5769 name? H8034 That led H3212 them through the deep, H8415 as an horse H5483 in the wilderness, H4057 that they should not stumble? H3782 As a beast H929 goeth down H3381 into the valley, H1237 the Spirit H7307 of the LORD H3068 caused him to rest: H5117 so didst thou lead H5090 thy people, H5971 to make H6213 thyself a glorious H8597 name. H8034
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 1 Samuel 12
Commentary on 1 Samuel 12 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Samuel's Address at the Renewal of the Monarchy - 1 Samuel 12
Samuel closed this solemn confirmation of Saul as king with an address to all Israel, in which he handed over the office of judge, which he had hitherto filled, to the king, who had been appointed by God and joyfully recognised by the people. The good, however, which Israel expected from the king depended entirely upon both the people and their king maintaining that proper attitude towards the Lord with which the prosperity of Israel was ever connected. This truth the prophet felt impelled to impress most earnestly upon the hearts of all the people on this occasion. To this end he reminded them, that neither he himself, in the administration of his office, nor the Lord in His guidance of Israel thus far, had given the people any reason for asking a king when the Ammonites invaded the land (1 Samuel 12:1-12). Nevertheless the Lord had given them a king, and would not withdraw His hand from them, if they would only fear Him and confess their sin (1 Samuel 12:13-15). This address was then confirmed by the Lord at Samuel's desire, through a miraculous sign (1 Samuel 12:16-18); whereupon Samuel gave to the people, who were terrified by the miracle and acknowledged their sin, the comforting promise that the Lord would not forsake His people for His great name's sake, and then closed his address with the assurance of his continued intercession, and a renewed appeal to them to serve the Lord with faithfulness (1 Samuel 12:19-25). With this address Samuel laid down his office as judge, but without therefore ceasing as prophet to represent the people before God, and to maintain the rights of God in relation to the king. In this capacity he continued to support the king with his advice, until he was compelled to announce his rejection on account of his repeated rebellion against the commands of the Lord, and to anoint David as his successor.
The time and place of the following address are not given. But it is evident from the connection with the preceding chapter implied in the expression ויּאמר , and still more from the introduction (1 Samuel 12:1, 1 Samuel 12:2) and the entire contents of the address, that it was delivered on the renewal of the monarchy at Gilgal.
1 Samuel 12:1-2
Samuel starts with the fact, that he had given the people a king in accordance with their own desire, who would now walk before them. הנּה with the participle expresses what is happening, and will happen still. לפני התהלּך must not be restricted to going at the head in war, but signifies the general direction and government of the nation, which had been in the hands of Samuel as judge before the election of Saul as king. “ And I have grown old and grey ( שׂבתּי from שׂיב ); and my sons, behold, they are with you .” With this allusion to his sons, Samuel simply intended to confirm what he had said about his own age. By the further remark, “ and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day ,” he prepares the way for the following appeal to the people to bear witness concerning his conduct in office.
1 Samuel 12:3
“ Bear witness against me before the Lord ,” i.e., looking up to the Lord, the omnipotent and righteous God-king, “ and before His anointed ,” the visible administrator of His divine government, whether I have committed any injustice in my office of judge, by appropriating another's property, or by oppression and violence ( רצץ , to pound or crush in pieces, when used to denote an act of violence, is stronger than אשׁק , with which it is connected here and in many other passages, e.g., Deuteronomy 28:33; Amos 4:1), or by taking atonement money ( כּפר , redemption or atonement money, is used, as in Exodus 21:30 and Numbers 35:31, to denote a payment made by a man to redeem himself from capital punishment), “ so that I had covered my eyes with it ,” viz., to exempt from punishment a man who was worthy of death. The בּו , which is construed with העלים , is the בּ instrumenti , and refers to כּפר ; consequently it is not to be confounded with מן , “to hide from,” which would be quite unsuitable here. The thought is not that the judge covers his eyes from the copher , that he may not see the bribe, but that he covers his eyes with the money offered him as a bribe, so as not to see and not to punish the crime committed.
1 Samuel 12:4
The people answered Samuel, that he had not done them any kind of injustice.
1 Samuel 12:5
To confirm this declaration on the part of the people, he then called Jehovah and His anointed as witnesses against the people, and they accepted these witnesses. כּל־ישׂראל is the subject to ויּאמר ; and the Keri ויּאמרוּ , though more simple, is by no means necessary. Samuel said, “ Jehovah be witness against you ,” because with the declaration which the people had made concerning Samuel's judicial labours they had condemned themselves, inasmuch as they had thereby acknowledged on oath that there was no ground for their dissatisfaction with Samuel's administration, and consequently no well-founded reason for their request for a king.
1 Samuel 12:6
But in order to bring the people to a still more thorough acknowledgment of their sin, Samuel strengthened still more their assent to his solemn appeal to God, as expressed in the words “ He is witness ,” by saying, “ Jehovah (i.e., yea, the witness is Jehovah), who made Moses and Aaron, and brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt .” The context itself is sufficient to show that the expression “is witness” is understood; and there is no reason, therefore, to assume that the word has dropped out of the text through a copyist's error. עשׂה , to make, in a moral and historical sense, i.e., to make a person what he is to be; it has no connection, therefore, with his physical birth, but simply relates to his introduction upon the stage of history, like ποιεῖν , Hebrews 3:2. But if Jehovah, who redeemed Israel out of Egypt by the hands of Moses and Aaron, and exalted it into His own nation, was witness of the unselfishness and impartiality of Samuel's conduct in his office of judge, then Israel had grievously sinned by demanding a king. In the person of Samuel they had rejected Jehovah their God, who had given them their rulers (see 1 Samuel 8:7). Samuel proves this still further to the people from the following history.
“ And now come hither, and I will reason with you before the Lord with regard to all the righteous acts which He has shown to you and your fathers .” צדקות , righteous acts, is the expression used to denote the benefits which Jehovah had conferred upon His people, as being the results of His covenant fidelity, or as acts which attested the righteousness of the Lord in the fulfilment of the covenant grace which He had promised to His people.
1 Samuel 12:8-12
The first proof of this was furnished by the deliverance of the children of Israel out of Egypt, and their safe guidance into Canaan (“ this place ” is the land of Canaan). The second was to be found in the deliverance of the people out of the power of their foes, to whom the Lord had been obliged to give them up on account of their apostasy from Him, through the judges whom He had raised up for them, as often as they turned to Him with penitence and cried to Him for help. Of the hostile oppressions which overtook the Israelites during this period of the judges, the following are singled out in 1 Samuel 12:9 : (1) that by Sisera, the commander-in-chief of Hazor, i.e., that of the Canaanitish king Jabin of Hazor (Judges 4:2.); (2) that of the Philistines, by which we are to understand not so much the hostilities of that nation described in Judges 3:31, as the forty years' oppression mentioned in Judges 10:2 and Judges 13:1; and (3) the Moabitish oppression under Eglon ( Judges 3:12.). The first half of Judges 13:10 agrees almost word for word with Judges 10:10, except that, according to Judges 10:6, the Ashtaroth are added to the Baalim (see at 1 Samuel 7:4 and Judges 2:13). Of the judges whom God sent to the people as deliverers, the following are named, viz., Jerubbaal (see at Judges 6:32), i.e., Gideon (Judg 6), and Bedan, and Jephthah (see Judg 11), and Samuel. There is no judge named Bedan mentioned either in the book of Judges or anywhere else. The name Bedan only occurs again in 1 Chronicles 7:17, among the descendants of Machir the Manassite: consequently some of the commentators suppose Jair of Gilead to be the judge intended. But such a supposition is perfectly arbitrary, as it is not rendered probable by any identity in the two names, and Jair is not described as having delivered Israel from any hostile oppression. Moreover, it is extremely improbable that Samuel should have mentioned a judge here, who had been passed over in the book of Judges on account of his comparative insignificance. There is also just as little ground for rendering Bedan as an appellative, e.g., the Danite ( ben-Dan ), as Kimchi suggests, or corpulentus as Böttcher maintains, and so connecting the name with Samson. There is no other course left, therefore, than to regard Bedan as an old copyist's error for Barak (Judg 4), as the lxx, Syriac, and Arabic have done, - a conclusion which is favoured by the circumstance that Barak was one of the most celebrated of the judges, and is placed by the side of Gideon and Jephthah in Hebrews 11:32. The Syriac, Arabic, and one Greek MS (see Kennicott in the Addenda to his Dissert. Gener .), have the name of Samson instead of Samuel . But as the lxx, Chald., and Vulg. all agree with the Hebrew text, there is no critical ground for rejecting Samuel, the more especially as the objection raised to it, viz., that Samuel would not have mentioned himself, is far too trivial to overthrow the reading supported by the most ancient versions; and the assertion made by Thenius, that Samuel does not come down to his own times until the following verse, is altogether unfounded. Samuel could very well class himself with the deliverers of Israel, for the simple reason that it was by him that the people were delivered from the forty years' tyranny of the Philistines, whilst Samson merely commenced their deliverance and did not bring it to completion. Samuel appears to have deliberately mentioned his own name along with those of the other judges who were sent by God, that he might show the people in the most striking manner (1 Samuel 12:12) that they had no reason whatever for saying to him, “ Nay, but a king shall reign over us ,” as soon as the Ammonites invaded Gilead. “ As Jehovah your God is your king ,” i.e., has ever proved himself to be your King by sending judges to deliver you.
After the prophet had thus held up before the people their sin against the Lord, he bade them still further consider, that the king would only procure for them the anticipated deliverance if they would fear the Lord, and give up their rebellion against God.
1 Samuel 12:13
“ But now behold the king whom ye have chosen, whom ye have asked for! behold, Jehovah hath set a king over you .” By the second והנּה , the thought is brought out still more strongly, that Jehovah had fulfilled the desire of the people. Although the request of the people had been an act of hostility to God, yet Jehovah had fulfilled it. The word בּהרתּם , relating to the choice by lot (1 Samuel 10:17.), is placed before שׁאלתּם אשׁר , to show that the demand was the strongest act that the people could perform. They had not only chosen the king with the consent or by the direction of Samuel; they had even demanded a king of their own self-will.
1 Samuel 12:14
Still, since the Lord had given them a king, the further welfare of the nation would depend upon whether they would follow the Lord from that time forward, or whether they would rebel against Him again. “ If ye will only fear the Lord, and serve Him, ... and ye as well as the king who rules over you will be after Jehovah your God .” אם , in the sense of modo , if only, does not require any apodosis, as it is virtually equivalent to the wish, “ O that ye would only! ” for which אם with the imperfect is commonly used (vid., 2 Kings 20:19; Proverbs 24:11, etc.; and Ewald , §329, b .). There is also nothing to be supplied to יהוה אחר ... והיתם , since אחר היה , to be after or behind a person, is good Hebrew, and is frequently met with, particularly in the sense of attaching one's self to the king, or holding to him (vid., 2 Samuel 2:10; 1 Kings 12:20; 1 Kings 16:21-22). This meaning is also at the foundation of the present passage, as Jehovah was the God-king of Israel.
1 Samuel 12:15
“ But if ye do not hearken to the voice of Jehovah, and strive against His commandment, the hand of Jehovah will be heavy upon you, as upon your fathers .” ו in the sense of as, i.e., used in a comparative sense, is most frequently placed before whole sentences (see Ewald , §340, b .); and the use of it here may be explained, on the ground that בּאבתיכם contains the force of an entire sentence: “ as it was upon your fathers .” The allusion to the fathers is very suitable here, because the people were looking to the king for the removal of all the calamities, which had fallen upon them from time immemorial. The paraphrase of this word, which is adopted in the Septuagint, ἐπὶ τὸν βασιλέα ὑμῶν , is a very unhappy conjecture, although Thenius proposes to alter the text to suit it.
1 Samuel 12:16-17
In order to give still greater emphasis to his words, and to secure their lasting, salutary effect upon the people, Samuel added still further: Even now ye may see that ye have acted very wickedly in the sight of Jehovah, in demanding a king. This chain of thought is very clearly indicated by the words גּם־עתּה , “ yea, even now .” “ Even now come hither, and see this great thing which Jehovah does before your eyes .” The words גּם־עתּה , which are placed first, belong, so far as the sense is concerned, to את־הד ראוּ ; and התיצּבוּ (“ place yourselves ,” i.e., make yourselves ready) is merely inserted between, to fix the attention of the people more closely upon the following miracle, as an event of great importance, and one which they ought to lay to heart. “ Is it not now wheat harvest? I will call to Jehovah, that He may give thunder ( קלוה , as in Exodus 9:23, etc.) and rain. Then perceive and see, that the evil is great which ye have done in the eyes of Jehovah, to demand a king .” The wheat harvest occurs in Palestine between the middle of May and the middle of June (see by Bibl. Arch. i. §118). And during this time it scarcely ever rains. Thus Jerome affirms ( ad Am . c. 4): “ Nunquam in fine mensis Junii aut in Julio in his provinciis maximeque in Judaea pluvias vidimus .” And Robinson also says in his Palestine (ii. p. 98): “In ordinary seasons, from the cessation of the showers in spring until their commencement in October and November, rain never falls, and the sky is usually serene” (see my Arch. i. §10). So that when God sent thunder and rain on that day in answer to Samuel's appeal to him, this was a miracle of divine omnipotence, intended to show to the people that the judgments of God might fall upon the sinners at any time. Thunderings, as “the voice of God” (Exodus 9:28), are harbingers of judgment.
This miracle therefore inspired the people with a salutary terror. “ All the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel ,” and entreated the prophet, “ Pray for thy servants to the Lord thy God, that we die not, because we have added to all our sins the evil thing, to ask us a king .”
Samuel thereupon announced to them first of all, that the Lord would not forsake His people for His great name's sake, if they would only serve Him with uprightness. In order, however, to give no encouragement to any false trust in the covenant faithfulness of the Lord, after the comforting words, “ Fear not ,” he told them again very decidedly that they had done wrong, but that now they were not to turn away from the Lord, but to serve Him with all their heart, and not go after vain idols. To strengthen this admonition, he repeats the תּסוּרוּ לא in 1 Samuel 12:21, with the explanation, that in turning from the Lord they would fall away to idols, which could not bring them either help or deliverance. To the כּי after תּסוּרוּ the same verb must be supplied from the context: “ Do not turn aside (from the Lord), for (ye turn aside) after that which is vain .” התּהוּ , the vain, worthless thing, signifies the false gods . This will explain the construction with a plural: “ which do not profit and do not save, because they are emptiness ” ( tohu ), i.e., worthless beings ( elilim , Leviticus 19:4; cf. Isaiah 44:9 and Jeremiah 16:19).
“ For ( כּי gives the reason for the main thought of the previous verse, 'Fear not, but serve the Lord,' etc.) the Lord will not forsake His people for His great name's sake; for it hath pleased the Lord (for הואיל , see at Deuteronomy 1:5) to make you His people .” The emphasis lies upon His . This the Israelites could only be, when they proved themselves to be the people of God, by serving Jehovah with all their heart. “ For His great name's sake ,” i.e., for the great name which He had acquired in the sight of all the nations, by the marvellous guidance of Israel thus far, to preserve it against misapprehension and blasphemy (see at Joshua 7:9).
Samuel then promised the people his constant intercession: “ Far be it from me to sin against the Lord, that I should cease to pray for you, and to instruct you in the good and right way ,” i.e., to work as prophet for your good. “In this he sets a glorious example to all rulers, showing them that they should not be led astray by the ingratitude of their subordinates or subjects, and give up on that account all interest in their welfare, but should rather persevere all the more in their anxiety for them” ( Berleb. Bible ).
Lastly, he repeats once more his admonition, that they would continue stedfast in the fear of God, threatening at the same time the destruction of both king and people if they should do wrong (on 1 Samuel 12:24 , see 1 Samuel 7:3 and Joshua 24:14, where the form יראוּ is also found). “ For see what great things He has done for you ” (shown to you), not by causing it to thunder and rain at Samuel's prayer, but by giving them a king. עם הגדּיל , as in Genesis 19:19.