This chapter gives an account of the ark being brought to Kirjathjearim, where it continued twenty years, 1 Sam. 7:1, 1 Sam. 7:2 of the exhortation of Samuel to the people of Israel to reform from idolatry, and which had its desired effect, 1 Sam. 7:3, 1 Sam.

And the men of Kirjathjearim came and fetched up the ark of the Lord From Bethshemesh, which was near unto them, as Josephus [[6]] says; they made no difficulty of fetching it, but gladly received it; for if they knew of what happened to the men of Bethshemesh, they knew it was not owing to the…

And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long It could not be less than between forty and fifty years, for it remained here until the times of David, who removed it from hence after he was made king over all Israel, and when he had reigned over Judah seven years;…

And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel When they assembled at one of their three yearly feasts, or as he went from place to place, exhorting them to repentance and reformation; and perceiving they began to be awakened to a sense of their sins, and seemed desirous of returning to God, and…

Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, &c.] Both their male and female deities, of which see and served the Lord Only; Dr. Lightfoot [[8]] observes, that a spirit of repentance and conversion came generally upon all the people; a matter and a time as remarkable as almost any…

And Samuel said, gather all Israel to Mizpeh Not Mizpeh in Gilead, on the other side Jordan, but a city which lay on the borders of Judah and Benjamin, where the tribes met on the account of the Levite’s concubine, .

And they gathered together to Mizpeh Even all Israel, at least the heads of the people, and representatives of them: and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord; drew it from some fountain near at hand, and poured it out as in the presence of God, who was where his people were met together.

And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh Not knowing it was upon a religious account; but supposing they met to form schemes and measures to cast off their yoke, and deliver themselves out of their hands; and were preparing to take up arms, and…

And the children of Israel said to Samuel To whom they applied, not as the general of their forces, but as the prophet of the Lord; believing his prayers for them would be of more avail to them than an army of men ever so numerous, or so well accoutred: cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for…

And Samuel took a sucking lamb Which it might be, and yet more than eight days old, for under that it might not be sacrificed, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the Lord; the whole of it was burnt, skin and all, whereas the skin was the priest’s in other burnt offerings; and this is…

And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering &c.] Which he might do by a priest, as Ben Gersom suggests, he being only a Levite; though he being a prophet, and an extraordinary person, and this an extraordinary case, he might do it himself, as Gideon and others, as well as offer it in another…

And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh To which they were encouraged by hearing or perceiving that the army of the Philistines was discomfited by the thunder, and lightning, and earthquake: and pursued the Philistines; who, when they came out, were fleeing from the opening earth, and frightened…

And Samuel took a stone, and set it Not for worship, but as a monument of the victory obtained by the help of God: and this he placed between Mizpeh and Shen; which latter signifies a tooth, and designs the precipice of a rock which juts out, and hangs over in the form of one: and called the name…

So the Philistines were subdued Not that their country was conquered, or they made subject and become tributaries to Israel; but they were so humbled, as not to attempt to give the people of Israel any further trouble and distress, who were now delivered from their oppression and tyranny: and came…

And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel We nowhere read that the Israelites went out to war with them, and took these cities from them by besieging and assaulting them; but they made a demand of them after the above victory obtained, by which the…

And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. ] Not only before Saul was made king, but afterwards; for though he had not the exercise of the supreme government of the nation, yet he might act as a judge under Saul, and hear and try causes brought before him, and execute justice and judgment;…

And he went from year to year in circuit As judges do; or “from the year in the year” [[16]] from the time of the year in the year, as the Targum, from the middle of it, that is, every half year; and so Josephus says [[17]], that he went twice a year in circuit: and the places he went to, and where…

And his return was to Ramah When he had gone his circuit, he came back to this city, which was his native place, and where his father and mother had dwelt, see for there was his house; and his father’s house before him, and perhaps the same, and there he judged Israel; here was his fixed residence,…