there repaired to him fome of Saul's kindred, and multitudes of valiant men and commanders out of the tribes of Benjamin and Judah, and fome from that of Gad, who ventured to pass the Jordan to come to him, even at the time when it overflowed its banks (M), befides Year of fome of the tribe of Manaffehe. With thefe he ufed to the flood make incurfions into the countries of the Gefburites, Gerizites, and Amalekites (N), unknown to the king f, whom Bef. Chr. he gave to understand, that he made them into the land 1056. of Judah; and this gained him such confidence, that he had taken him and his army with him against Saul; ← See 1 Chron. xii. 1. 15, & feq. p. 186. & 246. 1 Sam. xxviii. 2. (M) The book of Chronicles obferves of thefe Gadites, that they could handle the fhield and the buckler; that their faces were as ftern as those of lions; and that they were as fwift of foot as the wild roes (3). The fame author takes notice, that, when David faw fuch numbers of the Benjamites, especially of Saul's kindred, come to him, he was apprehenfive they came with a defign to furprise and carry him off (4). But they foon difpelled his feers, by affuring him, that they were intirely in his intereft, and refolved to fhare his fortune, and to be under his command. As to the time of David's abode at Ziklag, though we have followed our English verfion, and archbishop Uher, the original fays only, that he continued there days and four months, which fome think to imply f See before, vol. ii. fome days above, rather than (N) We beg leave to ob- 2 Sam. i.& vii. & Munft. in Sam. xxvii. fub 6. xvi. 3. E 3 (6) Vide (8) Sam. but, 1292. B. I. Ziklag but, whilft they were gone, the Amalekites took Ziklag, plundered and, burning it, carried away the women, children, catand burnt. tle, and all the plunder of the place. When therefore they were returned from the Philistine camp, from which they AFTER this fignal deliverance, David's affairs began to take a better turn; and the death of Saul, which happened immediately after, not only rid him of an inveterate enemy, but opened a fair and eafy way to the crown, at leaft, over his own tribe. The particulars of this fignal defeat, which coft Saul and his three fons their lives, need not be repeated here *. One or two circumstances, howwatched ever, preceded it, with relation to that unhappy monarch, condition which made his condition fo deplorable and defperate, that we could not, with juftice, omit them. He faw himself on the eve of being attacked by a powerful army, whilst a great number of his own, especially the chiefs, were gone over to David; and, perhaps, he had also intelligence of his being come, with the Philistines, against him: he had killed all the priefts, except Abiathar, who was alfo fled to David; fo that he could not confult the LORD by urim: Samuel was dead, and not a prophet left to advise him. In this ftreight, he would gladly have fought for counfel from witches or wizards; but he had long ago banifhed them all out of his dominions. At length, with Confults much inquiring, they found him out a woman at Endor, the witch who had a familiar fpirit, to whom he went disguised in of Endor. the night; and, having promifed her fecrecy, prevailed upon her to raife him up Samuel. She did fo accordingly ; * Ibid. p. 247. ner, See before, vol. ii. p. 186, &c. fear ner, as gave her to understand, that it was Saul himself that had fet her on work, fhe gave a fhriek, and complained, that she had been imposed upon. Saul bid her go on, affuring her, she should be safe, and asked what she had seen : to which the anfwered, An old man covered with a mantle, whom Saul underflood to be Samuel, and to whom he Samuel - bowed himfelf to the ground. Here the apparition, or, as appears to the text expreffes it, Samuel, afked him the reason why he him. had difturbed and called him up; and Saul owned to him, that the diftrefs he was in from the Philistine army, being deftitute of counfel from God, had obliged him to take that way to obtain his advice, what he fhould do under thofe difficulties. But Samuel anfwered, Why doft thou afk my advice, feeing thy disobedience to GOD's commands bath alienated him from thee, and that thy kingdom is given to David? And now, continued the vifion, the LORD is going to give up the Ifraelites into the hands of their enemies, and thou and thy fons fhall be with me to-morrow (P). fear she was in, that Saul had only fet her to work, that he might have occafion to punish her for it. The latter feems the most probable, by what the faid to him in her fright; and yet it is not impoffible, that fhe was alfo furprifed at the ftrangeness of the fight. The text doth not fay how the came to know the king by it; and the notion of the Jews, that the spirits, which fhe raised by inchantment, used to rife out of the earth with their heels uppermoft; and that Samuel came up upon his feet; by which the knew, that it was Saul that wanted to confult him (9); is altogether ludicrous. But, if it was the real apparition of that prophet that fhe faw, as we fhall at leaft make it probable in the next note that it was, the might eafily fuppofe, that he would not have appeared in that ex At traordinary manner to any but to the king of Ifrael. For, as to the notion, that it was all done by legerdemain and vene triloquy on the woman's part, and by ftrength of fancy and fear on Saul's, we cannot by any means come into it; and fhall give our reasons for diffenting from it in a proper place. (P) There is hardly a paffage in the Old Teftament,that has been more canvaffed and tortured, by authors of all ages, than this we are upon; and, when a man has read them all, he will be forced to own, that there are difficulties, in whatever fense he takes the hiftory of Samuel's apparition. We have therefore taken that which feems the moft naturai and "obvious, and shall now give our reasons for preferring it to the relt. First then, as to the notion (9) Vide Munft, in 1 Sam. xxviii. 12. At these last words, the frighted king, who had eat nothing all that day, fainted away, fell flat on the ground, and remained of its being performed by ventriloquy, juggle, or confederacy; befides that it doth too great a violence to the text, it is not likely, that fo cunning a woman would have been impolitic enough to give Saul fuch a dreadful anfwer, though we fhould grant, that fhe was fo well acquainted with the bad circumstances of that prince, that the might forefee, that it was likely to prove the cafe: fuch people are rather apt to flatter thofe that confult them; and the fear she was in, when fhe knew Saul, would, no doubt, have put her upon this, rather than upon the former. Add to this, that fuch a terrible denunciation would only have proved the most effectual means of putting Saul upon any expedient to avoid it, whether by flight, or by any other way, rather than by engaging the enemy. This laft argument is equal. ly ftrong against those who think, that the devil took the fhape, and acted the part of Samuel, unless we could fup. pofe him fo well acquainted with futurity, that he was fure Saul would rush into his own deftruction, notwithstanding he was fo fignally forewarned of it. Again, though we grant, that he might forefee, that the enemy would be too ftrong for Saul and his army, yet he could neither be fure, that he would engage them, especially after fuch a powerful diffuafive: nor, if he did, that he would certainly be killed, he and his three fons. The Ifraelites had won many a more unlikely victory, and, at the worft, they might have escaped by flight. We need not observe further, how unnatural and abfurd it is to fuppofe the devil, if it had been he that fpoke to Saul, would have played the faint fo far, as to reprove him for his wickedness and difobedience, but especially for making ufe of an art to raife him up, which he must have been too fond of to difcountenance in such a severe manner. It is indeed urged here, that there were two falfities in this pretended prophecy; which none therefore but either the father of lyes, or a juggling old woman, could be the author of. The firft is, that the vifion fays to Saul, Thou and thy fous fhall be with me- -Now, fay they, Saul died like a reprobate, by his own hands, and could not be where Samuel was, in the manfions of the bleffed. But who doth not fee, that it meant no more than thou shalt be dead, or in the other world, as I now am? The other is, that the vifion fays to-morrow; whereas the battle was not fought on the next day, but a day or two after. But, though this be granted, it doth not follow, that the word mahar doth pofitively imply here the very next day following. It dath often fignify shortly, and fome remained speechlefs for fome time. His men, at length, came and raised him up; and the old woman befought him, times hereafter, in process of time; as when Mofes fays, When thy children fhall ask thee, mahar, hereafter, What meaneth fuch a ceremony or feftival? and fo on.-We fhall for once difpenfe with mentioning the numerous authors of these two last opinions, to avoid filling up near a whole page with quotations. Upon the whole then, we think, with the far greater number of learned antients and moderns, that it was really Samuel that appeared to the woman, and foretold Saul's death, and Ifrael's defeat. This feems likewise to have been the opinion of the antient Jews, from what we read in the book of Ecclefiaflicus (1), where it it faid, that, after his death, he [Samuel] prophefied, and fhewed the king his end, &c. We fee but two objections that can be made against it; and though we have premised, at the beginning of this note, that every opinion hath its difficulties, yet, we hope, we fhall leffen these fo far, that they will appear inconfiderable, in comparison of those we have urged against the other two. The first objection is, that it were abfurd to suppose, that the devil has fo much power over the fouls of the dead, efpecially of the faints, as to make them appear visibly, at the defire of a conjurer. To which it may be answered, that there is no neceffity for fuppofing here any such extraordinary power in the devil, but rather that God did cause Samuel to appear to Saul, to reprove him for his former, and for this laft fin in particular, of seeking for helps from wizards, contrary to his exprefs commands; and to bring him thereby, if poffible, to fuch a fenfe of his faults, as might prevent his making fuch a defperate exit; and that all this happened contrary to the woman's expectation, who could not be ignorant, that it was above the power of her art to evocate the fouls of the bleffed, and wanted only to impofe one of her familiar spirits upon him, and to fupply the reft by policy. It is therefore no wonder, that he was fo terribly furprised, when, inftead of one of her imps, she beheld the real apparition of that venerable prophet. But here it will be objected again, that is very improbable, that Gon, who had refufed to anfwer Saul, either by urim, or by prophets, fhould now do it, at least feemingly, by the ministry of a wicked woman. But here it must be observed; 1. That the text doth not imply, that the LORD refused to answer him by urim, or by prophets; but that he had not the means of confulting by them for how could he confult by urim, when the high-priest was with David in the Philiftine army? |