1 Samuel 7:4-6

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 7:3-6

We may well wonder where Samuel was and what he was doing all this while, for we have not had him so much as named till now, since 1 Sam. 4:1; not as if he were unconcerned, but his labours among his people are not mentioned till there appears the fruit of them. When he perceived that they began to lament after the Lord he struck while the iron was hot, and two things he endeavoured to do for them, as a faithful servant of God and a faithful friend to the Israel of God:? I. He endeavoured to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 7:4

Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth ,.... Both their male and female deities, of which see Judges 2:13 . and served the Lord Only ; Dr. Lightfoot F9 Works, vol. 1. p. 54. observes, that a spirit of repentance and conversion came generally upon all the people; a matter and a time as remarkable as almost any we read of in Scripture, one only parallel to it; and that is in Acts, chapters two and three, at the great conversion there. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 7:5

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, Judges 20:1 . This order Samuel gave by messengers sent to the several tribes, or the heads of them, to meet him at this place: and I will pray for you unto the Lord ; no doubt he prayed for them privately, that the reformation begun might be carried on, and appear to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 7:6

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. Jerom F11 Trad. Heb. in lib. Reg. fol. 75. F. relates it as tradition of the Jews, that curses were cast into this water, as in the water of jealousy, and that idolaters were tried... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 7:4

Put away Baalim and Ashtaroth - These were not two particular deities, but two genera of idols; the one masculine, Baalim; the other feminine, Ashtaroth; both the words are in the plural number, and signify all their gods and goddesses. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 7:5

Gather all Israel to Mizpeh - This appears to have been an armed assembly, though probably collected principally for religious and political purposes; but Samuel knew that an unarmed multitude could not safely be convened in the vicinity of the Philistines. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 7:6

Drew water , and poured it out - It is not easy to know what is meant by this; it is true that pouring out water, in the way of libation, was a religious ordinance among the Hebrews, ( Isaiah 12:3 ;), and among most other nations, particularly the Greeks and Romans, who used, not only water, but wine, milk, honey, and blood, as we find by Homer, Virgil, Euripides, Sophocles, Porphyry, and Lucian. Our Lord seems to allude to this ceremony, John 7:37-38 ; (note), where see the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 7:1-12

Steps of return to God. The whole interest of this passage is moral. No stress is laid on the forms, or even the authorised appurtenances, of religion. The ark, of which we have heard so much, and which had been treated with a singular mixture of superstition and profanity, plays no part in the history. It is left for years in a quiet retreat. Israel had backslidden from the Lord. The steps of their return have a meaning and a moral lesson for all generations. I. THE FEELING OF A... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 7:3-12

Ebenezer. The facts are— 1 . Samuel calls on the people to prove their desire to return to God by putting away idols and preparing their hearts for a blessing. 2 . A response to the call is followed by a summons to Mizpah for prayer and humiliation. 3 . A rumoured approach of the Philistines excites fear, and an urgent request for Samuel's intercession with God. 4 . While Samuel is engaged in worship God discomfits the assailing Philistines by thunder. 5 . The victory... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 7:4

Then the children of Israel did put away [the] Baalim and [the] Ashtaroth . This must have been done by a public act, by which at some time previously arranged the images of their Baals and Astartes were torn from their shrines, thrown down, and broken in pieces. Of course this was an overt act of rebellion, for these deities were especially Phoenician idols, and subsequently it was the Phoenician Jezebel who tried so fanatically to introduce their worship into Israel in Ahab's time. To... read more

Group of Brands