1 Samuel 14:19 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Samuel 14:19
And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand.
perhaps properly · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
priest
הַכֹּהֵ֔ןha.ko.Hen
H3548
literally one officiating · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
noise
וְהֶהָמ֗וֹןve.he.ha.Mon
H1995
a noise · conjunction + definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
host
בְּמַחֲנֵ֣הbe.ma.cha.Neh
H4264
an encampment (of travellers or troops) · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
Philistines
פְלִשְׁתִּ֔יםfe.lish.Tim
H6430
a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth · noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
went
יָלַךְyâlak
H3212
to walk (literally or figuratively)
on
וַיֵּ֥לֶךְvai.Ye.lekh
H1980
to walk (in a great variety of applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
increased
וָרָ֑בva.Rav
H7227
abundant (in quantity · conjunction + adjective, masculine singular absolute
Saul
שָׁא֛וּלsha.'Ul
H7586
Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
said
וַיֹּ֧אמֶרvai.Yo.mer
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
priest
הַכֹּהֵ֖ןha.ko.Hen
H3548
literally one officiating · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Withdraw
אֱסֹ֥ף'e.Sof
H622
to gather for any purpose · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
hand
יָדֶֽךָya.De.kha
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Numbers 27:21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall th…
1 Samuel 14:24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evenin…
Joshua 9:14 And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.
1 Samuel 13:11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within t…
Psalms 106:13 They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:
Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 14:16-23
We have here the prosecution and improvement of the wonderful advantages which Jonathan and his armour-bearer gained against the Philistines.
I. The Philistines were, by the power of God, set against one another. They melted away like snow before the sun, and went on beating down one another (Sa1 14:16), for (Sa1 14:20) every man's sword was against his fellow. When they fled for fear, instead of turning back upon those that chased them, they reckoned those only their enemies that stood in their way, and treated them accordingly. The Philistines were very secure, because all the swords and spears were in their hands. Israel had none except what Saul and Jonathan had. But now God showed them…
Withdraw thine hand--The priest, invested with the ephod, prayed with raised and extended hands. Saul perceiving that the opportunity was inviting, and that God appeared to have sufficiently declared in favor of His people, requested the priest to cease, that they might immediately join in the contest. The season for consultation was past--the time for prompt action was come.
Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 14:19
While Saul talked unto the priest - Before he had made an end of consulting him, the increasing noise of the panic-struck Philistines called his attention; and finding there was no time to lose, he immediately collected his men and fell on them.
John Gill on 1 Samuel 14:19
And it came to pass, while Saul talked with the priest,.... With Ahiah about bringing the ark, and inquiring before it:
that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on, and increased; the shrieks and cries of those that were beat down and trampled upon, and were bruised and wounded; and indeed the cry of the whole host, being alarmed with the enemy being upon them, or among them; and it seems that not only their motions could be seen, but the noise of them heard at this distance:
and Saul said unto the priest, withdraw thine hand; from putting on the ephod, or opening the breastplate of Urim and Thummim, or placing the ark in a proper position, to inquire before it, or from…
The Church Fathers
For what else does it signify that Saul first sought to bring the ark near, then commanded the priest to withdraw his hand, except that we ought to arrange obscure matters by consulting, and fulfill with haste those things that become more clearly known? But for the preacher to hear the tumult gradually increasing is to recognize the devotion of converted sinners. It is said to increase gradually, because while the Spirit directs our mind toward good works, he gently leads it toward better things through daily progress. But what does it mean that Saul and all the people who are with him shout, except that they join themselves to the warriors? And they come even to the place of battle. The place of battle is the heart of the one hearing the word of God. It is called the place of battle because the word that is received wars against one's former way of life. For the heavenly things he hears now please him, but old habit rises up and suggests that he despise what he has heard. The fight becomes still fiercer, because what the preacher praises, the malignant spirits disparage by dissuading, and they raise themselves up as if in battle against the saints, while by warring they destroy what is proclaimed by the voice of the latter. What then is it to come to the place of battle, except to arrive through the approach of inquiry at the secrets of the hearer's heart, where one may swiftly find the enemies and powerfully strike them down? For those who do not know how to examine interior things cannot reach the place of battle. Or the place of battle is where the frequent fame of great religion exists. For when countless people hasten there—those who desire both to put off the old life and to put on the new—it is rightly called the place of battle, because daily the army of spiritual virtues fights there against the multitude of vices. There indeed, the greater the battles, the more glorious the victories. There, the more frequent the assaults of the enemies, the more praiseworthy the number of triumphs: where not only is the lofty virtue of the great exalted, but the common valor of all is displayed in a wondrous demonstration of fortitude.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
High priest — Aaron was the first who was solemnly set apart to this office (Ex. 29:7; 30:23; Lev. 8:12). He wore a peculiar dress, which on his death passed to his successor in office (Ex. 29:29, 30). Besides…
Moabite — The designation of a tribe descended from Moab, the son of Lot (Gen. 19:37). From Zoar, the cradle of this tribe, on the south-eastern border of the Dead Sea, they gradually spread over the region on…
Philistines — (Gen. 10:14, R.V.; but in A.V., “Philistim”), a tribe allied to the Phoenicians. They were a branch of the primitive race which spread over the whole district of the Lebanon and the valley of the…
Urim And Thummim — (light and perfection). When the Jewish exiles were met on their return from Babylon by a question which they had no data for answering, they agreed to postpone the settlement of the difficulty till…
Ark Of The Covenant · A symbol of the presence and glory of God — A symbol of the presence and glory of God
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Flight and defeat of the Philistines. - Sa1 14:16. The spies of Saul at Gibeah saw how the multitude (in the camp of the Philistines) melted away and was beaten more and more. The words והלם ויּלך are obscure. The Rabbins are unanimous in adopting the explanation magis magisque frangebatur, and have therefore probably taken הלם as an inf. absol. הלום, and interpreted הלם according to Jdg 5:26. This was also the case with the Chaldee; and Gesenius (Thes. p. 383) has adopted the same rendering, except that he has taken הלם in the sense of dissolutus, dissipatus est. Others take הלום as adverbial ("and thither"), and supply the correlate הלם (hither), so as to bring out the meaning "hither and…
Bring . . . Israelites: See NLT textual note; the Greek text is likely original. The Ark remained at Kiriath-jearim for twenty years (7:2), and it was never used for getting information about the future, as the ephod was (see study note on 2:18).
Rashi on 1 Samuel 14:18
Bring near the Ark of God. I.e., the Urim and Tumim.
For the Ark of God was there on that day. This verse is missing one word; [what it means is,] "because the Ark of God was there [שָׁם] on that day."
