John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 2. And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel , etc.] Prepared for battle, and put themselves in a posture for it; formed themselves in a line of battle, and so invited and challenged the Israelites to fight them: and when they joined battle ; engaged with each other, the Israelites doing the same, putting themselves in a proper form and posture for fighting; or “the battle was spread”, or “spread itself” f79 ; that is, as the Targum, they that made war were spread; the soldiers were placed in order for battle, to the right and left, which took up on both sides a large space; though Abarbinel understands this in a very different sense, and takes the word to have the same signification as in ( Psalm 78:60), where it has the sense of forsaking; and so here the Israelites forsook the battle, and fled, which brought on their destruction, flight being, as the Jews say f80 , the beginning of fall or ruin, as it follows: Israel was smitten before the Philistines ; they had the worst of it and were beaten: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men ; so many fell upon the spot, in the field.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-9 - Israel is smitten before the Philistines. Sin, the accursed thing, wa in the camp, and gave their enemies all the advantage they could wis for. They own the hand of God in their trouble; but, instead of submitting, they speak angrily, as not aware of any just provocatio they had given him. The foolishness of man perverts his way, and the his heart frets against the Lord, Pr 19:3, and finds fault with him They supposed that they could oblige God to appear for them, by bringing the ark into their camp. Those who have gone back in the lif of religion, sometimes discover great fondness for the outwar observances of it, as if those would save them; and as if the ark God's throne, in the camp, would bring them to heaven, though the worl and the flesh are on the throne in the heart.
Original Hebrew ויערכו6186 פלשׁתים6430 לקראת7122 ישׂראל3478 ותטשׁ5203 המלחמה4421 וינגף5062 ישׂראל3478 לפני6440 פלשׁתים6430 ויכו5221 במערכה4634 בשׂדה7704 כארבעת702 אלפים505 אישׁ׃376
