the garrison (i.e., the army that was encamped at Michmash), and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked, sc., with the noise and tumult of the frightened foe; “and it grew into a trembling of God,” i.e., a supernatural terror miraculously infused by God into the Philistines. The subject to the last ותּהי is either חרדה, the alarm in the camp, or all that has been mentioned before, i.e., the alarm with the noise and tumult that sprang out of it.Flight and defeat of the Philistines. - 1Sa 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 thither.” Thus the lxx render it ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν, but they have not translated ויּלך at all.
Verse 17
Saul conjectured at once that the excitement in the camp of the Philistines was occasioned by an attack made by Israelitish warriors, and therefore commanded the people: פּקדוּ־נא, “Muster (number) now, and see who has gone away from us;” and “Jonathan and his armour-bearer were not there,” i.e., they were missing.
Verse 18
Saul therefore resolved to ask God, through the priest Ahiah, what he should do; whether he should go out with his army against the Philistines or no. But whilst he was talking with the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines became greater and greater, so that he saw from that what ought to be done under the circumstances, and stopped the priest's inquiring of God, and set out with his people without delay. We are struck, however, with the expression in 1Sa 14:18, “Bring hither the ark of God,” and the explanation which follows, “for the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel,” inasmuch as the ark was then deposited at Kirjath-jearim, and it is a very improbable thing that it should have been in the little camp of Saul. Moreover, in other cases where the high priest is spoken of as inquiring
