Shmuel I 15 שמואל א ט״ו

ועתה שמע לקול דברי ה'. פעם אחת נסכלת, עתה הזהר בעצמך:

Now obey Adonoy's words. Once you acted foolishly,¹ Shaul had acted improperly by not waiting for Shmuel [Above 13:8-14] as he had been instructed, therefore, Shmuel is warning him now to be careful. but now be careful [in your actions].

משור ועד שה. שהיו בעלי כשפים, ומשנין עצמן ודומין לבהמה:

Oxen and sheep. They were sorcerers, and they would change themselves to appear as animals.² Radak suggests another reason for destroying the animals. The Torah specifies that the memory of Amoleik should be erased. Therefore, Shmuel instructed that not even an ox or a sheep should remain about which one might say ‘this animal belonged to Amoleik.’

וישמע שאול. לשון הכרזה, כמו (לעיל יד כ): ויזעק שאול:

Shaul summoned. An expression of announcing [meaning the same] as in .³Above 14:20.וַיִזָּעֵק שָׁאוּל

ויפקדם בטלאים. אמר לכל אחד ואחד, שיקח טלה מצאנו של מלך, ואחר כך מנה את הטלאים, לפי שאסור למנות את ישראל, שנאמר בם (בראשית לב יב): לא יספר מרוב:

And he counted them with lambs. He told each one to take a lamb⁴According to Targum this occurred just before Pesach, and the lambs were Pascal sacrifices. from the king's flocks, and afterwards he counted the lambs, because it is forbidden to count Jewish people.⁵ See Maseches Yoma 22b which states that in order to avoid counting the Bnei Yisroel directly which is forbidden by the Torah, each man took a lamb from the king’s flock and the lambs were then counted. See also Kli Yokor in Bamidbar 1:2 who discusses the exceptions to this rule. for it is stated concerning them, '[which] are too numerous to count.'⁶Bereishis 32:12.

וירב בנחל. וילחם בנחל ורבותינו אמרו (יומא כב ב): על עסקי נחל רב ודן את עצמו, ומה בשביל נפש אחת אמרה תורה ערוף עגלה בנחל, בשביל כל הנפשות האלו לא כל שכן, אם אדם חטא, בהמה מה חטאה:

And he fought in the valley. [Meaning the same as] וַיִלָּחֵם בַּנַּחַל [=and he fought in the valley]. Our Rabbis said, concerning the valley, he argued and concluded, that if for the sake of one life, the Torah said to decapitate a calf in the valley,⁷See Devarim 21:4. how much more for the sake of all these lives.⁸Shaul rationalized that he will spare the animals to use as sacrifices to atone for the Amoleikites that were killed. For additional arguments presented by Shaul and their consequences, see Maseches Yoma 22b. If man has sinned, what have the animals sinned?

אל הקיני. בני יתרו, שהיו יושבין במדבר יהודה בנגב ערד, שהלכו אצל יעבץ ללמוד תורה, וערד הוא עמלק, הכנעני מלך ערד, עמלק היה, שנאמר (במדבר כא א): יושב הנגב, ועמלק יושב בארץ הנגב (שם יג כט):

To the Kenites. Who were Yisro's descendants,⁹See Shoftim 1:16. who were residing in the wilderness of Yehudah, in the south of Arod, who went to Ya'aveitz to learn Torah, Arod being Amoleik. The Canaanite king of Arod was Amoleik, for it is stated [about him]; "who lived in the South,"¹⁰Bamidbar 21:1. and, "Amoleik dwells in the southern part of the land."¹¹Ibid., 13:29.

עם כל בני ישראל. שנהנו מסעודתו משה ואהרן וכל זקני ישראל, והרי מעלה עליו כאלו עשה חסד עם כל בני ישראל:

To all the Bnei Yisroel. Who partook from his [Yisro's] meal, Moshe, Aharon and all the elders of Yisroel.¹²See Shemos 18:12. It is considered as though he acted kindly with all the Bnei Yisroel.¹³It may also refer to Yisro’s hospitality of welcoming Moshe into his home when he escaped from Paroh [Shemos 2:20-21]. Based on this event R. Nechemyah in Maseches Berachos 63b states ‘how great is the reward for one who invites a Torah scholar into his house, gives him to eat and drink, and shares his possessions with him.’ Others believe that the act of kindness with all the Bnei Yisroel refers to the good advice that Yisro gave to Moshe with regard to setting up a system of judges [Shemos 18:14-26], because this benefitted the entire nation.

והמשנים. אין לו דמיון, והם הבריאים ואומר אני: לשון 'משנים', כמו (בראשית מג יב): כסף משנה, על שם שהוא כפול בבשר ובשומן, וכן (שופטים ו כה): ופר השני שבע שנים:

The fattened cattle. This word has no likeness [in Scripture]. These are the fattened cattle;¹⁴According to Mahri Kra מִשֽׁנִים are thoroughbred horses. and I say that the expression of מִשְׁנִים is like וְכֶסֶף מִשְׁנֶה [meaning double money],¹⁵Bereishis 43:12. because they are doubled over with flesh and fat. Similarly, 'And the ox which was fattened [הַשֵּׁנִי] seven years.'¹⁶Shoftim 6:25.

נמבזה ונמס. כמו נבזה, והמ"ם טפילה בו:

Undesirable and inferior. Meaning the same as נִבְזֶה; and the 'מ' is superfluous.

נחמתי. מחשבה עלתה בלבי על מלכות שאול שהמלכתי:

I have reconsidered. A thought has risen in my heart concerning Shaul's kingship, whom I have appointed king.

מציב לו יד. בונה לו מזבח הוא המזבח שנאמר באליהו (מלכים-א יח ל): וירפא את מזבח ה' ההרוס. ויונתן תרגם: והא מתקן ליה תמן אתר לפלגא ביה ביזתא:

And is setting up a place for himself. He is building an altar for himself. That is the altar referred to concerning Eliyohu, 'he repaired the ruined altar of Adonoy.'¹⁷Melachim I 18:30. Targum Yonoson renders, 'and he is making room there for himself to divide the spoils.'

הרף. כתרגומו: אוריך, פירוש המתן:

Stay. Like the Targum, אוֹרִיךְ meaning 'wait.'

ראש שבטי ישראל אתה. תרגם יונתן: שבטא דבנימין עבר בימא בריש כל עמא, כמה שנאמר (תהלים סח כח): בנימין צעיר רודם:

You are the head of the tribes of Yisroel. Targum Yonoson renders, 'the tribe of Binyomin crossed the [Reed] Sea ahead of all the people, as it is said, 'Binyomin, the youngest, rules them.'¹⁸Tehillim 68:28. You did not follow in Binyomin’s tradition of taking charge and leading the people without questioning the command of ‘ה. You have thus forfeited the merit by which you became king.

עד כלותם אותם. העם אשר אתך יכלו אותם:

Until they destroy them. The people who are with you will destroy them.

ותעט. כמו ותעף, לשון עיט (בראשית טו יא):

You rushed. Meaning 'וַתַּעַף' [you flew], an expression related to 'עַיִט' [birds of prey].¹⁹Bereishis 15:11.

ראשית החרם. מיטב החרם, וכן (דברים יח ד): ראשית דגנך, כמה שנאמר (במדבר יח ל): בהרימכם את חלבו ממנו. ויונתן תרגם: קדם דיחרמון:

The best of that which was to be destroyed. [רֵאשִׁית] meaning the best of the ,²⁰ Perhaps by his statement Shaul was indicating to Shmuel that they examined the animals to ascertain that none were Amoleikite sorcerers who had changed themselves to appear as animals [See above verse 2].—Da’as Sofrimחֵרֶם and similarly, "the best of your corn,"²¹ Devarim 18:4. as it is stated, "when you set aside the finest part of it."²² Bamidbar 18:30. Targum Yonoson renders [רֵאשִׁית] 'before they banned it.'

הנה שמוע. בקולו, טוב מזבח:

Behold, obeying His command is better than a choice offering.²³‘ה prefers the fulfillment of His command over the offering of voluntary sacrifices.

להקשיב מחלב אילים. זה מוסב על הנה שמוע מזבח טוב, ולהקשיב, מחלב אילים:

To hearken [is better] than the fat of rams. This refers to, "Behold, obeying [is better] than a choice offering, and to hearken [is better] than the fat of rams."

כי חטאת קסם מרי ואון ותרפים הפצר. וכעונש של און ותרפים, כן עונש של הפצר ויונתן תרגם: ארי כחוב גבריא וכו' וכחובי עמא דטעו בתר טעותא, כן חובת כל אנש דפצר ומוסיף וכו':

For defiance is like the sin of sorcery, and stubborness is like the sin of idolatry. And like the penalty for idolatry, so is the penalty for stubborness.²⁴ Shaul’s original sin was compared to sorcery, but his insisting on his innocence was compared to the more serious sin of idolatry; Shaul was compounding his original sin by insisting on his innocence. Targum Yonoson renders, 'For, as the sin of a people [who divine, so is the sin of any man who disobeys the word of Adonoy]²⁵ Just as one who divines demonstrates that he removes his trust in ‘ה and looks for other means to determine his future, so does one who disobeys and rebels against the word of ‘ה indicate he removes his belief in the power of ‘ה to reward and punish.—Radak and as the sins of a nation who has strayed after idols, so is the sin of any person who adds [to the words of a prophet].

הפצר. לשון תוספת, וכן (בראשית לג יא): ויפצר בו, הרבה עליו דברים:

Stubborness. An expression adding, and similarly, "He urged [וַיִפְצַר] him,"²⁶ Bereishis 33:11. i.e., he spoke many words to convince him.

יראתי את העם. דואג האדומי, שהיה חשוב כולם:

I feared the people. [Referring to] Do'eg, the Edomite,²⁷ He was the head of the Sanhedrin and was considered a giant in his Torah scholarship. See Maseches Sanhedrin 106b. who was as important as all of them.

ויחזק בכנף מעילו. לפי פשוטו משמעו, שכשפנה שמואל ללכת מאחרי שאול, אחז שאול בכנף של שמואל, לפי שהיה שאול מבקש ממנו שישוב עד שישתחוה בגלגל שהיה שם אהל מועד ומדרש אגדה (שוחר טוב) חולקים אמוראים, יש אומרים: מעילו של שמואל קרע שאול. ויש אומרים: מעילו של שאול קרע שמואל, ומסר לו סימן זה, מי שיכרות כנף מעילו, הוא ימלוך תחתיו, והוא שאמר לו שאול לדוד ביום שכרת את המעיל (לקמן כד כ): ידעתי כי מלוך תמלוך:

And he grabbed the corner of his robe. According to the simple meaning, it seems that when Shmuel turned to leave Shaul, Shaul grabbed the corner of Shmuel's [robe], since Shaul was asking him to return until he would prostrate himself in Gilgol, where the Tent of Meeting was. In Midrash Aggadah, however, Amora'im differ; some say that Shaul tore Shmuel's robe, and some say that Shmuel tore Shaul's robe,²⁸As a symbol of his loss of kingship. Another version is that Shmuel tore his own robe as a gesture of dismay. giving over to him this sign, that whoever will tear a corner of his robe, would reign in his place. And that is what Shaul said to Dovid on the day he tore [Shaul's] robe, 'I know that you will surely reign.'²⁹ Below 24:21. See Rashi’s commentary there.

וגם נצח ישראל לא ישקר. ואם תאמר אשוב מעוני לפניו, לא יועיל עוד ליטול את המלוכה ממי שנתנה לו, כי הקב"ה שהוא נצחונו של ישראל, לא ישקר מליתן הטובה לזה שאמר ליתן:

But, the Eternal One of Yisroel neither lies. And if you will say, 'I will repent of my sin before Him,' it will no longer avail to take the kingship from the one to whom it was given, for the Holy One, Blessed is He, Who is the Eternal One of Yisroel, will not lie by not giving the good to whom He said to give it.

אגג מעדנות. יונתן תרגם: אגג מפנקא:

Agag went to him bound. Targum Yonoson renders, mincingly.³⁰ Malbim renders ‘joyfully.’

אכן סר מר המות. באמת ידעתי כי סר וקרב עלי מרירת המות:

Indeed, the bitterness of death approaches. Indeed, I know that it has turned and is approaching toward me—the bitterness of death.

כאשר שכלה נשים חרבך. להושיבם אלמנות מבעליהם, שהייתם חותכים זנבי בחורי ישראל:

As your sword bereaved women. To render them widows from their husbands, for you would cut off the membrum virile of the youths of Yisroel.³¹ See Rashi Devarim 25:18.

וישסף. חתכו לארבע, ואין לתיבה זו דמיון ותרגום וישסף, ופשח. ובגמרא שלנו יש הוה מפשח ויהיב לן אלותא, כלומר בוקע:

[Shmuel] cut. He cut him into four pieces. This word has no likeness [in Scripture]. The Targum renders וַיְשַׁסֵּף as וּפָשַׁח. And in our Gemara we find, 'he broke off [מפשח] a branch, and gave us several twigs,'³² Beitzah 33b. meaning that he split.³³ See Rashi’s commentary in Eichah 3:11.