שמואל א ד׳

ויהי דבר שמואל לכל ישראל. נהיה הדבר שנאמר לשמואל, ובא לכל ישראל, והאיך היה הפורענות, ויצא ישראל לקראת פלשתים למלחמה:

The word of Shmuel went out to all of Yisroel. The word which was said to Shmuel, was fulfilled, and came to all Yisroel. How did this misfortune befall them? "Yisroel went out to war against the Philistines."¹When Bnei Yisroel deserved punishment, ‘ה sometimes commanded them to go out and battle the Philistines even though it would end in their defeat.—Radak

האבן העזר. עדיין לא היה כן שמה, כי בימי שמואל נקראת כן (לקמן ז יב), וכאן קרא על שם סופה:

Even Haezer [Lit. the rock of help]. This was not yet its name,² Obviously, because they were soundly defeated now. for it was first called this name [later] in Shmuel's time, but here Scripture calls it by its future name.

ותטש המלחמה. ותתפשט המלחמה, כמו (לקמן ל טז): והנם נטושים על פני הארץ, וכן (שופטים טו ט): וינטשו בלחי:

And the war spread. And the war spread. Similar to, "and behold they were spread out [נְטוּשִׁים] across the face of the entire land"³ Below 30:16. and to "and they were spread out [וַיִנָּטְשׁוּ] at Lehi."⁴Shoftim 15:9.

בכל מכה במדבר. על ים סוף ויונתן תרגם: ולעמיה עבד פרישן במדברא. ובספרי שנינו: שהפרשה הזו עירוב דברים, מי שאמר זה לא אמר זה, כשרין שבהם אמרו: מי יצילנו מיד האלהים האדירים האלה, והרשעים אמרו: אלה הם האלהים המכים את מצרים בכל מכה, כל מכות שהיו לו, על המצרים הביאם, אין לו עוד מכה מעתה:

With every sort of plague in the wilderness. By the Sea of Reeds. Targum Yonoson however, renders, 'and for His people He performed wonders in the wilderness.' In Sifrei we learn that this passage is a combination of statements, whoever made one statement did not make the other. The worthy among them said, "Who will save us from the hand of this mighty God?" while the wicked retorted, "This is the God Who smote the Egyptians with every plague. All the plagues which He had, He brought upon the Egyptians. He has no more plagues [to inflict]."

איש בנימן. זה היה שאול, שחטף את הלוחות מיד גלית וברח לו:

A Binyaminite man. This was Shaul,⁵Perhaps the reason for Scripture not revealing that it was Shaul, was to protect the honor of his kingship being that he was responsible in part for Eili’s death.—Da’as Sofrim who grabbed the Tablets from the hands of Golyas and fled.

יד דרך מצפה. אצל יד הדרך היה מצפה:

By the road looking out. By the side of the road, he was anxiously waiting.⁶He wanted to be situated in a place where a messenger would have to pass him first, and thus give him the news.

מפרקתו. אפרקותיה, עצם הצואר:

His neck. [Targum renders] אַפַּרְקוּתֵיה, the bone of the neck.⁷מַפְרֶקֶת is derived from פֶּרֶק [=link], meaning vertebra of which the bones of the neck and spine are made.

ללת. על כרחו 'ללדת' פירושו, ואין לו דמיון ומנחם חברו בחלק 'יללה', לפי שחבלי לידתה ביללה באו לה, ויסוד יללה, אין אות ביסודה אלא למ"ד לבדה:

To give birth. Obviously [this word] means 'to give birth.' There is no similar form [in Scriptures]. However, Menachem⁸Menachem was an authority on grammar and is often quoted by Rashi. placed this verb in the section dealing with the word יְלָלָה 'wailing,' because her birth pangs came upon her with wailing. The root of 'יְלָלָה' is the 'ל' alone.

נהפכו. נשתנו מכדרכן, לכך מתה:

Came suddenly. Differed from what normally occurs, therefore she died.

צריה. צירי דלתי בטנה, קרדוני"ל בלע"ז:

Her labor pains. [צִרֶיהָ=hinges], i.e., 'the hinges of the doors of her womb';⁹ See Bechoros 45a.chardonel in O. F.

אי כבוד. אין כבוד, וכן (איוב כב ל): ימלט אי נקי, אין נקי:

I chavod. There is no glory; similar to, "He will save "¹⁰ Iyov 22:30.אִי נָקִי one who is not innocent, [meaning the same as] אֵין נָקִי.

אל הלקח. כמו על הלקח, ואין צריך לזוזו מלשון אל, למי שיודע להבין דברו:

Because of the capture of. Meaning the same as 'to the capture of', but it is unnecessary to remove the expression of 'to' for one who understands its meaning.

אל הלקח. איטיויר"ש לאישטריפו"ש בלע"ז:

Because of the capture of. Envers etweirs l'estre pris in O. F.

ואל חמיה. ואל הרעה הזאת, שמת חמיה ואישה:

And because of her father-in-law. I.e., because of this misfortune that her father-in-law and husband had perished.