was one day's journey from Gilboa.

1. Saul had

eaten no meat all that day, and all that night: it is probable, he eat fomething before he left the camp; and therefore he was a whole day, and part of the night, in travelling thither from Gilboa it muft take him as much time to go back; confequently the battle could not be next day and, befides all this, the camp was moved twice after this, before the day of battle.

To thefe objections I anfwer thus, in their or der:

FIRST; It must be owned, that the word mahar does fometimes fignify a future indefinite time; and I know no word that may not fometimes be taken figuratively: I am fure the word to-morrow is often taken fo in English. But the primary, ordinary, obvious fenfe of it is ftrictly the next day after the time in which the Speaker uses it; and it is evident from Saul's terror, that he fo understood it here. For, had he thought these evils threatened only in fome future, indefinitely diftant time, they would not have made that impreflion upon him: and therefore if the perfon who faid this, did not mean what Saul understood, he meant to deceive him; and I cannot believe it was Samuel that faid it.

Now I am clearly of opinion, that the battle with the Philistines was ftrictly and literally fought on the next day; and I think there is nothing in the narration to contradict this fuppofition. And to evince this, I thall first fhew the many great errors, and glaring mistakes, ad

vanced on the other fide, to fupport an idle hypothefis.

In the first place, they fuppofe Endor to be a day's journey from Gilboa; and, left Saul fhould not be long enough in travelling it, they suppose, that in that advanced age, and in those dangerous ways, he travelled on foot. Now, by all the best accounts, Endor is not at the distance of three hours from Gilboa. Gilboa is in Iffachar, on the confines of Manaffeh, and Endor in Manasseh. The greatest part of Manasseh was now in the hands of the Philistines, and the reft was very narrow and little. Salianus fays, that Endor was near Shunem: and Dr. Patrick tells us, that part of Gilboa was over-against Endor, and part over-against Shunem. And if fo, we cannot well suppose it five miles distant. Eufebius fixes the right fituation of it near Scythopolis, or Beth-fhan, to the weft of the river Jordan; but tells us, that in his time there was a great village of that name near mount Tabor. Which fome commentators not attending to, imagine it was this village which Saul reforted to, and ground all their idle reafonings upon that mistake.

In the next place: Is it likely, that Saul fhould leave his camp in the morning, and travel all the day, with only two fervants, through a country environed by his enemies? for Endor was near Shunem, and not far from Beth-fhan; and the Philistines were then at Shunem, and in poffeffion of Beth-fhan.

Bur he was fafting all that day, and it is probable he took food before he left the camp.

WITH great fubmiffion, the probability is altogether on the other fide. Men in great trouble feldom think of eating, nor indeed can they eat.

Now what these men make the bufinefs of two days, might very eafily be effected in one night. For, if we fuppofe Endor twice as far off as Dr. Patrick places it, a man, under a necef fity of using expedition, might travel fo far, and farther, ftay three hours there, and return again in the compass of ten or twelve hours.

So that,

fuppofing Saul to have left his camp a little before or after fun fet, he might be back again early the next morning; and the battle might be fought that day, as I am well fatisfied it was. BUT it feems there were two encampments after this adventure at Endor.

So, indeed, it is afferted; but why, I cannot conceive. For my own part, I never could find the leaft foundation for fuch an opinion, befides a very careless perufal of the history.

THE cafe is this: When two things are tranfacted about the fame time, both these, and the circumstances of both, cannot be related at the fame time; and therefore one of them must be told by way of anticipation.

Ir is faid, that Saul's battle with the Phili fines was on the fame day with David's flaughter of the Amalekites. This is a great miftake*: however, let it, for the prefent, be fuppofed.

*For, at that rate, the Amalekite must have been fix days in bringing the news of it: which is a very abfurd fuppofition.

THERE

THERE was an incident of great importance previous to that battle, with which the reader hould be acquainted. The author interrupts his relation of David's adventure, to acquaint us with this incident; and, in order to inform us the better, he tells us the fituation of both armies at the time of this incident, and then refumes the thread of David's history.

HE firft tells us, (chap. xxviii. ver. 1, 2.) that the Philistines gathered their armies together: David was there amongst the reft: Achish told him, He must go to battle with him; and David confented. Here the author leaves David, and paffes on to the incident of Endor, which happened fome time after; that when he refumed the thread of David's story, he might do it without interruption. Now, in order to give Us a clear idea of the adventure at Endor, he tells us the fituation in which both armies were at that time; Saul in Gilboa, and the Philistines at Shunem. Now fome critics, not attending to this, imagine that Saul was at Gilboa, and the Philistines at Shunem, when Achish told David, that he must go to battle with him: whereas it evidently appears from the fubfequent relation, that Achish was then at, or going to Aphek; and Gilboa was, to a demonftration, the laft encampment of the Ifraelites (for there the battle was fought, and there it is exprefly faid the camp then was); and confequently, Shunem the laft of the Philistines. For David was dif miss'd upon the first review at Aphek, ch. xxix. And when the Philistines were at Aphek, the

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Ifraelites

Ifraelites were at Jezreel, that is, Gilboa, (2 Sam. iv. 4.) whither the Philistines bent their courfe in queft of them the very day that David was forced to return to Ziklag. So that it was impoffible David could be with the Philistines at Shunem, in fight of the Ifraelite army, when they were at Gilboa. The Philiftines did not fuffer him to march one inch with them after the day of the first review.

LET us now confider the other way of reafoning-Saul (fay they) went to Endor the night before David went to Ziklag. How grofs a mistake is this! Saul had not yet fo much as seen the Philistine army, unless he could fee them at a diftance of feventy miles. For the Philistines (as I now observed) were then at Aphek, and he at Jezreel; and Aphek (as I fhall foon fhew) was at least seventy miles from Jezreel.

Now I find no mention of more than two Apheks in Scripture; one in Judah, and the other in Manaffeh. Dr. Patrick thinks there was a third in Afher; which is the Aphek meant here; and with fome appearance of reafon : because it is more probable, that the Philistines fhould affemble and review their forces upon their own borders, to which Afher was more central and contiguous, than that they fhould defer fuch a review, until they came into the heart of Saul's country; and go fo far out of their way, that is from the centre of their own country, to make it. Now, fuppofing this the cafe, the nearest part of Asher is at least two

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