1 Samuel 7:9

9 Then Samuel took a baby lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering. He called to the Lord for Israel's sake, and the Lord answered him.

1 Samuel 7:9 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 7:9

And Samuel took a sucking lamb
Which it might be, and yet more than eight days old, for under that it might not be sacrificed, ( Exodus 22:30 )

and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the Lord;
the whole of it was burnt, skin and all, whereas the skin was the priest's in other burnt offerings; and this is remarked ^F13 as one of the three things in which it differed from other offerings; the word being feminine, the Jews gather from hence, as Jarchi notes, that females might be offered at a private altar:

and Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel;
not only offered a sacrifice for them, but prayed for them:

and the Lord heard him;
and answered him, either by causing fire to come down on the sacrifice, by which it was consumed, or by the voice of thunder, which frightened and discomfited the Philistines; and the event of things manifestly showed it.

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 Midrash Schemuel apud Abarbinel in loc.

1 Samuel 7:9 In-Context

7 The Philistines heard the Israelites were meeting at Mizpah, so the Philistine kings came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard they were coming, they were afraid.

8 They said to Samuel, "Don't stop praying to the Lord our God for us! Ask him to save us from the Philistines!"

9 Then Samuel took a baby lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering. He called to the Lord for Israel's sake, and the Lord answered him.

10 While Samuel was burning the offering, the Philistines came near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered against them with loud thunder. They were so frightened they became confused. So the Israelites defeated the Philistines in battle.

11 The men of Israel ran out of Mizpah and chased the Philistines almost to Beth Car, killing the Philistines along the way.