1 Samuel 12:6

6 And Samuel said to the people, 1"The LORD is witness,[a] who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.

1 Samuel 12:6 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 12:6

And Samuel said unto the people
Having cleared and established his own character, he proceeds to lay before the people some of the great things God had done for them formerly, and quite down to the present time, the more to aggravate their ingratitude in rejecting God as their King:

[it is] the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron;
raised them from a low estate, the one in a foreign country in Midian, the other in bondage in Egypt, to be deliverers, guides, and governors of his people Israel. Kimchi thinks this refers to what goes before, and that the sense is, that God, that raised Moses and Aaron to great honour and dignity, was a witness between him and the people; in which he is followed by some Christian interpreters. Ben Gersom makes mention of the same, but rather approves of the connection of the words with what follows, as does Abarbinel, and is doubtless most correct; the Targum is,

``who hath done mighty things by the hands of Moses and Aaron:''

and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt;
when they were in bondage there, and that by the means of Moses and Aaron, by whose hands he wrought signs and wonders and inflicted plagues on the Egyptians, which made them willing at last to let Israel go.

1 Samuel 12:6 In-Context

4 They said, "You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man's hand."
5 And he said to them, "The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." And they said, "He is witness."
6 And Samuel said to the people, "The LORD is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.
7 Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous deeds of the LORD that he performed for you and for your fathers.
8 When Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them,then your fathers cried out to the LORD and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place.

Cross References 1

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Septuagint; Hebrew lacks is witness
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.