1 Samuel 7:5

5 Shemu'el said, Gather all Yisra'el to Mitzpah, and I will pray for you to the LORD.

1 Samuel 7:5 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 7:5

And Samuel said, gather all Israel to Mizpeh
Not Mizpeh in Gilead, on the other side Jordan, but a city which lay on the borders of Judah and Benjamin, where the tribes met on the account of the Levite's concubine, ( Judges 20:1 ) . This order Samuel gave by messengers sent to the several tribes, or the heads of them, to meet him at this place:

and I will pray for you unto the Lord;
no doubt he prayed for them privately, that the reformation begun might be carried on, and appear to be sincere, and hearty, and general, and universal; but he was desirous that they might appear in a body, and join with him in public prayer for their spiritual and temporal welfare; that they might have true repentance for their sins, reform from them, and have remission of them, and be delivered out of the hands of their enemies.

1 Samuel 7:5 In-Context

3 Shemu'el spoke to all the house of Yisra'el, saying, If you do return to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the `Ashtarot from among you, and direct your hearts to the LORD, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Pelishtim.

4 Then the children of Yisra'el did put away the Ba`alim and the `Ashtarot, and served the LORD only.

5 Shemu'el said, Gather all Yisra'el to Mitzpah, and I will pray for you to the LORD.

6 They gathered together to Mitzpah, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. Shemu'el judged the children of Yisra'el in Mitzpah.

7 When the Pelishtim heard that the children of Yisra'el were gathered together at Mitzpah, the lords of the Pelishtim went up against Yisra'el. When the children of Yisra'el heard it, they were afraid of the Pelishtim.