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The stay of the Ark of the Covenant in Kirjath-jearim. The reign of the judge and prophet Samuel. 1 Samuel 7:1. And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the ark of the Lord, and brought it to the house of Abminadab on the hill, and dedicated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord. Based on 1 Chronicles 15:10–11, it is believed that Aminadab and his son Eleazar belonged to the tribe of Levi. The Ark of the Covenant was located in the city of Kiriath-jearim until the time of King David, who transferred it to the Jerusalem tabernacle he had newly built (2 Samuel 6:1). As for the tabernacle itself, which was in Shiloh, it was first moved to Nob (1 Samuel 26:1), then to Gibeon (1 Chronicles 16:39, 21:29; 2 Chronicles 1:3) and, finally, dismantled and folded in one of the rooms of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem, together with the Tabernacle of David. 1 Samuel 7:2. A lot of time has passed since the day the ark was left in Kiriath-jearim, about twenty years. And all the house of Israel turned to the Lord. “And the whole house of Israel turned to the Lord”: under the external influence of Philistine oppression (1 Samuel 7:3), the Jews repented of their passion for the paganism of their neighbors and turned their hearts to fulfilling the good and perfect law of the Lord. 1 Samuel 7:4. And the children of Israel removed Baal and Ashtaroth and began to serve the Lord alone. Baal and Astarte are pagan deities honored in Canaan, Phenicia, Mesopotamia and other countries of Western Asia. The cult of Baal spoke mainly about the formidable power of the deity; the cult of Astarte is about his productive power. The latter was accompanied by various kinds of debauchery, elevated to the level of sacred service to the goddess. (For more details, see M. Palmov’s work “Idolatry among the Ancient Jews.” St. Petersburg, 1897, pp. 217–246, 295–335.) 1 Samuel 7:5. And Samuel said, Gather all the Israelites to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you. “Massifah” of Samuilov is a city in the northwest of Jerusalem, south of Gibeon. 1 Samuel 7:6. And they gathered together at Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted that day, saying, We have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah. Drawing water and pouring it before the Lord served as a symbol of deep contrition for sins and, at the same time, the repentant sacrifice of the Jewish people. In Lamentations 2:19 book. “Lamentations of Jeremiah” there is an expression: “Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord!” “Judged” - in the sense of examining the affairs and litigation of the people, instructing them in the true law. 1 Samuel 7:7. When the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together at Mizpah, then the rulers of the Philistines went against Israel. When the Israelites heard about this, they were afraid of the Philistines. It seemed to the Philistines that the Jews were concentrated in Mizpah for no other purpose than a hostile purpose towards them. 1 Samuel 7:9. And Samuel took one lamb from the breast, and offered it [with all the people] as a burnt offering to the Lord, and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord heard him. With regard to the peculiarities of the religious and social life of the Jews, the period of the Judges can be considered as a period of patriarchal reaction in the life of the people. The law on the unity of the liturgical point and the exclusivity of liturgical persons was not observed with great severity even by the best of the Jews of that time. In addition to the tabernacle, sacrifices were made to the True God where one or another person felt the need to bring them; and were often brought by people who did not have holy orders. (For more details, see I. Troitsky’s work “The Religious, Social and State Condition of the Jews during the Time of the Judges.” St. Petersburg, 1885.) “Lamb from the suckers” - the sacrificial lamb must be, according to the law (Lev. 22:27), no younger than seven days. 1 Samuel 7:11. And the Israelites came out from Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them to the place of Bethhor. According to Bishop Herveus, a defensive alliance was concluded between the Jews and the Amorites, directed mainly against the Philistines (English Comm. Bible). 1 Samuel 7:17. then he returned to Rama; for there was his house, and there he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the Lord. You might be interested in: