1 Samuel 15:28

1Sa 15:28 And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, [that is] better than thou.

Ver. 28. The Lord hath rent the kingdom.] And given it to the man that shall hereafter tear off the skirt of thy garment, as Lyra here noteth out of the Rabbins, whence also Saul said then, "And now behold I know well that thou shalt surely be king," &c. {1Sa 24:20}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa 15:28-29. The Lord hath rent the kingdom from thee — Hath declared his firm resolution of laying aside thy family, and will soon actually take away thy life and thy kingly power. Also the Strength of Israel — Who is perfectly able to bring to pass all his purposes, and to make good all his declarations; will not lie — He gives God his title, to show the reason why he neither can nor will lie. For lying generally proceeds from a man’s weakness and inability to accomplish his designs, as he thinks, without it. But God needs no such artifices: he can do whatsoever he pleaseth by his absolute power. Nor repent — Change his counsel and purpose, which is also an effect of weakness and imperfection, either of wisdom or power. So that this word is not here used in the sense it is 1Sa 15:11, and in several other passages, as Gen 6:6; Exo 32:14; 2Sa 24:16; Jer 26:19; in all which, and many others, it signifies a change of God’s proceedings, and of his method of dealing with persons.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15:28 Saul soon discovered who this someone else was (18:8-9; cp. ch 16).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

That is, to David.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(28) The Lord hath rent the kingdom.—The prophet at once looks upon the garment torn by the passionate vehemence of the king, as an omen for the future, and uses the rent vesture as a symbol, to show Saul that thus had the Lord on that day rent the kingdom from him.

A neighbour of thine.—It had not yet been revealed to the seer who was to replace the rebellious king, so he simply refers to the future anointed one quite indefinitely as “a neighbour.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Samuel said unto him, the Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day,.... Seeing his mantle rent by Saul, he took occasion from thence to predict, and no doubt it was impressed on his mind by the Spirit of God, that his kingdom should be in a like manner rent from him, on account of his own evil conduct and behaviour; and from this day forward he might expect it; the sentence was gone forth from God, and it would not be reversed; and by a like sign was signified the rending of the ten tribes from the kingdom of Solomon in his son Rehoboam, Kg1 11:30,

and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou; who was David, a man after God's own heart, that would fulfil his will, who was more holy, just, and wise than Saul; whose works were better and righter than his, as the Targum; who was an Israelite, of the same nation and religion as he, and so his neighbour; and though he was not of the same tribe, yet of a neighbouring tribe; Benjamin, and Judah, of which tribe David was, joining closely to one another. It is highly probable that at this time Samuel knew not personally who he was that was designed to be made king in his room, though under the direction of the Spirit of God he thus describes him; for after this he is bid to go to Jesse's family, from thence to anoint a king, and several passed before him ere the Lord pointed out the proper person to him.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Samuel makes use of the emergent occasion, as a sign, to signify and confirm his former prediction.

A neighbour of thine; either another man, or another Israelite; for the word neighbour is used both ways; or rather, one of the neighbouring tribe, even Judah, whose inheritance did not only join to that of Benjamin, but was partly mixed with it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel

This refers back to when Saul tore Samuel's robe in 1 Samuel 15:27. This can be made explicit. AT: "Just as you tore my robe, Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

has given it to a neighbor of yours, one who is better than you

God had already decided who would be the next king after Saul.

the Strength of Israel

Here Yahweh is referred to as "the Strength of Israel" because he gives strength to the Israelites. AT: "Yahweh, who is the strength of Israel" (See: Idiom and Metonymy)

will not lie nor change his mind

This is stated as a negative to emphasize that God tells the truth. This can be stated in positive form. AT: "will always tell the truth and do what he says" (See: Litotes)

his mind

This refers to his thoughts and decisions. AT: "what he has decided to do" (See: Metonymy)

he is not a man, that he should change his mind

This is stated as a negative to emphasize that God is trustworthy. This can be stated in positive form. AT: "he is God, and will do what he says he will do" (See: Litotes)

translationWords

kingdom

neighbor

mind

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.