1 SAMUEL CHAPTER 1 - 7

Jude Mon 06 May 2013, 02:09

THE BOOK OF SAMUEL

The books of Samuel are considered by many scholars to be drawn from very early material, traditions going back to the beginnings of the monarchical period of Israel’s history. The uniqueness of the Davidic line was introduced and established in the book of Ruth, which contrasts royal hero-worship, typical of epic poetry, with the sweet, earthy character of divinely appointed leadership. The first book of Samuel tells the story of the establishing of the Davidic dynasty and the golden age of royal divine guidance. The second book of Samuel tells the story of that blessed reign, from the death of Saul to near the end of David’s reign. The importance of the books is not to be over-estimated for both Jewish and Christian traditions, whose messianic hope is established in these works, already from the magnificent prophecy of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2.

The shadowy figure of Hemda (Hebrew cognate of the Arabic name Muhammad), the desired one, appears for the first time in 1 Samuel 9:20 in connexion with the dynasty of Saul, in which the hopes for the desired one were disappointed.

1 SAMUEL 1

1 Now there was a certain man of
Ramathaim Zophim, from above
The mountains of Ephraim, his name
Was Elkanah of Jeroham,
The son of Elihu, the son
Of Tohu, the son of Zuph done,
An Ephraimite. 2 And he had two
Wives: the name of one was Hannah,
The other’s name was Peninnah.
Peninnah had children, but Hannah
Had no children of any manner.
3 This man went up from his city
Yearly to worship and in fee
To sacrifice to YHWH of hosts
In Shiloh. Also the two boasts,
Sons of Ali, Hophni and one
Phinehas, the priests of YHWH run,
Were there. 4 And whenever the time
Was for Elkanah to make rhyme
In offering, he’d give a portion
To Peninnah his wife’s extortion
And to all her sons and daughters.
5 But to Hannah as it occurs
He gave a greater portion’s lot,
For he loved Hannah, although YHWH
Had shut up her from bearing too.
6 And her co-wife did not relent
But let her know her plague was sent
From YHWH to make her barren lent.

I do not imagine in darkened mind
That Peninnah was enemy of kind
That took advantage of the evil stroke
To lay on Hannah wickedness in yoke.
Peninnah was a sweet Christian and fair,
The kind that exhibits exquisite care
For every creature set below her state.
She poured no dour reproach on Hannah’s pate,
But only noted that each trial comes
To teach us what the Lord has in His sums
For our correction that we might repent.
So sweetly did Peninnah not relent.
With so many sweet Christians at my door
I have no need of enemy to score.

7 As Elkanah did year by year,
So she went up to house and fear
Of YHWH, and so she provoked late
And early till she wept, not ate.
8 Then Elkanah her husband said
To her, “Hannah, why are you led
To cry, and why not eat your bread,
And why is your heart grieved instead,
Am I not better to you than
Ten sons from baby to a man?”

It is no wonder Hannah was tear-eyed
To see both Peninnah decked out in pride
Of virtue since You always took her side,
And Elkanah himself in irritation
That Hannah was sad despite the high station
Her husband had granted her undeserved.
Undeserved grace is not a thing so curved
To give joy. It is not prideful I trow
To be offended by paternal brow.
Beloved, do not tell me You love me still
Despite the fact I am a bitter pill.
If You cannot love me for what I am
Reflecting Your glories as though on sham,
Then love not, I swear, love not for a frill.

9 So Hannah got up after they
Had eaten in Shiloh to pay,
And after they had drunk a stay.
Now Ali the priest sat upon
A seat by a post of the drawn
Temple of YHWH. 10 And she was there
In bitterness of soul to bear,
And prayed to YHWH and cried within.
11 And she vowed a vow not in sin
And said “O YHWH of hosts to win,
If You will indeed look upon
The affliction of handmaid drawn,
And remember me, not forgetting
Your handmaid, but will give in setting
Your handmaid a son, then I shall
Give him to YHWH all days banal
Of his life, and there shall no razor
Come on his head, not even laser.
12 And so it happened, as she went
On praying before YHWH unspent,
That Ali noticed her mouth lent.
13 Now Hannah, she spoke in her heart,
Only her lips moved some apart,
But her voice was not heard at all,
Therefore Ali thought drunken brawl.
14 And Ali told her, “How long will
You be drunken, put away till
Of wine from you and tow the bill.”

Praise be to Hannah for she did invent
The way to pray to You in heart and tent
Without saying a word aloud and bent.
The heart remembrance is my greatest grace,
A thing to flee to in the public race.
Praise be to Ali for his strong reproof
Of drinking at the feasts of YHWH for spoof,
A thing that continues around the woof
And magnified today in every church.
Praise to these two, Beloved, one might long search
For any two greater to follow suit.
The lesson is not lost on me to boot,
Who avoid each day Eucharist and root
Of liquor and remember You on perch.

15 And Hannah answered and said “No,
Sir, I’m a woman who’s brought low
In sorrow, I have neither drunk
Wine nor liquor, but I have sunk
Before YHWH pouring out my soul.
16 “Do not consider me a toll
Daughter of Belial, for out
Of great complaint and grief I pout.”
17 Then Ali answered and said “Go
In peace, and may Ælohim’s flow
In Israel grant your petition
That you’ve asked Him in your contrition.”
18 And she said “Let your servant find
Grace in your sight and in your mind.”
And so the woman went her way,
And ate and her face became gay.

I thank You, my Beloved, that You have given
Such power to men on earth, such as have striven
To match Your glory with a witness born
Both to their own children and to the sworn.
I thank You, my Beloved, that I have no
Such powers to hand out and such to bestow
Gifts on those who about me also weep.
I have an empty hand, I lose no sleep.
I thank You, my Beloved, that there is priest,
Though perhaps unknown to my heart at least,
Worthy of such powers You gave in hand
Once long ago in Shiloh, Canaan’s land.
Beloved, my thanks in humble joy ascends
Before Your face that You accept such friends.

19 And they got up at early dawn,
And prostrated themselves up drawn
Before YHWH, and then went away
Back to their home in Ramah's bay.
Elkanah knew Hannah his wife,
And YHWH remembered her great strife.
20 It happened when the time arrived
After Hannah conceived contrived,
She gave birth to a son, and called
His name Samuel, saying enthralled,
Since I asked him from YHWH installed.

How many miracles in birth have You,
Beloved, brought on the ghastly human crew.
Some miracled boys are named with the view
Of thanking you and praising what You do.
At least one such has been caught up to be
Called God Almighty in forsaken spree,
And made the object of idolatry.
From such, Beloved, I set myself to flee.
The miracles of birth give evidence,
Not of the specialty of babies' sense,
But of Your power alone as God above
Who gives to humankind such gifts of love.
Beloved, teach me to see the wonder here
In every birth and look on You in fear.

21 The husband Elkanah and house
All went up to offer with spouse
To YHWH the yearly sacrifice,
And do his vow as to suffice.
22 But Hannah did not go up then,
For she said to her husband, “I
Will not go up to there again
Until the boy is weaned, then I
Will bring him, so he may appear
Before YHWH and stay there for cheer.”
23 Her husband Elkanah told her,
“Do what you like and so prefer,
Stay till you've weaned him, only YHWH
Make His word at the last come true.
So the lady stayed and nursed still
Her son until she'd weaned to fill.
24 And when she'd weaned him, she took him
Up with her, with three bullocks trim,
And one ephah of flour, and yet
A bottle of good grape-juice met,
And brought him to YHWH's house that's in
Shiloh. The boy was young to win.
25 They killed the bull and brought the child
To Ali, who was reconciled.
26 And she said “Oh sir, as your soul
Does live, my dear sir, I'm the wench
That stood before you on the bench
To pray to YHWH to grant my goal.
27 “I prayed for this child, and then YHWH
Gave me what I asked for in view.
28 That's why I've lent him back to YHWH
As long as he lives he'll be lent
To YHWH.” And he prostrated too
Himself in gratitude to YHWH.

I follow the practice that Ali showed
Upon the earth in actions that then glowed
With spices of obedience and grace,
To bow down in prostration at Your face.
I touch the law of Ali and I stand
Among the few and faithful of his band
And hear the childish voice of Samuel rise
In praise and prayer up to the wakened skies.
Beloved, let me prostrate myself to you
Each day in everything I come to do,
And not just in the prayers contrived to make
My days in punctuation to relate.
I take the faith and practice that You gave
To Ali as the leader of the brave.

1 SAMUEL 2

1 And Hannah Samuel’s mother prayed
And said “My heart rejoices stayed
On YHWH, My horn’s exalted in
YHWH. I smile at my foes of sin,
Since I rejoice in Your salvation.
2 “No one is holy like YHWH’s station,
For there is no god besides You,
Nor is there any rock and true
Like our God. 3 “Talk no more so proudly,
And let no arrogance come loudly
From your mouth, For YHWH is the God
Of knowledge, and by Him are trod
And weighed doings. 4 “The bows of mighty
Men are broken, and those who flighty
Stumbled are girded with Your strength.
5 “Those who were full have hired at length
Themselves out for new wealth and bread,
And the hungry are served instead.
Even the barren has borne seven,
And she with many children’s heaven
Has become feeble. 6 “YHWH kills and
Makes alive, He brings down to land
In the grave and brings up. 7 “YHWH makes
Poor and makes rich, and for their sakes
He brings low and lifts up. 8 “He raises
The poor from the dust and amazes,
He lifts the beggar from ash heap,
To set them among princes’ keep,
To inherit the throne of glory.
For pillars of the earthen storey
Are YHWH’s, and He has set the world
Upon them. 9 “He will guard uncurled
The feet of His saints, but the wicked
Shall be silent in darkness brickèd.
For by strength no man shall prevail.
10 “The adversaries of YHWH wail,
Broken in pieces, from heaven He
Will thunder against feeble plea.
YHWH will judge the ends of the earth.
He will give strength to His king’s worth,
And exalt horn of His anointed,
Promised Messiah and appointed.”

A woman made the first great prophecy
Of the Messiah, promised he would be
A horn of great salvation to the free.
So Hannah was forerunner of the one
Who gave birth to the Messianic son
And had to give him up to do the work
Of his own father and as child not shirk,
But served alone within the temple shrine.
Though I am not a child of seven or twelve,
I too trim lamps within the inner shine
Of my chamber, and in prayer I too delve
The wonders open to a little child.
I look out from my cell upon the wild
And shuttered wilderness and undefiled.

11 Then Elkanah went to his house
At Ramah, and he took his spouse.
But the child ministered to YHWH
Before Ali the priest to do.
12 Now sons of Ali were corrupt,
They did not know YHWH when they supped.
13 And the priests’ custom with the people
Was that when any came to steeple
And offered there a sacrifice,
The priest’s servant would come to slice
With a three-pronged fleshhook in hand
While the meat was boiling and banned.
14 Then he would thrust it in the pan,
Or kettle, cauldron, pot for span,
And the priest would take for himself
All the fleshhook brought up on shelf.
So they did in Shiloh to all
The Israelites who came by call.
15 Also, before they burned the fat,
The priest’s servant would come to that
Man who sacrificed there to say,
“Give meat for roasting on the brae
To the priest, for he will not take
Boiled meat from you, but raw in steak.”
16 And if the man said to him, “They
Should really burn the fat first flay,
Then you may take what heart desires,”
He would then answer his plaint choirs,
“No, you must give it to me now,
And if not, I’ll take anyhow
By force.” 17 Therefore the sin was great
Of the young men before YHWH’s state,
For men abhorred YHWH’s offering then.

How many priests today wield a three-pronged
Fleshhook, how many folk have such priests wronged.
The sharpened trinity takes on its hooks
The taxes from each person in its books,
And from all businesses that sell a thing
Or make a mount to set beneath a wing,
And pass the offering plate to take what’s left
To give the church’s workmen of the theft.
The church is made a handmaid of the state,
And state is made vehicle of the hate
That universal love to humankind
Hides under three-pronged programmes of the mimed.
Beloved, I flee to You with empty hands,
For sacrifices fill the contrabands.

18 But Samuel ministered then
Before YHWH, even as a child,
Wearing a linen ephod aisled.
19 Moreover his mother would make
Him a little robe, and would take
It to him year by year when she
Came up with her husband to see
And offer yearly sacrifice.
20 And Ali would bless Elkanah
And his wife in basilica,
Saying “YHWH give you descendants
From this woman in sufferance
For the loan that was given to YHWH.”
Then they would go to their own pew.
21 And YHWH visited Hannah, so
That she conceived, came to bestow
Three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile
The child Samuel grew lank and file
Before YHWH in His studio.

That Samuel served You serves to show the weal
That even Rome and Canterbury deal
In simony, yet out of all of that,
The robbing and the taking of the fat,
Still some child having drunk with mother’s milk
The Decalogue, can shine like gold and silk
Though trampled by the swine of temple hoard.
Although the wine of Babylon and board
Must corrupt every hand and eye that comes
Into Bel’s temple to eat of the sums,
Still there are those in even Babylon
Who eat the pulse and drink the water gone
Out from Your mouth to nourish all the race.
I too, Beloved, look toward You and Your face.

22 Now Ali, he was very old,
And heard all that his sons were bold
To do in all of Israel’s fold,
And how they fornicated there
With the women who came to share
At the door of assembly tent.
23 And he told them, “Why do you do
Such things? I hear of your consent
To do evil things in the view
Of all this people. 24 “No, my sons,
It’s no good rumour that the guns
Bring to my ears, you make the folk
Of YHWH transgress. 25 “And if one bloke
Sins against another, the judge
Shall judge him, but if a man fudge
Against YHWH, then who shall entreat
For him?” But they did not retreat
Obeying the voice of their dad,
Because YHWH planned to kill the cad.

That’s rather far-fetched way of escaping
The responsibility not to swing,
This saying that the sons of Ali broke
Their father’s counsel because at a stroke
You planned to kill them and needed excuse.
That concept of You lends to an abuse.
Further no doubt You will take him to task
For not correcting his sons at the mask,
And yet Ali is bold to tell them what
Is right and wrong and to convey the cut.
Beloved, I too have children on the sea
And tell them what is right and wrong to be.
Perhaps their choices will come to agree
With what Your Decalogue says faithfully.

26 And the child Samuel grew apace
And was in favour before face
Of both YHWH and the human race.
27 And there came a man of God to
Ali, and told him, “Thus says YHWH,
‘Did I plainly appear unto
The house of your father when they
Were in Egypt’s Pharaoh’s house’ sway?
28 ‘And did I choose him out of all
The tribes of Israel to call
My priest, to offer on the flat
Of altar, to burn incense at
It, to wear an ephod before
Me? And did I give your dad’s house
All the offerings made by each spouse
By fire from Israel’s folk in store?
29 ‘Why do you then despise my thing
In sacrifice and offering,
Which I commanded in My tent,
And honour your sons above Me
To make yourselves fat with the fee
Of all the best offerings of
My people Israel above?’”
30 Therefore YHWH Israel’s Ælohim
Says “I indeed said that the cream
Of your house and your father’s house
Should walk before Me man and spouse
Forever, but now YHWH has said
‘I’ve changed My mind, but those who’re led
To honour me, I’ll honour too,
And who despise Me, curse their crew.
31 ‘Behold, the days come, that I will
Cut off your arms, and the arm still
Of your father’s house, that there shall
Not be old man dominical.
32 ‘You’ll see a foe come in my tent,
In all of which to Israel sent,
And none of your house shall grow old
Forever. 33 ‘And the man unsold
Of yours that I’ll not cut off from
My altar shall consume the sum
Of your eyes and be grief of heart
To you and all the increase part
Of your house shall die at the start.
34 ‘And this shall be a sign to you
That shall come on your two sons due,
On Hophni and on Phinehas,
On the same day they’ll die and pass.
35 ‘And I will raise me up a priest
Faithful to do what’s in the least
Of my heart and mind, and I’ll build
Him a sure house, and he well filled
Shall walk before My anointed
For ever. 36 ‘And as things shall bid,
Every one left in your house hid
Shall come and crouch to him to beg
A piece of silver and a leg
Of bread, and shall say “Put me please
In a priest’s office that in ease
I may eat piece of bread and cheese.”’”

I told You so. Either the sin of sons
Of Ali is their own fault on their buns
Or their father’s fault, but You take the blame
Of them not hearing dad’s advice for shame,
Then don’t come criticizing Ali’s style.
It’s not fair to lay blame where there’s no guile.
If Ali is at fault because he failed
To train his sons up right and as entailed,
Then You are faultless, my Beloved, let’s not
Fall into contradiction in the plot.
Under the umbrella of sovereignty
It seems You have made mankind somewhat free,
Or else it’s not a wise thing to make fuss
As though they had free will in omnibus.

1 SAMUEL 3

1 And the child Samuel served YHWH
Before Ali. The word of YHWH
Was precious in those times, there was
No open vision. 2 As one does
At that time when Ali lay down
In his bed, and his eyes in crown
Began to get dim so he could
Not see, 3 and before the lamp would
Extinguish in the house of YHWH,
Where the ark of Ælohim true,
And Samuel lay down to sleep,
4 That YHWH called Samuel from his keep
And he answered then “Here I am.”
5 He ran to Ali at the gram,
And said “Here I am, for you called.”
And he said to him, “I’ll be bald,
I did not call you, go to sleep.”
And he went and lay down a peep.
6 And YHWH called one more time to say
“Samuel” Samuel got on his way
And went to Ali, and said “Here
Am I, for once more you appear
To have called me.” He answered clear,
“I did not call, my son of cheer,
Go and lie down again, no fear.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know YHWH
Nor was YHWH’s word come in his view.

So rarely does one hear Your blessèd word
Calling in the night, though it once occurred
To one sleeping beside me while I slept.
It is so rare that any Your word kept.
What might amaze me more is that the child
Thought Ali had spoken and so ran wild
To his side, when Your word re-echoed in
The priestly house and in the priestly bin.
Ali’s must have been voice more choice than any,
Which is of course an asset to the penny
For any priest. And yet I think his voice
Must have been an occasion to rejoice.
It only shows a charismatic sound
Of sweetness is no reason and no ground.

8 And YHWH called Samuel a third time.
And he got up and went to climb
To Ali, and said “Here I am,
For you did call me, it’s no scam.”
And Ali noticed YHWH had called
The child and he was not appalled.
9 So Ali said to Samuel “Go,
Lie down and if the calling show
Again, then you must say ‘Speak, YHWH,
For Your servant is hearing You.’”
So Samuel went to bed again.
10 And YHWH came and stood by the ben
And called as at the other times
“Samuel, Samuel” then in his chimes
Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your slave
Hears as always the word You gave.”

Ah, my Beloved, this must be duty’s start
Not to pronounce Your name but in the heart.
For Ali told him to say YHWH but he
When he answered answering faithfully
Left out Your name. Many who read Your book
In reverence and every time they look
At the four letters of Your name recite
Lord God instead of pronouncing it right.
If I am bold to say Your name here now
In part at least as Jah or Huu, somehow
I beg that You hear with indulgent brow
The lisping words of love I in no row
Recite to lighten my mind and my heart.
And if not, slay me with a burning dart.

11 And YHWH said to Samuel, “Behold,
I’ll do a thing in Israel cold,
At which both ears of everyone
That hears it shall tingle when done.
12 “In that dark day I shall perform
Against Ali’s house all the storm
That I have promised, when I start
I’ll make an end of that old fart.
13 “For I have told him I will judge
His house forever for the smudge
That he knows, because his sons made
Themselves vile and he was not paid
To restrain them. 14 “And therefore I
Have sworn to the house of Ali,
That the wickedness of the house
Of Ali shall not be by grouse
Atoned in offering’s sacrifice
Forever for his own sons’ vice.”

Shame on You, my Beloved, to tell a child
A message that would make a grown man wild,
And knowing it would tingle every ear
From Dan to Beersheba because of fear.
The lad will hardly sleep a wink the night
After hearing such a tale and of fright.
Some people have sense to turn out the light
Of television before children’s sight
When violence comes roving on the screen.
Now You Yourself bring PG rated scene.
Beloved, think of the lad alone in dark,
And pity him at least outside the park,
And comfort him lying far off from home
And mother in his new coat and new comb.

15 And Samuel lay until the morn,
And opened the doors without scorn
Of the house of YHWH, but he feared,
Did Samuel, to show uncut version
To Ali of the sight’s excursion.
16 Then Ali called Samuel and said
“Samuel, my son.” And he well-bred
Replied, “Here I am up from bed.”
17 And he said “What is the thing shared
With you? Please do not hide the geared
From me, Ælohim do so to
You, and more also, and if you
Hide anything from me of all
The things He said to you at call.”
18 And Samuel told him everything,
And hid nothing from him in spring.
And he said “It is YHWH, let him
Do what He thinks good or what grim.”
And Samuel grew, and YHWH was there
With him, and of his things took care
That nothing fell on the ground bare.
20 And all Israel even from Dan
To Beersheba knew Samuel man
Established as prophet to YHWH.
21 And YHWH appeared again in view
In Shiloh, for YHWH had revealed
Himself to Samuel in the field
Of Shiloh by the word of YHWH.

How sweetly Ali accepts punishment
As from the kind hand of YHWH and well meant.
Perhaps his very sweetness is the tool
That his sons used to make of him a fool.
I have seen people sweet of gentle feather
Who behind the scenes even in the best weather
Knife the oppressed and let the bully go
To rule the playground and set up the show.
Sweetness is just as poison as the dart
Of anger, more so, by who play the part.
Beloved, save me from sweetness, from my own
And from the sweetness of one on the throne.
Beloved, You only are both sweet and sour
In justice, so extend Your hand of power.

1 SAMUEL 4

1 The matter of Samuel came to
All Israel and in their view.
Now Israel went out to fight battle
Against the Philistines like cattle,
And pitched beside the Ebenezer,
The Philistines in Aphek’s squeezer.
2 The Philistines in war array
Set themselves against Israel’s sway,
And Israel was struck down before
The Philistines, and they killed more
Of the army upon the field
Than four thousand of men in yield.
3 And when the folk came back to camp,
The elders of Israel in stamp
Said “Why has YHWH struck us today
Before the Philistines in sway?
Let’s fetch the ark of covenant
Of YHWH from Shiloh from its tent
To us, that when it’s with us found
It may save us from the foe round.”
4 So the folk sent to Shiloh that
They might bring from there where it sat
The ark of covenant of YHWH
Of armies who dwells twixt the view
Of Cherubim, and so the two
Sons of Ali, Hophni in crew
With Phinehas were with the ark
Of covenant of God in park.
5 And when the ark of covenant
Of YHWH came into the camp’s plant,
All Israel shouted with a great
Shout so the earth shook at the rate.
6 And when the Philistines heard that
Noise of the shout where they were at,
They said “What’s this noise of great shout
In the camp of Hebrews about?”
And they understood that the ark
Of YHWH was in the camp to park.
7 And the Philistines were afraid
For they said “Ælohim has stayed
In the camp.” And they said “Woe be
To us! There’s never come to be
Such a thing before this. 8 “Now see
Woe to us! Who shall save us from
The hand of these mighty Gods come?
These are the Gods that struck in sum
The Egyptians with all the sores
In the wilderness and in stores.
9 “Be strong and play the man at last,
O you Philistines in the blast,
That you not be servants to cast
For the Hebrews, as they have been
To you, so up and fight like men.”

Ah my Beloved, how soon the weary turn
To You when fires of war and danger burn,
And seek the symbol of Your presence when
The killing starts among the sons of men.
But what help is an ark, a crucifix,
A chalice or a crescent or the tricks
Of Solomon’s seal on the banners flying,
To those wounded upon the field and dying?
The courage they inspire comes also to
The pagan Philistine and heathen crew.
Beyond the faiths that fail and fall, to You
I lift a weary eye, and in that view
Of nothingness, my heart lights up anew
And turns in quiet faith from all the vying.

10 Philistines fought, and Israel
Was laid low, and they fled a spell
Every man to his tent, and well
There was a most great slaughter’s knell,
For thirty thousand footmen fell
From the army of Israel.
11 And so the ark of Ælohim
Was taken, and the two sons’ gleam
Of Ali, Hophni and the cream
Of Phinehas were killed by scheme.
12 A man of Benjamin ran out
Of the army, and came about
To Shiloh the same day with clothes
Upon him torn, and his head shows
The dust. 13 And when he came, behold,
Ali was sitting on a cold
Seat by the highway waiting news,
For his heart trembled for the use
Of Ælohim’s ark. When the man
Came to the town and told the ban,
All the city cried out to scan.

Beloved, I may seem lazy in the streak
I show by sitting every morning bleak
Beside the little road above the creek
That used to run, but now is buried sleek,
Below the hill covered with fir and pine,
With sometimes single birch in white to shine.
It may seem that my idle hand and brow
Deserves the chiding of the day somehow.
But my Beloved, in stillness I wait here
To find Your word come to my eye and ear.
I do not wait for ark, though blessed it be
To contain the tables eternally
Written upon my heart. I wait in spe
For You Yourself in silence to appear.

14 And when Ali heard all the noise
Of the crying, he said “What poise
Is this tumult?” The man came quick
And told Ali. 15 Now Ali slick
Was ninety-eight years old, his eyes
Were dim, he could not see the prize.
16 And the man said to Ali, “I
Came from the army fleeing high
Today out of the army’s way.”
And he said “What is done today,
My son?” 17 The messenger replied,
Saying “Israel has fled beside
The Philistine, and there’s also
A great slaughter where the folk go,
And your two sons also are dead,
Hophni and Phinehas both shaken,
And the ark of Ælohim taken.”
18 And it happened, when he spoke of
The ark of Ælohim above,
That he fell from the seat to back
By the side of the gate, alack,
And his neck broke and so he died,
For he was an old man, beside
He was fat. And he had been judge
Of Israel forty years to budge.
19 His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’
Wife, was pregnant and near the gas
To give birth, when she heard the news
That Ælohim’s ark from the pews
Was taken, and her father-in-law
And her husband were dead and raw,
She bowed down and went in labour,
For her birth pangs came upon her.
20 And about the time of her death
The midwives said to her, “Take breath
Without fear, for you have a son.”
But she did not reply or note.
21 And she named the child that was done
Ichabod, expressing her vote,
“The glory has departed from
Israel,” because the ark in sum
Of Ælohim was captured, and
Because of her father-in-law
And her husband. 22 She said in awe,
“The glory has departed from
Israel, for God’s ark’s gone and numb.”

In all this story once more there is one
Little guessed before when the thing is done
Who is the victim of the plot and reign,
The wife at home who suffered husband’s gain.
Perhaps she loved the meat her husband took
By force from the sacrifice in the book,
But she could hardly have enjoyed the look
Of those women with whom the brother lay
About the doorway of the tent in sway.
If You told Samuel in visions at night
About the fornication in Your sight,
I think You were not more hurt in the plight
Than was the wife of Phinehas, whose fight
Remembered only Your honour and right.

1 SAMUEL 5

1 Then the Philistines took the ark
Of Ælohim, brought it to park
From Ebenezer to Ashdod.
2 Then Philistines the ark of God
Took and brought it into the house
Of Dagon, set by Dagon’s spouse.
3 And when the Ashdodites got up
Early in the morning to cup,
See, Dagon fell down on his stumps
Upon the ground and with great bumps,
Before the ark of YHWH. And they
Took Dagon and set in array
Again in his place for the day.
4 And when they got up early on
The next day’s morning, see, Dagon
Was fallen on his face again
On the ground before the ark’s den
Of YHWH, and Dagon’s head and hands
Were broken off upon the sands
Of the threshold, and only left
Was Dagon’s body’s stump bereft.
5 So that’s why neither priest nor folk
Who come into Dagon’s house’ stroke
To this day step upon the place
Of the threshold in Ashdod’s trace.
6 But the hand of YHWH was hard on
The Ashdodites and like a pawn
He destroyed them and struck them down
With haemorrhoids throughout the town
Of Ashdod and its suburbs’ lawn.

The reverence for threshold dates well back
To Ashdod and the haemorrhoid attack.
I’ve been to where they say the threshold is
The Kaaba and build it up high to quiz
Who enters there to lift his leg above
The prize of noble god and in his love.
The centuries in Anatolian heights
Have not diminished the tradition’s rights,
So faithful are the few despite the fights
Against their doing such things days and nights.
Ah, my Beloved, let me be faithful to
You as those are who remember the due
Of the sea god and fish god so far from
The scintillating sea’s palladium.

7 When the men of Ashdod saw that
It was so, they said where they sat,
“The ark of Israel’s God shall not
Stay with us, for His hand is hot
Upon us and on Dagon too.”
8 And so they sent and gathered all
The lords of the Philistines’ stall
And said to them, “What shall we do
With the ark of Israel’s God’s crew?”
And they answered, “Let Israel’s God’s
Ark be carried about the sods
Of Gath.” And they carried the ark
Of Israel’s God out there to park.
9 And it was so, that after they
Had carried it about that way,
The hand of YHWH was on that town
With a very great falling down,
And he struck the men of the place,
Both small and great, and in their race
They had haemorrhoids you know where.
10 So they sent the ark of God bare
To Ekron. And it came to pass,
(In Ekron too on every ass)
The Ekronites cried out aloud,
Saying “They have now been allowed
To bring the ark of Israel’s God
To us to kill us by the prod
And our folk with us to a clod.”
11 So they sent and gathered the lords
Of all the Philistines in hordes,
And said “Send away the ark of
The God of Israel from above
And let it go to its own place,
That it not kill us to a face,
For there was deadly destruction
Throughout all the city for fun,
The hand of Ælohim was great
And heavy where every ass sate.
12 And the men there that did not die
Were stricken on the ass with sly
Haemorrhoids and the city’s cry
Went up to heaven in the sky.

When You, Beloved, let loose with paddle well
Planted upon the backside of the swell,
You do not do in measure halfway done.
You smack them good who wait beneath the sun.
In Ashdod and in Gath the battle’s won
Not with the sword but with the paddle set
Upon each backside till Ekron is met.
This may or may not be the origin
Of scourging delinquents for minor sin,
But it resounds like flapping in the wind.
You are blamed for the battle against finned
Dagon and for the plagues in every land.
So why not praise You also for the planned
In humour that arises on the strand?

1 SAMUEL 6

1 The ark of YHWH was in the land
Of Philistines seven months at hand.
2 The Philistines called for the priests
And the diviners to their feasts,
Saying “Whatever shall we do
About this blessèd ark of YHWH?
Tell us how to send the thing back.”
3 And they said “If you send it back,
The ark of Israel’s Ælohim,
Do not send it back empty dream,
In any case give Him offering
For trespass, then you shall be healed
And it shall be revealed the thing
Why His hand on you remains steeled.”
4 Then they said “What trespass offering
Should we give back to Him?” And they
Answered, “Five golden haemorrhoids,
And five golden mice for tabloids,
One for each of Philistine lords,
For one plague has lifted its swords
On you and on all of your lords.
5 “That’s why you’ll make images of
Your haemorrhoids, images of
Your mice that spoil the land, and you
Shall give glory to Ælohim
Of Israel, that as is due
He might take off His hand from you,
And from your gods, and your land too.
6 “Why do you then harden your hearts,
As the Egyptians for their parts
And Pharaoh hardened once their hearts,
When He did wonders among them,
Did they not at last for pro tem
Let the people go, so they left?
7 “Therefore make a new cart and weft,
And take two milk cows on which there
Has never come a yoke to bear,
And tie the cows to the cart, and
Bring their calves home from them in hand.
8 “And take the ark of YHWH and lay
It on the cart, and put away
The jewels of gold, which you return
To Him a trespass offering stern,
In a casket beside the thing,
And send it off to go its ring.
9 “And see, if it goes up by way
Of His own lands to Beth-shemesh,
Then He has made us this foul mesh,
But if not, then we’ll know it’s not
His hand that strikes us on the spot,
It was mere chance then like as not.”

Ah, my Beloved, how fumbling human minds
Seek to fathom the motives of Your blinds!
They’re sure Your actions can be wrought upon
By magic in similarities drawn.
And so the mice in gold and haemorrhoid
Are made to sate Your greed, and once employed,
Become the gauge divining whether You
Sit in judgement or whether a chance flew
Across their path. There is nothing that’s new.
Today men still think of You in this light,
The source of misfortune, perhaps, or sleight
Of chance, a hazard or a will to dance.
You can be bought, we think, by gold in stance.
O my Beloved, save us from our own night.

10 So that’s what the men did. They took
Two milk cows and tied them to hook
Of the cart, and shut up their calves
At home. 11 And they laid out the halves
Of the ark of YHWH on the cart
And casket with the mice apart
In gold and images of their
Haemorrhoids in it for their share.
12 And the cows took the straightest way
To Beth-shemesh, on the highway
Lowing as they went and did not
Turn to the right hand or to plot
Of the left, and the Philistine
Lords went after them to resign
As far as the Beth-shemesh line.
13 The Beth-shemites were reaping wheat
Harvest in the valley replete,
And raised their eyes and saw the ark,
And rejoiced to see it come park.
14 And the cart came into the field
Of Joshua, Beth-shemite peeled,
And stopped there beside a great stone,
And they broke up the cart in loan
For wood and offered up the cows
As burnt offering as YHWH allows.

I guess the sign they chose if cows went straight
And left their calves, it meant that You were great,
And had destroyed the Philistines of late.
Well satisfied that priest-diviners’ law
Remained a thing to keep the folk in awe,
The lords returned upon their heels in draw.
The cows met a poor fate, I think if I
Had been a cow I would have taken shy
The road between the cities on the fly
And found a refuge in meadows nearby.
But You instead lead my steps on the row,
And I find myself in the slaughter show.
Beloved, if You wish to eat my flesh so,
It would have been more tender years ago.

15 The Levites took the ark of YHWH,
And the casket beside it drew,
In which the fine things made of gold,
And placed them on the great stone’s fold,
And the men of Beth-shemish came
And offered burnt offerings in claim
And sacrificed things the same day
To YHWH to whose rule they gave way.
16 And when the five Philistine lords
Had seen it, they turned to rewards
In Ekron the same day. 17 And these
Are the gold haemorrhoids to please
Which the Philistines rendered for
A trespass offering to the store
Of YHWH, for Ashdod one and for
Gaza, one for Askelon one,
For Gath one, for Ekron one done.
18 And the gold mice in number of
The Philistine cities above
Of the five lords, of fenced towns all
And country villages in stall,
Even to the great Abel stone
Where they set down the ark in throne
Of YHWH, to this day in the field
Of Joshua, Beth-shemite peeled.
19 And He struck the men of Beth-shemesh
Because they searched the ark for blemish
Of YHWH, He struck down of the folk
Fifty thousand and seventy bloke,
And the people lamented, for
YHWH had struck the folk with a sore
Slaughter. 20 And the men of Beth-shemesh
Said “Who can stand without a blemish
Before this holy YHWH Ælohim?
To whom shall He go up to show Him?
21 And they sent messengers to those
Who lived in Kirjath-jearim’s rows,
Saying “The Philistines have brought
Back the ark of YHWH that you sought,
Come down and fetch it to your plot.

Who worshipped Dagon You struck with sore ass
And killed a few with the plague come to pass,
But those who offered holocausts to You,
So glad again to have Your ark in view,
You struck with death upon the righteous pew.
How do You explain that? You seem to think
That their knowledge of sacredness at wink
Should have kept them more reverent of Your box.
That only shows You do not know Your flocks.
The sense of sacred itself is no proof
Of righteousness, witness Dagon aloof.
Besides, that sense is dependent upon
The temporal lobes, not glory that shone.
You’ve got Your rights, don’t listen to my spoof.

1 SAMUEL 7

1 The men of Kirjath-jearim came
And fetched the ark of YHWH for claim,
And brought it into the house of
Abinadab on hill above,
And sanctified Eleazar who
Was his son to keep ark of YHWH.
2 It happened while the ark was there
In Kirjath-jearim that the share
Of time was long, for it was twenty
Years, all Israel’s house was lamenty
After YHWH. 3 And then Samuel spoke
To all the house of Israel woke,
Saying “If you return unto
YHWH with all your hearts what you do,
Then put away the strange gods too
And Ashtaroth from among you,
And then prepare your hearts to YHWH,
And worship Him only and He
Will deliver you from the hand
Of the Philistines in the land.”
4 And so Israel’s folk put away
Baalim and Ashtaroth from sway,
And worshipped YHWH only each day.
5 And Samuel said “Let all the folk
Of Israel gather at a stroke
In Mizpeh, and I’ll pray for you
To YHWH. 6 Come to Mizpeh they drew
Water, and poured it before YHWH
And fasted that day and said there,
“For we have sinned against YHWH’s share.”
And Samuel judged Israel’s folk there
In Mizpeh. 7 When the Philistines
Heard that Israel’s folk for combines
Gathered together at Mizpeh,
The lords of Philistines for fray
Went up against Israel. And when
The folk of Israel heard it, then
They were scared of Philistine men.

Note well, Beloved, how every time a choice
Is made in Your favour to praise with voice
Repenting of the wrong done to Your law,
There’s some authority plagued to the raw
To come up with police force on the draw.
There are three things allowed where crowds may be,
And four at last may count on leniency:
The crowd to gyrate at rock music’s spell,
The crowd to stampede at the sportsman’s knell,
The crowd to celebrate the choice of leader
Of the corrupt state, and the crowd that’s sent
To deal death on the armies of the spent.
Beloved, I stop to recite Your name here
Alone, crowd would be illegal, I fear.

8 So the children of Israel said
To Samuel, “Do not stop the dread
Appeal to YHWH our Ælohim
On our behalf, to come on scene
And save us from the Philistine.
9 And Samuel took a suckling lamb
And offered a burnt offering’s ham
Completely to YHWH, and Samuel
Cried to YHWH then for Israel,
And YHWH heard him. 10 As Samuel
Offered up the burnt offering well,
The Philistines came near to fight
Against Israel, but YHWH for spite
Thundered with a great thunder sound
On that day on Philistines round,
And frightened them and they were struck
Down before Israel to the muck.
11 And the men of Israel went out
Of Mizpeh, and pursued the rout
Of Philistines, and struck them down
Until they came to Beth-car’s town.
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set
It between Mizpeh and Shen yet,
And called its name Eben-ezer,
Saying “Till now YHWH’s helped us stir.”

Let this be warning to the army sent
To pillage village, town, and tenement,
That such excursions for the guilt they set
Upon the mind of those out on the bet
Sometimes end in disaster when the sound
Of thunder happens to hit on the ground.
It’s best to stay still at home and forget
Vengeance or plaguing others on the round.
It may be a dream of the faithful few
Who do not raise a weapon on the crew
That You will come to rescue with ado.
But then one never knows when the nightmare
Instead will fall upon the armies where
They blotch with blood the street, the porch and stair.

13 So the Philistines were subdued
And came no more among the brood
Of Israel, and the hand of YHWH
Was against the Philistines’ crew
All the days of Samuel. 14 As due
The cities the Philistines took
From Israel, Philistines forsook
Back to Israel, from Ekron to
Gath, as well as the suburbs too
Did Israel take back from the hands
Of the Philistines, all those lands.
And there was peace between Israel
And the Amorites for that spell.
15 And Samuel judged Israel all of
The days of his life in his love.
16 And he went around every year
To Beth-el, Gilgal to appear
At Mizpeh, and he judged Israel
In all those places for a spell.
17 And at last he returned to Ramah,
Where he had a house there to claim her,
And there he judged Israel and there
He built an altar to YHWH’s share.

The circuit riding preacher first to go
Around the country was Samuel to show
Your faith and judgement to the country folk
From Dan to Beersheba and under oak.
Perhaps not quite so far if story’s true
That Samaritans tell about the rue
Of faction that arose in Ali’s time
Because of his two evil sons in rhyme.
Samuel could not knit back the people broken
In camps regarding Hophni’s sins unspoken
And Phinehas’ lying in wait to rape
The women bringing sacrifice of grape
And flour and meat. Beloved, what men do here
Creates enmity for many a year.

AUTHOR: THOMAS G. MCELWAIN

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