1Sa 7:1-2 | JFB | STEP | , . The Ark at Kirjath-jearim. 1. the men of Kirjath-jearim-- "the city of woods," also Kirjath-baal ( ; ; , ). It was the nearest town to Beth-shemesh and stood on a hill. This was the reason of the message ( ), and why this was chosen for the convenience of people turning their faces to the ark ( ; ; ). brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill-- Why it was not transported at once to Shiloh where the tabernacle and sacred vessels were remaining, is difficult to conjecture. sanctified ... his son-- He was not a Levite, and was therefore only set apart or appointed to be keeper of the place.

‏ 1 Samuel 7:1-2

CHAPTER 7

1Sa 7:1, 2. The Ark at Kirjath-jearim.

1. the men of Kirjath-jearim--"the city of woods," also Kirjath-baal (Jos 15:60; 18:14; 1Ch 13:5, 6). It was the nearest town to Beth-shemesh and stood on a hill. This was the reason of the message (1Sa 6:21), and why this was chosen for the convenience of people turning their faces to the ark (1Ki 8:29-35; Psa 28:2; Da 6:10).

brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill--Why it was not transported at once to Shiloh where the tabernacle and sacred vessels were remaining, is difficult to conjecture.

sanctified ... his son--He was not a Levite, and was therefore only set apart or appointed to be keeper of the place.

2. the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim ... twenty years--It appears, in the subsequent history, that a much longer period elapsed before its final removal from Kirjath-jearim (2Sa 6:1-19; 1Ch 13:1-14). But that length of time had passed when the Israelites began to revive from their sad state of religious decline. The capture of the ark had produced a general indifference either as to its loss or its recovery.

all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord--They were then brought, doubtless by the influence of Samuel's exhortations, to renounce idolatry, and to return to the national worship of the true God.

1Sa 7:3-6. The Israelites, through Samuel's Influence, Solemnly Repent at Mizpeh.