1 Samuel 15:4

“And Saul gathered the people together, etc.] Or “made them to hear” f296, by the sound of a trumpet; or by sending heralds into all parts of the land to proclaim the above order of the Lord, and summon them to come to him, perhaps at Gilgal; so the Septuagint version, and Josephus f297 : and numbered them in Telaim; thought to be the same with Telem, a place in the tribe of Judah, (<061524>Joshua 15:24), the word signifies “lambs”; hence the Vulgate Latin version is, “he numbered them as lambs;” and the Jews f298 say, because it was forbid to number the children of Israel, which was the sin of David; therefore every man had a lamb given him, and so the lambs were numbered, by which it was…”

“Saul gathered the people together--The alacrity with which he entered on the necessary preparations for the expedition gave a fair, but delusive promise of faithfulness in its execution. Telaim--or Telem, among the uttermost cities of the tribe of Judah towards the coast of Edom (Jos 15:21, Jos 15:24).”

“Telaim - Probably the same as “Telem” Joshua 15:24, one of the uttermost cities of Judah, toward the coast of Edom. The name means “lambs,” and was probably so called from the numerous flocks. Two hundred thousand ... - A wonderful contrast with the six hundred men who composed his whole army before 1 Samuel 13:15, and a proof how completely for a time the Philistines had been driven back. The separate mention of the men of Judah shows how little union there was between Juduh and Ephraim even at this time; a circumstance which throws light upon the whole after history. return to 'Top of Page'”

“15:4 Telaim: Possibly Telem (Josh 15:24).”

“Telaim: Jos 15:24, Telem two: Sa1 11:8, Sa1 13:15 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 15:5”

“Saul summoned the people to war, and mustered them (those who were summoned) at Telaim (this was probably the same place as the Telem mentioned in Jos 15:24, and is to be looked for in the eastern portion of the Negeb). "Two hundred thousand foot, and ten thousand of the men of Judah:" this implies that the two hundred thousand were from the other tribes. These numbers are not too large; for a powerful Bedouin nation, such as the Amalekites were, could not possibly be successfully attacked with a small army, but only by raising the whole of the military force of Israel. Sa1 15:5 He then advanced as far as the city of the Amalekites, the situation of which is altogether unknown, and placed an…”