Comentario citado sobre I Samuel 16:6

And the congregation of the peoples let it compass Thee about: And over it return Thou on high. – He speaks of congregation (עדת) in a general, and of peoples (לאמים) in a specific, sense. The congregation is the congregation of Israel, which includes them all; the peoples (לאמים) are the twelve tribes of Israel. And they are called לאמים, i.e. peoples (עמים) and nations (גוים), as Isaac said to Jacob: “that thou mayest be a company of peoples (עֹמים קהל)” (Gen. 28:3). And so God says to Jacob (ibid. 35:11): “A nation and a company of nations (גוים קהל) shall be of thee.” So you see he calls them “peoples” (עמים) and “nations” (גוים) relative to the tribes; and he calls them a “company” (קהל) and a “congregation” (עדה), for the twelve tribes formed one company and one congregation. If he were using the word לאמים (“peoples”) of the nations of the world, he would not have made use of the expression congregation (ועדת), for a single congregation could not comprise them (all), because every single people (לאום) forms a congregation by itself in its own sight. Therefore the Nazarenes (Christians) have erred in interpreting the verse of Jesus, and explaining and the congregation of the peoples of the nations who have been converted to his faith, and who say that (the words) and over it return on high is an indication that he would come down (from heaven) to assume human flesh. Now say to them, in the first place, that the Psalm ex Psalm explains in its title about whom it was spoken; and then that the prayer would be in vain if he were God, while if his prayer had reference to the flesh (the Incarnation), it was unavailing. And if they say to you that such was his will that he should be hanged (reply) then, if so, it was foolish that he should pray for something he did not desire. And add that the greater part of the Psalm speaks of one enemy, while he had many enemies. And regarding the assumption of human flesh (the Incarnation), I have already written in the second Psalm how you should answer them. Now, according to our exposition, the interpretation of this verse will be as follows. It was known in Israel that David had been anointed to be king, and it was known likewise also that Samuel had anointed him at God's direction. And in the place where he had been anointed all recognised that Samuel had not done this of his own mind, for when Eliab, (David's) eldest brother, came he said, “Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him” (i Sam. 16:6), for he thought that he was to be the king until the Lord said to him: “Look not on his countenance nor on the height of his stature” (ibid. 5:7). And when the youngest came God said to him, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he” (ibid. 5:12). If so, he who pursued after David was as though he pursued after God, and he who surrounded him to capture him as one who surrounded God, who is blessed. And because of this he says, Let it compass thee about, after the manner of the prophet (Zech. 2:12), who says: “for he that toucheth you is as one who toucheth the apple of his eye.” And when he says, And over it return Thou on high, it is as he has (just before) said, Arise and lift up Thyself. And it is all figurative, for when God forgives man's transgression, it is as though He should descend from His place of power and His habitation of judgment. And when He visits man's iniquity and judges him, then it is as though He should rise and lift Himself up and return on high to the place of judgment. And so it is said of the vengeance on Pharaoh (Exod. 15:1), “for He is highly exalted.”

כי משחיתים אנחנו, “for we are about to destroy, etc.” They should have said: “G’d is about to destroy this place.” Instead they made it appear as if they had a free hand in the matter. This is why G’d did not allow them to move from the town until they had made an admission that they themselves were unable to do anything by themselves, but that they merely carried out a mission from G’d. This is the meaning of the line (verse 13) “and G’d has dispatched us to destroy it.“ What happened in this instance with the angels lends support to what we read in Job 4,18 הן בעבדיו לא יאמין ובמלאכיו ישים תהלה, “If He cannot trust His own servants, and casts reproach on His angels.” Another verse along similar lines is found in Job 15,15: הן בקדושיו לא יאמין ושמים לא זכו בעיניו, “He puts no trust in His holy ones; the heavens are not guiltless in His sight.”
We find that even Moses was guilty of a similar slip of the tongue when — concerning the appointment of the chiefs of tens, fifty, hundred and thousands in Deut. 1,17 — he said: ”any matter which is too difficult for you, bring it to me so that I can hear it;” He was punished for this arrogant-sounding comment by being unable to resolve the problem posed by the daughters of Tzelofchod without first inquiring from G’d about their status as potential heirs. The prophet Samuel also once became guilty of such arrogance when he described himself to King Saul as “I am the Seer” (Samuel I 9,19). G’d showed him that he had been arrogant when he was unable to pick the son of Yishai who was to replace Saul as King. He had picked Eliav (Samuel I 16,6). G’d had to tell him that whereas he, Samuel, was only able to judge exteriors it was reserved for G’d to judge a person’s interior (Samuel I 16,7). David too was once guilty of such arrogance when he said ותורתך בתוך מעי , “and your Torah is in my entrails.” [He meant I can divine Your law as a gut-feeling. Ed.] (Psalms 40,9). David was punished in that he forgot the kind of commandment which even children in elementary school are familiar with. [I presume that the author refers to David having forgotten that the Holy Ark must be carried only on the shoulders of the Levites and not in a carriage. This law is clearly spelled out in Numbers 7,9. Had he not forgotten, Uzzah might not have died. compare Samuel II 6,7. Ed.]
The prophetess Devorah who complimented herself even in the song of thanksgiving when she said עד שקמתי אם בישראל “until I arose to function as a mother for Israel,” (Judges 5,7). According to our sages the moment she said these words the Holy Spirit departed from her and she regained it only in verse 12 of the same chapter when she said: עורי עורי דבורה דברי שיר, “awake, awake Deborah utter a song.”
As to the verse in Job 4,18 in which we heard that G’d even has occasion to rebuke the angels, this was a reference to the incident here where the angels arrogated to themselves the right to say: “we are going to destroy the place.” According to Bereshit Rabbah 50,9 the angels who were guilty of this statement were not allowed to return to their celestial habitat nor to perform another function on earth for 138 years, i.e. not until “and here angels of the Lord were ascending and descending on it,” (the ladder in Yaakov’s dream in Genesis 28,12). This vision is taken as proof that only at that time were these angels allowed back to earth to perform a function there. From all the above we learn that if someone makes use of G’d’s glory to enhance his own reputation he will face a major punishment.

תקרבון אלי [AND THE CAUSE THAT IS TOO HARD FOR YOU] BRING TO ME [AND I WILL HEAR IT] — On account of this utterance (that he could decide difficult cases) the law regarding the daughters of Zelophehad evaded him (Sanhedrin 8a; see Rashi on Numbers 27:5). Similarly, Samuel said to Saul (I Samuel 9:19), “I” am the seer. Whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “By your life, I will let you know that you are not a seer”. And when did he let him know this? When he came to anoint David. For Scripture states, (I Samuel 16:6, 7) “And when he saw Eliab he said, Surely before the Lord stands his anointed one”. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: "Did you not say, “I” am the seer? Look not at the outward appearance” (Sifrei Devarim 17:7).

Abihail the daughter of Eliab Like: and Abihail, similar to (Jer. 11:19): “And I was like a lamb and a bull (כְּכֶבֶשׂ אַלּוּף).” The following was the reason that Samuel the seer erred when Jesse passed Eliab before Samuel, and he [Samuel] said, (I Sam. 16:6): “Surely before the Lord is His anointed.” This is the one about whom the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to say, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” But Samuel erred about him, for he saw Eliab’s daughter as Rehoboam’s wife, the queen, and because of the following matter, Samuel was punished: When Saul asked him, (ibid. 9: 18) “Which is the house of the seer?” Samuel replied, “I am the seer,” in which case he did not answer him with humility, saying, “What do you wish.” [Therefore,] the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “By your life, you are destined to see, and you will not know what you see,” for he erred concerning Eliab and his daughter the queen.