Midras 1 Samuel 30:8: Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Seder Olam Rabbah & Midrash Tehillim

(Fol. 73) Our Rabbis were taught: How were the Urim and Tumim consulted? The inquirer had his face directed to him (the priest) who was consulted, and the one consulted (the priest) directed himself to the Shechina. The inquirer asks [as it is mentioned (I Sam. 30, 8) ] "Shall I pursue this troop? Will I succeed?" And the priest answers him: "Pursue! So hath the Lord said. Go and thou wilt succeed." R. Juda, however, said: "He need not say, 'So hath God said.' He has only to say, 'Go and thou wilt succeed.' " One must not ask in a loud voice, as it is said (Num. 27, 21) And he shall ask of him (alone). Nor should he keep the question merely in his mind, because it is said. He shall ask of him before the Lord. Hence he should ask as Hannah prayed (I Sam. 1, 13) Now as for Hannah, she spoke in her heart. Two inquiries at a time should not be made, and if one makes two inquiries at a time, only one is answered; the first one, as it is said (Ib. 23, 11-12) Will the men of Ke'ilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down? etc. And the Lord said: He will came down. But you have said only the first question is answered? David asked (Ib. b) them not in the proper order, but he was answered in the proper order. Then, when David realized that he had not asked in the proper order, he repeated the second question: Will the men of Ke'ilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And he was answered: They will deliver. When, however, two questions must be asked at once [without delay], then the two questions are both answered, as it is said (Ib. 30, 8) Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them? And the reply was: Pursue, for thou wilt surely overtake them, and certainly recover. And although the decision of a prophet can be revoked, the decision of the Urim and Tummim cannot be changed, as it is said (Num. 27, 21) The judgment of the Urim. And why were they called Urim and Tumim? Urim, because they illuminate their words; Tumim, because they give a complete answer. One might ask: If so, then why did it not give a complete answer to Israel at Gibath Benjamin? Because the people did not think of asking whether they would be victorious or whether they would be defeated. They were answered, Go, and they were beaten; but later, when they understood how to inquire, they received a complete reply, as it is said (Jud. 20, 28) And Phineas. the son of El'azar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those day, saying: Shall I yet continue to go out to battle with the children of Benjamin, my brother, or shall I forbear? And the Lord said: Go up, for to-morrow will I deliver him into thy hand. How did the priest receive the reply? R. Jochanan said: "The letters [constituting the reply] became protruded." Resh Lakish said: "The letters [composing the words] came near each other." But the letter Tsade was not there. R. Samuel, son of R. Isaac, said: "The names of Abraham, Yitzshak and Jacob were also written there." But was not the letter Teth missing? The words Shibtei Jeshurun (the tribes of Israel) were likewise there. "Inquiries are not made except for a king," etc. Whence do we deduce this? R. Abahu said: "Scripture says (Num. 27, 21) Before Elazar, the priest shall he stand, and he shall ask of him after the judgment of the Urim before the Lord … he and all the children of Israel with him. He, refers to the king; and all Israel with him, refers to the priest anointed as the chaplain of the army; and all the congregation, refers to the Sanhedrin.

Eli led Israel for forty years, and the day Eli died, he forsook his tabernacle, as it is said, “He rejected the tent of Joseph” (Psalm 78:67), and “He gave His strength into captivity” (Psalm 78:61). And the Ark of the Lord was in the field of the Philistines for seven months. The Philistines called and said (1 Samuel 6:1-2). The men of Kiriath-Jearim came and took it, and it was from the day the Ark rested (1 Samuel 7:2). Subtract from these seven years the time David reigned in Hebron over Judah, which remained there for thirteen years, and subtract eleven years for Samuel himself and two years for Samuel and Saul. It was from the day the Ark rested (1 Samuel 7:2). At the beginning of these twenty years, the Tabernacle was brought to Nob. Although the Ark of the Lord was in Kiriath-Jearim, in Nob they offered sacrifices for thirteen years and for seven years in Gibeon. At the end of twenty years, David moved the Ark of the Lord from Kiriath-Jearim to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite, and the Ark of the Lord stayed in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months (2 Samuel 6:11). From this, we learn that Obed-Edom was blessed only because of the Ark of God.
Saul was one year into his reign (1 Samuel 13:1). Samuel said to Saul at the time of his anointing, “You will go down before me to Gilgal” (1 Samuel 10:8). Saul went down in the first year and struck the Ammonite king, and the Israelites anointed him. In the second year, he went down and did not keep his promise. Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord” (1 Samuel 13:13). In that chapter, David was anointed, as it is said, “And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul?’” (1 Samuel 16:1). Then Samuel took the horn of oil (1 Samuel 16:13), and he was twenty-nine years old. And Saul was hostile towards David (1 Samuel 18:9), and it is said, “The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul” (1 Samuel 16:14). In that chapter, Nob was destroyed, and they came to Gibeon.
All the days of Samuel the Seer were only fifty-two years. It is also said, “Eli the priest sat on the seat” (1 Samuel 1:9), and she was bitter in soul (1 Samuel 1:10). In that chapter, he was appointed as a judge, and it is said, “And he judged Israel forty years” (1 Samuel 4:18). Thirteen years remained. Subtract one year for the intercalation, eleven years for Samuel, and one year for Saul. Thus, fifty-two years. Samuel died about four months before Saul's death, as it is said, “And the number of days that David stayed in the field of the Philistines was days and four months” (1 Samuel 27:7). And afterward, David inquired of the Lord, saying (1 Samuel 30:8). Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, was forty years old when he began to reign (2 Samuel 2:10), and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem. The kingdom of Israel was therefore nullified for five and a half years. All the elders of Israel came to King Hebron (2 Samuel 5:3). In that chapter, David was anointed again, being thirty years old at his anointing (2 Samuel 5:4), and he reigned for forty years.

I will pursue my enemies. In the troop of Amalek, as it says (1 Samuel 30:8) "Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?" And he answered him, "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all." And I will not turn back until they are destroyed, as it says (1 Samuel 30:17) "And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day; and there escaped not a man of them save four hundred young men, who rode upon camels and fled." A decisive blow they received, but could not get up again. A crushing blow. And He armed me with strength for the battle. Since the beginning of His creation of the army, therefore, let those who rise up against me be overthrown beneath me....