וַיַּ֨עַן שְׁמוּאֵ֜ל אֶת־שָׁא֗וּל וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אָנֹכִ֣י הָרֹאֶ֔ה עֲלֵ֤ה לְפָנַי֙ הַבָּמָ֔ה וַאֲכַלְתֶּ֥ם עִמִּ֖י הַיּ֑וֹם וְשִׁלַּחְתִּ֣יךָ בַבֹּ֔קֶר וְכֹ֛ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר בִּֽלְבָבְךָ֖ אַגִּ֥יד לָֽךְ׃
I odpowiedział Samuel Saulowi, i rzekł: Jam jasnowidz; idź przedemną na wyżynę. Musicie dzisiaj jeść zemną, a jutro rano odprawię cię i objaśnię o wszystkiem, co w sercu twoim.
Rashi
For it is not as man perceives it. Even though you called yourself a seer, when you said to Shaul, 'I am the seer,'5Above 9:19. ה׳ punished Shmuel for inferring albeit an infinitesimal of pride by saying “I am the seer.” Moshe was similarly punished for saying “the matter that will be too difficult for you, present to me and I will hear it.” [Devarim 1:17]—Sifre, Devarim 1:17 here I am informing you that you do not see.
Rabbeinu Bahya
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.
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.
Rashi
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).