What is the meaning of "va'Yshama"?
Rashi: He announced to them, like "va'Yiza'ek" (14:20). 1
Radak citing Targum Yonasan: He gathered. This is like "va'Ye'esof" (Bereishis 29:22). He gathered them so they will consent to go to war.
Radak: It is gathering through announcing. This is like "Mashmi'im Al ha'Shekalim" (Shekalim 1:1).
Malbim: Since he announced the Navi's command, this shows that he did not fear the nation. Had he rebuked them to fulfill the Navi's command, they would have obeyed!
What is the meaning of "ba'Tela'im"?
Rashi (from Yuma 22b): He counted them via lambs, for one may not count Yisraelim - "Lo Yisafer me'Rov" (Bereishis 32:13). Everyone took a lamb from the king 1 , and they counted the lambs. Also refer to 11:8:2:1.
Radak: It is the name of a place. Even though it has [a Patach under the Beis, which is like] the prefix Hei, which is atypical for a place, we find like this - "ba'Karkor" (Shoftim 8:11), "ba'Sukos 2 ", "ba'Shitim" (Bamidbar 25:1).
Radak citing Targum Yonasan: [He counted] via lambs for Korban Pesach. If so, it was close to Pesach, and in Nov, for Pesach is not offered on a private Bamah.
Malbim: This shows that Sha'ul was rich, so we cannot say that he desired the spoils!
I do not know which "ba'Sukos" he refers to. It seems that in Shmuel 2:11:11 and Melachim 1 20:12, "ba'Sukos" means "in huts", like Targum Yonasan there. Bamidbar 33:5 clearly refers to the city Sukos, but it says "b'Sukos"; I did not find anyone say that it is ba'Sukos. (PF)
