1 Samuel 11
11
Saul Defeats the Ammonites
1Now Nahash the #11:1 The Ammonites were descendants of Lot (Gen 19:36-38).Ammonite [king] went up and #11:1 This was a common military tactic used against a fortified (walled) city or garrison, to take it with a minimal loss of troops. All supplies and communication were cut off between the city and the outside world, in the hope of starving out the citizens or destroying their morale and will to resist.besieged Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty [of peace] with us and we will serve you.” 2But Nahash the Ammonite told them, “I will make a treaty with you on this condition, that I will #11:2 Partially blinding a man made him almost useless as an enemy combatant or archer because it hampered his depth perception and limited his peripheral vision.gouge out the right eye of every one of you, and make it a disgrace upon all Israel.” 3The elders of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Give us seven days so that we may send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out [and surrender] to you.” 4#11:4 Nahash granted the request, even though the Israelites’ offer to submit to slavery (v 1) clearly indicated that they were in essence already defeated. Nahash undoubtedly believed that there was no formidable person to save Israel, and he wanted to see them willingly submit to the painful and debilitating mutilation that he had planned for them.Then the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the news to the people; and all the people raised their voices and wept aloud.
5Now Saul was coming out of the field behind the oxen, and he said, “What is the matter with the people that they are weeping?” So they told him about the report of the men of Jabesh. 6The Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he became extremely angry. 7He took a team of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out to follow Saul and Samuel, the same shall be done to his oxen.” Then fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out [united] as one man [with one purpose]. 8He assembled and counted them at Bezek; and the sons of Israel numbered 300,000, and the men of Judah 30,000. 9They said to the messengers who had come, “You shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have #11:9 Lit deliverance.help [against the Ammonites].’ ” So the messengers came and reported this to the men of Jabesh; and they were overjoyed. 10So the men of Jabesh said [to Nahash the Ammonite], “Tomorrow we will come out to you [to surrender], and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” 11The next morning Saul put the men into three companies; and they entered the [Ammonites’] camp during the [darkness of the early] morning watch and killed the Ammonites until the heat of the day; and the survivors were scattered, and no two of them were left together.
12The people said to Samuel, “Who is the one who said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, and we will put them to death.” 13But Saul said, “No man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has brought #11:13 Lit deliverance.victory to Israel.”
14Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there restore the kingdom.” 15So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they also sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
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1 Samuel 11
11
Saul Rescues the Town of Jabesh in Gilead
1About this time,#10.27—11.1 But Saul … time: The Standard Hebrew Text; the Dead Sea Scrolls add “King Nahash of Ammon was making the people of Gad and Reuben miserable. He was poking out everyone's right eye, and no one in Israel could stop him. He had poked out the right eye of every Israelite man who lived east of the Jordan River. Only 7,000 men had escaped from the Ammonites, and they had gone into the town of Jabesh in Gilead. About a month later.” King Nahash of Ammon came with his army and surrounded the town of Jabesh in Gilead. The people who lived there told Nahash, “If you will sign a peace treaty with us, you can be our ruler, and we will pay taxes to you.”
2Nahash answered, “Sure, I'll sign a treaty! But not before I insult Israel by poking out the right eye of every man who lives in Jabesh.”
3The town leaders said, “Give us seven days so we can send messengers everywhere in Israel to ask for help. If no one comes here to save us, we will surrender to you.”
4Some of the messengers went to Gibeah, Saul's hometown. They told what was happening at Jabesh, and everyone in Gibeah started crying. 5Just then, Saul came in from the fields, walking behind his oxen.
“Why is everyone crying?” Saul asked.
They told him what the men from Jabesh had said. 6Then the Spirit of God suddenly took control of Saul and made him furious. 7Saul killed two of his oxen, cut them up in pieces, and gave the pieces to the#11.7 the: Or “some other.” messengers. He told them to show the pieces to everyone in Israel and say, “Saul and Samuel are getting an army together. Come and join them. If you don't, this is what will happen to your oxen!”
The Lord made the people of Israel terribly afraid. So all the men came together 8at Bezek. Saul had them organized and counted. There were 300,000 from Israel and 30,000#11.8 300,000 … 30,000: The Dead Sea Scrolls and some ancient translations have different numbers. from Judah.
9Saul and his officers sent the messengers back to Jabesh with this promise: “We will rescue you tomorrow afternoon.” The messengers went back to the people at Jabesh and told them that they were going to be rescued.
Everyone was encouraged! 10So they told the Ammonites, “We will surrender to you tomorrow, and then you can do whatever you want to.”
11The next day, Saul divided his army into three groups and attacked before daylight. They started killing Ammonites and kept it up until afternoon. A few Ammonites managed to escape, but they were scattered far from each other.
12The Israelite soldiers went to Samuel and demanded, “Where are the men who said they didn't want Saul to be king? Bring them to us, and we will put them to death!”
13“No you won't!” Saul told them. “The Lord rescued Israel today, and no one will be put to death.”
Saul Is Accepted as King
14“Come on!” Samuel said. “Let's go to Gilgal and make an agreement that Saul will continue to be our king.”
15Everyone went to the place of worship at Gilgal, where they agreed that Saul would be their king. Saul and the people sacrificed animals to ask for the Lord's blessing,#11.15 sacrificed … blessing: This kind of sacrifice is described in Leviticus 3; 7.11-36; 19.5-8. People who offered these sacrifices were allowed to eat most of the meat, and they could invite others to share it with them. and they had a big celebration.
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