1 Samuel 13
13
War with the Philistines
1Saul was #As in some mss of the LXX; Hebrew omits thirty. The original wording of this verse is uncertain.thirty years old when he began to reign, and #Or after he reigned two years over Israel Saul chose...he reigned #See Acts 13:21; Hebrew omits forty.forty-two years over Israel.
2Saul chose for himself 3,000 men of Israel; of whom 2,000 were with him in Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, while 1,000 were with Jonathan at Gibeah of Benjamin. But he sent the rest of the people away, each one to his own tent. 3Jonathan attacked and defeated the Philistine garrison which was at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” 4All Israel heard that Saul had defeated the Philistine garrison, and also that Israel had become despicable to the Philistines. And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.
5Now the Philistines gathered to fight against Israel, 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen, and troops in multitude, like sand on the seashore. They came up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven. 6When the men of Israel saw that they were in a tight situation (for their troops were hard-pressed), they hid in caves, in thickets, in cellars, and in [dry] cisterns (pits). 7Also some of the Hebrews had crossed the [river] Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him, trembling [in fear and anticipation].
8Now Saul waited seven days, according to the appointed time which Samuel had set, but Samuel had not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattering away from Saul. 9So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And #This was a direct violation of the instructions Samuel had given to Saul (10:8).he offered the burnt offering [which he was forbidden to do]. 10As soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, #Lit behold, Samuel came.Samuel finally came; Saul went out to meet and to #Lit bless.welcome him. 11But Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “Since I saw that the people were scattering away from me, and that you did not come within the appointed time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, 12therefore, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked for the Lord’s favor [by making supplication to Him].’ So I forced myself to offer the burnt offering.” 13Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for [if you had obeyed] the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man (David) after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as leader and ruler over His people, because you have not kept (obeyed) what the Lord commanded you.”
15Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul assembled and counted the people who were still with him, [only] about six hundred [fighting] men. 16Saul and his son Jonathan and the people with them were staying in Geba of Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Michmash. 17And the raiding party came from the Philistine camp in three companies: one company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual, 18another company turned toward Beth-horon, and another toward the border overlooking the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
19Now no #Israel lacked the ability to produce iron until the time of Solomon.blacksmith (metal-worker) could be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears.” 20So all [the men of] Israel went down to the Philistines, each to get his plowshare, pick, axe, or sickle sharpened. 21The fee [for sharpening] was a pim (two-thirds of a shekel) for the plowshares, the picks, the pitchforks, and the axes, and to straighten the goads (cattle prods). 22So it came about on the day of battle that #Because the Israelite did not yet know how to work iron, their weapons were limited to the bow and arrow, and the sling. The sling was a formidable projectile weapon that had a small cradle or pouch between two lengths of cord. It was used not only in combat by ancient people, but also for hunting game.neither sword nor spear was found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan; but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. 23And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass at Michmash.
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1 Samuel 13
13
1Saul was thirty when he became king, and he reigned over Israel for forty-two years. 2Saul had chosen three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand of them were with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and another thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. He sent the rest of the army home.
3Jonathan attacked the Philistine garrison at Geba. The Philistines soon heard about it, so Saul had the trumpet call to arms sounded throughout the land, saying, “Hebrews,#13:3. “Hebrews”: the term is the name given by others to the Israelites, and so used here reminds the Israelites they are dominated by other nations. Some have even suggested that the term was used for Israelites who were slaves to foreigners. pay attention!”
4All of Israel heard the news, “Saul has attacked the Philistine garrison, and now Israel is like a bad smell to the Philistines!” So the whole army was called up to join Saul at Gilgal.
5The Philistines gathered to fight against Israel. They had three thousand#13:5. The Hebrew text reads “30,000” which seems excessive. The Lucian version of the Septuagint and the Syriac read 3,000. chariots, six thousand horsemen, and soldiers as numerous as sand on the seashore. They advanced and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.
6When the Israelite men realized the tough situation they were in, and that the army was taking a beating, they hid themselves in caves, holes, rocks, pits, and cisterns. 7Some of the Hebrews even crossed the Jordan into the territory of Gad and Gilead, but Saul stayed at Gilgal, and all the men with him were trembling with fear. 8Saul waited there seven days for the time that Samuel had said, but Samuel did not arrive at Gilgal, and the army started to desert him.
9So Saul ordered, “Bring the burnt offering and the friendship offerings to me,” and he presented the burnt offering.
10Just as he finished presenting the burnt offering, he saw Samuel arrive. Saul went over to meet him and say hello.
11“What have you done?” Samuel asked.
Saul replied, “Well I saw my men were deserting me, and you hadn't arrived when you said you would, and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash to attack. 12I said to myself, ‘The Philistines are about to attack me at Gilgal, and I haven't asked the Lord for his help.’ So I felt I had to present the burnt offering myself.”
13“You've been really stupid,” Samuel told him. “You haven't kept the commands of the Lord your God. If you had, the Lord would have made your kingdom over Israel secure forever. 14But now your kingdom won't last. The Lord has found for himself a man who thinks like him, and has chosen him as ruler over his people, because you haven't kept the commands of the Lord.”
15Then Samuel left Gilgal. The rest of the soldiers followed Saul to meet the army, going from Gilgal to Geba in Benjamin.#13:15. One section of this verse is missing in the Hebrew text, probably due to a copyist's mistake, and the Septuagint is followed here. Saul counted the number of soldiers who were with him and there were about six hundred. 16Saul, his son Jonathan, and the soldiers with them were staying in Geba of Benjamin, while the Philistines were camped at Michmash. 17Three groups of raiders left the Philistine camp to go and attack. One group went towards Ophrah in the land of Shual, 18one towards Beth-horon, and one towards the border that looks down on the Valley of Zeboim by the wilderness.
19There wasn't a blacksmith to be found anywhere in Israel, because the Philistines had said, “So that the Hebrews don't make swords and spears.” 20All the Israelites had to go to the Philistines to sharpen their iron plowshares, pickaxes, axes, and sickles. 21The fee was two-thirds of a shekel#13:21. “Two-thirds of a shekel”: literally “one pim.” for plowshares and pickaxes, and a third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and cattle prods.
22So when it came to the day of battle none of the soldiers with Saul and Jonathan had swords or spears—only Saul and his son Jonathan had such weapons.
23A Philistine garrison had taken control of the pass at Michmash.#13:23. This verse is better taken with the following chapter.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com