The First Book of Samuel, otherwise called the First Book of the Kings
1 Samuel 13
Chapter XIII · Vol. II, pp. 646–647
1 Saul's select band. 3 He calleth the Hebrews to Gilgal against the Philistines, whose garrison Jonathan had smitten. 5 The Philistines' great host. 6 The distress of the Israelites. 8 Saul, weary of staying for Samuel, sacrificeth. 11 Samuel reproveth him. 17 The three spoiling bands of the Philistines. 19 The policy of the Philistines, in suffering no smith in Israel.
1 Saul reigneda one year;1 and when he had reigned two years over Israel,2
B.C. 1063 or 1093.
a ch.10.24; 11.15.
1 Heb. the son of one year in his reigning.
2 He reigned one year but in name and private retirement (ch.11.5), and now in the second year he proceeds to organize a permanent military force, divided, in modern phrase, into three regiments of 1000, and judiciously posted in three separate garrisons—the first example on record of a standing army—as distinct from general military service.—C.
2 Saul bchose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in cMichmash and in mount Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in dGibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.
3 And Jonathan smote ethe garrison of the Philistines that was in fGeba; and the Philistines heard of it.3 And Saul gblew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.4
e ch.10.5.
f Or, the hill, Jos.18.24.
3 'Mount Bethel' appears to have been the mountain east of Bethel where Abraham encamped. Michmash lay below it, eastward, about two miles distant. Geba was only a mile and half south of Michmash, but between them lay a deep and rugged ravine. This ravine Jonathan crossed, and cut off the Philistine garrison in Geba.—P.
g Ju.3.27; 6.34. 2 Sa.2.28; 20.22.
4 Some interpret the word Hebrews not of the Israelites generally, but of 'the people beyond the river,' that is, east of Jordan. But why should the trumpet be blown 'throughout all the land' if the words only called two tribes and a half? The phrase must therefore be understood as a general name of the Israelites.—C.
4 And all Israel heard say, that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also hwas had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to iGilgal.
h Heb. did stink, Ge.34.30; 46.34.
i Jos.5.9,10; 4.19. ch.10.8; 11.14,15.
5 And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots,5 and six thousand horsemen, and people kas the sand which is on the sea-shore in multitude: and they came up and pitched in Michmash, eastward from lBeth-aven.
6 When the men of Israel saw that they mwere in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.
m Ex.14.10-12. Ju.10.9; 6.2. ch.14.11.
7 And nsome of the Hebrews6 went over Jordan to the land of oGad and Gilead: as for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and pall the people followed him trembling.7
A.M. 2941 B.C. 1063
6 This would seem to favour the idea that Hebrews meant the trans-Jordanites; for the reason stated in the note on ver.3, we even here consider it a name for the whole nation. Had it been otherwise, this verse should have read, for 'went,' 'returned;' and for 'Gad and Gilead,' into 'their own land.'—C.
p Ju.7.3.
7 Heb. trembled after him.
8 Andq he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.
q ch.10.8.
9 And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt-offering to me, and peace-offerings. And he roffered the burnt-offering.
10 And it came to pass, that sas soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt-offering, behold, Samuel came;8 and Saul went out to meet him, that he might tsalute him.
8 We see here a striking specimen of impatience and punctuality. Saul waits till the seventh day, but does not wait seven days; and just as that period is near completion, Samuel arrives, true to his appointment. Such little matters are often the best tests of character, and the turning-points of the greatest events.—C.
t Heb. bless him, Ru.2.4. Ps.129.8.
11 And Samuel said, uWhat hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash;x
12 Therefore ysaid I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication9 unto the LORD: zI forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt-offering.
13 And Samuel said to Saul, aThou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee;1 for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.
a Pr.19.3. De.4.6. 2 Sa.12.7,9. 1 Ki.18.18. 2 Ch.16.9; 19.2. Mat.14.3.
1 This does not refer to the appointment, ch.10.8, for that was given immediately after Saul was anointed, and this event occurred in the second year of his reign. The command here seems to refer to the ordinance of sacrifice, which none but priests could legally offer, and which Saul seems to have offered with his own hand.—C.
14 But bnow thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, cbecause thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.
b ch.2.30; 15.26,28. Ho.13.10,11, with Ps.89.19,20; 78.70; 4.3. ch.16.1,12. Ac.13.22.
c Is.3.11; 59.1,2. La.3.39. ch.12.25. Je.2.17,19; 4.18; 5.25; 6.19. Pr.1.31; 13.21. Ps.9.15,16; 140.11.
15 And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present2 with him, dabout six hundred men.
2 Heb. found.
d ver.2,6,7; ch.14.2.
16 And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gibeah3 of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.
3 The Hebrew is Geba. Samuel was at Gibeah, the native place of Saul; but Saul and Jonathan took up a position at Geba, from which Jonathan had driven the Philistine garrison. Geba is 3 miles north by east of Gibeah, and a mile and half south of Michmash, where the vast army of the Philistines was now encamped. The two camps were in full view of each other, though separated by a deep and very rugged ravine.—P.
17 And the spoilers4 came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned unto the way that leadeth to eOphrah, unto the land of Shual:
18 And another company turned the way to fBeth-horon: and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to gthe valley of Zeboim,5 toward the wilderness.6
19 Now hthere was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: (for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews7 make them swords or spears:)
h Ju.5.8; 15.15. 2 Ki.24.14. Je.24.1. ch.17.45.
7 This verse confirms decidedly our view of the word Hebrews, in ver.3,7, for it is equivalent to 'all the land of Israel,' and 'all the Israelites.'—C.
20 But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen8 every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock.
8 Not to sharpen, in the sense of whetting, for that could be done anywhere; but in the sense of welding and lengthening when worn out by use.—C.
21 Yet they had a file9 for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen1 the goads.2
9 Heb. a file with mouths.
1 Heb. to set.
2 This verse may be translated: 'And bluntness of the edges occurred to the edge-tools, and the ploughshares, and the forks, and the axes, and the setting of the goads.' This seems more in accordance with the scope of the passage, though the construction of the original is very obscure.—P.
22 So it came to pass, in the day of battle, ithat there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul, and with Jonathan his son, was there found.
23 And the garrison3 of the Philistines went out to the kpassage of Michmash.4
3 Or, standing camp.
k A narrow passage between two hills, ch.14.4,5.
4 'The passage (or pass) of Michmash' was the ravine which lay between the two camps. The object of this movement appears to have been to prevent a surprise. The Philistines had already experienced sharp proofs of Jonathan's daring, when he crossed the same pass from Michmash, and smote their garrison in Geba.—P.
Notes
[Ver. 1. The literal translation of this verse is as follows:—'The son of a year was Saul in his reigning; and two years reigned he over Israel.' The meaning is very obscure. The construction of the sentence is identical with 2 Ch. 24. 1, and many other passages in which the historian records the age of the monarch when he ascended the throne, and the number of years he reigned. This gives probability to the conjecture that the numbers have in some way been omitted by an early copyist. The passage, therefore, may be thus rendered: 'Saul was . . . years old when he began to reign, and he reigned . . . two years over Israel.' P.]
Ver. 5. [Thirty thousand chariots. In some versions the number of chariots is 3000 instead of 30,000, and this reading is supported by contrasting so many chariots with so few horsemen; and certainly a very slight change in a Hebrew word would produce the change of numbers. But even 3000 chariots is beyond all example in war. Pharaoh had 600; Jabin 900, Ju. 4. 3; David took 1000, 2 Sa. 8. 3; and, so far as profane history is to be regarded, the chariots in the greatest armies were comparatively few. The word translated chariots, however, is certainly sometimes taken for the men fighting in or with them, 2 Sa. 10. 18; 1 Ki. 20. 21; 1 Ch. 19. 18. Now, as we can neither tell how many men fought in the chariot, nor how many attended for its support, it is impossible for us to decide how many were called a chariot in these passages; allowing, however, barely three for the chariot itself, and adding body servants for the charioteers, and grooms and foragers for the horses, in eastern proportion—and adding to these a party of foot-soldiers, absolutely necessary for the support of the chariot—it would not be too much to allow 30 men to each chariot, and this would give merely 1000 chariots in all. C.]
Reflections.—God quickly renders men miserable in the enjoyment of their own inventions for safety: and leaves such as trust to their own understanding, to the most impolitic, if not treacherous conduct. It is easy for him to awaken the resentment of nations, or to levy prodigious armies, when he hisses for them, and musters the host to the battle. And the greatest nations, and most flourishing churches, when God has deserted them, appear pitiful and contemptible. In perplexing straits, men often entangle themselves more and more by using sinful means of relief. Impatience to help ourselves, and unwillingness to leave our concerns in God's hands, serve only to involve us in new troubles. It is infinitely dangerous for the greatest to invade the ministerial office, and run when God has not sent them: it may cost them a kingdom, nay, their everlasting damnation. Disobedience against God's positive precepts can admit of no excuse. Every attempt to extenuate our guilt is a proof of an unhumbled spirit. The more we sin against conviction, the more aggravated is our transgression: and pretences to religion, whilst we act in opposition to God's commands, are but barefaced hypocrisy. Want of true sense always accompanies want of grace. Sins, which to us appear very little, have dangerous consequences; and plain and faithful rebukes become God's ministers. How unstable is earthly grandeur—to-day we may be enthroned, and to-morrow deposed! Miserable is a guilty, a defenceless nation—and much more they who are destitute of the whole armour of God.