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1 Samuel 11

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Nahash Threatens Jabesh-gilead 1–4

1
Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabeshgilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. ​
2
And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel. ​
3
And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, Give us seven days' respite, that we may send messengers unto all the coasts of Israel: and then, if there be no man to save us, we will come out to thee.
4
Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted up their voices, and wept.

Saul Rises to Deliver Israel 5–11

5
And, behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh. ​
6
And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly. ​
7
And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent. ​
8
And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. ​
9
And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabeshgilead, To morrow, by that time the sun be hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and shewed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad.
10
Therefore the men of Jabesh said, To morrow we will come out unto you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good unto you.
11
And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together. ​

Saul Confirmed as King at Gilgal 12–15

12
And the people said unto Samuel, Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put them to death. ​
13
And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to day the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel. ​
14
Then said Samuel to the people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there.
15
And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal; and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for 1 Samuel 11

Verse 1

Nahash the Ammonite — Nahash is called ‘king of the children of Ammon’ (1 Sam 12:12). Israel had been told not to meddle with Ammon, whose land the LORD gave to ‘the children of Lot’ (Deut 2:19). Jabesh-gilead’s women had once been given to Benjamin (Judg 21:12–14). ‘Make a covenant’ is literally ‘cut’ one (karath).

Verse 2

thrust out all your right eyes — The verb is nakar, used of the Philistines who ‘put out’ Samson’s eyes (Judg 16:21). Nahash offers a covenant only on this condition, and its stated purpose is ‘a reproach’ (cherpah, disgrace) laid ‘upon all Israel’, not on Jabesh alone.

Verse 5

came after the herd out of the field — Saul had been taken by lot and acclaimed at Mizpeh (1 Sam 10:20–24), yet he ‘went home to Gibeah’ (10:26) and is found behind his cattle. The weeping of the people reaches ‘Gibeah of Saul’ (v.4), and he learns the tidings only by asking what ails them.

Verse 6

the Spirit of God came upon Saul — Tsalach, to push forward or rush upon; the same verb is used of the Spirit at 1 Sam 10:6, 10, of Samson (Judg 14:6) and later of David (1 Sam 16:13). Saul’s anger is ‘kindled greatly’. The deliverance begins with the Spirit’s coming, before any army is gathered.

Verse 7

a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces — The verb nathach is the one used of the Levite who ‘divided’ his concubine and sent the pieces ‘into all the coasts of Israel’ (Judg 19:29). The summons names ‘Saul and… Samuel’ together. The response is called ‘the fear of the LORD’ (pachad, dread), and the tribes come out ‘with one consent’, literally as one man.

Verse 8

three hundred thousand — Bezek is the muster-place, and the host is counted in two lines: ‘the children of Israel’ and ‘the men of Judah’ (thirty thousand). The same division appears when Saul numbers his army at Telaim: two hundred thousand footmen and ‘ten thousand men of Judah’ (1 Sam 15:4).

Verse 11

three companies — Gideon also divided his men ‘into three companies’ (Judg 7:16). The attack comes ‘in the morning watch’ and lasts ‘until the heat of the day’, which fits the messengers’ promise of help ‘by that time the sun be hot’ (v.9). The survivors are scattered so that ‘two of them were not left together’.

Verse 12

Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us? — This points back to the ‘children of Belial’ who asked ‘How shall this man save us?’ and brought him no presents (1 Sam 10:27). The people bring their demand to Samuel, not to Saul, and ask for those men to be put to death.

Verse 13

the LORD hath wrought salvation — Saul had ‘held his peace’ when despised (1 Sam 10:27); now he forbids any execution on ‘this day’. ‘Salvation’ is teshuah, rescue or deliverance, and he gives the credit for it to the LORD (‘hath wrought’), not to himself or to the army.

Verse 15

made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal — Gilgal was where Israel first encamped after crossing the Jordan and where Joshua set up the twelve stones (Josh 4:19–20). Samuel had said to ‘renew’ (chadash) the kingdom there (v.14). The ‘peace offerings’ (shelamim) are those of Lev 3, and Saul and Israel ‘rejoiced greatly’.