TRV
Translation
King James Version
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.
KJV (with Strong's)
And it was so on the morrow H4283, that Saul H7586 put H7760 the people H5971 in three H7969 companies H7218; and they came H935 into the midst H8432 of the host H4264 in the morning H1242 watch H821, and slew H5221 the Ammonites H5983 until the heat H2527 of the day H3117: and it came to pass, that they which remained H7604 were scattered H6327, so that two H8147 of them were not left H7604 together H3162.
Complete Jewish Bible
The next day Sha'ul divided the people into three companies. Then they entered the camp of the 'Amoni during the morning watch and kept attacking until the heat of the day, until those who remained were so scattered that no two of them were left together.
Berean Standard Bible
The next day Saul organized the troops into three divisions, and during the morning watch they invaded the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them, until the hottest part of the day. And the survivors were so scattered that no two of them were left together.
American Standard Version
And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch, and smote the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they that remained were scattered, so that not two of them were left together.
World English Bible Messianic
On the next day, Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch, and struck the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who remained were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
Geneva Bible (1599)
And when the morowe was come, Saul put the people in three bandes, and they came in vpon the hoste in the morning watche, and slewe the Ammonites vntill the heate of the day: and they that remained, were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.
Young's Literal Translation
And it cometh to pass, on the morrow, that Saul putteth the people in three detachments, and they come into the midst of the camp in the morning-watch, and smite Ammon till the heat of the day; and it cometh to pass that those left are scattered, and there have not been left of them two together.
Study This Verse
Commentary on 1 Samuel 11 verses 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.
What is here related turns very much to the honour of Saul, and shows the happy fruits of that other spirit with which he was endued. Observe here,
I. His humility. Though he was anointed king, and accepted by his people, yet he did not think it below him to know the state of his own flocks, but went himself to see them, and came in the evening, with his servants, after the herd out of the field, Sa1 11:5. This was an evidence that he was not puffed up with his advancement, as those are most apt to be that are raised from a mean estate. Providence had not yet found him business as a king; he left all to Samuel; and therefore, rather than be idle, he would, for the present, apply himself to his country business again. Though the sons of Belial would, perhaps, despise him the more for it, such as were virtuous and wise, and loved business themselves, would think never the worse of him. He had no revenues settled upon him for the support of his dignity, and he was desirous not to be burdensome to the people, for which reason, like Paul, he worked with his hands; for, if he neglect his domestic affairs, how must he maintain himself and his family? Solomon gives it as a reason why men should look well to their herds because the crown doth not endure to every generation, Pro 27:23, Pro 27:24. Saul's did not; he must therefore provide something surer.
II. His concern for his neighbours. When he perceived them in tears, he asked, "What ails the people that they weep? Let me know, that, if it be a grievance which can be redressed, I may help them, and that, if not, I may weep with them." Good magistrates are in pain if their subjects are in tears.
III. His zeal for the safety and honour of Israel. When he heard of the insolence of the Ammonites, and the distress of a city, a mother in Israel, the Spirit of God came upon him, and put great thoughts into his mind, and his anger was kindled greatly, Sa1 11:6. He was angry at the insolence of the Ammonites, angry at the mean and sneaking spirit of the men of Jabesh-Gilead, angry that they had not sent him notice sooner of the Ammonites' descent and the extremity they were likely to be reduced to. He was angry to see his neighbours weeping, when it was fitter for them to be preparing for war. It was a brave and generous fire that was now kindled in the breast of Saul, and such as became his high station.
IV. The authority and power he exerted upon this important occasion. He soon let Israel know that, though he had retired to his privacy, he had a care for the public, and knew how to command men into the field, as well as how to drive cattle out of the field, Sa1 11:5, Sa1 11:7. He sent a summons to all the coasts of Israel, to show the extent of his power beyond his own tribe, even to all the tribes, and ordered all the military men forthwith to appear in arms at a general rendezvous in Bezek. Observe, 1. His modesty, in joining Samuel in commission with himself. He would not execute the office of a king without a due regard to that of a prophet. 2. His mildness in the penalty threatened against those that should disobey his orders. He hews a yoke of oxen in pieces, and sends the pieces to the several cities of Israel, threatening, with respect to him who should decline the public service, not, "Thus shall it be done to him," but, "Thus shall it be done to his oxen." God had threatened it as a great judgment (Deu 28:31), Thy ox shall be slain before thy eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof. It was necessary that the command should be enforced with some penalty, but this was not nearly so severe as that which was affixed to a similar order by the whole congregation, Jdg 21:5. Saul wished to show that his government was more gentle than that which they had been under. The effect of this summons was that the militia, or trained bands, of the nation, came out as one man, and the reason given is, because the fear of the Lord fell upon them. Saul did not affect to make them fear him, but they were influenced to observe his orders by the fear of God and a regard to him who had made Saul their king and them members one of another. Note, Religion and the fear of God will make men good subjects, good soldiers, and good friends to the public interests of the country. Those that fear God will make conscience of their duty to all men, particularly to their rulers.
V. His prudent proceedings in this great affair, Sa1 11:8. He numbered those that came in to him, that he might know his own strength, and how to distribute his forces in the best manner their numbers would allow. It is the honour of princes to know the number of their men, but it is the honour of the King of kings that there is not any number of his armies, Job 25:3. In this muster, it seems, Judah, though numbered by itself, made no great figure; for, as it was one tribe of twelve, so it was but an eleventh part of the whole number, 30,330, though the rendezvous was at Bezek, in that tribe. They wanted the numbers, or the courage, or the zeal for which that tribe used to be famous; so low was it, just before the sceptre was brought into it in David.
VI. His faith and confidence, and (grounded thereon) his courage and resolution, in this enterprise. It should seem that those very messengers who brought the tidings from Jabesh-Gilead Saul sent into the country to raise the militia, who would be sure to be faithful and careful in their own business, and them he now sends back to their distressed countrymen, with this assurance (in which, it is probable, Samuel encouraged him): "Tomorrow, by such an hour, before the enemy can pretend that the seven days have expired, you shall have deliverance, Sa1 11:9. Be you ready to do your part, and we will not fail to do ours. Do you sally out upon the besiegers, while we surround them." Saul knew he had a just cause, a clear call, and God on his side, and therefore doubted not of success. This was good news to the besieged Gileadites, whose right eyes had wept themselves dry for their calamities, and now began to fail with looking for relief and to ache in expectation of the doom of the ensuing day, when they must look their last; the greater the exigence the more welcome the deliverance. When they heard it they were glad, relying on the assurances that were sent to them. And they sent into the enemies' camp (Sa1 11:10) to tell them that next day they would be ready to meet them, which the enemies understood as an intimation that they despaired of relief, and so were made the more secure by it. If they took not care, by sending out scouts, to rectify their own mistake, they must thank themselves if they were surprised: the besieged were under no obligation to give them notice of the help they were assured of.
VII. His industry and close application to this business. If he had been bred up to war from his youth, and had led regiments as often as he had followed droves, he could not have gone about an affair of this nature more dexterously nor more diligently. When the Spirit of the Lord comes upon men it will make them expert even without experience. A vast army (especially in comparison with the present usage) Saul had now at his foot, and a long march before him, nearly sixty miles, and over Jordan too. No cavalry in his army, but all infantry, which he divides into three battalions, Sa1 11:11. And observe, 1. With what incredible swiftness he flew to the enemy. In a day and a night he came to the place of action, where his own fate, and that of Israel, must be determined. He had passed his word, and would not break it; nay, he was better than his word, for he promised help next day, by that time the sun was hot (Sa1 11:9), but brought it before day, in the morning-watch, Sa1 11:11. Whom God helps he helps right early, Psa 46:5. 2. With what incredible bravery he flew upon the enemy. Betimes in the morning, when they lay dreaming of the triumphs they expected that day over the miserable inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead, before they were aware he was in the midst of their host; and his men, being marched against them in three columns, surrounded them on every side, so that they could have neither heart nor time to make head against them.
Lastly, To complete his honour, God crowned all these virtues with success. Jabesh-Gilead was rescued, and the Ammonites were totally routed; he had now the day before him to complete his victory in, and so complete a victory it was that those who remained, after a great slaughter, were scattered so that two of them were not left together to encourage or help one another, Sa1 11:11. We may suppose that Saul was the more vigorous in this matter, 1. Because there was some alliance between the tribe of Benjamin and the city of Jabesh-Gilead. That city had declined joining with the rest of the Israelites to destroy Gibeah, which was then punished as their crime, but perhaps was now remembered as their kindness, when Saul of Gibeah came with so much readiness and resolution to relieve Jabesh-Gilead. Yet that was not all; two-thirds of the Benjamites that then remained were provided with wives from that city (Jdg 21:14), so that most of the mothers of Benjamin were daughters of Jabesh-Gilead, for which city Saul, being a Benjamite, had therefore a particular kindness; and we find they returned his kindness, Sa1 31:11, Sa1 31:12. 2. Because it was the Ammonites' invasion that induced the people to desire a king (so Samuel says, Sa1 12:12), so that if he had not done his part, in this expedition, he would have disappointed their expectations, and for ever forfeited their respect.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 5–11. Public domain.
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Gregory the DialogistAD 604
SIX BOOKS ON 1 KINGS 5.20
The people were divided into three parts, so that we might not strike the serpent Nahash in one battle line alone. The people were divided into three parts so that they might reveal the fruit and dignity of sacred fasting. By fasting we are called back to the contemplation of the holy Trinity, which we lost by eating the forbidding fruit. The people were also divided into three groups because this act commended the fasts of the law, the prophets and the gospel. When Moses was deemed worthy to receive the law, he twice fasted for forty days. When Elijah escaped the hand of Jezebel, he came to Mount Horeb on the strength of one meal that sufficed him for forty days. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ fasted for forty days in the wilderness and did not eat any food of any kind. Therefore, Saul divided the people into three parts in order to promote the fasts of the law, the prophets and the gospel as an example for those abstaining from food.
BedeAD 735
Commentary on Samuel
But the rest were dispersed, etc. The heart and soul of the multitude of believers, although widely scattered, are one. However, the heretics, who seem to have temporarily escaped the judgment of the Church, and are expelled farther from her, are also discordant among themselves. Just as Isaiah said, “And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians” (Isaiah 19). For Sabellius against Arius, Eutyches against Nestorius, Photinus against the Manichean, and the rest of the impious against the impious, stir up the weapons of iniquity.
BedeAD 735
Commentary on Samuel
And it happened when the next day came, etc. It happened when the grace of God the Savior appeared for the help of the struggling Church, He established it in three parts of the faithful, namely of the married, the continent, and the teachers; whom the prophet designates under the names of Noah, Daniel, and Job, skillfully instructing each group to sharpen themselves for defending the peace of the Church.
BedeAD 735
Commentary on Samuel
And he entered the middle of the camp in the morning watch, etc. As Lucifer of sound doctrine rises among the darkness of heresies, immediately the camps of perfidy are disturbed. But with the Scriptures glowing from the Sun of righteousness, they vanish, completely anathematized. For the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (John 1).
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
1 Samuel 11:11 powerfully narrates the decisive and overwhelming victory of Israel, under the strategic leadership of King Saul, against the Ammonites. This verse marks the triumphant culmination of Saul's inaugural military campaign, vividly demonstrating his divinely empowered leadership and solidifying his nascent kingship through a meticulously planned surprise dawn attack that utterly routed the enemy forces, scattering them so completely that their cohesion was irrevocably destroyed.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The narrative in 1 Samuel 11:11 employs several powerful literary devices to convey the magnitude and significance of Israel's victory. The most prominent is Hyperbole, evident in the phrase "so that two of them were not left together," which dramatically emphasizes the completeness and devastating effectiveness of the Ammonite rout. While not literally meaning no two individuals remained, it vividly portrays the utter disarray, demoralization, and dissolution of their forces, leaving them incapable of further resistance. The description of Saul's actions also highlights Strategic Foresight and Decisive Action, as his astute division of troops and the precise timing of the attack are presented as the pivotal elements in the unparalleled success. The narrative structure itself functions as a Climax, bringing the initial tension of Nahash's siege to a triumphant and definitive resolution, thereby solidifying Saul's role as a divinely appointed deliverer. Furthermore, the rapid progression from the "morning watch" to the "heat of the day" creates a powerful sense of Relentless Momentum, underscoring the sustained, overwhelming, and unceasing nature of the Israelite assault.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
The decisive victory in 1 Samuel 11:11 stands as a powerful testament to God's unwavering faithfulness to His people and His sovereign ability to raise up and empower leaders for the accomplishment of His divine purposes. While Saul's strategic genius and decisive action are undeniably evident, the overwhelming thoroughness of the victory, particularly the complete scattering of the enemy, points unmistakably to a divine hand at work. This monumental event establishes Saul's kingship not merely by human acclamation or political maneuvering but by profound divine validation through military success, echoing the consistent pattern seen throughout Israel's history where God grants victory to His chosen instruments. It foreshadows the ongoing spiritual warfare that God's people perpetually face, where ultimate victory is secured not by human might or wisdom alone, but by divine intervention, empowerment, and strategic direction.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
The account of Saul's victory over the Ammonites offers profound and enduring lessons for believers today. It powerfully reminds us that God frequently employs human strategy, courage, and leadership to accomplish His divine purposes. When faced with daunting challenges, formidable obstacles, or spiritual threats, we are called not to passive resignation or fearful inaction, but to courageous, Spirit-empowered action. Saul's immediate and decisive response, his meticulous strategic planning, and his relentless pursuit of the enemy demonstrate the critical importance of decisive leadership and sustained effort in overcoming adversity. This victory was not merely a military triumph but a deeply spiritual one, unequivocally confirming God's active presence and formidable power among His people. For us, this means that while we are to pray fervently and trust implicitly in God's sovereignty, we are also profoundly responsible for employing wisdom, diligence, unity, and all available resources in our endeavors, particularly in the context of spiritual battles. True victory, whether personal or corporate, often requires a complete and unwavering commitment to the task, trusting that God will empower our efforts and bring about a thorough and lasting deliverance.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Was Saul's victory solely due to his military genius, or was there a divine element at play?
Answer: While Saul undeniably demonstrated significant military genius in his strategic planning—dividing his forces into three companies and launching a surprise dawn attack—the biblical narrative strongly emphasizes the indispensable divine element. 1 Samuel 11:6 explicitly states that "the Spirit of God came mightily upon Saul" immediately before he rallied Israel. This divine empowerment transformed him from a hesitant and unassuming figure into a decisive and formidable leader. The overwhelming nature of the victory, where the Ammonites were scattered so completely that their cohesion was utterly destroyed, points unmistakably to God's sovereign hand ensuring the success of His anointed king and delivering His people. Saul was God's chosen instrument, and his human strategy was blessed, amplified, and ultimately perfected by divine power.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Saul's victory over the Ammonites was a significant and pivotal moment in Israel's history, establishing a human king as a deliverer, it ultimately points forward with profound typological significance to the perfect and ultimate Deliverer, Jesus Christ. Saul, though anointed by God, was a flawed and temporary king whose deliverance was limited to physical enemies and temporal salvation. Jesus, however, is the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords, whose victory is eternal, comprehensive, and universally applicable. Just as Saul strategically divided his forces and launched a surprise attack at the "morning watch," Jesus, through His sacrificial death and glorious resurrection, launched the decisive and triumphant offensive against the ultimate spiritual enemies of humanity: sin, death, and the devil (Hebrews 2:14-15). His "morning watch" was the resurrection, a glorious dawn that shattered the power of darkness and scattered the forces of evil, ensuring that no spiritual enemy could stand against His redeemed people (Colossians 2:15). The complete rout of the Ammonites foreshadows the ultimate and final triumph of Christ, who will finally cast all enemies under His feet, establishing an eternal kingdom of peace, righteousness, and perfect justice where no opposing force can remain (1 Corinthians 15:25-26). Jesus is the greater Saul, whose victory brings not just physical safety but eternal salvation, spiritual liberation from the bondage of sin, and everlasting life.