TRV
Translation
King James Version
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.
KJV (with Strong's)
And he took H3947 a yoke H6776 of oxen H1241, and hewed them in pieces H5408, and sent H7971 them throughout all the coasts H1366 of Israel H3478 by the hands H3027 of messengers H4397, saying H559, Whosoever cometh not forth H3318 after H310 Saul H7586 and after H310 Samuel H8050, so shall it be done H6213 unto his oxen H1241. And the fear H6343 of the LORD H3068 fell H5307 on the people H5971, and they came out H3318 with one H259 consent H376.
Complete Jewish Bible
he seized a pair of oxen and cut them in pieces; then he sent them throughout the territory of Isra'el with messengers saying, "Anyone who doesn't come and follow Sha'ul and Sh'mu'el, this is what will be done to his oxen!"The fear of ADONAI fell on the people, and they came out with united hearts.
Berean Standard Bible
He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent them by messengers throughout the land of Israel, proclaiming, “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not march behind Saul and Samuel.” Then the terror of the LORD fell upon the people, and they turned out as one man.
American Standard Version
And he took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the dread of Jehovah fell on the people, and they came out as one man.
World English Bible Messianic
He took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever doesn’t come out after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen.” The dread of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out as one man.
Geneva Bible (1599)
And tooke a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coastes of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoeuer commeth not foorth after Saul, and after Samuel, so shall his oxen be serued. And the feare of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.
Young's Literal Translation
and he taketh a couple of oxen, and cutteth them in pieces, and sendeth through all the border of Israel, by the hand of the messengers, saying, `He who is not coming out after Saul and after Samuel--thus it is done to his oxen;' and the fear of Jehovah falleth on the people, and they come out as one man.
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In the KJVVerse 7,453 of 31,102
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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BedeAD 735
Commentary on Samuel
And taking both oxen, he cut them into pieces, etc. And taking both the wise man of carnal observance of the law and the one who gloried in secular philosophy, the Lord destroyed whatever they knew arrogantly with evangelical simplicity, truth, and humility; and He sent this through all the boundaries of the Church by the works of the evangelists, who earn the name by announcing well: Saying, Whoever will not depart from his paternal way of life, which was in the world, and will not gird himself up to undertake the spiritual struggle, by following the admonitions of the Gospel and prophecy in profession and deed, thinking to govern everything discreetly through action, or beneficially meditated by rumination on the word, as an example of those of whom it is said: Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? (I Cor. I), at the end he will find them to be destroyed.
BedeAD 735
Commentary on Samuel
Therefore, the fear of the Lord seized the people, etc. Upon hearing through the Gospel what heretics and schismatics, what pagans and unfaithful Jews are to suffer, the people of the faithful, struck with a wholesome fear, departing from the enticements of the old man, took themselves into the unity of the Catholic Church. And, scorning all the lurking places of the apocrypha, they came to be counted by Christ in the light of the shining Gospel, and to receive their name in heaven. For this reason, Bezec is rightly interpreted as lightning, certainly signifying that heavenly light of truth and grace, about which the Lord, teaching that heretics are to be avoided, said, “And they will say to you, 'Behold, here,' or 'Behold, there.' Do not go out, nor follow them;” He added and said, “For as the lightning flashes under heaven and shines to the other part under heaven, so will the Son of Man be in His day” (Luke XVII). And about which the Psalmist says, “He multiplied and troubled them” (Psalm XVII). Nor is it without reason that Bezec is also said to mean poverty. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew V). And those who, leaving everything, follow the Lord, why would they not be thought to be counted by their King in Bezec?
BedeAD 735
Commentary on Samuel
And behold, Saul came, following oxen from the field, etc. And behold, the Lord came as a helper at the right time in tribulation, who was born as a man in the world after many experts in the law and learned philosophers, whom, however, He drove from the field of external freedom to taking on the walls of the Church by teaching heavenly things, and who was always diligent in considering the tears of the Church, so that He, as a pious comforter, might wipe them away and console them.
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 11:7 captures the dramatic and divinely empowered response of Saul to the Ammonite threat against Jabesh-Gilead. In a visceral act of ancient Near Eastern custom, Saul dismembers a yoke of oxen and sends the pieces throughout Israel, accompanied by a dire warning: those who fail to rally behind him and Samuel will suffer a similar fate. This shocking summons, however, is not merely human coercion; it is divinely sanctioned, as "the fear of the LORD fell on the people," compelling a fragmented Israel to unite "with one consent" and respond to the call, marking a pivotal moment in the establishment of the monarchy.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The verse employs several potent literary devices to convey its message with maximum impact. Symbolism is central, with the dismembered oxen serving as a stark symbol of the dire consequences awaiting those who fail to respond to the call for national defense. This gruesome visual imagery is designed to evoke a strong emotional and visceral reaction, emphasizing the urgency and severity of the situation. The phrase "the fear of the LORD fell on the people" indicates divine intervention, highlighting God's direct, unseen influence on the hearts and wills of the Israelites, transforming their will from apathy or tribalism to unified action. Furthermore, there is a striking contrast between Saul's previously humble and even hidden demeanor (1 Samuel 10:22) and his sudden, decisive, and terrifying act of leadership, underscoring the transformative power of the Spirit of God upon him. The concluding phrase "with one consent" also functions as hyperbole to emphasize the remarkable and unprecedented unity achieved across the often-fragmented tribes of Israel.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
1 Samuel 11:7 powerfully illustrates God's sovereign ability to use human leaders and even dramatic, unconventional means to accomplish His divine purposes, particularly in unifying His people for a common cause. The "fear of the LORD" is a profound theological concept, not merely terror, but a reverential awe that compels obedience and righteous action. Here, it is the divine catalyst that overcomes deep-seated tribal divisions, demonstrating that true unity among God's people is ultimately a work of His Spirit, not merely human coercion. This episode establishes Saul's leadership as divinely sanctioned and reveals God's unwavering commitment to protecting His covenant people, even through a newly established monarchy, reinforcing His active involvement in Israel's history.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
This passage offers profound insights into divine leadership, the power of unity, and the nature of obedience. Just as God empowered Saul and instilled a unifying "fear of the LORD" in His people, He continues to call and equip leaders today within His church and in the world. For believers, this verse challenges us to consider our response when God calls for bold action or unity in the face of spiritual or societal threats. Do we allow tribalism, apathy, personal comfort, or fear to hinder our collective response, or do we, like Israel, respond "with one consent" when the Spirit of God moves? A healthy reverence for the Lord—a "fear of the LORD" that inspires awe, trust, and obedience—is still essential for us to align with God's purposes, overcome divisions, and participate effectively in His kingdom work, even when it requires personal sacrifice or uncomfortable steps of faith. It reminds us that true unity is often a supernatural work, born out of a shared reverence for God and His will.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Was Saul's act of cutting the oxen a common practice in ancient times?
Answer: Yes, while shocking to modern sensibilities, the act of dismembering an animal and sending its parts as a summons or warning was a known, albeit extreme, practice in the ancient Near East. It served as a powerful, visceral message to rally people for war, to signify a broken covenant, or to issue a dire threat. A similar, though more horrific, act is recorded in Judges 19:29, where a Levite dismembers his concubine to summon the tribes to justice. In Saul's case, it was a clear and unmistakable call to arms, conveying the message that those who failed to respond would suffer a similar fate to the oxen, emphasizing the urgency and gravity of the national crisis.
What does "the fear of the LORD" mean in this context, and how did it influence the people?
Answer: "The fear of the LORD" here does not primarily mean terror or dread, but rather a profound, divinely inspired awe, reverence, and respect that leads to obedience and action. It signifies God's direct spiritual influence on the hearts of the people, overcoming their natural hesitation, apathy, or tribal disunity. It was a supernatural catalyst that moved them to respond "with one consent," demonstrating God's active hand in their mobilization. This concept is seen throughout Scripture, where the fear of the Lord leads to wisdom (Proverbs 9:10) and prompts righteous action, as when Israel feared the Lord after witnessing His power at the Red Sea in Exodus 14:31. It is a holy reverence that aligns human will with divine purpose.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While 1 Samuel 11:7 depicts an earthly king's dramatic call to arms, it ultimately points to the ultimate King, Jesus Christ, and His profound call to His people. Saul's Spirit-empowered leadership foreshadows Christ, who was fully anointed by the Holy Spirit without measure (John 3:34) and upon whom the Spirit of the Lord rested to preach good news (Luke 4:18-19). Just as Saul gathered a fragmented Israel, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, gathers His scattered sheep, declaring, "I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd" (John 10:16). The "fear of the LORD" that compelled Israel to unity finds its New Testament parallel in the reverent awe and loving obedience that believers owe to Christ, our King and Lord (Hebrews 12:28-29). It is this profound reverence for Him, coupled with the indwelling Holy Spirit, that unites the diverse members of His body, the Church, enabling them to act "with one consent" in fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and living out their shared faith (Philippians 2:1-4). The unity achieved under Saul was temporary and imperfect, but the unity of believers in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, is spiritual and eternal, reflecting the very nature of the triune God (Ephesians 4:3-6).