1 Samuel 12:1--14:23
Konteks12:1 Samuel said to all Israel, “I have done 1 everything you requested. 2 I have given you a king. 3 12:2 Now look! This king walks before you. As for me, I am old and gray, though my sons are here with you. I have walked before you from the time of my youth till the present day. 12:3 Here I am. Bring a charge against me before the Lord and before his chosen king. 4 Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I wronged? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I taken a bribe so that I would overlook something? Tell me, 5 and I will return it to you!”
12:4 They replied, “You have not wronged us or oppressed us. You have not taken anything from the hand of anyone.” 12:5 He said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and his chosen king 6 is witness this day, that you have not found any reason to accuse me.” 7 They said, “He is witness!”
12:6 Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors 8 up from the land of Egypt. 12:7 Now take your positions, so I may confront you 9 before the Lord regarding all the Lord’s just actions toward you and your ancestors. 10 12:8 When Jacob entered Egypt, your ancestors cried out to the Lord. The Lord sent Moses and Aaron, and they led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place.
12:9 “But they forgot the Lord their God, so he gave 11 them into the hand of Sisera, the general in command of Hazor’s 12 army, 13 and into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. 12:10 Then they cried out to the Lord and admitted, 14 ‘We have sinned, for we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the images of Ashtoreth. 15 Now deliver us from the hand of our enemies so that we may serve you.’ 16 12:11 So the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, 17 Barak, 18 Jephthah, and Samuel, 19 and he delivered you from the hand of the enemies all around you, and you were able to live securely.
12:12 “When you saw that King Nahash of the Ammonites was advancing against you, you said to me, ‘No! A king will rule over us’ – even though the Lord your God is your king! 12:13 Now look! Here is the king you have chosen – the one that you asked for! Look, the Lord has given you a king! 12:14 If you fear the Lord, serving him and obeying him 20 and not rebelling against what he says, 21 and if both you and the king who rules over you follow the Lord your God, all will be well. 22 12:15 But if you don’t obey 23 the Lord and rebel against what the Lord says, the hand of the Lord will be against both you and your king. 24
12:16 “So now, take your positions and watch this great thing that the Lord is about to do in your sight. 12:17 Is this not the time of the wheat harvest? I will call on the Lord so that he makes it thunder and rain. Realize and see what a great sin you have committed before the Lord by asking for a king for yourselves.”
12:18 So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord made it thunder and rain that day. All the people were very afraid of both the Lord and Samuel. 12:19 All the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God on behalf of us – your servants – so we won’t die, for we have added to all our sins by asking for a king.” 25
12:20 Then Samuel said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. You have indeed sinned. 26 However, don’t turn aside from the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart. 12:21 You should not turn aside after empty things that can’t profit and can’t deliver, since they are empty. 27 12:22 The Lord will not abandon his people because he wants to uphold his great reputation. 28 The Lord was pleased to make you his own people. 12:23 As far as I am concerned, far be it from me to sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you! I will instruct you in the way that is good and upright. 12:24 However, fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Just look at the great things he has done for you! 12:25 But if you continue to do evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”
13:1 Saul was [thirty] 29 years old when he began to reign; he ruled over Israel for [forty] 30 years. 13:2 Saul selected for himself three thousand men from Israel. Two thousand of these were with Saul at Micmash and in the hill country of Bethel; 31 the remaining thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. 32 He sent all the rest of the people back home. 33
13:3 Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost 34 that was at Geba and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul alerted 35 all the land saying, “Let the Hebrews pay attention!” 13:4 All Israel heard this message, 36 “Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel is repulsive 37 to the Philistines!” So the people were summoned to join 38 Saul at Gilgal.
13:5 For the battle with Israel the Philistines had amassed 3,000 39 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and an army as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven. 13:6 The men of Israel realized they had a problem because their army was hard pressed. So the army hid in caves, thickets, cliffs, strongholds, 40 and cisterns. 13:7 Some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan River 41 to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul stayed at Gilgal; the entire army that was with him was terrified. 13:8 He waited for seven days, the time period indicated by Samuel. 42 But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the army began to abandon Saul. 43
13:9 So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” Then he offered a burnt offering. 13:10 Just when he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel appeared on the scene. Saul went out to meet him and to greet him. 44
13:11 But Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul replied, “When I saw that the army had started to abandon me 45 and that you didn’t come at the appointed time and that the Philistines had assembled at Micmash, 13:12 I thought, 46 ‘Now the Philistines will come down on me at Gilgal and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt obligated 47 to offer the burnt offering.”
13:13 Then Samuel said to Saul, “You have made a foolish choice! You have not obeyed 48 the commandment that the Lord your God gave 49 you. Had you done that, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever! 13:14 But now your kingdom will not continue! The Lord has sought out 50 for himself a man who is loyal to him 51 and the Lord has appointed 52 him to be leader over his people, for you have not obeyed what the Lord commanded you.”
13:15 Then Samuel set out and went up from Gilgal 53 to Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. 54 Saul mustered the army that remained with him; there were about six hundred men. 13:16 Saul, his son Jonathan, and the army that remained with them stayed in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin, while the Philistines camped in Micmash. 55 13:17 Raiding bands went out from the camp of the Philistines in three groups. One band turned toward the road leading to Ophrah by the land of Shual; 13:18 another band turned toward the road leading to Beth Horon; and yet another band turned toward the road leading to the border that overlooks the valley of Zeboim in the direction of the desert.
13:19 A blacksmith could not be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines had said, “This will prevent the Hebrews from making swords and spears.” 13:20 So all Israel had to go down to the Philistines in order to get their plowshares, cutting instruments, axes, and sickles 56 sharpened. 13:21 They charged 57 two-thirds of a shekel 58 to sharpen plowshares and cutting instruments, and a third of a shekel 59 to sharpen picks and axes, and to set ox goads. 13:22 So on the day of the battle no sword or spear was to be found in the hand of anyone in the army that was with Saul and Jonathan. No one but Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
13:23 A garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Micmash. 14:1 Then one day Jonathan son of Saul said to his armor bearer, 60 “Come on, let’s go over to the Philistine garrison that is opposite us.” But he did not let his father know.
14:2 Now Saul was sitting under a pomegranate tree in Migron, on the outskirts of Gibeah. The army that was with him numbered about six hundred men. 14:3 Now Ahijah was carrying 61 an ephod. He was the son of Ahitub, who was the brother of Ichabod and a son of Phineas, son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh. The army was unaware that Jonathan had left.
14:4 Now there was a steep cliff on each side of the pass through which Jonathan intended to go to reach the Philistine garrison. One cliff was named Bozez, the other Seneh. 14:5 The cliff to the north was closer to Micmash, the one to the south closer to Geba.
14:6 Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come on, let’s go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will intervene 62 for us. Nothing can prevent the Lord from delivering, whether by many or by a few.” 14:7 His armor bearer said to him, “Do everything that is on your mind. 63 Do as you’re inclined. I’m with you all the way!” 64
14:8 Jonathan replied, “All right! 65 We’ll go over to these men and fight them. 14:9 If they say to us, ‘Stay put until we approach you,’ we will stay 66 right there and not go up to them. 14:10 But if they say, ‘Come up against us,’ we will go up. For in that case the Lord has given them into our hand – it will be a sign to us.”
14:11 When they 67 made themselves known to the Philistine garrison, the Philistines said, “Look! The Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they hid themselves.” 14:12 Then the men of the garrison said to Jonathan and his armor bearer, “Come on up to us so we can teach you a thing or two!” 68 Then Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come up behind me, for the Lord has given 69 them into the hand of Israel!”
14:13 Jonathan crawled up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer following behind him. Jonathan struck down the Philistines, 70 while his armor bearer came along behind him and killed them. 71 14:14 In this initial skirmish Jonathan and his armor bearer struck down about twenty men in an area that measured half an acre.
14:15 Then fear overwhelmed 72 those who were in the camp, those who were in the field, all the army in the garrison, and the raiding bands. They trembled and the ground shook. This fear was caused by God. 73
14:16 Saul’s watchmen at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin 74 looked on 75 as the crowd of soldiers seemed to melt away first in one direction and then in another. 76 14:17 So Saul said to the army that was with him, “Muster the troops and see who is no longer with us.” When they mustered the troops, 77 Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there. 14:18 So Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring near the ephod,” 78 for he was at that time wearing the ephod. 79 14:19 While 80 Saul spoke to the priest, the panic in the Philistines’ camp was becoming greater and greater. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand!”
14:20 Saul and all the army that was with him assembled and marched into battle, where they found 81 the Philistines in total panic killing one another with their swords. 82 14:21 The Hebrews who had earlier gone over to the Philistine side 83 joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 14:22 When all the Israelites who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, they too pursued them in battle. 14:23 So the Lord delivered Israel that day, and the battle shifted over to Beth Aven. 84
[12:1] 1 tn Heb “Look, I have listened to your voice.”
[12:1] 2 tn Heb “to all which you said to me.”
[12:1] 3 tn Heb “and I have installed a king over you.”
[12:3] 4 tn Heb “anointed [one].”
[12:3] 5 tn The words “tell me” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[12:5] 6 tn Heb “anointed [one].”
[12:5] 7 tn Heb “that you have not found anything in my hand.”
[12:6] 8 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 7, 8).
[12:7] 9 tn Heb “and I will enter into judgment with you” (NRSV similar); NAB “and I shall arraign you.”
[12:7] 10 tn Heb “all the just actions which he has done with you and with your fathers.”
[12:9] 11 tn Heb “sold” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “he allowed them to fall into the clutches of Sisera”; NLT “he let them be conquered by Sisera.”
[12:9] 12 map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.
[12:9] 13 tn Heb “captain of the host of Hazor.”
[12:10] 15 tn Heb “the Ashtarot” (plural). The words “images of” are supplied in both vv. 3 and 4 for clarity.
[12:10] sn The Semitic goddess Astarte was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. See the note on the same term in 7:3.
[12:10] 16 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
[12:11] 17 sn Jerub-Baal (יְרֻבַּעַל) is also known as Gideon (see Judg 6:32). The Book of Judges uses both names for him.
[12:11] 18 tc The MT has “Bedan” (בְּדָן) here (cf. KJV, NASB, CEV). But a deliverer by this name is not elsewhere mentioned in the OT. The translation follows the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta in reading “Barak.”
[12:11] 19 tc In the ancient versions there is some confusion with regard to these names, both with regard to the particular names selected for mention and with regard to the order in which they are listed. For example, the LXX has “Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel.” But the Targum has “Gideon, Samson, Jephthah, and Samuel,” while the Syriac Peshitta has “Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson.”
[12:14] 20 tn Heb “and you listen to his voice.”
[12:14] 21 tn Heb “the mouth of the
[12:14] 22 tn The words “all will be well” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[12:15] 23 tn Heb “listen to the voice of.”
[12:15] 24 tc The LXX reads “your king” rather than the MT’s “your fathers.” The latter makes little sense here. Some follow MT, but translate “as it was against your fathers.” See P. K. McCarter, 1 Samuel (AB), 212.
[12:19] 25 tn Heb “for we have added to all our sins an evil [thing] by asking for ourselves a king.”
[12:20] 26 tn Heb “you have done all this evil.”
[12:21] 27 tn Or “useless” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “nothing”; NASB “futile”; TEV “are not real.”
[12:22] 28 tn Heb “on account of his great name.”
[13:1] 29 tc The MT does not have “thirty.” A number appears to have dropped out of the Hebrew text here, since as it stands the MT (literally, “a son of a year”) must mean that Saul was only one year old when he began to reign! The KJV, attempting to resolve this, reads “Saul reigned one year,” but that is not the normal meaning of the Hebrew text represented by the MT. Although most LXX
[13:1] 30 tc The MT has “two years” here. If this number is to be accepted as correct, the meaning apparently would be that after a lapse of two years at the beginning of Saul’s reign, he then went about the task of consolidating an army as described in what follows (cf. KJV, ASV, CEV). But if the statement in v. 1 is intended to be a comprehensive report on the length of Saul’s reign, the number is too small. According to Acts 13:21 Saul reigned for forty years. Some English versions (e.g., NIV, NCV, NLT), taking this forty to be a round number, add it to the “two years” of the MT and translate the number in 2 Sam 13:1 as “forty-two years.” While this is an acceptable option, the present translation instead replaces the MT’s “two” with the figure “forty.” Admittedly the textual evidence for this decision is weak, but the same can be said of any attempt to restore sense to this difficult text (note the ellipsis marks at this point in NAB, NRSV). The Syriac Peshitta lacks this part of v. 1.
[13:2] 31 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[13:2] 32 tn Heb “at Gibeah of Benjamin.” The words “in the territory” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[13:2] 33 tn Heb “each one to his tents.”
[13:3] 34 tn Or perhaps “struck down the Philistine official.” See the note at 1 Sam 10:5. Cf. TEV “killed the Philistine commander.”
[13:3] 35 tn Heb “blew the ram’s horn in.”
[13:4] 36 tn The words “this message” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:4] 37 tn Heb “stinks.” The figurative language indicates that Israel had become repulsive to the Philistines.
[13:4] 38 tn Heb “were summoned after.”
[13:5] 39 tn Many English versions (e.g., KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV) read “30,000” here.
[13:6] 40 tn Or perhaps “vaults.” This rare term also occurs in Judg 9:46, 49. Cf. KJV “high places”; ASV “coverts”; NAB “caverns”; NASB “cellars”; NIV, NCV, TEV “pits”; NRSV, NLT “tombs.”
[13:7] 41 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[13:8] 42 tn This apparently refers to the instructions given by Samuel in 1 Sam 10:8. If so, several years had passed. On the relationship between chs. 10 and 13, see V. P. Long, The Art of Biblical History (FCI), 201-23.
[13:8] 43 tn Heb “dispersed from upon him”; NAB, NRSV “began to slip away.”
[13:10] 44 tn Heb “to bless him.”
[13:11] 45 tn Heb “dispersed from upon me.”
[13:12] 47 tn Or “I forced myself” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, CEV); NAB “So in my anxiety I offered”; NIV “I felt compelled.”
[13:13] 49 tn Heb “commanded.”
[13:14] 50 tn This verb form, as well as the one that follows (“appointed”), indicates completed action from the standpoint of the speaker. This does not necessarily mean that the Lord had already conducted his search and made his choice, however. The forms may be used for rhetorical effect to emphasize the certainty of the action. The divine search for a new king is as good as done, emphasizing that the days of Saul’s dynasty are numbered.
[13:14] 51 tn Heb “according to his heart.” The idiomatic expression means to be like-minded with another, as its use in 1 Sam 14:7 indicates.
[13:14] 52 tn Heb “commanded.”
[13:15] 53 tc The LXX and two Old Latin
[13:15] 54 tn Heb “at Gibeah of Benjamin.” The words “in the territory” are supplied in the translation for clarity (likewise in the following verse).
[13:16] 55 tn The juxtaposition of disjunctive clauses in v.16 indicates synchronic action.
[13:20] 56 tc The translation follows the LXX (“their sickle”) here, rather than the MT “plowshares,” which is due to dittography from the word earlier in the verse.
[13:21] 57 tn Heb “the price was.” The meaning of the Hebrew word פְּצִירָה (pÿtsirah) is uncertain. This is the only place it occurs in the OT. Some propose the meaning “sharpening,” but “price” is a more likely meaning if the following term refers to a weight (see the following note on the word “shekel”). See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 238.
[13:21] 58 tn This word, which appears only here in the OT, probably refers to a stone weight. Stones marked פִּים (pim) have been found in excavations of Palestinian sites. The average weight of such stones is 0.268 ounces, which is equivalent to about two-thirds of a shekel. This probably refers to the price charged by the Philistines for the services listed. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 238; DNWSI 2:910; and G. I. Davies, Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions, 259.
[13:21] 59 tc Heb “and for a third, a pick.” The Hebrew text suffers from haplography at this point. The translation follows the textual reconstruction offered by P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 235.
[14:1] 60 tn Or “the servant who was carrying his military equipment” (likewise in vv. 6, 7, 12, 13, 14).
[14:3] 61 tn Heb “bearing.” Many English versions understand this verb to mean “wearing” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT).
[14:7] 63 tn Heb “in your heart.”
[14:7] 64 tn Heb “Look, I am with you, according to your heart.” See the note at 13:14.
[14:11] 67 tn Heb “the two of them.”
[14:12] 69 tn The perfect verbal form is used rhetorically here to express Jonathan’s certitude. As far as he is concerned, the victory is as good as won and can be described as such.
[14:13] 70 tn Heb “and they fell before Jonathan.”
[14:13] 71 tn Heb “and the one carrying his equipment was killing after him.”
[14:15] 72 tn Heb “fell upon.”
[14:15] 73 tn Heb “and it was by the fear of God.” The translation understands this to mean that God was the source or cause of the fear experienced by the Philistines. This seems to be the most straightforward reading of the sentence. It is possible, however, that the word “God” functions here simply to intensify the accompanying word “fear,” in which one might translate “a very great fear” (cf. NAB, NRSV). It is clear that on some occasions that the divine name carries such a superlative nuance. For examples see Joüon 2:525 §141.n.
[14:16] 74 tn Heb “at Gibeah of Benjamin.” The words “in the territory” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[14:16] 75 tn Heb “saw, and look!”
[14:16] 76 tn Heb “the crowd melted and went, even here.”
[14:17] 77 tn Heb “and they mustered the troops, and look!”
[14:18] 78 tc Heb “the ark of God.” It seems unlikely that Saul would call for the ark, which was several miles away in Kiriath-jearim (see 1 Sam 7:2). The LXX and an Old Latin
[14:18] 79 tc Heb “for the ark of God was in that day, and the sons of Israel.” The translation follows the text of some Greek manuscripts. See the previous note.
[14:19] 80 tn Or perhaps “until.”
[14:20] 81 tn Heb “and look, there was”
[14:20] 82 tn Heb “the sword of a man against his companion, a very great panic.”
[14:21] 83 tn Heb “and the Hebrews were to the Philistines formerly, who went up with them in the camp all around.”
[14:23] 84 tc The LXX includes the following words: “And all the people were with Saul, about ten thousand men. And the battle extended to the entire city on mount Ephraim.”
