Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 7 Feb 2021
After raising up an unqualified candidate for political leadership, God equipped Saul with the resources for political leadership and sovereignly saw to it that Saul would be publicly acclaimed as king. Now in chapter 12, we see Saul’s first run at being Israel’s deliverer and at representing God’s interests and giving God glory for deliverance. This story reads much like the story cycles in the book of Judges, placing Saul at a pivotal point between the Judges and the Kings of Israel.
Earlier in the book of 1 Samuel, God delivered the Israelite tribes on the West side of the Jordan River from an invasion of Philistines (who were also known to gouge out the eyes of their captives, as they did to Sampson), now the tribes on the East side of the river need to know whether God will deliver them from an invasion.
The threat which Saul rises to counteract in this chapter is the oppression of the tribes of Gad and Reuben and Manasseh on the East side of the Jordan River by the king of the Ammonites who lived just East of them.
Ammon, the progenitor of this foreign nation, was the son of Lot by his younger daughter, and his descendents lived around where the present-day country of Jordan is, and that’s why the capitol of Jordan is called Amman today.
The relationship between the Israelites and the Ammonites was tense historically.
When Moses and the nation of Israel came through the area on their way from Egypt to the Promised Land, 400 years prior, they conquered a bunch of towns on the East side of the Jordan – perhaps some of them Ammonite – and settled the tribes of Manasseh, Gad and Reuben there. The Ammonites seemed to carry some long-term resentment about that.
About 150 years before Saul, the Ammonites tried to conquer Israel, but God raised up Jepthah to defeat them.
Now they’re rising up again and became mortal enemies of Saul. Incidentally this may have been why Nahash was friendly later on with David’s family, because David was seen as an enemy of Saul. Also, one of David’s mighty men was an Ammonite, but when Nahash died and David sent condolences to the Ammonites, Hanun, the son of Nahash, resorted to insults, much like his Dad did to the Israelites in this chapter.
Nevertheless, David’s son Solomon married Hanun’s sister, and that’s where his successor Rehoboam came from – and perhaps it was also his Ammonite heritage which gave Rehoboam his gift for insulting people.
At any rate, the events of chapter 11 begin as Nahash, the King of Ammon attempts to wipe Israel off the map east of the Jordan River.
Additional notes in the Dead Sea Scrolls of 1 Samuel explain that the Ammonites had been systematically conquering the Israelites who lived in the trans-Jordan area, so that there were only 7,000 free Israelite men left, and they had formed a last stand at Jabesh Gilead.
Jabesh Gilead means “dry, rocky place” in Hebrew.
It was about 6 miles east of the Jordan River on higher ground.
When the Ammonite army came and pitched their tents in front of the walls of Jabesh Gilead, the Israelite families who were taking their stand there finally decided it would be better to become Ammonite vassals than to be killed, so they offered to renounce their Israelite citizenship and “go out” to Nahash, which probably would involve becoming slaves to the Ammonites, paying tribute to King Nahash, and becoming worshipers of the terrible Ammonite god Milcom.
They asked Nahash if that would satisfy him, and he said, “No, that would not be humiliating enough. I would only accept you as my slaves if you’d let me poke out the right eye of every one of you. Otherwise, I’d just as soon kill you.”
The right eye was particularly important in battle those days, because most people are right-handed, so they would hold their sword in their right hand and their shield in their left hand, but the shield would obscure much of the field of vision of the left eye, so without the right eye, they would never again see well enough to defend themselves at war.
Nahash appears to be purposefully trying to incite war with the entire nation of Israel because,
He’s making the kind of demand that would surely get the entire nation of Israel up in arms if they have any sense of kinship with each other.
This would also explain why the elders of Jabesh Gilead offered an alternative that would have the same effect of mobilizing all of Israel to war against Nahash, namely, sending messengers themselves to all the other tribes to try to get a war effort on, rather than waiting for third parties to spread the news of an actual atrocity.
Thirdly, the fact that Nahash gives them time to recruit help from the tribes across the Jordan, seems to confirm that he actually wanted to try to conquer all of Israel, not just the trans-Jordanian area. 1
There were green river valleys in Israel which were far better for farming and ranching than the dry, brown area Ammon currently occupied (show NASA map of the area to illustrate this). It would be a real agricultural advantage to the Ammonite nation if they could conquer Israel.
Verse 3 seems to indicate that there is some uncertainty on the part of the trans-Jordanian Israelites as to whether or not there would actually be a deliverer for them across the river.
About 150 years ago, when the Ammonites had tried to conquer them, it was an Israelite from their own East side of the Jordan who delivered them, Jepthah the judge, and then when Jepthah won their freedom, the tribes on the West side of the Jordan, instead of rejoicing in the freedom of their kinsmen, tried instead to destroy Jepthah and his army. There didn’t seem to be a lot of trust between the Israelite tribes on the East and West sides of the river.
The men of Jabesh Gilead tell Nahash in v.3, “If no one comes to our rescue/if there is no savior for us [among our kinsfolk across the river], then we will come over/emigrate to you.” Assuming they’re not bluffing with Nahash, their statement indicates that they really don’t know if there’s anyone over there in Israel who would deliver them.
Either they have not heard of Saul being chosen by God and accepted by the nation as king to deliver them from enemies,
or they are not sure whether Saul would go to the trouble of delivering his distant relatives on the other side of the river from enemies – maybe he would be parochially-minded like the judges before him and would not see the defense of the entire nation of Israel as his divine calling and responsibility.2
Either way, it indicates that the political alliances between the tribes of Israel were still shaky and unpredictable.
It also tells us something about the trans-Jordan Israelites when they do not cry out to Yahweh to deliver them, rather they look for a human army-leader. There’s a crisis of faith here; “Can God be trusted? Does He even care about us?”
But God, in His grace, had not forgotten the tribes of Gad and Reuben and Manasseh over there on the other side of the river.
God, in His mercy had installed a King in Gibeah and endued him with the ambition and ability to launch a counter-offensive against the Ammonites east of the Jordan.
God is a Savior; it’s what He does, and often He delivers us – even when we forget to cry out to Him for deliverance. “Hallelujah, what a Savior!”
The messengers, sent by the threatened east-side community of Israelites, crossed the Jordan River and made their way throughout the west side of Israel, telling their news and looking for a deliverer.
The Bible doesn’t say whether Saul’s hilltop compound in Gibeah was their first stop or not, but it says something good about the kinfolk of Saul that they – not just some of them, but ALL of them – would weep over this threat to their distant kinfolk.
There was unity there, and I believe God does something special when we are so aligned with His heart that we will actually weep over evil.
Meanwhile, Saul is not in the compound; he’s out working in the family field, perhaps ploughing it with his oxen to prepare it for spring planing.
Plowing in those days required walking behind the oxen, holding the handles of the plough to control how deep it went into the ground as the oxen pulled it through the surface of the soil. Then when they were done, the oxen would be eager to get back to their stalls for their fodder, and they would know the way home, so Saul could just follow them back.
This is menial labor – not what you’d expect of a king, but it does show him being far-from-lazy, despite the honor of his position. He’s working to provide for his family.
He also has compassionate concern for his family. He could have said, “Shut up, you babies! I’ve had a hard day of work in the field; can’t I have some peace and quiet around here? And besides, where’s my dinner?!” Instead, when he sees them crying, he immediately asks, “What’s wrong?”
Upon hearing the news of King Nahash’s threats against the tribes of Gad and Reuben, the Spirit of God kindles a holy anger in Saul’s heart. (Anger is not necessarily a bad emotion!) Holy anger gives us energy and courage to do God’s will. Saul needed both energy and courage, so the Holy Spirit gave it to Him in the form of
an emotion powerful enough to lift him out of his everyday farm routines and spring into action as king for the sake of his nation,
An emotion powerful enough to face the naysayers in his nation who might not line up behind him if he went to war,
An emotion powerful enough to face off in battle against a foreign army that thought it was strong enough to conquer the whole nation of Israel.
Saul then takes action: he grabs the team of oxen (which presumably he had been ploughing his family field with), and he cuts them into pieces small enough for the Jabesh messengers to carry. Then he adds a new piece of information for them to spread to every township in Israel: Not only is Jabesh Gilead threatened by the Ammonites, but Saul and Samuel will lead Israel in battle against this threat, and, by the way, if you don’t show up to fight in this battle, they will come back after they win this war, and they will slaughter your cattle, and you will provide a barbeque dinner for them free-of-charge.3 As they say, “Be there or be square!”
This illustrates an important principle in God’s guidance for our lives. Most devout people want to know what God’s will is for their life, but we often come into our understanding of it by bits and pieces.
Certain things are particularly interesting to us, and we dream of getting good at it and using it for God’s glory (whether that’s a desire to be a missionary or a statesman or a mom),
and then we get input from wise counselors who encourage us in certain directions,
and along the way we pick up certain skills and knowledge and life experiences,
and we look for an opportunity that will bring together all those interests and dreams and skills and experiences and bits of advice. When we see them all line up, it’s exciting!
But often we have to live with those dreams for a while before God opens the opportunity up before us. (I spent most of my school years anticipating becoming a missionary, but unable to do anything about it. It wasn’t until the year before I graduated from college that an opportunity presented itself and my parents and other mentors advised me to go for it. A quarter of a century later, there are still aspects of that childhood dream of being a missionary which I haven’t had the opportunity to do; I don’t know when or if God will open them up to me in the future, but I try to keep my eyes peeled to see if circumstances and life skills and wise counsel all line up with that interest.)
Saul followed Samuel’s counsel to “do what [his] hand finds to do” when he got home after being proclaimed the king who would deliver Israel from her enemies. But there weren’t any wars that needed to be fought when he got home. As far as he could see, the only thing that needed to be done was that the field needed tilling, so he did that and waited on God. Finally, when the messengers from Jabesh Gilead showed up on his doorstep, everything clicked, and he knew it was time to become that warrior-king that God had said he would be.
So look for the ways that your dreams and desires line up with your skills and experience and with the wise counsel of others and with actual opportunities God places before you! When you see those four things line up, step out in faith!
Now, this action which Saul took sent two important unspoken messages throughout Israel:
First was the message that Saul was shifting gears vocationally. Like Elisha, who would be a prophet later on, he slaughtered his oxen to signal that he would no longer be a farmer who depended upon his own oxen for a living. Elisha took up the mantle of the prophet of Israel. Saul took up the mantle of warrior-king to defend his people. He is letting all Israel know that he means business; he will start acting like a king. The messengers could say, “See, here is a leg from the very ox he used to plow his field with!”
The second unspoken message came from his choice to imitate a recent event in history that every Israelite would remember. Saul did what the Levite did in Judges chapter 19.
After the men in one of the towns of Benjamin had brutally murdered his wife, that Levite had responded by chopping her mangled body into pieces and sending a piece to every tribe in Israel along with the message that they should unite in holy rage against this atrocity.
Saul was hoping to send a similar message to his nation, “Let’s be united in holy rage against the atrocity being perpetrated on our kinsmen Jabesh Gilead! God will be with us, even as he was with the united tribes of Israel back then, and we will be victorious.”
Saul’s action was pretty effective! It struck the “fear of God” into people’s hearts; they came together in unity (literally “as one man”), and, according to the Masoretic Hebrew text of v.8, about a third of a million men showed up for battle at the rendezvous point in Bezek.
The oldest manuscripts of 1 Samuel set the numbers even higher, around two-thirds of a million. I don’t have an explanation for the difference in the numbers, but whatever it was, it was a good turnout.4
It seems that as Saul finished reviewing his troops, the weary messengers from Jabesh Gilead who had been running and shouting their message through every village and town of Israel for the last six days finally came huffing and puffing up to his tent. Satisfied that he had what it would take to remove the threat of the Ammonite army, Saul sends the messengers back home with one more message: “Tomorrow’s the day! You’re going to be rescued!”
Can you imagine the elation of the Israelites in Jabesh Gilead, who had been wondering for a week whether they would all have their eyes gouged out tomorrow or whether anybody back in Israel cared about them, whether God had anything good for their future, whether there would be a savior. And then, “Guys, guess what! There’s about half a million Israelite soldiers on the other side of the river, and they’re going to come rescue us tomorrow!!! Whoopee!!! We’re not going to get our eyes poked out!” And the kids are singing, “We’re gonna make “hash” of Nahash!”
Brothers and sisters, God hasn’t forgotten about you either. If you’re worrying whether all that is good in your life is going to collapse this year. If you’re wondering whether there’s any hope for your grandchildren. If you’re wondering if there’s going to be a savior for you, I’ve got good news: Jesus is coming to save us! He may come in the form of human deliverers endowed with the Spirit of God to beat back evil for a time, or it may be Jesus Himself coming down from heaven “to judge the quick and the dead” and do away with evil for all time, but your deliverer is coming! Don’t give up; don’t despair! Lift your face toward your heavenly Father and faithfully wait for Him! And teach victory songs to your children!
Now, I’d be curious to know what the Ammonites did all week while they waited, and whether or not they had any idea of the forces Saul was amassing against them on the other side of the river. The Israelites inside Jabesh Gilead don’t let on that they’ve got any reinforcements coming. The message they sent out to Nahash at the end of the week was that they would be surrendering to him the next day. Perhaps they were hoping for an element of surprise.
When the next day began, which, in the Hebrew reckoning starts at sunset, v.11 tells us that Saul appointed three captains, which implies that he divided his army into three companies, then they would have had to do an overnight march of perhaps 20 miles in order to attack the Ammonite camp just before sunrise, as the Ammonite soldiers were in their beds, dreaming of an entertaining day of poking out Israelite eyes.
It appears that Saul’s strategy was to attack the Ammonites in their camp unexpectedly from three sides at once, and perhaps leaving the fourth side for the Israelites in Jabesh Gilead to cover.
The result was a landslide victory for Israel by midday, a victory so complete that any Ammonite that managed to survive hobbled home all alone.
And so God brought about through King Saul a stunning deliverance to the neglected trans-Jordan tribes, and in the process had rallied national unity among what had once been a weak coalition of Israelite tribes.
The national representatives are now so taken with Saul in his success that they ask Samuel to render judgment on everyone who was against Saul being king in the first place.
Notice the lines of judicial authority: the people did not ask King Saul to render this judgment; they still considered Samuel the prophet to be their national judge.
However, Saul speaks up before Samuel can render a judgment.
Now is the time that Saul could have consolidated total power for himself by killing everyone in Israel who didn’t like him. And this was the time to do it, while he had a vast army around him and while his approval ratings were high following a great war victory.
But that was not the goal, and he knew it. His calling was to honor Israel’s God by delivering Israel from her enemies.
At least at this point in his life, Saul seems to understand that his role as king was not to make Israel his people to serve his interests but rather to treat the people as though they belonged to God and to serve God’s interests among them. “We’re not here to kill God’s people; we’re here to save God’s people!”
If Saul had grabbed the judge’s gavel from Samuel, as it were, and said, “So be it; they deserve to die!” Boom. He probably could have gotten away with it and become that much more powerful by deposing Samuel as judge and assuming that role himself.
However, Saul gives the glory for the victory to God instead of taking it for himself, and he leaves the power to control the people in the hands of God rather than taking vengeance into his own hands. “No man shall be put to death on this day, for today Yahweh accomplished salvation in Israel!”
But wait, Saul, wasn’t it you who sacrificed your valuable oxen? Wasn’t it you who risked your life and led the troops into battle? Wasn’t it you who masterminded the winning strategy? How can you say that it was the LORD who saved the people?
“Well, it was Yahweh who chose me for this honor, and equipped me with the resources to pull it off.
It was the Spirit of Yahweh who came upon me and gave me the courage and initiative I needed.
It was the prophet of God who was with me all the way, giving me wise counsel.
It was the wisdom of God who gave me the idea for the strategy I used,
and it was the providence of God that everything came out just right so that we actually took our enemies by surprise and beat them.
I merely did the work God gave me to do, so God is the one who should get the glory. I’m content with that.”
Think about the last time you experienced a great success. Did you leverage it to get more power and glory for yourself, or did you give the glory to God and leave the power in His hands?
Samuel then had his say. He wanted everybody to go back to Gilgal and renew the kingship.
Gilgal was the first foothold Israel gained in the Promised Land after crossing the Jordan River.
Gilgal was the place where the 12 boulders had been stacked to remind future generations that, “Israel crossed over th[e] Jordan on dry land… that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD... is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever." (Joshua 4:22 & 24, NKJV)
Gilgal was a safe place to make covenants,
so to Gilgal they went, and there they held a sacred coronation ceremony and offered sacrifices and had a barbecue feast together and were very happy.
“If the election of Saul as king at Mizpah was political, the (re)confirmation of Saul as king at Gilgal would be religious, that is, before the Lord.” ~David Tsumura, NICOT
The prospect of long-term unity and power in Israel, a new civil leader, a great military victory, peace offerings being made to God, and feasting made for a great party!
This extreme happiness is significant, because this is the happiest that anyone in Israel ever got in the Old Testament. 5
What is it that made for such abundant happiness? It was because Saul had chosen to let God be God, to do God’s will and to freely give God all the glory and the power.
As Psalm 21 puts it, “Yahweh, it is in Your strength that [the] king will be happy, and in Your salvation how very much will he rejoice!” (NAW)
The salvation which God accomplished for you through Jesus is what will make you happy too!
Jesus saved us from a fate much worse than having an eye poked out; He saved us from slavery to Satan and bondage to fleshly desires.
He endured more than the loss of his oxen and a few scrapes from a fight; He endured eternal death on the cross in order to buy us back from our enemy and bring us back into his kingdom.
His kingdom promises better things than an occasional military victory followed by a barbecue dinner. He will always deliver us whenever we cry out to Him, and we will eternal pleasures at His right hand.
V |
Septuagint |
Brenton |
D-R |
KJV |
NAW |
MT/DSS |
1 |
[καὶ ἐγενήθη ὡς μετὰ μῆνα] καὶ ἀνέβη Ναας ὁ Αμμανίτης καὶ παρεμβάλλει ἐπὶ Ιαβις Γαλααδ καὶ εἶπον πάντες οἱ ἄνδρες Ιαβις πρὸς Ναας [τὸν Αμμανίτην] διάθου ἡμῗν διαθήκην καὶ δουλεύσομέν σοι |
[And it came to pass about a month after this,] that Naas the Ammanite went up, and encamped against Jabis Galaad: and all the men of Jabis said to Naas [the Ammanite], Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. |
[And it came to pass about a month after this] that Naas, the Ammonite came up, and began to fight against Jabes Galaad. And all the men of Jabes said to Naas: Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. |
Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabeshgilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenantB with us, and we will serve thee. |
{And it came about after something like a month} that Nahash the Ammonite rose up and took positions against Jabesh Gilead. Then all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash {the Ammonite}, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” |
Cוַיַּעַל, נָחָשׁ הָעַמּוֹנִי, וַיִּחַן, עַלD-יָבֵישׁ גִּלְעָד; וַיֹּאמְרוּ כָּל-אַנְשֵׁי יָבֵישׁ, אֶל-נָחָשׁ,E כְּרָת-לָנוּ בְרִית, וְנַעַבְדֶךָּ. |
2 |
καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς Ναας ὁ Αμμανίτης ἐν ταύτῃ διαθήσομαι ὑμῗν [διαθήκην] ἐν τῷ ἐξορύξαι ὑμῶν πάντα ὀφθαλμὸν δεξιόν καὶ θήσομαι X ὄνειδος ἐπὶ Ισραηλ |
X
Naas the Ammanite said to them, On th |
And
Naas the Ammonite answered them: On this [condition] will I make
[a covenant] with you,
that I may pluck out all your right
eye[s], and |
And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this [condition] will I make [a covenant] with you, that I may thrustF out all your right eye[s], and lay it for a reproachG upon all Israel. |
But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “This is the way I will make {a treaty} with y’all: by gouging out every right eye of yours, so I will put a stigma upon all Israel!” |
וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם, נָחָשׁ הָעַמּוֹנִי, בְּזֹאתH אֶכְרֹת לָכֶםI, בִּנְקוֹר לָכֶם כָּל-עֵין יָמִין; וְשַׂמְתִּיהָJ חֶרְפָּה, עַל-כָּל- יִשְׂרָאֵל. |
3 |
καὶ
λέγουσιν αὐτῷ
οἱ |
And
the |
And the ancients of Jabes said to him: Allow us seven days, that we may send messengers to all the coast[s] of Israel: and if there be no one to defend us, we will come out to thee. |
And
the elders of Jabesh said unto him, |
Well, the elders of Jabesh said to him, “Let us be for seven days, and we will send messengers through all the territory of Israel, and if there is no savior for us, then we will defect to you.” |
וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו זִקְנֵי יָבֵישׁ, הֶרֶףM לָנוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים, וְנִשְׁלְחָה מַלְאָכִים, בְּכֹל גְּבוּל יִשְׂרָאֵל; וְאִם-אֵין מוֹשִׁיעַ אֹתָנוּ, וְיָצָאנוּ אֵלֶיךָ. |
4 |
καὶ ἔρχονται οἱ ἄγγελοι εἰς Γαβαα πρὸς Σαουλ καὶ λαλοῦσιν τοὺς λόγους εἰς τὰ ὦτα τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ ἦραν πᾶς ὁ λαὸς τὴν φωνὴν αὐτῶν καὶ ἔκλαυσαν |
And the messengers came to Gabaa to Saul, and they speak the words into the ears of the people; and all the people lifted up their voice, and wept. |
The messengers therefore came to Gabaa of Saul: and they spoke these words in the hearing of the people: and all the people lifted up their voice[s], and wept. |
Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidingsN in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted up their voice[s]O, and wept. |
When the messengers came to Saul’s hill and told the news within earshot of his people, then all the people raised their voice and wept. |
וַיָּבֹאוּ הַמַּלְאָכִים גִּבְעַת שָׁאוּל, וַיְדַבְּרוּ הַדְּבָרִים בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם; וַיִּשְׂאוּ כָל-הָעָם אֶת-קוֹלָם, וַיִּבְכּוּ. |
5 |
καὶ
ἰδοὺ Σαουλ
ἤρχετο μετὰ
τὸ |
And,
behold, Saul came after the |
And
behold Saul came, following oxen out of the field, and |
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 tidingsQ of the men of Jabesh. |
And look, there was Saul, coming in from the field behind the oxen, and Saul said, “What’s happened to my people for them to be weeping?” And they recounted to him the news from the men of Jabesh. |
וְהִנֵּה שָׁאוּל, בָּא אַחֲרֵי הַבָּקָר מִן-הַשָּׂדֶה, וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל, מַה-לָּעָם כִּי יִבְכּוּ; וַיְסַפְּרוּ- לוֹ--אֶת-דִּבְרֵי, אַנְשֵׁי יָבֵישׁ. |
6 |
καὶ ἐφήλατο πνεῦμα κυρίου ἐπὶ Σαουλ ὡς ἤκουσεν τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα καὶ ἐθυμώθη [ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς] ὀργὴ αὐτοῦ σφόδρα |
And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled [against them]. |
And the spirit of the Lord came upon Saul, when he had heard these words, and his anger was exceedingly kindled. |
And the Spirit of God cameR upon Saul when he heard those tidingsS, and his anger was kindled greatly. |
And when Saul heard this news, the Spirit of {Yahweh} advanced upon him, and his anger really got heated up. |
וַתִּצְלַח רוּחַ- אֱלֹהִיםT עַל- שָׁאוּל, Uבְּשָׁמְעוֹ אֶת-הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה; וַיִּחַר אַפּוֹ, מְאֹד. |
7 |
καὶ
ἔλαβεν δύο
βόας καὶ ἐμέλισεν
αὐτὰς καὶ
ἀπέστειλεν
εἰς πᾶν ὅριον
Ισραηλ ἐν χειρὶ
X ἀγγέλων λέγων
ὃς οὐκ
ἔστιν ἐκπορευόμενος
ὀπίσω Σαουλ
καὶ ὀπίσω Σαμουηλ
κατὰ τάδε ποιήσ |
And
he took two cows, and cut them in pieces, and sent them into all
the coast[s] of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, Whoso
comes not forth after
Saul and after Samuel, so shall |
And taking both the oxen, he cut them in pieces, and sent them into all the coast[s] of Israel by XX X messengers, saying: Whosoever shall not come forth, [and] follow Saul and X Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen. And the fear of the Lord fell upon the people, and they went out as one man. |
And
he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and
sent them throughout all the coast[s] of Israel by the hand[s] of
X messengers, saying, Whosoever
cometh not forth after
Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the
fearV
of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out |
Then he grabbed the team of oxen and piecemealed them, and sent them by the agency of the messengers through all the territory of Israel to say, “He who fails to go forth behind Saul and behind Samuel, thus it shall be done to his cattle.” And the fear of Yahweh fell upon the people of Israel, and they went forth as a unified troop. |
וַיִּקַּח צֶמֶד בָּקָר וַיְנַתְּחֵהוּ, וַיְשַׁלַּח בְּכָל-גְּבוּל יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּיַד הַמַּלְאָכִים לֵאמֹר, אֲשֶׁר אֵינֶנּוּ יֹצֵא אַחֲרֵי שָׁאוּל וְאַחַר שְׁמוּאֵל, כֹּה יֵעָשֶׂה לִבְקָרוֹ; וַיִּפֹּל פַּחַד-יְהוָה עַל-הָעָם W, וַיֵּצְאוּ כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד. |
8 |
καὶ ἐπισκέπτεται αὐτοὺς Αβιεζεκ [ἐν Βαμα πᾶν ἄνδρα] Ισραηλ ἑξακοσίας χιλιάδας καὶ ἄνδρας Ιουδα ἑβδομήκοντα χιλιάδας |
And he reviews them at Bezec [in Bama, every man] of Israel six hundred thousand, and the men of Juda seventy thousand. |
And he numbered them in Bezec: and there were of the children of Israel three hundred thousand: and of the men of Juda thirty thousand. |
And when he numberedX them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. |
And he reviewed them in Bezek {at the high place, and the whole troop} of Israel was {600,000} and the troop of Judah was {70,000}. |
וַיִּפְקְדֵם, בְּבָזֶק; וַיִּהְיוּ בְנֵיY- יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁלֹשׁZ מֵאוֹת אֶלֶף, וְאִישׁ יְהוּדָה שְׁלֹשִׁיםAA אָלֶף. |
9 |
καὶ εἶπεν τοῗς ἀγγέλοις τοῗς ἐρχομένοις τάδε ἐρεῗτε τοῗς ἀνδράσιν Ιαβις X αὔριον ὑμῗν ἡ σωτηρία διαθερμάναντος τοῦ ἡλίου καὶ ἦλθον οἱ ἄγγελοι εἰς τὴν πόλιν καὶ ἀπαγγέλλουσιν τοῗς ἀνδράσιν Ιαβις καὶ εὐφράνθησαν |
And he said to the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say to the men of Jabis X, To-morrow ye shall have deliverance when the sun is hot; and the messengers came to the city, and told X the men of Jabis, and they rejoiced. |
And they said to the messengers that came: Thus shall you say to the men of Jabes Galaad: Tomorrow, when the sun shall be hot, you shall have relief. The messengers therefore came, and told X the men of Jabes: and they were glad. |
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 helpAB. And the messengers came and shewed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. |
Then they said to the arriving messengers, “Please speak thus to the troop of Jabesh Gilead, “{The} salvation for y’all will be tomorrow, in the heat of the sun.” So the messengers went and related it to the men of Jabesh, and they were happy! |
וַיֹּאמְרוּAC לַמַּלְאָכִים הַבָּאִים, כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן לְאִישׁAD יָבֵישׁ גִּלְעָד, מָחָר תִּהְיֶה-לָכֶם AE תְּשׁוּעָה, בְּחֹם AF הַשָּׁמֶשׁ; וַיָּבֹאוּ הַמַּלְאָכִים, וַיַּגִּידוּ לְאַנְשֵׁי יָבֵישׁ--וַיִּשְׂמָחוּAG. |
10 |
καὶ εἶπαν οἱ ἄνδρες Ιαβις [πρὸς Ναας τὸν Αμμανίτην] αὔριον ἐξελευσόμεθα πρὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ ποιήσετε ἡμῗν XX τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐνώπιον ὑμῶν
|
And the men of Jabis said [to Naas the Ammanite], To-morrow we will come forth to you, and ye shall do to us XX what seems good in your sight. |
And they X X X said: In the morning we will come out to you: and you shall do XX what you please X X with us. |
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. |
Then the men of Jabesh said {to the Ammonites}, “Tomorrow we will defect to y’all, then y’all may do to us what is good in your eyes.” |
וַיֹּאמְרוּ אַנְשֵׁי יָבֵישׁAH, מָחָר נֵצֵא אֲלֵיכֶם; וַעֲשִׂיתֶם לָנוּ, כְּכָלAI-הַטּוֹב בְּעֵינֵיכֶם. ס |
11 |
καὶ ἐγενήθη μετὰ τὴν αὔριον καὶ ἔθετο Σαουλ τὸν λαὸν εἰς τρεῗς ἀρχάςAJ καὶ εἰσπορεύονται μέσον τῆς παρεμβολῆς ἐν φυλακῇ τῇ πρωινῇ καὶ ἔτυπτον [τοὺς υἱοὺς] Αμμων ἕως διεθερμάνθη ἡ ἡμέρα καὶ ἐγενήθησαν οἱ ὑπολελειμμένοι διεσπάρησαν καὶ οὐχ ὑπελείφθησαν ἐν αὐτοῗς δύο κατὰ τὸ αὐτό |
And
it came to pass on the morrow, that Saul |
And
it came to pass, when the morrow was come that Saul put
the people in three companies:
and |
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 slewAL 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. |
Then it was the next day, and Saul appointed three captains to the people, and, during the morning guard-duty, they went into the midst of the army-camp and struck down Ammonites until it was the heat of the day. And, although there were some left, they were scattered such that there were no two of them left together. |
וַיְהִי מִמָּחֳרָת, וַיָּשֶׂם שָׁאוּל אֶת-הָעָם שְׁלֹשָׁה רָאשִׁיםAM, וַיָּבֹאוּ בְתוֹךְ-הַמַּחֲנֶה בְּאַשְׁמֹרֶת הַבֹּקֶר, וַיַּכּוּ אֶת-עַמּוֹן עַד-חֹם הַיּוֹם; וַיְהִי הַנִּשְׁאָרִים וַיָּפֻצוּ, וְלֹא נִשְׁאֲרוּ-בָם שְׁנַיִם יָחַד. |
12 |
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ λαὸς πρὸς Σαμουηλ τίς ὁ εἴπας ὅτι Σαουλ [οὐ] βασιλεύσει ἡμῶν παράδος τοὺς ἄνδρας καὶ θανατώσομεν αὐτούς |
And the people said to Samuel, Who has said that Saul shall [not] reign over us? Give up the men, and we will put them to death. |
And the people said to Samuel: Who is he that said: Shall Saul reign over us? Bring the men and we will kill them. |
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. |
Then the people said to Samuel, “Who was it that said, ‘Will Saul reign over us?’ Give up these men, and we will put them to death!” |
וַיֹּאמֶר הָעָם, אֶל-שְׁמוּאֵל, מִי הָאֹמֵר, שָׁאוּל יִמְלֹךְ עָלֵינוּ: תְּנוּAN הָאֲנָשִׁים, וּנְמִיתֵם. |
13 |
καὶ εἶπεν Σαουλ οὐκ ἀποθανεῗται οὐδεὶς ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ ὅτι σήμερον κύριος ἐποίησεν σωτηρίαν ἐν Ισραηλ |
And
Saul said, No |
And Saul said: No man shall be killed this day, because the Lord this day hath wrought salvation in Israel: |
And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to day the Lord hath wrought salvation in Israel. |
But Saul said, “No man shall be put to death on this day, for today Yahweh has accomplished salvation in Israel!” |
וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל, לֹא-יוּמַת אִישׁ בַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה: כִּי הַיּוֹם עָשָׂה- יְהוָה תְּשׁוּעָה, בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל. |
14 |
καὶ
εἶπεν Σαμουηλ
πρὸς τὸν λαὸν
|
And
Samuel spoke to the people, |
And Samuel said to the people: Come and let us go to Galgal, and let us renew the kingdom there. |
Then said Samuel to the people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there. |
Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, now let’s go to Gilgal, and we will renew the kingship there.” |
וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל אֶל-הָעָם, לְכוּ וְנֵלְכָה הַגִּלְגָּלAO; וּנְחַדֵּשׁ שָׁם, הַמְּלוּכָה. |
15 |
καὶ
ἐπορεύθη πᾶς
ὁ λαὸς εἰς
Γαλγαλα καὶ
[ἔχρισεν
Σαμουηλ]
ἐκεῗ τὸν Σαουλ
εἰς βασιλέα
ἐνώπιον κυρίου
ἐν Γαλγαλοις
καὶ ἔθυσ |
And
all the people went to Galgala, and [Samuel anointed] Saul there
to be king before the Lord in Galgala, and there |
And all the people went to Galgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Galgal, and they sacrificed there victims of peace before the Lord. And there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced exceedingly. |
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. |
So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the face of Yahweh in Gilgal. Then they sacrificed sacrifices of peace-offerings there before the face of Yahweh, and Saul and all the men of Israel were extremely happy there. |
וַיֵּלְכוּ כָל-הָעָם הַגִּלְגָּל, וַיַּמְלִכוּ שָׁם אֶת-שָׁאוּל לִפְנֵי יְהוָה בַּגִּלְגָּל, וַיִּזְבְּחוּ- שָׁם זְבָחִים שְׁלָמִים, לִפְנֵי יְהוָה; וַיִּשְׂמַח שָׁם שָׁאוּל וְכָל- אַנְשֵׁי יִשְׂרָאֵל, עַד-מְאֹד. פ |
1Tsumura reached the same conclusion I did, but Henry, Delitzsch, and Goldman saw Nahash’s assesion to the Jabesh Gileadites’ request for 7 days as mere hubris.
2Matthew Henry raised the point that there was a connection between Saul’s tribe of Benjamin and the city of Jabesh Gilead, because it was from Jabesh Gilead that wives were procured for the decimated Benjamites in Judges 21. It might be countered, however, that there would have been no relatives of those women left in Jabesh Gilead.
3Too bad he had to appeal to the people's self interest rather than their compassion and sense of justice. Perhaps Israel was in such a weak spiritual state that this was all that would appeal to them. Matthew Henry suggested that Saul was appropriating the curse of Deut. 28:31 as a Biblical judicial measure.
4It’s also interesting that even this far back before the political division of Israel (Rehoboam and Jeroboam, North and South), distinctions in troops are made between Israel and Judah. Willett suggested that this was due to Judah’s role in holding back the Philistines on the other side of the nation so they couldn’t spare as many men as other tribes could for military service on the eastern front. Henry suggested to the contrary that Judah lacked “numbers, courage, or zeal.”
5Saul is mentioned as being “happy” only one other time in his life, and that is when David won the contest with Goliath and the war with the Philistines ended in victory, but even then he is not said to have rejoiced to this great an extent.
AMy
original chart includes the NASB and NIV, but their copyright
restrictions have forced me to remove them from the
publicly-available edition of this chart. I have included the ESV in
footnotes when it employs a word not already used by the KJV, NASB,
or NIV. (NAW is my translation.) When a translation adds words not
in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use
of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the added words in [square
brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different
from all the other translations, I underline it. When a
version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs
too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far
from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout.
And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I
insert an X. (I also place an X at the end of a word if the original
word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I
occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between
the various editions and versions when there are more than two
different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea
Scroll containing any part of this passage is 4Q51Samuela,
which contains fragments of vs. 1-2 and 7-12 (highlighted in
purple), and which has been dated between 50-25 B.C. Where the DSS
supports the LXX with omissions or text not in the MT, I have
highlighted with
yellow the LXX and its translation into English, and where I
have accepted that into my NAW translation, I have marked it with
{pointed brackets}.
B NIV & ESV = “treaty”
CDSS ends chapter 10 with the following insert not in the MT: “Then Nahash, king of the sons of Ammon himself had been oppressing the children of Gad and the children of Reuben by force and gouging out among them every right eye and giving no opportunity for Israel to be saved. There was not left even a man of the children of Israel who was on the other side of the Jordan to whom Nahash King of the children of Ammon had not gouged out every right eye. Yet, there were seven thousand men who escaped.” Then it begins chapter 11 with the same extra text which the LXX has: “And it was about a month...” This phrase in Hebrew is very similar to “and he kept silent” which is how the MT reads at the transition of chapter 10 to 11, so the two phrases could be easily confused. None of this data makes or breaks the story and its application, though.) Grey text is actually illegible in the DSS:
y?wm /ya /tnw /ymy /yu lwk <hl rqnw hqzjb /bwar ynb taw dg ynb ta Jjl awh /wmu ynb ilm ?jnw
hw /ymy /yu lwk /wmu ynb ilm ?jn wl rqn awl r?a /dryh rbub r?a lar?y ynbb ?ya ra?n awlw lar?yl/
?dj wmk yhyw ?ya <ypla tub?
DAfter
“pitched against Jabesh” the DSS inserts, “[illegible
text] of the sons of Ammon and they went to Jabesh...”
...
la wabyw /wmu yn)b) ...
EDSS, although it is mostly illegible at this point, agrees with the LXX that there was originally more text here, because the next letter is מ, the first letter of the Hebrew word for “king,” and there is exactly the right amount of space to insert “of the sons of Ammon” before the next legible letter. This doesn’t introduce any new information not already mentioned, however.
F NASB, NIV = “gouge”
G NASB, NIV, ESV = “disgrace”
H “The phrase bezot (‘in this’) here thus signifies by this means, not ‘on this condition’” ~ Tsumura, NICOT
IThe DSS is obliterated at this point, but the LXX adds “covenant,” and so does the Vulgate and the old Latin versions, as well as the Syriac and some Targum and Hebrew manuscripts. This is clearly the meaning, whether or not the word was explicitly in the original.
JNASB & NIV, following the Greek and Latin manuscripts, omit the 3rd singular feminine suffix in the MT Hebrew. The words “this” and “reproach” are feminine in Hebrew. The Vulgate renders it 2nd person, and KJV renders it neuter.
K Singular in Greek and Hebrew, translated “territory” in NASB & ESV, omitted by NIV. Same with v.7.
LThis is the literal interpretation of the Greek and Hebrew. NIV and ESV translated more figuratively: surrender/give up. This is repeated in v.10.
MThe similarity of this word which opens the elder’s reply to the word “stigma/reproach” in Nahash’s closing remark is interesting.
N NIV = “terms,” ESV mistakenly translates singular = “matter”
O NIV & ESV omit this phrase
P The Hebrew word bqr without vowel pointing could be interpreted “morning,” but “oxen” makes more sense.
Q cf. NASB = “reported... words,” NIV = “repeated… what,” and ESV = “told... news”
R NASB, ESV = “rushed,” NIV = “came powerfully”
S All other English versions = “words”
TThis portion of the DSS is disintegrated, so it can’t be read for comparison, but the oldest-known manuscripts, including the LXX, Old Latin, and Vulgate all read the equivalent of “Lord” in their language (instead of “God”), and there are even a couple of Hebrew manuscripts that read hwhy, so I’m guessing that’s original, but it’s the same person either way. In 10:6 it’s indisputably, “The Spirit of Yahweh will advance upon you” and in 10:10 it’s indisputably, “The Spirit of God advanced upon him.”
UThe Masorite scribes corrected the beth prefix to a coph prefix, but both can mean “when.” It appears that the LXX translators were looking at an edition with a coph prefix. The same thing happens in v. 9.
V cf. NASB, ESV = “dread,” NIV = “terror”
WThe DSS is obliterated at this point, but there is too much space between the legible portions of the DSS of this verse to support the MT, so it is suspected that the DSS reading included the extra word “of Israel” like the LXX did.
XNASB = “counted,” NIV, ESV = “mustered” The Hebrew word connotes “holding accountable,” so perhaps there was a registry made so that those who had failed to show up could be held accountable to donate meat to the army.
YThe DSS is obliterated at this point, but there is too much space between the legible portions of the DSS of this verse to support the MT, so it is suspected that the DSS reading included the extra phrase “in Bamah every man of” like the LXX.
ZThe old Latin reads “six” along with the LXX. The DSS is too obliterated at this point for comparison. If you remove the second letter of the Hebrew word for “three,” you get the Hebrew word for “six.”
AADSS, LXX, and old Latin read “seventy” instead of “thirty.” The difference in Hebrew requires replacing the second and third letters of the word.
AB cf. ESV = “salvation,” NIV = “rescue[d]”
ACThis verb is singular (“he said”) in the LXX, old Latin, and Syriac. The DSS is too obliterated here for comparison.
ADThe MT is singular (“the man of Jabesh”), but several Hebrew manuscripts and practically every version (including the LXX, Old Latin, Syriac, and Vulgate, one of the Targums, and all the English versions) pluralize it. The DSS is obliterated at this point, and the word spacing is not definitive, so it can’t be used for comparison.
AE DSS inserts a definite article before “salvation” and a prepositional phrase “from Yahweh” (hwhym).
AFQere note from Masoretic scribes reads כְּחֹם, correcting the prepositional prefix, but both beth and coph can be translated “when.”
AG DSS adds “And they said, ‘Open the gate for y’all!’” ru?h wjtp <kl wrmayw – greyed-out text is illegible in the DSS.
AHThere is too much space between the legible words of this verse in the DSS to support the terse reading of the MT, but not enough space to support as much intervening text as the LXX has. The editor of The Way To Yahuweh website suggested that the DSS might support the fuller name of the location “Jabesh Gilead,” but I am more inclined to go, along with the NIV editors, with a shortened form of the indirect object clause in the LXX (“to Nahash” or “to the Ammonites”).
AIThe DSS is obliterated at this point, and word spacing is inconclusive, but “according to all” is not in the oldest-known documents, including LXX, old Latin, Syriac, Vulgate, and some Targums, so its authenticity may be questioned.
AJ Aquila translated this = kefalaV (“heads” - an overly-literal rendering of the MT)
AK The Syriac also reads singular.
AL NASB = “killed,” NIV = “slaughtered”
AM Cf. other passages where rosh is the object of sim: (Quotes are from NKJV)
Deuteronomy 1:13 “Choose wise… men from among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.”
Judges 11:11 “...Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander...”
1 Samuel 28:2 “...Achish said to David, "Therefore I will make you one of my chief guardians forever.’”
Esther 2:17 “set” as “queen” with a crown on her “head”
Psalm 18:43 “...You have made me the head of the nations; A people I have not known shall serve me.”
Hosea 1:11 “Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel Shall be gathered together, And appoint for themselves one head...”
ANTwo Hebrew manuscripts read more like the LXX, Latin, and Syriac, with a he instead of a vav as the third letter, which would change the imperative from the plural form in the MT (“y’all give,” which doesn’t make sense if Samuel is the addressee) to a singular form.
AODelitzsch suggested that this was not Gilgal in the plain of the Jordan, but Jiljilia on higher ground to the south-west of Shiloh on the grounds that Samuel said not “Let us go down,” but simply “Let us go” and that Jiljilia was much closer to the road from Jabesh to Gibeah and Ramah than Gilgal was.