Bible Study - 1 Samuel Chapter 11
Bible Study - 1 Samuel Chapter 11
| 1 Now Nahash the Ammonite came up and besieged Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Make a covenant with us and we will serve you." |
At this time Ammonite was a generic term for a gentile living in Israeli territory. They had their own cities and they operated under their own rules. Israel was more of a loose alliance of city-states or region-states than a unified nation until the monarchy was fully established. An Israelite city could make its own treaty with a foreign power, including a foreign power located within Israeli territory. This was similar to Italy prior to 1861, with the "foreign" power of the Vatican state in the middle. And like the Vatican state, the Ammonites would sometimes seek to expand using military force. Little is known about Nahash other than he was a king and he was on good terms with David before he became king of Israel. That Nahash's title is omitted here, which would normally be carefully included, is likely a deliberate omission as a commentary on his dishonorable behavior in this instance. "All the men of Jabesh" means the elders of Jabesh-gilead. When confronted by a superior force they sought to become subject to king Nabesh, paying tribute and serving him, while being protected by him against others. We shouldn't make too much out of them seeking to deal with this themselves at first, rather than seeking God or calling for help from other Israelites. For centuries Israel had repeatedly turned away from God and God withdrew his protection, leaving them at the mercy of foreign powers like the Philistines. During those periods Israelites wouldn't have anyone to turn to and would have to make the best of things on their own until the nation turned back to God and he would raise up a judge to free them. |
| 2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "I will make it with you on this condition, that I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you, thus I will make it a reproach on all Israel." |
A covenant like this would normally be marked by an animal sacrifice. According to the non-scriptural but historical Qumran scroll 4QSama, king Nabesh had been using the sacrifice of the right eye of the Israelites he conquered instead of an animal sacrifice in the Transjordan region before this. And he was doing this without being challenged by the rest of Israel. The right eye and hand were considered essential parts of the body. Thus this was meant to be extra humiliating. The word reproach, cherpah in Hebrew, is used for the shame of being barren, being slaves, being raped, and marrying an uncircumcised man. His stated reason for demanding this was to bring humiliation not only on those he conquered, but on all of Israel. |
| 3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Let us alone for seven days, that we may send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to deliver us, we will come out to you." | The elders ask for seven days to send for a deliverer. On the surface it seems strange that king Nahash would allow them time, especially for the stated reason of seeking a deliverer. Clearly, Nahash was trying to provoke a fight and thought he could defeat any who came against him. There is some merit to operating this way. Instead of having to support an army moving from city to city conquering as they went, he could defeat a group of them all at once. This would leave the cities that sent their troops defenseless and they would easily become subject to him. |
| 4 Then the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and spoke these words in the hearing of the people, and all the people lifted up their voices and wept. | Gibeah of Benjamin is now known as Gibeah of Saul as it was the home of the new king. It was over 40 miles from Jabesh, which likely meant it took two days for the messengers to get there. The news made the people loudly weep, not just with their eyes but with their voices. (Loud wailing us still a common practice in the Middle East.) |
| 5 Now behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen, and he said, "What is the matter with the people that they weep?" So they related to him the words of the men of Jabesh. | That Saul was behind the oxen meant he had been plowing the field himself. This illustrates that even though he had been chosen by God to be king, Saul was a humble man of good character. Commentators who try to make him out to be a villain or insecure man from the beginning are reading into the text and are over-simplifying the character of Saul. An insecure man would not be able to do such mundane tasks for fear others would view it as unking-like behavior. Clearly Saul did what what right, not caring what it looked like. |
| 6 Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he became very angry. | The Spirit of God rushed upon Saul, with identical language as in 10:6. This time the Spirit filled him with righteous anger at the injustice being threatened against Jabesh. It is likely that it was known that Nabesh had done this to other Israelite cities. Regardless, it is certain the Spirit knew. |
| 7 He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, "Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen." Then the dread of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out as one man. |
That Saul uses the name of Samuel shows that despite the issues with his sons, Samuel commands great respect. There is a strong parallel here with the civil war in Judges 19-21 that nearly destroyed the entire tribe of Benjamin. The civil war happened because of a great injustice that occurred in Gibeah, where the body of the Levite's concubine who was the victim of a horrible crime leading to her death was cut up into 12 pieces and sent to the 12 tribes. The tribe of Benjamin wouldn't give up those responsible. So the rest of Israel treated them as accessories to the crime and went to war. Now here a Benjamite of Gibeah would be the savior of Jabesh, sending out pieces of his own oxen with a promise of what would happen to those who didn't muster for battle behind Saul and Samuel. The symbolism and reference to the previous civil war had to be noticed by all. And while the explicit threat of this promise is regarding the property of those who do not muster for battle, the implication is it will be done to them personally. Yahweh was with the troops seeking justice from Benjamin for allowing such heinous behavior, and worse, protecting the criminals. It is no wonder the fear of Yahweh came on them. Failing to do their duty to the other Israelites would have the same result for them. |
| 8 He numbered them in Bezek; and the sons of Israel were 300,000, and the men of Judah 30,000. |
Bezek is not mentioned elsewhere. But it is likely a city near Jabesh as this is where Saul marshals the armies of Israel and Judah. It is notable that there is already a distinction between the north and south of Israel at this time. (The numbers are doubled or more in the Septuagint, Josephus, and other documents. The more conservative numbers in the Masoretic text here are more likely.) |
| 9 They said to the messengers who had come, "Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, 'Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have deliverance.'" So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. | It is likely that the return of the messengers occurred on the sixth day of the seven day waiting period Nabesh allowed as the time had not expired, and the people of Jabesh stated they would come out the next day. |
| 10 Then the men of Jabesh said, "Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you." | It should be clear from the context that the elders of Jabesh are speaking to Nabesh, or his representatives and/or general in this verse. It is unlikely that Nabesh was there personally. They are deliberately vague in their statement, not specifying that they will surrender, only that they will come out. |
| 11 The next morning Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together. | Saul uses sound strategy. He organized his force by splitting it into three divisions for greater effect. And he attacked before dawn, when the enemy would mostly be sleeping, and even the watch would be groggy. There were three 4-hour watches during the night from the set of the sun until it rises, the evening, middle and morning watch. So the attack could have started as early as 2 AM, and almost certainly started well before 6 AM. The one-sided battle continued until the heat of the day, which would have been between 2 and 4 PM. That no two survivors were left together means that any groups were hunted down. Only single soldiers were able to slip away. |
| 12 Then the people said to Samuel, "Who is he that said, 'Shall Saul reign over us?' Bring the men, that we may put them to death." | The huge victory was largely due to Saul's strategy and leadership, and firmly established him as king. The display of great military leadership made the people so enthusiastic about Saul they wanted to kill his detractors. They asked the prophet Samuel for who they were. This looks back to 10:27 where certain worthless men despised Saul, trash talked, and didn't have a present to the future king as tradition required from the elders. |
| 13 But Saul said, "Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has accomplished deliverance in Israel." | Saul could have had revenge on those who despised him, and at least to the public if not God, his hands would be clean. However, he was the bigger man, stepping in and forbidding putting these men to death. And he gave credit for the victory to Yahweh. While it was his strategy that made for such a lopsided victory, Saul understood that the wisdom he had was a gift from God. So his accomplishments were rightfully credited to God. In this he again shows that he was a good man and God chose him for good reasons. |
| 14 Then Samuel said to the people, "Come and let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there." |
So Samuel calls for the nation to gather at Gilgal to "renew" Saul as king. He had already been selected by God and hailed as king by the majority, so he didn't need to be selected as king. However, Saul had not been formally installed as king yet. Now that he had proven himself, it was time for the formalities. There were traditions that required a king to have fought for his people before he could take the throne in the Middle East at this time. But there is no indication that was required here. There was no tradition in Israel yet because Saul was the first king. Gilgal was one of the cities on Samuel's circuit as judge. Mizpah was also one of those four cities, and was where Samuel gathered all Israel on multiple occasions. We don't know why he chose Gilgal instead for Saul's reaffirmation and coronation. Perhaps it was to separate this confirmation of the king from the gatherings under the judges, but this is pure speculation. |
| 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they also offered sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly. |
Here Saul is formally made king, his coronation in modern terms. This is similar to Queen Elizabeth II having the role of Queen as soon as her father had passed, but her formal coronation was not held until about a year later. Before Yahweh appears twice in this verse, leading some commentators to speculate that the selection by lot at Mizpah was the political appointment, and the affirmation at Gilgal was the religious confirmation. However, Yahweh was directing the selection at Mizpah and the actions at Gilgal were by the people making it at least as likely that these were reversed. However, most likely both were considered political and religious activities as the desired operation was for Israel to function as Yahweh's chosen people in all things. The reason why it is written that all the people to gathered at Gilgal at the beginning of the verse, but it only says all the men rejoiced at the end is figurative language that most likely means the author was being specific about the elders, and that they in particular universally rejoiced at the establishment of the kingdom with Saul as it's king. |
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation.