Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel, of which two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the Mount of Bethel, and one thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. He sent the rest of the people to their own tents.
Parallel Translations
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Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel, of which two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the Mount of Bethel, and one thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. He sent the rest of the people to their own tents.
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Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.
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And Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmas and in the mount of Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeath-benjamin; and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to 1 Samuel 13:2 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Samuel 10:26 Saul also went to his house to Gibeah; and the army went with him, whose hearts God had touched.
- 1 Samuel 13:5 The Philistines assembled themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, eastward of Beth Aven.
- 1 Samuel 14:31 They struck the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. The people were very faint;
- 1 Samuel 13:23 The garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.
- Joshua 18:28 Zelah, Eleph, the Jebusite (also called Jerusalem), Gibeath, and Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.
- Judges 19:12 His master said to him, “We won’t enter into the city of a foreigner that is not of the children of Israel; but we will pass over to Gibeah.”
- 1 Samuel 8:11 He said, “This will be the way of the king who shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them as his servants, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they will run before his chariots.
- 1 Samuel 14:5 The one crag rose up on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba.
- 1 Samuel 14:52 There was severe war against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man, or any valiant man, he took him into his service.
- 1 Samuel 15:34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
- 2 Samuel 21:6 let seven men of his sons be delivered to us, and we will hang them up to Yahweh in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of Yahweh.” The king said, “I will give them.”
- Isaiah 10:28-29 He has come to Aiath. He has passed through Migron. At Michmash he stores his baggage. They have gone over the pass. They have taken up their lodging at Geba. Ramah trembles. Gibeah of Saul has fled.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Sa 13:2 Saul chose him three thousand [men] of…
1Sa 13:2 Saul chose him three thousand [men] of Israel; [whereof] two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.
Ver. 2. Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel.] Praesidiarios milites et stationarios, for a selected band to be ready on all occasions: and it was but needful; for the Philistines had well nigh ousted him from his kingdom: and therefore after that he had defeated them, he is said to "take the kingdom again," say some. {1Sa 14:47}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Saul chose, Heb. and (i.e. then, as that adverb…
Saul chose, Heb. and (i.e. then, as that adverb is oft used, as Gen 3:5; 18:10, &c.)
Saul chose. Three thousand men of Israel; which he thought sufficient for constant attendance and service, intending to summon the rest when need should be.
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Michmash; a tract of ground near Ramah and Beth-el, in the border of Benjamin, and near to the Philistines.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel,.... Out…
Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel,.... Out of the 300,000 that went with him to fight the Ammonites, and returned with him to Gilgal, where he now was, and had stayed as may be supposed about a year, since now he had reigned two years. These 3000 men some of them doubtless were appointed as a guard about his person, and the rest were a standing army to preserve the peace of the nation, to protect them from their enemies, to watch the motions of the Philistines, and to be ready on any sudden invasion:
whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash, and in Mount Bethel; "Michmash", according to Bunting, (s) was four miles from Gilgal. Jerom (t) says, in his time it was shown a large village on the borders of Aella, or Jerusalem, retaining its ancient name, nine miles distant from it, near the village Rama. Adrichomius (u) says it is now called Byra, and Mr. Maundrell (w) observes that it is supposed by some to be the same with Beer, whither Jotham fled after he had delivered his parable, Jdg 9:21. Michmash is in the Misnah (x) celebrated for the best wheat being brought from it; and near to it, as appears from hence, was Bethel, and the mount of that name; and so Jerom (y) speaks of Bethel as over against Michmash; and this mount very probably is the same said to be on the east of Bethel, where Abraham built an altar, Gen 12:8 for Michmash lay to the east of Bethel:
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and one thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin; the native place of Saul, and this Jonathan was the son of Saul, Sa1 13:16. According to Bunting (z), Gibeah, where Jonathan was stationed, was eight miles from Michmash:
and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent; to their own houses; or, as the Targum, to their cities; these were they that came at his summons, and were numbered at Bezek, and went with him to the relief of Jabeshgilead, and had been with him ever since, and now dismissed.
(s) Travels of the Patriarchs, &c. p. 126. (t) De loc Heb. fol. 93. F. (u) Thestrum Terrae S. p. 28. (w) Journey from Aleppo, p. 64. (x) Menachot, c. 8. sect. 1. (y) Ut supra, (De loc Heb.) fol. 89. G. (z) Ut supra, (Travels of the Patriarchs, &c.) p. 127.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 2. Two thousand were with Saul] Saul, no…
Verse 2. Two thousand were with Saul] Saul, no doubt, meditated the redemption of his country from the Philistines; and having chosen three thousand men, he thought best to divide them into companies, and send one against the Philistine garrison at Michmash, another against that at Beth-el, and the third against that at Gibeah: he perhaps hoped, by surprising these garrisons, to get swords and spears for his men, of which we find, (1Sa 13:22), they were entirely destitute.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The state of things which preceded the events described…
The state of things which preceded the events described in this chapter seems to have been a comparative peace between Israel and the Philistines, since Saul had only 3,000 men under arms. At the same time Philistine garrisons continued to occupy the country of the Israelites in certain strong places, whereof one was at Geba (Jeba), in the immediate neighborhood of Gibeah 1Sa 10:5; 1Sa 13:3, and exactly opposite Michmash (Mukhmas), which was on the northern edge of the great Wady Suweinit.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Dwellings, from Galgal (Salien) or from some other general…
Dwellings, from Galgal (Salien) or from some other general assembly. (Calmet) --- These 3000 were to be the king’s guards, supported at the expense of the nation, that the people might begin to feel one part of the royal prerogative. (Salien, the year before Christ 1089)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel--This band…
Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel--This band of picked men was a bodyguard, who were kept constantly on duty, while the rest of the people were dismissed till their services might be needed. It seems to have been his tactics to attack the Philistine garrisons in the country by different detachments, rather than by risking a general engagement; and his first operations were directed to rid his native territory of Benjamin of these enemies.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 2. Saul chose… three thousand… of Israel — This…
2. Saul chose… three thousand… of Israel — This was probably the first act of his reign, and done at Gilgal immediately after the renewal of the kingdom there. Then all the fighting men of the nation were assembled, numbering over three hundred thousand, (1Sa_11:8,) and there could have been no more opportune occasion on which to select a choice standing army.
Michmash — This ancient city lay four miles southeast of Beth-el, and its site is identical with the modern Mukhmas, where the traveller still finds many foundations of large hewn stones, and columns lying among them.
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Mount Beth-el — Like mount Ephraim (1Sa_1:1) not a single mountain, but a range of hills, intermediate between Beth-el and Michmash. On these heights Saul stationed his two thousand warriors, and for the time probably had his headquarters at Michmash.
A thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin — This city was called Gibeah of Benjamin, because it belonged to that tribe. Jos_18:28; Jdg_19:14. Its site was at the base of the modern Tuleil-el-Ful, five miles southwest of Michmash. It appears from this passage that Saul had, at the beginning of his reign, a son old enough to take charge of a garrison of a thousand men. He must have been, then, at least forty years of age. Here we first meet with Jonathan, the strategic warrior and fast friend of David.
The rest of the people — Who had assembled at Gilgal to witness the inauguration of Saul. Having chosen from among them three thousand valiant men, he dismissed the remainder to their homes.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 2. Saul chose him three thousand men] And Saul…
2. Saul chose him three thousand men] And Saul chose, &c. The formation of a standing army marks an important epoch in the history of a nation. It was a natural result of the election of a king, who was to be a military leader. Cp. 1Sa_14:52. This body was only large enough to form a nucleus for the general levy of fighting men (1Sa_13:4), like the hus-carls of the Saxon kings for the Land-Fyrd. See Green’s Hist. of the Engl. People, p. 75.
in Michmash] The villages of Mŭkhmâs and Jeba preserve the names and mark the sites of Michmash and Geba. They stand on the N. and S. respectively of the Wady es Suweinit, a deep ravine with precipitous sides running from the highlands of Benjamin to Jericho. “About two miles S. E. of Ai it becomes a narrow gorge with vertical precipices some 800 feet high.” Jonathan was in Gibeah, a few miles to the S. W. of Geba. See note on 1Sa_10:5. We may conjecture that when Saul occupied Michmash the Philistines transferred their post, which had previously been at Gibeah (1Sa_10:5), to Geba, in order to watch him more closely. Jonathan thereupon seized Gibeah, from which he made the successful sally described in 1Sa_13:3.
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mount Beth-el] The high ground between Bethel and Michmash.
Jonathan] The first mention of Saul’s eldest son, whose memory is famous not so much for his military achievements, as for his fast friendship with David. The name Jonathan means “the gift of Jehovah,” and may be compared with the Greek Theodore.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (2) Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel.—This…
(2) Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel.—This is a very important statement, as it tells us of the first beginning of a standing army in Israel. This was the first step towards the development of Israel into a great military power. It was Saul’s military genius and foresight which enabled David and Solomon to make those great conquests which raised Israel for a time to the position of one of the greatest Eastern Powers. The really great life of Saul was frittered away in repelling what may be termed Israel’s domestic enemies. such as the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites; but he left behind him a powerful and disciplined army, and a nation carefully trained to war. It has been asked, how was it, considering the position of Israel and the Philistines at that juncture—the latter people possessing evidently not a few strong places in the territories of the tribes, from whence they were in the habit of sallying forth, and harassing and pillaging the people—that Saul, instead of at once declaring war, dismissed the people gathered at Gilgal, only retaining so few? The probability is that Saul, with true military instinct, saw that Israel was at this period by no means trained or armed to undertake a regular war with such an enemy. He therefore adopted the wise course here related.
Whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash.—Michmash was a position strongly situated at the head of a pass some nine miles north-east of Jerusalem. The “one thousand” he placed under the command of his son Jonathan, and stationed them in the neighbourhood of his old home, where he would have the benefit of the aid of his family and kinsfolk. This is the first mention of the gallant and chivalrous prince, the story of whose unbroken and romantic friendship with David is one of the most touching episodes of these books. “If the substance of this narrative was written in David’s reign, we may perhaps see the effect of David’s generous and loving nature in the care taken to give Jonathan his due place of honour in the history.”—Speaker’s Commentary.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain OCCASION OF THE FIRST WAR AGAINST THE PHILISTINES (vers.…
OCCASION OF THE FIRST WAR AGAINST THE PHILISTINES (vers. 2-7).
Saul chose him. Literally, "And Saul chose him," the usual way of commencing the narrative of a king"s reign. He probably selected these 3000 men at the end of the war with the Ammonites, to strengthen the small bodyguard which he had gathered round him at Gibeah. (1Sa_10:26) As being always in arms, they would become highly disciplined, and form the nucleus and centre of all future military operations. (see on 1Sa_14:52) He stationed these on either side of the defile in the mountain range of Bethel, so exactly described in Isa_10:28, Isa_10:29, where Sennacherib, as we read, leaves his carriage, i.e. his baggage, at Michmash, and after defiling through the pass, arrives at Geba. Gibeah, where Jonathan was posted with 1000 of these picked warriors, was Saul"s home, and his son would have the benefit there of the aid of Kish and Abner, while Michmash was the more exposed place, situate about seven miles northeast of Jerusalem. Conder ("Tent Work," 2:110) describes this defile as "a narrow gorge with vertical precipices some 800 feet high a great crack or fissure in the country, which is peculiar in this respect, that you only become aware of its existence when close to the brink; for on the north the narrow spur of hills hides it, and on the south a flat plateau extends to the top of the crags. On the south side of this great chasm stands Geba of Benjamin, on a rocky knoll, with caverns beneath the houses, and arable land to the east; and on the opposite side, considerably lower than Geba, is the little village of Michmash, on a sort of saddle, backed by an open and fertile corn valley. This valley was famous for producing excellent barley. Every man to his tent. This with us would be a warlike phrase; but as the mass of the Israelites then dwelt in tents, it means simply their dispersion homewards; and so the Syriac translates, "He dismissed them each to his house". (see Psa_69:25)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel.
1Sa_13:2-7
Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel.
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Aggression upon the camp of evil
The spiritual application of this incident teaches us that every man in the Church is a soldier acting under Divine leadership, or human leadership Divinely appointed, and that the solemn and unchangeable duty of the great army is to make daily aggression upon the whole camp of evil. The very existence of that camp should be regarded as a challenge. There need be no waiting for formal defiance; the Christian army is justified in regarding the existence of any form or colour of evil as a call to immediate onslaught. We fight not against men, but against their corruptions. We do not kill our brother men, we seek by Divine instrumentalities to slay the evils which have debased their manhood. There must be war in the world until all evil is driven out of it. Physical carnage is incompatible with the Spirit of Christ, and is, therefore ever to be regarded with horror and inexpressible detestation; but the grand spiritual war is never to cease until the last black spot of wickedness is taken away from the fair robe of the moral creation. Judging by what is seen in the spirit and action of nominal Christians, who could justly regard them as men of intrepidity and invincible resoluteness? What trembling, what hesitation, what nightmare fancies, what ghostly noises in the night, what nameless spectres have combined to make the Church afraid! What a genius the Church has for creating fears! How afraid the Church is of sensationalism, offending the weak, annoying the sensitive, disturbing the slumbering! What wonder if amid all this unworthy hesitation the war should be going against the Divine standard! But we must not look at the people: our eyes must be upon the Captain of our salvation. In his heart there is no misgiving; he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet; he never turns back from the war; his sword is always highest in the air, pointing the road to danger and to victory. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 13:2 Earlier, Saul had employed 330,000 troops to fight…
13:2 Earlier, Saul had employed 330,000 troops to fight against a much less formidable foe (11:8). The selection here of 3,000 special troops probably does not reflect overconfidence (cp. Josh 7:3-4). Rather, Saul likely recognized the need for a smaller, highly trained, elite militia to deal with the troublesome Philistines (see 1 Sam 14:52). • Micmash was located in Benjamin about two miles northwest of Saul’s home in Gibeah.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.