1 Samuel 13:1–23

13:2 Saul organizes a standing army by selecting “three thousand men of Israel,” no doubt for their military prowess, with the total representing as many as Saul could pay or could get away with without provoking a Philistine response. The remaining men of military age are sent home as a reserve. “People” here and throughout Samuel refers to the army (4:3), and “every man to his tent” is an idiom for dispersal of soldiers, whether by deliberate demobilization or through defeat (cf. 4:10; 2 Sam. 20:1).

Saul forms his men into two divisions, one stationed with himself 6.8 miles (11 km) north of Jerusalem at Michmash, strategically situated in a valley running from the hill country down to the Jordan, with the major center of Bethel a further 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest.³ The second division is commanded by Saul’s son Jonathan, mentioned for the first time (though his relationship to Saul is not clarified until 1 Sam. 13:16). This smaller division is stationed at Gibeah of Benjamin, which some identify as Geba (v. 3), but is more probably Gibeah of Saul. It lay 4.3 miles (7 km) southwest of Michmash, controlling the route north from Jerusalem along the watershed.

13:3 Saul obviously views his measures as defensive and does not anticipate immediate action. However, at some point Jonathan displays his proactive disposition, taking the sort of action Saul is reluctant to engage in (cf. 10:7). Seemingly in a guerrilla-type action, he defeats (lit., “struck”) the Philistine garrison at Geba, which lay on the opposite side of the valley from Saul. It does not take long for the Philistines to hear about this challenge to their control.

In the face of inevitable reprisals, “Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land” to mobilize the nation. The trumpet was a ram’s horn, whose harsh, piercing note was used as a military signal (e.g., 2 Sam. 2:28). Heralds are sent throughout the land to summon the reserve troops with the announcement, “Let the Hebrews hear.” Surprisingly, Saul uses the term “Hebrews,” generally employed in speech to foreigners (4:6). It is far from clear why he does so here. Sarcasm or an address to Israelite mercenaries employed by the Philistines have both been suggested, but neither is convincing.

13:4 Although the defeat of the Philistine garrison is achieved by Jonathan, the victory is attributed to Saul as commander in chief. The people also hear the news that they have “become a stench to the Philistines,” an offensive odor requiring speedy treatment (cf. 27:12; 2 Sam. 10:6; 16:21).

Gilgal was a suitable place to mass an army, as it was further from the area under Philistine occupation but still accessible to all of the tribes.⁴ It is also where Samuel had on an earlier occasion instructed Saul to go and wait for him before engaging in warfare (1 Sam. 10:8).

13:5 To quell the Israelite rebellion the Philistines muster (lit., “gather,” here and in v. 11; not the same word as in 11:8) a massive army. “Thirty thousand chariots” is an extremely large number, not paralleled in any other ancient account. A figure of one thousand is often supposed to be original, while some Septuagint manuscripts and the Syriac read “three thousand.” The “horsemen” were those who drove chariots (not cavalrymen who fought on horseback). Two or possibly three men were required for each chariot. Though chariots were of little value in the hill country, as they require level terrain to operate effectively, their presence represents a form of intimidation. “Troops” in this instance refers to the infantry, who are “like the sand on the seashore in multitude,” a common idiom for a number too large to compute (Gen. 22:17; Josh. 11:4; Judg. 7:12). “They came up” from the coastal plain through the passes in the western hills and “encamped in Michmash” (cf. 1 Sam. 13:2), “to the east of Beth-aven” (cf. Josh. 7:2).

13:6 The Philistine advance panics the Israelites. “Trouble,” a metaphor drawn from being in a narrow place, describes being under pressure from all sides, while “hard pressed” shows them unable to organize an effective response to the threat they face. Individuals seek safety by hiding in one of the many dens or holes to be found in the rocky terrain. “Tombs” is literally “pits,” cavities constructed underground, while “cisterns” were dug out of the rock to act as reservoirs for rainwater.

13:7b The section 13:7b–15a has often been treated as a secondary insertion. However, it forms the focus of the chapter, detailing Saul’s reaction to the Philistine threat.⁵

Saul has gone to supervise the muster at Gilgal and to prepare to engage the Philistines. Even those who have loyally responded to Saul’s summons are apprehensive of the Philistines’ might and resources. They lack confidence in Saul and in the Lord—quite a contrast with the earlier victory over Ammon (ch. 11).

13:8 Delivering Israel from the Philistines is a duty divinely assigned to Saul (9:16), but all Israelite warfare must acknowledge the Lord’s role in it. “The time appointed by Samuel” is designed to allow him to come and consecrate the army by sacrificing before battle and to issue Saul with divine instructions for the conflict. It is unclear if this is a standing arrangement or a reinstatement of the earlier stipulation (10:8)—but the latter becomes increasingly improbable the longer the time gap assumed at the beginning of the chapter.

Saul has presumably sent word to Samuel, but he does not come. Possibly his movements are hampered by the Philistine presence, or he may delay in order to test Saul. However, as Saul waits, he soon sees his fearful recruits beginning to desert.

13:9 Saul resolves to act without waiting any longer for Samuel. He orders sacrificial animals be brought, and he “offered the burnt offering.” This does not imply that he did so personally. Gilgal boasted a sacred shrine where priests would have been in attendance, and it is recorded that Ahijah was in Saul’s entourage (14:3).

13:10 No sooner has the burnt offering (but seemingly not the peace offerings) been sacrificed than Samuel arrives, probably late on the seventh day. When Saul receives word of his approach, he shows all due respect by going out of the city to “greet him” (lit., “bless him”; cf. 15:13).

13:11 Samuel’s brusque response conveys strong disapproval: “What have you done?” Taken aback, Saul claims to have acted reasonably in the circumstance, but the length of his explanation shows him to be on the defensive. Saul seeks to deflect criticism from himself onto others in three ways: “The people [“army”] were scattering from me” (cf. v. 8), Samuel did not arrive within the agreed time (“you” is pointedly emphatic), and there was an obvious threat from the Philistines massed at Michmash, about 10 miles (16 km) distant. But Saul had not brought the Lord into the picture. Instead he had looked only at his immediate circumstances and in panic followed plans he had devised himself.

13:12 “I said” relates what Saul had “said to himself,” that is, “thought.” He had expected the Philistines to learn that his army was depleted and to “come down against me at Gilgal.” Moreover, he was aware that the proper pre-battle procedures to seek divine blessing on the encounter had not been completed. “So I forced myself” may mean that his conscience told him not to but he went ahead anyhow, or, more probably, that it was a difficult decision to make but he made it.

Many express sympathy for Saul’s conduct facing this predicament. How else should a commander in chief behave in a rapidly deteriorating situation? But Saul is not commander in chief; the Lord is. Saul sees only a religious ritual to be performed before battle. He seeks divine blessing for what he will do but sees no need for divine guidance as to what he should do.

13:13 It is incorrect to treat Samuel’s condemnation of Saul’s action as the response of a disgruntled old man. Samuel clearly perceives that Saul has infringed upon the Lord’s rights in his kingdom. “You have done foolishly” denotes a lack of moral or spiritual sense leading to failure of judgment (cf. 26:21; 2 Sam. 15:31; 24:10).

“You have not kept the command of the Lord your God.” In this and the following verse are four terms derived from the root “to command.” Samuel’s focus is on appropriate authority structures and recognition of who is in overall charge. It is in this that covenant kingship diverges from secular concepts of kingship. The command that was disobeyed is connected not with sacrificial procedure but with the constitutional arrangements governing Saul’s kingship under the Lord. While the king is responsible for conducting military action, the prophet as the Lord’s commissioner is to communicate divine approval or disapproval. Saul has overstepped the mark by thinking ritual observance would make up for acting without explicit divine sanction (cf. 15:22–23).

“For then” (lit., “for now”) introduces an implied condition. If Saul had displayed due obedience to the principles of the theocratic constitution rather than acquiescence to the pressure of circumstances, his dynasty would have been made permanent. By disregarding the terms of covenant kingship, Saul has forfeited his right to retain that office.

13:14 “But now,” in the changed circumstances, “your kingdom shall not continue.” While “kingdom” might refer to Saul’s personal rule, it is his dynasty that is principally in view here (contrast 15:23).

Samuel also announces that the Lord has an alternative plan. “The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart.” This well-known expression forms the basis for Psalm 89:19–21 and is quoted by Paul in Acts 13:22. The past tense probably indicates that David had already been born, and “after his own heart” primarily denotes the Lord’s sovereign determination regarding Saul’s successor. David will be the Lord’s choice in a way that Saul never was (cf. 1 Sam. 12:13).

For David’s personal qualities, cf. comments on 16:7–12. In this context it is significant that “prince” or “leader” (Hb. nagid) is again used (cf. comment on 9:16).

13:15b Saul is in desperate straits: on his return to Gibeah he has only “about six hundred men.” The later reference in 14:2 suggests this is the total under his command, not merely the number of reserve troops he has called up. His army is the same size as David’s band in his days as a fugitive (23:13) and falls short of the figures, whether adjusted or not, mentioned in connection with the Ammonite war (11:8).

13:16 Saul’s army also includes those with Jonathan, here introduced as “his son.” Presumably he had stayed in position while Saul went to Gilgal. If “Geba of Benjamin” differs from Gibeah of Benjamin (v. 15a), then Saul’s army moves closer to the Philistines, who are situated on the other side of the valley, at Michmash (v. 5).

13:17–18 From their forward base at Michmash the Philistines use their military superiority to send out “raiders” (lit., “the destroyer”), forces that plunder and spread havoc throughout the land. Additionally, they may be trying to provoke Saul’s army to leave their positions to defend the settlements being attacked. The form of “turned toward” describes repeated action northward to Ophrah, a city of Benjamin in “the land of Shual” (“fox” or “jackal”), westward to Beth-horon,⁶ and also southeast to “the Valley of Zeboim” (“hyenas”). “Border” may refer to a range of hills overlooking the valley.

13:19 A background report indicates how ill-equipped the Israelite army is. The Philistines dominate Israel by restricting access to metal implements. “Blacksmith” (lit., “craftsman”) covers a range of skills, including working in iron and bronze.

13:20 By depriving the Israelites of facilities for making and sharpening weapons, the Philistines compel them to go down from the hill country to the coast to have their agricultural implements repaired. A “plowshare” is a metal tip attached to the wooden structure of a plow to break up the ground. A “mattock” is a type of pickaxe with a metal blade for loosening soil, while an “axe” or “adze” could be used on soil or wood. “Sickle” (or “reaping hook”) is supplied from the Septuagint in place of plowshare, which is repeated in the Hebrew (cf. ESV mg.).

13:21 “The charge was two-thirds of a shekel”—literally a “pim,” a reading that was considered corrupt until a set of weights was discovered showing “pim” as a term used for this fraction of a shekel. The cost for sharpening the plowshares and mattocks is twice that for sharpening axes or setting goads, pointed sticks used to control oxen. The prices seem extortionately high.

13:22 Philistine policy ensures that the Israelites are poorly armed. Only Saul and Jonathan have weapons: a sword and a spear. It is not clear if this applies only to weapons made from iron or to those made of bronze as well. Some would improvise by adapting farm implements, while others might have inferior weapons of wood and stone. Repetition of “Saul and Jonathan” presents the nation’s hopes as centered on them—but they have few men and hardly any weapons. The outlook is bleak.

13:23 This transitional verse leads into the next stage of the action by reporting a “garrison,” or substantial group of soldiers, stationed more or less permanently at a pass across the valley, a short distance to the east of Michmash.