Outline of Chapter 11:

       vv.    1–2        The Proposal of Nahash the Ammonite

       vv.    3–5        The Men of Jabesh-Gilead Send for Help

       vv.    6–11      Saul Responds with the Army of Israel

       vv.   12–13      Saul is Gracious to his Detractors

       vv.   14–15      Israel Recognizes Saul as King in Gilgal

Charts and Maps:

       Introduction    Map of Gad, Reuben and Moab

       v.      1           A Chronology of Events

       v.      1           A Mistaken Impression of the Facts

       v.      1           The Sequence of Events

       v.      3           Why Does Nahash Agree to the Proposal of the 7000 Jews?

       v.      7           The Similarities and Differences to Judges 19–21

       v.      8           Map of Bezek

       v.     11           A Map of Saul's Attack on Nahash

       v.     12           The Nobleman who Goes to Foreign Country and Leaves His Servants in Charge

       v.     13           Has Saul Been Studying Scripture?

       v.     14           Why Samuel Suggests that all Israel go to Gilgal at this Point

I ntroduction: The beginnings of Saul as king are fascinating. On the basis of 1Sam. 11, Saul will receive widespread popular approval and we may assume that his rule begins at the end of this chapter. In 1Sam. 9:1–10:1, Saul was set as king over Israel privately by God. At the end of 1Sam. 10, Saul was brought before the people of Israel and selected as their king possibly by lots and possibly as an elaborate ceremony. In this chapter, Saul takes a leadership position from a military standpoint (which was the public’s chief reason for desiring a king), and this gains him popular approval, which essentially begins and solidifies his rule over all Israel.

Also in this chapter we see shades of the division of Israel into two nations. In v. 8, we have troops coming from Israel (the northern portion of the Jewish nation) and from Judah (the southern portion). Recall that in earlier chapters, the Philistines drove a wedge between the two parts of Israel. Recall that even before then, the judges were often from specific areas. Therefore, even though in this chapter, we see Saul gaining popular approval throughout all Israel, we also recognize that there are two separate territories that make up Israel; and we know from history that these two territories will split into two sovereign nations after the death of Solomon.

This chapter begins with Nahash, a ruler of the Ammonites, besieging the kingdom of Israel from the east. If the additional information found in certain translations and the information found in Josephus are to be believed, Nahash had attacked the Gadites and the Reubenites with great success. To help you with the location, Reuben and Gad are both tribes on the east side of the Jordan. Gad’s boundaries went from the Sea of Chinnereth down to the Dead Sea and the tribe of Reuben occupied the area east of the Dead Sea, on the northern half of that body of water (see the map below right). Given the relative juxtaposition of these countries, these are the two countries that we would expect Ammon to attack first. If we were to depend upon most translations, we might see this as an attack upon Jabesh- gilead, without reference to what has gone before. However, the additional material indicates that Nahash has attacked most of Gad and Reuben and that the surviving males find themselves in the city of Jabesh-gilead, which appears to be the last hold out for the eastern Israelis. These men

The attack spoken of in this chapter is upon the city of Jabesh-gilead, which, as you can see by the map, is located near the Jordan River (approximately 3 miles east of the Jordan) in east central the territory of Gad. As is obvious from the map, Ammon butts up against Gad and Reuben, and would be a natural place for the Ammonites to begin their invasion of Israel. Jabesh-gilead is pretty far from the heavily populated areas of Israel, making their deliverance unlikely.

 

 

 

This map was taken from New American Standard Bible, Study Edition; A. J. Holman Company, ©1975 by The Lockman Foundation, p. 1717 (in the map supplement).

ask for terms of servitude and Nahash says that his terms are he will gouge out their right eyes and then make them servants of his. They then ask for a seven-day reprieve from their fate, and Nahash grants that reprieve. The men of Jabesh-gilead send messengers throughout Israel, and Saul responds. He assembles an Israeli resistence, under the guidance of Samuel and in the power of the Holy Spirit. In v. 11, we have the actual battle, wherein Saul successfully strikes and scatters the forces of Nahash. On the basis of this great victory, Saul is made king over all Israel through popular recognition. This victory and Saul’s ascension to the throne of Israel are both celebrated in Gilgal.

There are a couple of things which will stand out in this chapter: even though Saul will apparently assume the reigns of civil rule, Samuel will be looked to make decisions which should belong to a king (1Sam. 11:12). This is to be expected, as Samuel has been the unquestioned ruler over Israel for several decades now (my guess would be for at least 40 years and possibly even 60 years). Therefore, even though the people will cheer on Saul as their king, they will still go to Samuel for some guidance as he was a judge.

You should notice Saul’s bravery. Even though, when his name was called to rule over Israel, he hid (1Sam. 10:22), when he is called upon to lead an army to destroy the Ammonites, he took a military leadership role without wavering. After defeating the Ammonites and being publically inducted as King over Israel, Saul, for a moment, had the opportunity to destroy his political enemies—and graciously, he chose not to. Saul had no problems with those who disagreed with him being allowed to live. Recall that the first king of Israel, Abimelech, killed all of his half-brothers in order to insure his claim to the throne. Saul was willing to be gracious to his enemies.

Finally, you may recall that back in 1Sam. 10:8, Samuel seemed to prophesy about Saul going to Gilgal and waiting 7 days for Samuel to come and to offer up sacrifices to God. We will discuss if this chapter contains the fulfillment of Samuel’s words.

The Proposal of Nahash the Ammonite

Let’s see what others have done. Also, I will include a portion of what the NRSV tacks onto the end of the previous chapter. God’s Word™ includes that same portion, but places it where it logically belongs—at the beginning of this chapter. Several other translations include this either as a footnote or as part of the text. I have included a large number of translations here because you may or may not have this additional text in your translation and you may wonder from where I am teaching.

Ancient texts:

Dead Sea Scrolls                   [Na]has king of the [Ammonites oppressed the Gadites and the Reubenites viciously. He put out the right [ey]e of a[ll] of them and brought fe[ar and trembling] on [Israel. Not one of the Israelites in the region b[eyond the Jordan] remained [whose] right eye Naha[sh king of] the Ammonites did n[ot pu]t out, except seven thousand men [who escaped from] the Ammonites and went to [Ja]besh-gilead. Then after about a month, Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-[Gilead]. So all the people of Jabesh said to Nahash, [“Make a covenant] with [us, and we will serve you.”]

Latin Vulgate                         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 you.

Masoretic Text                       [Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead.] And so about a month later, went up Nahash the Ammonite and so he encamped against Jabesh-gilead; and so say all men of Jabesh unto Nahash, “Cut for us a covenant and we will serve you.”

Septuagint                             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 Ammonite, “Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you.”

Significant differences:          The most significant difference is the missing portion of Scripture found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. It appears as though these lines were lost around the time of our Lord’s first advent.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       [The Dead Sea Scrolls add “King Nahash of Ammon was making the people of Gad and Reuben miserable. He was poking out everyone’s right eye, and no one in Israel could stop him. He had poked out the right eye of every Israelite man who lived east of the Jordan River. Only seven thousand men had escaped from the Ammonites, and they had gone into the town of Jabesh in Gilead. About a month later...] About this time, King Nahash of Ammon came with his army and surrounded the town of Jabesh in Gilead. The people who lived there told Nahash, “If you will sign a peace treaty with us, you can be our ruler, and we will pay taxes to you.”

NJB                                        About a month later, Nahash the Ammonite marched up and laid siege to Jabesh in Gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Make a treaty with us and we will be your subjects.".

NLT                                        {Dead Sea Scroll 4QSam^a continues [v. 27]: Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and Reubenites who lived east of the Jordan River. He gouged out the right eye of each of the Israelites living there, and he didn’t allow anyone to come and rescue them. In fact, of all the Israelites east of the Jordan, there wasn’t a single one whose right eye Nahash had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites, and they had settled in Jabesh-gilead.} About a month later, King Nahash of Ammon led his army against the Israelite city of Jabesh-gilead. But the citizens of Jabesh asked for peace. “Make a treaty with us, and we will be your servants,” they pleaded.

REB                                       About a month later Nahash the Ammonites attacked and besieged Jabesh-gilead. The men of Jabesh said to Nahash, ‘Grant us terms and we will be your subjects.’

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         King Nahash of Ammon was severely oppressing the tribes of Gad and Reuben. He would poke out everyone’s right eye and allow no one to rescue Israel. There was no one among the Israelites east of the Jordan River whose right eye King Nahash of Ammon had not poked out. However, seven thousand men had escaped from the Ammonites and gone to Jabesh Gilead. About a month later Nahash the Ammonite blockaded Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we’ll serve you.”

JPS (Tanakh)                        [From Septuagint and 4QSam: About a month later], Nahash the Ammonite marched up and besieged Jabesh-gilead. All of the men of Jabesh-gilead said to Nahash, “Make a pact with us, and we will serve you.”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     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.”

NRSV                                    Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead. About a month later, Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”

Young's Updated LT              And Nahash the Ammonite comes up, and encamps against Jabesh-Gilead, and all the men of Jabesh say unto Nahash, ‘Make with us a covenant, and we serve you.’

This prologue found in the NRSV is not found in the Greek nor is it found in the MT but it is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. This introduction found in the NRSV certainly seems to make more sense than the way the MT reads (which simply jumps into the subject without any sort of introduction); and it seems unlikely that this would certainly be added to Scripture as a result of someone’s very fruitful imagination.

What is the gist of this verse? The viciousness of Nahash the Ammonite is made clear: he has waged war against the eastern tribes of Israel, and, upon conquering them, would gouge out their right eye. There were only 7000 men of Israel who remained, who were holed up in Jabesh in Gilead.

Translation: [Historical note: Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead.] As is obvious, several translations include a rather lengthy prologue to this chapter (this was actually tacked onto the end of the previous chapter). Its origin is one of the manuscripts found with the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QSam^a). Apparently, we only have but one lone Hebrew manuscript which supports this addition. However, there is some support for this historicity of this additional paragraph, as the NRSV points to Josephus, Antiquities VI. v. 1 (68–71).

Off the Internet, I located the following quote from Josephus: AFTER one month, the war which Saul had with Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, obtained him respect from all the people; for this Nahash had done a great deal of mischief to the Jews that lived beyond Jordan by the expedition he had made against them with a great and warlike army. He also reduced their cities into slavery, and that not only by subduing them for the present, which he did by force and violence, but by weakening them by subtlety and cunning, that they might not be able afterward to get clear of the slavery they were under to him; for he put out the right eyes (9) of those that either delivered themselves to him upon terms, or were taken by him in war; and this he did, that when their left eyes were covered by their shields, they might be wholly useless in war. Now when the king of the Ammonites had served those beyond Jordan in this manner, he led his army against those that were called Gileadites, and having pitched his camp at the metropolis of his enemies, which was the city of Jabesh, he sent ambassadors to them, commanding them either to deliver themselves up, on condition to have their right eyes plucked out, or to undergo a siege, and to have their cities overthrown. He gave them their choice, whether they would cut off a small member of their body, or universally perish. However, the Gileadites were so affrighted at these offers, that they had not courage to say any thing to either of them, neither that they would deliver themselves up, nor that they would fight him. But they desired that he would give them seven days' respite, that they might send ambassadors to their countrymen, and entreat their assistance; and if they came to assist them, they would fight; but if that assistance were impossible to be obtained from them, they said they would deliver themselves up to suffer whatever he pleased to inflict upon them.

Besides the fact that this manuscript is probably the oldest manuscript that we have and is in agreement with Josephus’ historical account (which would have come from the Bible), we also have the fact that Nahash is called the king of the Ammonites in this prologue, a fact which is missing in the MT and Greek texts, and which is abnormal. When a warrior king would attack Israel, they are not simply identified by their nationality, but by their title (see Judges 3:8, 12, 17 4:2 etc.). In other words, we would expect Nahash to be called king of the Ammonites rather than simply an Ammonite.

Several scholars do not blame the missing lines on a poor manuscript, but upon the eye of the scribe jumping from one paragraph with the name Nahash in it to the next paragraph, and leaving out the first paragraph (this is called a parablepsis).

So what we have here is the warrior Nahash, an Ammonite king, who has been attacking the eastern tribes of Israel, defeating the tribes of Reuben and Gad. Apparently, once he has defeated this city or that, he gouges out the right eye of all the males (perhaps even the females). It says that he would not allow them a deliverer, indicating that Nahash struck swiftly and without mercy, not allowing time for Israelites to appeal to their brothers on the west side of the Jordan. Only 7000 men remained (and possibly, 7 family-clans remained) and they were hold up in Jabesh, Gilead, a city located in the northern third of Gad, fairly close to the Jordan River. Gilead is affixed to the name as this general area was originally known as Gilead prior to Israel moving in and conquering it at the end of the exodus.

Now, is there any reason that a scribe would simply not reproduce this section? No, not at all. What probably happened is, we have the problematic manuscripts. Given the many differences that we have come across in the book of Samuel between the Greek and the Hebrew, more differences than could simply be called a matter of translation or interpretation, at some point in time, the Hebrew manuscript must have been extremely poor with many passages partially done due to wear and tear. Apparently, at some point in time, there were only a couple of Samuel manuscripts remaining which could be used (which probably occurred around the time that the LXX was first translated) and they were obviously quite damaged. Possibly to the Masoretes, only the poorest of manuscripts remained for this book; and, not wanting to add any additional material to Scripture, these Masoretes carefully included only the words and verses which they were able to verify. Apparently, at some time or another, a much better manuscript family existed, but we have no idea how widespread this manuscript family was or just who had access to it. However, even our versions of the LXX lack this first verse, which is found only in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the writings of Josephus.

You may recall that there was a small portion of the end of 1Sam. 10:27 which we were uncertain about; that is, it may or may not belong to the end of 1Sam. 10 and it may or may not have been translated correctly. Given that this is translated one way from the Hebrew, but differently in the Greek and Latin and in the Greek of the Dead Sea Scrolls; and given that there was a textual problem right here as well (essentially, what is found above was left out of the Hebrew); this gives credence to the alternate rendering which I have listed below:

Alternate (and possibly the best) translation: And it came to pass after a month... The Greek and apparently a manuscript from the Dead Sea Scrolls begins this chapter with about a month later. That is reasonable and probably belongs in the text.

One month after what? Most people understand this to mean a month after Samuel introduces Saul to the people of Israel as their next king. All of this is in keeping with the additional text and this is how most translations read, with or without the additional text. In my Dead Sea Scrolls, the sense is, Nahash begins to besiege Jabesh Gilead a month after his attacks on eastern Israel began.

Here’s the deal: the elders have gone to Samuel asking for a king. They do not just do this out of the blue. They are not bored and decide, “Hell, what we need is a king.” There is probably something occurring which causes them to go to Samuel and ask for a king, even though this is not specifically mentioned in 1Sam. 8; and what this probably is, is Nahash making his moves against various cities in eastern Israel. Perhaps he has only attacked one or two cities so far. Why would these elders not mention this to Samuel? They want a permanent king, not a temporary deliverer. They do not want someone to come along, save them from Nahash, and then, face some other threat in the future, which requires another deliverer. They want someone who is permanent. Now, the military necessity of a king is cited by these elders (1Sam. 8:20), which suggests that Nahash is just beginning to war against Reuben or Gad.

If this is the case, then it indicates that Nahash is moving quite quickly over eastern Israel. Perhaps just one or two major attacks on a couple of key cities, which result in the eyes being gouged out of all the males, resulted in a scattering of those in eastern Israel. Those who remained were in desperate fear. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Jordan, reports of these attacks are just now reaching western Israel, and therefore, this group of elders go to Samuel to ask for a king. This is further evidences by 1Sam. 12:12, which reads: [Samuel is speaking to the people of Israel] “When you saw that Nahash, the king of the sons of Ammon, came against you, you said to me, ‘Now, but a king will reign over us.’ although Jehovah your God was your king.” This confirms that Nahash advancing against Reuben and Gad was the motivation for asking for a king.

If by any chance you want to see an even more detailed examination of just exactly after what event is one month later, see Robert Gordon, I & II Samuel A Commentary; Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI; ©1986; pp. 62–64.

Translation: ...Nahash the Ammonite went up... Nahash had beaten down almost all of Reuben and Gad; now, he was going to go after their last holdouts, who were in Jabesh.

The name Nahash is nâchâsh (ש ָח ָנ) [pronounced naw-KHAWSH] in the Hebrew, and it means snake, serpent. This is obviously an onomatopoeic word. According to Gnana Robinson, Nahash means serpent in the Sanscrit as well. It is not clear whether this is a name appropriately given him by the Israelites, or whether he assume this name as one which would strike historic fear in the hearts of the Israelites. Perhaps his parents decided to name their kid snake (no telling what his name means in the Ammonite language; however, given that the Jews and the Ammonites are first cousins, their languages are probably very nearly equivalent.

We will hear more about Nahash in the future; furthermore, we will see a good relationship between himself (or a descendant of his) and King David in the future as well (see 2Sam. 10:2 17:25–27 1Chron. 2:16–17 19:1). You may wonder just how this is even possible; the US and Japan were bitter enemies in 1944; but 1960, our relations had warmed considerably. There is no reason to think that things between Ammon and Israel could not be repaired after 40 or 50 years.

Translation: ...and encamped against Jabesh-gilead. Jabesh besieges Jabesh-gilead, which is just on the other side of the Jordan midway between the Yarmuk and Jabbok Rivers. You may recall Jabesh-gilead from the book of Judges when most of the Benjamites were killed by their fellow Israelites. Once they were down to 600 male Benjamites, the Israelites suddenly realized that they were about to destroy one of the twelve tribes of Jacob. There was another problem: the only city that did not participate in this cleansing effort was Jabesh-gilead. What the Israelites decided to do was to wipe out the male population of Jabesh-gilead and to keep alive 400 virgins to marry those who remained of the Benjamites. See Judges 19–21 for the entire story.

altogether, this gives us: [Historical note: Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead.] About a month later, Nahash the Ammonite went up and encamped against Jabesh-gilead;... Assuming the historical information found in the NRSV is correct, Nahash, a powerful leader of the Ammonites, was viciously attacking all of east Israel. In his wake, he left behind men whose right eyes had been gouged out. Josephus gives us a broader picture that apparently some had their hands or feet cut off.

Ammon, as you have observed in the map presented earlier, is east of eastern Israel. The two illegitimate sons of Lot by his two daughters were Moab and Ammon, both of whom were given land east of the Jordan (Gen. 19:38 Deut. 2:19, 37 Joshua 12:2). Israel had trouble with both of these countries throughout history. Moab and Ammon are both mentioned in the book of the Judges (Judges 3:13–30 10:6–11:33). As is true today, Israel was surrounded by enemies, whose hatred rivaled the hatred of her enemies today. You must realize that the Jews are chosen of God, and therefore, we would expect vicious attacks upon Israel throughout all of history. There is more here than mere animosity between sets of peoples—therefore, the resultant viciousness and evil should not be unexpected.

Translation: Then all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us... The remaining men in Jabesh knew that they did not stand a chance. They asked for mercy from Nahash; they asked for a treaty (which was often granted in exchange for a tribute being paid at regular intervals to the country which has conquered them. After all, getting a regular income from a particular city or country was much more financially rewarding than simply wiping them off the face of the earth.

Translation: ...and we will serve you.” Offering to serve Jabesh is equivalent to unconditional surrender. This gives us: So all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, “Make a treaty with us and we will serve you.” The idea here was that these men were willing to give up anything to Nahash in order to retain their appendages and their eyesight. The fact that they could strike a treaty with Nahash independent of the rest of Israel gives us a good idea as to the organization of the Israeli states—they were very independent and not required to seek the approval of the other territories in order to strike a treaty. They were allied enough to go to the other tribes for help, but they were not required to go to them to ratify a treaty.

First, what others have done:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so said unto them, Nahash the Ammonite, “In this I will cut [a covenant] to you: in a boring out to you every eye of [the] right [side] and I will put her [i.e., disgrace] upon all Israel.”

Septuagint                             And Naas the Ammanite said to them, “On these terms I will make a covenant with you: I will dig out all your right eyes, and I will lay a reproach upon Israel.”

Significant differences:          No significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       Nahash answered, “Sure, I’ll sign a treaty! But not before I insult Israel by poking out the right eye of every man who lives in Jabesh.”

NAB                                       But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “This is my condition for a treaty with you: I must gouge out every man’s right eye, that I may thus bring ignominy on all Israel.”

NLT                                        “All right,” Nahash said, “but only on one condition: I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you as a disgrace to all Israel!”

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         Nahash the Ammonite responded, “I’ll make a treaty with you on this one condition: I’ll poke out everyone’s right eye and bring disgrace on all Israel.”

JPS (Tanakh)                        But Nahash the Ammonite answered them, “I will make a pact with you on this condition, that everyone’s right eye be gouged out; I will make this a humiliation for all Israel.”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     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.”

Young's Updated LT              And Nahash the Ammonite says to them, ‘For this I covenant with you, by picking out to you every right eye—and I have put it a reproach on all Israel.’

What is the gist of this verse? Nahash agrees to a treaty, with the stipulation that he will gouge out the right eye of each Israelites as a shame to all Israel.

Translation: Then Nahash the Ammonite said unto them, “On this condition will I make [a treaty] with you:... When the lâmed preposition is used in this sort of construction, the verbal exchange is less formal, as in among friends or from someone high on the social ladder to someone low on the social ladder. We would expect to find that here. However, we find, instead, el (ל∵א) [pronounced el], which is a more formal address and I often designate that formality by rendering this unto. Quite properly, this reads: Then Nahash the Ammonite said unto them,... Here, I believe the formality is a mocking formality. That is, it sounds as though Nahash is considering their offer very carefully, in all seriousness and with all due respect. What appears to be the case is that these 7000 men realize what the ultra-vicious Nahash plans to do with them. They meet and discuss the situation and have determined that all they have to give him is their blind loyalty.

So Nahash responds: “On this [condition] I will make [a covenant] with respect to you:...” I placed covenant in brackets because this word is not found in the Hebrew. However, we find the actual word covenant in the Septuagint, the Syriac and the Vulgate codices. Furthermore, it is implied because it is found in the Hebrew in the previous verse. Now, all of this sounds as though Nahash has given serious thought to this proposal and that he has come up with a solution.

Translation: ...when I gouge out all of your right eyes... This is Nahash’s proposed solution. The verb is the Qal infinitive construct of nâqar (ר-קָנ) [pronounced naw-KAHR], which means to bore, to pick, to dig, to bore out, to hollow out, to gouge out. And Nahash proposes that he gouge out every man’s right eye. Properly, this reads: “...in a boring out with respect to you every eye of the right side.” Less literally, “...when [or, after] I bore out each of your right eyes.”

At first, I didn’t really grasp what was going on here. To avoid having their eyes gouged out, the 7000 men offered themselves as slaves to Nahash. Nahash said fine, that he would agree to their treaty terms, just as long as he gouged out their eyes. This is a man whose cruelty is legend, whose cruel and vicious seed still lives today in the middle east. “I will agree to the terms of your treaty,” he says, “just so long as I first gouge out your right eyes.” There is no mercy; there is no human compassion. He is willing to accept them as slaves as long as he also gets to gouge out their right eyes. Now, there is a reason that Nahash desires to gouge out the right eyes of the men of Israel. This makes them useless as archers, and, in battle, the Israelites would have no depth perception, making them easy prey as well. Once he defeats a people, he has no interest in fighting them a second time. Removing their right eyes guarantees no insurrections. Keil and Delitzsch suggest that part of Nahash’s purpose here is to avenge the shame of defeat which Jephthah had inflicted upon the Ammonites. This may or may not be true; however, there was bad blood between Israel and all of her neighbors—as we would expect, Israel being God’s chosen people.

Translation: ...and [thus] put shame upon all Israel.” Or, “...and I will place shame upon all Israel.” Nahash wants more than a simple victory; Nahash wants Israel to be shamed. He is turning one entire portion of Israel into damaged slaves.

The Men of Jabesh-gilead Send for Help

Let’s see what others have done first:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so say elders of Jabesh unto him, “Forsake to us seven of days and let us send messengers into all territory of Israel and if no one is delivering us and we will come out unto you.”

Septuagint                             And the men of Jabis say to him, “Allow us seven days, and we will send messengers into all the coasts of Israel. If there should be no one to deliver us, we will come out to you.”

Significant differences:          No significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

NLT                                        “Give us seven days to send messengers throughout Israel!” replied to leaders of Jabesh. “If none of our relative will come to save us, we will agree to your terms.”

REB                                       The elders of Jabesh-gilead said, ‘Give us seven days’ respite to send messengers throughout Israel and then, if no one relieves us, we shall surrender to you.’

TEV                                       The leaders of Jabesh said, “Give us seven days to send messengers throughout the land of Israel. If no one will help us, then we will surrender to you.”

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

JPS (Tanakh)                        The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days’ respite, so that we may send messengers throughout the territory of Israel; if no one comes to our aid, we will surrender to you.”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                The elders of Jabesh said to Nahash, Give us seven days’ time, that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no man to save us, we will come out to you.

NASB                                     And 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.”

Young's Updated LT              And the elders of Jabesh say to him, ‘Let us alone seven days, and we send messengers into all the border of Israel; and if there is one saving us—then we have come out unto you.’

What is the gist of this verse? The men of Jabesh ask to be allowed seven days to find someone from Israel to deliver them. They promise to come out to the Ammonites if no one from Israel will deliver them.

Translation: Then the elders of Jabesh replied to him, “Leave us alone for seven days... Certainly all of Jabesh did not show up to counsel with Nahash. Instead, the leaders of the city meet with him. These would be the men of v. 1.

There appear to be at least two forms of government in Israel at this time, both of which were often simultaneous and complementary, and which organically sprung up. There were judges, of course, as we find in the book of Judges (as well as in the beginning of 1Samuel). And there were elders—those men who had lived long in the land and had the respect of the people. We find groups of elders mentioned as those in authority throughout Scripture (e.g., Judges 8:14, 16). This was not ancestor worship, but ancestor respect.

The request of the elders is: “Leave [us] alone for seven days...” This is something that we would not have expected. These elders have asked Nahash to give them seven days to go to plan B. They have asked for a chance to find someone to deliver them.

Translation: ...and let us send messengers throughout the territory of Israel,... What the elders ask is surprising. They want to get together some messengers and send them throughout Israel. They are going to appeal to the ego of Nahash the Ammonite. This man is going to be interested in eventually conquering all of Israel; so this will actually interest him.

Translation: ...and if [there is] no one to deliver us,... The men of Jabesh will gather some men together and send them out throughout Israel, probably in twos and threes, several groups of them, going all over Israel, in an attempt to find any man who will lead them and the rest of Israel against Nahash. This also will allow these men to escape this branding which Nahash has planned.

Translation: ...we will come out to you.” The literal rendering is: “...and if [there is] none delivering us and we will come out unto you.”

Edersheim, ever the wordsmith, describes the events of these three verses: Nahash had penetrated much farther into Israelitish territory than his predecessor. His horde had swarmed up the lovely rich valley of the Jabesh, laying bare its barley-fields and olive plantations, and wasting its villages; and they were now besieging the capital of Gilead—Jabesh-gilead—which occupied a commanding position on the top of an isolated hill overhanging the southern crest of the valley. In their despair, the people of Jabesh offered to surrender, but Nahash, in his insolence, insisted that he would thrust out their right eyes, avowedly to “lay it as a shame upon all Israel.” Terrible as these conditions were, the “elders” of Jabesh saw no means of resisting, and only begged seven days’ respite, to see whether any were left in Israel able and willing to save them. In the foolhardiness of his swagger, Nahash consented, will assured that if Israel were, as he fully believed, incapable of a combined movement for the relief of Jabesh, the whole land would henceforth be at his mercy, and between Philistia in the west and Ammon in the east, Israel—their land and their God—would lie helpless before the heathen powers.

So, here is Israel, for the umpteenth time—helpless men in a hopeless situation.

First, what others have done:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so come in the messengers [to] Gibeah of Saul and so they speak the words in ears of the people. And so lift up all of the people their voice and so they weep.

Septuagint                             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.

Significant differences:          None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       Some of the messengers went to Gibeah, Saul’s hometown. They told what was happening at Jabesh, and everyone in Gibeah started crying.

NLT                                        When the messengers came to Gibeah, Saul’s hometown, and told the people about their plight, everyone broke into tears.

TEV                                       The messengers arrived at Gibeah, where Saul lived, and when they told the news, the people started crying in despair.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         The messengers came to Saul’s town, Gibeah. When they told the people the news, the people cried loudly.

JPS (Tanakh)                        When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and gave this report in the hearing of the people, all the people broke into weeping.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     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.

Young's Updated LT              And the messengers come to Gibeah of Saul, and speak the words in the ears of the people, and all the people lift up their voice and weep;...

What is the gist of this verse? One set of messengers come to Gibeah of Saul and tell what has happened to them. The people hear this and cry.

Translation: So the messengers came into Gibeah of Saul... We have covered this Gibeah in some detail in Joshua 18:18:28 Judges 19:12. We will cover Gibeah of Saul in further detail in 1Sam. 13:2. It is not clear how many messengers were sent out or whether several sets were sent out simultaneously. The most logical place for these messengers to go would be to the territory of Benjamin first. First of all, it was closest. Secondly, there were close ties to the territory and tribe of Benjamin by marriage (see Judges 20:12–14). In fact, there was somewhat of an unusual history between the tribe of Benjamin and the people of Jabesh-gilead. You may recall from the book of Judges that some men in Gibeah demanded to have relations with a Levite male who was staying in town for the night. He and his host sent out the Levite’s mistress instead. These men raped her and she died from exposure and abuse on the doorstep of that house. Her Levite boyfriend cut up her body and sent it throughout Israel, presumably along with a message to let them know what occurred. The tribes of Israel responded and demanded justice. When the tribe of Benjamin would not give up these men of Gibeah, Israel attacked and decimated the tribe of Benjamin, leaving only 600 men. The rest of Israel then suddenly realized that they were about to destroy one entire tribe of the 12 tribes. They reevaluated the situation, and determined that, of all the cities in Israel, only Jabesh-gilead had not sent representatives to fight the tribe of Benjamin. Therefore, they then went to Jabesh-gilead and destroyed every man, woman and child, leaving alive only 400 virgins, whom they brought to the men of Benjamin, in order to perpetuate the tribe (see Judges 19–21). So you have this old situation in which the men of Jabesh-gilead were unwilling to attack the tribe of Benjamin and the women of Jabesh-gilead were given to the men of Benjamin to save their tribe. The men were killed and a few of their virgin daughters were kept alive and taken to Benjamin in order to perpetuate the tribe.

Now it is several hundred years later; the men in Jabesh-gilead are apparently from surrounding cities, and the men of Jabesh-gilead are not related to the original population (which was destroyed). Anyway, the nearness of Gibeah along with this previous relationship of sorts made Gibeah the first stop for the messengers from Jabesh.

Now, what we may reasonably assume is, if there was only one set of messengers, they would not have gone throughout other parts of Israel first. There simply was not enough time. Did they know that Saul had been proclaimed king? Possibly; in fact, likely. This would be another reason that they would have gone to Gilead. However, interestingly enough, notice that they speak to the people of Gibeah rather than to Saul directly:

Translation: ...and they reported this matter in the hearing of the people. Here, we have the Piel imperfect of dâbar (רָבָ) [pronounced daw^b-VAHR], which means to speak, to declare, to proclaim, to announce. In the Piel stem, which is intensive, dâbar is stronger and can carry with it the idea of providing guidance and direction, if not a set of mandates (and this would be determined by context). The kind of intensification is determined by context. The Piel may call for talk, backed with action; give your opinion; expound; make a formal speech; speak out; talk it around. Here is means to give a somber and tragic report. This gives us: ...and they proclaimed the words in the ears of the people...

There were possibly several sets of messengers sent about (as is found in the CEV by interpretation), and they possibly even had a proclamation to read. However, it is extremely important to note to whom these messengers spoke—they did not go directly to King Saul, who essentially was citizen Saul at this time. They went to town square (more precisely, to the open area by the gate to the city) and spoke to the people. Even though Saul had been publically proclaimed king as recently as the previous chapter, these men did not see him as king nor as their savior. That he lived in Gibeah and that it is called Gibeah of Saul here at first may seem to indicate that this was a factor in their going to Gibeah. However, when the messengers spoke to the people directly and not to Saul, they indicated in that action that Saul was still not viewed as King over all Israel. In the next verse, it will be clear that Saul had not given up his day job yet and that he was not even in the crowd that these messengers spoke to.

So, how do we explain this? It appears as though these messengers from Jabesh went to Gibeah because King Saul resides there, but they don’t speak to Saul directly, they speak to the residents of Gibeah. What’s up with that? Saul has not assumed a clear position of leadership. Even though some men have joined him as a private army/cabinet (Judges 10:26); Saul is still farming the land of his father. The idea is this—they spoke to the people of Gibeah, knowing that this would get to Saul. Furthermore, it would not be completely Saul’s decision here, as a large number of people would know the whole situation. And their decision to speak to the people of Gibeah could have been a simple matter of expediency. Saul is nowhere to be found. They go to town square and make this pronouncement there. Saul comes back into the city after this proclamation has been read. Furthermore, they need an army, not just one man. So, whether they know about Saul or not, they will require a savior and His army to come and defeat Nahash.

Translation: Then all of the people lifted up their voices and wept aloud. It is reasonable to ask, why did these people in Gibeah weep aloud? First, as you have no doubt noticed, the Hebrews were very demonstrative about their emotions (compare Judges 2:4 20:23, 26 21:2 1Sam. 30:4). They wept for several reasons—first, in great empathy for their brothers, who occupy the city that their grandmothers are from; and secondly, because Nahash would probably invade western Israel and do the same to them. In fact, given their location, Nahash would probably invade Benjamin next. Finally, they weep because the do not automatically think of Saul as being the man to lead them. Sure, there was a public coronation and he had a band of soldiers with him now, but other than that, little had changed in his life. So, even if these men are considering helping out their brothers in Jabesh, they do not really have a military leader, as they do not see Saul as a military leader, despite all of the hoopla of the previous chapter.

Here is what others have done with the fifth verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And behold Saul coming in after the oxen from the field and says Saul, “Why all the people that they weep?” And so they recount to him words of men of Jabesh.

Septuagint                             And behold Saul came after the early morning out of the field; and Saul said, “Why do the people weep”“ And they tell him the words of the men of Jabis.

Significant differences:          None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       Just then, Saul came in from the fields, walking behind his oxen. “Why is everyone crying?” Saul asked. They told him what the men from Jabesh had said.

NLT                                        Saul was plowing in the field, and when he returned to town, he asked, “What’s the matter? Why is everyone crying?” So they told him about the message from Jabesh.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         Just then Saul was coming from the field behind some oxen. “Why are these people crying?” Saul asked. So they told him the news about the men of Jabesh.

JPS (Tanakh)                        Saul was just coming from the field driving the cattle; and Saul asked, “Why are the people crying?” And they told him about the situation of the men of Jabesh.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     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.

Young's Updated LT              ...and lo, Saul has come after the herd out of the field, and Saul says, ‘What—to the people, that they weep?’ and they recount to him the words of the men of Jabesh.

What is the gist of this verse? Saul comes in the from the field after a hard day at work and he sees all of the men weeping, so he asks why. They tell him about the report of the men of Jabesh.

Translation: And observe Saul coming in [to town] behind the oxen from the field. Israel had never had a king before. Saul appears to be a reluctant king, to say the least. He had no natural leadership abilities. After being privately anointed as the king of Israel and then publically being chosen the king of Israel, Saul returned to his hometown and to his normal chores. Instead of putting together a cabinet or establishing a central city from which to rule, Saul was out plowing his family’s field. These messengers from across the Jordan, rather than going to Saul, went to the people, even though the primary reason that the men of Israel requested a king from God was for military leadership. The fact that these messengers did not wait with their message to speak to Saul directly indicates that his presence in this city was not necessarily a factor in their coming to Gibeah. In order for any man to assume leadership over a country, there must be some popular assent, no matter what the form of government.

There have been many who have made comments about Saul’s plowing a field at this time. He has been anointed king twice—what more does he need? an anvil to drop on his head? Keil and Delitzsch give us the most succinct explanation: Even after the election by lot at Mizpeh, Saul did not seize upon the reins of government at once, but returned to his father’s house in Gibeah, and to his former agricultural occupation; not, however, merely from personal humility and want of ambition, but rather from a correct estimate of the circumstances. The monarchy was something so new in Israel, that the king could not expect a general and voluntary recognition of his regal dignity and authority, especially after the conduct of the worthless people mentioned in 1Sam. 10:27, until he had answered their expectations...and proven himself a deliverer of Israel from its foes by a victorious campaign but as Jehovah had chosen him ruler over his people without any seeking on his part, he would wait for higher instructions to act, before he entered upon the government. The opportunity was soon given him  [i.e., the circumstances of this chapter].

Now, do you recall 1Sam. 10:7, which were Samuel’s final instructions to Saul? And it will be when these signs have come to you, you will do for yourself what your hand finds; for God is with you. The signs have all come to pass (apart from the final sign to take place in Gilgal); but nothing has really been put before Saul to do. There was no palace for him to go to; no capital city; no man had been king before (apart from Abimelech), so there was not really any established protocol. So, Saul was waiting for God to put something before him, and this was it.

Translation: Then Saul said, “Why [are] all the people weeping?” Now that Saul is proclaimed king and all, even though he really did nothing about it, his opinion and what he has to say is given more credence. In the past, he may have walked into town and he may have had to ask a question several times before someone would pay attention and answer it, but here, he will ask one time and get a response.

The second sentence does not even appear to be proper Hebrew, which reads, literally: “Why all the people that they weep?” The idea is that Saul comes into town, everyone is crying, and he has a difficult time asking the question. He asks this question immediately, but it apparently does not come out right. “What’s up with all the people that they are crying?” might be a more modern rendering.

Translation: Therefore, they declared to him the report of the men of Jabesh. Or, So they recounted to him the words of the men of Jabesh. This is quite fascinating, this historical narrative. The men of Jabesh do not wait around for Saul; they do not ask for him by name—even though I have suggested that Saul’s presence here may have been one of the reasons that they came to Gibeah, it does not really appear that way. The people of Gibeah don’t stop them mid-speech and say, “Wait, let’s get Saul; he is going to be Israel’s new king.” The men from Jabesh come to town, tell what has happened, and, apparently, they leave. The report is given to Saul not by the men of Jabesh but by his fellow townsmen.

Saul Responds with the Army of Israel

How translators handled the sixth verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so came a Spirit of God upon Saul in his hearing of the words the these and so is kindled his nostril [or, anger] greatly.

Septuagint                             And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled against them.

Significant differences:          The Greek, Aramaic and Latin all read the Spirit of Jehovah.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       Then the Spirit of God suddenly took control of Saul and made him furious.

REB                                       When Saul heard this, the spirit of God suddenly seized him; in anger [he took a pair of oxen, cut them in pieces, and sent messengers with the pieces all through Israel to proclaim that the same would be done to the oxen of any man who did not follow Saul and Samuel to battle.] [A portion of v. 7b was included to continue the context of REB’s rendering].

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         When he heard this news, God’s Spirit came over him, and he became very angry.

JPS (Tanakh)                        When he heard these things, the spirit of God gripped Saul and his anger blazed up.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he became very angry [lit., his anger burned exceedingly].

Young's Updated LT              And the Spirit of God prospers over Saul, in his hearing these words, and his anger burns greatly,...

What is the gist of this verse? Saul is taken by the Holy Spirit when he hears these words and he becomes angry.

Translation: Then the Spirit of Y^ehowah came upon Saul as he heard these words... Literally, from the Hebrew, this reads: Then the Spirit of Elohim came upon [or, rushed upon] Saul as he heard these words... In the Hebrew, the Spirit is affixed to Elohim. In the Greek, Latin and Aramaic, we find their equivalents to Y^ehowah here.

Commentaries argue whether Saul is saved or not; particularly when we come to Saul’s death in 1Sam. 31. Well, they don’t so much as argue it, as often say, “Whether Saul was saved or not, God knows.” Here we have God the Holy Spirit coming upon this man, a man chosen by God to be king over Israel—essentially the first king of Israel —to do what is obviously God’s will...hmm, how should I put this? If you knew nothing else about Saul, would you think that he is saved or not? At this point in time, you would be hard-pressed to find any reason to doubt his salvation. What we will find later is that Saul will behave erratically and he will do things which are clearly outside of God’s will. This does not make him an unbeliever. This does not mean that Saul has lost his salvation. Unfortunately, what many of us do later in life is act like unbelievers. In fact, apart from the Holy Spirit, we all act like unbelievers, albeit, some of us like religious unbelievers. People question Saul’s relationship to God because of his actions; because God was against Saul. I will guarantee you that if you based my salvation on my actions, you would find things that I do questionable, if not outright sinful. And I can guarantee you that if I follow you around long enough, I will observe sins that you commit. You have got to get away from the idea, if you’re good, you go to heaven; if you’re bad you go to hell. None of us are good. We are born with sin, we sin by our own free will, and Adam’s sin has been imputed to us. We have three strikes against us, and we continue to sin after we believe in Jesus Christ and we continue to have an old sin nature after we believe in Jesus Christ.

Allow me this digression: let’s say your salvation depends upon your behavior after salvation, that opens us up for two problems: first of all, you aren’t really saved by grace, but you are saved by works—you are saved by your good works or your lack of sin after salvation, which makes what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross pretty meaningless. Secondly, where do you draw the line. EVERYONE sins after salvation. So, let’s assume for a moment that your behavior is a factor after salvation—then just what is it you have to do? Never sin knowingly? That let’s everyone out. Don’t sin so much? Well, what is the proper amount? Is there going to be a cut off score, like 1,000,000 sins? The guy who commits 1,000,000 sins is okay, but the one who commits 1,000,001 is not? Should the sins be rated? 1 point for gluttony and 10 points for adultery? What about the guy who has to go out of his way to commit adultery versus the one who is tempted with it regularly and succumbs? Should there be a different point scale here? You see, none of this makes any sense. Either Jesus Christ died for our sins or He did not. There is nothing in Scripture which distinguishes the sins which He died for—that is, did He only die for your sins up to age 21, when you believed in Him? After that, you are on your own? Did He die for the minor sins after your salvation? Did Jesus Christ pick and choose the sins of yours that He died for? These points of view lead us on a very slippery path. Not only is there nothing Biblical which supports any of these notions, but in every case, we are saved by a combination of grace and works; and if there are works, then there is no more grace. I know that I am depraved. At some point in my life, I realized it; around the time I was saved; and it is more and more clear to me as time continues. Rom. 7:18: For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good. For to will is present to me, but to work out the good I do not find. For what good I desire, I do not do. But the evil I do not desire, this I do.

So, do not look at Saul’s sorry life during his latter years and question his salvation. Read what we find in this context; think about what is occurring in this context, and then ask yourself, “Is God going to allow an unbeliever to rule over His people as their first king? Is God going to empower this unbeliever with God the Holy Spirit?” If you think Saul is an unbeliever, then what God is doing here makes little sense. As for empowerment by God the Holy Spirit, this was something given to a very, very small percentage of believers in the Old Testament. Does it make sense for God to endow unbelievers with the same Spirit? Of course not!

Application: It is the later life of Saul and the salvation of the gangster (thief) on the cross which should give you confidence in your salvation. When Saul is about to die, as a complete and total failure, do you know what Samuel, up from the dead will tell him? “Tomorrow, you and your sons will be with me.” (1Sam. 28:19b). Yeah, I know that you have a sorry-ass Christian life. I know you give into temptation way too often; I know you exhibit the grossest self-righteousness; I know you have thoughts that even you realize that you should not have—but are you as bad as Saul? Probably not. Is your life as depraved as the gangster on the cross, who acknowledged, “I deserve to be here, but this man Jesus does not”? (Luke 23:41). If anything, you should thank God for the testimony of these sorry men, whose lives are probably worse than even yours. God does not save on some kind of sliding scale; a 69.4 is not failing and a 69.5 is not passing in God’s scale—we are saved by being in Christ—that is passing on God’s scale. This should give you a little confidence. Sure, you lead a sorry life; so do I. However, God in His grace has saved us.

Translation: ...and his anger was greatly kindled. Saul, up to this point in time, appears to have little or no emotional commitment. He has been put in charge of Israel and he is out plowing the family field with the family oxen. What he required was an emotional spark in order to take upon himself his proper duties. Please don’t misinterpret this. This is not a good thing. Saul was clearly given the authority over Israel and he should have already done something about it. He should not be waiting for an emotional charge in order to function in God’s plan. More than anyone we have seen thus far in Scripture, the Spirit of God has had to, apart from his volition, function in Saul’s life in order for Saul to do what’s right.

There is something else that I should point out. Saul’s emotional commitment appears to be a result of the Holy Spirit or a part of this enabling or a coinciding of Saul’s response with the coming of the Holy Spirit. I mention this because there are times that my interpretation of Scripture may seem to be a bit cut and dried. There is an organic and dynamic relationship between the enabling of the Holy Spirit and one’s own soul and spirit. Rarely, if ever, do we find instances in Scripture of the Holy Spirit completely dominating the soul and spirit of a man (one could argue that the Holy Spirit did completely control Balaam’s donkey in Num. 22). My point is that Saul’s emotional response is in agreement with if not a response to the enabling of the Holy Spirit. You cannot go backwards with this. You cannot think that, because you are emotionally charged about this or that, that this is a result of the filling of the Holy Spirit. Scripture does not support that. There will be times that you are emotional while being filled with the Holy Spirit; there are times that you will be unemotional and filled with the Holy Spirit. Again, the filling of God the Holy Spirit is organically and dynamically related to our own soul and spirit. It does not automatically turn one’s emotion on or off. However, there may be an emotional response which is in sync with the Holy Spirit. In other words, you may at various times feel a whole range of emotions. This does not mean that you are filled or not filled with the Holy Spirit. However, whenever you feel a plethora of emotions and you have been taken, so to speak, or if you are under the control of another power without the volition to remove this control, then it is highly unlikely that you are under the power of the Holy Spirit.

You may want to review the Doctrine of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, which was covered in Num. 11:25. Saul was placed under the power of God the Holy Spirit 1Sam. 10:6, 10 11:6 19:23–24.

How others have rendered v. 7:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so he took a pair of cattle and so he cut him up and so he sends [them] out in all of [the] territory of Israel in a hand of the messengers, to say, “Whoever his not coming out after Saul and after Samuel, so will be done to his cattle.” Then falls a fear of Y^ehowah upon all the people and so they come out as man one.

Septuagint                             And he took two cows, and cut them in pieces, and sent them into all the coasts of Israel by the hand of Messengers, saying, “Whoever comes not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall they do to his oxen”; and a transport from the Lord came upon the people of Israel, and they came out to battle as one man.

Significant differences:          None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

TEV                                       He took two oxen, cut them in pieces, and had messengers carry the pieces throughout the land of Israel with this warning: “Whoever does not follow Saul and Samuel into battle will have this done to his oxen!” The people of Israel were afraid of what the Lord might do, and all of them, without exception, came out together.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         Saul took a pair of oxen, cut them in pieces, and sent them by messengers throughout the territory of Israel with the following message: “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who doesn’t follow Saul and Samuel [into battle].” So the people became terrified by the Lord, and they came out united [behind Saul].

JPS (Tanakh)                        He took a yoke of oxen and cut them into pieces, which he sent by messengers throughout the territory of Israel, with the warning, “Thus shall be done to the cattle of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel into battle!” Terror from the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out as one man.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     And 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.

Young's Updated LT              ...and he takes a couple of oxen, and cuts them in pieces, and sends through all the border of Israel, by the hand of the messengers, saying, ‘He who is not coming out after Saul and after Samuel—thus it is done to his oxen;’ and the fear of Jehovah falls on the people, and they come out as one man.

What is the gist of this verse? Saul cuts up some oxen and sends the pieces with the messengers throughout Israel. The message is, “If you don’t come out and support this war, then this will be done to your livestock.”

Translation: Then he took a pair of oxen and cut them [in pieces]... Although it would seem reasonable that Saul simply took two of the oxen which he had used in the field (v. 5), although this verse does not specifically say that. However, given the suddenness of the situation in Jabesh, it is likely that Saul worked with what he had. Again, recall that Samuel told him, “Do whatever is in your hand” meaning, whatever God puts before you, that you will do.

Translation: ...and he sent [them] forth by the hand of [his] messengers into all the territory of Israel,... We would expect a suffix with the verb, but we do not find one. This gives us: ...and he sent [the cut up pieces of oxen] out into all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers,... The Jewish people tend to be very demonstrative. They don’t rely simply upon words.

My guess is, the messengers which Saul uses are messengers from Jabesh. However, it is quite interesting that neither the men of Jabesh nor the men of Gibeah go and fetch Saul from the field. Saul has to come in from the field, notice all of the weeping, and then ask what is going on.

Translation: ...saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so [it] will be done to his oxen.” Saul lists himself first, not as an egomaniac, but because he is the king. However, he lists Samuel as well, because this message is more likely to get a response if Samuel’s name is on it. Samuel is recognized throughout Israel as a prophet of God. Saul is known by many to be anointed as king; however, he has never really assumed this position of leadership.

The threat is interesting: Saul threatens the livestock of those who do not come out to war. But what he is doing is working with what he has. God places this threat before him and he is walking two oxen, and he works with what he has.

Translation: Then the fear of Y^ehowah fell upon all of the people... This is not because Saul sent out the cut up oxen. God the Holy Spirit was no doubt a part of this fear/respect. The Holy Spirit both motivated and empowered the people to obey this requisition of Saul’s.

Translation: ...and they [all] came out as one man. We have a tremendous amount of unity here. All the Israelites came forth to Saul to be led into war against the Ammonites.

Here are the various ways v. 8 has been translated:

Ancient texts:

Latin Vulgate                         And he numbered them in Bezec: and there were of the children of Israel 300,000: and of the men of Juda 30,000.

Masoretic Text                       And so he counted them in Bezek and so are men of Israel 300,000 [or, 300 clans] and men of Judah 30,000 [or, 30 clans].

Septuagint                             And he reviews them at Bezek in Bama, every man of Israel 600,000, and the men of Juda 70,000.

Significant differences:          The numbers are quite different and Bama is not mentioned in the MT or the Latin. The Latin, Hebrew and the Syriac are identical. All that we find in the Dead Sea Scrolls of this verse is the final number, listed as 70,000.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       [So all the men came together] at Bezek. Saul had them organized and counted. There were three hundred thousand from Israel and thirty thousand from Judah. [Half of v. 7 was included]

NLT                                        When Saul mobilized them at Bezek, he found that there were 300,000 men of Israel, in addition to 30,000 from Judah. [The DSS and the Greek read 70,000]

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         When Saul counted them at Bezek, there were 300,000 troops from Israel and 30,000 troops from Judah.

JPS (Tanakh)                        [Saul] mustered them in Bezek, and the Israelites numbered 300,000, the men of Judah 30,000.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     And he numbered them in Bezek; and the sons of Israel were 300,000 and the men of Judah 30,000.

Young's Updated LT              And he inspected them in Bezek, and the sons of Israel are three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.

What is the gist of this verse? 300,000 men come to Saul from the North and 30,000 from the south (there is some disagreement as to the numbers in the ancient texts).

Translation: And he counted them at Bezek... Saul, as commander-in-chief, was in charge of all the army of Israel and Judah. Therefore, he is the one to assemble, number and mobilize the army of Israel.