1 Samuel Chapter 13

Saul Fights the Philistines

¹ Saul was 40 when he began to rule and ruled for 32 years. ² He chose 3,000 men from Israel, 2,000 to be with him in Michmash and the hill country around Bethel and 1,000 to be with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. He sent the rest home. ³ Jonathan struck the Philistine garrison in Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul blew the ram’s horn all over the land and said, “Hebrews, listen.” ⁴ All Israel heard that Saul had struck the garrison and that Israel had become repulsive to the Philistines. So Saul called the people to Gilgal.   

1 Sam 13:1-4

⁵ The Philistines came together to fight Israel with 3,000^LXX chariots, 6,000 cavalry, and people like sand on a shore. They camped in Michmash east of Beth-aven. ⁶ Israel saw they were in a predicament. (The people were hard-pressed.) They hid in caves, thickets, cliffs, cellars, cisterns. ⁷ Some Hebrews crossed the Jordan to Gad in Gilead. Saul stayed in Gilgal, and the people followed him trembling.

Saul’s Ill-Advised Sacrifice

⁸ He waited for the week Samuel appointed, but Samuel didn’t come, and the people started leaving. ⁹ So he told them to bring him the burnt offering and peace offerings. He offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ No sooner had he finished offering it than Samuel came. Saul went out to greet him, ¹¹ but Samuel said, “What have you done?”                                                               

1 Sam 13:5-11a

Saul said,

“The people were leaving, you didn’t come by the appointed time, and the Philistines were assembling at Michmash. ¹² I said the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I haven’t asked for Yahveh’s blessing. I went ahead and offered the burnt offering.”

            ¹³ Samuel told Saul,

“You’ve done something foolish. You haven’t kept the commandment Yahveh gave you. He would’ve made your kingdom secure permanently, ¹⁴ but not now. He has looked for a man after his own heart to appoint as ruler over his people, because you haven’t done what he told you.”                                                        

1 Sam 13:11b-14

            ¹⁵ Then Samuel went up from Gilgal to Gibeah. Saul counted the people with him, about 600 men. ¹⁶ He, his son Jonathan, and the people with them were staying at Geba in Benjamin while the Philistines camped at Michmash. ¹⁷ Three raiding parties went out from the Philistines’: one toward Ophrah in the area around Shual, ¹⁸ another toward Beth-horon, and the other toward the borderland that overlooks the Valley of Zeboim near open country.

¹⁹ There weren’t any blacksmiths in Israel, so the Hebrews couldn’t make swords or spears. ²⁰ They had to go down to the Philistines to sharpen their forks, plowshares, picks, axes, and goads, and to fix their goad points. ²¹ They charged the Israelites ¼ oz ^{two-thirds of a shekel} of silver for sharpening plowshares and picks and ⅛ oz ^{a third of a shekel} for sharpening forks, axes, and goads. ²² The day of the battle, none of the people with Saul and Jonathan had swords or spears, just Saul and Jonathan. ²³ A Philistine contingent went out to secure the pass by Michmash.

1 Sam 13:15-23