1 Sam 13:1–23 In preparing for battle, Saul disobeys God’s commands given through Samuel. God cannot endure such a king over Israel.
1 Sam 13:1 The Hebrew text of this verse is difficult, and various solutions have been proposed. One possibility (see esv footnote) is that some numbers, giving Saul’s age and length of reign, were lost from the text in the process of transmission. Most Septuagint manuscripts lack this verse completely. Acts 13:21 says that Saul reigned for “forty years.”
1 Sam 13:2 In ch. 9 Saul is described as a “young man,” but here he has a son who can command troops, and so a number of years may have passed. Michmash is about 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Jerusalem and 3 or 4 miles (4.8 or 6.4 km) south of Bethel. These three thousand men were Saul’s standing army.
1 Sam 13:5 Thirty thousand chariots seems to be a very high number. Some ancient Bible manuscripts have “three thousand.” Beth-aven is probably the Beth-aven near Ai (Josh. 7:2).
1 Sam 13:7 land of Gad and Gilead. Or “land of Gad, that is, Gilead.”
1 Sam 13:8–15 Saul knows he has done wrong, for he starts making excuses (vv. 11–12). Saul is unable to trust and obey the word of the Lord, so instead he responds to circumstances or relies on religious ritual to gain God’s favor (see 14:24 and the incident in 4:3).
1 Sam 13:13–14 Saul fails to acknowledge the prophet’s higher role as God’s messenger (compare 15:11, 13, 19, 22–23). He loses the kingship because of his disobedience.
1 Sam 13:16 Geba is only a mile or two (1.6–3.2 km) from Michmash. The two are separated by a deep ravine, which is an important pass from the Jordan Valley into the Ephraimite hills. The Philistines were stationed at the hilltop that overlooks the ravine from the north, while Saul’s army was encamped to the south. See ch. 14.
1 Sam 13:19–22 no blacksmith (in) Israel. The Philistines apparently had been able to take over the production of the kind of metal (probably iron) needed for swords and spears. This put the Israelites at a great disadvantage. Thus the Israelite victory at Michmash (ch. 14) was certainly the Lord’s doing.
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The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.
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