1 Samuel 13:11
in 1 Samuel 13“What have you done?” Samuel asked. And Saul replied, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me, and that you did not come at the appointed time and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines assembled themselves together at Michmash;
KJV
And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash;
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This verse in 1 Samuel 13
Commentary
4 notes on this verse16. The prophet indeed knew what he had done, but by asking, he was reproving the act of disobedience. Hence also to Adam sinning in paradise, the Lord says: "Adam, where are you?" (Gen. 3:9). The magnitude of the guilt can also be conveyed through this question — as if he were saying openly: Does it seem a small thing to you that you sinned by disobeying? Rather, by sinning you fell from the lofty summit of your glory.
This site's exposition
as soon as he had made an end
on 1 Samuel 13:10-12
Samuel arrives at the very moment the offering ends, so the text itself measures the wait Saul could not finish: one interval closer and the king would have kept the commandment whole. Saul's account in verses 11 and 12 stacks three complaints before he ever names his own act, the people scattering, Samuel's own lateness, and the Philistines massing at Michmash, the shape of a man defending himself rather than confessing. I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering is his own verb for it, forced, the language of a man who knew the act was not his to perform even as he did it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
on 1 Samuel 13:11-12
He charges him with being an enemy to himself and his interest-- Thou hast done foolishly, and a rebel to God and his government--" Thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, that commandment wherewith he intended to try thy obedience." Note, Those that disobey the commandments of God do foolishly for themselves. Sin is folly, and sinners are the greatest fools.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
on 1 Samuel 13:9-14
Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings--Saul, though patriotic enough in his own way, was more ambitious of gaining the glory of a triumph to himself than ascribing it to God.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
What have you done? Did I not say to you, "I will go down to you to offer the burnt-offering?" I will offer it up, and not you.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
So I forced myself. I overcame my will, for my heart told me to wait for you, and against my will I suppressed my heart, and offered the burnt-offering. 8 Shaul realized that it was not proper for him to offer the sacrifice.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שְׁמוּאֵ֖ל | shemuel | Samuel | H8050 → | 141 times |
| מֶ֣ה | meh | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| עָשִׂ֑יתָ | ʾasita | have you done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שָׁא֡וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| רָאִיתִי֩ | raiti | I saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| כִֽי־ | khi- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נָפַ֨ץ | nafatz | it was scattered | H5310 → | |
| הָעָ֜ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| מֵעָלַ֗י | mealai | from with <the> me | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וְאַתָּה֙ | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בָ֙אתָ֙ | vata | you had come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לְמוֹעֵ֣ד | lemoed | to [the] appointed time of | H4150 → | 223 times |
| הַיָּמִ֔ים | haiyamim | the days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וּפְלִשְׁתִּ֖ים | ufelishtim | and [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| נֶאֱסָפִ֥ים | neesafim | [were] gathering | H622 → | 200 times |
| מִכְמָֽשׂ׃ | mikhmas | Micmash | H4363 → | 11 times |
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שְׁמוּאֵ֖לSamuel
shemuelH8050 →141 times
מֶ֣הwhat?
mehH4100 →752 times
עָשִׂ֑יתָhave you done
ʾasitaH6213 →2628 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שָׁא֡וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
רָאִיתִי֩I saw
raitiH7200 →1300 times
כִֽי־that
khi-H3588 →4482 times
נָפַ֨ץit was scattered
nafatzH5310 →
הָעָ֜םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
מֵעָלַ֗יfrom with <the> me
mealaiH5921 →5755 times
וְאַתָּה֙and you
veatahH859 →1094 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
בָ֙אתָ֙you had come
vataH935 →2568 times
לְמוֹעֵ֣דto [the] appointed time of
lemoedH4150 →223 times
הַיָּמִ֔יםthe days
haiyamimH3117 →2304 times
וּפְלִשְׁתִּ֖יםand [the] Philistines
ufelishtimH6430 →287 times
נֶאֱסָפִ֥ים[were] gathering
neesafimH622 →200 times
מִכְמָֽשׂ׃Micmash
mikhmasH4363 →11 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 3:13Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 11:3
I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.
- 1 Timothy 2:14
And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman who was deceived and fell into transgression.
- Genesis 3:4–6
“You will not surely die,” the serpent told her.
- John 18:35
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?”
- Genesis 4:10–12
“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
- 2 Corinthians 11:3
Through
1 Samuel 13:2He chose for himself three thousand men of Israel: Two thousand were with Saul at Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. And…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 13:5
Now the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel with three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 13:5
Through
1 Samuel 13:5Now the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel with three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of…
it leads to
- Joshua 11:4
So these kings came out with all their armies, a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore, along with a great number of horses and chariots.
- Joshua 11:4
Through
1 Samuel 13:23And a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Michmash.
it leads to
- Isaiah 10:28
Assyria has entered Aiath and passed through Migron, storing their supplies at Michmash.
- Isaiah 10:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonJudges to monarchySamuelAsked of God by Hannah and lent to the LORD at Shiloh; the last judge and first of the prophets after Moses, who anointed both Sau…
- PersonUnited monarchySaulIsrael's first king, head and shoulders above the people; began in humility, ended in rejection — sparing what God devoted, consul…
This page draws on Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.