1 Samuel 13:20
in 1 Samuel 13Instead, all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes, and sickles.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
but all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock;
KJV
But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 13
Commentary
10 notes on this verseBut all the Israelites went down to the Philistines - We find from this that they did not grant them as much as Porsenna did to the Romans; he permitted the people to manufacture the implements of husbandry.
This site's exposition
no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel
on 1 Samuel 13:19-21
The Philistine fear is stated as policy, "The Hebrews must not be allowed to make swords or spears." Every plowshare, mattock and axe had to go down to a Philistine smith to be sharpened. The same disarmed nation stands behind Jonathan’s exploit in chapter 14 and David’s answer to Goliath.
This site's exposition
to sharpen their plowshares
Adam Clarke set this beside the Etruscan king Porsenna, who allowed the Romans to make their own farm tools. The Philistines allowed Israel less. Every plowshare went down to a Philistine smith, who was paid by the price list of verse 21.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
For, as a result of the king's sin [Saul's offering of the sacrifice], fear had pervaded the whole army. The camp of the enemy, which was lying at no great distance, showed them how real the danger was, and no one had the courage to …
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 3 · Written before 604.
proposed
30. All these things are indeed described so that the manner of the victory that followed might be made clear. For armed men were conquered by the unarmed, so that everything that is overcome might be attributed to the praises of Almighty God. But if we pursue these things spiritually in our customary manner, we will not find them devoid of mysteries. What then does it mean when it says: "No blacksmith was found in Israel," except that for spiritual battles we are instructed not through secular letters but through divine ones?
Therefore all Israel descended to the Philistines, etc. And today, some descend, leaving behind the elevation of the word of God, to which they ought to have ascended to hear, and they listen to worldly fables and doctrines of demons, and by reading philosophers, rhetoricians, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
They put down all the smiths' shops, transplanted the smiths into their own country, and forbade any Israelite, under severe penalties, to exercise the trade or mystery of working in brass or iron, though they had rich mines of both ( Deut. viii. 9 ) in such plenty that it was said of Asher, his shoes shall be iron and brass, Deut. xxxiii.
), and no doubt the Philistines' smiths brought the Israelites long bills for work done. (2.) How impolitic Saul was, that did not, in the beginning of his reign, set himself to redress this grievance.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The best rendering of the passage is perhaps as follows: “But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen etc. 1Sa 13:21, whenever there was bluntness of edge to their shares and coulters and prong-forks and axes, and to point their goads.” Coulters and mattocks were cutting instruments of the type of the share.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּרְד֥וּ | vaiyeredu | and they went down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים | hapelishtim | the Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| לִ֠לְטוֹשׁ | liltoosh | to sharpen | H3913 → | |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | each man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַחֲרַשְׁתּ֤וֹ | macharashto | plowshare his | H4281 → | 3 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֵתוֹ֙ | ʾeto | mattock his | H855 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| קַרְדֻּמּ֔וֹ | kardumo | axe his | H7134 → | |
| וְאֵ֖ת | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַחֲרֵשָׁתֽוֹ׃ | machareshato | plowshare his | H4281 → | 3 times |
וַיֵּרְד֥וּand they went down
vaiyereduH3381 →381 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֑יםthe Philistines
hapelishtimH6430 →287 times
לִ֠לְטוֹשׁto sharpen
liltooshH3913 →
אִ֣ישׁeach man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מַחֲרַשְׁתּ֤וֹplowshare his
macharashtoH4281 →3 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
אֵתוֹ֙mattock his
ʾetoH855 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
קַרְדֻּמּ֔וֹaxe his
kardumoH7134 →
וְאֵ֖תand <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מַחֲרֵשָׁתֽוֹ׃plowshare his
machareshatoH4281 →3 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Sulpicius Severus, SACRED HISTORY 1.33.