1 Samuel 14:5
in 1 Samuel 14One cliff stood to the north toward Michmash, and the other to the south toward Geba.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The one crag rose up on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba.
KJV
The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against Gibeah.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 14
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe forefront of the one was situate northward, over against Michmash,.... The northern precipice of this rock was towards Michmash, where the Philistines lay encamped, and where was the passage of Michmash the garrison went into and possessed: and the other southward, over against Gibeah; the southern precipice faced Gibeah, and both precipices were to be got over before he could get to the garrison, these lying between the two passages; the one at one end, called the passage of Michmash, the other at the other, which might be called the passage of Gibeah.
This site's exposition
there were cliffs on both sides of the pass
on 1 Samuel 14:4-5
The narrator names the two cliffs, Bozez and Seneh, one toward Michmash and the other toward Geba. The detail makes the pass a real place with a real difficulty. Visitors to the site still describe the steep faces the two young men had to climb on hands and feet.
This site's exposition
One cliff stood to the north toward Michmash
John Gill pictured the two cliffs as the ends of one rock, facing the Philistine camp on the north and Saul's position on the south. Jonathan had to cross both before he reached the outpost. The pass named at 13:23 lies between them.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
A prominent rock towards the north, etc. Gabaa represents a hill, that is, the height of virtues; Magmas indicates the humility of the mind, from which virtues arise. And rightly Magmas is considered towards the north, while Gabaa is situated to the south, because in …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4 · Written before 604.
proposed
The first rock juts out to the North, the other to the South, because through concupiscence the fervor of charity is extinguished, and through sin the ardor of concupiscence is increased. For the reprobate mind, while it is subjected to concupiscence, is stripped of charity, and while it does not fear to sin, it kindles in itself ever more fierce desires for sinning. For as if placed at the highest altitude and heat of its day, in the flood of sin it both rejoices immoderately and is dissolved ardently.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Saul had once offended by offering sacrifice himself, ch. xiii. Now he resolves never to fall into that error again, and therefore sends for a priest, and hopes to compromise the matter with God Almighty by a particular reformation, as many do whose hearts are unhumbled and unchanged.
) as being peculiarly difficult, and their natural entrenchments impregnable, yet this does not discourage him; the strength and sharpness of the rocks do but harden and whet his resolutions. Great and generous souls are animated by opposition and take a pleasure in breaking through it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Modern Voices1 voice
A commentator
GK ChestertonTime's Abstract and Brief Chronicle (1904-1905) · Written before 1936.
proposed
The one perfectly divine thing, the one glimpse of God's paradise given on earth, is to fight a losing battle - and not lose it.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַשֵּׁ֧ן | hashen | the tooth | H8127 → | 55 times |
| הָאֶחָ֛ד | haechad | the one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מָצ֥וּק | matzuk | a pillar | H4690 → | |
| מִצָּפ֖וֹן | mitzafon | [was] from [the] north | H6828 → | |
| מ֣וּל | mul | opposite to | H4136 → | 36 times |
| מִכְמָ֑שׂ | mikhmas | Micmash | H4363 → | 11 times |
| וְהָאֶחָ֥ד | vehaechad | and the one [tooth] | H259 → | 971 times |
| מִנֶּ֖גֶב | minegev | [was] from [the] south | H5045 → | 112 times |
| מ֥וּל | mul | opposite to | H4136 → | 36 times |
| גָּֽבַע׃ ס | gava' | Geba | H1387 → | 19 times |
הַשֵּׁ֧ןthe tooth
hashenH8127 →55 times
הָאֶחָ֛דthe one
haechadH259 →971 times
מָצ֥וּקa pillar
matzukH4690 →
מִצָּפ֖וֹן[was] from [the] north
mitzafonH6828 →
מ֣וּלopposite to
mulH4136 →36 times
מִכְמָ֑שׂMicmash
mikhmasH4363 →11 times
וְהָאֶחָ֥דand the one [tooth]
vehaechadH259 →971 times
מִנֶּ֖גֶב[was] from [the] south
minegevH5045 →112 times
מ֥וּלopposite to
mulH4136 →36 times
גָּֽבַע׃ סGeba
gava'H1387 →19 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; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; GK Chesterton, Time's Abstract and Brief Chronicle (1904-1905); Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).