1 Samuel 11:1
in 1 Samuel 11Soon Nahash the Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.
KJV
Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh–gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 11
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Nahash was king of the children of Ammon, as appears from 1Sa 12:12. He seems to have been connected with the family of David, since Abigail, David’s sister, was “the daughter (perhaps granddaughter) of Nahash” 2Sa 17:25; 1Ch 2:16-17; and, perhaps, in consequence of this connection, he and his family were very friendly to David 2Sa 17:27. Jabesh-Gilead must have been re-populated after its destruction (see marginal reference). The Ammonites and Moabites resented the possession of Gilead by the Israelites Jdg 10:6-18; 11.
This site's exposition
Then Nahash the Ammonite came up
on 1 Samuel 11:1-2
Nahash's siege falls on a nation that already has its king, chosen at chapter 10, yet Jabesh-gilead still stands defenseless until Saul acts on its behalf. The condition Nahash offers is calculated rather than random: putting out the right eye of every man left a shield-bearer's own shield covering his left eye and no eye left to fight with, so the town would be blinded for war as well as marked for shame. Adam Clarke notes Josephus gives the same military reasoning for the demand, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read Nahash's claim on Gilead as ninety years old, reaching back past Jephthah's victory at Judges 11.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, etc. Many faithful men of the Church, united in true love, often consented to serve humbly by obeying teachers, whom they esteemed as wise as serpents in frequent meditation on the Scriptures; but they did not …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 1 · Written before 604.
proposed
1. When I wished to assert the profundity of this sacred history in the preface of this work, I maintained that it could be seen especially in the fact that it was written by prophets. They indeed were accustomed to speak mystical things not only in words but also in deeds — to set forth plain things, yet to signify deep things. For since the Holy Spirit spoke through them, what they themselves said, as mere men, was plain, but it was profound and mystical, because the supreme and uncircumscribed Spirit was supplying the speech to men.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabeshgilead,....
Had they not broken their covenant with God, and forsaken his service, they needed not thus to have courted a covenant with a Gentile nation, and offered themselves to serve them.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Then Nahash the Ammonite came up--Nahash ("serpent"); (see Jud 8:3). The Ammonites had long claimed the right of original possession in Gilead. Though repressed by Jephthah (Jud 11:33), they now, after ninety years, renew their pretensions; and it was the report of their threatened invasion that hastened the appointment of a king (1Sa 12:12).
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Nahash the Ammonite - In the Vulgate this chapter begins thus: Et factum est quasi post mensem, “And it came to pass about a month after.” This addition appears also in the principal copies of the Septuagint; though it is wanting in the Complutensian edition, both in the Greek and Latin, and is not acknowledged by any of the Oriental versions. But it is in Josephus, and probably was inserted from him into some copies of the Septuagint, and thence into the Vulgate. It appears to be of very little authority. We know little about Nahash; there was a king of this name among the Ammonites in the time of David, 2Sa 10:2, but probably not the same person. Nahash might have been a common name of the Ammonitish kings. Make a covenant with us - They found they were in no condition to risk a war; and they wish to have peace, and desire to know his conditions.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Each right eye. Explain it literally. 1 As a symbol of everlasting defeat. But the Midrash Aggadah [explains it figuratively, that he said,] "Bring me your Torah scroll which was given by the right hand [of God], 2 See Devarim:2.
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
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֗עַל | vaiyaal | and he went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| נָחָשׁ֙ | nachash | Nahash | H5176 → | 10 times |
| הָֽעַמּוֹנִ֔י | haamoni | the Ammonite | H5984 → | |
| וַיִּ֖חַן | vaiyichan | and he encamped | H2583 → | 143 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יָבֵ֣שׁ | yavesh | Jabesh | H3003 → | 24 times |
| גִּלְעָ֑ד | gilad | Gilead | H1568 → | 134 times |
| וַיֹּ֨אמְר֜וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אַנְשֵׁ֤י | ʾanshei | [the] men of | H582 → | 566 times |
| יָבֵישׁ֙ | yaveish | Jabesh | H3003 → | 24 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| נָחָ֔שׁ | nachash | Nahash | H5176 → | 10 times |
| כְּרָת־ | kerot- | make | H3772 → | 288 times |
| לָ֥נוּ | lanu | to <the> us | ||
| בְרִ֖ית | verit | a covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
| וְנַעַבְדֶֽךָּ׃ | venaavdeka | and we will serve you | H5647 → | 288 times |
וַיַּ֗עַלand he went up
vaiyaalH5927 →890 times
נָחָשׁ֙Nahash
nachashH5176 →10 times
הָֽעַמּוֹנִ֔יthe Ammonite
haamoniH5984 →
וַיִּ֖חַןand he encamped
vaiyichanH2583 →143 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יָבֵ֣שׁJabesh
yaveshH3003 →24 times
גִּלְעָ֑דGilead
giladH1568 →134 times
וַיֹּ֨אמְר֜וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אַנְשֵׁ֤י[the] men of
ʾansheiH582 →566 times
יָבֵישׁ֙Jabesh
yaveishH3003 →24 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
נָחָ֔שׁNahash
nachashH5176 →10 times
כְּרָת־make
kerot-H3772 →288 times
לָ֥נוּto <the> us
lanu
בְרִ֖יתa covenant
veritH1285 →284 times
וְנַעַבְדֶֽךָּ׃and we will serve you
venaavdekaH5647 →288 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 26:28“We can plainly see that the LORD has been with you,” they replied. “We recommend that there should now be an oath between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you
it leads to
- Genesis 21:22–23
At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do.
- Isaiah 61:9
Their descendants will be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed.
- Genesis 21:31–32
So that place was called Beersheba, because it was there that the two of them swore an oath.
- Genesis 39:5
From the time that he put Joseph in charge of his household and all he owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s household on account of him. The LORD’s blessing was on everything he owned,…
- Genesis 21:22–23
Through
1 Samuel 12:12But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king to rule over us’—even though the LORD your God was…
it leads to
- Judges 8:23
But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The LORD shall rule over you.”
- 1 Samuel 8:5–7
“Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.”
- Judges 8:23
Through
1 Kings 20:34Ben-hadad said to him, “I will restore the cities my father took from your father; you may set up your own marketplaces in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” “By this treaty I…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 15:20
And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and the whole land of Naphtali, including the region of Chinnereth.
- 1 Kings 15:20
Through
Ezekiel 17:13He took a member of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. Then he carried away the leading men of the land,
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 36:13
He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. But Zedekiah stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD, the God of Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 36:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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 1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.