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1 Samuel 11:7

in 1 Samuel 11

He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent them by messengers throughout the land of Israel, proclaiming, “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not march behind Saul and Samuel.” Then the terror of the LORD fell upon the people, and they turned out as one man.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And he took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the dread of Jehovah fell on the people, and they came out as one man.

KJV

And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.

This verse in 1 Samuel 11

Commentary

11 notes on this verse
7. What do we say in these words, except that the weaknesses of the saints, and those things which seem carnal, are not weak and carnal, but spiritual and mighty? For we are accustomed to rebuke excessive anger in religious men, but behold, before Saul could become exceedingly angry, the Spirit of the Lord first rushed upon him. How fearful, then, the anger of the saints must be, we perceive, if we consider the Spirit of the Lord rushing upon them—if, while we observe them outwardly angry, we equally attend to the Spirit stirring them within.

This site's exposition

Saul was returning from the field, behind his oxen

on 1 Samuel 11:5-7

Saul comes in from the field behind his oxen, still a farmer, and the Spirit of God rushes upon him with an anger that for once brings deliverance. The cut oxen sent through Israel echo the Levite’s signal at Judges 19:29, now summoning Israel to rescue a city. It is "the terror of the LORD" that unites the people, not loyalty to a king who has not yet acted.

This site's exposition

march behind Saul and Samuel

Saul sets Samuel's name beside his own. Albert Barnes reads it as the new king borrowing the prophet's standing for his own untried rule. Samuel goes with the troops, and at verse 12 the people speak to him about the men who opposed Saul's reign.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church3 voices

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Samuel · Written before 735.

proposed

And behold, Saul came, following oxen from the field, etc. And behold, the Lord came as a helper at the right time in tribulation, who was born as a man in the world after many experts in the law and learned philosophers, whom, however, He …

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Samuel · Written before 735.

proposed

Therefore, the fear of the Lord seized the people, etc. Upon hearing through the Gospel what heretics and schismatics, what pagans and unfaithful Jews are to suffer, the people of the faithful, struck with a wholesome fear, departing from the enticements of the old man, …

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Samuel · Written before 735.

proposed

And taking both oxen, he cut them into pieces, etc. And taking both the wise man of carnal observance of the law and the one who gloried in secular philosophy, the Lord destroyed whatever they knew arrogantly with evangelical simplicity, truth, and humility; and He …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

31 ), Thy ox shall be slain before thy eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof. It was necessary that the command should be enforced with some penalty, but this was not nearly so severe as that which was affixed to a similar order by the whole congregation, Judg. xxi.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens

And he took a yoke of oxen,....
3 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

Though not expressly stated, it is doubtless implied that he sent the portions by the messengers to the twelve tribes, after the analogy, and probably in imitation, of Jdg 19:29. He made use of the revered name of Samuel to strengthen his own weak authority. Samuel accompanied Saul in the expedition 1Sa 11:12.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces--(see Jud 19:29). This particular form of war-summons was suited to the character and habits of an agricultural and pastoral people.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

He took a yoke of open - The sending the pieces of the oxen was an act similar to that of the Levite, Jdg 19:29 (note), where see the note. And both customs are similar to the sending about of the bloody cross, to call the clans to battle, practiced by the ancient Highlanders of Scotland. See at the end of this chapter, 1Sa 11:15 (note).

The words behind it

29 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיִּקַּח֩and he took

    vaiyikachH3947 →966 times

  • צֶ֨מֶדa pair of

    tzemedH6776 →

  • בָּקָ֜רox[en]

    bakarH1241 →183 times

  • וַֽיְנַתְּחֵ֗הוּand he cut in pieces it

    vaynatechehuH5408 →

  • וַיְשַׁלַּ֞חand he sent [them]

    vayshalachH7971 →845 times

  • בְּכָל־in all

    bekholH3605 →5413 times

  • גְּב֣וּל[the] territory of

    gevulH1366 →240 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵל֮Israel

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • בְּיַ֣דby [the] hand of

    beyadH3027 →1618 times

  • הַמַּלְאָכִ֣ים׀the messengers

    hamalakhimH4397 →213 times

  • לֵאמֹר֒<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • אֲשֶׁר֩[the one] who

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • אֵינֶ֨נּוּnot he

    ʾeinenuH369 →789 times

  • יֹצֵ֜א[is] coming out

    yotze'H3318 →1067 times

  • אַחֲרֵ֤יafter

    ʾachareiH310 →715 times

  • שָׁאוּל֙Saul

    shaulH7586 →402 times

  • וְאַחַ֣רand after

    veacharH310 →715 times

  • שְׁמוּאֵ֔לSamuel

    shemuelH8050 →141 times

  • כֹּ֥הthus

    kohH3541 →577 times

  • יֵעָשֶׂ֖הit will be done

    yeasehH6213 →2628 times

  • לִבְקָר֑וֹto ox[en] his

    livkaroH1241 →183 times

  • וַיִּפֹּ֤לand it fell

    vaiyipolH5307 →435 times

  • פַּֽחַד־[the] dread of

    pachad-H6343 →

  • יְהוָה֙Yahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • הָעָ֔םthe people

    haamH5971 →1873 times

  • וַיֵּצְא֖וּand they came out

    vaiyetzeuH3318 →1067 times

  • כְּאִ֥ישׁlike a man

    keishH376 →1663 times

  • אֶחָֽד׃one

    ʾechadH259 →971 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 35:5

    As they set out, a terror from God fell over the surrounding cities, so that they did not pursue Jacob’s sons.

    it leads to

    • 2 Chronicles 17:10

      And the dread of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that surrounded Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Exodus 23:27

      I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run.

    • Psalms 14:5

      There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is in the company of the righteous.

    • Joshua 5:1

      Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until…

    • Exodus 15:15–16

      Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; trembling will seize the leaders of Moab; those who dwell in Canaan will melt away,

  • Through

    Judges 20:1

    Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.

    it leads to

    • Judges 11:11

      So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah.

  • Through

    2 Chronicles 14:14

    and attacked all the cities around Gerar, because the terror of the LORD had fallen upon them. They plundered all the cities, since there was much plunder there.

    it leads to

    • Genesis 35:5

      As they set out, a terror from God fell over the surrounding cities, so that they did not pursue Jacob’s sons.

  • Through

    Judges 19:29

    When he reached his house, he picked up a knife, took hold of his concubine, cut her limb by limb into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel.

    it leads to

    • Judges 20:6–7

      Then I took my concubine, cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance, because they had committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel.

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Samuel

This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works

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; 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.