1 Samuel 11:8
in 1 Samuel 11And when Saul numbered them at Bezek, there were 300,000 Israelites and 30,000 men of Judah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he numbered them in Bezek; and the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
KJV
And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
⋯
This verse in 1 Samuel 11
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand - This was a vast army, but the Septuagint make it even more: “All the men of Israel were ἑξακοσιας χιλιαδας, Six Hundred thousand; and the men of Judah ἑβδομηκοντα χιλιαδας, Seventy thousand.” Josephus goes yet higher with the number of the Israelites: “He found the number of those whom he had gathered together to be ἑβδομηκοντα μυριαδας Seven Hundred thousand.” Those of the tribe of Judah he makes seventy thousand, with the Septuagint.
This site's exposition
the children of Israel were three hundred thousand
on 1 Samuel 11:8-10
At Bezek the army numbers three hundred thousand from Israel and thirty thousand from Judah, a count the Septuagint and Josephus each raise higher still, a variant the exposition names without settling. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown place Bezek near Shechem, on the road to the very ford Israel must cross to reach Jabesh-gilead, so the muster ground was chosen with the march ahead of it in view. The men of Jabesh are told help will come by the time the sun is hot, and they answer Nahash with a lie of omission, promising to come out to him the next day while hiding that an army is already moving. Adam Clarke notes the promise was kept, though in a manner very different from what the Ammonites expected.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
And there were three hundred thousand sons of Israel, etc. There were in the people of the nations, those who were most ready to defend the faith, who believed rightly, hoped, and acted through love. For the number three, because of the confession of the …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 1 · Written before 604.
proposed
9. First the children of Israel are said to have gone out, then to have been mustered by Saul, because the chosen preacher, when he attempts to move the soldiery of his subjects against hidden enemies, first observes their brave resolve, then places them in the number of warriors. For we are, as it were, inside and cannot be mustered, as long as the virtue of our mind is hidden from our pastors.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
In this muster, it seems, Judah, though numbered by itself, made no great figure; for, as it was one tribe of twelve, so it was but an eleventh part of the whole number, 30,330, though the rendezvous was at Bezek, in that tribe.
And when he numbered them at Bezek,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Bezek--This place of general muster was not far from Shechem, on the road to Beth-shan, and nearly opposite the ford for crossing to Jabesh-gilead. The great number on the muster-roll showed the effect of Saul's wisdom and promptitude.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He numbered them - This was done to see who was absent (compare Jdg 21:9). Bezek has been conjectured to be the name of a district rather than of a town. Two villages retained the name in the time of Eusebius 17 miles from Nablous, on the way to Beth-shean. The children of Israel and the men of Judah - This looks like the language of later times, times perhaps subsequent to the establishment of the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Israel here (including Benjamin) is as ten to one compared with Judah. This is about the true proportion.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיִּפְקְדֵ֖ם | vaiyifkedem | and he mustered them | H6485 → | 303 times |
| בְּבָ֑זֶק | bevazek | at Bezek | H966 → | |
| וַיִּהְי֤וּ | vaiyihyu | and they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְנֵֽי־ | venei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| שְׁלֹ֣שׁ | shelosh | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| מֵא֣וֹת | meot | hundred<s> | H3967 → | 581 times |
| אֶ֔לֶף | ʾelef | thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| וְאִ֥ישׁ | veish | and [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| יְהוּדָ֖ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| שְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים | sheloshim | [was] thirty | H7970 → | 172 times |
| אָֽלֶף׃ | ʾalef | thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
וַֽיִּפְקְדֵ֖םand he mustered them
vaiyifkedemH6485 →303 times
בְּבָ֑זֶקat Bezek
bevazekH966 →
וַיִּהְי֤וּand they were
vaiyihyuH1961 →3559 times
בְנֵֽי־[the] people of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
שְׁלֹ֣שׁthree
sheloshH7969 →432 times
מֵא֣וֹתhundred<s>
meotH3967 →581 times
אֶ֔לֶףthousand
ʾelefH505 →505 times
וְאִ֥ישׁand [the] man of
veishH376 →1663 times
יְהוּדָ֖הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
שְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים[was] thirty
sheloshimH7970 →172 times
אָֽלֶף׃thousand
ʾalefH505 →505 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
1 Samuel 13:15Then Samuel set out from Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin. And Saul numbered the troops who were with him, about six hundred men.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 13:2
He 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…
- 1 Samuel 14:2
Meanwhile, Saul was staying under the pomegranate tree in Migron on the outskirts of Gibeah. And the troops who were with him numbered about six hundred men,
- 1 Samuel 13:6–7
Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.
- 1 Samuel 13:2
Through
Judges 20:2The leaders of all the people and all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God’s people: 400,000 men on foot, armed with swords.
it leads to
- Judges 8:10
Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army of about fifteen thousand men—all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had…
- Judges 20:17
The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, mobilized 400,000 swordsmen, each one an experienced warrior.
- Judges 8:10
Through
2 Samuel 24:9And Joab reported to the king the total number of the troops. In Israel there were 800,000 men of valor who drew the sword, and in Judah there were 500,000.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 27:23–24
David did not count the men aged twenty or under, because the LORD had said that He would make Israel as numerous as the stars of the sky.
- 1 Chronicles 21:5–6
And Joab reported to David the total number of the troops. In all Israel there were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword, including 470,000 in Judah.
- Numbers 1:44–46
These were the men numbered by Moses and Aaron, with the assistance of the twelve leaders of Israel, each one representing his family.
- 1 Chronicles 27:23–24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- 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 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.