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1 Samuel 12:9

in 1 Samuel 12

But they forgot the LORD their God, and He sold them into the hand of Sisera the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

But they forgat Jehovah their God; and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them.

KJV

And when they forgat the Lord their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.

This verse in 1 Samuel 12

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
According to the present arrangement of the Book of Judges, and the common chronology, the oppression of Sisera must have occurred about 200 years after the entrance into Canaan. But Samuel here places it as the first great servitude, before that under Eglon king of Moab, or that from which Shamgar delivered them. And this is in accordance with the internal evidence of the Book of Judges itself. It is also the order of Jdg 10:11, except that there the Ammonites Jdg 3:13 are placed before the Philistines.

This site's exposition

He sold them into the hand of Sisera

on 1 Samuel 12:9-11

The judges named, Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, summarize the cycle of forgetting and crying out that Judges tells in full, with Sisera, the Philistines and the king of Moab standing for three deliverances. Samuel names himself last among the deliverers, counting his own office among the LORD's saving acts, which Albert Barnes calls fitting given how recent that deliverance was.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Gregory the Dialogist

Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 2 · Written before 604.

proposed

Enumerating these same mercies, he says: "How Jacob entered into Egypt, and our fathers cried out to the Lord, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, and He brought our fathers out of Egypt, and settled them in this place. And because they forgot the Lord their God, He delivered them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Asshur, and into the hands of the Philistines, and of the king of Moab, and they fought against you.

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And when they forgat the Lord their God,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

They enslaved themselves, for they were sold as criminals and captives into the hand of oppressors. They exposed themselves to the desolation of war, and their neighbours fought against them. He reminds them of their fathers' repentance and humiliation before God for their idolatries: They said, We have sinned,

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The hand of Sisera - See these transactions in the book of Judges, Jdg 4:2 (note).

The words behind it

18 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.

  • וַֽיִּשְׁכְּח֖וּand they forgot

    vaiyishkechuH7911 →

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • יְהוָ֣הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֑םGod their

    ʾeloheihemH430 →2601 times

  • וַיִּמְכֹּ֣רand he sold

    vaiyimkorH4376 →

  • אֹתָ֡ם<obj.> them

    ʾotamH853 →10935 times

  • בְּיַ֣דin [the] hand of

    beyadH3027 →1618 times

  • סִֽיסְרָא֩Sisera

    sisera'H5516 →

  • שַׂר־[the] commander of

    sar-H8269 →421 times

  • צְבָ֨א[the] army of

    tzeva'H6635 →485 times

  • חָצ֜וֹרHazor

    chatzorH2674 →

  • וּבְיַד־and in [the] hand of

    uveyad-H3027 →1618 times

  • פְּלִשְׁתִּ֗ים[the] Philistines

    pelishtimH6430 →287 times

  • וּבְיַד֙and in [the] hand of

    uveyadH3027 →1618 times

  • מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • מוֹאָ֔בMoab

    moavH4124 →181 times

  • וַיִּֽלָּחֲמ֖וּand they fought

    vaiyilachamuH3898 →177 times

  • בָּֽם׃against <the> them

    bam

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

    Judges 10:7

    So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites,

    it leads to

    • Judges 2:14

      Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of those who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 32:18

    You ignored the Rock who brought you forth; you forgot the God who gave you birth.

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 17:10

      For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and failed to remember the Rock of your refuge. Therefore, though you cultivate delightful plots and set out cuttings from exotic vines—

    • Jeremiah 2:32

      Does a maiden forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding sash? Yet My people have forgotten Me for days without number.

  • Through

    Judges 13:1

    Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

    it leads to

    • Romans 2:6

      God “will repay each one according to his deeds.”

    • Judges 6:1

      Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; so He delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years,

  • Through

    Judges 4:2

    So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his forces was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.

    it leads to

    • Judges 4:16

      Then Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and the whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a single man was left.

    • Joshua 11:1

      Now when Jabin king of Hazor heard about these things, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon; to the kings of Shimron and Achshaph;

    • Judges 4:13

      he summoned all nine hundred of his iron chariots and all the men with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the River Kishon.

About 1 Samuel

Anointing of David by Samuel, Félix-Joseph Barrias, 1842, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris. Public domain.
Anointing of David by Samuel, Félix-Joseph Barrias, 1842, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris. Public domain.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.