1 Samuel 13:2
in 1 Samuel 13He 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 the rest of the troops he sent away, each to his own home.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel, whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the mount of Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.
KJV
Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Beth–el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 13
Commentary
8 notes on this verseTwo thousand were with Saul - Saul, no doubt, meditated the redemption of his country from the Philistines; and having chosen three thousand men, he thought best to divide them into companies, and send one against the Philistine garrison at Michmash, another against that at Beth-el, and the third against that at Gibeah: he perhaps hoped, by surprising these garrisons, to get swords and spears for his men, of which we find, (1Sa 13:22), they were entirely destitute.
This site's exposition
Saul was thirty years old when he became king
on 1 Samuel 13:1-2
The Hebrew of this opening verse is short, and its two numbers are thought damaged, so much that the Septuagint omits the verse. Acts 13:21 gives forty years for Saul's whole reign. Saul divides his standing force, two thousand at Michmash under himself and a thousand at Gibeah under Jonathan, the first sign of the permanent army a king like the nations was expected to keep.
This site's exposition
He chose for himself three thousand men
Adam Clarke reads the three thousand as a force picked to strike the Philistine garrisons one by one. He thought Saul hoped to take swords and spears from them, the arms verse 22 says Israel lacked. The rest went home.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
And there were with Saul two thousand in Michmash, etc. The Church chooses for itself the strongest and those worthy of a thousand in number, by whose sword of the word and shield of faith it is fortified; furthermore, it sends back the weaker in …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 3 · Written before 604.
proposed
2. The number one thousand, which is produced from one hundred collected ten times, suggests the highest perfection. When indeed it is repeated three times, the various perfections of the elect are designated by it. Saul therefore chose three thousand men from Israel: because the preacher of truth leads to the defense of the holy Church not the weak and feeble, but strong and valiant warriors. They are said to be three thousand: because at the height of perfection, they bring forth virgins; alongside whom they place both the continent and the defenders of truth.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
8-11 ), was looked upon as an affront to the kingdom, excited general disgust, and was the reason he had so few at his call when he had occasion for them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel,.... Out of the 300,000 that went with him to fight the Ammonites, and returned with him to Gilgal, where he now was, and had stayed as may be supposed about a year, since now he had reigned two years.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The state of things which preceded the events described in this chapter seems to have been a comparative peace between Israel and the Philistines, since Saul had only 3,000 men under arms. At the same time Philistine garrisons continued to occupy the country of the Israelites in certain strong places, whereof one was at Geba (Jeba), in the immediate neighborhood of Gibeah 1Sa 10:5; 1Sa 13:3, and exactly opposite Michmash (Mukhmas), which was on the northern edge of the great Wady Suweinit.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
One year was Shaul in his reign. Our Rabbis, of sainted memory, said, 1 Maseches Yoma 22b. [Shaul was] like a one year old, who did not experience the taste of sin.
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
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּבְחַר־ | vaiyivchar- | and he chose | H977 → | 171 times |
| ל֨וֹ | lo | for <the> himself | ||
| שָׁא֜וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת | sheloshet | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| אֲלָפִים֮ | ʾalafim | thousand<s> | H505 → | 505 times |
| מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל֒ | miyisrael | from Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וַיִּהְי֨וּ | vaiyihyu | and they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| שָׁא֜וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| אַלְפַּ֗יִם | ʾalpayim | two thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| בְּמִכְמָשׂ֙ | bemikhmas | at Micmash | H4363 → | 11 times |
| וּבְהַ֣ר | uvehar | and in [the] hill country of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| בֵּֽית־ | beit- | Beth- | H1008 → | 142 times |
| אֵ֔ל | ʾel | -el | H1008 → | 142 times |
| וְאֶ֗לֶף | veelef | and one thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| הָיוּ֙ | hayu | they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| י֣וֹנָתָ֔ן | yonatan | Jonathan | H3129 → | 43 times |
| בְּגִבְעַ֖ת | begivat | at Gibeah of | H1390 → | 45 times |
| בִּנְיָמִ֑ין | binyamin | Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
| וְיֶ֣תֶר | veyeter | and [the] rest of | H3499 → | |
| הָעָ֔ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| שִׁלַּ֖ח | shilach | he sent away | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | each man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| לְאֹהָלָֽיו׃ | leohalav | to tents his | H168 → | 345 times |
וַיִּבְחַר־and he chose
vaiyivchar-H977 →171 times
ל֨וֹfor <the> himself
lo
שָׁא֜וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁתthree
sheloshetH7969 →432 times
אֲלָפִים֮thousand<s>
ʾalafimH505 →505 times
מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל֒from Israel
miyisraelH3478 →2507 times
וַיִּהְי֨וּand they were
vaiyihyuH1961 →3559 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
שָׁא֜וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
אַלְפַּ֗יִםtwo thousand
ʾalpayimH505 →505 times
בְּמִכְמָשׂ֙at Micmash
bemikhmasH4363 →11 times
וּבְהַ֣רand in [the] hill country of
uveharH2022 →546 times
בֵּֽית־Beth-
beit-H1008 →142 times
אֵ֔ל-el
ʾelH1008 →142 times
וְאֶ֗לֶףand one thousand
veelefH505 →505 times
הָיוּ֙they were
hayuH1961 →3559 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
י֣וֹנָתָ֔ןJonathan
yonatanH3129 →43 times
בְּגִבְעַ֖תat Gibeah of
begivatH1390 →45 times
בִּנְיָמִ֑יןBenjamin
binyaminH1144 →166 times
וְיֶ֣תֶרand [the] rest of
veyeterH3499 →
הָעָ֔םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
שִׁלַּ֖חhe sent away
shilachH7971 →845 times
אִ֥ישׁeach man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
לְאֹהָלָֽיו׃to tents his
leohalavH168 →345 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 10:26Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, and the men of valor whose hearts God had touched went with him.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 11:4
When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and relayed these words in the hearing of the people, they all wept aloud.
- 1 Samuel 11:4
Through
1 Samuel 13:23And a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Michmash.
it leads to
- Isaiah 10:28
Assyria has entered Aiath and passed through Migron, storing their supplies at Michmash.
- 1 Samuel 14:1
One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let us cross over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But Jonathan did not tell his father.
- Isaiah 10:28
Through
1 Samuel 13:5Now the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel with three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of…
it leads to
- Joshua 11:4
So these kings came out with all their armies, a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore, along with a great number of horses and chariots.
- 1 Samuel 14:23
So the LORD saved Israel that day, and the battle moved on beyond Beth-aven.
- Joshua 11:4
Through
1 Samuel 14:31That day, after the Israelites had struck down the Philistines from Michmash to Aijalon, the people were very faint.
it leads to
- Joshua 10:12
On the day that the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley…
- Joshua 10:12
Through
Joshua 18:28Zelah, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim—fourteen cities, along with their villages. This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 21:14
And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in Zela in the land of Benjamin, in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. After they had done everything the king had commanded,…
- Joshua 15:8
From there the border went up the Valley of Hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem) and ascended to the top of the hill that faces the Valley of Hinnom…
- 2 Samuel 21:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
4 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited monarchySaulIsrael's first king, head and shoulders above the people; began in humility, ended in rejection — sparing what God devoted, consul…
- PersonEarly monarchyJonathanSon of King Saul who climbed a cliff to rout a garrison on the conviction that nothing restrains Jehovah; cut a covenant of steadf…
- PlaceCentral hill countryBethelThe house of God, where Jacob saw the ladder and heard the promise, where he returned to raise an altar, and where Jeroboam’s gold…
- PlaceBenjaminGibeahSaul's hometown and capital in Benjamin, the same Gibeah whose outrage in Judges 19 nearly erased the tribe.
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 (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.