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1 Samuel 13:22

in 1 Samuel 13

So on the day of battle not a sword or spear could be found in the hands of the troops with Saul and Jonathan; only Saul and his son Jonathan had weapons.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.

KJV

So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.

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This verse in 1 Samuel 13

Commentary

4 notes on this verse
So it came to pass in the day of battle,.... When that drew near, and they were called to it, and obliged to fight or flee, or surrender: that there were neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: which was not owing to their leaving them behind in the camp, or casting them away from them through fear, as they followed Saul with trembling, but to the cause now mentioned.

This site's exposition

neither sword nor spear found in the hand

The verse counts the whole camp's weaponry down to two swords, Saul's own and Jonathan's, against a Philistine host numbered in the thousands two verses before. The bow and the sling needed no smith, and Israel was not without those, but the narrator's point is narrower: on the day of pitched battle, only the king and his son carried the blade and spear that close combat required. The same bare phrase, no sword in the hand, will describe David facing Goliath four chapters later, though there it marks a chosen weakness rather than an enforced one.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

on 1 Samuel 13:19-22

They put down all the smiths' shops, transplanted the smiths into their own country, and forbade any Israelite, under severe penalties, to exercise the trade or mystery of working in brass or iron, though they had rich mines of both ( Deut. viii. 9 ) in such plenty that it was said of Asher, his shoes shall be iron and brass, Deut. xxxiii.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

In the day of battle - these was neither sword nor spear - But if the Israelites enjoyed such profound peace and undisturbed dominion under Samuel, how is it that they were totally destitute of arms, a state which argues the lowest circumstances of oppression and vassalage? In answer to this we may observe, that the bow and the sling were the principal arms of the Israelites; for these they needed no smith: the most barbarous nations, who have never seen iron, have nevertheless bows and arrows; the arrow heads generally made of flint.

The words behind it

19 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.

  • וְהָיָה֙and it was

    vehayahH1961 →3559 times

  • בְּי֣וֹםon a day of

    beyomH3117 →2304 times

  • מִלְחֶ֔מֶתbattle

    milchemetH4421 →320 times

  • וְלֹ֨אand not

    velo'H3808 →5168 times

  • נִמְצָ֜אit was found

    nimtza'H4672 →455 times

  • חֶ֤רֶבa sword

    cherevH2719 →413 times

  • וַחֲנִית֙and a spear

    vachanitH2595 →47 times

  • בְּיַ֣דin [the] hand of

    beyadH3027 →1618 times

  • כָּל־any of

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הָעָ֔םthe people

    haamH5971 →1873 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • אֶת־[was] with

    ʾet-H854 →929 times

  • שָׁא֖וּלSaul

    shaulH7586 →402 times

  • וְאֶת־and with

    veetH854 →929 times

  • יוֹנָתָ֑ןJonathan

    yonatanH3129 →43 times

  • וַתִּמָּצֵ֣אand it was found

    vatimatze'H4672 →455 times

  • לְשָׁא֔וּלto Saul

    leshaulH7586 →402 times

  • וּלְיוֹנָתָ֖ןand to Jonathan

    uleyonatanH3129 →43 times

  • בְּנֽוֹ׃son his

    benoH1121 →4930 times

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

Related verses

8 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Judges 5:8When they chose new gods, then war came to their gates. Not a shield or spear was found among forty thousand in Israel.5 works1 Chronicles 9:39Ner was the father of Kish, Kish was the father of Saul, and Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.3 works1 Samuel 14:1One 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.3 works1 Corinthians 1:27–29But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.2 works1 Samuel 17:50Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.2 works1 Samuel 17:47And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”2 works
The other 2 cross-references, with their words ▾
Zechariah 4:6So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.2 works2 Corinthians 4:7Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.2 works

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

    Zechariah 4:6

    So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.

    it leads to

    • 2 Chronicles 32:7–8

      “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater One with us than with him.

    • 2 Corinthians 10:4–5

      The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

    • 1 Corinthians 2:4–5

      My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,

    • Psalms 33:16

      No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.

    • Isaiah 11:2–4

      The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 17:47

    And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our…

    it leads to

    • Psalms 44:6–7

      For I do not trust in my bow, nor does my sword save me.

    • Zechariah 4:6

      So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.

    • Hosea 1:7

      Yet I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will save them—not by bow or sword or war, not by horses and cavalry, but by the LORD their God.”

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Samuel

David Slays Goliath — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
David Slays Goliath — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
1 Samuel: the study guide →Read 1 Samuel 13 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 1 Samuel 13 →