1 Samuel 13:7
in 1 Samuel 13Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul, however, remained at Gilgal, and all his troops were quaking in fear.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now some of the Hebrews had gone over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead; but as for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
KJV
And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 13
Commentary
7 notes on this verse13. If indeed we first wish to understand this according to the letter, these Hebrews are understood to have been both terrified with fear and to have fled to their enemies. For not long after, in Jonathan's open victory, it is written: 'The Hebrews who had been with the Philistines yesterday and the day before and had gone up with them into the camp turned back to be with Israel, who were with Saul and Jonathan' (1 Sam. 14:21).
This site's exposition
Now the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel
on 1 Samuel 13:5-7
The Philistine host is "as numerous as the sand on the seashore," and Israel answers by disappearing into caves, thickets, rocks, cellars and cisterns, some crossing the Jordan outright. Saul is left at Gilgal with a shrinking remnant, "all his troops were quaking in fear." That pressure drives his decision two verses later.
This site's exposition
Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan
Albert Barnes notes that the text sets these Hebrews apart from the men of Israel who hid at verse 6. Gregory the Dialogist linked them with 14:21, where Hebrews who had gone over to the Philistines return to Saul and Jonathan. Saul kept his post at Gilgal.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
But the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead. Those who are more perfect, under the pressures of enduring temptations, set aside all the affairs of the world, in which the reprobates descend and slip into the world, and whose …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the L ORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the L ORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the L ORD commanded thee. Saul's offence in offering sacrifice before Samuel came.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:81%@v12-17
And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead,.... As far off as they could from the Philistines, who lay on the west of the land of Israel, and these countries were to the east.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The words “some of,” which are the emphatic words in the King James Version, as distinguishing those who crossed the Jordan from those who hid themselves, are not in the Hebrew at all. The “Hebrews” seem to be distinguished from the “men of Israel” in 1Sa 13:6. (Compare 1Sa 14:21.)
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעִבְרִ֗ים | veivrim | and Hebrews | H5680 → | 34 times |
| עָֽבְרוּ֙ | ʾaveru | they passed over | H5674 → | 556 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ן | haiyarden | the Jordan | H3383 → | |
| אֶ֥רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| גָּ֖ד | gad | Gad | H1410 → | |
| וְגִלְעָ֑ד | vegilad | and Gilead | H1568 → | 134 times |
| וְשָׁאוּל֙ | veshaul | and Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| עוֹדֶ֣נּוּ | odenu | still he | H5750 → | 490 times |
| בַגִּלְגָּ֔ל | vagilgal | [was] at <the> Gilgal | H1537 → | 41 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָ֖ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| חָרְד֥וּ | charedu | they trembled | H2729 → | 39 times |
| אַחֲרָֽיו׃ | ʾacharav | after him | H310 → | 715 times |
וְעִבְרִ֗יםand Hebrews
veivrimH5680 →34 times
עָֽבְרוּ֙they passed over
ʾaveruH5674 →556 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ןthe Jordan
haiyardenH3383 →
אֶ֥רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
גָּ֖דGad
gadH1410 →
וְגִלְעָ֑דand Gilead
vegiladH1568 →134 times
וְשָׁאוּל֙and Saul
veshaulH7586 →402 times
עוֹדֶ֣נּוּstill he
odenuH5750 →490 times
בַגִּלְגָּ֔ל[was] at <the> Gilgal
vagilgalH1537 →41 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
הָעָ֖םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
חָרְד֥וּthey trembled
chareduH2729 →39 times
אַחֲרָֽיו׃after him
ʾacharavH310 →715 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
Judges 7:3Now, therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people: ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand of them turned back, but ten thousand remained.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 20:8
Then the officers shall speak further to the army, saying, “Is any man afraid or fainthearted? Let him return home, so that the hearts of his brothers will not melt like his own.”
- Revelation 17:14
They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen…
- Revelation 21:8
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This…
- Deuteronomy 20:8
Through
Deuteronomy 28:25The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to…
it leads to
- Isaiah 30:17
A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee, until you are left alone like a pole on a mountaintop, like a banner on a…
- Ezekiel 23:46
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Bring a mob against them and consign them to terror and plunder.
- Jeremiah 24:9
I will make them a horror and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace and an object of scorn, ridicule, and cursing wherever I have banished them.
- Deuteronomy 28:7
The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you in one direction but flee from you in seven.
- Leviticus 26:17
And I will set My face against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one pursues you.
- Isaiah 30:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 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…
- PlaceJordan valley near JerichoGilgalIsrael's first Canaan camp where the stones were set and the reproach rolled away (Josh 4-5); later a corrupted shrine the prophet…
This page draws on 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 3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.