1 Samuel 14:15
in 1 Samuel 14Then terror struck the Philistines in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even those in the outposts and raiding parties trembled. Indeed, the earth quaked and panic spread from God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled; and the earth quaked: so there was an exceeding great trembling.
KJV
And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 14
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThere was trembling in the host - They were terrified and panic-struck; the people in general round about, those in the garrison, the spoilers, and the whole country, were struck with terror; the commotion was universal and most extraordinary. The trembling of the earth is probably not to be taken literally, but as a metaphor for a great commotion in the country, though God might have interposed in an extraordinary manner, and produced a real earthquake; but their being panic-struck was sufficient to produce all the requisite confusion and dismay.
This site's exposition
terror struck the Philistines in the camp
on 1 Samuel 14:15-16
The panic spreads from the camp to the outposts and raiding parties, and "the earth quaked and panic spread from God," which lifts a skirmish of two men into an act of God. Saul’s watchmen at Gibeah see the troops melting away before anyone in the camp knows why. The trembling answers Jonathan’s hopeful perhaps of verse 6 with an outcome no plan of Saul’s had produced.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church3 voices
And a miracle happened in the camps through the fields, etc. By the miracle, strength and virtue are given to the just among those who are reprobates camping through the fields, having hearts astray, weakened by both malice and an abundance of pleasures. Hence the …
And the earth was troubled, etc. So that those who are wise in earthly things may be troubled by the deeds of heavenly men; so that demons, terrified and groaning, may recoil from attacking men, their malice broken and their strength shattered; this is not …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4 · Written before 604.
proposed
All who are perfect do not cease to marvel at the power and wisdom of almighty God in all things that have been made or are being made. Hence the Psalmist too, pressing on with divine praises, says: "God is wonderful in His saints; the God of Israel Himself will give power and strength to His people; blessed be God" (Ps. 67:36). Hence Moses confesses to the same Lord, saying: "Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, glorious among the saints, wonderful in majesty, working wonders?" (Exod. 15:11).
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Trembling - The Hebrew is, a trembling of God, signifying not only a very great trembling, but such as was supernatural, and came immediately from the hand of God. He that made the heart knows how to make it tremble. To complete their confusion, even the earth quaked; it shook under them, and made them fear it was just going to swallow them up.
Saul had once offended by offering sacrifice himself, ch. xiii. Now he resolves never to fall into that error again, and therefore sends for a priest, and hopes to compromise the matter with God Almighty by a particular reformation, as many do whose hearts are unhumbled and unchanged.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And there was trembling in the host in the field,....
It is called a trembling of God (so the original phrase is), signifying not only, as we render it, a very great trembling, which they could not resist nor reason themselves clear of, but that it was supernatural, and came immediately from the hand of God.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The earth quaked - This naturally increased the panic to the utmost. Compare 1Sa 7:10; Jos 10:11; Psa 114:4.
Modern Voices1 voice
A commentator
GK ChestertonTime's Abstract and Brief Chronicle (1904-1905) · Written before 1936.
proposed
The one perfectly divine thing, the one glimpse of God's paradise given on earth, is to fight a losing battle - and not lose it.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Half a furrow, of a pair [of oxen plowing] in the field. Within the area of a land measure [equal to] half the amount of a furrow of the plowing of a pair of oxen plowing a field.
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. 5 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
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתְּהִי֩ | vatehi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| חֲרָדָ֨ה | charadah | trembling | H2731 → | |
| בַמַּחֲנֶ֤ה | vamachaneh | in the camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
| בַשָּׂדֶה֙ | vasadeh | in the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| וּבְכָל־ | uvekhol- | and among all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָ֔ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הַמַּצָּב֙ | hamatzav | the garrison | H4673 → | 10 times |
| וְהַמַּשְׁחִ֔ית | vehamashchit | and the destroyer | H7843 → | 146 times |
| חָרְד֖וּ | charedu | they trembled | H2729 → | 39 times |
| גַּם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| הֵ֑מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| וַתִּרְגַּ֣ז | vatirgaz | and it quaked | H7264 → | |
| הָאָ֔רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וַתְּהִ֖י | vatehi | and it became | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְחֶרְדַּ֥ת | lecherdat | <into> a trembling of | H2731 → | |
| אֱלֹהִֽים׃ | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
וַתְּהִי֩and it was
vatehiH1961 →3559 times
חֲרָדָ֨הtrembling
charadahH2731 →
בַמַּחֲנֶ֤הin the camp
vamachanehH4264 →215 times
בַשָּׂדֶה֙in the field
vasadehH7704 →334 times
וּבְכָל־and among all
uvekhol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעָ֔םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
הַמַּצָּב֙the garrison
hamatzavH4673 →10 times
וְהַמַּשְׁחִ֔יתand the destroyer
vehamashchitH7843 →146 times
חָרְד֖וּthey trembled
chareduH2729 →39 times
גַּם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
הֵ֑מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
וַתִּרְגַּ֣זand it quaked
vatirgazH7264 →
הָאָ֔רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וַתְּהִ֖יand it became
vatehiH1961 →3559 times
לְחֶרְדַּ֥ת<into> a trembling of
lecherdatH2731 →
אֱלֹהִֽים׃God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 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
2 Samuel 5:24As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because this will mean that the LORD has marched out before you to strike the camp…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 7:6
For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the…
- Judges 4:14
Then Deborah said to Barak, “Arise, for this is the day that the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the LORD gone before you?” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor…
- Judges 7:15
When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Get up, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your…
- 2 Kings 7:6
Through
Genesis 35:5As they set out, a terror from God fell over the surrounding cities, so that they did not pursue Jacob’s sons.
it leads to
- Exodus 23:27
I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run.
- 2 Chronicles 17:10
And the dread of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that surrounded Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat.
- Exodus 23:27
Through
Exodus 19:18Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.
it leads to
- Judges 5:5
The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai, before the LORD, the God of Israel.
- Exodus 3:2
There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed.
- Psalms 144:5
Part Your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains, that they may smoke.
- Judges 5:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
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; GK Chesterton, Time's Abstract and Brief Chronicle (1904-1905); Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.