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1 Samuel 14:16

in 1 Samuel 14

Now when Saul’s watchmen at Gibeah in Benjamin looked and saw the troops melting away and scattering in every direction,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went hither and thither.

KJV

And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another.

This verse in 1 Samuel 14

Commentary

10 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

The watchmen of Saul - Those who were sent out as scouts to observe the motions of the army. Melted away - There was no order in the Philistine camp, and the people were dispersing in all directions. The Vulgate has, Et ecce multitudo prostrata, “And behold the multitude were prostrate;” many lay dead upon the field, partly by the sword of Jonathan and his armor-bearer, and partly by the swords of each other, 1Sa 14:20.

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.

This site's exposition

Saul’s watchmen at Gibeah in Benjamin

Adam Clarke took the watchmen for scouts. He notes that the Vulgate has the Philistine troops lying on the ground, many struck down by Jonathan's sword and by the swords of their own camp at verse 20.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Gregory the Dialogist

Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4 · Written before 604.

proposed

But because we said above that Saul signifies the chief priests, and Jonathan his son represents the subordinate persons of preachers, if we attend to what follows, we find in the chief pontiffs the apostolic solicitude which they maintain. About which blessed Paul indeed speaks, saying: "Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is scandalized, and I am not on fire? Besides those things which are external, my daily urgency, the care of all the churches" (2 Cor. 11:29).

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Samuel · Written before 735.

proposed

And the watchmen of Saul look forth, etc. Those who have ascended the watchtower of holy Scripture look forth beyond others, and they are on the hill of the sons of the right hand, that is, established in the lofty citadel of heavenly deeds, and …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

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.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

They were aware that the host of the enemy was in great confusion, and that a great slaughter was made among them, and yet, upon search, they found none of their own forces absent, but only Jonathan and his servant (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked,....
2 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Multitude - The word is in 1Sa 14:19 (margin) rendered tumult. It must have the same meaning here. The sentence is obscure and probably corrupt; perhaps it means, “and behold the tumult! and it went on” (increased) “melting away and beating down.”

Modern Voices1 voice

A commentator

GK Chesterton

Time'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.

The words behind it

10 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.

  • וַיִּרְא֤וּand they saw

    vaiyiruH7200 →1300 times

  • הַצֹּפִים֙the watchmen

    hatzofimH6822 →

  • לְשָׁא֔וּלof Saul

    leshaulH7586 →402 times

  • בְּגִבְעַ֖תat Gibeah of

    begivatH1390 →45 times

  • בִּנְיָמִ֑ןBenjamin

    binyaminH1144 →166 times

  • וְהִנֵּ֧הand there!

    vehinehH2009 →843 times

  • הֶהָמ֛וֹןthe multitude

    hehamonH1995 →83 times

  • נָמ֖וֹגit melted away

    namogH4127 →

  • וַיֵּ֥לֶךְand it went

    vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times

  • וַהֲלֹֽם׃ פand here

    vahalomH1988 →12 times

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

    Psalms 68:2

    As smoke is blown away, You will drive them out; as wax melts before the fire, the wicked will perish in the presence of God.

    it leads to

    • Micah 1:4

      The mountains will melt beneath Him, and the valleys will split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.

    • Psalms 37:20

      But the wicked and enemies of the LORD will perish like the glory of the fields. They will vanish; like smoke they will fade away.

  • Through

    Isaiah 19:2

    “So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.

    it leads to

    • Judges 7:22

      And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the…

    • 1 Samuel 14:20

      Then Saul and all his troops assembled and marched to the battle, and they found the Philistines in total confusion, with each man wielding the sword against his neighbor.

    • Matthew 10:36

      A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’

  • Through

    Psalms 58:7

    May they vanish like water that runs off; when they draw the bow, may their arrows be blunted.

    it leads to

    • Joshua 7:5

      And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of them, chasing them from the gate as far as the quarries and striking them down on the slopes. So the hearts of the people…

    • Psalms 112:10

      The wicked man will see and be grieved; he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the desires of the wicked will perish.

  • Through

    Judges 7:22

    And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the…

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 4:12

      Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam;

Where this verse is studied

On this page

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 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.