1 Samuel 14:19
in 1 Samuel 14While Saul was talking to the priest, the commotion in the Philistine camp continued to increase. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the tumult that was in the camp of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thy hand.
KJV
And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 14
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Withdraw thine hand - i. e., “Desist from what thou art about.” Saul in his impatience to join the battle would not wait for the answer from God, which he had desired Ahijah to inquire for; just as later 1Sa 14:35 he would not wait to finish the altar which he had begun to build. Had he now waited he would doubtless have avoided the error into which he fell.
This site's exposition
Call the roll and see who has left us
on 1 Samuel 14:17-19
Saul calls the roll, finds Jonathan and his armor-bearer missing, and calls for the ark so the priest can ask the LORD what to do. As the commotion grows, Saul cuts the process short and tells the priest to withdraw his hand. It is the first sign of a king who calls for inquiry and does not wait to finish it, and his inquiry at verse 37 gets no answer.
This site's exposition
Withdraw your hand
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown picture the priest praying with hands raised in the ephod. They read Saul's order as a judgment that God had already declared for Israel and the time for action had come. Albert Barnes sees the same haste at verse 35.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4 · Written before 604.
proposed
For what else does it signify that Saul first sought to bring the ark near, then commanded the priest to withdraw his hand, except that we ought to arrange obscure matters by consulting, and fulfill with haste those things that become more clearly known? But for the preacher to hear the tumult gradually increasing is to recognize the devotion of converted sinners. It is said to increase gradually, because while the Spirit directs our mind toward good works, he gently leads it toward better things through daily progress.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
But it is common for those that have lost the substance of religion to be most fond of the shadows of it, as here is a deserted prince courting a deserted priest. Of the bravery and piety of Jonathan, the son of Saul, who was much fitter than the father to wear the crown. "A sweet imp (says bishop Hall) out of a crab-stock." 1.
), consult no more, wait no longer for an answer." He was very unwise indeed if (as some think) he forbade him to lift up his hands in prayer; for when Joshua was actually engaged with Amalek Moses continued still to lift up his hands.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
And it came to pass, while Saul talked with the priest,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Withdraw thine hand--The priest, invested with the ephod, prayed with raised and extended hands. Saul perceiving that the opportunity was inviting, and that God appeared to have sufficiently declared in favor of His people, requested the priest to cease, that they might immediately join in the contest. The season for consultation was past--the time for prompt action was come.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Then said Saul unto the people that were with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us--The idea occurred to him that it might be some daring adventurer belonging to his own little troop, and it would be easy to discover him.
While Saul talked unto the priest - Before he had made an end of consulting him, the increasing noise of the panic-struck Philistines called his attention; and finding there was no time to lose, he immediately collected his men and fell on them.
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.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֗י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עַ֣ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| דִּבֶּ֤ר | diber | he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| שָׁאוּל֙ | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֔ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| וְהֶהָמ֗וֹן | vehehamon | and the tumult | H1995 → | 83 times |
| אֲשֶׁר֙ | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּמַחֲנֵ֣ה | bemachaneh | [was] in [the] camp of | H4264 → | 215 times |
| פְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים | felishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and it went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| הָל֖וֹךְ | halokh | continuously <to go> | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וָרָ֑ב פ | varav | and great | H7227 → | 454 times |
| וַיֹּ֧אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שָׁא֛וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֖ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| אֱסֹ֥ף | ʾesof | withdraw | H622 → | 200 times |
| יָדֶֽךָ׃ | yadekha | hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
וַיְהִ֗יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
עַ֣דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
דִּבֶּ֤רhe spoke
diberH1696 →1141 times
שָׁאוּל֙Saul
shaulH7586 →402 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַכֹּהֵ֔ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
וְהֶהָמ֗וֹןand the tumult
vehehamonH1995 →83 times
אֲשֶׁר֙which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּמַחֲנֵ֣ה[was] in [the] camp of
bemachanehH4264 →215 times
פְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים[the] Philistines
felishtimH6430 →287 times
וַיֵּ֥לֶךְand it went
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
הָל֖וֹךְcontinuously <to go>
halokhH1980 →1546 times
וָרָ֑ב פand great
varavH7227 →454 times
וַיֹּ֧אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שָׁא֛וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַכֹּהֵ֖ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
אֱסֹ֥ףwithdraw
ʾesofH622 →200 times
יָדֶֽךָ׃hand your
yadekhaH3027 →1618 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
Isaiah 28:16So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.
it leads to
- Psalms 118:22
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
- Acts 4:11–12
This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’
- 1 Peter 2:6–8
For it stands in Scripture: “See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
- Luke 20:17–18
But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?
- Romans 9:33
as it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
- Psalms 118:22
Through
Psalms 106:13Yet they soon forgot His works and failed to wait for His counsel.
it leads to
- Psalms 78:11
They forgot what He had done, the wonders He had shown them.
- Exodus 15:24
So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
- Isaiah 48:17–18
Thus says the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you for your benefit, who directs you in the way you should go.
- Psalms 78:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; GK Chesterton, Time's Abstract and Brief Chronicle (1904-1905); Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.