1 Samuel 14:2
in 1 Samuel 14Meanwhile, Saul was staying under the pomegranate tree in Migron on the outskirts of Gibeah. And the troops who were with him numbered about six hundred men,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Saul abode in the uttermost part of Gibeah under the pomegranate-tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men;
KJV
And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men;
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This verse in 1 Samuel 14
Commentary
12 notes on this verseUnder a pomegranate tree - Under Rimmon, which not only signifies a pomegranate tree, but also a strong rock, in which six hundred Benjamites took shelter, Jdg 20:45. Probably it was in this very rock that Saul and his six hundred men now lay hidden.
This site's exposition
let us go over
on 1 Samuel 14:1-2
Jonathan moves on his own initiative and keeps his father in the dark, while Saul sits at the edge of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree with six hundred men who do nothing. The chapter opens on that contrast and holds it: one Saulide acts in faith and one commands a camp that waits. Six hundred men are the whole muster left to Israel after 13:15, a number the narrator does not explain but the reader is meant to feel.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church3 voices
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4 · Written before 604.
proposed
Gibeah, as we said, is interpreted as "hill"; Migron is said to mean "from the throat." Now holy preachers are very exalted, not only in works, but also in contemplation. The outer part of this loftiness, therefore, is that of works, while the inner part is that of contemplation. Through this outer part of their exaltedness, they are seen by us as an example; but through the inner part, they are joined to the Creator in great love.
But he did not tell his father the same thing. Jonathan concealed from his father and the people the crossing to the station of the Philistines, as he had planned; for just as it is always most fitting to use the counsel of the spiritual, …
Moreover, Saul was staying at the edge of Gibeah, etc. For indeed, it pertains to the indication of virtue that he dwelled in Gibeah, that is, the hill, under a pomegranate tree, and had six hundred companions. As we have already said above, the hill …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Nor had he so great an opinion of the priest as to consult him, but, being conscious of a divine impulse putting him upon it, he threw himself into the mouth of danger, in hope of doing service to his country. The way of access to the enemies' camp is described (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Tarried - In the outworks of the city where he had entrenched himself to observe the motion of the Philistines. In - Or, towards Migron, which was near Gibeah.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah,....
Those whom he trusted too much to failed him when he most needed them. He durst not stay in Gibeah, but got into some obscure place, in the uttermost part of the city, under a pomegranate-tree, under Rimmon (so the word is), Ha-Rimmon, that Rimmon near Gibeah, in the caves of which those 600 Benjamites that escaped his themselves, Judg. xx.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah--Hebrew, "Geba"; entrenched, along with Samuel and Ahiah the high priest, on the top of one of the conical or spherical hills which abound in the Benjamite territory, and favorable for an encampment, called Migron ("a precipice").
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Under a pomegranate - Compare 1Sa 22:6; Jdg 4:5. Saul was at the northern extremity of Gibeah, about an hour’s march from Geba, where Jonathan was. Migron, if the reading is correct, must be a different place from the Migron of Isa 10:28.
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשָׁא֗וּל | veshaul | and Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| יוֹשֵׁב֙ | yoshev | [was] remaining | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בִּקְצֵ֣ה | biktzeh | at [the] edge of | H7097 → | 97 times |
| הַגִּבְעָ֔ה | hagivah | <the> Gibeah | H1390 → | 45 times |
| תַּ֥חַת | tachat | under | H8478 → | 505 times |
| הָרִמּ֖וֹן | harimon | <the> pomegranate tree | H7416 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּמִגְר֑וֹן | bemigron | [is] in Migron | H4051 → | |
| וְהָעָם֙ | vehaam | and the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עִמּ֔וֹ | imo | [was] with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| כְּשֵׁ֥שׁ | keshesh | [was] about six | H8337 → | 216 times |
| מֵא֖וֹת | meot | hundred<s> | H3967 → | 581 times |
| אִֽישׁ׃ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
וְשָׁא֗וּלand Saul
veshaulH7586 →402 times
יוֹשֵׁב֙[was] remaining
yoshevH3427 →1079 times
בִּקְצֵ֣הat [the] edge of
biktzehH7097 →97 times
הַגִּבְעָ֔ה<the> Gibeah
hagivahH1390 →45 times
תַּ֥חַתunder
tachatH8478 →505 times
הָרִמּ֖וֹן<the> pomegranate tree
harimonH7416 →
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּמִגְר֑וֹן[is] in Migron
bemigronH4051 →
וְהָעָם֙and the people
vehaamH5971 →1873 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עִמּ֔וֹ[was] with him
imoH5973 →1050 times
כְּשֵׁ֥שׁ[was] about six
kesheshH8337 →216 times
מֵא֖וֹתhundred<s>
meotH3967 →581 times
אִֽישׁ׃man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
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.
This page draws on 10 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 & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.