1 Samuel 14:36
in 1 Samuel 14And Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until dawn, leaving no man alive!” “Do what seems good to you,” the troops replied. But the priest said, “We must consult God here.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and take spoil among them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither unto God.
KJV
And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither unto God.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 14
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThen said the priest - It is evident that Ahiah doubted the propriety of pursuing the Philistines that night; and as a reverse of fortune might be ruinous after such a victory, he wished to have specific directions from the Lord.
This site's exposition
Let us go down after the Philistines by night
on 1 Samuel 14:36-37
Saul proposes to press the victory through the night, and the priest counsels inquiry first, saying "We must consult God here" before any move. Saul inquires, and the narrator records that "God did not answer him that day," the earliest case of the LORD declining to answer Saul. The pattern ends at Endor in chapter 28, where Saul inquires, hears nothing, and turns to the medium.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
And Saul said, "Let us go down after the Philistines by night," etc. Saul, planning to attack the Philistines by night and to destroy them completely, consults the oracle of the Lord but is not answered; and seeking the cause of the sin, he discovers …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4 · Written before 604.
proposed
This has been sufficiently explained above, but because he desires to strike the Philistines in the night until the day dawns, this surely suggests that, lest demons be able to cause harm in the future, they must now be driven out and destroyed from the hearts of sinners. Indeed, this life is called night when it is compared to eternal life. For whoever has been able to worthily contemplate that life, in comparison with it, whatever appears bright here is judged to be the darkness of night.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Here he showed much zeal, but little discretion; for his army, thus fatigued, could as ill spare a night's sleep as a meal's meat. But it is common for rash and foolish men to consider nobody but themselves, and, so that they might but have their humour, not to care what hardships they put upon those that are under them.
But, when Jonathan is in danger, Saul's word is no longer a law to them, but with the utmost zeal they oppose the execution of his sentence: " Shall Jonathan die --that blessing, that darling, of his country? Shall that life be sacrificed to a punctilio of law and honour which was so bravely exposed for the public service, and to which we owe our lives and triumphs?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
And Saul said,.... To his son Jonathan, or to some of the principal officers of his army: let us go down after the Philistines by night; or tonight, that same night; which is another hardship he laid his troops under; as he had restrained them from eating all that day until evening, now he proposed they shall take no sleep that night, but proceed on in their pursuit of the Philistines, having eaten, and drank, and refreshed themselves.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Then said the priest ... - Ahijah, with equal courage and faithfulness, worthy of his office as “the priest,” when every one else yielded to Saul’s humor, proposed that they should draw near to God to inquire of Him. (Compare 1Ki 22:7.)
The words behind it
26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שָׁא֡וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| נֵרְדָ֣ה | neredah | let us go down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| אַחֲרֵי֩ | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| פְלִשְׁתִּ֨ים׀ | felishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| לַ֜יְלָה | laylah | night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| וְֽנָבֹ֥זָה | venavozah | and let us plunder | H962 → | |
| בָהֶ֣ם׀ | vahem | <in> <the> them | ||
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| א֣וֹר | ʾor | [the] light of | H216 → | 121 times |
| הַבֹּ֗קֶר | haboker | the morning | H1242 → | 214 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נַשְׁאֵ֤ר | nasher | we will leave | H7604 → | 133 times |
| בָּהֶם֙ | bahem | among <the> them | ||
| אִ֔ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ | vaiyomeru | and people said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַטּ֥וֹב | hatov | the good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| בְּעֵינֶ֖יךָ | beeineikha | in view your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| עֲשֵׂ֑ה ס | ʾaseh | do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֔ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| נִקְרְבָ֥ה | nikrevah | let us draw near | H7126 → | 280 times |
| הֲלֹ֖ם | halom | here | H1988 → | 12 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃ | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שָׁא֡וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
נֵרְדָ֣הlet us go down
neredahH3381 →381 times
אַחֲרֵי֩after
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
פְלִשְׁתִּ֨ים׀[the] Philistines
felishtimH6430 →287 times
לַ֜יְלָהnight
laylahH3915 →233 times
וְֽנָבֹ֥זָהand let us plunder
venavozahH962 →
בָהֶ֣ם׀<in> <the> them
vahem
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
א֣וֹר[the] light of
ʾorH216 →121 times
הַבֹּ֗קֶרthe morning
habokerH1242 →214 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
נַשְׁאֵ֤רwe will leave
nasherH7604 →133 times
בָּהֶם֙among <the> them
bahem
אִ֔ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּand people said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַטּ֥וֹבthe good
hatovH2896 →538 times
בְּעֵינֶ֖יךָin view your
beeineikhaH5869 →887 times
עֲשֵׂ֑ה סdo
ʾasehH6213 →2628 times
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הַכֹּהֵ֔ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
נִקְרְבָ֥הlet us draw near
nikrevahH7126 →280 times
הֲלֹ֖םhere
halomH1988 →12 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃<the> God
haelohimH430 →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
Psalms 73:28But as for me, it is good to draw near to God. I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may proclaim all Your works.
it leads to
- James 4:8
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- Psalms 40:5
Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done, and the plans You have for us— none can compare to You— if I proclaim and declare them, they are more than I…
- Hebrews 10:19–22
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
- Lamentations 3:25–26
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
- Psalms 65:4
Blessed is the one You choose and bring near to dwell in Your courts! We are filled with the goodness of Your house, the holiness of Your temple.
- James 4:8
Through
Isaiah 58:2For day after day they seek Me and delight to know My ways, like a nation that does what is right and does not forsake the justice of their God. They ask Me for…
it leads to
- Titus 1:16
They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
- Isaiah 29:13
Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught…
- Matthew 15:7–9
You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:
- Titus 1:16
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 Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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 4; Jamieson, Fausset and 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.