1 Samuel 7:11
in 1 Samuel 7Then the men of Israel charged out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, striking them down all the way to an area below Beth-car.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth-car.
KJV
And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth–car.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 7
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Beth-car - This place is nowhere else mentioned. It seems to have stood on a hill overhanging the road from the Philistine territory to Mizpeh, and close to Ebenezer, 1Sa 4:1.
This site's exposition
the LORD thundered loudly against the Philistines
on 1 Samuel 7:10-11
The battle is decided before Israel strikes a blow, for while Samuel is sacrificing, “the LORD thundered loudly against the Philistines”. The same weapon turns other battles, the hailstones at Gibeon in Joshua 10 and the stars fighting against Sisera in Judges 5, and here it answers a lamb and a prayer. Israel's pursuit to Beth-car finishes what God had already broken.
This site's exposition
Then the men of Israel charged out of Mizpah
Albert Barnes placed Beth-car on a hill over the road from Philistine land to Mizpah, close to the Ebenezer of 4:1, while Adam Clarke left its site unknown. The pursuit ends near the field of Israel's first defeat. The LORD's thunder had already won the battle.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
The men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, etc. The apostles went out from Mizpah, that is, the watchtower of their peaceful way of life, pursued the impious by reproving them; and struck them from their ancient, that is, impious life, …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 5 · Written before 604.
proposed
21. Well indeed, those who slay the Philistines are said to have gone forth from Mizpah. For in Mizpah, which is called "watching," those dwell who persist in the contemplation of divine things. But they go out to slay the Philistines when, coming forth instructed from the secret of inner meditation, they suppress the forces of hostile domination. For inwardly they secretly arrange how outwardly, in open action, they may break through the battle formations of the enemy.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), totally routed, and that in such a manner as highly magnified the prayer of Samuel, the power of God, and the valour of Israel. The prayer of Samuel was honoured; for at the very time when he was offering up his sacrifice, and his prayer with it, the battle began, and turned immediately against the Philistines.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Unprepared for resistance, they besought Samuel to supplicate the divine interposition to save them from their enemies. The prophet's prayers and sacrifice were answered by such a tremendous storm of thunder and lightning that the assailants, panic-struck, were disordered and fled.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Under Beth-car - We know not where this place was; the Septuagint have Beth-chor; the Targum, Beth-saron; and the Syriac and Arabic, Beth-jasan.
Under Beth-car - We know not where this place was; the Septuagint have Beth-chor; the Targum, Beth-saron; and the Syriac and Arabic, Beth-jasan.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Beth-car - This place is nowhere else mentioned. It seems to have stood on a hill overhanging the road from the Philistine territory to Mizpeh, and close to Ebenezer, 1Sa 4:1.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And Shein. The peak of the rock. 10 Or שֵׁן may denote the shape of the rock, i.e. it was shaped like a tooth; and it may be the same crag referred to below in:5.—Da’as Sofrim.
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. 7 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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּ֨צְא֜וּ | vaiyetzeu | and they went out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אַנְשֵׁ֤י | ʾanshei | [the] men of | H582 → | 566 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַמִּצְפָּ֔ה | hamitzpah | <the> Mizpah | H4709 → | 40 times |
| וַֽיִּרְדְּפ֖וּ | vaiyirdefu | and they pursued | H7291 → | 143 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים | pelishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| וַיַּכּ֕וּם | vaiyakum | and they struck down them | H5221 → | 499 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| מִתַּ֖חַת | mitachat | from below | H8478 → | 505 times |
| לְבֵ֥ית | leveit | to Beth | H1033 → | |
| כָּֽר׃ | kar | Car | H1033 → |
וַיֵּ֨צְא֜וּand they went out
vaiyetzeuH3318 →1067 times
אַנְשֵׁ֤י[the] men of
ʾansheiH582 →566 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַמִּצְפָּ֔ה<the> Mizpah
hamitzpahH4709 →40 times
וַֽיִּרְדְּפ֖וּand they pursued
vaiyirdefuH7291 →143 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים[the] Philistines
pelishtimH6430 →287 times
וַיַּכּ֕וּםand they struck down them
vaiyakumH5221 →499 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
מִתַּ֖חַתfrom below
mitachatH8478 →505 times
לְבֵ֥יתto Beth
leveitH1033 →
כָּֽר׃Car
karH1033 →
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
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 3, Chapter 5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.