1 Samuel 7:7
in 1 Samuel 7When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, their rulers marched up toward Israel. And when the Israelites learned of this, they feared the Philistines
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.
KJV
And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 7
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThe Philistines went up against Israel - They went to give them battle before that, by continual accessions of numbers, they should become too powerful.
This site's exposition
their rulers marched up toward Israel
on 1 Samuel 7:7-9
The Philistines march as soon as Israel gathers, and Israel answers with fear, where in chapter four the elders sent for the ark to force a victory and lost it. Here the people ask Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us”, and he offers a lamb and prays. Obedience without the ark does what presumption with it could not.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church3 voices
And the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered in Mizpah, etc. The enemies of the truth heard that, with the Lord preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, all the people gladly listened to Him; and unclean spirits, specifically the princes of the …
When the children of Israel heard this, they were afraid, etc. The disciples of Christ, fearing the face of the persecuting Jews, watched and prayed, as He commanded, that they would not enter into temptation; and, suddenly struck by the storm of temptations, they said: …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 5 · Written before 604.
proposed
15. For when the foreign gods have been removed, the fast completed, and the scrutiny of examination carried out by the preacher, the princes of the Philistines ascend against Israel: because when we advance to a higher life, the malign spirits, who always envy those who act well, are more hostile to us. And because they seek to cast us down from the height of an innocent life, they are said to ascend. For to ascend, for malign spirits, is to raise themselves up to assault the hearts elevated through heavenly desire.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But we may be in God's way and yet meet with distress; nay, when sinners begin to repent and reform, they must expect that Satan will muster all his force against them, and set his instruments on work to the utmost to oppose and discourage them. How good is, at length, brought out of that evil.
And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
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.
The Philistines went up against Israel - They went to give them battle before that, by continual accessions of numbers, they should become too powerful.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
This implies a united invasion by the whole Philistine force. Hence, the terror of the Israelites. (Compare Jdg 15:11.)
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁמְע֣וּ | vaiyishmeu | and they heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| פְלִשְׁתִּ֗ים | felishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִתְקַבְּצ֤וּ | hitkabetzu | they had gathered together | H6908 → | 127 times |
| בְנֵֽי־ | venei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| הַמִּצְפָּ֔תָה | hamitzpatah | <the> Mizpah towards | H4709 → | 40 times |
| וַיַּעֲל֥וּ | vaiyaalu | and they went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| סַרְנֵֽי־ | sarnei- | [the] rulers of | H5633 → | 22 times |
| פְלִשְׁתִּ֖ים | felishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וַֽיִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ | vaiyishmeu | and they heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וַיִּֽרְא֖וּ | vaiyiru | and they were afraid | H3372 → | 315 times |
| מִפְּנֵ֥י | mipenei | of <the face of> | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| פְלִשְׁתִּֽים׃ | felishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
וַיִּשְׁמְע֣וּand they heard
vaiyishmeuH8085 →1159 times
פְלִשְׁתִּ֗ים[the] Philistines
felishtimH6430 →287 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הִתְקַבְּצ֤וּthey had gathered together
hitkabetzuH6908 →127 times
בְנֵֽי־[the] people of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
הַמִּצְפָּ֔תָה<the> Mizpah towards
hamitzpatahH4709 →40 times
וַיַּעֲל֥וּand they went up
vaiyaaluH5927 →890 times
סַרְנֵֽי־[the] rulers of
sarnei-H5633 →22 times
פְלִשְׁתִּ֖ים[the] Philistines
felishtimH6430 →287 times
אֶל־against
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וַֽיִּשְׁמְעוּ֙and they heard
vaiyishmeuH8085 →1159 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וַיִּֽרְא֖וּand they were afraid
vaiyiruH3372 →315 times
מִפְּנֵ֥יof <the face of>
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
פְלִשְׁתִּֽים׃[the] Philistines
felishtimH6430 →287 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
2 Chronicles 20:3Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.
it leads to
- Daniel 9:3
So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
- Joel 2:12–18
“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.”
- Jeremiah 36:9
Now in the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a fast before the LORD was proclaimed to all the people of Jerusalem and all who had…
- Daniel 9:3
Through
Exodus 14:10As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were terrified and cried out to the LORD.
it leads to
- Psalms 107:6
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.
- Nehemiah 9:9
You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt; You heard their cry at the Red Sea.
- Psalms 34:17
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears; He delivers them from all their troubles.
- Joshua 24:7
So your fathers cried out to the LORD, and He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, over whom He brought the sea and engulfed them. Your very eyes saw what I did to…
- Matthew 8:25–26
The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
- Psalms 107:6
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 (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).