1 Samuel 11:1-6

Amplified Bible

Saul Defeats the Ammonites

11 Now Nahash the ^[a]Ammonite [king] went up and ^[b]besieged Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty [of peace] with us and we will serve you.” ²But Nahash the Ammonite told them, “I will make a treaty with you on this condition, that I will ^[c]gouge out the right eye of every one of you, and make it a disgrace upon all Israel.” ³The elders of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Give us seven days so that we may send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out [and surrender] to you.” ⁴^[d]Then the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the news to the people; and all the people raised their voices and wept aloud.

⁵Now Saul was coming out of the field behind the oxen, and he said, “What is the matter with the people that they are weeping?” So they told him about the report of the men of Jabesh. ⁶The Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he became extremely angry.

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Footnotes

1 Samuel 11:1 The Ammonites were descendants of Lot (Gen 19:36-38).
1 Samuel 11:1 This was a common military tactic used against a fortified (walled) city or garrison, to take it with a minimal loss of troops. All supplies and communication were cut off between the city and the outside world, in the hope of starving out the citizens or destroying their morale and will to resist.
1 Samuel 11:2 Partially blinding a man made him almost useless as an enemy combatant or archer because it hampered his depth perception and limited his peripheral vision.
1 Samuel 11:4 Nahash granted the request, even though the Israelites’ offer to submit to slavery (v 1) clearly indicated that they were in essence already defeated. Nahash undoubtedly believed that there was no formidable person to save Israel, and he wanted to see them willingly submit to the painful and debilitating mutilation that he had planned for them.