1 Samuel 13:15-22
English Standard Version
15 And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal[a] to (A)Gibeah of Benjamin.
And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, (B)about six hundred men. 16 And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were present with them stayed in (C)Geba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17 And (D)raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual; 18 another company turned toward (E)Beth-horon; and another company turned toward the border that looks down on the Valley of (F)Zeboim toward the wilderness.
19 (G)Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.” 20 But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle,[b] 21 and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel[c] for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel[d] for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.[e] 22 So on the day of the battle (H)there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them.
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- 1 Samuel 13:15 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks The rest of the people… from Gilgal
- 1 Samuel 13:20 Septuagint; Hebrew plowshare
- 1 Samuel 13:21 Hebrew was a pim
- 1 Samuel 13:21 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
- 1 Samuel 13:21 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
1 Samuel 13:15-22
New English Translation
15 Then Samuel set out and went up from Gilgal[a] to Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin.[b] Saul mustered the army that remained with him; there were about 600 men. 16 Saul, his son Jonathan, and the army that remained with them stayed in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin, while the Philistines camped in Micmash.[c] 17 Raiding bands went out from the camp of the Philistines in three groups. One band turned toward the road leading to Ophrah by the land of Shual; 18 another band turned toward the road leading to Beth Horon; and yet another band turned toward the road leading to the border that overlooks the valley of Zeboyim in the direction of the desert.
19 A blacksmith could not be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines had said, “This will prevent the Hebrews from making swords and spears.” 20 So all Israel had to go down to the Philistines in order to get their plowshares, cutting instruments, axes, and sickles[d] sharpened. 21 They charged[e] two-thirds of a shekel[f] to sharpen plowshares and cutting instruments, and one-third of a shekel[g] to sharpen picks and axes, and to set ox goads. 22 So on the day of the battle no sword or spear was to be found in the hand of anyone in the army that was with Saul and Jonathan. No one but Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
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- 1 Samuel 13:15 tc The LXX and two Old Latin mss include the following words here: “on his way. And the rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the warring army. When they arrived from Gilgal….”
- 1 Samuel 13:15 tn Heb “at Gibeah of Benjamin.” The words “in the territory” are supplied in the translation for clarity (likewise in the following verse).
- 1 Samuel 13:16 tn The juxtaposition of disjunctive clauses in v. 16 indicates synchronic action.
- 1 Samuel 13:20 tc The translation follows the LXX (“their sickle”) here, rather than the MT “plowshares,” which is due to dittography from the word earlier in the verse.
- 1 Samuel 13:21 tn Heb “the price was.” The meaning of the Hebrew word פְּצִירָה (petsirah) is uncertain. This is the only place it occurs in the OT. Some propose the meaning “sharpening,” but “price” is a more likely meaning if the following term refers to a weight (see the following note on the word “shekel”). See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 238.
- 1 Samuel 13:21 tn This word, which appears only here in the OT, probably refers to a stone weight. Stones marked פִּים (pim) have been found in excavations of Palestinian sites. The average weight of such stones is 0.268 ounces, which is equivalent to about two-thirds of a shekel. This probably refers to the price charged by the Philistines for the services listed. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 238; DNWSI 2:910; and G. I. Davies, Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions, 259.
- 1 Samuel 13:21 tc Heb “and for a third, a pick.” The Hebrew text suffers from haplography at this point. The translation follows the textual reconstruction offered by P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 235.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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