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.
1 Samuel 13:15-22
International Standard Version
15 Then Samuel got up and went from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. Saul mustered the people present with him, about 600 men. 16 Saul, his son Jonathan, and the people present with them remained in Geba of Benjamin, while the Philistines camped in Michmash. 17 Raiders went out of the Philistine camp in three companies. One company turned in the direction of[a] Ophrah, to the land of Shual, 18 one company turned in the direction of[b] Beth-horon, while the one company turned toward the border[c] that overlooks the valley of Zeboiim toward the desert.
The Philistine Monopoly on Metal Working
19 No blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel because the Philistines thought, “This will keep the Hebrews from making swords or spears.” 20 Everyone in Israel would have to go to the Philistines so each person could sharpen his plow, his mattock, his axe, and his sickle.[d] 21 The charge was one pin[e] for plows, mattocks, three pronged forks,[f] and axes, or for setting the goads. 22 On the day of battle, none of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan were armed with swords or spears, but Saul and his son Jonathan did have[g] them.
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- 1 Samuel 13:17 Or along the road to
- 1 Samuel 13:18 Or along the road to
- 1 Samuel 13:18 Or along the border road
- 1 Samuel 13:20 So LXX; MT, plow
- 1 Samuel 13:21 I.e. a unit of measurement equal to about 2/3 of a shekel, weighing about 0.3 ounces; one shekel weighed about 0.4 ounces
- 1 Samuel 13:21 The meaning of MT is uncertain
- 1 Samuel 13:22 Lit. were found with
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