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Selected Verse: 1 Samuel 14:16 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
1Sa 14:16	Strong Concordance	And the watchmen [06822] of Saul [07586] in Gibeah [01390] of Benjamin [01144] looked [07200]; and, behold, the multitude [01995] melted away [04127], and they went [03212] on beating down [01986] one another.
	King James	And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
the watchmen of Saul . . . looked--The wild disorder in the enemies' camp was described and the noise of dismay heard on the heights of Gibeah.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

the watchmen of Saul . . . looked--The wild disorder in the enemies' camp was described and the noise of dismay heard on the heights of Gibeah.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
Multitude - The word is in Sa1 14:19 (margin) rendered tumult. It must have the same meaning here. The sentence is obscure and probably corrupt; perhaps it means, "and behold the tumult! and it went on" (increased) "melting away and beating down."

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
Flight and defeat of the Philistines. - Sa1 14:16. The spies of Saul at Gibeah saw how the multitude (in the camp of the Philistines) melted away and was beaten more and more. The words והלם ויּלך are obscure. The Rabbins are unanimous in adopting the explanation magis magisque frangebatur, and have therefore probably taken הלם as an inf. absol. הלום, and interpreted הלם according to Jdg 5:26. This was also the case with the Chaldee; and Gesenius (Thes. p. 383) has adopted the same rendering, except that he has taken הלם in the sense of dissolutus, dissipatus est. Others take הלום as adverbial ("and thither"), and supply the correlate הלם (hither), so as to bring out the meaning "hither and thither." Thus the lxx render it ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν, but they have not translated ויּלך at all. Sa1 14:17 Saul conjectured at once that the excitement in the camp of the Philistines was occasioned by an attack made by Israelitish warriors, and therefore commanded the people: פּקדוּ־נא, "Muster (number) now, and see who has gone away from us;" and "Jonathan and his armour-bearer were not there," i.e., they were missing. Sa1 14:18 Saul therefore resolved to ask God, through the priest Ahiah, what he should do; whether he should go out with his army against the Philistines or no. But whilst he was talking with the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines became greater and greater, so that he saw from that what ought to be done under the circumstances, and stopped the priest's inquiring of God, and set out with his people without delay. We are struck, however, with the expression in Sa1 14:18, "Bring hither the ark of God," and the explanation which follows, "for the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel," inasmuch as the ark was then deposited at Kirjath-jearim, and it is a very improbable thing that it should have been in the little camp of Saul. Moreover, in other cases where the high priest is spoken of as inquiring the will of God, there is no mention made of the ark, but only of the ephod, the high priest's shoulder-dress, upon which there were fastened the Urim and Thummim, through which inquiry was made of God. And in addition to this, the verb הגּישׁה is not really applicable to the ark, which was not an object that could be carried about at will; whereas this verb is the current expression used to signify the fetching of the ephod (vid., Sa1 23:9; Sa1 30:7). All these circumstances render the correctness of the Masoretic text extremely doubtful, notwithstanding the fact that the Chaldee, the Syriac, and Arabic, and the Vulgate support it, and recommend rather the reading adopted by the lxx, προσάγαγε τὸ Ἐφούδ· ὅτι αὐτὸς ἦρεν τὸ Ἐφοὺδ ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἐνώπιον Ἰσραήλ, which would give as the Hebrew text, ישׂראל לפני ההוּא בּיּום האפוד נשׂא הוּא כּי האפוד הגּישׁה. In any case, וב'ני ישׂראל@ at the end of the verse should be read ישׂ לבני or לפני, since וּ gives no sense at all. Sa1 14:19 "It increased more and more;" lit. increasing and becoming greater. The subject וגו וההמון is placed absolutely at the head, so that the verb ויּלך brev eh is appended in the form of an apodosis. ידך אסף, "draw thy hand in" (back); i.e., leave off now. Sa1 14:20 "And (i.e., in consequence of the increasing tumult in the enemy's camp) Saul had himself, and all the people with him, called," i.e., called together for battle; and when they came to the war, i.e., to the place of conflict, "behold, there was the sword of the one against the other, a very great confusion," in consequence partly of terror, and partly of the circumstance alluded to in Sa1 14:21. Sa1 14:21-22 "And the Hebrews were with the Philistines as before (yesterday and the day before yesterday), who had come along with them in the camp round about; they also came over to Israel, which was with Saul and Jonathan." סביב means distributed round about among the Philistines. Those Israelites whom the Philistines had incorporated into their army are called Hebrews, according to the name which was current among foreigners, whilst those who were with Saul are called Israel, according to the sacred name of the nation. The difficulty which many expositors have found in the word להיות has been very correctly solved, so far as the sense is concerned, by the earlier translators, by the interpolation of "they returned:" תבוּ (Chald.), ἐπεστράφησαν (lxx), reversi sunt (Vulg.), and similarly the Syriac and Arabic. We are not at liberty, however, to amend the Hebrew text in this manner, as nothing more is omitted than the finite verb היוּ before the infinitive להיות (for this construction, see Gesenius, Gramm. 132, 3, Anm. 1), and this might easily be left out here, since it stands at the beginning of the verse in the main clause. The literal rendering would be, they were to be with Israel, i.e., they came over to Israel. The fact that the Hebrews who were serving in the army of the Philistines came over to Saul and his host, and turned their weapons against their oppressors, naturally heightened the confusion in the camp of the Philistines, and accelerated their defeat; and this was still further increased by the fact that the Israelites who had concealed themselves on the mountains of Ephraim also joined the Israelitish army, as soon as they heard of the flight of the Philistines (Sa1 14:22). Sa1 14:23 "Thus the Lord helped Israel that day, and the conflict went out beyond Bethaven." Bethaven was on the east of Michmash, and, according to Sa1 14:31, the Philistines fled westwards from Michmash to Ajalon. But if we bear in mind that the camp of the Philistines was on the eastern side of Michmash before Bethaven, according to Sa1 13:5, and that the Israelites forced their way into it from the south, we shall see that the battle might easily have spread out beyond Bethaven, and that eventually the main body of the enemy might have fled as far as Ajalon, and have been pursued to that point by the victorious Israelites.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

Flight and defeat of the Philistines. - Sa1 14:16. The spies of Saul at Gibeah saw how the multitude (in the camp of the Philistines) melted away and was beaten more and more. The words והלם ויּלך are obscure. The Rabbins are unanimous in adopting the explanation magis magisque frangebatur, and have therefore probably taken הלם as an inf. absol. הלום, and interpreted הלם according to Jdg 5:26. This was also the case with the Chaldee; and Gesenius (Thes. p. 383) has adopted the same rendering, except that he has taken הלם in the sense of dissolutus, dissipatus est. Others take הלום as adverbial ("and thither"), and supply the correlate הלם (hither), so as to bring out the meaning "hither and thither." Thus the lxx render it ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν, but they have not translated ויּלך at all.

Sa1 14:17

Saul conjectured at once that the excitement in the camp of the Philistines was occasioned by an attack made by Israelitish warriors, and therefore commanded the people: פּקדוּ־נא, "Muster (number) now, and see who has gone away from us;" and "Jonathan and his armour-bearer were not there," i.e., they were missing.

Sa1 14:18

Saul therefore resolved to ask God, through the priest Ahiah, what he should do; whether he should go out with his army against the Philistines or no. But whilst he was talking with the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines became greater and greater, so that he saw from that what ought to be done under the circumstances, and stopped the priest's inquiring of God, and set out with his people without delay. We are struck, however, with the expression in Sa1 14:18, "Bring hither the ark of God," and the explanation which follows, "for the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel," inasmuch as the ark was then deposited at Kirjath-jearim, and it is a very improbable thing that it should have been in the little camp of Saul. Moreover, in other cases where the high priest is spoken of as inquiring the will of God, there is no mention made of the ark, but only of the ephod, the high priest's shoulder-dress, upon which there were fastened the Urim and Thummim, through which inquiry was made of God. And in addition to this, the verb הגּישׁה is not really applicable to the ark, which was not an object that could be carried about at will; whereas this verb is the current expression used to signify the fetching of the ephod (vid., Sa1 23:9; Sa1 30:7). All these circumstances render the correctness of the Masoretic text extremely doubtful, notwithstanding the fact that the Chaldee, the Syriac, and Arabic, and the Vulgate support it, and recommend rather the reading adopted by the lxx, προσάγαγε τὸ Ἐφούδ· ὅτι αὐτὸς ἦρεν τὸ Ἐφοὺδ ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἐνώπιον Ἰσραήλ, which would give as the Hebrew text, ישׂראל לפני ההוּא בּיּום האפוד נשׂא הוּא כּי האפוד הגּישׁה. In any case, וב'ני ישׂראל@ at the end of the verse should be read ישׂ לבני or לפני, since וּ gives no sense at all.

Sa1 14:19

"It increased more and more;" lit. increasing and becoming greater. The subject וגו וההמון is placed absolutely at the head, so that the verb ויּלך brev eh is appended in the form of an apodosis. ידך אסף, "draw thy hand in" (back); i.e., leave off now.

Sa1 14:20

"And (i.e., in consequence of the increasing tumult in the enemy's camp) Saul had himself, and all the people with him, called," i.e., called together for battle; and when they came to the war, i.e., to the place of conflict, "behold, there was the sword of the one against the other, a very great confusion," in consequence partly of terror, and partly of the circumstance alluded to in Sa1 14:21.

Sa1 14:21-22

"And the Hebrews were with the Philistines as before (yesterday and the day before yesterday), who had come along with them in the camp round about; they also came over to Israel, which was with Saul and Jonathan." סביב means distributed round about among the Philistines. Those Israelites whom the Philistines had incorporated into their army are called Hebrews, according to the name which was current among foreigners, whilst those who were with Saul are called Israel, according to the sacred name of the nation. The difficulty which many expositors have found in the word להיות has been very correctly solved, so far as the sense is concerned, by the earlier translators, by the interpolation of "they returned:" תבוּ (Chald.), ἐπεστράφησαν (lxx), reversi sunt (Vulg.), and similarly the Syriac and Arabic. We are not at liberty, however, to amend the Hebrew text in this manner, as nothing more is omitted than the finite verb היוּ before the infinitive להיות (for this construction, see Gesenius, Gramm. 132, 3, Anm. 1), and this might easily be left out here, since it stands at the beginning of the verse in the main clause. The literal rendering would be, they were to be with Israel, i.e., they came over to Israel. The fact that the Hebrews who were serving in the army of the Philistines came over to Saul and his host, and turned their weapons against their oppressors, naturally heightened the confusion in the camp of the Philistines, and accelerated their defeat; and this was still further increased by the fact that the Israelites who had concealed themselves on the mountains of Ephraim also joined the Israelitish army, as soon as they heard of the flight of the Philistines (Sa1 14:22).

Sa1 14:23

"Thus the Lord helped Israel that day, and the conflict went out beyond Bethaven." Bethaven was on the east of Michmash, and, according to Sa1 14:31, the Philistines fled westwards from Michmash to Ajalon. But if we bear in mind that the camp of the Philistines was on the eastern side of Michmash before Bethaven, according to Sa1 13:5, and that the Israelites forced their way into it from the south, we shall see that the battle might easily have spread out beyond Bethaven, and that eventually the main body of the enemy might have fled as far as Ajalon, and have been pursued to that point by the victorious Israelites.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
The watchmen of Saul - Those who were sent out as scouts to observe the motions of the army. Melted away - There was no order in the Philistine camp, and the people were dispersing in all directions. The Vulgate has, Et ecce multitudo prostrata, "And behold the multitude were prostrate;" many lay dead upon the field, partly by the sword of Jonathan and his armor-bearer, and partly by the swords of each other, Sa1 14:20.

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¹⁹ And it came to pass, while Saul [07586] talked [01696] unto the priest [03548], that the noise [01995] that was in the host [04264] of the Philistines [06430] went [03212] on [01980] and increased [07227]: and Saul [07586] said [0559] unto the priest [03548], Withdraw [0622] thine hand [03027].

⁵ And the Philistines [06430] gathered themselves together [0622] to fight [03898] with Israel [03478], thirty [07970] thousand [0505] chariots [07393], and six [08337] thousand [0505] horsemen [06571], and people [05971] as the sand [02344] which is on the sea [03220] shore [08193] in multitude [07230]: and they came up [05927], and pitched [02583] in Michmash [04363], eastward [06926] from Bethaven [01007].

³¹ And they smote [05221] the Philistines [06430] that day [03117] from Michmash [04363] to Aijalon [0357]: and the people [05971] were very [03966] faint [05774].

²³ So the LORD [03068] saved [03467] Israel [03478] that day [03117]: and the battle [04421] passed over [05674] unto Bethaven [01007].

²² Likewise all the men [0376] of Israel [03478] which had hid [02244] themselves in mount [02022] Ephraim [0669], when they heard [08085] that the Philistines [06430] fled [05127], even they also followed hard [01692] after [0310] them in the battle [04421].

²¹ Moreover the Hebrews [05680] that were with the Philistines [06430] before [0865] that time [08032], which went up [05927] with them into the camp [04264] from the country round about [05439], even they also turned to be with the Israelites [03478] that were with Saul [07586] and Jonathan [03129].
²² Likewise all the men [0376] of Israel [03478] which had hid [02244] themselves in mount [02022] Ephraim [0669], when they heard [08085] that the Philistines [06430] fled [05127], even they also followed hard [01692] after [0310] them in the battle [04421].

²⁰ And Saul [07586] and all the people [05971] that were with him assembled [02199] themselves, and they came [0935] to the battle [04421]: and, behold, every man's [0376] sword [02719] was against his fellow [07453], and there was a very [03966] great [01419] discomfiture [04103].

⁷ And David [01732] said [0559] to Abiathar [054] the priest [03548], Ahimelech's [0288] son [01121], I pray thee, bring me hither [05066] the ephod [0646]. And Abiathar [054] brought [05066] thither the ephod [0646] to David [01732].

⁹ And David [01732] knew [03045] that Saul [07586] secretly practised [02790] mischief [07451] against him; and he said [0559] to Abiathar [054] the priest [03548], Bring hither [05066] the ephod [0646].

¹⁸ And Saul [07586] said [0559] unto Ahiah [0281], Bring hither [05066] the ark [0727] of God [0430]. For the ark [0727] of God [0430] was at that time [03117] with the children [01121] of Israel [03478].

¹⁷ Then said [0559] Saul [07586] unto the people [05971] that were with him, Number [06485] now, and see [07200] who is gone [01980] from us. And when they had numbered [06485], behold, Jonathan [03129] and his armourbearer [05375] [03627] were not there.

²⁶ She put [07971] her hand [03027] to the nail [03489], and her right hand [03225] to the workmen's [06001] hammer [01989]; and with the hammer she smote [01986] Sisera [05516], she smote off [04277] his head [07218], when she had pierced [04272] and stricken through [02498] his temples [07541].

¹⁶ And the watchmen [06822] of Saul [07586] in Gibeah [01390] of Benjamin [01144] looked [07200]; and, behold, the multitude [01995] melted away [04127], and they went [03212] on beating down [01986] one another.