1 Samuel 11

This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 15 verses.

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).{{sfn|Würthwein|1995|pp=35-37}} Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls including 4Q51 (4QSam{{sup|a}}; 100–50 BCE) with extant verses 1–2, 7–12.{{sfn|Ulrich|2010|pp=271–272}}[https://thewaytoyahuweh.com/dead-sea-scrolls/general-info/#1_samuel Dead sea scrolls – 1 Samuel]{{sfn|Fitzmyer|2008|p=35}}[https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q51-1 4Q51 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library]

Extant ancient manuscripts of a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint (originally was made in the last few centuries BCE) include Codex Vaticanus (B; $\backslash mathfrak\{G\}$^B; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; $\backslash mathfrak\{G\}$^A; 5th century).{{sfn|Würthwein|1995|pp=73-74}}{{efn|The whole book of 1 Samuel is missing from the extant Codex Sinaiticus.{{Catholic Encyclopedia|wstitle=Codex Sinaiticus}}}}

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• Gibeah
• Gilgal
• Jabesh-Gilead

For this narrative, 4QSam{{sup|a}} (among the Dead Sea Scrolls; from first century BCE) and the writing of Josephus from first century CE, provide a background information that Nahash king of the Ammonites have subdued Israel's Transjordanian tribes (Gadites and Reubenites) and gouged the right eye of his captives (cf. 11:2 for explanation), but 7000 Israelites escaped and hid in Jabesh-Gilead, so now Nahash came to threaten the city.{{sfn|Evans|2018|p=126}} Significantly, Jabesh-Gilead was the only town refusing the call of arms in previous time (Judges 21), so now their chance of receiving help from other Israel tribes were slim, and that's probably why Nahash allowed them seven days to send messengers to try asking.{{sfn|Evans|2018|p=127}} Due to their prior refusal to join the call to arms, the people of Jabesh-Gilead were slaughtered by other tribes, except for 400 virgin girls who were left alive and given to be the wives of the survivors of the tribe of Benjamin (among 600 men) for a separate slaughter by the Israel tribes, so were it not for the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead, the tribe of Benjamin would be annihilated.{{sfn|Evans|2018|p=127}}

:Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you.""{{bibleverse|1 Samuel|11:1|NKJV}} NKJV

• "Encamped": or "besieged".Note on 1 Samuel 11:1 in NKJV
• "Nahash king of Ammon": this name means "serpent" in Hebrew.Note [b] on 1 Samuel 11:1 in NET Bible

Prior to the first word "Then..." 4QSam{{sup|a}} and Greek Septuagint texts have a phrase: "about a month later".{{sfn|Coogan|2007|p=415 Hebrew Bible}}

Prior to the whole verse, 4QSam{{sup|a}} and Josephus (Antiquities 6.5.1. [68-71])Josephus. [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Antiquities_of_the_Jews/Book_VI Antiquities of the Jews, Book VI, chapter 5, section 1]. attest to an addition which explains Nahash's practice of enemy mutilation, and by so doing provides a smoother transition to the following paragraph than is found in the Masoretic Text,Note [a] on 1 Samuel 11:1 in NET Bible or Greek Septuagint manuscripts.{{sfn|Evans|2018|p=126}} NRSV renders it as verse 10:27b as follows: "Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were 7,000 men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh Gilead. About a month later, Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead."{{sfn|Coogan|2007|p=415 Hebrew Bible}} The variations may be explained as scribal errors due to homeoteleuton, in which case the scribe jumps from one word to another word with a similar ending later in the text. Comparing to the reading in 4QSam{{sup|a}}, NET Bible suggests that the scribe of the MT may have skipped from the phrase {{langx|he|ויהי כמחרישׁ}}, {{Transliteration|he|vayehi kemakharish}}, at the end of 1 Samuel 10:27, which should possibly be {{langx|he|ויהי כמו חרשׁ}}, {{Transliteration|he|vayehi kemo kheresh}}, and picked up after the phrase {{langx|he|ויהי כמו חדשׁ}}, {{Transliteration|he|vayehi kemo khodesh}}, "it happened about a month later...". 4QSam{{sup|a}} also contains a case of homeoteleuton in this passage, that the scribe first skipped from one case of {{langx|he|גלעד}}, {{Transliteration|he|Gilʿad}}, "Gilead", to another, then inserted the missing 10 words between the lines of the 4QSam{{sup|a}} text. The fact that the scribe made this type of mistake and was able to make corrections indicates that the person was copying from a source that had these verses in it. Moreover, the 4QSam{{sup|a}} text first introduces Nahash with his full title, as the king of the Ammonites, which is considered the usual style.E. Tov, Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible, 2nd rev. ed. [Fortress Press, 2001] 342-344, P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 199, and R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 103. Apud NET Bible

:And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, "On this condition I will make a covenant with you, that I may put out all your right eyes, and bring reproach on all Israel."{{bibleverse|1 Samuel|11:2|NKJV}} NKJV

• "Put out...right eyes": Josephus explains that without one's right eye and when the left eye was covered by a war shield, a soldier might be wholly useless in war.

When the messengers from Jabesh Gilead reached Saul's hometown, Gibeah, Saul was working as a farmer and only heard about the situation second hand, after witnessing the townpeople publicly weeping over the news.{{sfn|Evans|2018|p=127}} Unlike others, Saul became angry after hearing the message, and it is said that God's spirit who brought on his anger (11:6; cf. Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; especially Samson in 14:6, 19; 15:14).{{sfn|Evans|2018|p=127}}{{sfn|Jones|2007|p=205}} The way Saul called the people to arms was by dismembering a pair of his oxen ("a yoke of oxen") and sending the pieces to all places in the territory of Israel (cf. Judges 19:29–30), with a message that the people who refused to respond would have a fate like that of the oxen.{{sfn|Jones|2007|p=205}} Saul's strategy and eventual victory was similar to that of former judges: by dividing the forces (cf. Judges 7) to surround the enemy camp and attacking in an early morning, but the attribution of the victory was to YHWH (verse 12).{{sfn|Jones|2007|p=205}} The victory proves Saul's worthiness of the kingship contrary to the words of his opponents (10:26), but those critics were spared according to Saul's own wish and Saul was acclaimed king once more at Gilgal.{{sfn|Jones|2007|p=205}}

:And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal; and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.{{bibleverse|1 Samuel|11:15|KJV}} KJV

• "And there they made Saul king": The Septuagint reads, "and Samuel anointed Saul king there," which is not improbable, as later David also had his original anointing by Samuel in front of his family (1 Samuel 16:12-13), then was twice publicly anointed, first as king of Judah (2 Samuel 2:4), and again as king over all Israel (2 Samuel 5:3), but this may be included in the word "made king" in Masoretic Text (see 1 Samuel 12:3, 1 Samuel 12:5).Barnes, Albert. [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/1_samuel/11.htm Notes on the Bible – 1 Samuel 11]. James Murphy (ed). London: Blackie & Son, 1884. Reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998. Josephus records that it was Samuel who suggested the second ordination in Gilgal and anointed Saul there with the 'holy oil'.{{efn|Josephus wrote: "Samuel had told them that he ought to confirm the kingdom to Saul by a second ordination of him, they all came together to the city of Gilgal, for thither did he command them to come. So the prophet anointed Saul with the holy oil in the sight of the multitude, and declared him to be king the second time." (Antiquities of the Jews, book 6, chapter 5, section 4)}}

{{columns-list|colwidth=22em|

• Ammonites
• Bezek
• Children of Israel
• Spirit of the Lord
• Tribes of Israel
• Tribe of Judah

}}

{{Portal|Bible}}

• Related Bible parts: Judges 21, 1 Samuel 8, 1 Samuel 9, 1 Samuel 10

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{Cite book|last=Auld|first=Graeme|chapter=1 & 2 Samuel|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&pg=PA213 |editor=James D. G. Dunn and John William Rogerson|title=Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible|publisher=Eerdmans|year=2003|isbn=978-0-8028-3711-0}}
• {{Cite book|last=Bergen|first=David T.|title=1, 2 Samuel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eGT6fWsajqcC |publisher=B&H Publishing Group|year=1996|isbn=978-0-8054-0107-3}}
• {{Cite book| last=Chapman |first= Stephen B. |title= 1 Samuel as Christian Scripture: A Theological Commentary |publisher= Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company |year= 2016 |isbn= 978-1-4674-4516-0 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kS4XDAAAQBAJ }}
• {{Cite book| last=Evans |first= Paul |title= 1-2 Samuel | series = The Story of God Bible Commentary | editor-first= Tremper | editor-last= Longman |publisher= Zondervan Academic |year= 2018 |isbn= 978-0-310-49094-4 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Uy8-DwAAQBAJ }}
• {{Cite book|last=Gordon|first=Robert|title=I & II Samuel, A Commentary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JMJ1ZAnswuUC&dq=I+%26+II+Samuel:+a+commentary+Gordon&pg=PA338|publisher=Paternoster Press |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-310-23022-9}}
• {{Cite book|last=Hertzberg|first=Hans Wilhelm|title=I & II Samuel, A Commentary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=friNN7IdjOIC&q=Saul+appointed+anointed+instituted&pg=PA19|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|year=1964|edition=trans. from German 2nd edition 1960|isbn=978-0-664-22318-2|page=19}}
• {{Cite book|last=Tsumura|first=David Toshio|title=The First Book of Samuel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iLKAlhLDkMwC |publisher=Eerdmans|year=2007|isbn=978-0-8028-2359-5}}

{{Refend}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{Cite book|last=Breytenbach|first=Andries|title=Past, Present, Future: the Deuteronomistic History and the Prophets |publisher= Brill| year=2000|chapter=Who Is Behind The Samuel Narrative? |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=uP22QHpnKq8C&dq=Breytenbach+Who+is+behind+the+Samuel+narrative&pg=PA50|editor=Johannes Cornelis de Moor and H.F. Van Rooy|isbn=9789004118713}}
• {{cite book | last= Coogan| first = Michael David | author-link= Michael D. Coogan | title = The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48 | editor-last1 = Coogan | editor-first1= Michael David | editor-first2 = Marc Zvi | editor-last2 = Brettler | editor-first3 = Carol Ann | editor-last3 = Newsom | editor-first4= Pheme | editor-last4 = Perkins | edition= Augmented 3rd | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2007 |isbn = 978-0-19-528881-0 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=HmpMPgAACAAJ}}
• {{cite book|last = Fitzmyer|first = Joseph A.|author-link= Joseph Fitzmyer |title = A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature|publisher = William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=TILXeWJ2eNAC | year = 2008|isbn = 978-0-8028-6241-9|location = Grand Rapids, MI }}
• {{cite book | last= Halley | first= Henry H. | author-link= Henry Hampton Halley | title= Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary |edition=24th (revised)| publisher= Zondervan Publishing House | date= 1965 | url= https://archive.org/details/halleysbiblehand00henr | url-access= registration| isbn= 0-310-25720-4}}
• {{Cite book | last = Hayes | first = Christine | title = Introduction to the Bible |publisher = Yale University Press | year = 2015 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SKbkXYHxvlAC |isbn = 978-0-300-18827-1}}
• {{cite book|last= Jones | first= Gwilym H. | chapter = 12. 1 and 2 Samuel | title=The Oxford Bible Commentary | editor-first1=John | editor-last1 = Barton | editor1-link = John Barton (theologian) | editor-first2=John | editor-last2= Muddiman | editor2-link = John Muddiman | publisher = Oxford University Press | edition= first (paperback) | year = 2007 | pages = 196–232 | isbn = 978-0-19-927718-6 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ZJdVkgEACAAJ | access-date=February 6, 2019}}
• {{Cite book|last=Klein|first=R.W.|chapter=Samuel, books of|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6OJvO2jMCr8C |editor=Bromiley, Geoffrey W|title=The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia|publisher=Eerdmans|year=2003|isbn=978-0-8028-3784-4}}
• {{Cite book|last=Knight|first=Douglas A|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNLN1nEEys0C&q=630+BCE&pg=PA62|editor=James Luther Mays, David L. Petersen and Kent Harold Richards|chapter=Chapter 4 Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomists|title=Old Testament Interpretation|publisher=T&T Clark|year=1995|isbn=978-0-567-29289-6 }}
• {{Cite book | editor-last = Ulrich | editor-first = Eugene | title = The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants | year = 2010 | publisher = Brill | url = https://archive.org/details/TheBiblicalQumranScrolls }}
• {{cite book | last = Würthwein | first = Ernst | author-link = Ernst Würthwein | title = The Text of the Old Testament | publisher = Wm. B. Eerdmans |location = Grand Rapids, MI | year= 1995 | translator-first1 = Erroll F.| translator-last1 = Rhodes | isbn = 0-8028-0788-7 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FSNKSBObCYwC | access-date= January 26, 2019}}

{{Refend}}

• Jewish translations:
• [https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/15840/showrashi/true Shmuel I – I Samuel – Chapter 11 (Judaica Press)]. Hebrew text and English translation [with Rashi's commentary] at Chabad.org
• Christian translations:
• [http://www.gospelhall.org/bible/bible.php?passage=1+Samuel+11 Online Bible at GospelHall.org] (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
• [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=9&chapter=11&version=9 1 Samuel chapter 11. Bible Gateway]

{{First Book of Samuel}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuel 1 11}}

11

Category:Saul

Category:Ammon