1 Samuel 13:7

13:7 Some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan River ¹  to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul stayed at Gilgal; the entire army that was with him was terrified.

1 Samuel 14:15

14:15 Then fear overwhelmed ²  those who were in the camp, those who were in the field, all the army in the garrison, and the raiding bands. They trembled and the ground shook. This fear was caused by God. ³ 

1 Samuel 16:4

16:4 Samuel did what the Lord told him. ⁴  When he arrived in Bethlehem, ⁵  the elders of the city were afraid to meet him. They ⁶  said, “Do you come in peace?”

¹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “fell upon.”

³ tn Heb “and it was by the fear of God.” The translation understands this to mean that God was the source or cause of the fear experienced by the Philistines. This seems to be the most straightforward reading of the sentence. It is possible, however, that the word “God” functions here simply to intensify the accompanying word “fear,” in which one might translate “a very great fear” (cf. NAB, NRSV). It is clear that on some occasions that the divine name carries such a superlative nuance. For examples see Joüon 2:525 §141.n.

³ tn Heb “said.”

⁴ map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.

⁵ tc In the MT the verb is singular (“he said”), but the translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss and ancient versions in reading the plural (“they said”).