Discovery Box1 Samuel 11:15
Context11:15 So all the people went to Gilgal, where 1 they established Saul as king in the Lord’s presence. They offered up peace offerings there in the Lord’s presence. Saul and all the Israelites were very happy.
1 Samuel 11:2
Context11:2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “The only way I will make a treaty with you is if you let me gouge out the right eye of every one of you and in so doing humiliate all Israel!”
1 Samuel 11:1-2
Context11:1 2 Nahash 3 the Ammonite marched 4 against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh Gilead said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us and we will serve you.”
11:2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “The only way I will make a treaty with you is if you let me gouge out the right eye of every one of you and in so doing humiliate all Israel!”
1 Samuel 23:16
Context23:16 Then Jonathan son of Saul left and went to David at Horesh. He encouraged him 5 through God.
Nehemiah 9:38
Context9:38 (10:1) 6 “Because of all of this we are entering into a binding covenant 7 in written form; 8 our leaders, our Levites, and our priests have affixed their names 9 on the sealed document.”
[11:15] 1 tn Heb “and there in Gilgal.”
[11:1] 2 tc 4QSama and Josephus (Ant. 6.68-71) attest to a longer form of text at this point. The addition explains Nahash’s practice of enemy mutilation, and by so doing provides a smoother transition to the following paragraph than is found in the MT. The NRSV adopts this reading, with the following English translation: “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 seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead.” This reading should not be lightly dismissed; it may in fact provide a text superior to that of the MT and the ancient versions. But the external evidence for it is so limited as to induce caution; the present translation instead follows the MT. However, for a reasonable case for including this reading in the text see the discussions in P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 199, and R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 103.
[11:1] 3 sn The name “Nahash” means “serpent” in Hebrew.
[11:1] 4 tn Heb “went up and camped”; NIV, NRSV “went up and besieged.”
[23:16] 5 tn Heb “strengthened his hand.”
[9:38] 6 sn Beginning with 9:38, the verse numbers through 10:39 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 9:38 ET = 10:1 HT, 10:1 ET = 10:2 HT, 10:2 ET = 10:3 HT, etc., through 10:39 ET = 10:40 HT. Beginning with 11:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
[9:38] 7 tn Heb “we are cutting.”
[9:38] 8 tn Heb “and writing.”
[9:38] 9 tn Heb “our leaders, our Levites, and our priests on the sealed document.” The Hebrew text is elliptical here; the words “have affixed their names” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons. Cf. v. 2.
