1 Samuel 13:7-15

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. 13:8 He waited for seven days, the time period indicated by Samuel. ²  But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the army began to abandon Saul. ³ 

13:9 So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” Then he offered a burnt offering. 13:10 Just when he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel appeared on the scene. Saul went out to meet him and to greet him. ⁴ 

13:11 But Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul replied, “When I saw that the army had started to abandon me ⁵  and that you didn’t come at the appointed time and that the Philistines had assembled at Micmash, 13:12 I thought, ⁶  ‘Now the Philistines will come down on me at Gilgal and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt obligated ⁷  to offer the burnt offering.”

13:13 Then Samuel said to Saul, “You have made a foolish choice! You have not obeyed ⁸  the commandment that the Lord your God gave ⁹  you. Had you done that, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever! 13:14 But now your kingdom will not continue! The Lord has sought out ¹⁰  for himself a man who is loyal to him ¹¹  and the Lord has appointed ¹²  him to be leader over his people, for you have not obeyed what the Lord commanded you.”

13:15 Then Samuel set out and went up from Gilgal ¹³  to Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. ¹⁴  Saul mustered the army that remained with him; there were about six hundred men.

[13:7]  ¹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[13:8]  ² tn This apparently refers to the instructions given by Samuel in 1 Sam 10:8. If so, several years had passed. On the relationship between chs. 10 and 13, see V. P. Long, The Art of Biblical History (FCI), 201-23.

[13:8]  ³ tn Heb “dispersed from upon him”; NAB, NRSV “began to slip away.”

[13:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “to bless him.”

[13:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “dispersed from upon me.”

[13:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “said.”

[13:12]  ⁷ tn Or “I forced myself” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, CEV); NAB “So in my anxiety I offered”; NIV “I felt compelled.”

[13:13]  ⁸ tn Or “kept.”

[13:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “commanded.”

[13:14]  ¹⁰ tn This verb form, as well as the one that follows (“appointed”), indicates completed action from the standpoint of the speaker. This does not necessarily mean that the Lord had already conducted his search and made his choice, however. The forms may be used for rhetorical effect to emphasize the certainty of the action. The divine search for a new king is as good as done, emphasizing that the days of Saul’s dynasty are numbered.

[13:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “according to his heart.” The idiomatic expression means to be like-minded with another, as its use in 1 Sam 14:7 indicates.

[13:14]  ¹² tn Heb “commanded.”

[13:15]  ¹³ 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….”

[13:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “at Gibeah of Benjamin.” The words “in the territory” are supplied in the translation for clarity (likewise in the following verse).