World English Bible · The united kingdom
1 Samuel 14
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Now it happened on a day that the son of said to the young man who bore his armor, "Come! Let's go over to the ' garrison that is on the other side." But he didn't tell his . stayed in the uttermost part of under the pomegranate tree which is in Migron; and the people who were with him were about six hundred men, including the son of , Ichabod's brother, the son of , the son of the priest of in , wearing an . The people didn't know that was gone. Between the passes, by which sought to go over to the ' garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side; and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 5The one crag rose up on the north in front of , and the other on the south in front of . said to the young man who bore his armor, "Come! Let's go over to the garrison of these . It may be that will work for us, for there is no restraint on to by many or by few." His armor bearer said to him, "Do all that is in . Go, and behold, I am with you according to ." Then said, "Behold, we will pass over to the men, and we will ourselves to them. If they say this to us, 'Wait until we come to you!' then we will stand still in our place and will not go up to them. But if they say this, 'Come up to us!' then we will go up, for has them into our hand. This shall be the sign to us." Both of them themselves to the garrison of the ; and the said, "Behold, the are coming out of the holes where they had hidden themselves!" The men of the garrison answered and his armor bearer, and said, "Come up to us, and we will show you something!" said to his armor bearer, "Come up after me, for has them into the hand of Israel." climbed up on his hands and on his feet, and his armor bearer after him, and they fell before ; and his armor bearer killed them after him. 14That first slaughter, which and his armor bearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were half a furrow's length in an acre of land. There was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison and the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so there was an exceedingly great trembling. The watchmen of in of looked; and behold, melted away and scattered. 17Then said to the people who were with him, "Count now, and see who is missing from us." When they had counted, behold, and his armor bearer were not there. said to , "Bring ark here." For ark was with the at that time. While talked to the priest, the tumult that was in the camp of the went on and increased; and said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand!" and all the people who were with him were gathered together, and came to the battle; and behold, they were all striking each other with their in very great confusion. Now the who were with the before and who went up with them into the camp from all around, even they also turned to be with the who were with and . Likewise all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of , when they heard that the fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle. So Israel that day; and the battle passed over by Beth . The men of Israel were distressed that day; for had adjured the people, saying, " is the man who eats any food until it is evening, and I am of ." So none of the people tasted food. All the people came into the forest; and there was honey on the ground. When the people had come to the forest, behold, honey was dripping, but no one put his hand to his , for the people feared the . But didn't hear when his commanded the people with the . Therefore he put out the end of the that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his ; and his eyes brightened. Then one of the people answered, and said, "Your directly commanded the people with an , saying, ' is the man who eats food today.'" So the people were faint. Then said, " has troubled the land. Please look how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. How much more, if perhaps the people had eaten freely today of the plunder of their which they found? For now there has been no great slaughter among the ." They struck the that day from to . The people were very faint; and the people pounced on the plunder, and took sheep, cattle, and calves, and killed them on the ground; and the people ate them with . 33Then they told , saying, "Behold, the people are sinning against , in that they eat meat with ." He said, "You have dealt treacherously. Roll a large stone to me today!" 34 said, "Disperse yourselves among the people, and tell them, 'Every man bring me here his ox, and every man his sheep, and kill them here, and eat; and don't against in eating meat with .'" All the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and killed them there. built an to . This was the first that he built to . said, "Let's go down after the by night, and take plunder among them until the morning . Let's not leave a man of them." They said, "Do whatever seems good to you." Then the priest said, "Let's draw near here to ." asked of : "Shall I go down after the ? Will you them into the hand of Israel?" But he didn't answer him that day. said, "Draw near here, all you chiefs of the people, and know and see in whom this has been today. For as lives, who saves Israel, though it is in my son, he shall surely ." But there was not a man among all the people who answered him. Then he said to all Israel, "You be on one side, and I and my son will be on the other side." The people said to , "Do what seems good to you." Therefore said to , the of Israel, "Show the right." and were chosen, but the people escaped. 42 said, "Cast lots between me and my son." was selected. Then said to , "Tell me what you have done!" told him, and said, "I certainly did taste a little honey with the end of the that was in my hand; and behold, I must ." said, " do so and more also; for you shall surely , ." The people said to , "Shall , who has worked this great in Israel? Far from it! As lives, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has worked with today!" So the people rescued , so he didn't . 46Then went up from following the ; and the went to their own place. Now when had taken over Israel, he fought against all his on every side: against , and against , and against , and against the kings of , and against the . Wherever he turned himself, he defeated them. He did valiantly and struck , and Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them. Now the sons of were , , and ; and the names of his two daughters were these: the name of , and the name of the younger . The name of wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the captain of his army was the son of , uncle. was of , and of was the son of . There was severe war against the all the days of ; and when saw any mighty man or any valiant man, he took him into his .
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The world at this moment · The united kingdom, 1050 BC to 931 BC ›
Saul, David, and Solomon. A rare window when both Egypt and Mesopotamia are weak, which is how a small kingdom in the corridor between them could briefly become a regional power.
- The power vacuum
- This is the whole political explanation for the united kingdom. Egypt is fragmented, Assyria is recovering but still local, the Hittites are gone, and nobody is in a position to object to a strong state in the corridor. It lasts about a century, and Israel's golden age fits exactly inside it.
- Phoenicia
- Tyre under Hiram is the commercial power of the coast, and supplies the cedar, the craftsmen, and the shipping for Solomon's building programme. The alliance is trade, not charity: Israel had grain and a land route, Tyre had timber and ships.
- Egypt
- Weak enough that a pharaoh gives a daughter in marriage to an Israelite king, which is the opposite of Egyptian practice in stronger centuries. Late in the era it recovers under a new house, and Shishak will invade within five years of Solomon's death.
- Further afield
- Greece is still in its dark age but beginning to recover, and will adopt the Phoenician alphabet within a century or two. Carthage is founded by settlers from Tyre by tradition in 814 BC. In the Americas the Olmec centre shifts to La Venta.