King James Version · The united kingdom
1 Samuel 14
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Now it came to pass upon a day, that the son of said unto the young man that his armour, Come, and let us go over to the ’ garrison, that is on the other side. But he told not his . And tarried in the uttermost part of under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men; And , the son of , I–chabod’s brother, the son of , the son of , ’s priest in , wearing an . And the people knew not that was gone. And between the passages, by which sought to go over unto the ’ garrison, there was a sharp on the one side, and a sharp on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 5The forefront of the one was situate northward over against , and the other southward over against . And said to the young man that his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these : it may be that will work for us: for there is no restraint to to by many or by few. And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine : turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy . Then said , Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them. If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them. But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for hath them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us. And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the : and the said, Behold, the come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves. And the men of the garrison answered and his armourbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing. And said unto his armourbearer, Come up after me: for hath them into the hand of Israel. And climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armourbearer after him: and they fell before ; and his armourbearer slew after him. 14And that first slaughter, which and his armourbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a of oxen might plow. And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling. And the watchmen of in of looked; and, behold, melted away, and they went on beating down one another. 17Then said unto the people that were with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, and his armourbearer were not there. And said unto , Bring hither the . For the was at that time with the . And it came to pass, while talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the went on and increased: and said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand. And and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man’s was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture. Moreover the that were with the before that time, which went up with them into the camp from the country round about, even they also turned to be with the that were with and . Likewise all the men of Israel which had hid themselves in mount , 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 unto Beth–aven. And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for had adjured the people, saying, be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be on mine . So none of the people tasted any food. And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground. And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his : for the people feared the . But heard not when his charged the people with the : wherefore he put forth the end of the that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his ; and his eyes were enlightened. Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy straitly charged the people with an , saying, be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint. Then said , hath troubled the land: see, I you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of their which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the ? And they smote the that day from to : and the people were very faint. And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with . 33Then they told , saying, Behold, the people against , in that they eat with . And he said, Ye have transgressed: roll a great stone unto me this day. 34And said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and them here, and eat; and not against in eating with . And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there. And built an unto : the same was the first that he built unto . And said, Let us go down after the by night, and spoil them until the morning , and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither unto . And asked of , Shall I go down after the ? wilt thou them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day. And said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this hath been this day. For, as liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in my son, he shall surely . But there was not a man among all the people that answered him. Then said he unto all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and my son will be on the other side. And the people said unto , Do what seemeth good unto thee. Therefore said unto of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And and were taken: but the people escaped. 42And said, Cast lots between me and my son. And was taken. Then said to , Tell me what thou hast done. And told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the that was in mine hand, and, lo, I must . And answered, do so and more also: for thou shalt surely , . And the people said unto , Shall , who hath wrought this great in Israel? forbid: as liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with this day. So the people rescued , that he not. 46Then went up from following the : and the went to their own place. So took over Israel, and fought against all his on every side, against , and against , and against , and against the kings of , and against the : and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed them. And he gathered an host, and smote , and Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them. Now the sons of were , and Ishui, and Melchi–shua: and the names of his two daughters were these; the name of , and the name of the younger : And the name of ’s wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz: and the name of the captain of his host was , the son of , ’s uncle. And was of ; and of was the son of . And there was sore war against the all the days of : and when saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
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.