UTN uW Translation Notes:

1 Samuel 11 Chapter Introduction

Structure and Formatting

This chapter continues the story of King Saul by telling how Yahweh inspired him to lead the Israelites to a first victory in war.

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Why did Nahash agree to let the people of Jabesh Gilead send out messengers?

In 11:3, the people of the city of Jabesh Gilead, which the Ammonite king Nahash has surrounded with his army, ask him to give them a week to send for help. Nahash agrees. A military commander would not ordinarily allow messengers to leave a besieged city in order to seek help. But as far as Nahash knows, the Israelites are still a loose confederation of tribes, and since the city is on the opposite side of the Jordan from where most of them live, he believes that no one will come to help Jabesh Gilead. He expects that he will therefore be able to put out the right eyes of its citizens “as a disgrace against all of Israel.” He does not realize that Israel now has a king whom Yahweh will motivate to lead an army that will rescue the city.

Where was Bezek?

The author says in 11:8 that Saul gathered his army near the city of Bezek. This city was within the territory of the tribe of Issachar. It was in the plain of Jezreel, which was a large open area in which the great army that responded to Saul’s summons to war could gather and organize. As the narrative shows, the army was able to march to Jabesh Gilead in less than a day from there. They marched all night and made a surprise attack on the Ammonite camp before dawn.

Why does the author give a separate total of the soldiers who came from the tribe of Judah?

In 11:8, the author lists separately how many soldiers joined Saul’s army from the tribe of Judah and from all the other Israelite tribes. While interpreters have different ideas about why he does this, one likely explanation is that he is describing the main army, which came from the other tribes, and its vanguard, the soldiers who led the army into battle and attacked first. Judges 1:2 and 20:18 show that the soldiers of Judah customarily were the vanguard of the Israelite army. The author may also list the soldiers from Judah separately in order to show that while the people of this tribe needed to maintain a constant defense against the Philistines, whose territory they bordered, they nevertheless sent a significant number of their soldiers to help rescue the people of Jabesh Gilead, in loyalty to Yahweh and his anointed king. The author may be emphasizing that while the people of Judah acclaimed David as their king after Saul died, rather than Saul’s son and heir, they had been loyal to Saul at the start.

Why did the people of Jabesh Gilead tell Nahash that they were going to surrender?

In 11:10, after learning that the other Israelites would come and rescue them the next day, the people of Jabesh Gilead tell Nahash that they will surrender to him that next day. This seems to be an instance of the use of deception in warfare. Thinking that the people were surrendering because they had learned that no one was going to come and help them, Nahash and his soldiers would have been complacent and off their guard when the Israelite army did come and attack them.

Translation Issues in This Chapter

“Cut a covenant”

In 11:1, the people of Jabesh Gilead say to the Ammonite king Nahash, “Cut a covenant with us, and we will serve you.” The phrase “cut a covenant” means “make a covenant.” The word “cut” is used because in some covenant ceremonies, the participants would cut up animals and then walk between the pieces. This was to indicate, “If I break this covenant, may I be destroyed in this same way.” It is not necessary to understand this background to covenant ceremonies in order to understand the action in this chapter, so you do not have to use the term “cut” in your translation. You could simply say “make,” or you could use an expression from your own language and culture.