1 Samuel 13:5-7
Contemporary English Version
5 The Philistines called their army together to fight Israel. They had 3,000[a] chariots, 6,000 cavalry, and as many foot soldiers as there are grains of sand on the beach. They went to Michmash and set up camp there east of Beth-Aven.[b]
6 The Israelite army realized that they were outnumbered and were going to lose the battle. Some of the Israelite men hid in caves or in clumps of bushes,[c] and some ran to places where they could hide among large rocks. Others hid in tombs[d] or in deep dry pits. 7 Still others[e] went to Gad and Gilead on the other side of the Jordan River.
Saul stayed at Gilgal. His soldiers were shaking with fear,
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 13.5 3,000: Some ancient translations; Hebrew “30,000.”
- 13.5 Beth-Aven: This Beth-Aven was probably located about one and a half kilometers southwest of Michmash, between Michmash and Geba.
- 13.6 in … bushes: Or “in cracks in the rocks.”
- 13.6 tombs: The Hebrew word may mean a room cut into solid rock and used as a burial place, or it may mean a cellar.
- 13.7 Still others: This translates a Hebrew word which may be used of wandering groups of people who sometimes became outlaws or hired soldiers (see also 14.21).
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