The First Book of Samuel

⭑ Catholic Public Domain :: Allioli - Arndt Bibel ⭑

- Kapitel 13 -

When he began to reign, Saul was the son of(a) one year, and he reigned over Israel for two years.(b)

(c)

And Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. And two thousand were with Saul at Michmash and at mount Bethel. Then one thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah of Benjamin. But the remainder of the people, he sent back, each one to his own tent.

And Jonathan struck the garrison of the Philistines, which was in Gibeah.(d) And when the Philistines had heard about it, Saul sounded the trumpet over all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews listen.”

And all of Israel heard this report, that Saul had struck the garrison of the Philistines. And Israel raised himself up against the Philistines. Then the people cried out to Saul at Gilgal.(e)

And the Philistines gathered to do battle against Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and the remainder of the common people, who were very many, like the sand that is on the shore of the sea. And ascending, they encamped at Michmash, toward the east of Bethaven.

And when the men of Israel had seen themselves to be in a narrowed position, they hid themselves in caves, and in out of the way places, and in rocks, and in hollows, and in pits (for the people were distressed).

Then some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan, into the land of Gad and Gilead. And while Saul was still at Gilgal, the entire people who followed him were terrified.

Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice

But he waited for seven days, in accord with what was agreed with Samuel. But Samuel did not arrive at Gilgal, for the people were scattering away from him.

Therefore, Saul said, “Bring me the holocaust and the peace offerings.” And he offered the holocaust.

And when he had completed the offering of the holocaust, behold, Samuel arrived. And Saul went out to meet him, so that he might greet him.

And Samuel said to him, “What have you done?” Saul responded: “Since I saw that the people were scattering away from me, and you had not arrived after the agreed upon days, and yet the Philistines had gathered together at Michmash,

I said: ‘Now the Philistines will descend to me at Gilgal. And I have not appeased the face of the Lord.’ Compelled by necessity, I offered the holocaust.

And Samuel said to Saul: “You have acted foolishly. You have not kept the commandments of the Lord your God, which he instructed to you. And if you had not acted in this way, the Lord would, here and now, have prepared your kingdom over Israel forever.(f)

But by no means shall your kingdom rise up any more. The Lord has sought for himself a man according to his own heart. And him the Lord has instructed to be the leader over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord has instructed.”

Then Samuel rose up and ascended from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And the remainder of the people ascended after Saul, to meet the people who were fighting against them, going from Gilgal into Gibeah, to the hill of Benjamin. And Saul took a census of the people, who had been found to be with him, about six hundred men.

Israel without Weapons

And Saul, and his son Jonathan, and the people who had been found to be with them, were at Gibeah of Benjamin. But the Philistines had settled in at Michmash.

And three companies went out from the camp of the Philistines, in order to plunder. One company was traveling toward the way of Ophrah, to the land of Shual.

Then another entered along the way of Beth-horon. But the third turned itself to the way of the border, overhanging the valley of Zeboim, opposite the desert.

Now there was no worker of iron to be found in all the land of Israel. For the Philistines had been cautious, lest perhaps the Hebrews might make swords or spears.

Therefore, all of Israel descended to the Philistines, so that each man could sharpen his plowshare, or pick axe, or hatchet, or hoe.

For their plow blades, and pick axes, and pitch forks, and axes had become blunt, and even the handles needed to be repaired.

And when the day of battle had arrived, there was found neither sword nor spear in the hand of the entire people who were with Saul and Jonathan, except for Saul and his son Jonathan.

Then the army of the Philistines went out in order to go across Michmash.

Fußnoten

(a)13:1 son ofUsually, when the age of a person in the Old Testament is stated, the expression ‘son of …’ is not used. Instead, the age is simply stated plainly. The use of ‘son of …’ indicates a figure of speech, not a statement of the number of years from birth. The expression “son of …” is a common idiomatic expression in Hebrew. Examples: son of death, a dead body; son of perdition, one who is lost; sons of adulterers, these ‘sons’ are not the children of persons who have committed adultery, but rather it is the sons themselves who have committed adultery, behaving as if they are sons of adultery personified.(Conte)

(b)13:1 reigned ... two yearsSaul was appointed king by the people one year after he was anointed king by Samuel, that is, one year after the Spirit of the Lord came to him, so that he became a new man with a new heart, as explained in chapter ten. That is why Sacred Scripture says figuratively that Saul was the son of one year when his reign began. Then Saul reigned for two years after being appointed king by the people. The foolish claim that the correct numbers have been dropped from the text must be false. God’s providence does not permit even the least truth to drop out of Sacred Scripture, nor to become corrupted, nor the least falsehood to enter into Sacred Scripture. Also, from a human point of view, the Jewish scholars gave great weight to numbers and to their figurative meaning. This is reflected in numerous passages where numbers are used symbolically, and this continued even into the New Testament. For example, the 144,000 in the Book of Revelation is a symbolic number. So the Rabbis would not have lost two numbers, from one verse, pertaining to the first king of Israel. It could not have been lost from the written text, not only because of their scrupulosity, but also because the numbers would have been passed on verbally, in their instruction to each generation. Therefore, these numbers are correct.(Conte)

(c)13:1 Of one year:That is, he was good and like an innocent child, and for two years continued in that innocency.(Challoner)

(d)13:3 So the war occurred three years after Samuel anointed him, but two years after he was appointed king.(Conte)

(e)13:4 Although it was actually Jonathan who struck the garrison of the Philistines, Saul is said to have been the author of the attack since Jonathan was acting under the direction of Saul.(Conte)

(f)13:13 Saul committed a sacrilege. Saul was not a priest, and therefore he should not have offered the sacrifice. Samuel was the priest; Saul was not.(Conte)

Sauls unrechtmäßiges Opfer

Ein Jahr war es, seitdem Saul König geworden, und er herrschte das zweite Jahr über Israel,

da erwählte sich Saul dreitausend Mann aus Israel; zweitausend davon waren bei Saul in Machmas und auf dem Berge Bethel, und tausend bei Jonathas in Gabaa Benjamin; das übrige Volk aber ließ er einen jeden in seine Hütte zurückkehren.

Da schlug Jonathas die Besatzung der Philister, welche in Gabaa stand. Als dies die Philister hörten, ließ Saul im ganzen Lande die Posaune blasen und sagen: Die Hebräer mögen hören!

Und ganz Israel hörte eine solche Kunde: Saul hat die Besatzung der Philister geschlagen, und Israel hat sich gegen die Philister erhoben. Darum rief das Volk Saul zu in Galgala.

Die Philister aber sammelten sich zum Kampfe gegen Israel, dreißigtausend Wagen und sechstausend Reiter stark, und das übrige Kriegsvolk, so zahlreich wie der Sand am Ufer des Meeres. Und sie zogen heran und lagerten sich in Machmas im Osten von Bethaven.

Als nun die Männer von Israel sahen, dass sie in die Enge gebracht seien (denn das Volk war bedrängt), verbargen sie sich in Klüften und Verstecken, in Felsen und Höhlen und Zisternen.

Die Hebräer aber zogen über den Jordan in das Land Gad und Galaad. Als Saul nun noch in Galgala war, geriet das ganze Volk, welches ihm folgte, in Schrecken.

Und er wartete nach Samuels Anordnung sieben Tage; aber Samuel kam nicht nach Galgala, und das Volk verlief sich von ihm.

Deshalb sprach Saul: Bringet mir das Brandopfer und die Friedopfer her! Und er brachte das Brandopfer dar.

Als er nun die Darbringung des Brandopfers vollendet hatte, siehe, da kam Samuel; und Saul ging ihm entgegen, um ihn zu begrüßen.

Samuel aber sprach zu ihm: Was hast du getan? Saul antwortete: Weil ich sah, dass das Volk sich von mir verlief und du an den bestimmten Tagen nicht gekommen warst, die Philister sich zudem in Machmas versammelt hatten,

sprach ich: Nun werden die Philister gegen mich nach Galgala herabziehen, und ich habe das Angesicht des Herrn noch nicht versöhnt. Durch die Not gedrungen, habe ich das Brandopfer dargebracht.

Da sprach Samuel zu Saul: Du hast töricht gehandelt und die Gebote des Herrn, deines Gottes, die er dir gegeben, nicht gehalten. Hättest du das nicht getan, so hättet der Herr dein Königtum über Israel jetzt schon auf immer bestätigt.

So aber wird dein Königtum fürderhin nicht Bestand haben. Der Herr hat sich einen Mann nach seinem Herzen gesucht, und der Herr hat ihm geboten, Fürst zu sein über sein Volk, weil du nicht gehalten hast, was der Herr geboten hatte.

Und Samuel machte sich auf und ging von Galgala nach Gabaa Benjamin hinauf. Das übrige Volk aber zog hinauf, Saul nach, dem Kriegsvolke entgegen, welches gegen sie auf dem Hügel Benjamin anrückte, da sie von Galgala nach Gabaa zogen. Und Saul musterte das Volk, das sich bei ihm fand, etwa sechshundert Mann.

Keine Waffen für die Armee

Saul und sein Sohn Jonathas, und das Volk, das sich bei ihnen befand, waren zu Gabaa Benjamin: die Philister aber hatten sich in Machmas gelagert.

Da zogen aus dem Lager der Philister drei Haufen auf Plünderung aus; ein Hause zog auf dem Wege nach Ephra nach dem Lande Sual;

der zweite schlug den Weg nach Bethhoron ein; der dritte aber wandte sich auf die Straße nach der Grenze, die sich an das Tal Seboim nach der Wüste zu ausdehnt.

Es war aber im ganzen Lande Israel kein Schmied zu finden; denn die Philister hatten es verhindert, dass die Hebräer sich Schwerter oder Lanzen machten.

Darum ging ganz Israel zu den Philistern hinab, wenn jemand seine Pflugschar, seine Hacke, sein Beil, oder seinen Spaten schärfen lassen wollte.

Die Schneiden der Pflugscharen, der Haken, Gabeln und Beile waren deshalb stumpf, und auch die Ochsenstacheln bedurften der Zuspitzung.

Als nun der Tag des Kampfes kam, war kein Schwert und keine Lanze in der Hand des ganzen Volkes zu finden, das mit Saul und Jonathas war, ausgenommen in der Hand Sauls und Jonathas, seines Sohnes.

Die Besatzung der Philister aber rückte vor, um nach Machmas hinüberzuziehen.