1 Samuel 13:4-6
Contemporary English Version
4 The messengers then said to the people of Israel, “Saul has destroyed the Philistine army camp at Geba.[a] Now the Philistines really hate Israel, so every town and village must send men to join Saul's army at Gilgal.”
5 The Philistines called their army together to fight Israel. They had 3,000[b] 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.[c]
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,[d] and some ran to places where they could hide among large rocks. Others hid in tombs[e] or in deep dry pits.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 13.4 destroyed … Geba: Or “killed the Philistine military governor who lived at Geba.”
- 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.
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