Bible Strands
1 Samuel 11:8
And when Saul numbered them at Bezek, there were 300,000 Israelites and 30,000 men of Judah.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Saul stands at Bezek after the severed oxen have been scattered, conducting a headcount of the assembled Israelite forces before marching to relieve Jabesh-gilead.
The words — The narrative records the count with וַיִּפְקֹד (va.yi.fod), meaning "and he mustered," and specifies the location בְּבֶזֶק (be.Ve.zek), "at Bezek."
The thread — Military headcounts recur in Judges 20:2, which lists 400,000 troops gathering at Mizpah, and 2 Samuel 24:9, where Joab reports 800,000 warriors in Israel.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of how quickly a fragmented people can be unified under a single command structure when confronted by external threat.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
Cross-references
- Judges 1:4 When Judah attacked, the LORD delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.
- 2 Samuel 24:9 And Joab reported to the king the total number of the troops. In Israel there were 800,000 men of valor who drew the sword, and in Judah there were 500,000.
- Judges 20:2 The leaders of all the people and all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God’s people: 400,000 men on foot, armed with swords.
- 1 Samuel 13:15 Then Samuel set out from Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin. And Saul numbered the troops who were with him, about six hundred men.
- 1 Samuel 15:4 So Saul summoned the troops and numbered them at Telaim—200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah.
- 2 Chronicles 17:12 Jehoshaphat grew stronger and stronger, and he built fortresses and store cities in Judah