Bible Strands
1 Samuel 13:2
He chose for himself three thousand men of Israel: Two thousand were with Saul at Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. And the rest of the troops he sent away, each to his own home.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator describes Saul’s immediate military reorganization following his coronation, detailing how he divides the army into two active detachments before the Philistine threat mobilizes.
The words — וַ/יִּבְחַר (va/i.yiv.char-) means “and he chose,” and שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת אֲלָפִים (she.Lo.shet 'a.la.Fim) translates as “three thousand,” recording the exact number of combatants Saul personally selected.
The thread — This deployment mirrors the men of valor who followed Saul to Gibeah in 1 Samuel 10:26, establishes the standing force against the Philistine army detailed in 1 Samuel 13:5, and explains the dispersed troops who later return to their homes after the engagement at Michmash in 1 Samuel 14:31.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to note the precise administrative act of concentrating two thousand fighters with Saul and one thousand with Jonathan while sending the remainder home, grounding the subsequent battle in a specific logistical reality.
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
Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Beth–el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 10:26 Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, and the men of valor whose hearts God had touched went with him.
- 1 Samuel 13:5 Now the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel with three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.
- 1 Samuel 14:31 That day, after the Israelites had struck down the Philistines from Michmash to Aijalon, the people were very faint.
- 1 Samuel 13:23 And a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Michmash.
- Joshua 18:28 Zelah, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim—fourteen cities, along with their villages. This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.
- Judges 19:12 But his master replied, “We will not turn aside to the city of foreigners, where there are no Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah.”
- 1 Samuel 8:11 He said, “This will be the manner of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them to serve his own chariots and horses, and to run in front of his chariots.
- 1 Samuel 14:5 One cliff stood to the north toward Michmash, and the other to the south toward Geba.
- 1 Samuel 14:52 And the war with the Philistines was fierce for all the days of Saul. So whenever he noticed any strong or brave man, Saul would enlist him.
- 1 Samuel 15:34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul.