1 Samuel 13:22

So on the day of battle not a sword or spear could be found in the hands of the troops with Saul and Jonathan; only Saul and his son Jonathan had weapons.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator describes the Israelite forces and Saul’s household on the day of battle against the Philistine garrison at Michmash.

The words — מִלְחֶ֔מֶת (mil.Che.met) denotes the battle, while נִמְצָ֜א (nim.Tza') states that weapons were not found among the troops.

The thread — This weapon shortage echoes Judges 5:8, where no shield or spear was found among Israel’s forces, and points forward to 1 Samuel 17:47 and 17:50, where David defeats Goliath without conventional arms.

Why it lands — The text records a tactical reality that forces the reader to observe how military weakness precedes divine action rather than human strategy.

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

וְהָיָה֙ve./ha.Yahand/ it was בְּי֣וֹםbe./Yomon/ a day of מִלְחֶ֔מֶתmil.Che.metbattle וְלֹ֨אve./Lo'and/ not נִמְצָ֜אnim.Tza'it was found חֶ֤רֶבChe.reva sword וַחֲנִית֙va./cha.Nitand/ a spear בְּיַ֣דbe./Yadin/ [the] hand of כָּל־kol-any of הָעָ֔םha./'Amthe/ people אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhich אֶת־'et-[was] with שָׁא֖וּלsha.'UlSaul וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ with יוֹנָתָ֑ןyo.na.TanJonathan וַתִּמָּצֵ֣אva./ti.ma.Tze'and/ it was found לְשָׁא֔וּלle./sha.'Ulto/ Saul וּלְיוֹנָתָ֖ןu./le./yo.na.Tanand/ to/ Jonathan בְּנֽוֹ׃be.N/oson/ his

King James Version

So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.

Cross-references

Judges 5:8 When they chose new gods, then war came to their gates. Not a shield or spear was found among forty thousand in Israel.
1 Samuel 17:47 And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”
1 Samuel 17:50 Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
Zechariah 4:6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.
1 Corinthians 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
2 Corinthians 4:7 Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.

People named

SaulJonathan