Bible Strands
1 Samuel 14:15
Then panic struck the Philistines in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even those in the outposts and raiding parties trembled. Indeed, the earth quaked, and panic spread from God.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records the immediate aftermath of Jonathan’s initial strike, when the Philistine forces are suddenly overwhelmed and begin to collapse. This occurs at the precise moment Saul’s watchmen observe the enemy ranks breaking and scattering in every direction.
The words — חֲרָדָה (cha.ra.Dah) denotes the sudden trembling or panic that seizes the camp, field, and garrison. The verb וַ/תְּהִי (va./te.Hi) frames this terror as a sudden, initiated event rather than a natural occurrence.
The thread — This pattern of divine terror scattering enemies appears in Genesis 35:5, where a terror from God halts pursuit, and in Exodus 19:18, where God’s descent triggers an earthquake and smoke. The narrative consistently links military collapse directly to Yahweh’s intervention.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to attribute the enemy’s disintegration to divine action rather than Jonathan’s tactical success. It demands acknowledgment that shifts in power originate from God, not 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
King James Version
And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 13:17 And raiders went out of the Philistine camp in three divisions. One headed toward Ophrah in the land of Shual,
- Genesis 35:5 As they set out, a terror from God fell over the surrounding cities, so that they did not pursue Jacob’s sons.
- Exodus 19:18 Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.
- 2 Samuel 5:24 As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because this will mean that the LORD has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”
- 2 Kings 7:6 For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us.”
- Leviticus 26:36 As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them.
- Joshua 2:9 and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of you.
- Judges 7:21 Each Israelite took his position around the camp, and the entire Midianite army fled, crying out as they ran.
- 1 Samuel 13:23 And a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Michmash.
- Job 18:11 Terrors frighten him on every side and harass his every step.