Bible Strands
1 Samuel 14:19
While Saul was talking to the priest, the commotion in the Philistine camp continued to increase. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Saul speaks to the priest while the Philistine camp's commotion intensifies. He commands the priest to halt his ritual actions as the battlefield situation shifts.
The words — דִּבֶּ֤ר (di.Ber) = he spoke and הָמ֗וֹן (ha.Mon) = tumult mark the ongoing dialogue and the escalating military unrest. These terms anchor the verse's focus on the priest's interrupted ritual amid shifting battlefield conditions.
The thread — The interrupted priestly consultation parallels the ritual inquiry in Numbers 27:21 and contrasts with the unconsulted oath in 1 Samuel 14:24. It also echoes the warning in Joshua 9:14 regarding the danger of acting without seeking divine counsel.
Why it lands — The text records a commander halting a religious act because external circumstances have changed. It requires the reader to recognize that ritual procedure must yield to immediate divine or tactical direction.
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 it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand.
Cross-references
- Numbers 27:21 He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will go out and come in.”
- 1 Samuel 14:24 Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted any food.
- Joshua 9:14 Then the men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not seek the counsel of the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 13:11 “What have you done?” Samuel asked. And Saul replied, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me, and that you did not come at the appointed time and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash,
- Psalms 106:13 Yet they soon forgot His works and failed to wait for His counsel.
- Isaiah 28:16 So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.