Bible Strands
1 Samuel 14:20
Then Saul and all his troops assembled and marched to the battle, and they found the Philistines in total confusion, with each man wielding the sword against his neighbor.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes Saul and his troops assembling and marching to the battle site after the Philistine camp erupts in panic. This occurs during the ongoing conflict, immediately following Jonathan’s raid and the divine disruption of the enemy ranks.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַ/יִּזָּעֵ֣ק (va/i.yi.za.'Ek) literally means "and he was called together," denoting the gathering of Saul’s forces. The verb וַ/יָּבֹ֖אוּ (va/i.ya.Vo.'u) literally means "and they went," marking their movement toward the confused enemy camp.
The thread — This theme of God turning an enemy army against itself appears in Judges 7:22 and 2 Chronicles 20:23. The immediate narrative thread continues in 1 Samuel 14:16, where Saul’s watchmen observe the troops scattering, and 1 Samuel 14:21, where previously allied Hebrews switch sides to join Saul.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to recognize that military success here depends on divine disruption rather than human strategy. It demands a sober assessment of how God’s intervention reverses battlefield dynamics and forces immediate realignment of loyalties.
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 Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.
Cross-references
- Judges 7:22 And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.
- 2 Chronicles 20:23 The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction. And when they had finished off the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
- 1 Samuel 14:16 Now when Saul’s watchmen at Gibeah in Benjamin looked and saw the troops melting away and scattering in every direction,
- Isaiah 9:19 By the wrath of the LORD of Hosts the land is scorched, and the people are fuel for the fire. No man even spares his brother.
- Isaiah 19:2 “So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.