Bible Strands
1 Samuel 14:22
When all the Israelites who had been hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they also joined the battle in close pursuit.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports that concealed Israelite troops in the hill country of Ephraim mobilized to join Saul and Jonathan’s pursuit after learning of the Philistines’ retreat. (1 Samuel 14:22)
The words — הַמִּתְחַבְּאִים (ha-mithchavv'im) identifies the men who had previously concealed themselves, while שָׁמְעוּ (sha-mə-ʿû) records their hearing of the enemy’s flight.
The thread — These concealed fighters connect to 1 Samuel 13:6, where men hid in caves and thickets under military pressure, and contrast with 1 Samuel 31:7, which describes Israelites fleeing and abandoning their cities rather than hiding.
Why it lands — The passage documents a tactical consolidation of scattered forces into active pursuit, requiring the reader to track how hidden troops transition from concealment to engagement upon hearing of enemy collapse.
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
Likewise all the men of Israel which had hid themselves in mount Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 13:6 Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.
- 1 Samuel 31:7 When the Israelites along the valley and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that the army of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their cities and ran away. So the Philistines came and occupied their cities.