Bible Strands
1 Samuel 14:47
After Saul had assumed the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side—the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he routed them.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Saul’s military campaigns immediately after his accession to the throne over Israel. This summary of his early reign is placed between his withdrawal from the Philistine pursuit and his subsequent strike against the Amalekites.
The words — לָכַד (la.Khad) translates literally as "he had taken," paired with הַמְּלוּכָה (ha./me.lu.Khah) meaning "the kingship," marking the formal assumption of royal authority. וַיִּלָּחֶם (va/i.yi.La.chem) means "and he waged war," emphasizing the active, defensive nature of his campaigns.
The thread — This pattern of border warfare against Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, and Philistines reappears in 1 Samuel 14:52 and connects to the earlier Ammonite siege at Jabesh-gilead in 1 Samuel 11:1. The sustained conflict with neighboring kingdoms continues into 2 Samuel 10:6 and 1 Samuel 14:46.
Why it lands — The text establishes that Saul’s early reign was defined by continuous warfare to secure Israel’s borders. It requires the reader to note that royal authority was immediately exercised through military action against surrounding nations.
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
So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed them.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 10:6 When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zoba, as well as a thousand men from the king of Maacah and twelve thousand men from Tob.
- 1 Samuel 14:52 And the war with the Philistines was fierce for all the days of Saul. So whenever he noticed any strong or brave man, Saul would enlist him.
- 1 Samuel 11:1 Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”
- 1 Samuel 12:2 Now here is the king walking before you, and I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day.
- 1 Samuel 13:1 Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years.
- 2 Samuel 8:3 David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who had marched out to restore his dominion along the Euphrates River.
- 1 Kings 11:23 And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah,
- 2 Kings 14:27 and since the LORD had said that He would not blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash.