Bible Strands
1 Samuel 28:20
Immediately Saul fell flat on the ground, terrified by the words of Samuel. And his strength was gone, because he had not eaten anything all that day and night.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Immediately after hearing Samuel’s prophecy of defeat and death, Saul receives the message delivered through the medium. The narrative places him in a moment of immediate collapse following the divine judgment.
The words — The text records וַ/יִּפֹּ֤ל (va/i.yi.Pol) as “and he fell” alongside מְלֹא־קֽוֹמָת/וֹ֙ (me.lo'-ko.ma.T/o) meaning “fullness of his stature,” describing Saul collapsing completely flat. It also notes וַ/יִּרָ֥א (va/i.yi.Ra') מְאֹ֖ד (me.'Od) as “and he was afraid exceedingly,” marking the immediate terror that precedes his physical depletion.
The thread — The pattern of terror following divine judgment echoes 1 Samuel 28:5, where Saul sees the Philistine army and trembles violently. The physical collapse mirrors 1 Samuel 25:37, where Nabal’s heart fails after his wife reports his impending loss, and the warning of a shortened lifespan for the ruthless aligns with Job 15:20.
Why it lands — The verse states that Saul’s strength vanished because he had not eaten for a full day and night, establishing a direct physical cause for his collapse. It asks a reader to recognize that prolonged fasting and acute fear can physically incapacitate even a king, without attributing the effect to supernatural punishment.
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
Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 25:37 In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him about these events, and his heart failed within him, and he became like a stone.
- 1 Samuel 28:5 When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid and trembled violently.
- Job 15:20 A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.
- Job 26:2 “How you have helped the powerless and saved the arm that is feeble!
- Psalms 50:21 You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you to your face.