Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator recounts the immediate aftermath of the battle at Mount Gilboa to the reader, directly following the deaths of Saul and his sons.
The words — וַ/יִּרְא֣וּ (va/i.yir.'U) means "and they saw," and בְּ/עֵ֨בֶר (be./'E.ver) denotes "on the other side of."
The thread — This sequence of flight and territorial loss mirrors the covenant curses outlined in Leviticus 26:32, Leviticus 26:36, and Deuteronomy 28:33.
Why it lands — The verse states that observing total military collapse triggers mass abandonment, which mechanically allows the Philistines to take control of the cities.
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 when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were on the other side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 26:32 And I will lay waste the land, so that your enemies who dwell in it will be appalled.
- Leviticus 26:36 As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them.
- Deuteronomy 28:33 A people you do not know will eat the produce of your land and of all your toil. All your days you will be oppressed and crushed.
- Judges 6:2 and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds.
- 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.