1 Samuel 11 (Listen)
Saul Defeats the Ammonites
11:1 Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” 2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus bring disgrace on all Israel.” 3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days’ respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.” 4 When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, and all the people wept aloud.
5 Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, “What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh. 6 And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. 7 He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the LORD fell upon the people, and they came out as one man. 8 When he mustered them at Bezek, the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have salvation.’” When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” 11 And the next day Saul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
The Kingdom Is Renewed
12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” 13 But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has worked salvation in Israel.” 14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the LORD, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
(ESV)
1 Samuel 11 Commentary
In 1 Samuel 11, Nahash the Ammonite besieged Jabesh-gilead. The men of Jabesh sought a treaty, and Nahash agreed as long as he was permitted to gouge out the right eye of every man in the city (1 Samuel 11:1-2). The elders of Jabesh requested seven days to find a deliverer, sending messengers throughout Israel. When the people of Gibeah heard the terms, they wept (1 Samuel 11:3-4).
Saul, returning from the field, asked what had happened. Upon hearing the news, the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him and he burned with anger (1 Samuel 11:5-6). He cut oxen into pieces and sent them throughout Israel, warning that the same would be done to anyone’s oxen who refused to follow him and Samuel. The fear of the Lord united the people, and 330,000 men gathered at Bezek (1 Samuel 11:7-8).
Saul sent word to Jabesh-gilead that deliverance would come by midday. Encouraged, the men of Jabesh told Nahash they would surrender the next day (1 Samuel 11:9-10). At dawn, Saul divided his troops into three divisions and launched a surprise attack, slaughtering the Ammonites until midday and scattering the survivors (1 Samuel 11:11).
After the victory, the people wanted to execute those who had previously opposed Saul’s kingship, but Saul refused, declaring that the Lord had provided deliverance that day (1 Samuel 11:12-13). Samuel then led the people to Gilgal, where they renewed Saul’s kingship, offered sacrifices, and rejoiced greatly before the Lord (1 Samuel 11:14-15).
An Additional Detail
There is an additional passage to this narrative that does not appear in the Masoretic Text (The Hebrew Bible) or the Septuagint (LXX). This passage appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QSama) and gives more insight into the possible backstory of Nahash the Ammonite.
Here is the passage: “Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead.
Scholars debate whether this passage was originally part of 1 Samuel but was accidentally lost from the MT or if it was added later.
In short, this passage from the Dead Sea Scrolls provides extra historical context about Nahash’s previous attacks but is missing from most ancient versions of the Bible, leading to debate over whether it was an original part of the story or a later addition.
Source Material
4QSama (Dead Sea Scrolls) – This is the earliest physical copy of the Hebrew manuscript of 1 Samuel found among the Dead Sea Scrolls (dated ~100 BC). It contains variations from both the MT and LXX, sometimes preserving older readings that may have been lost or changed in later copies.
Septuagint (LXX) – This is the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, made around 250–100 BC for Greek-speaking Jews. It sometimes has differences from the MT because it was translated from older Hebrew manuscripts that no longer exist.
Masoretic Text (MT) – This is the Hebrew text that most modern Old Testaments are based on. It was carefully preserved by Jewish scribes (the Masoretes) between 500–1000 AD, though it comes from much older traditions.
Nahash The Serpent
The Hebrew name Nahash means “snake” or “serpent.” If the 4QSama text is accurate, it provides additional context for 1 Samuel 11, showing that Nahash was already oppressing the Israelites before this encounter at Jabesh-gilead. Odd to our modern context, he had a thing for right eyes. According to the 4QSama text, he already had quite a collection of them. The additional context would explain why the men of Jabesh-gilead were so desperate for a treaty. They had already seen Nahash’s brutality with their fellow Israelites.
What was the purpose in gouging out the right eyes of these men? It was both strategic and symbolic. First, it would weaken their military strength. It was common for Near East soldiers to hold their shield in their left hand and aim their weapons with their right eye. Another reason given in the text is that it was meant to intimidate and shame Israel. Again, if the 4QSama text is true and Nahash had already done this to many Israelites east of the Jordan, this implies a long-term strategy of subjugating Israel through fear and physical oppression.
The Treaty
Jabesh-gilead was located in Transjordan (east of the Jordan River), which made it vulnerable to attacks from nearby groups, like the Ammonites. The Ammonites, under Nahash, took advantage of this vulnerability when they were looking to expand their territory.
When Nahash demanded to gouge out the right eyes of the people of Jabesh-gilead, the elders of the city tried to negotiate by offering to make a treaty with Nahash. This means they would agree to serve him in exchange for peace. In the Bible, the phrase “cut a covenant” is used to describe this agreement, which usually involved killing an animal as a symbol of the agreement, as was common in ancient times.
Even though Jabesh-gilead was able to negotiate with the Ammonites, this act of submission to them caused great distress among the rest of Israel (1 Samuel 11:4). The people of Israel, though not politically united yet, shared a common bond and felt the shame of the threat against one of their own cities. The Ammonites were not just attacking Jabesh-gilead; Nahash was sending a message that he could intimidate and conquer all of Israel. This is why the whole nation responded with weeping when they heard the news.
Saul’s Anger
Upon hearing the news, Saul was filled with anger and God’s spirit rushed upon him, similar to past events in the book of Judges. Saul cut up a yoke of oxen into pieces and sent them across the country as a “threat” to the Israelites. This was meant to call them to action. Essentially, this act was proclaiming a curse on anyone who refused to join the fight to help Jabesh-gilead. The message was clear: anyone who didn’t show up for battle would suffer a similar fate to the oxen.
Saul, although still seen as king-elect (and hated by some in Israel), stepped up with authority to lead Israel in battle. This was a defining moment in his transition from anointed leader to active king. Through God’s Spirit moving in Saul, Israel was inspired to gather and defeat the Ammonites.
The Strategy
The elders of Jabesh-gilead manage to delay answering Nahash long enough for Saul (and Samuel) to assemble the army.
“By indicating that they would submit peacefully to the will of Nahash and his army after sunrise the next day, the Jabeshites encouraged the Ammonites to drop their guard and celebrate with abandon during the night—exactly when vigilance was most needed.”
The New American Commentary
They use a strategy similar to Gideon (Judges 7). Saul divides his army into 3 groups and begins right at dawn. This is symbolic, because all throughout Scripture, dawn is seen as the time when the Lord will execute His victory. The strategy catches the Ammonites completely off guard and Israel is victorious.
Perspective
Following their victory, there are still rumblings regarding the kingship of Saul. Encouraged and emboldened by his Spirit-led leadership, the pro-Saul crowd suggests killing anyone who doesn’t support him as king. This would have been a huge mistake. Israel has just united around the moving of God’s Spirit, but his overly zealous supporters cannot help but see this as an opportunity to destroy their “enemies.”
This mentality of leveraging a victory to eliminate anyone who is in opposition plays out frequently in modern culture today. After significant national victories, some people seek to consolidate power by discrediting or even ostracizing those who don’t align with their viewpoint. This tendency can escalate into a dangerous “us vs. them” mentality, where anyone who disagrees is treated as an enemy, and the focus shifts from promoting unity and victory to seeking vengeance or retribution.
Incredibly, Saul doesn’t take the bait. He declares rightfully that the Lord, not he, is the true deliverer, and refrains from allowing a bloodbath of his political opponents. Unfortunately, in modern times, this wisdom is often ignored in favor of vengeance, both in secular society and even within the church! Instead of embracing humility, giving credit where it is due, and focusing on the positive, many leaders attempt to seize every opportunity to deepen those divides.
Saul had a lot of issues, but we must give credit where it is due. Here in 1 Samuel 11, he demonstrates exceptional leadership, and he tells us exactly why (1 Samuel 11:13). He was not operating in his flesh but in the Spirit of the Lord!
