1 THEN Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.
2 And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel.
3 And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, Give us seven days’ respite, that we may send messengers unto all the coasts of Israel: and then, if there be no man to save us, we will come out to thee.
4 Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted up their voices, and wept.
5 And, behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh.
6 And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.
7 And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.
8 And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
9 And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabesh-gilead, To morrow, by that time the sun be hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and shewed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad.
10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, To morrow we will come out unto you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good unto you.
11 And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.
12 And the people said unto Samuel, Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put them to death.
13 And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to day the Lord hath wrought salvation in Israel.
14 Then said Samuel to the people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there.
15 And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal; and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

1Then Nahash the Ammonite came vp, and encamped against Iabesh Gilead: and all the men of Iabesh sayde vnto Nahash, Make a couenant with vs, and we will serue thee.

2And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a couenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproch vpon all Israel.

3And the Elders of Iabesh sayd vnto him, Giue vs seuen daies respite, that we may send messengers vnto all the coasts of Israel: and then, if there be no man to saue vs, we will come out to thee.

4 Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the eares of the people: and all the people lift vp their voyces, and wept.

5And behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field, and Saul sayd, What aileth the people that they weep? and they told him the tidings of the men of Iabesh.

6And the Spirit of God came vpon Saul, when he heard those tydings, and his anger was kindled greatly.

7And he tooke a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoeuer commeth not foorth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it bee done vnto his oxen: and the feare of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.

8And when he numbred them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Iudah thirty thousand.

9And they said vnto the messengers that came, Thus shall yee say vnto the men of Iabesh Gilead, To morrow by that time the sunne be hote, ye shal haue helpe. And the messengers came, and shewed it to the men of Iabesh, and they were glad.

10Therfore the men of Iabesh said, To morrow wee will come out vnto you, and ye shall doe with vs all that seemeth good vnto you.

11And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three cōpanies, and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slewe the Ammonites, vntill the heat of the day: and it came to passe, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.

12 And the people said vnto Samuel, Who is he that said, Shall Saul reigne ouer vs? bring the men, that we may put them to death.

13And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to day the Lord hath wrought saluation in Israel.

14Then said Samuel to the people, Come, and let vs goe to Gilgal, and renew the kingdome there.

15And all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul King before the Lord in Gilgal: and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord: and there Saul and all the men of Israel reioyced greatly.

I == Gen 26:28 ; Ex 23:32 ; Judg 21:8 ; 1st Sam 12:12 ; 1st Kings 20:34 ; Job 41:4 ; Ezek 17:13

II == Gen 34:14 ; 1st Sam 17:26

 

 

 

 

 

IV == Judg 2:4 ; 21:2 ; 1st Sam 10:26 ; 15:34 ; 2nd Sam 21:6

 

 

 

 

VI == Judg 3:10 ; 6:34 ; 11:29 ; 13:25 ; 14:6 ; 1st Sam 10:10 ; 16:13

VII == Judg 19:29 ' 20:1 ; 21:5 , 8 , 10

 

 

 

VIII == Judg 1:5 ; 2nd Sam 24:9

 

 

 

 

 

 

X == 1st Sam 11:3

 

 

XI == Judg 7:16 ; 1st Sam 31:11

 

 

 

 

XII == 1st Sam 10:27 ; Luke 19:27

 

XIII == Ex 14:13 , 30 ; 1st Sam 19:5 ; 2nd Sam 19:22

 

XIV == 1st Sam 10:8

XV == 1st Sam 10:8 , 17

1 About a month later, Nahash the Ammonite went up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh begged Nahash, "Make a treaty with us, and we will be your subjects."

2 But Nahash the Ammonite replied, "This is my condition for a treaty with you: I must gouge out every man's right eye, that I may thus bring ignominy on all Israel."

3 The elders of Jabesh said to him: "Give us seven days to send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. If no one rescues us, we will surrender to you."

4 When the messengers arrived at Gibeah of Saul, they related the news to the people, all of whom wept aloud.

5 Just then Saul came in from the field, behind his oxen. "Why are the people weeping?" he asked. The message of the inhabitants of Jabesh was repeated to him.

6 As he listened to this report, the spirit of God rushed upon him and he became very angry.

7 Taking a yoke of oxen, he cut them into pieces, which he sent throughout the territory of Israel by couriers with the message, "If anyone does not come out to follow Saul (and Samuel), the same as this will be done to his oxen!" In dread of the LORD, the people turned out to a man.

8 When he reviewed them in Bezek, there were three hundred thousand Israelites and seventy thousand Judahites.

9 To the messengers who had come he said, "Tell the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead that tomorrow, while the sun is hot, they will be rescued." The messengers came and reported this to the inhabitants of Jabesh, who were jubilant,

10 and said to Nahash, "Tomorrow we will surrender to you, and you may do whatever you please with us."

11 On the appointed day, Saul arranged his troops in three companies and invaded the camp during the dawn watch. They slaughtered Ammonites until the heat of the day; by then the survivors were so scattered that no two were left together.

12 The people then said to Samuel: "Who questioned whether Saul should rule over us? Hand over the men and we will put them to death."

13 But Saul broke in to say, "No man is to be put to death this day, for today the LORD has saved Israel."

14 Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal to inaugurate the kingdom there."

15 So all the people went to Gilgal, where, in the presence of the LORD, they made Saul king. They also sacrificed peace offerings there before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites celebrated the occasion with great joy.

v 1-3. The Ammonites encamped for war against Jabesh-Gilead and would accept peace with them only on the condition that they could put out the right eye of everyone. This would be an insult and  a reproach to all of Israel. Jabesh-Gilead asked for seven days respite and called for help from all over Israel. Nahash of Ammon knew Saul didn’t even have an army, so he agreed, certain that this would save him a long and costly siege. (We don’t know where Saul was born, but his home was in Gibeah. We see he assisted the people of Jabesh-gilead here. They came and buried the bones of Saul and his sons after his last battle. David in turn blessed them for what they had done, 2 Sam., 2:6, for Saul and encouraged them to follow him, but Abner persuaded them not to.)

v 4-7. Saul had not taken on any kingly responsibilities and was in the field when the message came. When he found all the people weeping, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he rose up in righteous indignation. Slaughtering a yoke of oxen, he sent their pieces throughout Israel as the Levite did with his concubine, Judges 19:29, with the warning that the same would be done to anyone who did not come after Saul and Samuel. Notice Saul’s reliance on the Lord at this point, and how the fear of the Lord came upon the people.

v 8-11. After assembling 330,000 soldiers at Bezek, 12 miles west of Jabesh-Gilead, he sent word of his help. The men of the city falsely reported to Nahash that they would come out at noon to submit. Meanwhile, Saul marched his men all night and staged an early morning surprise attack. He had no military experience, but was responsive to God’s leading and surrounded the enemy with three companies. It was a total rout and slaughter, and by the heat of the day, the Ammonites didn’t have two men together in flight.

v 12,13. Now Saul was a national hero, and there was a cry to have the ones who had originally opposed Saul put to death. Saul rejected their request and gave the glory to the Lord.

v 14, 15. Samuel called the people to Gilgal to reaffirm Saul as king, and probably anointing him as the leader of a united Israel. They all sacrificed and rejoiced.