Study Desk

Someone in the crowd answered, "Must prophets' fathers be special?" So it became an expression — "Is Sha'ul a prophet, too?"

But today you have rejected your God, who himself saves you from all your disasters and distress. You have said to him, ‘No! Put a king over us!' So now, present yourselves before Adonai by your tribes and families."

So Sh'mu'el had all the tribes come forward, and the tribe of Binyamin was chosen.

The next day Sha'ul divided the people into three companies. Then they entered the camp of the ‘Amoni during the morning watch and kept attacking until the heat of the day, until those who remained were so scattered that no two of them were left together.

The people said to Sh'mu'el, "Who are the men who said, ‘Is Sha'ul to rule over us?' Hand them over to us, so we can put them to death."

So all the people went to Gilgal; and there in Gilgal, before Adonai , they made Sha'ul king. They presented sacrifices as peace offerings before Adonai there, and there Sha'ul and all the people of Isra'el celebrated with great joy.

So here I am; now is the time to witness against me before Adonai and before his anointed king. Does any of you think I have taken your ox or donkey, defrauded or oppressed you, or accepted a bribe to deprive you of justice? Tell me, and I will restore it to you."

But they forgot Adonai their God; so he handed them over to Sisra, commander of the army of Hatzor, and to the P'lishtim, and to the king of Mo'av; and they fought against them.

So Adonai sent Yeruba‘al, B'dan, Yiftach and Sh'mu'el and rescued you from the power of our enemies on every side, and you lived securely.

All the people said to Sh'mu'el, "Pray to Adonai your God for your servants, so that we won't die; because to all our other sins now we've added this evil as well, asking for a king over us."

Don't turn to the side; because then you would go after useless things that can neither help nor rescue, they are so futile.

Y'honatan assassinated the governor of the P'lishtim in Geva. The P'lishtim heard of it; so Sha'ul had the shofar sounded throughout the land, saying, "Let the Hebrews hear!"

All Isra'el heard that Sha'ul had assassinated the governor of the P'lishtim and thus made Isra'el a stench in the nostrils of the P'lishtim. So the people rallied behind Sha'ul in Gilgal;

The men of Isra'el saw that their options were limited and that the people felt so hard pressed that they were hiding themselves in caves, thickets, crevices, watchtowers and cisterns;

He waited seven days, as Sh'mu'el had instructed; but Sh'mu'el didn't come to Gilgal; so the army began to drift away from him.

I said, ‘Now the P'lishtim will fall on me at Gilgal, and I haven't asked the favor of Adonai ,' so I forced myself and offered the burnt offering."

So whenever any of the people of Isra'el wanted to sharpen his hoe, plowshare, axe or pick, he had to go down to the P'lishtim,

So both of them let their presence be known to the garrison of the P'lishtim; and the P'lishtim said, "Look, some Hebrews coming out of the holes they've been hiding in!"

Sha'ul ordered the forces with him to call the roll and see who was missing. So they called the roll, and found Y'honatan and his armor-bearer not present.

So Adonai saved Isra'el that day, and the battle spread as far as Beit-Aven.