1 Samuel 13:3

3 Jonathan attacked the Philistine fort at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. So Saul sounded the alarm throughout the land and said, "Hebrews! Listen up!"

1 Samuel 13:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 13:3

And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in
Geba
Not the same with Gibeah of Benjamin, as Jarchi; for it can hardly be thought that Jonathan should place himself with his thousand men where the Philistines had a garrison; or that if this was the same with that in the preceding verse, that it should be called by another name in this; but Gibeah and Geba were two places, as Kimchi observes, both indeed in the tribe of Benjamin, and it is very probable not far from one another; see ( Joshua 18:24 Joshua 18:28 ) . This seems to be the same with the hill of God, where was a garrison of the Philistines, ( 1 Samuel 10:5 ) , who after their defeat by Samuel contented themselves with some strong holds and garrisons in some parts of the land to keep Israel in awe; the Targum understands this of a single person, a governor of the Philistines in this place, whom Jonathan slew, and so Jarchi; and according to R. Isaiah he was one that was appointed to gather the tax for them:

and the Philistines heard of it,
which alarmed them, and made them prepare for war:

and Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land;
not he in person, for he was at Gilgal, as the next verse shows; but he ordered it to be blown, being aware of the preparations the Philistines were making to attack him:

saying, let the Hebrews hear;
both what his son had done, and what the Philistines were doing.

1 Samuel 13:3 In-Context

1 Saul was 30 years old when he became king, and he ruled over Israel forty-two years.

2 Saul selected three thousand men from Israel. Two thousand of those were with Saul at Michmash in the hills near Bethel, and one thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. He sent the remaining men home.

3 Jonathan attacked the Philistine fort at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. So Saul sounded the alarm throughout the land and said, "Hebrews! Listen up!"

4 When all Israel heard that Saul had attacked the Philistine fort and that Israel was hated by the Philistines, the troops were called to Saul's side at Gilgal.

5 The Philistines also were gathered to fight against Israel. They brought thirty thousand chariots with them, six thousand cavalry, and as many soldiers as there is sand on the seashore to fight Israel. They marched up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.

Footnotes

• [a]. Heb shofar