Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 14:15
And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling.
15. in the host, in the field ] In the camp in the field, the main army as distinguished from the outpost which Jonathan had attacked.
the earth quaked ] Perhaps this only describes the tumult and confusion of the Philistine host (cp. 1Sa 4:5), but possibly an earthquake augmented the general panic, as at the Exodus (Psa 77:18). Cp. the storm at Ebenezer (ch. 1Sa 7:10).
so it was a very great trembling ] Lit. “And it became a trembling of God,” i.e. a supernatural panic inspired by God. Cp. 2Ki 7:6.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The earth quaked – This naturally increased the panic to the utmost. Compare 1Sa 7:10; Jos 10:11; Psa 114:4.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 15. There was trembling in the host] They were terrified and panic-struck; the people in general round about, those in the garrison, the spoilers, and the whole country, were struck with terror; the commotion was universal and most extraordinary. The trembling of the earth is probably not to be taken literally, but as a metaphor for a great commotion in the country, though God might have interposed in an extraordinary manner, and produced a real earthquake; but their being panic-struck was sufficient to produce all the requisite confusion and dismay.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Trembling; a great consternation; partly from this unexpected and prodigious slaughter, which made them suspect there was more than man in the case, and that the Lord (of whose infinite power they had had former experience) was come forth to fight against them; and partly from the Lord, who took away their spirits and strength, and struck them with fear and amazement.
In the field, i.e. in the whole host, which as there in the field.
Among all the people, i.e. among all the rest of their forces, as well those in the garrison (as it is here explained in the following words) at Michmash, as the spoilers, mentioned 1Sa 13:17; the report of this prodigy, and with it the terror of God, speedily passing from one to another.
The earth quaked; either,
1. Metaphorically and hyperbolically, the whole land, i.e. the inhabitants of the land, to wit, of the Philistines, trembled. Or rather,
2. Properly, God sent an earthquake among them, which probably overthrew their tents and chariots, and destroyed many of their persons, and scattered the whole host, making them to flee away for their lives.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And there was trembling in the host in the field,…. Belonging to Michmash, where the army lay encamped:
and among all the people; the inhabitants of Michmash, or that attended the army, and furnished them with provisions, trafficking with them; the common people, as distinguished from the soldiers:
the garrison; those that were in it, who did not sally out, but perceiving a great slaughter made of their outer scouts, were seized with a panic:
and the spoilers they also trembled; who had been about the country, ravaging and plundering it, and were returned with their booty; see
1Sa 13:17
and the earth quaked; the inhabitants of it thereabout, or the earth itself literally; a real earthquake was caused at the same time, which increased the terror:
so that it was a very great trembling; both with respect to the numbers that were affected with it throughout the camp and garrison, and the causes of it; the terrible apprehension they had of a large army just ready to rush upon them; the earth quaking and opening in various places, threatening to swallow them up; and perhaps suspicions of treachery among themselves, they consisting of various nations, and some among them Hebrews; hence they fell upon and slew one another, 1Sa 14:20, or “a trembling of God” u; either in the same sense to which we translate it, as cedars of God, flame of God, c. that is, large and great ones or which came from God; it was he that sent this trembling among them, struck their minds with fear and dread, so that they were in the utmost consternation, and knew not what to do, nor which way to take, and had no heart to oppose the enemy, and defend themselves.
u “in trepidationem Dei”, Montanus, Drusius, Vatablus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(15) And there was trembling in the host.The rest of the outpost garrison, panic-stricken, escaped to the other camp of the main body of the host, spreading dismay as they fled.
And the earth quaked . . .To add to the dire confusion, an earthquake was felt, which completed the discomfiture of the Philistines; they perceived that some Divine power was fighting against them, and all the stories of the unseen Helper of the Hebrews would flash across their minds. Some would explain the earthquake as a poetical description of the extreme terror and confusion which prevailed far and near, but the literal meaning is far the best. The Eternal fought for Jonathan and Israel that day, and the powers of nature were summoned to the young heros aid, as they had been before, when Pharaoh pursued the people at the Red Sea (Exo. 14:26-27), as when Joshua fought the Canaanites at Beth-horon (Jos. 10:11), and as when Barak smote Sisera at Kishon (Jdg. 5:21).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
15. Trembling Fear, consternation, and horror.
The earth quaked Because of the vast multitude rushing to and fro, and beating one another down. Perhaps, also, an earthquake.
A very great trembling Rather, as the margin, a trembling of God; a supernatural terror infused by God into the hearts of the Philistines.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
YHWH Brings About The Defeat Of The Philistines ( 1Sa 14:15-23 ).
We must not underestimate the beliefs of ancient peoples in omens. This comes out in that regularly battles were decided by champions being selected from both sides, with the winner reducing the other side to pure terror as they recognised that the gods were against them. We have an example of this later in the case of Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. Thus this defeat of the outpost by Jonathan and his armourbearer would be seen by the Philistines generally as an omen. In those days that could well be enough to paralyse them with fear and make them tremble. It may, however, be that we are intended to see that YHWH also introduced an earthquake in order to shake things up.
1Sa 14:15
‘ And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked, so there was an exceeding great trembling.’
It is difficult to be sure here whether the trembling in question indicates an earthquake, or whether it is simply caused by the impression made on the Philistines by the news that a number of Israelites (additional to those that they were watching) had first challenged and then routed their outpost. This news resulted in a panic which we are no doubt to see as brought on by YHWH (compare 2Ki 7:6; Exo 15:14), and the result was that the Philistines were soon in turmoil, making the ground tremble. For such panic among the superstitious Philistines compare 1Sa 17:31. They appear to have laid great store by omens. Once they received what appeared to be a bad omen the Philistines appear to have lost all heart. Furthermore the story of what YHWH had done among them when they had captured the Ark, no doubt considerably magnified, was probably still remembered among them as a folk tale.
1Sa 14:16
‘ And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and, behold, the host of men melted away, and they went hither and thither.’
The result was that before the astonished eyes of Saul’s watchmen in Gibeah the Philistine army ‘melted away’ and ‘went on beating down’ or ‘went hither and thither’. They were in total panic. ‘Went on beating down’ may suggest that in their panic the Philistines were striking each other down (compare 1Sa 14:20).
1Sa 14:17
‘ Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Muster now, and see who has gone from us.” And when they had mustered, behold, Jonathan and his armourbearer were not there.”
When Saul heard the news of the Philistine panic he recognised something of what must have happened (he had been fighting Philistines for years) and he called for a muster in order to discover which of his men were no longer there. The result of the muster was that they discovered that Jonathan and his armourbearer were missing. As we know from verse 1, no one knew that they had gone.
1Sa 14:18
‘ And Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring here the ark of God.” For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel.’
In his excitement Saul then called to Ahijah to bring there the ark of God. His aim was probably in order for it to lead them into battle (compare 1Sa 4:4-5; Num 10:35-36; Jos 3:3), so as to increase the panic among the Philistines. He would know that it had led Israel through the wilderness, and in his present state he wanted a talisman on his side. Probably not realising it he was, by this, linking himself with the defeated army in 1Sa 14:4. It may well be that he was not aware that it was no longer in the Tabernacle, for his relationship with Ahijah appears to be a new one, and only the priests may have been sure where it was. Or, being desperate to spur YHWH to act for him he may have had in mind that it be brought from its quiet backwater. But it is quite likely that he did not know the full details of the situation, probably simply knowing that it was ‘somewhere’ and assuming that Ahijah could lay his hands on it. The writer then explains that it was in fact at that time with the children of Israel, but by that he was probably simply reminding his readers that it had been returned by the Philistines.
There is something very ominous about this call for the Ark, for we have heard it before, when it was by a God-rejected Israel (1Sa 4:3). It is thus being made clear to us that there is in the heart of Saul something of the foolishness of those earlier people.
LXX changes ‘Ark’ to ‘ephod’ but the Hebrew texts and most of the other versions do not support the change. The view of LXX was that Saul was wanting to consult YHWH through the ephod. But it is quite possible that someone who had been busy fighting all his life and had previously depended on Samuel as a kind of talisman, should look for an equally powerful replacement and saw it in terms of the Ark, on which he expected his new priest to be able to lay his hands. (And Kiriath-yearim was not all that far from Michmash). The point is that without Samuel’s guidance and help Saul was almost as superstitious as the Philistines.
1Sa 14:19
‘ And it came about, while Saul talked to the priest, that the tumult that was in the camp of the Philistines went on and increased, and Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”
In the end, however, he did not proceed with his request, because as he spoke with the priest the tumult among the Philistines grew more apparent and Saul therefore recognised the necessity of seizing the opportunity. The result was that he told Ahijah not to go ahead with what he had requested, and himself prepared to mobilise his troops. It is probable that he also sent swift messengers to the Israelites hiding in the hills. Even this hesitation is probably designed to bring out his present inadequacy. Without YHWH’s help and guidance he was nothing.
1Sa 14:20
‘ And Saul and all the people who were with him were gathered together, and came to the battle, and, behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.’
Gathering his troops ready for battle Saul advanced on the enemy and came ‘to the battle’ where it was immediately apparent that they were busy fighting each other. For there he found huge ‘discomfiture and turmoil’ (compare for the idea Jdg 7:22; 2Ch 20:23). As so often in Israel’s history YHWH had defeated them almost on His own (with the assistance of a man of faith).
1Sa 14:21
‘ Now the Hebrews who were with the Philistines as previously, and that went up with them into the camp, from the country round about, even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.’
“The Hebrews.” This may refer to Habiru mercenaries hired by the Philistines (compare David later), or to renegade Israelites who had joined up with the Philistines for political advantage, or to forced levies taken from the occupied territories who had had no choice about the matter. But whichever they were they could not resist turning to help the Israelites, whom they no doubt saw as more like themselves. The arrogance of the Philistines towards them may well have already disaffected them, and anyway, the advantage clearly now lay with the Israelites.
1Sa 14:22
‘ In the same way all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill-country of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle.’
The news of the Philistine panic also reached the ears of the general Israelite army which had taken refuge in the hills, presumably through messengers from Saul. And when they learned that the Philistines were in flight they too joined in and chased hard after any of the Philistines who were still in the hill country. Everyone in Israel had suddenly become a Jonathan.
1Sa 14:23 a
‘So YHWH saved Israel that day.’
The result was that YHWH saved Israel that day, and the Philistines were driven back in the direction of Beth-aven. From there they would flee down the pass of Beth-horon to Aijalon and thence down to Philistia. So the account which began with the parlous state of a helpless Israel ends with the Philistines in full flight leaving Israel, at least for the time being, a free country. And it was all because of YHWH. YHWH had again saved His people.
It should, of course, be noted that the description that we have of what happened is very truncated so that we only get the gist of something that actually took place over many hours, and at the heart of it from now on will be Saul and his six hundred. It is thus they who will immediately now be involved and will be affected by Saul’s rash oath. How far ‘the Hebrews’ joined in the actual pursuit (if at all) we do not know. The remainder of the Israelites would clearly come in at the tail end, and would probably deal with stragglers and some who had taken refuge in the hills. From their own point of view they would enjoy some of the credit, but the main chase would be by Saul’s men. All would, however, recognise that they owed it all to YHWH. All they had done was follow up on His working.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Sa 14:15 And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling.
Ver. 15. And there was trembling in the host. ] The Lord smote them with a panic terror; and hence they fell so fast before Jonathan and his armour bearer: hence also they fell so foul one upon another, and fled so fast before the host of Israel. The like befell the Germans in their war against the Hussites of Bohemia: and the Spaniards at Zutphen in the low countries, A.D. 1586, when and where the Earl of Leicester, General of the English forces, took the fort by the valour of Edward Stanley; who catching hold on a Spaniard’s pike, wherewith he charged him, held it so fast, that by the same he was drawn up into the sconce: wherewith the Spaniards being terrified, as the Philistines were here at the sight of Jonathan, fearfully withdrew themselves, &c. a
And the earth quaked.
So it was a very great trembling.
a Camden’s Elisab., fol. 205.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
host = camp.
trembled = were panic-stricken. Compare 2Sa 5:24. 2Ki 7:6; 2Ki 19:7.
a very great trembling = a preternatural trembling. Hebrew a trembling from Elohim. App-4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
there was trembling: Jos 2:9, Jdg 7:21, 2Ki 7:6, 2Ki 7:7, Job 18:11, Psa 14:5
the spoilers: 1Sa 13:17, 1Sa 13:23
the earth quaked: Exo 19:18, Mat 24:6, Mat 27:50, Mat 27:51
very great trembling: Heb. trembling of God, Gen 35:5, Lev 26:36, Lev 26:37, 2Sa 5:24, Dan 5:6, God will in some way or other direct the steps of those who acknowledge him in all their ways, and seek unto him for direction with full purpose of heart. Sometimes we find most comfort in that which is least our own doing, and into which we have been led by the unexpected, but well observed, turns of Providence.
Reciprocal: Gen 30:8 – great wrestlings Exo 23:27 – my fear Deu 32:30 – one chase 2Sa 8:6 – garrisons 2Sa 17:9 – some 1Ki 19:11 – an earthquake 2Ch 14:14 – the fear Job 1:16 – The fire of God Psa 36:6 – great mountains Psa 53:5 – There Zec 14:13 – a great
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
14:15 And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth {h} quaked: so it was a very great trembling.
(h) In that the insensible creatures tremble for fear of God’s judgment, it declares how terrible his vengeance will be against his enemies.