translation_id: net-engnet

label: NET textual note

text: The MT does not have “thirty.” A number appears to have dropped out of the Hebrew text here, since as it stands the MT (literally, “a son of a year”) must mean that Saul was only one year old when he began to reign! The KJV, attempting to resolve this, reads “Saul reigned one year,” but that is not the normal meaning of the Hebrew text represented by the MT. Although most LXX mss lack the entire verse, some Greek mss have “thirty years” here (while others have “one year” like the MT). The Syriac Peshitta has Saul’s age as twenty-one. But this seems impossible to harmonize with the implied age of Saul’s son Jonathan in the following verse. Taking into account the fact that in v. 2 Jonathan was old enough to be a military leader, some scholars prefer to supply in v. 1 the number forty (cf. ASV, NASB). The present translation (“thirty”) is a possible but admittedly uncertain proposal based on a few Greek mss and followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NIV, NCV, NLT). Other English versions simply supply ellipsis marks for the missing number (e.g., NAB, NRSV).


text: The MT has “two years” here. If this number is to be accepted as correct, the meaning apparently would be that after a lapse of two years at the beginning of Saul’s reign, he then went about the task of consolidating an army as described in what follows (cf. KJV, ASV, CEV). But if the statement in v. 1 is intended to be a comprehensive report on the length of Saul’s reign, the number is too small. According to Acts 13:21 Saul reigned for forty years. Some English versions (e.g., NIV, NCV, NLT), taking this forty to be a round number, add it to the “two years” of the MT and translate the number in 2 Sam 13:1 as “forty-two years.” While this is an acceptable option, the present translation instead replaces the MT’s “two” with the figure “forty.” Admittedly the textual evidence for this decision is weak, but the same can be said of any attempt to restore sense to this difficult text (note the ellipsis marks at this point in NAB, NRSV). The Syriac Peshitta lacks this part of v. 1 .


label: NET translator note

text: For location see Map4-G4 ; Map5-C1 ; Map6-E3 ; Map7-D1 ; Map8-G3 .


text: Heb “at Gibeah of Benjamin.” The words “in the territory” are supplied in the translation for clarity.


text: Or perhaps “struck down the Philistine official.” See the note at 1 Sam 10:5 . Cf. TEV “killed the Philistine commander.”


text: Heb “blew the ram’s horn in.”


text: The words “this message” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.


text: Heb “stinks.” The figurative language indicates that Israel had become repulsive to the Philistines.


text: Heb “were summoned after.”


text: Many English versions (e.g., KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV) read “30,000” here.


text: Or perhaps “vaults.” This rare term also occurs in Judg 9:46, 49 . Cf. KJV “high places”; ASV “coverts”; NAB “caverns”; NASB “cellars”; NIV, NCV, TEV “pits”; NRSV, NLT “tombs.”


text: The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.


text: This apparently refers to the instructions given by Samuel in 1 Sam 10:8 . If so, several years had passed. On the relationship between chs. 10 and 13 , see V. P. Long, The Art of Biblical History (FCI), 201-23.


text: Heb “dispersed from upon him”; NAB, NRSV “began to slip away.”


text: Heb “to bless him.”


text: Heb “dispersed from upon me.”


text: Heb “said.”


text: Or “I forced myself” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, CEV); NAB “So in my anxiety I offered”; NIV “I felt compelled.”


text: Or “kept.”


text: Heb “commanded.”


text: This verb form, as well as the one that follows (“appointed”), indicates completed action from the standpoint of the speaker. This does not necessarily mean that the Lord had already conducted his search and made his choice, however. The forms may be used for rhetorical effect to emphasize the certainty of the action. The divine search for a new king is as good as done, emphasizing that the days of Saul’s dynasty are numbered.


text: Heb “according to his heart.” The idiomatic expression means to be like-minded with another, as its use in 1 Sam 14:7 indicates.


text: The LXX and two Old Latin mss include the following words here: “on his way. And the rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the warring army. When they arrived from Gilgal….”


text: Heb “at Gibeah of Benjamin.” The words “in the territory” are supplied in the translation for clarity (likewise in the following verse).


text: The juxtaposition of disjunctive clauses in v.16 indicates synchronic action.


text: The translation follows the LXX (“their sickle”) here, rather than the MT “plowshares,” which is due to dittography from the word earlier in the verse.


text: Heb “the price was.” The meaning of the Hebrew word פְּצִירָה ( pÿtsirah ) is uncertain. This is the only place it occurs in the OT. Some propose the meaning “sharpening,” but “price” is a more likely meaning if the following term refers to a weight (see the following note on the word “shekel”). See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 238.


text: This word, which appears only here in the OT, probably refers to a stone weight. Stones marked פִּים ( pim ) have been found in excavations of Palestinian sites. The average weight of such stones is 0.268 ounces, which is equivalent to about two-thirds of a shekel. This probably refers to the price charged by the Philistines for the services listed. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 238; DNWSI 2:910; and G. I. Davies, Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions , 259.


text: Heb “and for a third, a pick.” The Hebrew text suffers from haplography at this point. The translation follows the textual reconstruction offered by P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 235.