And when Saul numbered them at Bezek, there were 300,000 Israelites and 30,000 men of Judah.
Parallel translations
- WEB He counted them in Bezek; and the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
- KJV And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
- NKJV When he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
- NASB He counted them in Bezek; and the sons of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah, thirty thousand.
- NLT When Saul mobilized them at Bezek, he found that there were 300,000 men from Israel and 30,000 men from Judah.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Saul musters the army at Bezek, numbering Israel and Judah. The large response confirms that the nation has rallied.
Overview
The separate counting of Israel and Judah subtly anticipates the later division of the kingdom. The great numbers show God granting Saul a substantial force for the rescue. The muster at Bezek positions the army to cross the Jordan and relieve Jabesh Gilead.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 2 Sam 24:9And Joab reported to the king the total number of the troops. In Israel there were 800,000 men of valor who drew the sword, and in Judah there were 500,000.
- Judg 1:4–5When Judah attacked, the LORD delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.
- 2 Chr 17:12–19Jehoshaphat grew stronger and stronger, and he built fortresses and store cities in Judah
- Judg 20:2The leaders of all the people and all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God’s people: 400,000 men on foot, armed with swords.
- 1 Sam 13:15Then Samuel set out from Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin. And Saul numbered the troops who were with him, about six hundred men.
- 1 Sam 15:4So Saul summoned the troops and numbered them at Telaim—200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah.
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 11:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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