1 Samuel 13:5

The Philistines. Although the Philistines were not at war with Israel, they nevertheless maintained posts in the hills, such as the one at Geba southwest of Michmash, across the wadi from it and over 200 ft. higher. The word nesib, translated “garrison,” comes from the verb nasab, “to take one’s stand,” “to be stationed,” that is, by appointment or in the line of duty. Not far away, at Ramah (see on ch. 1:1), was a school of the prophets organized by Samuel. Evidently Samuel tried to counter the heathen Philistine influence by placing his school nearby, hoping thus to draw the people back to the worship of Jehovah. If only the influence of the prophetic school had penetrated the individual lives of the inhabitants of Geba, so that the Philistines could see the true import of God’s salvation, bloody warfare might have been averted and many Philistines might have accepted God, even as Naaman the Syrian did in later years (2 Kings 5).

Let the Hebrews hear. The noun “Hebrew,” used of the Hebrew people, occurs only 35 times in the entire Bible, 31 times in the OT and 4 times in the NT. Of the 31 OT references, 16 occur in connection with Israel’s stay in Egypt and 5 in connection with this war against the Philistines (chs. 13 and 14). In contrast, the word “Israel” is used hundreds of times in the Scriptures, and the question arises as to why such a contrast should occur in these two instances. But one fact is clear. The term “Hebrew” is always used by foreigners or by Israelites when speaking of themselves to foreigners. It is now generally believed that “Hebrew” was the common name by which the Israelites were known to their neighbors (see on Gen. 10:21; 14:13). Pharaoh and his people seem to have used both names interchangeably (see Ex. 1:16; 5:2; 14:5; etc.; see also on 1 Sam. 13:7).

Thirty thousand. The Lucian text of the LXX and the Syriac read “three thousand.” The difference between the Hebrew words for 3 and 30 is slight, and one might easily be mistaken for the other.