1 Samuel 11

Ammonites had been perpetual enemies of the Jewish people since the time Jews returned from slavery in Egypt and began resettling in what was then called Canaan, today’s Israel and Palestinian Territories (Judges 3:13; 10:8).

One contender for Jabesh in Gilead is Tell Maqlub, a ruin on Jordan’s side of the Jordan River. It’s about 7 miles (10 km) east of the river and 20 miles (32 km) south of the Sea of Galilee. It’s also about 45 miles (73 km) northeast of Saul’s hometown of Gibeah, near Jerusalem. That’s about a two-day walk in each direction under normal circumstances. Perhaps less in wartime.

Nahash shows up in an ancient introduction to the Books of Samuel from the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, which were written more than 2,000 years ago, copied from earlier scrolls. These scrolls started showing up in the 1940s in dry caves by the Dead Sea. The intro says King Nahash terrorized Jews living east of the Jordan River, in the tribes of Gad and Reuben, in what is now the country of Jordan. He tore out their right eyes as a way of dishonoring Israel. Seven thousand Jews escaped and ran to Jabesh in the region of Gilead for protection. But a month later, Nahash’s army shows up at the front gate.

Why would any besieging army give a surrounded enemy time to hunt for allies to rescue them? Perhaps Nahash gambled that no one would come. If he got that right, it could save him from losing a lot of soldiers during an attack on a fortified city. Also, he may have been curious to see if others were too threatened by his reputation to face him in battle. An ego thing.

Bezek is linked to a ruin called Khirbet Ibziq, about 15 miles (24 km) almost directly west of Jabesh, on Israel’s side of the Jordan River. That’s less than a day’s march from the staging area to the battlefield.

It’s uncertain where Gilgal was. Contenders include several dirt-covered mounds of ruins near Jericho. No winners yet. Israel’s invasion of Canaan took the people there. Gilgal was described as their camp in the Promised Land of Israel and the staging ground for the coming attack on nearby Jericho (Joshua 4:19).

A peace offering, described in Leviticus 3, is one of several prescribed offerings in Jewish tradition. When Jewish people wanted to give thanks to God for something, such as good health or safety, they would sacrifice a sheep, goat, cow, or bull. They would burn part of the animal, including the kidneys and fat covering the intestines. They would eat the rest in celebration, often with family and friends. It takes a fair number of hungry people to eat a cow. But people were eager to eat meat because it was rare in Bible times for common folks to eat meat, many Bible scholars say.