This verse shows how dire oppression can drive God’s people to seek alliances and solutions on the world’s terms.
When the Scripture opens with, “Now Nahash the Ammonite came up and besieged Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, ‘Make a covenant with us and we will serve you,’” (v.1), it describes an alarming threat that descended upon the Israelite city of Jabesh-gilead. The Ammonites were descendants of Ben-ammi, a son born to Lot’s younger daughter, and they lived east of the Jordan between the Arnon and the Jabbok rivers. From the days of their ancestor’s origin, they were often hostile to the people of Israel, and this siege captures one of those confrontation points where an Ammonite leader, Nahash, relentlessly cornered the city and demanded submission.
Jabesh-gilead itself lay on the eastern side of the Jordan River in the region of Gilead. Its residents had historically struggled for survival in a territory with frequent conflicts, and here they found themselves pleading with Nahash: “Make a covenant with us and we will serve you,” (v.1). This plea reveals the citizens’ desperate state, as their city was under siege and they believed the only way to escape death was to become subservient to the Ammonites. Historically, these events unfold around the time Saul was becoming Israel’s first king, setting the stage for God’s chosen leader to rise to defend His people.
The tension of this verse lies in whether or not Jabesh-gilead’s cry for help would be heard and answered by Israel’s new leadership. It frames a broader narrative of Israel’s transformation from a loose tribal confederation into a unified monarchy, one that was meant to protect God’s covenant community from foreign oppression and threats. Nahash’s aggression thus highlights both the vulnerability of this fledgling kingdom and the Lord’s ultimate plan to establish and defend His people.
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1 Samuel 11:1 meaning
When the Scripture opens with, “Now Nahash the Ammonite came up and besieged Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, ‘Make a covenant with us and we will serve you,’” (v.1), it describes an alarming threat that descended upon the Israelite city of Jabesh-gilead. The Ammonites were descendants of Ben-ammi, a son born to Lot’s younger daughter, and they lived east of the Jordan between the Arnon and the Jabbok rivers. From the days of their ancestor’s origin, they were often hostile to the people of Israel, and this siege captures one of those confrontation points where an Ammonite leader, Nahash, relentlessly cornered the city and demanded submission.
Jabesh-gilead itself lay on the eastern side of the Jordan River in the region of Gilead. Its residents had historically struggled for survival in a territory with frequent conflicts, and here they found themselves pleading with Nahash: “Make a covenant with us and we will serve you,” (v.1). This plea reveals the citizens’ desperate state, as their city was under siege and they believed the only way to escape death was to become subservient to the Ammonites. Historically, these events unfold around the time Saul was becoming Israel’s first king, setting the stage for God’s chosen leader to rise to defend His people.
The tension of this verse lies in whether or not Jabesh-gilead’s cry for help would be heard and answered by Israel’s new leadership. It frames a broader narrative of Israel’s transformation from a loose tribal confederation into a unified monarchy, one that was meant to protect God’s covenant community from foreign oppression and threats. Nahash’s aggression thus highlights both the vulnerability of this fledgling kingdom and the Lord’s ultimate plan to establish and defend His people.