The Meaning of 1 Samuel 13:5 Explained

1 Samuel 13:5

KJV: And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven.

YLT: And the Philistines have been gathered to fight with Israel; thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and a people as the sand which is on the sea-shore for multitude; and they come up and encamp in Michmash, east of Beth-Aven.

Darby: And the Philistines were assembled together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea-shore in multitude; and they came up, and encamped in Michmash, eastward from Beth-Aven.

ASV: And the Philistines assembled themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea-shore in multitude: and they came up, and encamped in Michmash, eastward of Beth-aven.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the Philistines  gathered themselves together  to fight  with Israel,  thirty  thousand  chariots,  and six  thousand  horsemen,  and people  as the sand  which [is] on the sea  shore  in multitude:  and they came up,  and pitched  in Michmash,  eastward  from Bethaven. 

What does 1 Samuel 13:5 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Samuel 13:1-12 - Saul's First Act Of Folly
The story of a great tragedy! Here was the overcasting of a bright sunrise. The king was certainly subjected to a tremendous test. He had been bidden to wait until Samuel came, before offering the sacrifice, because from the first it was understood that Saul was on the throne only as the nominee and vicegerent of Jehovah. And Saul did wait, with growing impatience, for seven weary days; then, when the allotted period had nearly expired, he "forced" himself and offered the sacrifice. Apparently he had done this within half-an-hour of Samuel's arrival, because the offering would hardly have taken longer.
The one lesson for us is that the man after God's own heart will obey God to the uttermost, will wait till the last moment with assured faith, will dare to stand amid a dwindling army and with disaster imminent for the lack of marching-orders. Man thinks God slow, behind the appointed time, and forgetful. Nay, but God is waiting to be gracious-waiting for the precise moment when He can intervene with most effect, Isaiah 30:15; Isaiah 30:18. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Samuel 13

1  Saul's select band
3  He calls the Hebrews to Gilgal against the Philistines
5  The Philistines' great army
6  The distress of the Israelites
8  Saul, weary of staying for Samuel, sacrifices
11  Samuel reproves him
17  The three raiding parties of the Philistines
19  The policy of the Philistines, to allow no blacksmith in Israel

What do the individual words in 1 Samuel 13:5 mean?

And the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and people as the sand which [is] on shore the seashore in multitude and they came up and encamped in Michmash to the east of Beth Aven
וּפְלִשְׁתִּ֞ים נֶאֶסְפ֣וּ ׀ לְהִלָּחֵ֣ם עִם־ יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל שְׁלֹשִׁ֨ים אֶ֤לֶף רֶ֙כֶב֙ וְשֵׁ֤שֶׁת אֲלָפִים֙ פָּרָשִׁ֔ים וְעָ֕ם כַּח֛וֹל אֲשֶׁ֥ר עַל־ שְׂפַֽת־ הַיָּ֖ם לָרֹ֑ב וַֽיַּעֲלוּ֙ וַיַּחֲנ֣וּ בְמִכְמָ֔שׂ קִדְמַ֖ת בֵּ֥ית אָֽוֶן

וּפְלִשְׁתִּ֞ים  And  the  Philistines 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: פְּלִשְׁתִּי  
Sense: an inhabitant of Philistia; descendants of Mizraim who immigrated from Caphtor (Crete?) to the western seacoast of Canaan.
נֶאֶסְפ֣וּ ׀  gathered  together 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: אָסַף 
Sense: to gather, receive, remove, gather in.
לְהִלָּחֵ֣ם  to  fight 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Nifal, Infinitive construct
Root: לָחַם 
Sense: to fight, do battle, make war.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
שְׁלֹשִׁ֨ים  thirty 
Parse: Number, common plural
Root: שְׁלֹשִׁים  
Sense: thirty, thirtieth.
אֶ֤לֶף  thousand 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: אֶלֶף 
Sense: a thousand.
רֶ֙כֶב֙  chariots 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: רֶכֶב  
Sense: a team, chariot, chariotry, mill-stone, riders.
וְשֵׁ֤שֶׁת  and  six 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, masculine singular construct
Root: שֵׁשׁ  
Sense: six.
אֲלָפִים֙  thousand 
Parse: Number, masculine plural
Root: אֶלֶף 
Sense: a thousand.
פָּרָשִׁ֔ים  horsemen 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: פָּרָשׁ 
Sense: horse, steed, warhorse.
וְעָ֕ם  and  people 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
כַּח֛וֹל  as  the  sand 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹול 
Sense: sand.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר  which  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
שְׂפַֽת־  shore 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: שָׂפָה  
Sense: lip, language, speech, shore, bank, brink, brim, side, edge, border, binding.
הַיָּ֖ם  the  seashore 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
לָרֹ֑ב  in  multitude 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: רֹב  
Sense: multitude, abundance, greatness.
וַֽיַּעֲלוּ֙  and  they  came  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
וַיַּחֲנ֣וּ  and  encamped 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: חָנָה  
Sense: to decline, incline, encamp, bend down, lay siege against.
בְמִכְמָ֔שׂ  in  Michmash 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִכְמָס 
Sense: a city in Benjamin lying near Ramah and approximately 0 miles (6 km) north of Jerusalem; probably modern ‘Mukhmas’.
קִדְמַ֖ת  to  the  east 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: קִדְמָה  
Sense: forward, front, east, antiquity, East.
אָֽוֶן  Beth  Aven 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בֵּית אָוֶן  
Sense: a city east of Bethel, site unknown.