Verse Lens · Concise explanation
1 Samuel 13:6 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 6. 6When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Shows distressed Israelites hiding in caves, rocks, thickets, heights, and pits.
Read It With
- 1 Samuel 13:5–13:7
The line at 1 Samuel 13:6 shows distressed Israelites hiding in caves, rocks, thickets, heights, and pits. Its place in 1 Samuel 13:5–13:7 matters because An overwhelming Philistine force gathers at Michmash, and distressed Israelites hide or cross Jordan while those remaining with Saul tremble.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The unit “Philistine strength scatters Israel” needs this line's precise work: it shows distressed Israelites hiding in caves, rocks, thickets, heights, and pits. The verse remains one part of the scene rather than its complete claim.
What Remains True
Shows distressed Israelites hiding in caves, rocks, thickets, heights, and pits. Within 1 Samuel 13:5–13:7, this contribution supports the unit's enduring claim: Faithful reading of “Philistine strength scatters Israel” keeps truth, power, and human cost together. The fear and hiding do not make civilians or soldiers cowardly, and the force comparison does not justify dehumanizing Philistines.
How It Can Shape Life
- Shows distressed Israelites hiding in caves, rocks, thickets, heights, and pits. The proportionate response is therefore the one traced from the complete unit: Meet grief like the pain visible in “Philistine strength scatters Israel” with patient listening, practical care, truthful prayer, and access to appropriate support; do not promise the same outcome or explain suffering by blame. The fear and hiding do not make civilians or soldiers cowardly, and the force comparison does not justify dehumanizing Philistines.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Samuel 13:5–13:7 — Philistine strength scatters IsraelSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV words, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete unit coverage.
Exact location: 1 Samuel 13:5–13:7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Samuel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology, with the two KJV-Hebrew versification shifts stated rather than silently offset.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Sam.xml, OSIS 13:5–13:7; KJV 20:42 spans Hebrew 20:42–21:1, KJV 21:1–15 maps to Hebrew 21:2–16, KJV 23:29 maps to Hebrew 24:1, and KJV 24:1–22 maps to Hebrew 24:2–23
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: 1 Samuel
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Only the translator notes actually printed for these verses, used for lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and older-English controls.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Notes, 1 Samuel PDF, printed pp. 504–543, exact tc/tn/sn entries attached to 13:5–13:7
Open source ↗