1 Samuel 13:1 is one of the most puzzling verses in the entire bible. If you go look it up on biblehub.com and compare different versions, you'll find all kinds of weird translations, some even leaves it blank. Here are some example:
Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel ... (KJV, NKJV)
Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty-two years. (NLT)
Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel, (ESB)
Saul was __ years old when he began to reign; and two years he reigned over Israel. (JPS 1917)
The difficult part is the first word of this verse, ben, beth-nun, which usually means "son". In a strictly literal translation it reads: "Saul [is] a son of ??? years in his reigning, and he has reigned over Israel two years." The key to decipher it is gematria. In the ancient time there was no digital numbers, instead, each letter has a specific numeric value, you add up the values of all the letters in a word and you get a number. In 1 Samuel 13:1, Saul's age corresponds to the numeric value of the word "ben", not the literal meaning. You read that into the text, and you get 52, that's how old when Saul became king. And that also fits the next verse, in which it says his son Jonathan was already a commander of 1000 soldiers. If Saul was a "young man" or only 30 years old, Jonathan would be a little boy; but if Saul was 52 years old, then Jonathan would be a young man, and that would make good sense, with him being a commander who later defeated the Philistines with an army.
Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel ... (KJV, NKJV)
Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty-two years. (NLT)
Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel, (ESB)
Saul was __ years old when he began to reign; and two years he reigned over Israel. (JPS 1917)
1 Samuel 13:1 - War with the Philistines
Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years.
biblehub.com
The difficult part is the first word of this verse, ben, beth-nun, which usually means "son". In a strictly literal translation it reads: "Saul [is] a son of ??? years in his reigning, and he has reigned over Israel two years." The key to decipher it is gematria. In the ancient time there was no digital numbers, instead, each letter has a specific numeric value, you add up the values of all the letters in a word and you get a number. In 1 Samuel 13:1, Saul's age corresponds to the numeric value of the word "ben", not the literal meaning. You read that into the text, and you get 52, that's how old when Saul became king. And that also fits the next verse, in which it says his son Jonathan was already a commander of 1000 soldiers. If Saul was a "young man" or only 30 years old, Jonathan would be a little boy; but if Saul was 52 years old, then Jonathan would be a young man, and that would make good sense, with him being a commander who later defeated the Philistines with an army.
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