And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.
He took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces - (see the note at Judges 19:1-30.) This particular form of war-summons was suited to the character and habits of an agricultural and pastoral people. Solemn in itself, the denunciation that accompanied it carried a terrible threat to these that neglected to obey it. Saul conjoins the name of Samuel with his own, to lend the greater influence to the measure, and strike greater terror into all contemners of the order. The small contingent furnished by Judah suggests that the disaffection to Saul was strongest in that tribe.