And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.
Jonathan (God-given) smote the garrison of the Philistines ... in Geba. Geba and Gibeah were towns in Benjamin very close to each other (Joshua 18:24; Joshua 18:28). From the similarity of the names, they are apt to be confounded, and they are so in this chapter: for while the two places are accurately distinguished х Gib`ah (H1390), Gibeah (1 Samuel 13:2), and Geba` (H1387) (1 Samuel 13:3)], the distinction is overlooked in our version (1 Samuel 13:16), where the Hebrew text has х Geba` (H1387)], Geba. Gibeah (Tel el-Fulil) (see the note at 1 Samuel 10:26). Geba (Jeb'a), a small village half in ruins. "Garrison" х nªtsiyb (H5333)] is different from the word used, 1 Samuel 13:23; 1 Samuel 14:1, and signifies something erected; probably a pillar or flag-staff, indicative of Philistine ascendancy; and that the secret demolition of this standard, so obnoxious to a young and noble-hearted patriot, was the feat of Jonathan referred to, is evident from the words, "the Philistines heard of it," which is not the way we should expect an attack on a fortress to be noticed.
[The Septuagint considers the word as a proper name-the name of the Philistine officer in command-and renders the clause, ton Nasib ton allofulon ton en too bounoo, smote Nasib, the foreigner who was on the hill.] This view is advocated by Stark ('Gaza und die Philistaische Kuste,' p. 164), who says, 'the slaughter of one Nasib at Geba was the occasion of a new campaign.' It is also adopted by Stanley (Smith's 'Dictionary,' article 'Jonathan'). This translation, however, is quite unwarrantable, as, in order to obtain the meaning, "the Philistines," always rendered in the Greek translation 'foreigners,' are changed from the plural into the singular, and 'Geba' into 'the hill.' [Perhaps, after all, the word "garrison" in our version should not be lightly discarded, for matsaab (H4673), garrison (2 Samuel 23:14) is rendered by the sacred historian nªtsiyb
(H5333), in the parallel passage, 1 Chronicles 11:16; while in 2 Samuel 8:6; 2 Samuel 8:14, the Septuagint themselves render nªtsiyb (H5333), by the Greek word froura, garrison, an outpost or detachment.]
Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land. This, a well-known sound, was the usual Hebrew war-summons: the first blast was suffered by the beacon-fire in the neighbouring places. A second blast was blown, then answered by a fire in a more distant locality, whence the proclamation was speedily diffused over the whole country. Since the Philistines resented what Jonathan had done as an overt attempt to throw off their yoke, a levy, en masse, of the people was immediately ordered, the rendezvous to be the old camping ground at Gilgal.
Saying, Let the Hebrews hear - i:e., obey the summons. [The Septuagint has: Eetheteekasin hoi douloi , The slaves have obeyed; as if the text were haa`ªbaadiym, slaves, instead of haa-`Ibriym (H5680), the Hebrews.] The following may be given as a representation of the exact position of affairs: Michmash (now Mukhmas) and Geba (now Jeb'a) lay on opposites sides of "the passage of Michmash" (now Wady Suweinit), which is an open valley, about a mile broad at this point, but which contracts in its descent eastward to the Jordan into a narrow precipitous defile. Gibeah (now Tel el-Fulil) was south of both. Michmash was at first occupied by Saul with a large portion of his army: Jonathan, his son, remained in Gibeah, the capital, with another. The latter had made a successful sally on the Philistine garrison at Geba, and the Philistines having heard of it, determined to take speedy and ample revenge by an invasion of the Hebrew territory on a large scale. Saul, by a war-summons, collected a general muster of the fighting men of his kingdom at Gilgal, and on his temporary withdrawal for that purpose from Michmash, the Philistines took possession of the fortress which he had left.