So the Philistines were subduedThe Philistines were a significant threat to Israel during the time of the Judges and early monarchy. Their subjugation marks a turning point in Israel's history, as they had previously dominated and oppressed the Israelites. This subduing of the Philistines is a fulfillment of God's promise to protect and deliver His people when they turn back to Him. The victory over the Philistines is attributed to divine intervention rather than military might, emphasizing God's sovereignty and faithfulness.
and they stopped invading the territory of Israel
This cessation of Philistine invasions indicates a period of peace and stability for Israel, which had been rare during the time of the Judges. The Philistines' retreat can be seen as a direct result of Israel's repentance and return to God, as described earlier in the chapter. This peace allowed Israel to focus on internal consolidation and spiritual renewal. The phrase also highlights the importance of territorial integrity in the ancient Near East, where land was a crucial aspect of identity and survival.
And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines
The "hand of the LORD" is a biblical expression denoting God's power and active involvement in human affairs. Here, it signifies divine judgment and opposition against the Philistines, ensuring their continued subjugation. This divine intervention underscores the theme of God's protection over Israel when they are faithful to Him. It also serves as a reminder of the consequences of opposing God's chosen people, a theme echoed throughout the Old Testament.
all the days of Samuel
Samuel, as a prophet, judge, and leader, played a crucial role in Israel's spiritual and national revival. His leadership marked a period of relative peace and prosperity for Israel. The phrase suggests that Samuel's influence and guidance were instrumental in maintaining the Philistines' subjugation. Samuel's life and ministry foreshadow the coming of Christ, who is the ultimate prophet, priest, and king. Samuel's role as an intercessor and leader points to Jesus' mediatory work and His establishment of a lasting peace for His people.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
PhilistinesA significant enemy of Israel, known for their military prowess and frequent conflicts with the Israelites.
2.
IsraelThe chosen people of God, often in conflict with surrounding nations, including the Philistines.
3.
SamuelA prophet and judge of Israel, instrumental in leading the people back to God and securing peace.
4.
The LORDThe God of Israel, whose power and presence were evident in the subduing of the Philistines.
5.
Subduing of the PhilistinesA pivotal event where the Philistines were defeated and ceased to invade Israel during Samuel's leadership.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty in DeliveranceThe subduing of the Philistines demonstrates God's sovereign power over nations and His ability to deliver His people from their enemies.
The Role of Faithful LeadershipSamuel's leadership was crucial in turning Israel back to God and securing peace. Faithful leaders can guide people towards spiritual renewal and victory.
The Importance of Obedience and RepentancePrior to this victory, Israel repented and turned back to God (
1 Samuel 7:3-6). Obedience and repentance are key to experiencing God's deliverance.
God's Faithfulness Across GenerationsThe phrase "all the days of Samuel" indicates God's continued faithfulness. Believers can trust in God's enduring presence and protection.
Spiritual Warfare and Divine InterventionJust as God intervened against the Philistines, He is actively involved in the spiritual battles believers face today.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of 1 Samuel 7:13?
2.How did God protect Israel from the Philistines in 1 Samuel 7:13?
3.What role did Samuel play in Israel's victory in 1 Samuel 7:13?
4.How does 1 Samuel 7:13 demonstrate God's faithfulness to His covenant people?
5.How can we rely on God's protection in our spiritual battles today?
6.What parallels exist between 1 Samuel 7:13 and Ephesians 6:10-18 on spiritual warfare?
7.How did the LORD's hand against the Philistines manifest in 1 Samuel 7:13?
8.What historical evidence supports the Philistines' subjugation in 1 Samuel 7:13?
9.Why did the Philistines stop invading Israel according to 1 Samuel 7:13?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from 1 Samuel 7?
11.Does Saul’s abrupt departure to confront the Philistines (1 Samuel 23:27–28) accurately reflect known Philistine incursions, or is it merely a narrative device?
12.How can David's earlier triumphs over the Philistines, such as in 1 Samuel 17, be reconciled with Achish's acceptance of him in 1 Samuel 29?
13.In 1 Samuel 29:3-5, why would the Philistines fear David so abruptly if Achish had trusted him for an extended time?
14.Why does 1 Samuel 13:3-4 give conflicting impressions of who actually attacked the Philistine garrison, Jonathan or Saul?What Does 1 Samuel 7:13 Mean
So the Philistines were subdued• The statement follows the thunderous intervention at Mizpah (1 Samuel 7:10-11), where “the LORD thundered with a mighty voice… and threw them into confusion.”
• “Subdued” records an actual, decisive military defeat, much like the victories alluded to inPsalm 18:47 and2 Samuel 8:1.
• God answered Israel’s repentance (1 Samuel 7:3-6) by breaking the enemy’s power, echoing earlier cycles inJudges 3:30 and 4:23 where hostile nations were similarly “subdued.”
And they stopped invading the territory of Israel• For years the Philistines had crossed Israel’s borders at will (1 Samuel 4:1-2), but now their raids ceased.
• The verse presents a genuine change in the geopolitical map: the boundary lines God allotted to His people (Deuteronomy 32:8-9) were finally respected.
• This lull resembles the “rest” periods inJudges 3:11 and 5:31, underscoring that divine victory brings tangible peace, not merely symbolic relief.
And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines• “Hand” pictures God’s ongoing, active opposition; compareExodus 9:3 and1 Samuel 5:6-9, where His hand struck enemies with plagues and tumors.
• Israel’s safety was not maintained by standing armies alone but by God’s persistent pressure on Philistine strength—an invisible force with visible results (Psalm 118:14-16).
• The same hand that delivered Israel in battle now restrained further aggression, proving that the LORD both saves and sustains (Isaiah 59:1).
All the days of Samuel• Samuel’s lifetime—spanning from the last days of Eli to Saul’s kingship—formed a unique window of covenant faithfulness (1 Samuel 3:19-20; 12:19-25).
• As judge, prophet, and intercessor (7:15-17), he kept the nation oriented toward obedience, and God honored that leadership with prolonged peace.
• The wording recallsJudges 2:18, where the LORD raised judges and “was moved to compassion” all their days; Samuel embodies that pattern at its best.
summary1 Samuel 7:13 testifies that wholehearted repentance, matched by godly leadership, brought Israel a lasting deliverance. God Himself crushed Philistine power, halted further incursions, and maintained pressure on the foe for as long as Samuel guided the nation. The verse assures believers that when the LORD fights for His people, victory is real, borders are secure, and His protecting hand endures.
(13)
So the Philistines were subdued.--The work of Samuel had been thorough. It was no mere solitary victory, this success of Israel at Ebenezer, but was the sign of a new spirit in Israel, which animated the nation during the lifetime of Samuel, and the reigns of David and Solomon and the great Hebrew kings. The petty jealousies had disappeared, and had given place to a great national desire for unity. In the several tribal districts it was no longer the glory and prosperity of Judah, Ephraim, or Benjamin, but the glory and prosperity of Israel that was aimed at. The old idol worship of Canaan, which corrupted and degraded every nationality which practised it, was in a great measure swept away from among the chosen people, while the pure religion of the Eternal of Hosts was no longer confided solely to the care and guardianship of the tribe of Levi, which had shown itself unworthy of the mighty trust. The Levites still ministered in the sanctuary, and when the Temple took its place, alone officiated in its sacred courts; and the chosen race of Aaron, in the family first of Ithamar, then of Eleazar, alone wore the jewels and the official robe of the high priest; but in religious matters the power of the priestly tribe was never again supreme in the Land of Promise. From the days of Samuel a new order--that of the Prophets, whose exact functions with regard to the ritual of the worship of the Eternal were undefined--was acknowledged by the people as the regular medium of communication with the Jewish King of Israel.
The hand of the Lord was against the Philistines.--The Philistines never entirely recovered their supremacy in Canaan. There was. it is true, a long fierce struggle, but with the exception of the short period which immediately preceded the election of Saul, and the temporary disasters of the children of Israel which were the punishments of that king's disobedience--from this time forward the power of the Philistines gradually decayed. while the strength of Israel steadily increased, until King David completely subdued them, and the old oppressors of Israel were absorbed into the subject races of Canaan.
Verse 13. -
So the Philistines were subdued. Not completely, for we find that they had garrisons in Israel when Saul was made king; but it was a thorough victory for the time, and was followed up, moreover, by an invasion of Philistia, in which Samuel recovered the towns which had been wrested from Israel upon the western borders of Judah and Benjamin. Moreover, the enemy
came no more into the coast of Israel. That is, all invasions ceased.
And the hand of Jehovah was against the philistines all the days of Samuel. This, of course, includes the reign of Saul, till within four years of his death; for Samuel continued to he prophet, and to a certain extent shophet, even when Saul was king. The words, moreover, imply a struggle, during which there was a gradual growth in strength on Israel's part, and a gradual enfeeblement on the part of the Philistines, until David completely vanquished them, though they appear again as powerful enemies in the days of King Jehoram (
2 Chronicles 21:16). It is certain, however, that fifteen or twenty years after this battle the Philistines were again in the ascendant (
1 Samuel 13:19-23), and it was this which made the Israelites demand a king (
1 Samuel 9:16). But it is the method of the Divine historians to include the ultimate results, however distant, in their account of an event (see on 1 Samuel 16:21; 17:55-58); and Israel's freedom and the final subjugation of the Philistines were both contained in Samuel's victory at Mizpah.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew
So the Philistinesהַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים(hap·pə·liš·tîm)Article | Noun - proper - masculine plural
Strong's 6430:Philistines -- inhabitants of Philistiawere subduedוַיִּכָּֽנְעוּ֙(way·yik·kā·nə·‘ū)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 3665:To bend the knee, to humiliate, vanquishand did notוְלֹא־(wə·lō-)Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808:Not, noinvadeלָב֖וֹא(lā·ḇō·w)Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 935:To come in, come, go in, gothe territoryבִּגְב֣וּל(biḡ·ḇūl)Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1366:A cord, a boundary, the territory inclosedof Israelיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל(yiś·rā·’êl)Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478:Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his descagain.יָסְפ֣וּ(yā·sə·p̄ū)Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 3254:To add, augmentAnd the handיַד־(yaḏ-)Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 3027:A handof the LORDיְהוָה֙(Yah·weh)Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068:LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israelwasוַתְּהִ֤י(wat·tə·hî)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1961:To fall out, come to pass, become, beagainst the Philistinesבַּפְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים(bap·pə·liš·tîm)Preposition-b, Article | Noun - proper - masculine plural
Strong's 6430:Philistines -- inhabitants of Philistiaallכֹּ֖ל(kōl)Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605:The whole, all, any, everythe daysיְמֵ֥י(yə·mê)Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 3117:A dayof Samuel.שְׁמוּאֵֽל׃(šə·mū·’êl)Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 8050:Samuel -- 'name of God', a prophet of Israel
Links
1 Samuel 7:13 NIV1 Samuel 7:13 NLT1 Samuel 7:13 ESV1 Samuel 7:13 NASB1 Samuel 7:13 KJV
1 Samuel 7:13 BibleApps.com1 Samuel 7:13 Biblia Paralela1 Samuel 7:13 Chinese Bible1 Samuel 7:13 French Bible1 Samuel 7:13 Catholic Bible
OT History: 1 Samuel 7:13 So the Philistines were subdued and they (1Sa iSam 1 Sam i sa) 
