Era 6 · The First Kings1 Samuel
Saul's Offering and the Philistine Smiths
"There was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel"
"Saul was … years old when he began to reign, and he reigned … two years over Israel" (13:1, see below). Jonathan smites the Philistine garrison at Geba. The Philistines gather "thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand," and camp at Michmash. Israel hides "in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks."
Saul waits seven days at Gilgal; Samuel does not come; the people scatter. "Bring hither a burnt offering to me." As he finishes, Samuel arrives. "What hast thou done?" "I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering." "Thou hast done foolishly… now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart."
"Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears." Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes and sickles; "the charge was a pim for the plowshares." On the day of battle only Saul and Jonathan had sword and spear.
A verse with missing numbers (13:1)
The Hebrew reads literally "Saul was a son of a year when he began to reign, and two years he reigned over Israel." A number has been lost, and "two years" is unlikely as his whole reign. The library's Greek lacks the verse altogether. Translations supply numbers ("thirty years old," "forty-two years"), often from Acts 13:21 ("forty years") or later Greek manuscripts; these are reconstructions. See the passage page.
The pim
The word pim (13:21) was a mystery to translators: the KJV guessed "a file." Since the early 20th century, small stone weights inscribed pym have been found in Judah, weighing about two-thirds of a shekel. The verse gives the price of sharpening. A puzzling word was explained by archaeology.
Did the Philistines control iron?
Iron objects appear in both Philistine and highland Israelite sites in Iron I, and iron came into common use only gradually in the 11th–10th centuries BC. Archaeology does not show a Philistine monopoly on iron; the text may describe control of smithing in a particular period or region. See the investigation.
The Case for the Biblical Account
Scripture's account
Saul's sacrifice and Philistine control of smiths (1 Samuel 13).
What evidence would we expect?
Philistine military dominance; metalworking evidence; the pim weight.
The discoveries
Inscribed pim weights; iron tools at Iron I sites on both sides; Philistine expansion into the hills.
Testing the discoveries
The pim confirms the verse's vocabulary and economic setting; a strict iron monopoly is not supported.
The strongest reconstruction
A memory of Philistine military and economic dominance at the start of Saul's reign.
What remains possible
Saul's age and reign length.
What the evidence shows
- Pim weights of about two-thirds of a shekel have been found.
- The Philistines held a monopoly on iron. Iron appears at highland sites too.
- The numbers in 13:1 are preserved in the Hebrew.Source: NET Bible, notes on 1 Samuel 13:1 ↗
- Saul reigned forty years. Acts 13:21; Josephus gives different figures in different passages.
Continue the journey
Journey of a Passage1 Samuel 13:1: Saul's missing ageThe Hebrew reads "Saul was a year old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years over Israel." A number is missing.More from this lesson
Investigations
Optional deep dives: the ancient sources, the physical evidence, and every interpretation side by side, including unconventional ones, each labeled for what it is.
Philistine Iron and the Pim WeightPim weights: documented · Iron monopoly: conflicts with current evidence
Did the Philistines control iron, and what was a pim?
1 Samuel says Israel had no smiths and had to pay the Philistines a pim to sharpen tools. Inscribed stone weights marked pym, about two-thirds of a shekel, have been found in Judah, explaining a word earlier translators could not read. Archaeology does not support a Philistine monopoly on iron: iron appears gradually at sites of every kind.
Open the full investigation →Why this matters to the rest of Scripture
- "By the space of forty years."
- "A man after mine own heart."
- "Was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand?"
- Uzziah's unlawful offering.