1Sa 11:1 | JFB | STEP | 1. Then Nahash the Ammonite came up —Nahash ("serpent"); (see ). The Ammonites had long claimed the right of original possession in Gilead. Though repressed by Jephthah ( ), they now, after ninety years, renew their pretensions; and it was the report of their threatened invasion that hastened the appointment of a king ( ). Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee —They saw no prospect of aid from the western Israelites, who were not only remote, but scarcely able to repel the incursions of the Philistines from themselves.

1 Samuel 11:1

1. Then Nahash the Ammonite came up—Nahash ("serpent"); (see Jud 8:3). The Ammonites had long claimed the right of original possession in Gilead. Though repressed by Jephthah (Jud 11:33), they now, after ninety years, renew their pretensions; and it was the report of their threatened invasion that hastened the appointment of a king (1Sa 12:12).

Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee—They saw no prospect of aid from the western Israelites, who were not only remote, but scarcely able to repel the incursions of the Philistines from themselves.