And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel.

1 SAMUEL 11:2KJV
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1 Samuel 11:2 (KJV)

What does 1 Samuel 11:2 mean?

1 Samuel 11:2 describes how Nahash the Ammonite tells the people of Jabesh-gilead that he will only make a peace agreement with them if he is allowed to gouge out the right eye of every man, making it a public disgrace for all Israel. Nahash’s demand is meant to humiliate and weaken the Israelites, not just to defeat them.

Nahash, the leader of the Ammonites, is responding to a request for a treaty from the besieged city of Jabesh-gilead. Instead of offering fair terms, Nahash insists on a cruel condition that would physically and symbolically shame Israel. This sets up the seriousness of the threat and the desperate situation that leads Israel to seek help from Saul.

The Hebrew behind 1 Samuel 11:2

  • נָחָשׁ (Nahash): This is the name of the Ammonite leader, meaning "serpent" in Hebrew, which adds a sense of menace to his character in the story.
  • יָמִין (yamin): This word means "right" and is used here for "right eye." In ancient warfare, the right eye was especially important for soldiers who held shields with their left arm, so losing it would make them vulnerable.
  • חֶרְפָּה (cherpah): This word means "reproach" or "disgrace." Nahash’s goal is not just military victory, but to bring shame on all Israel, making the humiliation public and lasting.

Why 1 Samuel 11:2 matters

  • The verse highlights the cruelty of Nahash’s terms, showing that the threat to Jabesh-gilead is not just about conquest but about shaming the entire nation of Israel.
  • Understanding the demand to "thrust out all your right eyes" helps explain why the people are so desperate for rescue and why Saul’s later actions are seen as heroic.
  • This verse sets the stage for Saul’s first major act as king, showing the kind of challenges Israel faced and the kind of leadership they needed.

Where else these words appear

“out” Hebrew H5365 · used in 6 verses

  • Numbers 16:14 Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.
  • Judges 16:21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
  • Proverbs 30:17 The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

“Nahash” Hebrew H5176 · used in 8 verses

  • 1 Samuel 11:1 Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabeshgilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.
  • 2 Samuel 10:2 Then said David, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon.
  • 2 Samuel 17:27 And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,

“Ammonite” Hebrew H5984 · used in 18 verses

  • Deuteronomy 2:20 (That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;
  • 1 Kings 11:5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
  • Nehemiah 2:10 When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.

“this” Hebrew H2063 · used in 38 verses

  • Genesis 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
  • Leviticus 16:3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.
  • 1 Kings 3:23 Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.