Introduction: Two Years of Kingship and the Beginning of the Deviation
Chapter 13 of Shmuel A is a pivotal chapter: here we see the beginning of Shaul's deviation. It is important to stress from the outset that these were unintentional errors, not deliberate sins; and yet it is precisely these that cost Shaul his kingship. The chapter opens by noting the period of his reign, continues with Yonatan's targeted strike against the Philistine garrison, the terrible fear that gripped the people, the offering of the burnt offering before Shmuel arrived, and Shmuel's words of rebuke, and it concludes with a description of Israel's wretched condition in terms of weaponry, a description whose entire purpose is to prepare us for the magnitude of the miracle that will occur in the next chapter.
"Shaul was a year old when he began to reign" - Three Understandings
בֶּן־שָׁנָה שָׁאוּל בְּמׇלְכוֹ וּשְׁתֵּי שָׁנִים מָלַךְ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - Shaul was a year old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years over Israel.
The phrase "Shaul was a year old when he began to reign" has several explanations among Chazal. The first, which is the plain meaning of the verse: a year had passed since the beginning of his reign. Another explanation: Shaul was like a one year old infant, clean of sin. And indeed such was his greatness, for of him it is said "there was none better than him in all of Israel." We have already seen that the Holy One, blessed be He, tells David that had you been Shaul and he been David, I would have removed a thousand Davids for the sake of Shaul. Shaul's greatness was exalted.
And here lies the foundation for understanding the entire chapter. We explained that David marked the beginning of his soul emerging from the impure shells, and therefore his transgressions were considered unintentional errors. Shaul, by contrast, was on a high spiritual level and his soul was already very refined, and therefore his unintentional errors were considered as deliberate sins, and he was held far more accountable for them than David was held accountable. "And he reigned two years over Israel" - in total, after two years Shaul loses the kingship.
The King's Standing Army
וַיִּבְחַר־לוֹ שָׁאוּל שְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּהְיוּ עִם־שָׁאוּל אַלְפַּיִם בְּמִכְמָשׂ וּבְהַר בֵּית־אֵל וְאֶלֶף הָיוּ עִם־יוֹנָתָן בְּגִבְעַת בִּנְיָמִן וְיֶתֶר הָעָם שִׁלַּח אִישׁ לְאֹהָלָיו׃ - And Shaul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel, and two thousand were with Shaul in Michmas and in the hill country of Beit El, and a thousand were with Yonatan in Givat Binyamin, and the rest of the people he sent away, each man to his tent.
Shaul keeps two thousand men with him, and a thousand with Yonatan, and sends the rest of the people away to their tents. Why does he need two thousand men on a permanent basis? Because here there is a kingdom, and the king needs a force that is with him at all times.
Striking the Philistine Garrison - a Targeted Strike
וַיַּךְ יוֹנָתָן אֵת נְצִיב פְּלִשְׁתִּים אֲשֶׁר בְּגֶבַע וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ פְּלִשְׁתִּים וְשָׁאוּל תָּקַע בַּשּׁוֹפָר בְּכׇל־הָאָרֶץ לֵאמֹר יִשְׁמְעוּ הָעִבְרִים׃ - And Yonatan struck the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geva, and the Philistines heard of it. And Shaul blew the shofar throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.
The "garrison of the Philistines" is the officer appointed by the Philistines over Israel. Such was the way of the world: one nation conquers another and turns it into a protectorate, collecting protection dues from it, and the conquered nation is dependent upon it and pays it taxes. Yonatan did not want a gentile officer set over them; rather he wanted independence, and therefore he killed the officer who was here in the land. Shaul did not know of this, and it was not done with his consent either. But now, after the deed had been done, Shaul blows the shofar throughout all the land, so that the Hebrews would hear and prepare themselves for war, for the situation would not remain as it was and the Philistines would not let this pass quietly. What Yonatan did was a targeted strike, but after it the threats begin.
"Shaul struck" and "the people were called out"
וְכׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵל שָׁמְעוּ לֵאמֹר הִכָּה שָׁאוּל אֶת־נְצִיב פְּלִשְׁתִּים וְגַם־נִבְאַשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּפְּלִשְׁתִּים וַיִּצָּעֲקוּ הָעָם אַחֲרֵי שָׁאוּל הַגִּלְגָּל׃ - And all of Israel heard, saying, Shaul has struck the garrison of the Pelishtim, and Israel has also become odious to the Pelishtim. And the people were called out after Shaul to the Gilgal.
Why does it say "Shaul struck," when in fact it was Yonatan who struck? Rather, the moment Shaul gathers all the people and prepares them for war, he provides backing and approval for Yonatan's act, and so the deed is attributed to him, as if Shaul struck, since it was done with his consent. "And Israel has also become odious to the Pelishtim" - as it were, a foul odor of Israel rose in the nostrils of the Pelishtim; from their perspective Israel is loathsome to them, and now they come to destroy them.
"And the people were called out" - an expression seen many times in the Navi ("and the man of Binyamin cried out," and likewise regarding the men of Efrayim), and the meaning is that they all gathered together for war. And why is it called this way? Because this was the manner of assembling the people for battle: they would pass through the towns with horses and shout, and this was the alarm by which everyone gathered. This was their "Tzav 8." They had no landing craft or all sorts of means that exist today; they had to gather the people in such a way.
The camp of the Pelishtim - a terrifying force
וּפְלִשְׁתִּים נֶאֶסְפוּ לְהִלָּחֵם עִם־יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁלֹשִׁים אֶלֶף רֶכֶב וְשֵׁשֶׁת אֲלָפִים פָּרָשִׁים וְעָם כַּחוֹל אֲשֶׁר עַל־שְׂפַת־הַיָּם לָרֹב וַיַּעֲלוּ וַיַּחֲנוּ בְמִכְמָשׂ קִדְמַת בֵּית אָוֶן׃ - And the Pelishtim gathered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Mikhmas, east of Beit Aven.
See what great danger Israel was in. First, thirty thousand chariots - an enormous quantity. "Rechev" means weaponry, war chariots; as one might say today thirty thousand tanks and cannons. And second, they encamp in Mikhmas - and behold, the king sits in Mikhmas, meaning they had drawn near and were already stationed in the vicinity.
The fear: caves, thickets, and pits
וְאִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל רָאוּ כִּי צַר־לוֹ כִּי נִגַּשׂ הָעָם וַיִּתְחַבְּאוּ הָעָם בַּמְּעָרוֹת וּבַחֲוָחִים וּבַסְּלָעִים וּבַצְּרִחִים וּבַבֹּרוֹת׃ - And the men of Israel saw that they were in distress, for the people were hard pressed, and the people hid themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in strongholds, and in pits.
Here we see what a dreadful level of fear they were in - to the point that each one sought out a pit in which to bury himself, out of a feeling that there was no chance even to go out and fight. "For the people were hard pressed" - the Pelishtim were like taskmasters over the people of Israel; Israel was under their boots. And so they do not attempt to fight at all, but only to hide. And "caves, thickets, rocks, strongholds, pits" - all of these are names of places and various kinds of pits and hollows in which one could hide. The main thing: not to get caught in a frontal war against the Pelishtim.
Those fleeing across the Yarden and the pressure on Shaul
וְעִבְרִים עָבְרוּ אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּן אֶרֶץ גָּד וְגִלְעָד וְשָׁאוּל עוֹדֶנּוּ בַגִּלְגָּל וְכׇל־הָעָם חָרְדוּ אַחֲרָיו׃ - And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Yarden to the land of Gad and Gilad, while Shaul was still in the Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
There were men among Israel who lived near the Jordan, and not only did they not come to help Shaul, they even fled across to the eastern side of the Jordan, leaving the land. There is Torah and there is faith, but when a person is terrified, he does not act rationally.
"And all the people trembled after him" - the people pressure Shaul to go out against the Philistines and fight them. Why? Because if he sits and waits for the Philistines to come to us, the situation is always worse when someone attacks you than when you attack him. But Shaul cannot go out: Shmuel told him to wait seven days until he came, and then they would offer the burnt offering, and only afterward would he go out to battle.
The Seven Days and the Scattering of the People
וַיּוֹחֶל שִׁבְעַת יָמִים לַמּוֹעֵד אֲשֶׁר שְׁמוּאֵל וְלֹא־בָא שְׁמוּאֵל הַגִּלְגָּל וַיָּפֶץ הָעָם מֵעָלָיו׃ - And he waited seven days, until the appointed time that Shmuel had set, but Shmuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people began to scatter away from him.
Despite the very difficult situation, the enemy surrounding him and about to attack, Shaul waits seven days for the time Shmuel had told him. And Shmuel does not come, and the people begin to scatter. The people say: what do we want here, a collective suicide? We sit still, the Philistines have been drawing closer for seven days, soon they will slaughter all of us, and we sit passively and wait?
The Offering of the Burnt Offering and the Justifications
וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל הַגִּשׁוּ אֵלַי הָעֹלָה וְהַשְּׁלָמִים וַיַּעַל הָעֹלָה׃ - And Shaul said: bring to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings, and he offered up the burnt offering.
The Navi gives us here several justifications that Shaul had for why he hurried to offer the burnt offering and did not wait for Shmuel. First, the terrible fear: everyone is fleeing and searching for pits to hide in. Second, he did not act immediately: he was told to wait and he waited seven days. Third, when did Shmuel tell him to wait? Until the seventh day, and the seventh day had arrived, and part of a day counts as the whole day. Even a mourner, may God protect us, does not sit for seven full days: he sits six days and a few minutes of the seventh day, and then rises. The seventh day had already arrived. Fourth, "and the people began to scatter away from him" - he is about to be left alone, and that is a situation of danger.
And a further justification: Shaul does not go out to battle, he only offers the burnt offering. "You told me not to go out to battle, and I did not go out; I only offered the burnt offering." But this was not precise, for Shmuel had told him not to offer the burnt offering until he came. Shaul thought that the main insistence was on not going out to war, but offering was permitted.
וַיְהִי כְּכַלֹּתוֹ לְהַעֲלוֹת הָעֹלָה וְהִנֵּה שְׁמוּאֵל בָּא וַיֵּצֵא שָׁאוּל לִקְרָאתוֹ לְבָרְכוֹ׃ - And it came to pass, as he finished offering up the burnt offering, that behold, Shmuel came, and Shaul went out toward him to greet him.
The moment he finishes, Shmuel arrives at once. He had not yet managed to offer the peace offerings, only the burnt offering, and Shmuel arrives. And Shaul goes out toward him to bless him.
"What Have You Done" - Four Justifications
וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל מֶה עָשִׂיתָ וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל כִּי־רָאִיתִי כִּי־נָפַץ הָעָם מֵעָלַי וְאַתָּה לֹא־בָאתָ לְמוֹעֵד הַיָּמִים וּפְלִשְׁתִּים נֶאֱסָפִים מִכְמָשׂ׃ - And Shmuel said, what have you done? And Shaul said, because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and you did not come at the appointed time, and the Pelishtim were gathering at Michmas.
Shaul offers him four justifications. First: I saw that the people were scattering from me. Second: we had agreed on a date and you did not come. Third: the Pelishtim were gathering at Michmas, and here was a terrible situation of danger to life; I said, at the very least let us offer the burnt offering, and through the sacrifice we will find favor and entreat Hashem, and He will save us.
וָאֹמַר עַתָּה יֵרְדוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים אֵלַי הַגִּלְגָּל וּפְנֵי יְהֹוָה לֹא חִלִּיתִי וָאֶתְאַפַּק וָאַעֲלֶה הָעֹלָה׃ - And I said, now the Pelishtim will come down against me to Gilgal, and I have not entreated the face of Hashem; so I forced myself and offered up the burnt offering.
And the fourth justification: I said, the Pelishtim are coming down against me to Gilgal, and I have not yet offered the sacrifice, so how will we fight? For if the Pelishtim come to attack us, could there be any complaint about our defending ourselves? Even Shmuel, who told me to wait, meant that I should not go out to attack; but if they attack me, I am surely obligated to save my own life. Therefore I said: they will come to attack us and we have not even offered the burnt offering to entreat Hashem and to receive His favor to help us. And on the face of it he was right.
"And I forced myself" - two interpretations
One must ask: did Shaul force himself or not? He did not force himself, for he offered the burnt offering before Shmuel arrived. So what is meant by "and I forced myself and offered up the burnt offering"? There are two interpretations. The first: the restraint was regarding going out to battle. I should already have gone out to war, and I held myself back from going out, and therefore I only offered the burnt offering. The other interpretation: Shaul says to Shmuel, in truth I did not even want to offer the burnt offering; I said I would wait for Shmuel until the bitter end, come what may, and I would not even offer the burnt offering. But "and I forced myself," I overcame this desire of mine to wait for Shmuel, and I said: no, in any case I will offer up the burnt offering, in order to obtain Hashem's favor, so that we would at least know that we had appeased the Holy One blessed be He, and through this we would succeed in winning the battle.
"You have acted foolishly" - calculations versus trust
וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל אֶל־שָׁאוּל נִסְכָּלְתָּ לֹא שָׁמַרְתָּ אֶת־מִצְוַת יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר צִוָּךְ כִּי עַתָּה הֵכִין יְהֹוָה אֶת־מַמְלַכְתְּךָ אֶל־יִשְׂרָאֵל עַד־עוֹלָם׃ - And Shmuel said to Shaul, you have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of Hashem your God which He commanded you, for now Hashem would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.
"You have acted foolishly" - where was the foolishness? In that you began to make calculations: in a situation such as this, where the people are scattering, and in a situation such as this, where the enemy stands against us; and perhaps what Shmuel said was only that I should not go out to war and not about offering the burnt offering; and perhaps part of the day counts as the whole day. All of these are calculations. And one who makes calculations against Hashem, there is no wisdom in this but foolishness.
And Shmuel says to him: now I can reveal to you that this was a test from Hashem. Had you withstood it, "for now Hashem would have established your kingdom over Israel forever" - you and your dynasty would have been kings forever. And one must ask: how is this possible? For "the scepter shall not depart from Yehudah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet," and it was Yehudah who received the kingship forever - would Hashem have annulled a verse of the Torah? The Ramban answers: indeed the scepter shall not depart from Yehudah, but the kingdom could have been split, with Shaul reigning over part of the people of Israel and David over another part, as ultimately happened in the days of Rechavam and Yaravam, when by the word of Hashem the kingdom was divided, Yaravam receiving ten tribes and Rechavam two tribes, Yehudah and Binyamin. Had you fulfilled the word of Hashem, you would have had a portion in the kingship over Israel forever; and since you did not, the kingdom will pass to someone else.
Why here "decreed" and by Amalek "tore"?
And should you ask: what was different in the affair of Agag, where the Holy One blessed be He said to him "Hashem has torn," whereas here He merely decreed? The answer is simple. There he reached the point at which the kingship was actually cut off. Shaul reigned for two years, and had he not sinned with the sin of Amalek he could have continued to reign another fifty years. Here he was told: there will be no kingdom forever - fine, I will not be king forever, my sons and grandsons will not reign, but my own reign will continue. But when he came to the matter of Agag it was decreed "Hashem has torn your kingdom from you" - at that moment the kingdom was torn away from him.
וְעַתָּה מַמְלַכְתְּךָ לֹא־תָקוּם בִּקֵּשׁ יְהֹוָה לוֹ אִישׁ כִּלְבָבוֹ וַיְצַוֵּהוּ יְהֹוָה לְנָגִיד עַל־עַמּוֹ כִּי לֹא שָׁמַרְתָּ אֵת אֲשֶׁר־צִוְּךָ יְהֹוָה׃ - And now your kingdom shall not endure. Hashem has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and Hashem has appointed him ruler over His people, because you did not keep what Hashem commanded you.
Not only will the kingship of future generations not continue, but your own kingdom will not stand: it will not last long. He still does not tell him until when; the matter of Amalek is what cut the kingship short. And the content of the rebuke is this: you thought that your kingship would function by natural means, and therefore you did not trust in Hashem but instead said, "I will offer the burnt offering," "we must go out to battle," and in this you acted foolishly. Had you cast your burden upon Hashem, your kingship would have endured forever; but now that you trusted in the stratagems of war, Hashem will take care to bring Israel a ruler after His own heart. And what is "after His own heart"? One who has absolute trust in Hashem, who does not rely on the stratagems of war nor on any means, but leans and trusts in Hashem alone.
David in the Test of the Sound in the Bacha Trees
And David the king was tested with exactly such a trial. In his war against the Philistines they were inside the forest, and Hashem told him: when you hear the sound of the movement of the trees, then you shall attack. And it is written that the Philistines came right up to them, standing behind the trees at a distance of millimeters. They already said to David: look, if we attack now we will destroy them on the spot, and if they discover us even one second before that, they will destroy us. Yet David refused in any way to agree, and he said: Hashem told me that when I hear the sound of the rustling of the bacha trees, the sound of the trees, then I will know to attack. And he waited, and only when he heard the sound of the wind stirring through the trees, then he attacked, and in the end he succeeded.
Six Hundred Men Against the Sand of the Sea
וַיָּקׇם שְׁמוּאֵל וַיַּעַל מִן־הַגִּלְגָּל גִּבְעַת בִּנְיָמִן וַיִּפְקֹד שָׁאוּל אֶת־הָעָם הַנִּמְצְאִים עִמּוֹ כְּשֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת אִישׁ׃ - And Shmuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Givat Binyamin, and Shaul mustered the people who were found with him, about six hundred men.
He musters them and discovers that everyone had fled. Do the calculation: there they had thirty thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen on horses, and foot soldiers without number, "like the sand upon the shore of the sea." And here, six hundred men. And were they at least properly equipped, with battle armor and all the gear in order? The coming pesukim will show us what weapons they had with them.
וְשָׁאוּל וְיוֹנָתָן בְּנוֹ וְהָעָם הַנִּמְצָא עִמָּם יֹשְׁבִים בְּגֶבַע בִּנְיָמִן וּפְלִשְׁתִּים חָנוּ בְמִכְמָשׂ׃ - And Shaul and Yonatan his son and the people who were found with them were staying in Geva Binyamin, while the Philistines encamped in Michmas.
The Philistines had such boldness that they drew very near, reaching Michmas, and Michmas is the royal city of Shaul, and they entered into the Land of Israel in order to attack.
The Three Divisions of the Raiders
וַיֵּצֵא הַמַּשְׁחִית מִמַּחֲנֵה פְלִשְׁתִּים שְׁלֹשָׁה רָאשִׁים הָרֹאשׁ אֶחָד יִפְנֶה אֶל־דֶּרֶךְ עׇפְרָה אֶל־אֶרֶץ שׁוּעָל׃ - And the raiding party went out from the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned toward the road to Ofrah, to the land of Shual;
וְהָרֹאשׁ אֶחָד יִפְנֶה דֶּרֶךְ בֵּית חֹרוֹן וְהָרֹאשׁ אֶחָד יִפְנֶה דֶּרֶךְ הַגְּבוּל הַנִּשְׁקָף עַל־גֵּי הַצְּבֹעִים הַמִּדְבָּרָה׃ - and one company turned toward the road to Beit Choron, and one company turned toward the road of the border overlooking the Valley of Tzevoim, toward the wilderness.
They divide their army into three divisions, and this pasuk too comes to show the difficulty and the magnitude of the danger. As long as the enemy is concentrated in one place, one can still take an action that creates confusion and perhaps succeeds in taking them by surprise. But once they are split into three, even if you come to one camp and strike it, there is another camp here and another camp there, and overcoming them is far harder.
"And no smith was to be found" - weapons without an industry
וְחָרָשׁ לֹא יִמָּצֵא בְּכֹל אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי־אָמְרוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים פֶּן יַעֲשׂוּ הָעִבְרִים חֶרֶב אוֹ חֲנִית׃ - And no smith was to be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said: lest the Hebrews make a sword or a spear.
Throughout this entire period when the Philistines ruled over us, no smith was to be found. What is a "charash"? A metalworker, a locksmith, as in the phrase "the charash and the masger." The Philistines saw to it that there would be no smiths here, so that they would not produce weapons, swords and shields. But once there is no smith, the needs of peacetime are harmed as well: knives, axes, the plow.
וַיֵּרְדוּ כׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵל הַפְּלִשְׁתִּים לִלְטוֹשׁ אִישׁ אֶת־מַחֲרַשְׁתּוֹ וְאֶת־אֵתוֹ וְאֶת־קַרְדֻּמּוֹ וְאֵת מַחֲרֵשָׁתוֹ׃ - And all Israel would go down to the Philistines, each man to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe and his sickle.
All of Israel who needed to sharpen would go down to the Philistines, for that was the center of sharpening. "Macharashto" is the plow implement. "Eto" is the mattock, as in the phrase "and they shall beat their swords into plowshares (itim)," for from the sword one makes an et. "Kardumo" is an axe. The final "macharashto" is the implement with which they would cut wood, from the root charash, as in "a chorash etzim," a woodcutter.
What is a "petzirah pim"
וְהָיְתָה הַפְּצִירָה פִים לַמַּחֲרֵשֹׁת וְלָאֵתִים וְלִשְׁלֹשׁ קִלְּשׁוֹן וּלְהַקַּרְדֻּמִּים וּלְהַצִּיב הַדָּרְבָן׃ - And there was a petzirah pim for the plowshares, and for the mattocks, and for the three-pronged forks, and for the axes, and to set the goad.
The word "petzirah" does not appear alone in Tanach, but always as "petzirah pim." And what is a "petzirah pim"? "Lehaftzir" in the language of the Torah does not mean to request (as in our usage) but to increase; "lehaftzir" is to increase, as in increasing in supplication. And a petzirah is a piece of metal that has mouths, for each point is called a mouth, and it has many mouths; and "pim" in the language of Tanach means mouths. If so, a "petzirah pim" is an implement that has many mouths and protrusions, with which they would rasp and sharpen. And the meaning of the pasuk: even one who did not want to go down to the Philistines would use a petzirah, in short a file, what today is called a shufinah, and with it they would sharpen the iron tools: the plowshares, the mattocks, the three-pronged fork, the axes, and to set the goad.
Two swords in the entire camp
וְהָיָה בְּיוֹם מִלְחֶמֶת וְלֹא נִמְצָא חֶרֶב וַחֲנִית בְּיַד כׇּל־הָעָם אֲשֶׁר אֶת־שָׁאוּל וְאֶת־יוֹנָתָן וַתִּמָּצֵא לְשָׁאוּל וּלְיוֹנָתָן בְּנוֹ׃ - And it was, on the day of battle, that neither sword nor spear was to be found in the hand of all the people who were with Shaul and Yonatan, but it was found with Shaul and with Yonatan his son.
For all these six hundred men there was not even a sword. Two swords were in the entire camp: Shaul's and Yonatan's. And when you have no weapon, you fight with a pitchfork; but a pitchfork is not the ultimate weapon of war, it is what you do when there is no choice. You can also fight with an axe, or with a plow, but that is not how one wages war: by the time you swing the pitchfork, the fighter opposite you has already managed to kill. And they had swords, spears, bows and arrows, and the rest of the implements of war. And this entire description is an introduction, so that we will understand the magnitude of the miracle we will see in the next chapter.
The Philistine Garrison Goes Out
וַיֵּצֵא מַצַּב פְּלִשְׁתִּים אֶל־מַעֲבַר מִכְמָשׂ׃ - And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.
Despite all of Israel's weakness, the Philistine garrison goes out and advances toward the pass of Michmash. There are two positions in warfare: there is a "camp" (machaneh) and there is a "garrison" (matzav). The camp is the place where the nation prepares for battle: that is where the tents are, where the food is, where everything is; and the battlefield lies a kilometer or two ahead, and that is called the "garrison." "And the garrison of the Philistines went out" means that they drew closer in order to move the battlefield forward. When they would return from a failed engagement, they would go back to the camp, regroup, and go out again; but if they suffered a defeat, they do not return to the camp, rather each one flees to his own land.
In summary:
Chapter 13 opens the decline of Shaul's kingship. Shaul, whose soul was so refined that he was called like a one year old child clean of sin, and precisely for that reason he was held accountable for his unintentional errors as if they were deliberate sins, stood before a difficult test: the Philistines with terrifying might, a people scattered and hiding in pits, six hundred men without a sword, and Shmuel delaying. Instead of casting his lot upon Hashem, Shaul made calculations: part of the day counts as the whole, the prohibition was only against going out to battle, the people are scattering, and each calculation on its own sounds justified. About this Shmuel said to him "you have acted foolishly": one who makes calculations in the face of the word of Hashem, there is no wisdom in this but rather foolishness. In his place Hashem would choose "a man after His own heart": David, who was tested by a similar trial at the sound of the weeping and withstood it, waiting until the very moment he was commanded. And the description of Israel's wretched state at the end of the chapter is nothing but a preparation for the greatness of the miracle that will be revealed in the next chapter.