After that: that is, after having exchanged greetings with the three men and having accepted the bread they offered.
Gibe-ath-elohim: this name means “the hill of God.” Versions vary in how they translate it: “the hill of God” (Revised English Bible), “Gibeah of God” (New International Version and New Jerusalem Bible), “Hill of God in Gibeah” (Good News Translation). The reference is apparently either to the town of Gibeah (see verses 10 and 26) or to a sacred place of worship in or near Gibeah. Gibeah itself is called by different names in 1 and 2 Samuel: “Gibeah” (verses 10 and 26), “Gibeah of Saul” (11.4; 15.34; 2 Sam 21.6; Isa 10.29), “Gibeah of Benjamin” (13.2), and “Gibeah of the Benjaminites” (2 Sam 23.29).
It had been assumed since the early part of the twentieth century that Gibeah was located about five kilometers (three miles) north of Jerusalem, and that Gibeah and Geba (see 13.3) were different towns. More recent studies strongly suggest that Gibeah and Geba are different names for the same location, a site about nine kilometers (five and one-half miles) northeast of Jerusalem.
Garrison: the English term used here is a somewhat technical one for rather large groups of soldiers more or less permanently established in a particular location (see also 13.3-4; 2 Sam 8.6, 14). New International Version speaks of “a Philistine outpost.” The term can also be used to refer to a “prefect” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, similarly Anchor Bible) or “governors” (Bible en français courant), but in either case the idea is the setting up of a formal presence of Philistines in Gibeath-elohim and probably included a large number of soldiers. A different Hebrew word, but based on the same root, is also rendered garrison in 13.23; 14.1, 4, 6, 11, 15.
A band of prophets: one meaning of the English word band is “a group of musicians.” That meaning may seem to fit this context, but that is definitely not the intended meaning here. The word band here simply refers to a group of persons united in a common purpose. Revised English Bible renders this “a company of prophets,” and New Jerusalem Bible says “a group of prophets.”
High place: see the comments on 9.12.
The four musical instruments are singular nouns in Hebrew, but it is not likely that only one of each instrument is intended. Many languages will need to use plural forms, as in Good News Translation. The harp was a stringed instrument with a large resonator. An exact description is not possible, since the term is used for a variety of stringed instruments. It could have as few as three strings or as many as twelve. See also 2 Sam 6.5.
A tambourine, also called a “timbrel” in Revised Standard Version in 18.6 and Psa 81.2, is an instrument that is beaten to keep rhythm (see also 2 Sam 6.5). It was made of membranes of animal skins stretched over a circular, triangular, or square frame. Such an instrument is sometimes referred to as a “hand drum” or a “frame drum.” Its name in Hebrew, top, suggests the sound it makes.
The flute is an instrument made of wood, ivory, or bone and containing a reed that made a soft, breathy, nasal sound when the player blew on it. The term is sometimes translated “pipe(s)” by Revised Standard Version (1 Kgs 1.40).
A lyre is a musical instrument with strings, similar to a harp. It probably had ten strings. The same instrument is mentioned also in 2 Sam 6.5.
Of these four instruments, the harp and the lyre are most similar. In fact New International Version calls the first of these instruments a “lyre” and the fourth a “harp,” which is just the reverse of Revised Standard Version. The harp had thicker strings and had a lower register and louder sound than the lyre.
Prophesying: see also 19.20, 21, 23, 24, where the same verb occurs. The activity of the prophets here is not that of foretelling the future or of speaking out with judgments on behalf of God. The same verb is used of Saul in 18.10 and of the prophets of Baal in 1 Kgs 18.29, where Revised Standard Version renders it both times as “he [or, they] raved.” Here in verse 5 the prophets are engaging in ecstatic behavior that consists of dancing and shouting. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders this “speaking in ecstasy.” Gordon suggests the meaning “ecstasizing in the manner of the ‘prophets.’ ”
According to Good News Translation, the prophets were playing these musical instruments. The Hebrew text, however, says that these instruments will be “before them.” Compare Fox‘s translation: “and ahead of them (will be) lyre and timbrel, flute and harp, and they will be ranting-in-prophecy.” That is, the Hebrew seems to mean that other people, who will be walking in front of the prophets, will be playing the musical instruments. See also “a band of prophets coming down from the shrine with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre playing in front of them” (New Revised Standard Version), and “a company of prophets coming down from the shrine, led by lute…” (Revised English Bible).
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .