Now some of the Hebrews had gone over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead; but as for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
When did the events of this chapter happen if the last number in 1 Samuel 13:1 indicates the length of Saul’s reign? In 1 Samuel 10:8, Samuel commanded Saul to go to Gilgal and to wait seven days for him there. In 1 Samuel 13:8, we read that Saul went to Gilgal and waited seven days for Samuel. Therefore the events of chapter 13 appear to have followed those in chapter 10 soon, perhaps in the second year of his reign. [Note: Merrill, Kingdom of . . ., p. 193; Wood, Israel’s United . . ., pp. 123.] 