The conflict erupts in the central highlands around 1040 b.c. Saul sounds a ram's horn to summon his men. A terrified militia gathers at Gilgal. The dry heat of the Jordan Valley beats down on the camp. Men flee into limestone caves and dry cisterns. The soldiers endure the physical exhaustion of a seven-day watch. They find a bleak consolation only in the deep shadows of the rocks.
Saul stands by a stone altar in Gilgal. Samuel does not arrive on the seventh day. The enemy masses 30,000 chariots at Michmash. The Hebrew soldiers scatter into the hills. Saul slaughters livestock and forces a burnt offering to hold his army together. Samuel finally arrives. The prophet strips the king of his dynastic future. Saul prioritizes immediate military survival over absolute obedience to God. The divine penalty takes effect immediately.
The tactical reality centers entirely on an iron monopoly. No blacksmith operates anywhere in Israel. A Hebrew farmer pays a Philistine smith a pim—about one day of a laborer's wages—to sharpen a plowshare or an ax. Saul and Jonathan hold the only forged iron swords in the camp. The rest of the men grip agricultural tools. They face an advanced military force with blunt hoes. The terror of the Hebrew troops is a rational response to this mechanical deficit.
Desperation drives a man to wield authority he was never issued.
The burned animal fat hardened on the stones at Gilgal. Saul marched his remaining 600 farmers toward a wall of iron weapons.