MPV Commentary

The Philistines' Great Host.

The Philistines assembled their forces to fight against Israel, with an impressive array of thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen. The exact nature of these numbers is unclear; it's possible that they include various types of chariots or that the term "chariots" refers to the men fighting in them (compare 2 Samuel 10:18; 1 Kings 20:21; 1 Chronicles 19:18). Some scholars suggest that a small error may have occurred, with "thirty thousand" being a mistranslation of "three thousand." Regardless, it's evident that the Philistines were gathering their forces on the plain before ascending into the western passes and pitching camp in the heart of the Benjamite hills, specifically at Michmash (now Mukmas), a steep and precipitous valley located east of Beth-aven.