1And that day, JoNathan (Saul’s son) said to the servant who was carrying his weapons, ‘Come with me! Let’s go around to the other side of the Philistine garrison’ (but he didn’t tell his father what he was doing). 2Meanwhile, Saul had moved to the peak of a hill in MagAdon, and he was camping there under a pomegranate tree. Then, some of his [remaining] six hundred (or so) men came there to meet with him, 3and AhiJah (the son AhiTub, the brother of Ichabod, who was the son of Phinehas and the grandson of Eli) the Priest of Jehovah in Shiloh, came carrying the sacred chest piece of the Priest. However, no one knew that JoNathan had left. 4Now, JoNathan had crossed through the middle of the river on his way to the Philistine camp, at a ford where there were jagged rocks on both sides (on one side it was called Bozez, and on the other side it was called Seneh), 5along the road that leads from MichMash in the north, to Geba in the south. 6Then JoNathan said to the servant who was carrying his weapons, ‘Come on, let’s go to the town of MesSab [and attack] the uncircumcised who are camped there, for, perhaps Jehovah will give them [into our hands]. After all, doesn’t [Jehovah give victory] over many to just a few?’ 7And the man who was carrying his weapons replied, ‘You do whatever your heart moves you to do. Look, I’m with you. For, whatever is in your heart is in my heart also.’ 8And JoNathan said, ‘Then we’ll go up there [and stand in front of them]. 9And if they say to us, Wait there, we’ll just stay away and we won’t go any closer. 10But if they tell us to come forward, that will be our sign… we’ll know that Jehovah has given them into our hands, so we’ll attack.’ 11Then they walked up to the Philistine camp at MesSab, and a Philistine guard shouted, ‘Look! Here come some Hebrews who have crawled out of the burrows they’ve been hiding in.’ 12So the men of MesSab called to JoNathan and the man who was carrying his weapons, and said: ‘Come on up here to us and we’ll show you a few things.’ Then JoNathan said to the man who was carrying his weapons, ‘Now follow me, for Jehovah has given them into the hands of Israel!’ 13And JoNathan crawled up the hill on his hands and feet, with the man carrying his weapons close behind. 14Then JoNathan and [his attendant] attacked, killing twenty men using arrows, slings, and rocks that they’d found in the field. 15And this caused quite a change in attitude among the [Philistines] in and around MesSab, for they had caught the men they destroyed off guard. And everyone was very disturbed over what [Jehovah had done among them]. 16Well, Saul’s watchmen in GibeAh of BenJamin noticed that there was a lot of confusion on both sides of the enemy camp. 17And Saul said to the people who were meeting with him: ‘Take a head count and see who has left us.’ So, they took a head count and found that JoNathan and the man carrying his weapons were missing. 18Then Saul said to AhiJah, ‘Bring the sacred chest piece!’ (It was inside the Chest of God that day, before Israel). 19And as Saul was speaking to the Priest, he noticed that the sound in the Philistine camp kept getting louder and louder. So he said to the Priest, ‘Put your hands together [and pray].’ 20Then Saul went and gathered his troops and they joined the battle. Well, confusion reigned in the Philistine camp and the men started attacking each other with swords. 21Then [Saul’s] men (who had [been hiding] for the previous two days) got up and joined the battle with Saul and JoNathan. 22And when the Israelites who had run to the hills of EphraIm heard that the Philistines were retreating, they all came and joined in the battle, and Jehovah gave victory to Israel that day. Well, the battle raged through BethAven, and by then, about ten thousand men had joined Saul. 23And from there the war continued to be fought in many cities and into the hills of EphraIm. 24Then Saul did something very foolish; he placed a curse on the people when he said, ‘Any man who eats before the evening is cursed, because I want my enemies punished!’ As the result, none of his men had anything to eat. Well, his people had gathered in a grove of trees, 25and nearby (at the edge of a field), there were some beehives. 26And when some of his people went up to them, they found that they were full of honey; but no one would taste any, because of the oath that [Saul] had made before Jehovah. 27However, JoNathan didn’t know about the oath his father had spoken in front of people, so he stuck his walking stick into a hive, snagged some honeycomb, and ate it. Then, when he looked up, 28one of the men said, ‘Your father swore an oath before the people that anyone who eats anything today is cursed.’ Well, the people were famished, 29and JoNathan realized this, so he said, ‘My father is still cleaning out the land; and look, I’ve already eaten a little of this honey. 30Why, if our people [could have eaten] what they took from their enemies today, they would have killed more Philistines!’ 31Well, they had destroyed many Philistines at MichMash, and the people were extremely tired. 32So in [the evening], they went and divided up [the Philistine’s] flocks and herds. Then they slaughtered many calves and started eating the [raw] meat with its blood. 33And when the report was brought to Saul that the people were sinning against Jehovah by eating the blood, Saul said, ‘You have sinned! Now roll a large rock over here.’ 34Then Saul sent orders for his men to each bring a calf and a sheep, and they were to slaughter them there on the rock and eat them. For he said: ‘You must not sin against Jehovah by eating blood!’ So, everyone brought [the animals] that night and slaughtered them there. 35Then Saul built an altar to Jehovah 36and he said, ‘Now, let’s go after the Philistines tonight and keep cutting them to pieces until the morning dawns… don’t leave a single man!’ And they replied, ‘We’ll do whatever you say!’ Then [Saul] called the Priest and said, ‘Bring [the Chest] of our God here.’ 37And Saul asked God, ‘Shall I attack the Philistines, and will you give them into the hands of Israel?’ But [God] wouldn’t answer him, 38so Saul said, ‘Then bring [all the men of] Israel here and stand them in front of me, because I want everyone to know if someone has been [guilty of sin] today! 39Why, as Jehovah (the One who saves Israel) lives; if someone were to even tell me that it was my son JoNathan, he would die.’ But nobody said anything. 40Then he spoke before all the men of Israel, and said, ‘You are part of this, and my son JoNathan and I [are part] of it. And the people replied to Saul, ‘Then do whatever you must!’ 41And Saul said, ‘O Jehovah, God of Israel, give us a sign.’ Then lots were thrown, and Saul and JoNathan were chosen, so the people were excused. 42And Saul said, ‘Now throw the lots between me and my son JoNathan, and whoever Jehovah chooses must die!’ So, they threw the lots between him and JoNathan, and JoNathan was chosen. 43And Saul asked JoNathan, ‘Tell me, what did you do?’ And JoNathan replied ‘I took a little honey on the tip of my walking stick and tasted it. So look, I must die!’ 44Then Saul said, ‘May God [kill] me again and again rather than to allow JoNathan to die today.’ 45Then Saul spoke to the people and said, ‘Shall I now kill the one who brought deliverance to Israel? As Jehovah lives, not a hair of his head should fall to the ground over the mercy that God has performed for Israel today.’ Then the people prayed on behalf of JoNathan, and he wasn’t put to death. 46So, Saul didn’t chase after the Philistines that day… everyone just went back home. 47Now, after Saul was chosen by lottery to rule over Israel, he waged war with his enemies all around the land… the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the king of Zobah, and the Philistines. And wherever he went, he was saved. 48He acted decisively and struck down the Amalechites and anyone else who tried to walk on Israel. 49Saul’s sons were JoNathan, IshVi, and MelchiShua. He also had two daughters, Merob and Michal. 50Saul’s wife’s name was AhinoAm, and she was the daughter of AhimaAz. The commander-in-chief of Saul’s army was AbNer (the son of Ner), who was related to Saul. 51Kish was Saul’s father, and AbNer’s father Ner was the son of AbiEl. 52He was a strong fighter against the Philistines throughout the life of Saul. And whenever Saul found a valiant or a very strong man, he was recruited to serve Saul.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 JONATHAN MIRACULOUSLY SMITES THE PHILISTINES' GARRISON. (
1Sam 14:1-14)
the Philistines' garrison--"the standing camp" (
1Sam 13:23, Margin) "in the passage of Michmash" (
1Sam 13:16), now Wady Es-Suweinit. "It begins in the neighborhood of Betin (Beth-el) and El-Bireh (Beetroth), and as it breaks through the ridge below these places, its sides form precipitous walls. On the right, about a quarter of an acre below, it again breaks off, and passes between high perpendicular precipices" [ROBINSON].
2 Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah--Hebrew, "Geba"; entrenched, along with Samuel and Ahiah the high priest, on the top of one of the conical or spherical hills which abound in the Benjamite territory, and favorable for an encampment, called Migron ("a precipice").
4 between the passages--that is, the deep and great ravine of Suweinit.
Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines' garrison--a distance of about three miles running between two jagged points; Hebrew, "teeth of the cliff."
there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side . . . Bozez--("shining") from the aspect of the chalky rock.
Seneh--("the thorn") probably from a solitary acacia on its top. They are the only rocks of the kind in this vicinity; and the top of the crag towards Michmash was occupied as the post of the Philistines. The two camps were in sight of each other; and it was up the steep rocky sides of this isolated eminence that Jonathan and his armorbearer (
1Sam 14:6) made their adventurous approach. This enterprise is one of the most gallant that history or romance records. The action, viewed in itself, was rash and contrary to all established rules of military discipline, which do not permit soldiers to fight or to undertake any enterprise that may involve important consequences without the order of the generals.
6 it may be that the Lord will work for us--This expression did not imply a doubt; it signified simply that the object he aimed at was not in his own power--but it depended upon God--and that he expected success neither from his own strength nor his own merit.
9 if they say, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the Lord hath delivered them into our hand--When Jonathan appears here to prescribe a sign or token of God's will, we may infer that the same spirit which inspired this enterprise suggested the means of its execution, and put into his heart what to ask of God. (See on
Gen 24:12).
11 Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes--As it could not occur to the sentries that two men had come with hostile designs, it was a natural conclusion that they were Israelite deserters. And hence no attempt was made to hinder their ascent, or stone them.
14 that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armour-bearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow--This was a very ancient mode of measurement, and it still subsists in the East. The men who saw them scrambling up the rock had been surprised and killed, and the spectacle of twenty corpses would suggest to others that they were attacked by a numerous force. The success of the adventure was aided by a panic that struck the enemy, produced both by the sudden surprise and the shock of an earthquake. The feat was begun and achieved by the faith of Jonathan, and the issue was of God.
16 the watchmen of Saul . . . looked--The wild disorder in the enemies' camp was described and the noise of dismay heard on the heights of Gibeah.
17 Then said Saul unto the people that were with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us--The idea occurred to him that it might be some daring adventurer belonging to his own little troop, and it would be easy to discover him.
18 Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God--There is no evidence that the ark had been brought from Kirjath-jearim. The Septuagint version is preferable; which, by a slight variation of the text, reads, "the ephod"; that is, the priestly cape, which the high priest put on when consulting the oracle. That this should be at hand is natural, from the presence of Ahiah himself, as well as the nearness of Nob, where the tabernacle was then situated.
19 Withdraw thine hand--The priest, invested with the ephod, prayed with raised and extended hands. Saul perceiving that the opportunity was inviting, and that God appeared to have sufficiently declared in favor of His people, requested the priest to cease, that they might immediately join in the contest. The season for consultation was past--the time for prompt action was come.
20 Saul and all the people--All the warriors in the garrison at Gibeah, the Israelite deserters in the camp of the Philistines, and the fugitives among the mountains of Ephraim, now all rushed to the pursuit, which was hot and sanguinary.
23 So the Lord saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over unto Beth-aven--that is, "Beth-el." It passed over the forest, now destroyed, on the central ridge of Palestine, then over to the other side from the eastern pass of Michmash (
1Sam 14:31), to the western pass of Aijalon, through which they escaped into their own plains.
24 Saul had adjured the people--Afraid lest so precious an opportunity of effectually humbling the Philistine power might be lost, the impetuous king laid an anathema on any one who should taste food until the evening. This rash and foolish denunciation distressed the people, by preventing them taking such refreshments as they might get on the march, and materially hindered the successful attainment of his own patriotic object.
25 all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey--The honey is described as "upon the ground," "dropping" from the trees, and in honeycombs--indicating it to be bees' honey. "Bees in the East are not, as in England, kept in hives; they are all in a wild state. The forests literally flow with honey; large combs may be seen hanging on the trees as you pass along, full of honey" [ROBERTS].
31 the people were very faint. And the people flew upon the spoil--at evening, when the time fixed by Saul had expired. Faint and famishing, the pursuers fell voraciously upon the cattle they had taken, and threw them on the ground to cut off their flesh and eat them raw, so that the army, by Saul's rashness, were defiled by eating blood, or living animals; probably, as the Abyssinians do, who cut a part of the animal's rump, but close the hide upon it, and nothing mortal follows from that wound. They were painfully conscientious in keeping the king's order for fear of the curse, but had no scruple in transgressing God's command. To prevent this violation of the law, Saul ordered a large stone to be rolled, and those that slaughtered the oxen to cut their throats on that stone. By laying the animal's head on the high stone, the blood oozed out on the ground, and sufficient evidence was afforded that the ox or sheep was dead before it was attempted to eat it.
45 the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not--When Saul became aware of Jonathan's transgression in regard to the honey, albeit it was done in ignorance and involved no guilt, he was, like Jephthah [
Judg 11:31,
Judg 11:35], about to put his son to death, in conformity with his vow [
1Sam 14:44]. But the more enlightened conscience of the army prevented the tarnishing the glory of the day by the blood of the young hero, to whose faith and valor it was chiefly due.
47 So Saul . . . fought against all his enemies on every side--This signal triumph over the Philistines was followed, not only by their expulsion from the land of Israel, but by successful incursions against various hostile neighbors, whom he harassed though he did not subdue them.
