Summary: Jonathan and his armor-bearer clandestinely approached the Philistine camp (v.1). Despite their small number, Jonathan was confident they could defeat the Philistines (v.2). They devised a plan: if the Philistines summoned them, they would fight (v.9). When this happened, they interpreted it as a sign from God (v.10), and they slew about twenty Philistine soldiers (v.14), causing widespread panic exacerbated by an earthquake (v.15). Saul’s forces then joined the fray and pursued the Philistines (v.23).
Saul rashly vowed that no one should eat until evening under penalty of death (v.24). Unaware of the oath, Jonathan ate honey (v.27). Saul’s arbitrary oath was criticized as self-serving and reckless (v.30). When Saul sought divine guidance, he vowed that the offender, even if it were his own son, would die (v.39). Through casting lots, Jonathan was identified as the oath-breaker (v.44). Saul rashly vowed to execute Jonathan, but the people intervened to spare him (v.45). Saul then continued to defend Israel against the Ammonites (v.48).
(14:1-3) One day Jonathan son of Saul said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. 2 Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree in Migron. 3 With him were about six hundred men, among whom was Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was a son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’s priest in Shiloh. No one was aware that Jonathan had left.
The contrast is striking: Jonathan is courageously taking initiative with only one other soldier, while Saul sits back and stays safe surrounded by 600 soldiers (v.3). Saul is eating fruit from a “pomegranate tree,” while Jonathan risks his life for the nation.
“Ahijah… Ahitub.” These are the priests who came from the doomed line of Eli.
(14:4-5) On each side of the pass that Jonathan intended to cross to reach the Philistine outpost was a cliff; one was called Bozez and the other Seneh. 5 One cliff stood to the north toward Mikmash, the other to the south toward Geba.
“The Philistine outpost was [on] a cliff.” The Philistines were on higher ground, which gave them a strict military advantage. Baldwin comments, “This was the last route anyone in their right mind would choose to take, hence the surprise Jonathan managed to spring on the enemy.”[]
(14:6) Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”
“Uncircumcised men.” Jonathan calls them “uncircumcised men” to reinforce the fact that they were outside of God’s covenant with Abraham. He was also reminding his armor-bearer that they were in God’s plan.
“Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.” This statement is reminiscent of Gideon’s battle in Judges 7.
(14:7) “Do all that you have in mind,” his armor-bearer said. “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.”
These words must have been reassuring to Jonathan’s faith. It’s one thing to go alone, but quite another when you have a faithful friend with you.
(14:8-10) Jonathan said, “Come on, then; we will cross over toward them and let them see us. 9 If they say to us, ‘Wait there until we come to you,’ we will stay where we are and not go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the LORD has given them into our hands.”
This is similar to Gideon’s fleece in Judges 6:36-37.
(14:11-12) So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost. “Look!” said the Philistines. “The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in.”
12 The men of the outpost shouted to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come up to us and we’ll teach you a lesson.”
So Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Climb up after me; the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel.”
The Philistines mocked these Israelite men for hiding in their holes in the ground. Their taunt is similar to Goliath’s words to David (1 Sam. 17:44).
(14:13-14) Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer right behind him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer followed and killed behind him. 14 In that first attack Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre.
In the initial attack, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were outnumbered 10 to 1, but they still overcame them.
(14:15-16) Then panic struck the whole army—those in the camp and field, and those in the outposts and raiding parties—and the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God. 16 Saul’s lookouts at Gibeah in Benjamin saw the army melting away in all directions.
God did his part in this battle by bringing an earthquake on the Philistines that cause mass hysteria. God had promised this earlier: “The LORD your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed” (Deut. 7:23). The panic was so extreme that Saul’s men could see it from even far away.
(14:17) Then Saul said to the men who were with him, “Muster the forces and see who has left us.” When they did, it was Jonathan and his armor-bearer who were not there.
God was doing something powerful, and what was Saul doing? Counting his troops! Meanwhile, Jonathan was on the frontlines winning the war.
Saul realized that Jonathan was missing. Did he quickly rush to his aid?
(14:18) Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God.” (At that time it was with the Israelites.)
Instead of helping Jonathan, Saul turned to the priest for the Ark—or maybe the “ephod” (NLT, NET). Regardless, Saul was going to turn to God for power and guidance, but then, he chose to leap into action instead. What a fool! He couldn’t wait long enough to get God’s power and guidance. This led to him making a foolish vow (v.24).
(14:19 NLT) But while Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp grew louder and louder. So Saul said to the priest, “Never mind; let’s get going!”
Saul couldn’t decide what he was going to do. First, he asks for the Ark, and now, he changes his mind. Baldwin notes the irony: “Saul had been sitting waiting for a lead when he should have been on the attack, and now he was on the attack when he needed to listen to the advice he had presumably requested.”[]
(14:20) Then Saul and all his men assembled and went to the battle. They found the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords.
“Striking each other with their swords.” The darkness and the earthquake led the Philistines into total hysteria and confusion. With the panic sent by God (v.15), the Philistines turned on each other. Moreover, they were fighting in the dark at a time before soldiers wore uniforms. So, this would’ve easily led to accidental in-fighting.
(14:21-22) Those Hebrews who had previously been with the Philistines and had gone up with them to their camp went over to the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22 When all the Israelites who had hidden in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were on the run, they joined the battle in hot pursuit.
The Hebrews seem to be distinct from the Israelites. Youngblood states that the Habiru (apirū) were “a nonethnic designation for members of disparate groups.”[]
(14:23) So on that day the LORD saved Israel, and the battle moved on beyond Beth Aven.
This is identical to Exodus 14:30, when God rescued the people at the Red Sea.
(14:24) Now the Israelites were in distress that day, because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying, “Cursed be anyone who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the troops tasted food.
This foolish oath led his own men into being “faint” (v.28) and “exhausted” (v.31).
“My enemies.” This might suggest that Saul’s “motivation for fighting the Philistines was personal vengeance, not zeal for the Lord.”[]
(14:25-26) The entire army entered the woods, and there was honey on the ground. 26 When they went into the woods, they saw the honey oozing out; yet no one put his hand to his mouth, because they feared the oath.
Imagine the exhaustion you would feel fighting all day long, and walking everywhere you went. These men needed carbs to keep their energy up. The sad part was that they had honey “oozing out” of the honey combs everywhere they looked.
(14:27-28) But Jonathan had not heard that his father had bound the people with the oath, so he reached out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it into the honeycomb. He raised his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened. 28 Then one of the soldiers told him, “Your father bound the army under a strict oath, saying, ‘Cursed be anyone who eats food today!’ That is why the men are faint.”
Jonathan didn’t know about this oath when he ate the honey.
(14:29-30) Jonathan said, “My father has made trouble for the country. See how my eyes brightened when I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How much better it would have been if the men had eaten today some of the plunder they took from their enemies. Would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater?”
Jonathan didn’t agree with the oath. In fact, he believed that it was completely non-strategic. They could’ve killed more Philistines if his foolish father hadn’t made that oath.
(14:31) That day, after the Israelites had struck down the Philistines from Mikmash to Aijalon, they were exhausted.
They won the battle, but they were exhausted.
(14:32) They pounced on the plunder and, taking sheep, cattle and calves, they butchered them on the ground and ate them, together with the blood.
“With the blood.” Perhaps the men wouldn’t have sinned like this, if Saul had allowed them to eat some of the honey.
(14:33-34) Then someone said to Saul, “Look, the men are sinning against the LORD by eating meat that has blood in it.”
“You have broken faith,” he said. “Roll a large stone over here at once.” 34 Then he said, “Go out among the men and tell them, ‘Each of you bring me your cattle and sheep, and slaughter them here and eat them. Do not sin against the LORD by eating meat with blood still in it.’” So everyone brought his ox that night and slaughtered it there.
“Roll a large stone over here.” The people were slaughtering the animals on the ground (v.32). Saul calls for them to slaughter them on a rock—probably for hygienic purposes.
Eating an animal with blood was actually wrong according to the law (Gen. 9:4; Lev. 3:17; 7:26; 17:10-11). But Saul’s response to the men is minimal. By contrast, Saul’s response to Jonathan breaking his personal vow is to kill his son. Saul cared more for his own word than for following God’s word.
(14:35) Then Saul built an altar to the LORD; it was the first time he had done this.
“It was the first time he had done this.” This is “probably a negative comment directed at Saul’s lack of piety.”[]
(14:36-37) Saul said, “Let us go down and pursue the Philistines by night and plunder them till dawn, and let us not leave one of them alive.”
“Do whatever seems best to you,” they replied.
But the priest said, “Let us inquire of God here.” 37 So Saul asked God, “Shall I go down and pursue the Philistines? Will you give them into Israel’s hand?” But God did not answer him that day.
God was silent to Saul’s questions. This is a sign from the narrative that God has abandoned Saul.
(14:38-39) Saul therefore said, “Come here, all you who are leaders of the army, and let us find out what sin has been committed today. 39 As surely as the LORD who rescues Israel lives, even if the guilt lies with my son Jonathan, he must die.” But not one of them said a word.
“Let us find out what sin has been committed today.” Saul doesn’t look to himself as a sinner. He assumes that God’s silence has to do with someone else—even his own son.
“Even if the guilt lies with my son Jonathan, he must die.” Saul was willing to sacrifice his own son on the altar of his pride. This is reminiscent of Jephthah’s awful oath (Judg. 11:31, 39).
“Not one of them said a word.” The other soldiers were silent because they sided with Jonathan—not Saul.
(14:40) Saul then said to all the Israelites, “You stand over there; I and Jonathan my son will stand over here.”
“Do what seems best to you,” they replied.
Did Saul have an intuition that Jonathan was the culprit? Why did he make that specific statement about Jonathan needing to die? (v.39) Why does he immediately separate himself and Jonathan from the men? It is not unlikely that he was jealous of his own son’s accomplishments. Jonathan was the courageous leader that Saul wasn’t.
(14:41-42) Then Saul prayed to the LORD, the God of Israel, “Why have you not answered your servant today? If the fault is in me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim, but if the men of Israel are at fault, respond with Thummim.” Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot, and the men were cleared. 42 Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and Jonathan my son.” And Jonathan was taken.
The lot falls to Jonathan.
(14:43) Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.”
So Jonathan told him, “I tasted a little honey with the end of my staff. And now I must die!”
Jonathan didn’t agree with the oath (vv.29-30), but then, why was he was willing die? This must show his tremendous loyalty to his father, or this might simply be descriptive—not prescriptive.
(14:44) Saul said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you do not die, Jonathan.”
Saul doesn’t hesitate: He doubles down on his resolve to kill his own son! How insecure of a leader must you be to kill your own son, rather than admit your own foolishness?
(14:45) But the men said to Saul, “Should Jonathan die—he who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for he did this today with God’s help.” So the men rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death.
The men revolted against Saul’s command. The “rescued” or literally “ransomed” Jonathan.[]
(14:46) Then Saul stopped pursuing the Philistines, and they withdrew to their own land.
Saul missed his opportunity to eliminate the Philistines.
(14:47-48) After Saul had assumed rule over Israel, he fought against their enemies on every side: Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment on them. 48 He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of those who had plundered them.
God had not totally abandoned Saul. He continued to use Saul to defend Israel from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Zobah, the Philistines, and the Amalekites.
(14:49-51) Saul’s sons were Jonathan, Ishvi and Malki-Shua. The name of his older daughter was Merab, and that of the younger was Michal. 50 His wife’s name was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the commander of Saul’s army was Abner son of Ner, and Ner was Saul’s uncle. 51 Saul’s father Kish and Abner’s father Ner were sons of Abiel.
Saul still had many comrades—specifically Abner who was Saul’s cousin. Abner will become a major player in the rest of the narrative.
(14:52) All the days of Saul there was bitter war with the Philistines, and whenever Saul saw a mighty or brave man, he took him into his service.
Saul garnered some of the roughest and toughest men to his side.
Jonathan demonstrates that God can use few to defeat many, if they place their faith in God.
Saul is the archetypical example of a boastful, arrogant king. He makes claims that he can’t (or shouldn’t) follow through with.
Was Saul jealous of his own son? Is this why he tried so vehemently to follow through on his own? Jonathan was the leader that Saul wasn’t (e.g. initiative, sacrificial, courageous, faithful, wise, etc.).
Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 115.
Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 116.
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 663.
Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 158.
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 667.
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 668.
James is an elder at Dwell Community Church, where he teaches classes in theology, apologetics, and weekly Bible studies.
