1 Samuel 14:4-14

4 Within ¹the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side. The name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.

5 The one crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of ²Geba.

6 Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, "Come, let us go over to the garrison of these ³uncircumcised. It may be that the LORD will work for us, ⁴for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few."

7 And his armor-bearer said to him, "Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish.^[a] Behold, I am with you heart and soul."

8 Then Jonathan said, "Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them.

9 If they say to us, 'Wait until we come to you,' then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them.

10 But if they say, 'Come up to us,' then we will go up, for the LORD has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us."

11 So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, "Look, Hebrews are coming ⁵out of the holes where they have hidden themselves."

12 And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, "Come up to us, and we will show you a thing." And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, "Come up after me, for the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel."

13 Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him.

14 And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow's length in an acre^[b] of land.

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1 Samuel 14:4-14 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 14

This chapter gives an account of an adventure of Jonathan and his armourbearer smiting a garrison of the Philistines, 1Sa 14:1-14, which with other circumstances struck terror into the whole army; which being observed by Saul's spies, he and his men went out against them, and being joined by others, pursued them, and obtained a complete victory, 1Sa 14:15-23, but what sullied the glory of the day was a rash oath of Saul's, adjuring the people not to eat any food till evening which Jonathan not hearing of ignorantly broke, 1Sa 14:24-31 and which long fasting made the people so ravenous, that they slew their cattle, and ate them with the blood, contrary to the law of God, for which they were reproved by Saul, 1Sa 14:32-34, upon which he built an altar, and inquired of the Lord whether he should pursue the Philistines all that night till morning, but had no answer; which made him conclude sin was committed, and which he inquired after, declaring that if it was his own son Jonathan that had committed it he should surely die, 1Sa 14:35-39, the people being silent, he cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonathan; who had it not been for the resolution of the people that rescued him out of his hands, because of the great salvation he had wrought, must have died, 1Sa 14:40-46 and the chapter is cited with an account of Saul's battles with the neighbouring nations in general, and of his family, 1Sa 14:47-52.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 5

1. 1 Samuel 13:23
2. 1 Samuel 13:3, 16
3. 1 Samuel 17:26; Judges 14:3
4. [Judges 7:4, 7; 2 Chronicles 14:11]
5. 1 Samuel 13:6

Footnotes 2

[a]. Septuagint Do all that your mind inclines to
[b]. Hebrew a yoke

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.