1 Samuel 14:13

13 So Jonathan went up on his hands and his feet, with {his armor bearer} after him. They fell before Jonathan and then {his armor bearer} would kill them after him.

1 Samuel 14:13 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 14:13

And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet
He did not attempt to go up the way or pass the Philistines kept, but turned aside and climbed up a precipice thought inaccessible, and came upon them unseen, and at unawares; for had he attempted to come up in any part where he was seen, they could easily have beat him down, and prevented his ascent; but though the place he climbed was so very steep and cragged, yet going on all four, as we say, he surmounted the difficulty; for he took this method of going on his hands and feet, not so much that he might not be seen; but because otherwise he could not have got up, not being able to stand on his feet; some think it was the precipice called Bozez he climbed, which, according to the Targum, had its name from its being lubricous and slippery:

and his armourbearer after him;
who clambered up in the same manner, in imitation of his master, and as taught and directed by him:

and they fell before Jonathan, and his armourbearer slew after him;
Jonathan, coming upon them at an unawares, knocked them down; or falling upon them, and laying about him with great dispatch, wounded them, and laid them prostrate to the ground; and his armourbearer following them, put them to death, dispatched them at once; and so between them both made quick riddance of them.

1 Samuel 14:13 In-Context

11 So the two of them showed themselves to the garrison of [the] Philistines, and [the] Philistines said, "The Hebrews [are] coming out from the holes in which they have hidden themselves."
12 Then the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and {his armor bearer}, "Come up to us and we will show you something!" Then Jonathan said to {his armor bearer}, "Come up after me, for Yahweh has given them into the hand of Israel!"
13 So Jonathan went up on his hands and his feet, with {his armor bearer} after him. They fell before Jonathan and then {his armor bearer} would kill them after him.
14 So was the first attack [in] which Jonathan and {his armor bearer} killed about twenty men within about half of a furrow in an acre of [an] open field.
15 Then there was terror in the camp, in the open field, and among all the army of the garrison. Even the {raiders} trembled. The earth shook, and it became {a very great panic}.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Literally "[the one] carrying his weapons"
  • [b]. Literally "[the one] carrying his weapons"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.