1 Samuel 14:6-16

6 Jonathan said to his officer who carried his armor, "Come. Let's go to the camp of those men who are not circumcised. Maybe the Lord will help us. The Lord can give us victory if we have many people, or just a few."

7 The officer who carried Jonathan's armor said to him, "Do whatever you think is best. Go ahead. I'm with you."

8 Jonathan said, "Then come. We will cross over to the Philistines and let them see us.

9 If they say to us, 'Stay there until we come to you,' we will stay where we are. We won't go up to them.

10 But if they say, 'Come up to us,' we will climb up, and the Lord will let us defeat them. This will be the sign for us."

11 When both Jonathan and his officer let the Philistines see them, the Philistines said, "Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in!"

12 The Philistines in the camp shouted to Jonathan and his officer, "Come up to us. We'll teach you a lesson!" Jonathan said to his officer, "Climb up behind me, because the Lord has given the Philistines to Israel!"

13 So Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, and his officer climbed just behind him. Jonathan struck down the Philistines as he went, and his officer killed them as he followed behind him.

14 In that first fight Jonathan and his officer killed about twenty Philistines over a half acre of ground.

15 All the Philistine soldiers panicked -- those in the camp and those in the raiding party. The ground itself shook! God had caused the panic.

16 Saul's guards were at Gibeah in the land of Benjamin when they saw the Philistine soldiers running in every direction.

1 Samuel 14:6-16 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.