1 Samuel 14:29

29 And (then) Jonathan said, My father hath troubled the land; ye see, that mine eyes be enlightened (ye see, that I am refreshed), for I tasted a little of this honey;

1 Samuel 14:29 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 14:29

Then said Jonathan, my father hath troubled the land
The people of the land, as the Targum, the soldiers in his army; afflicted and distressed them, and made them uneasy in their minds, like troubled waters; the Arabic version is,

``my father hath sinned against the people;''

hath done them injury by forbidding them to eat. This was not wisely said by Jonathan; how much soever his father was to be blamed, it did not become him as a son thus to reflect upon him, and it might have tended to mutiny and sedition:

see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted
a little of this honey;
the benefit he received by it was very visible; it might easily be discerned that he was greatly refreshed with it, and his spirits invigorated by it; it was to be seen in the cheerfulness of his countenance, and the briskness of his eyes: and he suggests it would have had the same effect upon the people, had they eaten of it, as he had done.

1 Samuel 14:29 In-Context

27 And Jonathan heard not, when his father forbade this to the people (But Jonathan did not hear his father forbid this to the people); and (so) Jonathan held forth the end of a little rod, that he held in his hand, and he dipped it into an honeycomb; and he turned his hand to his mouth, and his eyes were (en)lightened, (that is, he felt refreshed).
28 And (at once) one of the people answered, and said, Thy father bound the people with an oath, and said, Cursed be the man that eateth bread today (Cursed be the man who eateth any food today). And (so) the people was faint.
29 And (then) Jonathan said, My father hath troubled the land; ye see, that mine eyes be enlightened (ye see, that I am refreshed), for I tasted a little of this honey;
30 how much more if the people had eaten (some) of the prey of their enemies, that they found; whether not greater vengeance had been made in [the] Philistines? (would not a greater slaughter have been done to the Philistines?)
31 Therefore they smote [the] Philistines in that day from Michmash into Aijalon. And the people was made full weary; (And so they struck down the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. But the people were made faint;)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.