Then said he unto all Israel
As many of them as were present; not the principal men only, but the common people; not the officers only, but the common soldiers in the army:
be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side:
so they divided to the right and left, one went one way, and the other the other; there were two boxes or urns, as Kimchi says, in one of which were the names of Saul and Jonathan, and in the other Israel; though Abarbinel observes, that such a partition of them on one side, and the other, is not according to the manner of lots; and he suspects that Saul knew that Jonathan had tasted of honey, being told it by the man that saw him eat it; and who said to him then, "thy father straitly charged" ( 1 Samuel 14:27 ) but chose this way to make it manifest to the people, and to show what a strict regard he had to justice:
and the people said unto Saul, do what seemeth good unto thee;
they were very obsequious to him in everything, see ( 1 Samuel 14:36 ) .