1 Samuel 14:17

17 Saul said to the troops that [were] with him, "Please call the roll and see who has gone from us." So they called the roll {and found that} Jonathan and {his armor bearer} were not [present].

1 Samuel 14:17 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 14:17

Then said Saul unto the people that were with him
To some of the officers, particularly the muster master;

number now, and see who is gone from us:
for he concluded that this agitation and confusion in the host of the Philistines were occasioned by an enterprise of some of his men, who by some stratagem or another had thrown them into this disorder:

and when they had numbered:
which was soon done, being but six hundred men in all:

behold, Jonathan and his armourbearer were not there;
from whence it might be inferred, that this commotion the Philistines were in was occasioned by an onset of theirs on the outer guards or sentinels of their garrison or army, which had alarmed them.

1 Samuel 14:17 In-Context

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}.

16 And the lookouts of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin saw {that} the multitude {surged back and forth}.

17 Saul said to the troops that [were] with him, "Please call the roll and see who has gone from us." So they called the roll {and found that} Jonathan and {his armor bearer} were not [present].

18 Then Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring near the ark of God" (for the ark of God was {at that time} with the {Israelites}).

19 While Saul was still speaking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of [the] Philistines {increased more and more}, so Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand!"

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "and look"
• [b]. Literally "[the one] carrying his weapons"