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1 SAMUEL 14

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:1-5
  ¹Now the day came that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man who was carrying his armor, "Come and let us cross over to the Philistines' garrison that is on the other side." But he did not tell his father. ²Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree which is in Migron. And the people who were with him were about six hundred men, ³and Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of the Lord at Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. ⁴Between the passes by which Jonathan sought to cross over to the Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp crag on the one side and a sharp crag on the other side, and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. ⁵The one crag rose on the north opposite Michmash, and the other on the south opposite Geba.

14:1 Jonathan takes the initiative and attacks a Philistine outpost.

14:2 This is a very detailed account. It was obviously an eye-witness report (i.e., vv. 4-5,14).

Notice Saul had only 600 soldiers left (cf. 1 Sam. 13:15).

14:3 There was a priestly representative with Saul.

▣ "wearing the ephod" This was a special outer robe of the High Priest which had a pocket with the Urim and Thummim.

▣ The LXX thinks that the "ark" mentioned in v. 18 was, in reality, the "ephod."

SPECIAL TOPIC: EPHOD

SPECIAL TOPIC: URIM AND THUMMIM

The MT has "between the passes." The JPSOA footnote says, "meaning of Hebrew uncertain."

The verse tries to clarify that there was a "sharp crag" on each side of a natural pass. The Philistines had the high ground.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:6-15
  ⁶Then Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor, "Come and let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; perhaps the Lord will work for us, for the Lord is not restrained to save by many or by few." ⁷His armor bearer said to him, "Do all that is in your heart; turn yourself, and here I am with you according to your desire." ⁸Then Jonathan said, "Behold, we will cross over to the men and reveal ourselves to them. ⁹If they say to us, 'Wait until we come to you'; then we will stand in our place and not go up to them. ¹⁰But if they say, 'Come up to us,' then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hands; and this shall be the sign to us." ¹¹When both of them revealed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines, the Philistines said, "Behold, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves." ¹²So the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor bearer and said, "Come up to us and we will tell you something." And Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hands of Israel." ¹³Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer behind him; and they fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer put some to death after him. ¹⁴That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor bearer made was about twenty men within about half a furrow in an acre of land. ¹⁵And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even the garrison and the raiders trembled, and the earth quaked so that it became a great trembling.

14:6 "these uncircumcised" This was an idiom of derision (cf. 1 Sam. 17:26,36). The Philistines being from the Aegean Islands (i.e., Greek culture) were the only people of the region not circumcised. Other ANE cultures did it at different times but all did it.

For a good brief discussion, see Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, pp. 46-48.

▣ "perhaps the Lord will work for us" This act of faith illustrates Jonathan's trust in YHWH, but without demanding the result (much like Daniel 3).

The MT has "do all that is in your mind, incline to yourself." It is the last phrase that has caused the divergence in translations (BDB 639, KB 692,Qal IMPERATIVE). This VERB can mean

1. stretch out, 2 Sam. 6:17
2. spread out, 2 Sam. 6:17; 21:10
3. extend
4. incline, here (incline the heart)
5. bend, turn, cf. Num. 21:15; 22:23; 1 Sam. 8:3; 2 Sam. 2:19; 22:10
6. Hiphil, "take an aside," 2 Sam. 3:27; 6:10

The UBS Text Project, p. 176, gives the MT a "B" rating (some doubt). It supports the NEB translation, "do what you will, go forward."

14:8-11 Jonathan is proposing a sign from YHWH that his venture will be successful, similar to

1. Israel's servant in Genesis 24
2. Gideon in Judges 6
3. Samuel's sign to Israel in 1 Sam. 12:16-18

14:11 The Philistines are ridiculing the faithless retreat and hiding of the Israelites from 1 Sam. 13:6-7.

14:12 "into the hands of. . ." This is an idiom of victory.

SPECIAL TOPIC: HAND

14:13 "climbed up on his hands and feet" This shows the high and defensible outpost of the Philistines. It would have seemed impossible to attack this position from this direction!

▣ "fell. . .killed" This interpretive question is, "Does this phrase refer to a two stage attack (TEV) or just parallel VERBS?" The Knox translation has "some fell to Jonathan himself, and some to the squire as he came up behind him." The UBS Handbook, p. 279, has an interesting suggestion. "Jonathan killed the Philistines who attacked from the front, and the soldier killed those who attacked from behind."

Obviously the MT is obscure. The theories range from

1. time (half the time of plowing, NKJV footnote)
2. space (JPSOA)
3. means (LXX, Peshitta)

14:15 As the Israelites had feared and trembled, so now the Philistines.

1. those in the army
2. those in the field
3. all the people
4. the raiders of 1 Sam. 13:17-18

The difference between

1. great (BDB 43) ‒ אל
2. God (BDB 43) ‒ אלהים

is the question of how to translate "Elohim" in the context.

▣ "trembling" This VERB (BDB 353, KB 350, Qal PERFECT) denotes "terror," "fear," "physical trembling"

1. in YHWH's presence ‒ Exod. 19:16,18 (i.e., Mt. Sinai)
2. in the day of judgment ‒ Isa. 10:29; 19:16; 32:11; 41:5
3. in battle
   1. Saul's army ‒ 1 Sam. 13:7
   2. Philistine army ‒ 1 Sam. 14:15
   3. Saul himself ‒ 1 Sam. 28:5
   4. hope of Ahithophel concerning David's army ‒ 2 Sam. 17:2
4. in bad news ‒ 1 Sam. 16:4; 21:1

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:16-23
  ¹⁶Now Saul's watchmen in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude melted away; and they went here and there. ¹⁷Saul said to the people who were with him, "Number now and see who has gone from us." And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there. ¹⁸Then Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring the ark of God here." For the ark of God was at that time with the sons of Israel. ¹⁹While Saul talked to the priest, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines continued and increased; so Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand." ²⁰Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and came to the battle; and behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. ²¹Now the Hebrews who were with the Philistines previously, who went up with them all around in the camp, even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. ²²When all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, even they also pursued them closely in the battle. ²³So the Lord delivered Israel that day, and the battle spread beyond Beth-aven.

14:16 This must refer to the Philistine soldiers (cf. v. 15).

14:18 "bring the ark of God" Again, like verse 3, the LXX sees this as "the ephod" (NET). Earlier, the Israelite army in Eli's day took the ark into battle and lost it.

However, here Saul wants to consult YHWH, but this was not done by the ark but the Urim and Thummim in the ephod of the High Priest. The VERB (BDB 620, KB 670, Hiphil IMPERATIVE) is never used of the ark, but often of priests (i.e., the ephod, cf. 1 Sam. 23:9; 30:7).

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE ARK OF THE COVENANT

SPECIAL TOPIC: URIM AND THUMMIM

14:19 It seems as Saul was consulting the priest with no response that he noticed the commotion in the Philistine ranks. At that point he stops the priestly act (i.e., "withdraw your hand") and attacks without waiting on YHWH (i.e., the second time).

▣ "increased" This is an INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and IMPERFECT VERB of the same root (BDB 229, KB 246, Qal) which denotes intensity.

14:20 This verse uses "holy war" terminology to show that YHWH was aiding the Israelites, as

1. during the Exodus, Exod. 23:27
2. during the Conquest, Deut. 2:25; 7:23; Josh. 1:9; 2:9; 10:10
3. during the time of Gideon, Jdgs. 7:22
4. in Samuel's day, 1 Sam. 7:10; here (and v. 15).

The VERB (BDB 277, KB 277, Niphal IMPERFECT with waw) can mean

1. assemble (i.e., "call together," here)
2. cry out
   1. battle cry or muster (2 Sam. 20:4-5)
   2. prayer (1 Sam. 7:8-9; 8:18; 12:8,10; 15:11)
   3. grieving (1 Sam. 4:13; 5:10; 2 Sam. 13:19; 19:5)
   4. complain (2 Sam. 19:28)

14:21 "the Hebrews who were with the Philistines previously" Apparently some Hebrews

1. hid, 1 Sam. 13:6; 14:22
2. fled, 1 Sam. 13:7
3. surrendered earlier
4. became mercenary soldiers
5. sold themselves as slaves (see Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, p. 83)

14:23 The victory was YHWH's victory (i.e., holy war).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:24-30
  ²⁴Now the men of Israel were hard-pressed on that day, for Saul had put the people under oath, saying, "Cursed be the man who eats food before evening, and until I have avenged myself on my enemies." So none of the people tasted food. ²⁵All the people of the land entered the forest, and there was honey on the ground. ²⁶When the people entered the forest, behold, there was a flow of honey; but no man put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. ²⁷But Jonathan had not heard when his father put the people under oath; therefore, he put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened. ²⁸Then one of the people said, "Your father strictly put the people under oath, saying, 'Cursed be the man who eats food today.'" And the people were weary. ²⁹Then Jonathan said, "My father has troubled the land. See now, how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰How much more, if only the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great."

14:24 This vow, like Jephthah, Judges 11, was ill advised and inappropriate, but it was still a vow in YHWH's name (i.e., Leviticus 27).

The MT has the VERB "see" (BDB 906, KB 1157, Qal IMPERFECT with waw), but most modern translations follow the Qere (i.e., the suggestion of the Masoretic scholars) "be bright" (BDB 21, KB 24, Qal IMPERFECT with waw).

The idiom has two connotations.

1. bring truth or insight ‒ Ps. 19:28; 19:8; 36:9
2. refresh physically ‒ 1 Sam. 14:28b-29; Ezra 9:8; Ps. 13:3

Here, option #2 fits best.

14:28 "strictly. . .under oath" This is an INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and a PERFECT VERB from the same root (BDB 989, KB 1396) which denotes intensity.

Jonathan expresses his negative opinion of this father's oath in vv. 28-30.

▣ "the people were weary" This is repeated in verse 31.

14:30 "eaten freely" This is another intensified form (i.e., INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and a PERFECT VERB of the same root, BDB 37, KB 46).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:31-35
  ³¹They struck among the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. And the people were very weary. ³²The people rushed greedily upon the spoil, and took sheep and oxen and calves, and slew them on the ground; and the people ate them with the blood. ³³Then they told Saul, saying, "Behold, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating with the blood." And he said, "You have acted treacherously; roll a great stone to me today." ³⁴Saul said, "Disperse yourselves among the people and say to them, 'Each one of you bring me his ox or his sheep, and slaughter it here and eat; and do not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood.'" So all the people that night brought each one his ox with him and slaughtered it there. ³⁵And Saul built an altar to the Lord; it was the first altar that he built to the Lord.

The MT has the VERB (BDB 793, KB 889, Qal IMPERFECT with waw) which is the common word for "do" or "make." The Masoretic scholars (Qere) suggested an emendation to BDB 743, KB 816, Qal IMPERFECT with waw, which has the intensified meaning of "dart greedily." This fits the context better.

1. do ‒ עשׂה (BDB 793 I)
2. dart greedily ‒ עיט (BDB 743)

The implied excuse for the conscripted soldiers eating meat with blood in it was

1. they were tired
2. they had not eaten anything since morning because of Saul's rash vow

This was a specific covenant violation (cf. Lev. 7:26-27; 17:10-14; 19:26) and even before Moses (i.e., Gen. 9:4).

SPECIAL TOPIC: BLOOD

14:33 Saul recognized the seriousness of the covenant violations. His response was to offer an immediate peace sacrifice. Apparently the High Priest of vv. 3,18 was still there.

Because of v. 34, possibly there were several priests present (cf. v. 36c).

14:35 This altar refers to the large stone of v. 33. Usually Samuel built the altar (cf. 1 Sam.7:12,17).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:36-42
  ³⁶Then Saul said, "Let us go down after the Philistines by night and take spoil among them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them." And they said, "Do whatever seems good to you." So the priest said, "Let us draw near to God here." ³⁷Saul inquired of God, "Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You give them into the hand of Israel?" But He did not answer him on that day. ³⁸Saul said, "Draw near here, all you chiefs of the people, and investigate and see how this sin has happened today. ³⁹For as the Lord lives, who delivers Israel, though it is in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die." But not one of all the people answered him. ⁴⁰Then he said to all Israel, "You shall be on one side and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side." And the people said to Saul, "Do what seems good to you." ⁴¹Therefore, Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel, "Give a perfect lot." And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped. ⁴²Saul said, "Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son." And Jonathan was taken.

14:37 YHWH did not answer Saul. Saul took this as being because Jonathan had broken the oath.

The MT has a FEMININE PLURAL NOUN (BDB 819, KB 945) which is used in the sense of leaders only three times (i.e., Jdgs. 20:2; 1 Sam. 14:38; Isa. 19:13). Its etymology suggests an idiom from "the corner-tower" (KB 945, Zeph. 3:6).

When a rare word such as this is used, one wonders

1. does it have a specialized connotation
2. was it used for literary variety
3. is it from a different yet unknown Semitic root?

14:39 "as the Lord lives" This is a play on the VERB "to be" and the covenant name for Deity, YHWH, which is a form of that VERB.

SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, D.

▣ "he shall surely die" This is another intensified grammatical form (i.e., an INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and an IMPERFECT VERB of the same root, BDB 559, KB 562).

14:40-41 Saul is not sure if the sin that caused YHWH to be silent was

1. his oath and Jonathan's violation
2. the people eating meat with blood

14:41 "Give a perfect lot" This is expanded in the LXX, which is followed by NRSV, REB, as "If this guilt is in me or in my son Jonathan, O Lord God of Israel, give Urim; but if the guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:43-46
  ⁴³Then Saul said to Jonathan, "Tell me what you have done." So Jonathan told him and said, "I indeed tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am, I must die!" ⁴⁴Saul said, "May God do this to me and more also, for you shall surely die, Jonathan." ⁴⁵But the people said to Saul, "Must Jonathan die, who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Far from it! As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day." So the people rescued Jonathan and he did not die. ⁴⁶Then Saul went up from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.

14:44 YHWH identifies Jonathan as the reason for no answer to Saul's request for direction.

Saul's initial comment in v. 44 is a curse oath (cf. Ruth 1:17; 1 Sam. 3:17; 20:13; 25:22; 2 Sam. 3:9,35; 19:13; 1 Kgs. 2:23; 19:2; 20:10; 2 Kgs. 6:31) for disobedience.

▣ "you shall surely die" This is another intensified form, like v. 39.

14:45 This verse is surprising. YHWH showed His will by the lots. Saul affirmed his willingness to kill his son but the Israelite people revolted!

It is unstated but apparently Jonathan's

1. ignorance of his father's oath
2. victory over the Philistines
3. the people offering a sacrifice or paying a price

was sufficient grounds for YHWH to harken to the will of the people.

▣ "there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground" This is an idiom for nothing happening to Jonathan, not in any way his being punished for a rash oath he was ignorant of! It is also found in 2 Sam. 14:11 and 1 Kgs. 1:57.

The MT has the VERB "ransomed" (BDB 804, KB 911, Qal IMPERFECT with waw). It is unstated how this was done.

SPECIAL TOPIC: RANSOM/REDEEM

14:46 In light of

1. no answer from YHWH, v. 37
2. the people's revolt, v. 45

Saul did not continue the attack against the Philistines.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:47-48
  ⁴⁷Now when Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, the sons of Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines; and wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment. ⁴⁸He acted valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them.

14:47 "Zobah" This is the first mention of Israel attacking northward beyond her borders. This was an Armenian/Syrian kingdom later attacked by David (cf. 2 Sam. 8:3-10).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:49-51
  ⁴⁹Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan and Ishvi and Malchi-shua; and the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn Merab and the name of the younger Michal. ⁵⁰The name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the captain of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul's uncle. ⁵¹Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.

14:49-51 This is a genealogy of Saul's family.

The MT has "Ishvi" ("man of YHWH," KB 446, וישׁוי). This person goes by several names.

1. Ishvi (one of three sons), 1 Chr. 8:33 lists four sons
2. Ish-bosheth ("man of shame," BDB 36), 2 Sam. 2:8; 3:8; 4:5
3. Eshbaal ("man of Baal," BDB 36), 1 Chr. 8:33; 9:39
4. possibly it refers to "Abinadab" (BDB 4), mentioned in 1 Sam. 31:2, where #2-3 are not mentioned as sons of Saul. 1 Samuel 31:32 mentions that Saul and three of his sons were killed by the Philistines (i.e., Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua). Apparently only Ish-bosheth/Eshbaal survived.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:52
  ⁵²Now the war against the Philistines was severe all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man or any valiant man, he attached him to his staff.

14:52 Saul continues to build his standing military.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. Why did Jonathan attack the Philistine outpost?
2. What did Jonathan's surprise attack do to the rest of the Israelite army?
3. Why do some modern translations change "ark" to "ephod" in 1 Sam. 14:18?
4. Explain the unusual use of "Hebrew" in 1 Sam. 14:21.
5. What is Saul trying to do in 1 Sam. 14:33?
6. How did the Israeli army "ransom" Jonathan (v. 45)?

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