Tyndale Open Study Notes

Verse 1

14:1-52 Saul’s behavior in this chapter further justifies his dismissal as king (13:8-14; see also ch 15). Saul was alienated from both Samuel and his heroic son Jonathan. Chapter 14 anticipates the significant role that Jonathan played in the transition from Saul’s kingship to David’s.

14:1-15 Jonathan again fought in his father’s battles (see also 13:2-4; ch 31).

14:1 armor bearer: See study note on 16:21. • Jonathan did not tell his father because he knew that Saul would not grant permission for the dangerous plan. But he also knew that Saul wanted no one—not even his own son—to upstage him.

Verse 2

14:2 camped: Saul’s inactivity contrasts with Jonathan’s initiative (see also 22:6).

Verse 3

14:3 Ahijah the priest was an adviser who could give Saul divine guidance through the ephod (14:18-19; see also 2:18 and corresponding study note; 23:9-10). • son of Eli: Saul, the rejected king (13:13-14), kept in his company a priest from the rejected priesthood (2:27-36). • Ichabod: See 4:21.

Verse 4

14:4-5 The Philistines had already secured this area (13:23), so Jonathan and his armor bearer had to move carefully.

Verse 6

14:6 pagans (literally uncircumcised): A disdainful term for enemies of Israel (see also 17:36; 31:4). • Perhaps: Jonathan had no guarantee of survival, but he was certain that God could grant them victory despite the odds. Victory was in God’s hands; Jonathan offered himself as an instrument God could use. • many warriors or only a few: Jonathan knew what Gideon had learned many years earlier (see Judg 7:2-8).

Verse 11

14:11 Hebrews: See study note on 13:3. • crawling out of their holes: See 13:6.

Verse 15

14:15 panic broke out: This parallel with the Gideon story depicts Jonathan as a judge-like figure (cp. Judg 7:19-22). God had not anointed or expressly gifted Jonathan to be leader, yet God used him to rescue his people. • raiding parties: See study note on 1 Sam 13:17-18.

Verse 18

14:18 Bring . . . Israelites: See NLT textual note; the Greek text is likely original. The Ark remained at Kiriath-jearim for twenty years (7:2), and it was never used for getting information about the future, as the ephod was (see study note on 2:18).

Verse 21

14:21-22 Previously, a large group of Israelites had gone into hiding out of fear (13:6-7). Others might have joined the Philistine army. However, the statement that they revolted when the opportunity arose suggests they might have been taken as prisoners of war and forced into the Philistines’ service.

Verse 23

14:23 It was God, not Saul, who saved Israel; Jonathan was just a willing instrument in the Lord’s hands. • Beth-aven was due west of Micmash (see 13:5). The Israelites forced the Philistines to retreat all the way to Aijalon that day (see 14:31).

Verse 24

14:24 With his oath, Saul forced abstinence from food on men who were already hungry and exhausted from battle. This oath was probably a pagan-like attempt to manipulate God into giving them a favorable result (cp. notes on Exod 23:26; 25:22; 32:4). • That Saul said my enemies rather than “our enemies” reflects his self-centered pride.

Verse 29

14:29 made trouble: Joshua had used this verb in speaking with Achan (Josh 7:25), and Jephthah had used it with his innocent daughter (Judg 11:35). Saul’s foolish oath limited Israel’s victory (1 Sam 14:30) and put his son’s life at risk (see also Josh 6:18; 1 Chr 2:7).

Verse 31

14:31 Aijalon: If the Philistines fled along the likely route through Beth-horon, then the Israelites kept up the pursuit for close to twenty miles.

Verse 32

14:32-34 The men were famished, so they ate meat without draining the blood. This act violated God’s law (see Lev 17:10-14) and thus constituted sinning against the Lord. To prevent more sin, Saul used a large rock as a field altar so that the animals’ blood could be properly drained. The incident would never have occurred had it not been for Saul’s foolish oath.

Verse 35

14:35 first of the altars: This altar is the only one mentioned. David later built an altar that would become the site of God’s Temple (2 Sam 24:18-25).

Verse 37

14:37-38 God made no reply: Neither the “no” lot nor the “yes” lot of the Urim and Thummim appeared.

Verse 41

14:41 Casting sacred lots involved the Urim and Thummim (Exod 28:30; Lev 8:8), which David also used when soliciting God’s guidance (1 Sam 23:2; 30:8; 2 Sam 2:1). The Urim and Thummim were two small objects (perhaps flat stones, sticks, or arrows) that may have been cast like dice. They would provide a positive answer, a neutral response, or a negative answer.

Verse 45

14:45 The people, aware of God’s blessing on the real hero of the day, were wiser than their king.

Verse 47

14:47-52 In contrast to the folly described in 14:1-46, these verses summarize Saul’s military successes. A similar summary of achievements ends the description of each king’s reign in 1 Samuel—2 Kings.

14:47 secured his grasp: Samuel had used this verb repeatedly when speaking about what a king would do: “He will take . . . take . . . take” (8:10-18). • Moab, Ammon, Edom, . . . Zobah: David confronted these same foes during his reign and expanded Israel’s territory in the process (see 2 Sam 8:1-14).

Verse 48

14:48 conquered the Amalekites: See 15:1-35. The Amalekites, a nomadic group in the south, periodically raided and pillaged Israel (see Exod 17:8-16; Num 14:45; Judg 3:13; 6:3, 33; 7:12; 10:12).

Verse 49

14:49-51 This information about Saul’s family, placed here rather than at the end of his reign, hints that his reign was essentially over and he would not be succeeded by one of his sons.

14:49 Saul’s sons included: Another of Saul’s sons was named Abinadab (31:2). • Ishbosheth means “man of shame” (see study note on 2 Sam 2:8). He was also called Esh-baal (“man of Baal”). He served briefly as a rival king over the northern tribes during David’s early years (2 Sam 2:8-11).

Verse 50

14:50 Ahinoam is mentioned only here in Saul’s story. In 25:43, David marries a woman also called Ahinoam (who might or might not have been the same person; cp. 2 Sam 12:8).

Verse 52

14:52 Saul had easily defeated the Ammonites (11:11) but was having much less success with the Philistines, given their well-organized fighting machine and their monopoly on iron and bronze (13:19-22). • he drafted him: Samuel had warned earlier that the king would take people as well as possessions (8:11).