ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for 1 Samuel 14

1 Sam 14:1–52 This chapter focuses on Saul’s son Jonathan, who will become a friend of David. Jonathan’s act of trust in this chapter is sandwiched between two examples of Saul’s disobedience (chs. 13 and 15).

1 Sam 14:2–3 The outskirts of Gibeah may mean “the edge of the hill.” Migron may mean “threshing floor.” Court was often held under a tree (22:6; Judg. 4:5) or on threshing floors (1 Kings 22:10).

1 Sam 14:4 Bozez means “the gleaming one,” and Seneh means “the thorny one.”

1 Sam 14:6 Jonathan’s trust contrasts with Saul’s concern about numbers (13:11, 15). Uncircumcised was a customary insult directed at the Philistines (see Judg. 14:3; 1 Sam. 17:26; 2 Sam. 1:20).

1 Sam 14:10 if they say, “Come up to us.” This would give Jonathan and the armor-bearer the opportunity to get into the Philistine camp at what was probably its most thinly protected point, without raising an alarm. The guards’ words in v. 12 suggest that an attack by these two lone men was unexpected.

1 Sam 14:14 The Hebrew “yoke” (esv footnote) was a unit for measuring area.

1 Sam 14:15 A very great panic is literally “a panic of God” (see esv footnote), suggesting divine intervention.

1 Sam 14:16 Saul was in Gibeah, about 4 miles (6.4 km) from Michmash. His watchmen were probably stationed nearer, watching Michmash.

1 Sam 14:18 The ark had apparently been brought from Kiriath-jearim to be with the army for some special reason. Saul wanted Ahijah, who carried the sacred lots in the ephod, to cast the lots before the ark.

1 Sam 14:21–22 Some people called Hebrews had previously sided with the Philistines (compare 29:3) while others had hidden themselves during this time of war. Now that Israel is succeeding, both groups commit to fighting for Israel.

1 Sam 14:23 beyond Beth-aven. This battle seems to have driven the Philistines from the central mountain areas.

1 Sam 14:24 so Saul had laid an oath. Jonathan, of course, had not been present at the time.

1 Sam 14:27 His eyes became bright suggests renewed vitality (compare Ezra 9:8; Ps. 13:3).

1 Sam 14:28 this day. See v. 24 (“until it is evening”). The day began at sunset.

1 Sam 14:32–33 When evening comes (v. 34) and the people are once again free to eat (see v. 24), they are in such a hurry that they do not drain the blood properly from the animals they kill (v. 33). Eating meat with blood is strictly prohibited in the law (Gen. 9:4; Lev. 17:10–14).

1 Sam 14:39 he shall surely die. Saul assumes that the Lord does not answer Saul’s prior question (v. 37) because of some unknown sin (v. 38). Just as it was Saul’s own poor decision to impose the ban on eating (v. 24), it is also his decision to kill the person, whoever it is, whose guilt has prevented the Lord from answering him.

1 Sam 14:41–42 give Urim. . . . give Thummim. . . . Cast the lot. The Urim and Thummim (or just Urim) are mentioned also in Ex. 28:30; Num. 27:21; Deut. 33:8; 1 Sam. 28:6; and Ezra 2:63. They may have been two stones of two different colors, one representing a positive and the other a negative answer, that were kept in the “breastpiece of judgment” of the priest’s ephod (see Ex. 28:30; Lev. 8:8). They were the only legitimate means of directly seeking a “yes” or “no” answer from the Lord, apart from God’s speaking directly to people.

1 Sam 14:45 Shall Jonathan die? . . . Far from it! As the Lord lives . . . The people use the same oath that Saul used in v. 39. They obviously think God spoke much more clearly in Jonathan’s victory than in Saul’s foolish oath (v. 24).

1 Sam 14:49 It is possible, but not certain, that Ishvi is a variation of the name Ish-bosheth (2 Sam. 2:8; he is called “Eshbaal” in 1 Chron. 8:33).

1 Sam 14:50–51 Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. Although it may not be clear from the text, Abner was Saul’s uncle.