1 Samuel 13:2

13:2 Saul selected for himself three thousand men from Israel. Two thousand of these were with Saul at Micmash and in the hill country of Bethel; ¹  the remaining thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. ²  He sent all the rest of the people back home. ³ 

1 Samuel 13:16

13:16 Saul, his son Jonathan, and the army that remained with them stayed in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin, while the Philistines camped in Micmash. ⁴ 

1 Samuel 14:1-14

14:1 Then one day Jonathan son of Saul said to his armor bearer, ⁵  “Come on, let’s go over to the Philistine garrison that is opposite us.” But he did not let his father know.

14:2 Now Saul was sitting under a pomegranate tree in Migron, on the outskirts of Gibeah. The army that was with him numbered about six hundred men. 14:3 Now Ahijah was carrying ⁶  an ephod. He was the son of Ahitub, who was the brother of Ichabod and a son of Phineas, son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh. The army was unaware that Jonathan had left.

14:4 Now there was a steep cliff on each side of the pass through which Jonathan intended to go to reach the Philistine garrison. One cliff was named Bozez, the other Seneh. 14:5 The cliff to the north was closer to Micmash, the one to the south closer to Geba.

14:6 Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come on, let’s go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will intervene ⁷  for us. Nothing can prevent the Lord from delivering, whether by many or by a few.” 14:7 His armor bearer said to him, “Do everything that is on your mind. ⁸  Do as you’re inclined. I’m with you all the way!” ⁹ 

14:8 Jonathan replied, “All right! ¹⁰  We’ll go over to these men and fight them. 14:9 If they say to us, ‘Stay put until we approach you,’ we will stay ¹¹  right there and not go up to them. 14:10 But if they say, ‘Come up against us,’ we will go up. For in that case the Lord has given them into our hand – it will be a sign to us.”

14:11 When they ¹²  made themselves known to the Philistine garrison, the Philistines said, “Look! The Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they hid themselves.” 14:12 Then the men of the garrison said to Jonathan and his armor bearer, “Come on up to us so we can teach you a thing or two!” ¹³  Then Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come up behind me, for the Lord has given ¹⁴  them into the hand of Israel!”

14:13 Jonathan crawled up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer following behind him. Jonathan struck down the Philistines, ¹⁵  while his armor bearer came along behind him and killed them. ¹⁶  14:14 In this initial skirmish Jonathan and his armor bearer struck down about twenty men in an area that measured half an acre.

1 Samuel 14:49

Members of Saul’s Family

14:49 The sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malki-Shua. ¹⁷  He had two daughters; the older one was named Merab and the younger Michal.

1 Samuel 18:1-4

Saul Comes to Fear David

18:1 When David ¹⁸  had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan and David became bound together in close friendship. ¹⁹  Jonathan loved David as much as he did his own life. ²⁰  18:2 Saul retained David ²¹  on that day and did not allow him to return to his father’s house. 18:3 Jonathan made a covenant with David, for he loved him as much as he did his own life. ²²  18:4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with the rest of his gear, including his sword, his bow, and even his belt.

1 Samuel 23:17

23:17 He said to him, “Don’t be afraid! For the hand of my father Saul cannot find you. You will rule over Israel, and I will be your second in command. Even my father Saul realizes this.”

1 Samuel 23:1

David Delivers the City of Keilah

23:1 They told David, “The Philistines are fighting in Keilah and are looting the threshing floors.”

1 Samuel 8:1

Israel Seeks a King

8:1 In his old age Samuel appointed his sons as judges over Israel.

1 Samuel 9:1

Samuel Meets with Saul

9:1 There was a Benjaminite man named Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. He was a prominent person.

[13:2]  ¹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[13:2]  ² tn Heb “at Gibeah of Benjamin.” The words “in the territory” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[13:2]  ³ tn Heb “each one to his tents.”

[13:16]  ⁴ tn The juxtaposition of disjunctive clauses in v.16 indicates synchronic action.

[14:1]  ⁵ tn Or “the servant who was carrying his military equipment” (likewise in vv. 6, 7, 12, 13, 14).

[14:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “bearing.” Many English versions understand this verb to mean “wearing” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT).

[14:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “act.”

[14:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “in your heart.”

[14:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “Look, I am with you, according to your heart.” See the note at 13:14.

[14:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Look!”

[14:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “stand.”

[14:11]  ¹² tn Heb “the two of them.”

[14:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “a thing.”

[14:12]  ¹⁴ tn The perfect verbal form is used rhetorically here to express Jonathan’s certitude. As far as he is concerned, the victory is as good as won and can be described as such.

[14:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and they fell before Jonathan.”

[14:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and the one carrying his equipment was killing after him.”

[14:49]  ¹⁷ sn The list differs from others. In 1 Sam 31:2 (= 1 Chr 10:2), Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua are listed as Saul’s sons, while 1 Chr 8:33 and 9:39 list Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal.

[18:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the soul of Jonathan was bound with the soul of David.”

[18:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “like his [own] soul.”

[18:1]  sn On the nature of Jonathan’s love for David, see J. A. Thompson, “The Significance of the Verb Love in the David-Jonathan Narratives in 1 Samuel,” VT 24 (1974): 334-38.

[18:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:3]  ²² tn Heb “like his [own] soul.”