1 Samuel 14:1

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

1 Samuel 14:4

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.

1 Samuel 14:17

14:17 So Saul said to the army that was with him, “Muster the troops and see who is no longer with us.” When they mustered the troops, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there.

1 Samuel 14:27

14:27 But Jonathan had not heard about the oath his father had made the army take. He extended the end of his staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb. When he ate it, his eyes gleamed.

1 Samuel 14:39-40

14:39 For as surely as the Lord, the deliverer of Israel, lives, even if it turns out to be my own son Jonathan, he will certainly die!” But no one from the army said anything.

14:40 Then he said to all Israel, “You will be on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side.” The army replied to Saul, “Do whatever you think is best.”

1 Samuel 18:4

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 20:1-2

Jonathan Seeks to Protect David

20:1 David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my offense? How have I sinned before your father? For he is seeking my life!”

20:2 Jonathan said to him, “By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing large or small without making me aware of it. 10  Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won’t happen!”

1 Samuel 20:5

20:5 David said to Jonathan, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and I am certainly expected to join the king for a meal. 11  You must send me away so I can hide in the field until the third evening from now.

1 Samuel 20:27

20:27 But the next morning, the second day of the new moon, David’s place was still vacant. So Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why has Jesse’s son not come to the meal yesterday or today?”

1 Samuel 20:30

20:30 Saul became angry with Jonathan 12  and said to him, “You stupid traitor! 13  Don’t I realize that to your own disgrace and to the disgrace of your mother’s nakedness you have chosen this son of Jesse?

1 Samuel 20:34

20:34 Jonathan got up from the table enraged. He did not eat any food on that second day of the new moon, for he was upset that his father had humiliated David. 14 


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

tn Heb “and they mustered the troops, and look!”

tn Heb “and he returned his hand to his mouth.”

tc The translation follows the Qere and several medieval Hebrew mss in reading “gleamed,” rather than the Kethib, “saw.”

tn Heb “and there was no one answering from all the army.”

tn Heb “and he came and said before Jonathan.”

tn Heb “What is my guilt?”

tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, and the ancient versions in reading “he will not do,” rather than the Kethib of the MT (“do to him”).

10 tn Heb “without uncovering my ear.”

11 tn Heb “and I must surely sit with the king to eat.” The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

12 tc Many medieval Hebrew mss include the words “his son” here.

13 tn Heb “son of a perverse woman of rebelliousness.” But such an overly literal and domesticated translation of the Hebrew expression fails to capture the force of Saul’s unrestrained reaction. Saul, now incensed and enraged over Jonathan’s liaison with David, is actually hurling very coarse and emotionally charged words at his son. The translation of this phrase suggested by Koehler and Baumgartner is “bastard of a wayward woman” (HALOT 796 s.v. עוה), but this is not an expression commonly used in English. A better English approximation of the sentiments expressed here by the Hebrew phrase would be “You stupid son of a bitch!” However, sensitivity to the various public formats in which the Bible is read aloud has led to a less startling English rendering which focuses on the semantic value of Saul’s utterance (i.e., the behavior of his own son Jonathan, which he viewed as both a personal and a political betrayal [= “traitor”]). But this concession should not obscure the fact that Saul is full of bitterness and frustration. That he would address his son Jonathan with such language, not to mention his apparent readiness even to kill his own son over this friendship with David (v. 33), indicates something of the extreme depth of Saul’s jealousy and hatred of David.

14 tn Heb “for he was upset concerning David for his father had humiliated him.” The referent of the pronoun “him” is not entirely clear, but the phrase “concerning David” suggests that it refers to David, rather than Jonathan.