Shmuel Alef 14
14
1Now the day came to pass, that Yonatan Ben Sha'ul said unto the na'ar (young man) that bore his armor, Come, and let us go over to the outpost of the Pelishtim (Philistines), that is on the other side.But he told not aviv.
2And Sha'ul tarried in the outskirts of Giv'ah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron; and HaAm (the people, the army) that were with him were about shesh me'ot ish (six hundred men);
3And Achiyah Ben Achituv, the ach of Ikhavod Ben Pinchas Ben Eli, kohen Hashem in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. And HaAm knew not that Yonatan was gone.
4And between the passes, by which Yonatan sought to go over unto the outpost of the Pelishtim, there was a rocky cliff on the one side, and a rocky cliff on the other side; and the shem of the one was Botzetz, and the shem of the other Seneh.
5The one steep rock faced north opposite Michmas, and the other southward toward Geva.
6And Yonatan said to the na'ar that bore his armor, Come, and let us go over unto the outpost of these arelim (uncircumcised); it may be that Hashem will act for us; for nothing restrains Hashem l'hoshi'a (to save), by many or by few.
7And his armor-bearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine lev; turn thee; hineni, I am with thee according to thy lev.
8Then said Yonatan, Hinei, we will pass over unto these anashim, and we will show ourselves unto them.
9If they say thus unto us, Stand still until we come to you; then we will stand still tachteinu (in our place), and will not go up unto them.
10But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up; for Hashem hath delivered them into yadenu (our hand, power): and this shall be haot (the sign) unto us.
11And both of them showed themselves unto the outpost of the Pelishtim (Philistines); and the Pelishtim said, Hinei, the Ivrim (Hebrews) come forth out of the chorim (holes) where they had hid themselves.
12And the anashim of the outpost answered Yonatan and his armor-bearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will teach you a thing. And Yonatan said unto his armor-bearer, Come up after me, for Hashem hath delivered them into the yad Yisroel.
13And Yonatan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armor-bearer after him; and they fell before Yonatan; and his armor-bearer slaughtered behind him.
14And that first attack, which Yonatan and his armor-bearer made, killed about esrim ish (twenty men), within an area of half a yoke.#14:14 i.e., the area an oxen yoke could plow in one day, or rather, half of that
15And there was fearful panic in the machaneh, in the sadeh, and among kol haAm; the outpost, and the raiders, they also trembled, and ha'aretz quaked; so it was a cheredat Elohim (a panic from Elohim).
16And the tzofim (watchmen, lookouts, sentries) of Sha'ul in Giv'at Binyamin looked; and, hinei, the multitude melted away, and they went in all directions.
17Then said Sha'ul unto HaAm that were with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us. And when they had numbered, hinei, Yonatan and his armor-bearer were not there.
18And Sha'ul said unto Achiyah, Bring here the Aron HaElohim. For the Aron HaElohim was at that time with the Bnei Yisroel there.
19And it came to pass, while Sha'ul talked to the kohen,#14:19 i.e., Achiyah that the tumult that was in the machaneh Pelishtim went on and increased; and Sha'ul said unto the kohen, Withdraw thine yad.#14:19 i.e., letʼs go
20And Sha'ul and kol HaAm that were with him assembled themselves, and they went to the milchamah; and, hinei, every cherev ish was against his fellow, and there was mehumah gedolah me'od (a very great confusion).
21Moreover the Ivrim (Hebrews) that were with the Pelishtim (Philistines) before that time, which went up with them into the machaneh from the country round about, even they also turned to be with them of Yisroel that were with Sha'ul and Yonatan.
22Likewise all the Ish Yisroel which had hid themselves in Har Ephrayim, when they heard that the Pelishtim fled, even they also followed hard after them in the milchamah (battle).
23So Hashem saved Yisroel that day; and the milchamah continued raging even unto Beit-Aven.
24And the Ish Yisroel were distressed that day; for Sha'ul had bound under oath HaAm, saying, Arur (cursed) be the ish that eateth lechem before erev, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of HaAm tasted lechem.
25And all they of HaAretz came to the wood; and there was devash on the surface of the sadeh.
26And when HaAm were come into the wood, hinei, the devash was oozing; but no one put his yad to his mouth; for HaAm feared the shevuah (oath).
27But Yonatan heard not when aviv bound HaAm with the oath; wherefore he put forth the end of the matteh (staff) that was in his yad, and dipped it in a honeycomb of the devash, and put his yad to his mouth; and his eyes brightened.
28Then answered an ish from HaAm, and said, Avicha strictly bound HaAm with an oath, saying, Arur (cursed) be the ish that eateth lechem this day. And HaAm were faint with famished exhaustion.
29Then said Yonatan, Avi hath troubled HaAretz; see, now, how mine eyes hath brightened, because I tasted a little of this devash.
30How much more, if only HaAm had eaten freely today of the plunder of their enemies which they found? For would there not have been now a much greater makkah (slaughter) among the Pelishtim (Philistines)?
31And they drove back the Pelishtim that day from Michmas to Ayalon; and HaAm were very faint.
32And the people flew upon the plunder, and took tzon, and bakar, and calves and butchered them on the ground; and HaAm did eat them with the dahm.
33Then they told Sha'ul, saying, Hinei, HaAm sin against Hashem, in that they eat with the dahm. And he said, Ye have dealt treacherously; today roll an even gedolah (large stone) over here to me.
34Then Sha'ul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto them, Bring me here every ish his shor (ox), and every ish his seh, and you make shochet slaughter of them here, and eat; and sin not against Hashem in eating with the dahm. And kol HaAm brought every ish his shor with him that lailah, and made shochet slaughter of them there.
35And Sha'ul built a Mizbe'ach unto Hashem; it was the first time that he built a Mizbe'ach unto Hashem.
36And Sha'ul said, Let us go down after the Pelishtim by lailah, and plunder them until the ohr haboker, and let us not leave an ish of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth tov in thine eyes. Then said the kohen,#14:36 Achiyah Let us draw near here unto HaElohim.#14:36 to inquire of G-d
37And Sha'ul asked counsel of Elohim, Shall I go down after the Pelishtim? Wilt Thou deliver them into the yad Yisroel? But He did not answer him on that day.
38And Sha'ul said, Draw ye near here, all the pinnot (corners, chiefs of) HaAm; and know and see wherein this chattat hath been this day.
39For, as Hashem the Moshia Yisroel liveth, though it be in Yonatan beni (my son), he shall surely die. But there was none among kol HaAm that answered him.
40Then said he unto kol Yisroel, Be ye on one side, and I and Yonatan beni will be on the other side. And HaAm said unto Sha'ul, Do what seemeth tov in thine eyes.
41Therefore Sha'ul said unto Hashem Elohei Yisroel, Give a tamim (perfect lot). And Sha'ul and Yonatan were taken by lot; but HaAm escaped [from being taken by lot].
42And Sha'ul said, Cast lots between me and Yonatan beni (my son). And Yonatan was taken by lot.
43Then Sha'ul said to Yonatan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Yonatan told him, and said, I did but taste a little devash with the end of the matteh that was in mine yad, and, hineni, I must die.
44And Sha'ul answered, Elohim do so and more also if thou shalt not surely die, Yonatan.
45And HaAm said unto Sha'ul, Shall Yonatan die, who hath wrought this Yeshu'ah HaGedolah (Great Salvation, Deliverance, Rescue) in Yisroel? Chalilah (far be it!); as Hashem liveth, there shall not one hair of his rosh fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with Elohim this day. So HaAm rescued Yonatan, that he died not.
46Then Sha'ul stopped following the Pelishtim; and the Pelishtim withdrew to their own makom.
47So Sha'ul took the melachah (kingdom, establishment of sovereignty) over Yisroel, and fought against all his oyevim on every side, against Moav, and against the Bnei Ammon, and against Edom, and against the melachim of Tzovah, and against the Pelishtim; and everywhere he turned himself, he terrorized them.
48And he gathered an army, and struck Amalek, and delivered Yisroel out of the hands of them that plundered them.
49Now the Bnei Sha'ul were Yonatan, and Yishvi, and Malki-Shu'a; and the shmot of his two banot were these; the shem of the bechirah (first born [daughter]), Merav, and the shem of the younger Michal;
50And the shem of eshet Sha'ul was Achino'am Bat Achima'atz; and the shem of the Sar of his Tzeva was Avner Ben Ner and Ner was dod Sha'ul (uncle of Sha'ul).
51And Kish was Avi Sha'ul; Ner Avi Avner was ben Aviel.
52And there was milchamah chazakah against the Pelishtim all the days of Sha'ul; and when Sha'ul saw any ish gibbor, or any valiant man, he recruited him.
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Shmuel Alef 14: TOJB2011
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
1 Samuel 14
14
1One day Jonathan, son of Saul, said to the young armor-bearer, “Come on, let's cross over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he didn't let his father know his plans. 2Saul was staying near Gibeah under a pomegranate tree#14:2. “A pomegranate tree”: or “the Rock of Rimmon.” in Migron. He had about six hundred men with him, 3including Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod.#14:3. “Ephod”: a priestly garment. He was a son of Ichabod's brother Ahitub, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, priest of the Lord in Shiloh. No one realized Jonathan had left. 4Cliffs stood on both sides of the pass that Jonathan planned to cross to reach the Philistine garrison, one called Bozez and the other Seneh. 5The cliff to the north was on the Michmash side, the one to the south on the Geba side.
6Jonathan said to the young armor-bearer, “Come on, let's cross over to the garrison of these heathen#14:6. “Heathen”: literally, “uncircumcised.” men. Maybe the Lord will help us out. It's not a problem for the Lord to win, whether by many or by few.”
7“You choose what you want to do,” the armor-bearer replied. “I'm with you whatever you decide!”
8“Let's go then!” Jonathan said. “We'll cross over in their direction so they can see us. 9If they tell us, ‘Wait there until we come down to you,’ we will wait where we are and we won't go up to them. 10But if they say, ‘Come on up to us,’ we'll climb up, for that will be the sign that the Lord has handed them over to us.”
11So both of them let themselves be seen by the Philistine garrison. “Hey, look!” shouted the Philistines. “The Hebrews are coming out of the holes#14:11. “Holes”: the word is often used to describe burrows where animals live. they were hiding in.”
12The men from the garrison called down to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come up here, and we'll teach you a thing or two!”
“Follow me up,” Jonathan told his armor-bearer, “for the Lord has handed them over to Israel.”
13So Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer right behind him. Jonathan attacked and killed them,#14:13. “Jonathan attacked and killed them”: literally, “they fell before Jonathan.” and his armor-bearer followed doing the same. 14In this first attack, Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed about twenty men over an area of half an acre. 15Then the Philistines went into a panic, in the camp, in the field, and throughout their army. Even those in the outposts and the groups of raiders became terrified. The earth shook—this was a panic sent from God.
16Saul's lookouts at Gibeah in Benjamin saw the Philistine army melting away, scattering in all directions. 17Saul told the soldiers with him, “Do a roll-call and find out who isn't here with us.” When they did the roll-call, they discovered that Jonathan and his armor-bearer weren't there.
18Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the Ark of God here.” (At the time the Ark of God traveled with the Israelites.)
19But as Saul was speaking to the priest, the commotion coming from the Philistine camp grew louder and louder. So Saul told the priest, “Forget it!”#14:19. “Forget it!”: literally, “Take away your hand.” The priest was about to try and determine the Lord's will regarding an attack on the Philistines, perhaps by consulting the Urim and the Thummin on the ephod or through the use of the Ark of God in some way. Whatever the case, Saul countermanded his previous order for divine guidance by telling the priest to stop whatever he was about to do.
20Then Saul and all his army assembled and went into battle. They discovered the Philistines were in total disarray, attacking each other with swords. 21The Hebrews who had previously sided with the Philistines, and who were with them in their camp, switched sides and joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22When all the Israelites who had been hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were running away, they also joined in chasing after the Philistines to attack them. 23On that day the Lord saved Israel, and the battle extended past Beth-aven.#14:23. The Septuagint adds the following at this point: “and the army with Saul numbered around ten thousand men. The battle extended across the hill country of Ephraim.”
24It was difficult for the men of Israel that day because Saul had ordered the army to take an oath, saying, “Cursed is anyone who eats anything before evening, before I have avenged myself on my enemies.” So no one in the army had eaten anything. 25When they all entered the forest they found honeycomb on the ground. 26While they were in the forest they saw the honey running out, but no one picked it up to eat it because they were all afraid of the oath they had taken. 27But Jonathan hadn't heard that his father had ordered the army to take this oath. So he stuck the end of his stick into the honeycomb, picked up a piece to eat, and he felt much better.#14:27. “He felt much better”: literally, “his eyes brightened.” Also in verse 29. 28But one of the soldiers told him, “Your father made the army take a solemn oath, saying, ‘Cursed is anyone who eats anything today!’ That is why the men are exhausted.”
29“My father has caused a whole lot of trouble for everyone,”#14:29. “Everyone”: literally, “the land.” Jonathan replied. “See how well I am because I've eaten a little of this honey. 30It would have been so much better if only the army had eaten plenty today from the plunder taken from their enemies! How many more Philistines would have been killed?”
31After defeating the Philistines that day, killing them from Michmash to Aijalon, the Israelites were totally exhausted. 32They grabbed the plunder, taking sheep, cattle, and calves, and slaughtered them right there on the ground. But they ate them with the blood.
33Saul was told, “Look, the men are sinning against the Lord by eating meat with the blood.”
“Law-breakers!” said Saul. “Roll a large stone over here right now!” 34Then he said, “Go around the soldiers and tell them, ‘Every man must bring me his cattle or his sheep and slaughter them here, and then eat. Don't sin against the Lord by eating meat with the blood.’” Everyone in the army brought what he had#14:34. “What he had”: Septuagint reading. and slaughtered it there that night. 35So Saul built an altar to the Lord. This was the first altar he had built to the Lord.
36Saul said, “Let's go and chase down the Philistines during night and plunder them till dawn, leaving no survivors.”
“Do what you think best,” they replied. But the priest said, “Let's ask God first.”
37Saul asked God, “Shall I go down and chase down the Philistines? Will you hand them over to Israel?” But that day God didn't answer him.
38So Saul gave the order, “All you army commanders, come here so we can investigate what sin has happened today. 39I swear on the life of the Lord who saves Israel, that even if it's my son Jonathan, he will have to die!” But no one of the whole army said anything.
40Saul told them all, “You stand over to one side, and I and my son Jonathan will stand on the opposite side.”
“Do what you think best,” the army replied.
41Saul prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Let the Thummin show.”#14:41. In other words, let the Thummin show who is the guilty party. Jonathan and Saul were identified, while everyone else was cleared.
42Then Saul said, “Cast lots between me and my son Jonathan.” Jonathan was selected.
43“Tell me what you have done,” Saul asked Jonathan.
“I just tasted a little honey with the end of my stick,” Jonathan told him. “Here I am, and I have to die.”
44Saul said, “May God punish me very severely if you do not die, Jonathan!”
45But the people told Saul, “Does Jonathan have to die, the one who achieved this great victory in Israel? Absolutely not! We swear on the life of the Lord, not a single hair of his head will fall to the ground, for it was with God's help that he achieved this today.” The people saved Jonathan, and he didn't die.
46Saul stopped chasing down the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own country.
47After Saul had made his hold over Israel secure, he fought against all his enemies all around: Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Whatever direction he went he defeated them all. 48He fought bravely, conquering the Amalekites, saving Israel from those who plundered them.
49Saul's sons were Jonathan, Ishvi,#14:49. Also called Ishbosheth. and Malchishua. The names of his two daughters were Merab (the firstborn), and Michal (the younger one). 50The name of his wife was Ahinoam, daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of Saul's army commander was Abner, son of Ner, and Ner was Saul's uncle. 51Saul's father Kish and Abner's father Ner were sons of Abiel.
52Throughout Saul's lifetime there was constant war with the Philistines. Saul recruited into his army every strong warrior and every brave fighter that he met.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com