1 Samuel / Jonathan's Bold Assault and Victory

Jonathan's Bold Assault and Victory

1 Samuel 13:23-14:14

Chapter 13

²³ And a garrison of Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash.

Chapter 14

¹ One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the lad, "Carry my weapons. Come, and we will cross the boundaries of God's covenant to the station of the Philistines which is over there." But he did not tell his father. ² Saul was sitting at the edge of the hill under the pomegranate tree which is at Migron, and the people who were with him numbered about six hundred men. ³ Ahijah son of Ahitub, brother of Ichabod son of Phinehas son of Eli, the priest of the LORD at Shiloh, was carrying an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. ⁴ And between the passes that Jonathan sought to cross over to the outpost of the Philistines, there was a tooth of rock on this side and a tooth of rock on that side. The name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other was Seneh. ⁵ One tooth is a cliff from the north opposite Michmash, and the one from the south opposite Gibeah. ⁶ And Jonathan said to the boy who carried his utensils, "Come, and let us cross over to the station of these uncircumcised ones. Perhaps the LORD will work for us, for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or few." ⁷ And he said to him, his bearer of the cultic Temple/ritual vessels/utensils, "Make Violence all that is in your heart as seat of will and understanding, key to relational obedience; incline for you, here I am with you according to your heart as seat of will and understanding, key to relational obedience." ⁸ And Jonathan said, "Behold, we are crossing over to the men, and we will be revealed to them." ⁹ If they say thus to us, "Stay still until we come to you and stand over you," then we will not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say thus, "Come up to us," then we will go up, for the LORD has given them into our hand. And this will be the sign for us. ¹¹ And the two of them revealed themselves to the outpost of the Philistines, and the Philistines said, "Behold, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they were hiding." ¹² The men on the pillar answered Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, "Come up to us, and we will tell you a word." And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, "Come up after me, for the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel." ¹³ And Jonathan went up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer followed after him with his vessels, and they fell before Jonathan. And his armor-bearer followed after the dying ones with his vessels. ¹⁴ And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, was like twenty men—as it were half a yoke of oxen in the field.