1 Samuel 14:42
in 1 Samuel 14Then Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was selected.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.
KJV
And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 14
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThose who cast lots often discover hidden things through conjectures drawn from visible things. Thus indeed Jonah is identified while fleeing (Jon. 1); thus Matthias the Apostle is found worthy of apostolic eminence (Acts 1). We therefore cast spiritual lots when, through the outward signs of works, we arrive at knowledge of hidden things. For the lot of each person is his own manner of life.
This site's exposition
You stand on one side
on 1 Samuel 14:40-42
Saul narrows the field twice by lot, the people against himself and Jonathan, then himself against Jonathan. The lot is the priestly channel Saul trusts, set against Jonathan’s private test at the pass. Jonathan is taken, and the reader already knows why the LORD did not answer at verse 37.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Saul said, cast lots between me and Jonathan my son,.....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And Jonathan was taken - The object of the inquiry most evidently was, “Who has gone contrary to the king’s adjuration today?” The answer to that must be Jonathan. But was this a proof of the Divine displeasure against the man? By no means: the holy oracle told the truth, but neither that oracle nor the God who gave it fixed any blame upon Jonathan, and his own conscience acquits him. He seeks not pardon from God, because he is conscious he had not transgressed. But why did not God answer the priest that day?
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שָׁא֔וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| הַפִּ֕ילוּ | hapilu | make fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| בֵּינִ֕י | beini | between me | H996 → | 407 times |
| וּבֵ֖ין | uvein | and between | H996 → | 407 times |
| יוֹנָתָ֣ן | yonatan | Jonathan | H3129 → | 43 times |
| בְּנִ֑י | beni | son my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וַיִּלָּכֵ֖ד | vaiyilakhed | and he was taken by lot | H3920 → | 121 times |
| יוֹנָתָֽן׃ | yonatan | Jonathan | H3129 → | 43 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שָׁא֔וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
הַפִּ֕ילוּmake fall
hapiluH5307 →435 times
בֵּינִ֕יbetween me
beiniH996 →407 times
וּבֵ֖יןand between
uveinH996 →407 times
יוֹנָתָ֣ןJonathan
yonatanH3129 →43 times
בְּנִ֑יson my
beniH1121 →4930 times
וַיִּלָּכֵ֖דand he was taken by lot
vaiyilakhedH3920 →121 times
יוֹנָתָֽן׃Jonathan
yonatanH3129 →43 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited monarchySaulIsrael's first king, head and shoulders above the people; began in humility, ended in rejection — sparing what God devoted, consul…
- PersonEarly monarchyJonathanSon of King Saul who climbed a cliff to rout a garrison on the conviction that nothing restrains Jehovah; cut a covenant of steadf…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel.