1 Samuel 14:13
in 1 Samuel 14So Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer behind him. And the Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer followed and finished them off.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armorbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armorbearer slew them after him.
KJV
And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armourbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armourbearer slew after him.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 14
Commentary
11 notes on this verseJonathan climbed up - It seems he had a part of the rock still to get over. When he got over he began to slay the guards, which were about twenty in number, these were of a sort of outpost or advanced guard to the garrison. Slew after him - Jonathan knocked them down, and the armor-bearer despatched them. This seems to be the meaning.
This site's exposition
the Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they were hiding
on 1 Samuel 14:11-14
The outpost’s taunt, "the Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they were hiding," becomes the invitation that undoes it, and Jonathan climbs on hands and feet with his armor-bearer behind. The first slaughter is counted exactly, "about twenty men over half an acre of land." Two men do this with no army and no order from the king, so numbers cannot explain the victory.
This site's exposition
climbed up on his hands and feet
Adam Clarke read the division of labor in the verse: Jonathan struck the guards down and his armor-bearer followed to finish each one. Clarke took the guards for the garrison's forward watch.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
In these circumstances [with few weapons and Saul's fearful army], Jonathan, with an audacious design and with his armor bearer as his only companion, entered the camp of the enemy, and having slain about twenty of them, [he] spread a terror throughout the whole army. …
The Medieval Church3 voices
Jonathan, however, climbed up, crawling on his hands and feet, etc. It is clear indeed that greater obstacles of temptations must be overcome with greater exertion of virtues; which is duly accomplished when, armed against the enemy, a humble spiritual listener follows all the examples …
And the first blow was struck, with which Jonathan and his armor-bearer smote, etc. The number ten, as is certain, often signifies the perfection of good works or merit. But on the contrary, the number twenty, in which Jacob served Laban the Syrian, and sent …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4 · Written before 604.
proposed
What is crawling on the hands, if not to curve the whole body, to leave nothing lofty in oneself, to bend the upper limbs to perform the duties of the lower? And what is suggested to us by this action, if not that the conversion of sinners requires great compassion from preachers? For what else did our Redeemer appear to do but crawl on his hands, when he became a friend of tax collectors, and received sinners, and ate with them?
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Saul had once offended by offering sacrifice himself, ch. xiii. Now he resolves never to fall into that error again, and therefore sends for a priest, and hopes to compromise the matter with God Almighty by a particular reformation, as many do whose hearts are unhumbled and unchanged.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
They fell - For being endowed with extraordinary strength and courage, and having with incredible boldness killed the first they met with, it is not strange if the Philistines were both astonished and intimidated;
And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet,....
Modern Voices1 voice
A commentator
GK ChestertonTime's Abstract and Brief Chronicle (1904-1905) · Written before 1936.
proposed
The one perfectly divine thing, the one glimpse of God's paradise given on earth, is to fight a losing battle - and not lose it.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Half a furrow, of a pair [of oxen plowing] in the field. Within the area of a land measure [equal to] half the amount of a furrow of the plowing of a pair of oxen plowing a field.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֣עַל | vaiyaal | and he went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| יוֹנָתָ֗ן | yonatan | Jonathan | H3129 → | 43 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יָדָיו֙ | yadav | hands his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רַגְלָ֔יו | raglav | feet his | H7272 → | 247 times |
| וְנֹשֵׂ֥א | venose' | and [the] bearer of | H5375 → | 656 times |
| כֵלָ֖יו | khelav | armor<s> his | H3627 → | 325 times |
| אַחֲרָ֑יו | ʾacharav | [was] behind him | H310 → | 715 times |
| וַֽיִּפְּלוּ֙ | vaiyipelu | and they fell | H5307 → | 435 times |
| לִפְנֵ֣י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יוֹנָתָ֔ן | yonatan | Jonathan | H3129 → | 43 times |
| וְנֹשֵׂ֥א | venose' | and [the] bearer of | H5375 → | 656 times |
| כֵלָ֖יו | khelav | armor<s> his | H3627 → | 325 times |
| מְמוֹתֵ֥ת | memotet | [was] killing | H4191 → | 839 times |
| אַחֲרָֽיו׃ | ʾacharav | behind him | H310 → | 715 times |
וַיַּ֣עַלand he went up
vaiyaalH5927 →890 times
יוֹנָתָ֗ןJonathan
yonatanH3129 →43 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יָדָיו֙hands his
yadavH3027 →1618 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
רַגְלָ֔יוfeet his
raglavH7272 →247 times
וְנֹשֵׂ֥אand [the] bearer of
venose'H5375 →656 times
כֵלָ֖יוarmor<s> his
khelavH3627 →325 times
אַחֲרָ֑יו[was] behind him
ʾacharavH310 →715 times
וַֽיִּפְּלוּ֙and they fell
vaiyipeluH5307 →435 times
לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יוֹנָתָ֔ןJonathan
yonatanH3129 →43 times
וְנֹשֵׂ֥אand [the] bearer of
venose'H5375 →656 times
כֵלָ֖יוarmor<s> his
khelavH3627 →325 times
מְמוֹתֵ֥ת[was] killing
memotetH4191 →839 times
אַחֲרָֽיו׃behind him
ʾacharavH310 →715 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Joshua 23:10One of you can put a thousand to flight, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as He promised.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:30
How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
- Leviticus 26:8
Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
- Deuteronomy 3:22
Do not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God Himself will fight for you.”
- Exodus 14:14
The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
- Psalms 35:1
Contend with my opponents, O LORD; fight against those who fight against me.
- Deuteronomy 32:30
Through
Romans 8:31What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
it leads to
- Psalms 118:6
The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Jeremiah 1:19
They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
- Psalms 56:11
in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Psalms 118:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; GK Chesterton, Time's Abstract and Brief Chronicle (1904-1905); Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Sulpicius Severus, SACRED HISTORY 1.33 and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).